Liu Chen knew that even if he distanced himself from the Ren family right away, it would be too late. His mother had already married Chen Long, and they had a child together. He couldn't just ask his mother to run away because of the person lurking in the shadows.
Then, would they be chased by you, I chase you?
"Relying on the conveniences brought by the Ren and Shen families, I have now become a fishhook with bait. As the old saying goes, there are no free lunches in this world."
He said this almost with a sigh, Liu Chen turned over, resting his head on his right arm. He understood in his heart that if this was a revenge plot against the Ren family.
Then the mastermind's target was not just him, but also his mother and his unborn sister. They were merely a warning to him.
A strong sense of crisis made Liu Chen sleepless in the early hours of New Year's Eve.
At night, reason is always particularly weak, like at this moment.
Liu Chen reached for the bedside, picked up his phone, and spun it repeatedly in his hand. The phone screen would light up and then go dark again in the night.
After spinning it for a minute or two, Liu Chen suddenly stopped and let out a long sigh. He swiped the screen with his thumb to unlock it, the phone screen reflecting on his face.
Liu Chen pursed his lips and aimlessly swiped across the screen, then 'accidentally' clicked on the call history.
Ren Yu's name was displayed prominently at the top.
Liu Chen stared at Ren Yu's name with his eyes wide open for a long time. Then, his thumb pressed down, and the phone began to dial: "Beep... beep... beep..."
Listening to the beeping sound, Liu Chen seemed to be startled awake. He sat up, leaning against the headboard, preparing to hang up.
"Chen Chen."
The call had been answered by Ren Yu.
"Had a nightmare."
It was strange, even Liu Chen found it laughable. His heart, which had been pounding after waking up from a nightmare, suddenly calmed down upon hearing Ren Yu's voice.
Leaning against the headboard with his knees bent, Liu Chen held the phone to his ear with his left hand, resting his right hand directly on his knee.
"I, I just had a dream. In the dream, I didn't meet Ren Mo, and he was accidentally killed by those thugs in the stairwell... Old Master Shen passed away, and I also dreamt that Grandpa Chen was gone..."
Liu Chen recounted what had happened in his previous life, pretending it was a dream, and slowly told Ren Yu.
Perhaps it was the immense pressure, Liu Chen desperately needed someone to share it with. Or perhaps, he needed someone to tell him that these were just dreams, and everything was fine in reality.
After Liu Chen finished describing the "dream," Ren Yu on the other end of the line suddenly said:
"Chen Chen, I'm sorry."
Being hit by Ren Yu's unexpected apology, Liu Chen was stunned and almost instinctively asked:
"Sorry for what?"
Inside "Phoenix City," Ren Yu sat in his study, looking at the bright moon outside. After a few seconds of silence, he said:
"I'm sorry for giving you such a terrible dream."
After saying this, Ren Yu turned to look at the three screens on his desk. If Liu Chen were there, he would immediately recognize that these three computer screens were displaying surveillance feeds from "Phoenix City," the old Chen family mansion, and Ren Yu's independently owned villa office.
Liu Chen on the other end of the line felt a little embarrassed and tried to comfort Ren Yu:
"I had a nightmare, why are you apologizing to me? But after hearing my dream, don't you think it's an inspiration?"
Hearing this, Ren Yu reached out and typed a few letters on the keyboard. Soon, the surveillance footage on one of the screens changed to Ge Jian's face. kuAiδugg
Then, next to Ge Jian's face, a computer desktop appeared, showing Ge Jian's QQ, where he was currently chatting with a friend named "Guai Guai Zhu" (乖乖猪 - Sweet Piggy).
Ren Yu glanced at it. It turned out that Ge Jian, using the excuse that he wasn't good enough for his girlfriend, said that he felt very inferior while dating her and hoped she would find someone better.
He smirked. Ren Yu thought this Ge Jian was truly despicable. He clearly wanted to break up for a million yuan, yet he was also slandering her when they parted ways.
While monitoring all this, Ren Yu was still replying to Liu Chen:
"What inspiration?"
Liu Chen explained his guess.
This time, it was Ren Yu's turn to give a silent, wry smile. He hadn't expected Liu Chen to be so astute. He himself had only begun to confirm his suspicions after the attempted murder earlier that day.
Yes, Ren Yu had suspected someone was targeting the Ren family for a long time.
However, there was no evidence for this suspicion, or rather, the other party was too cautious. Ren Yu had deliberately created openings when he was starting his business, but the other party had not taken the bait.
Furthermore, Ren Yu had also harbored a small thought: if all of this was his own delusion and he told Liu Chen, Liu Chen might quickly change course and refuse to be tied to him or the Ren family.
However, the unexpected events of today had made it clear to Ren Yu that his guesses and suspicions were true.
But by now, Liu Chen was too deeply involved with his own family, and they couldn't be separated.
Therefore, Ren Yu said he was sorry.
"Brother Ren Yu, don't you feel anything?"
Liu Chen's voice, filled with confusion, came from the phone.
"Brother Ren Yu, you're so smart, don't you feel that something is wrong?"
Ren Yu looked at the three screens in front of him and listened to Liu Chen's questioning voice from the phone.
He opened his mouth, wanting to confess his cowardly thoughts. But as the words reached his lips, he heard Liu Chen's breathing on the phone, and what came out was:
"Chen Chen, will you be my girlfriend?"
In the early hours of New Year's Eve, confessing via phone was different from many of the confession scenarios Ren Yu had envisioned in his heart.
But once the words were spoken, they couldn't be taken back. Moreover, Ren Yu didn't want to take them back.
"I, I'm going to sleep now. Goodnight."
After Liu Chen said this, the call was hung up. Ren Yu listened to the "beep... beep... beep..." after the call ended and covered his eyes with his palm.
After a long while, Ren Yu lowered his hand, revealing a pair of tired eyes. He had been monitoring the computer for a long time, but there were no clues. The other party had not revealed any tell-tale signs. In fact, if Liu Chen hadn't taken the initiative to call the police, that car would have burned up on the road today, and it's unlikely anyone would have even called the fire department.
Then it would have been another accidental death.
As his long-held suspicions became a reality, a thought surfaced in Ren Yu's mind.
Something that he had buried deep in his heart, something he had never told anyone.
"Could it be related to you?"