Chapter 28

Chapter 28

“Song Nian.”

Li Wenguang’s voice came from the other end, like a sudden thunderclap, freezing Song Nian on the spot.

Life had been too peaceful lately; he’d almost forgotten about this annoying guy.

Why would Li Wenguang be holding Lin Yunzhou’s phone and calling him?

He stayed silent, not answering rashly, warily observing the situation on the other side.

The two on the other end were apparently still outside; the background noise was especially chaotic, and he could hear Lin Yunzhou shouting urgently:

“Li Wenguang! I barely know you; we just happened to bump into each other on the road. Why are you snatching my phone?”

Song Nian could tell that Lin Yunzhou was deliberately shouting this for him to hear, giving him the context.

It must be that after his friend left, he ran into Li Wenguang on the road, and then the guy chased after him asking about his whereabouts. When he didn’t get an answer, he simply snatched the phone.

Probably because he knew that using his own name wouldn’t get the call through, so he thought of using Lin Yunzhou’s number to get in touch.

And the jumble of characters in the chat log was likely sent by mistake during the scuffle.

“Nian Nian, be honest with me. Why have you been avoiding contacting me? What happened?”

Li Wenguang blocked Lin Yunzhou, glaring fiercely at him.

This infuriated Lin Yunzhou, but he dared not speak out in anger, unable to be too forceful due to the Li family's power. He could only stand by indignantly.

Having received no response from Song Nian for a long time, Li Wenguang grew anxious:

“Did Li Yanchuan do something to you? Is this all his doing? He must have found out what you were up to. Are you okay?”

You have to say, Li Wenguang is such a spineless jerk. In the original story, the original Song Nian dedicated himself to helping him steal intelligence, yet never earned a second glance—used and discarded like a tool.

Now that Song Nian was secretly sabotaging him from behind, he was the one anxiously clinging on.

When he first got the USB drive, he was still living in a dream and immediately set out to deal with Li Yanchuan. But unexpectedly, the faulty data backfired, causing decision-making errors that led to a cash flow disruption. He was frantic trying to clean up the mess.

If it weren’t for Li’s father pouring a huge sum to cover the hole, the subsidiary might have been ruined by him.

After barely recovering from the crisis, Li Wenguang calmed down and thought it over, finally realized the problem was with the data on the USB drive.

To confirm the reason, he tried to contact Song Nian to understand the situation. But to his surprise, the messages he sent and calls he made all disappeared without a trace—none were replied to.

If he could have reached the original Song Nian, Li Wenguang might have suspected him—after all, the USB drive was his responsibility, and the most critical steps went through him; a failure would be his fault.

But because Song Nian had recently been blowing hot and cold, he felt uneasy. Not only did he not think in that direction, but he also concluded that Li Yanchuan had discovered his plan and used Song Nian to feed him false information.

As they say, what you can’t get always stirs restlessness; what you get easily is never appreciated. Now the tables had turned, and Li Wenguang was the one being played.

“Nian Nian? Say something!”

Still hearing no voice from the other end, Li Wenguang’s tone grew more urgent.

“I…”

Just as Song Nian was thinking about how to respond, he suddenly heard noise behind him.

“Is he gone?”

Hearing this, he turned around and happened to catch Li Yanchuan’s gaze as he came out of the elevator.

Seeing this, Song Nian quickly made a shushing gesture at him, pointed at the phone, and tiptoed over.

He switched the call to speakerphone and motioned for him to listen quietly.

“Was that Li Yanchuan’s voice just now? Are you okay?”

Li Wenguang on the other end held his breath and asked warily.

And Lin Yunzhou was smart enough to add, as if reminding:

“Second Young Master Li, could you please return the phone you snatched? I still have things to do.”

Having proven his innocence, Song Nian shot Li Yanchuan a questioning look, seeking his opinion on how to handle this.

After a moment of thought, Li Yanchuan pointed at the end-call button, signaling him to hang up.

“What about you—”

Before Li Wenguang could finish his next sentence, Song Nian ended the call without hesitation.

Abruptly cut off, Li Wenguang stood stunned. Seizing the chance, Lin Yunzhou stepped forward and smoothly took back his phone.

“Second Young Master Li, if there’s nothing else, I’ll take my leave.”

Just as he was about to slip away, a hand landed on his shoulder.

“Wait, I have something to ask you.”

Li Wenguang’s face darkened, fury burning in his eyes, his face clearly showing he was in a foul mood.

“Song Nian, what exactly happened to him once he got with Li Yanchuan?”

How could anything go wrong? With Li Yanchuan, he eats well and sleeps well, living it up, Lin Yunzhou thought to himself.

But naturally, he dared not say these words to the man’s face. He could only play dumb:

“I don’t understand what you mean.”

“Don’t play dumb. I know you two have been tight since he returned to the country, and you even went to his place today.”

Hearing that Li Wenguang had kept such close tabs on his movements, Lin Yunzhou frowned in disgust, thinking that he must have investigated behind the scenes to intercept him so accurately today.

Recalling that Song Nian had once said it was okay to tell Li Wenguang the truth to make him give up, he cleared his throat and said bluntly:

“Stop trying to contact Song Nian. It’s best for everyone if things stay as they are.”

