121: return

A week before New Year's Eve, Chu Yilan received a call. After hanging up, he was silent for a moment. Shen Lian noticed, put down his book, and walked over, "What's wrong?"

Chu Yilan wrapped his arm around Shen Lian's waist, his thumb gently caressing a sensitive spot through Shen Lian's clothes. It wasn't itchy, but rather comfortable.

The man pondered for a moment, then said, "It's... a relative."

The word "relative" was very unfamiliar to Chu Yilan, but the person was indeed a descendant from his maternal grandfather's younger brother's line. According to seniority, Chu Yilan should call him "Uncle," but he hadn't for seven or eight years. When they did meet, he would call him "Mr. Ming."

For no other reason than that when Chu Changqi was relentlessly pressing down and acting viciously, none of these people stepped forward to help. Of course, when disaster strikes, everyone fends for themselves, which is understandable. But if that's the case, then don't expect Chu Yilan to bestow any favors.

Before his maternal grandfather passed away, his instructions to Chu Yilan were also, "If you can manage them, then manage them. If you don't want to, then don't bother."

Later, when Chu Yilan regained control of Hengtai, a few of them used their connection to his maternal grandfather to come and ask Chu Yilan for help.

It was strange; Chu Yilan had no affection for them whatsoever, but thinking that these people shared the same surname, Ming, as his maternal grandfather, gave him the illusion that his maternal grandfather still had intricate ties to this world. Based solely on this, Chu Yilan had Sun Binghe handle it. He wouldn't give them too many benefits. His so-called uncle, Ming Congshan, received the most from Chu Yilan, but it was only enough to open a small food factory. Compared to ordinary people, he was certainly rich, but compared to Hengtai, he was just a speck of dust.

In Sun Binghe's words, Ming Congshan wasn't smart enough to develop, and his character was just like that.

During holidays, Ming Congshan would personally deliver gifts. He never saw Chu Yilan but had met Sun Binghe and Yang Bin a few times. He didn't know if the gifts ever reached Chu Yilan. He usually didn't bother him, only timidly making a call before the New Year.

"Invite them home for dinner?" Shen Lian asked softly after listening.

"How could that be?" Chu Yilan didn't consider them family, nor did he consider them friends. A so-called family dinner was not something he would share with them.

Perhaps Shen Lian's company this year had broadened Chu Yilan's horizons. He thought for a moment and said, "I'll just arrange a table outside."

"Should I go?"

"Do you want to go?"

Shen Lian shook his head, "No."

Those people hadn't saved Chu Yilan in his time of crisis, so Shen Lian didn't want to entertain them.

"You wait for me at home. I'll have a couple of drinks and be back."

Chu Yilan went, if for no other reason, than to hear some stories about his maternal grandfather from these people. Even if he had heard them countless times, it meant he hadn't forgotten.

******

Ming Congshan grew older year by year. Chu Yilan remembered his hair being black around this time last year, but now his temples were streaked with white.

Chu Yilan booked two tables at a high-end restaurant, and they were indeed full. These people brought their families, and besides a few regulars, the other faces that showed up changed from year to year. Chu Yilan didn't care how these people infought over their small plot of land. When everyone had more or less arrived, he directly told the waiter to serve the dishes.

Everyone cautiously observed Chu Yilan's expression, only to see the man seated at the head of the table looking noble and weary.

What is Shen Lian doing? Chu Yilan wondered.

"Eat," Chu Yilan said indifferently. He had no intention of picking up his chopsticks, still thinking about Shen Lian's plan to barbecue tonight.

Ming Congshan reluctantly picked up his chopsticks, and only then did the others gradually follow suit.

Before coming, everyone had their own elaborate calculations. What was Chu Yilan's status? At least half of the young people present today, both male and female, were beautiful and charming—this one's niece, that one's nephew—thinking that even if they couldn't enter the Chu Family's main gate, becoming Chu Yilan's bed warmer would be a powerful asset.

But upon seeing the real person, the atmosphere became frozen.

Chu Yilan didn't say much, nor did he warn them about what to say or not to say, but when you sat there, you could clearly perceive the man's sense of distance.

He was not someone who could be attracted by a smile or a flirtatious glance. It was as if Chu Yilan had a sealed space around him; he appeared still and calm, yet that indescribable danger would emit the sharpest warning whenever a twisted thought arose.

Zhu Yueru, Ming Congshan's wife, brought her prettiest little niece, who had just turned twenty, graduated from a prestigious university, and was fresh and delicate. At first, seeing Chu Yilan walking from a hundred meters away, the little niece's eyes lit up, and her face flushed with shyness. But after getting closer and taking her seat, the little niece began to focus on eating, not even raising her head.

She wasn't against arranged marriages; after all, she had lived a life of abundance since childhood and wouldn't compromise herself if she didn't have to. But this man, absolutely not!

