Chapter 59

Chapter 59

When uniformed police officers flooded into the conference room, the room went silent instantly.

It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

The officer in charge scanned the crowd and spoke:

"Which of you are Li Yi and Li Wenguang?"

"It's me."

Under the intense scrutiny of many eyes, Li Yi had no choice but to answer.

Hearing this, the officers stepped forward and showed their badges:

"You two are suspected of murder, fraudulent fundraising, and other crimes. You need to come with us for questioning."

The next second, silver handcuffs clicked around their wrists, reflecting a cold gleam.

"What right do you have to take me? Dad! Say something! Get someone!"

Unlike Li Yi, who turned ashen-faced, Li Wenguang shouted and struggled, still showing no sign of remorse. The officers could barely restrain him.

But despite the uproar, he was still taken away in custody. What awaited him was nothing but a cold prison and long-overdue justice.

It was explosive news: the head of the Li Group and his youngest son were taken away by the police in full view of everyone, charged with criminal offenses.

Before long, the news spread like wildfire online.

With Qi Ze's expertise in public relations and media manipulation, and the help of hired trolls, the incident's popularity skyrocketed, straight to the top of trending searches.

Not only was Li Wenguang's past as a spoiled playboy dug up, but Li Yi's old deeds were also brought to light.

Never mind Li Wenguang, who was already being cursed out; Li Yi's carefully crafted image completely collapsed. He went from being seen as a polished businessman to being labeled a "scumbag" and "heartless man" by netizens.

A flood of netizens expressed sympathy for Li Yanchuan, marveling that he had endured humiliation and succeeded in getting his revenge all by himself.

The shareholders' meeting had to be suspended. The shareholders had mixed expressions, their loyalties wavering.

As the victor of the struggle, Li Yanchuan showed no signs of ecstatic joy.

On the contrary, the noisy venue only left him feeling exhausted.

He frowned and rubbed his temples, but the furrow between his brows didn't relax.

Though the heavy stone in his heart had finally been lifted, and those who deserved punishment had been punished,

for some reason, now that everything had settled and the dust had settled, he felt an emptiness in his heart.

It was as if the great mountain that had stood in his way had finally been shattered, leaving behind a vast, open plain—and he had no idea where to go.

Amidst the relief, there was an inexplicable heaviness and confusion.

The noise around him seemed to fade, as if separated by a barrier, muffled and distant. Li Yanchuan stood there, like a lost soul, caught in a daze.

It wasn't until Old Master Zhuang patted him on the shoulder that he snapped back to reality:

"Go pick up Song Nian. We'll handle the rest here."

Song Nian…

The moment he heard that name, a faint light flickered in Li Yanchuan's dull eyes.

Only this person's existence could give him a true sense of reality.

The sky seemed to split open, the traveler broke through the darkness and found his direction. His weightless body finally found a foothold and slowly landed.

He missed him.

He wanted to hug him, hold his hand, feel his warmth.

He wanted to see him.

Now, right now, he wanted to see him…

His thoughts snapped back, replaced by a sparkle in his eyes.

And an overwhelming eagerness.

He figured Song Nian's promotional event should be ending soon.

Li Yanchuan lifted his head, looked at his grandfather and uncle, expressed his thanks, then turned and left.

————

"Everyone worked hard today."

After the publicity work ended, escorted by security guards, the group avoided the sea of fans and exited through the backstage area.

Although the series wasn't a big-budget production, the leaked behind-the-scenes clips and character stills had gone viral, combined with the director's stellar reputation, attracting a lot of interest. Its popularity was already soaring even before its release.

The event today was also packed with people.

Even Song Nian hadn't expected his own popularity to come second only to the lead actors.

He had thought he would just blend into the background at this kind of event. Lost in thought, he was absentmindedly thinking about Li Yanchuan when questions kept coming at him one after the other.

After he got off stage, the director even praised him for his natural acting talent and suggested he consider pursuing this path further.

"I'll drive you back."

Remembering that Song Nian hadn't brought his car this morning, his manager Brother Wang twirled his car keys and offered to drive him.

Before Song Nian could finish agreeing, he caught a glimpse of a familiar vehicle across the street.

Sensing his gaze, the window rolled down slowly, revealing Li Yanchuan's silhouette.

"No need, Brother Wang! Someone's here to pick me up!"

Seeing this, Song Nian, who was already happy, beamed even brighter. He quickly said goodbye and trotted cheerfully across the street.

"Honey, are you done there?"

Song Nian trotted up. As soon as he opened the car door, a large hand reached out and pulled him inside.

Then he fell into a tight, enveloping embrace.

The familiar scent of cologne filled his nostrils, and the familiar strong arms wrapped around him.

Accompanying that was the warmth of another body.

No words were exchanged, just a silent embrace.

If one paid close attention, they could sense that the arms holding him were tighter than usual, accompanied by a faint, barely perceptible trembling.

“Song Nian.”

The man in the wheelchair spoke in a low, muffled voice.

“We did it...”

Hearing this, Song Nian’s expression softened, and he broke into a knowing smile:

“Mm, I knew you could do it.”

He believed that given Li Yanchuan's abilities, he would surely succeed and alter the course of the narrative.

Then, cupping the man’s face, he looked directly into his eyes and said seriously, enunciating each word:

“Congratulations.”

