Lu Yan’s breath deepened and her words reverberated in his ear. What did she say?
He put his large palms over her soft shoulders and gave them a hard squeeze. His thin lips curved upwards sarcastically. “Damn it An’an, who are you to look for me whenever you need a companion or a one night stand? Do you know how expensive I am? If you had made things clearer at the start, you would never have had a chance with me.”
There were many women who desired him. She wouldn’t even have the chance to take a queue number!
An’an was speechless.
Her beautiful face turned cold. “Alright, Prince Lu. You can show a girl a good time even with a missing leg. Please get the cheque..from my brother…”
As soon as those words were out of her mouth, he squeezed her shoulders even tighter, as though he was trying to break them.
His angry voice rang out. “Gu An’an!”
“Don’t touch me!” An’an snapped as she interrupted him, her gaze fixed coldly on his face. “Lu Yan, what do you want to do then? Can you give me a response? Do you want me to take responsibility? And have you ever thought about our future?”
Future…
Their future…
Lu Yan froze, his deep brown gaze suddenly full of complicated emotions.
The diamond ring was hanging around his neck on a red thread right now, at the place closest to his heart. He had already decided three years ago that he wanted to propose, wanted her to marry him, wanted her to give him a child.
But all his plans had been messed up.
Lu Yan no longer existed in this world. He was only a shadow hiding in the dark, and could never see the light of day. He had also lost a leg, and had heavy responsibilities lying on his shoulders.
From the time he was 37 to when he was 40, his courage had slowly faded.
She was only 21 and at the peak of her youth. He was afraid he couldn’t keep up with her, afraid that she would regret everything one day.
He didn’t want her to regret being with him.
Maybe this was what loving someone felt like. To always be conflicted and second-guessing yourself.
An’an already had her answer. She no longer felt disappointed. She had been let down too many times and was already numb to it. She was tired of this.
Reaching out her pale hands, she prised his hands from her shoulders. “Master Yan, from now on, let’s go our separate ways. Even if we meet on the street in the future, let’s pretend not to know each other, alright?
“And lastly,” An’an said as her red lips curved upwards, “Master Yan, stop living in the past. Recognize that we’re in the future now. You’re no longer the huge magnate all the women desired three years ago. You’re old now, and you’re missing a leg. No one’s queuing to sleep with you. Rather, you won’t even have a chance to sleep with me again in the future!”
With that, An’an left.
…
She was gone.
The room became silent, so silent you could hear a pin drop. It was deathly silent. Lu Yan stood frozen where he was. After a few seconds, he walked over to the bed and took off his black T-shirt.
His strong body was a memorable one. His bronze skin glimmered seductively over his sculpted muscles. His shoulder blades and back formed one sexy line, and stood out from his back. His waistline was sharp and his eight pack was prominent. Below all that, he wore dark blue pants held up by an ordinary black belt. He look wild and alluring.
Now he had a knife scar across his chest. It had been treated simply, but had opened again now, and was oozing blood.
He didn’t take notice of this. He reached into his pocket for a packet of cigarettes. He lit one and started puffing on it.
At this moment, someone knocked on the door. A deep and alluring voice rang out from the outside. “Ah Yan.”
It was Lu Jinwen.
“Come in.”
The door opened and Lu Jinwen walked in.
Seeing the cloud of smoke in the room, Lu Jinwen frowned. “You’re injured. Why are you smoking?”
Behind the smoke, Lu Yan raised his eyes and smiled. “Uncle Jin, congratulations on your marriage.”
Lu Jinwen’s gaze was gentle. I saw Gu An’an walk out just now. Did the two of you fight?”
Lu Yan leaned lazily on the cupboard, one hand in his pocket. His other hand brought the cigarette to his lips for another puff. He lowered his eyes and frowned, then said solemnly, “We didn’t fight.”
“Ah Yan,” Lu Jinwen said as reached out to pat his shoulders, “I didn’t approve at all when you decided to go into this industry. Once you’ve saved one person, you would want to save even more. The sense of responsibility you feel for others just increases and the burden of your shoulder just gets heavier. You won’t be able to stop anymore in the future.”
Lu Yan spat out a cloud of smoke and smiled. He said in a low voice, “I’ve thought about stopping too when I was tired, but… I’ve never thought about stopping what I’m doing now.”
“Three years ago, when you were unable to save both your country and your home, did you not think of stopping?”
Lu Yan shook his head lightly. “Never.”
Lu Jinwen sighed. He thought about the time all those years ago when he had first laid eyes on Lu Yan in the beggars’ den. For his younger brothers and sisters, the ten-year-old Lu Yan had stolen a piece of meat the wealthy businessmen couldn’t finish. He himself had suffered the beating from the bodyguards of the businessmen.
This was a man of tenacity and conviction. The very depths of his heart were untainted and filled with limitless love.
Lu Yan was a hot-blooded man. At 40 years old, he had experienced wealth and endured loneliness, yet still had a heart that was pure and innocent.
He was purer than anyone else in the world.
“Ah Yan, these few days, I’ve been thinking of how we could return to the past. When Xuanji was chasing after me, I should’ve turned around and told her that I loved her. How would a woman know if the man never said anything?”
“Gu An’an is the same as well. You know well that as long as you give her your hand, she would follow you to the depths of hell. But you refuse to make a move.”
Hearing his words, Lu Yan froze and stopped smoking at his cigarette. Lu Jinwen took the cigarette and put it out on the ashtray.
“Smoke less. I’ll call the doctor over to deal with your wounds. Don’t show yourself again tonight. I’ll arrange for someone to send you off tomorrow.”
…
After Lu Jinwen left, Lu Yan slowly came back to his senses. He pressed his thin lips together and rubbed his cigarette pack, then let go of it.
He picked up a black shirt and put it on, then opened the door to the balcony and stepped out.
From here, he could see the happenings downstairs.
His deep brown eyes quickly found that beautiful figure amongst the sea of people. An’an had gone downstairs, with Tang Mo’er arm in arm. “An’an, let’s go and get some food.”
“Alright, Little sister-in-law. Where’s Shiyu?”
“Shiyu should be watching two men… fight!”
An’an was stunned, then quickly smiled. “Little sister-in-law, you must have done something again!”
Tang Mo’er blinked mischievously and pulled An’an into a chair. She put a piece of fish into An’an’s bowl. “An’an, eat more. You need to put on some weight!”
“Thank you Little sister-in-law.”
An’an was about to eat the fish, but suddenly felt nauseous as the fishy smell entered her nose.