“What do you mean?”

Hearing this, Li Wenguang narrowed his eyes.

“It means Song Nian is doing well now. He asked me to tell you that he’s happy, and that you should stop seeing him from now on.”

“Impossible. You’re lying! He must be trying to fool me!”

The message sounded like a breakup, and Li Wenguang couldn’t believe that Song Nian, who had once been so infatuated with him, would say something so final.

He must be lying, deliberately trying to drive me away.

What happened that forced him to cut ties with me?

It must be that bastard Li Yanchuan.

Did he control Song Nian, using him to feed false intel and then forcing him to cut ties with me?

The more he thought about it, the more it made sense. He gritted his teeth, growing more convinced that Song Nian was innocent, and blamed everything on Li Yanchuan.

Seeing him so full of himself, Lin Yunzhou was utterly speechless.

Forget it, it's no use talking. Let him do his own thing.

He promptly made himself scarce.

Leaving Li Wenguang rooted to the spot, his thoughts spiraling further down the wrong path.

I have to find a way to get Song Nian away from Li Yanchuan.

Li Wenguang clenched his fist, resolute.

————

On the other side, the supposedly controlled Song Nian looked innocently at Li Yanchuan.

The phone screen hadn't turned off yet, showing the recent call log.

Li Yanchuan glanced over, quietly waiting for an explanation.

"Maybe Lin Yunzhou ran into Li Wenguang on his way home; Li Wenguang snatched the phone and called me."

Song Nian explained honestly.

Seeing that Li Yanchuan hadn't said anything for a while, thinking Li Yanchuan might have misunderstood him again,

he crouched down, resting his chin on the wheelchair's armrest, and added softly:

"I didn't say a single word to him."

His wet puppy-dog eyes looked up, shining with a bright sparkle that was impossible to ignore.

But actually, Li Yanchuan wasn't silent out of suspicion this time; he was just thinking about Li Wenguang's intentions.

Since Li Wenguang had targeted Lin Yunzhou, it meant he already knew Song Nian had been getting close to Lin Yunzhou recently, and had followed Lin Yunzhou as soon as he left home.

That meant Li Wenguang was about to make a move again.

Was he trying to get close to Song Nian, or target me?

While he was deep in thought, the bright eyes beside him were too striking to ignore.

He turned his head and met those eyes full of hope and innocence.

The chestnut-brown hair on top of his head looked fluffy, making him want to reach out and ruffle it.

"Hmm."

His heart stirred, and Li Yanchuan snapped back to reality, answering softly.

"I already blocked him. Can I unblock him just to yell at him? Otherwise it really bugs me."

But if future plans required using Li Wenguang, Song Nian figured he could just suck it up and pretend nothing happened.

The man across from him thought for two seconds and gave a slight nod:

"Go ahead."

With that green light, Song Nian didn't hesitate. He briefly unblocked Li Wenguang, and while the other was still typing, sent a string of angry messages.

Then, satisfied, he deleted and re-blocked him for good.

Later, jerk! Never contact me again!

————

To completely cut ties with Li Wenguang, Song Nian also changed his phone number after telling Lin Yunzhou.

Whether he backed off or caught on, after that day, Li Wenguang really didn't come looking for him again.

Song Nian was more than fine with that, continuing his peaceful life.

One evening after dinner, he took a watering can out to the garden.

A patch of flowers in the garden had withered, looking barren, and it bothered him too much, so he bought some seeds and planted them; surprisingly, they sprouted.

Tender green shoots emerged from the soil, bringing new life to the big garden.

That night, thick clouds hid the moon, making the night even darker than usual. The wind rustled the branches, casting swaying shadows.

A dark and windy night—the kind where something dramatic's about to go down in a movie.

Song Nian hummed a tune while watering the seedlings alone, as Li Yanchuan watched from the second-floor bedroom window.

Just as he finished watering and was about to head inside, a rustling sound came from the bushes behind him.

Startled, he turned his head, only to see a figure suddenly jump out and lunge at him.

"Who—!"

His shout was cut off when the figure quickly covered his mouth.

A dark, windy night perfect for a murder—could this be a robbery?!

Song Nian's heart skipped a beat. His mind racing for a plan, the person whispered:

"Shh, Nian Nian, it's me."

"You must not make a sound. I'll let you go now."

Hearing that, Song Nian nodded frantically.

When released, he eyed the man warily, unsure of his intentions.

"How did you get in here?"

"I climbed over the wall to avoid the security guards."

Upon hearing this, the corner of Song Nian's mouth twitched. He never thought this guy would pull a stunt like that.

Not caring how messy he looked, Li Wenguang suddenly stepped forward, grabbed his hand without a word, and took off running outside:

"It's been so long—I finally get to see you again. Don't be afraid—I'm here to take you away!"

"Wait, hold on—take me where?"

Song Nian stumbled a few steps, totally confused.

"To elope with me—escape from Li Yanchuan's control, of course."

The guy said it like it was the most natural thing in the world.

Hearing that, Song Nian's brain short-circuited.

Wait, what? Elope?

"Who?" "Me?"

Am I hearing things?

Or does this guy have a screw loose?