Gazing at the person’s gentle, unthreatening features and that warm, radiant smile, Li Yanchuan’s eyes shimmered with emotion.

The emptiness in his heart gradually filled, until it brimmed with strength, his cold body gradually warmed.

Only then did he feel a grasp of reality, realizing that he had finally achieved his long-term goal—sending that pair to prison.

In the beginning, Li Yanchuan thought it would be difficult to bring down that father-and-son pair, with the gap in shares alone being a thorny problem.

He had never imagined he would resolve the issue so gently.

He had never told anyone about a nightmare he once had.

In that dream, Song Nian betrayed him utterly, while he himself went all out for revenge, dragging the Li family into hell with him.

In the end, though he emerged victorious, he also plunged himself into the abyss.

This nightmare was exceptionally vivid—so vivid that even after waking up from it, the sensation lingered, making him almost unable to distinguish dream from reality.

Fortunately, the reality now was the complete opposite of the nightmare.

Because Song Nian appeared.

Without him, he wouldn’t have secured that 5% stake, which balanced the holdings and allowed the two sides to compete on equal terms;

Without him, he wouldn’t have repaired relations with the Zhuang family, nor received their help.

He would never have succeeded in taking revenge without hurting himself.

Every turning point came because of Song Nian.

In other words, it was Song Nian’s very existence that brought a new direction to what had seemed a dead end, letting sunlight shine into this gray world.

Perhaps heaven had taken pity on him; all the hardships he had endured were repaid by the arrival of this person by his side.

Thinking this, Li Yanchuan instinctively held him a little tighter.

Song Nian didn’t resist, just meekly allowed him to.

So obedient and good-natured that it felt like Li Yanchuan could do anything to him.

After a long while, when Li Yanchuan had composed himself, he pulled him to sit in the back seat and held his hand, asking:

“How was work today?”

“Went really well! Hope tomorrow's premiere does well.”

Hearing this, Song Nian grinned, cupped his face and rubbed his cheeks, hoping he would smile too.

“It will.”

Moved by him, Li Yanchuan couldn't help but crack a small smile.

On the way home, his phone suddenly rang.

But the two, lost in each other, wouldn't even think of checking their phones.

The ringtone was a breaking news push notification.

—About Li Wenguang.

As the police were taking Li Wenguang away, whether out of stupidity or sheer foolishness, he struggled free while getting into the car and tried to escape.

Just as he ran to the middle of the road, he was hit by a large truck that couldn't stop in time, and his legs were crushed instantly.

Now he is lying in the hospital. They say he'll survive, but his legs are ruined.

At this time, many online were commenting on how coincidental it was that the second young master of the Li family had also had his legs broken at just that moment.

Maybe it's karma; Li Wenguang was bound to pay for his actions.

When Li Yanchuan heard about it later, he just sneered, turned off his phone, and put it away.

Whether it was an accident or deliberate, who could say?

————

Unlike the chaos within the Li Corporation, the TV series’ launch went smoothly.

The next morning, the first drama Song Nian had acted in officially premiered.

He got up early and went downstairs, nervously waiting in front of the TV.

Although he only had a tiny bit of screen time in the first two episodes, he still made an appearance, so he wanted to make it a little ceremonial.

But what surprised him was that Li Yanchuan was already in the living room, even earlier than him.

“Honey, aren’t you going to the company today?”

Puzzled, he sat down beside him and casually picked a grape from the fruit platter—which the nanny had specially prepared, insisting that for premiere day, everything had to be just right.

“Mm, I’ll stay home and watch TV with you.”

Without mentioning the mountain of problems at the Li Corporation, Li Yanchuan replied softly, simply saying he had the day off.

His gaze fell on a strand of hair sticking up from sleep, and he reached out to smooth it down for him.

Really?

Does a dignified CEO actually watch this kind of urban romance drama?

Song Nian always felt that Li Yanchuan and the drama didn't match in style, but seeing him staring unblinkingly at the TV screen, he thought Li Yanchuan truly enjoyed it, so Song Nian didn't say anything more.

After all, watching TV together in pajamas was a simple pleasure in life.

He just wondered to himself why he had never noticed before that Li Yanchuan had such an out-of-character hobby.

The first two episodes mainly revolved around the male and female leads. He had to admit their acting was excellent, and even Song Nian found it a joy to watch.

But unexpectedly, Li Yanchuan beside him frowned and asked:

"These two can be the leads?"

"Their acting is great, and they're good-looking too."

Puzzled, Song Nian tilted his head.

But Li Yanchuan just said they weren't good, just average.

He couldn't help but find it strange, noticing that Li Yanchuan claimed to like it but kept frowning, as if he didn't really enjoy watching.

Not until Song Nian's scenes came on did Li Yanchuan's brow finally relax.

"You look better, and you act better too."

After watching those few scenes intently, Li Yanchuan turned his head and gave a serious evaluation.

How could he give such a biased, eyes-closed evaluation? The male and female leads were at least actors with a fanbase.

But then again, such blatant double standards sounded pretty nice.

Hearing this, Song Nian couldn't help secretly blushing, lowered his head, and took a bite off the tip of a strawberry.

Very sweet—the kind that goes straight to the heart.