On the way, Zhu Yueru had even taught her little niece how to charm men, but now, no matter how Zhu Yueru hinted, the little niece pretended not to see. She hadn't even graduated from college yet and had a great future ahead of her; she didn't want to die.

Chu Yilan rotated his teacup. Shen Lian hadn't replied to the message he sent earlier.

Shen Lian had fallen asleep while playing on his phone in bed.

At first, he could still distinguish that he was at home, but gradually, the sound of rolling waves filled Shen Lian's ears.

It was so real; he could even smell the salty tang of the sea.

It was like a third-person perspective. He saw heavy rain falling on the sea, with surging waves. The seawater turned a chilling, dark, murky color, carrying a strong sense of engulfment. Shen Lian wasn't afraid of the deep sea, but such a scene made him inexplicably uncomfortable.

Blood felt as if it was being pushed inch by inch by cold needles, then spread throughout his body. Shen Lian was filled with resistance and anger in his dream. His heart and lungs reeked of blood under violent compression. He seemed to be not on the sea, but in the sea, his oxygen gradually squeezed dry. Shen Lian roared loudly, but there was nothing left but the boundless sea and the sound of waves.

The camera quickly zoomed in, and Shen Lian's frustration and fear reached their peak.

On the bed, the young man's pale hands showed bulging veins. Shen Lian gripped the bedsheet tightly, leaving deep wrinkles with his immense strength. He was stimulated to lift his head, his face covered in cold sweat, but even so, he didn't wake up.

This was too sudden, too absurd. No matter how Shen Lian struggled, he was forced to watch everything in the dream.

Gradually, a terrifying thought surged into his mind.

How could it be... Shen Lian tried his best to stay calm, but the reefs in the dream came into view, and in the originally cold wind, a hint of warmth actually emanated.

Shen Lian felt as if someone was prying open his head, forcibly opening his eyelids.

This time, there was no escaping.

He saw a ball of fire burning on the previously dark seashore. To be precise, it was a person.

The man knelt on the ground, head bowed. Logically, he should have been a charred lump, but his outline was exceptionally clear.

It was impossible to be mistaken.

Shen Lian's heart stopped for a moment, and then the entire dream began to rapidly collapse. He used all his strength to lunge towards that ball of fire, but a huge suction force dragged him backward, throwing him back into reality.

This feeling could only be described as utterly terrible.

Shen Lian abruptly opened his eyes. His chest stabilized for a few brief seconds, then intense pain and tinnitus exploded simultaneously. Shen Lian couldn't bear it and instantly curled up, almost instinctively gasping for breath.

Now he saw clearly: he wasn't at sea, but at home.

But it hurt so much. Shen Lian initially couldn't even tell where it hurt, until his reason gathered, and all the pain rushed to his chest. His limbs trembled uncontrollably. Half of Shen Lian's face was buried in the quilt, sweat quickly soaking the pillow, but the eye he revealed showed a fierce determination that would never be destroyed.

Shen Lian clutched the clothes on his chest tightly. He still had the presence of mind to wonder why he would have such a dream.

Self-immolation by the sea—this was Chu Yilan's original ending, but for Shen Lian, it was just a sentence, a nightmare that would never happen. With him there, no one could bully Chu Yilan again, and even now, Shen Lian firmly believed this.

The only explanation was that this was a warning.

Who is it? Killing intent erupted in Shen Lian's heart.

Shen Lian, driven by sheer willpower, recovered his breath.

The sharp pain transformed into a dull, throbbing ache. With each breath, the blood vessels in his heart seemed to be pulled. The medicine was on the bedside table, out of Shen Lian's reach. He struggled to stretch out his right hand, then little by little, moved it to grasp his phone.

Shen Lian painstakingly dialed Chu Yilan's number.

At the same time, someone was toasting Chu Yilan.

It wasn't Ming Congshan, but another young man of Chu Yilan's generation, ordinary-looking, with eyes that showed no flattery, but rather were dark and profound.

"Sorry." Chu Yilan saw the caller ID, raised his hand to interrupt the other party's intention, and gestured for him to sit back down. The young man paused slightly, then pursed his lips. An emotion flashed in his eyes, but he still turned and left.

"Hmm?" Chu Yilan answered the phone, his voice tinged with a smile.

"Are you still eating?" Shen Lian's voice was very hoarse, utterly weak.

Chu Yilan heard the abnormality and abruptly stood up.

"Come back," Shen Lian said. He stubbornly believed that Chu Yilan had already deviated from the original ending, and this dream was a warning. If it was a warning, then today's dinner with the Ming Family must hide some kind of danger. Shen Lian no longer cared about politeness; Chu Yilan's safety was paramount. He gasped heavily, then repeated, "Yilan, come back."