Long Xiuyu took the phone and flipped through it. The entire article was about how a celebrity, Luo Pingping, was entangled between two rich second generations, Min Jun and Long Xinyu. In the end, Long Xinyu, driven by love turning into hate, first killed Min Jun and then Luo Pingping, and finally used his family’s influence to escape punishment. The storyline was full of ups and downs, but vague on details, enough for a gossip-filled, melodramatic, suspenseful drama. It was easy to stir up emotions, and the report had a lot of views, comments, and shares, with many highly aggressive remarks in the comments.
Long Xiuyu threw the phone back to Long Xinyu, “The agenda-setting is so obvious, get someone to deal with it quickly. Don’t wait for the public opinion to ferment. If it really spreads, it won’t do you any good.”
Long Xinyu nodded, took the phone, and forwarded the report to Xiang Ze, asking Xiang Ze’s side to handle the public relations. Xiang Ze quickly replied that they would deal with it as soon as possible.
Long Xiuyu patted Long Xinyu on the shoulder, “Stay home these few days. I’m afraid this matter is aimed at you, and it won’t end well.”
Long Xinyu shook his head like a rattle-drum, “I’m not going back. As soon as I go home, Dad will start nagging me, and maybe lock me up and not let me out. I’m not going back.”
Long Xinyu was easygoing, which, to the strict and unsmiling Long father, was just “rascal-like”. He always nagged him. He was used to being free outside and didn’t like going home, especially since Rao Xian was still in the hospital, and he had to go see Rao Xian.
Long Xiuyu shook his head helplessly.
“Brother—” Long Xinyu called out softly, but didn’t say anything after calling out, seeming a little hesitant.
Long Xiuyu looked at his younger brother, “What’s wrong? Since when did you start stammering when you talk?”
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[Please go to the source webpage to read, the following content is automatically replaced to prevent collection] You──I, big──small, many──few, up──down, left──right….
Long Xinyu hesitated for a moment, threw the pillow aside, picked up a cigarette pack from under the coffee table, tapped out a cigarette, lit it, took a puff, and then said, “Brother, Detective Rao is awake. Look at the way he is… He’s really suffering. He was such a promising young police officer, and he saved you, but his fiancee is dead, and he’s crippled too. Brother, how are you going to repay such a debt?”
Long Xinyu usually seemed carefree, but he was actually very righteous and valued loyalty. He wasn’t familiar with Rao Xian, but now he owed him two lives, and this feeling was really hard for Long Xinyu to bear.
Long Xiuyu could roughly understand his feelings from Long Xinyu’s expression. He smiled calmly, “Where there’s a will, there’s a way. There will always be a chance to repay. I’ve always been easygoing, don’t dwell on these things. Have people take good care of him at the hospital. If he really is disabled, he will need a lot of help, so lend a helping hand then.”
Was it really as simple as his brother said?
Long Xinyu took another puff of his cigarette and blew out a smoke ring, saying nothing more.
How much pain can a person endure?
Rao Xian lay in the hospital bed, unable to sleep. His mind was full of the gunshots in the restaurant, the sound of shattered plates, the screams of the diners, the little girl standing in the aisle, and the pool of blood under Ye Yuning.
The night light outside the hospital room had a faint halo, but the night outside the window was so dark. Ye Yuning’s body was still at the police station. The girl who had promised to marry him and spend her life with him was now a cold corpse!
Who could have imagined that just one meal would be a final farewell!
The pain in his body and the pain in his heart made Rao Xian feel pain even when he breathed.
Rao Xian always thought that as a policeman, he might die before Ye Yuning, after all, the risks of being a policeman were much greater than being an illustrator. He never expected that Ye Yuning would go first.
The pain in his leg throbbed – the doctor said that his right leg might not recover. Rao Xian felt a faint sense of confusion – saving Long Xinyu was a policeman’s instinct, but if he had known that he would have to pay such a heavy price, would he still have made the same choice?
Rao Xian’s hand gripped the railing of the hospital bed, pulling at the wound and causing him to let out a faint groan.
“Detective Rao?” The nurse’s inquiring voice came over.
Rao Xian said softly, “I’m fine.”
The nurse carefully said, “Detective Rao, you… Mr. Long instructed that you should feel free to ask if you need anything…”
“I don’t need anything, you go rest!” Rao Xian interrupted the nurse.
The nurse stopped talking. Rao Xian turned his head and looked at the night outside the window, without a trace of sleepiness. His mind was full of memories of him and Ye Yuning. He felt that the night would never end.
Two days later.
Min Bocai held a grand funeral for Min Jun. People who had business dealings with the Min family gathered, and the line of luxury cars at the entrance was very long. Both sides of the road were filled with white candles and white flowers. No matter how wicked a person was in life, death seemed to be able to smooth everything out.
Wenren Ying and Li Guang got out of the car. Li Guang looked reluctant, as he had been dragged there by Wenren Ying.
Wenren Ying said helplessly, “Old Man Min specially sent someone to deliver the invitation to my house, so I have to give him some face.”
Li Guang didn’t believe it, “I’ve always looked down on Old Man Min. Would he specifically invite me?”
Wenren Ying looked up at the sky, “There’s a kind of attendance that your dad thinks you should attend!”
Li Guang glanced at him, “Then can’t you say that there’s a kind of attendance that my buddy thinks I should attend?” Although Min Bocai had sent him an invitation, he had no intention of attending at all.
Wenren Ying said unhappily, “It’s not that Old Man Min screwed our family over in business recently. My old man said that only if our family attends can it appear magnanimous, magnanimous, you understand?”
Li Guang was even more annoyed, “I’m petty, so why drag me along? You and Min Jun never got along, and he harassed Luo Pingping before. Now Luo Pingping is dead too, and the public opinion is in an uproar. I see there are still reporters there. You’re already having enough headaches, and I’m still dragging you to attend the funeral. What am I thinking?”
Wenren Ying said, “No matter how much we disliked each other, we’ve known Min Jun for many years. Now that he’s dead, all grudges are written off. It wouldn’t hurt to see him off!”
Li Guang was too lazy to argue with him, so he changed the subject and said, “Speaking of which, our old man is pretty magnanimous. Old Man Min screwed our family over, and he doesn’t care?”
Wenren Ying snorted, “Everyone in the world knows that Old Man Min screwed our family over, but why?”
Li Guang squinted at him, “Did our family deliberately leak the news?”
Wenren Ying adjusted his suit, “Business matters shouldn’t be taken at face value. Let’s go see Old Man Min. His son is dead, so we’ll mourn him – hey – Big Brother Long?” Wenren Ying stopped halfway through his sentence because he saw Long Xiuyu.
Long Xiuyu was wearing a white windbreaker and sunglasses, and walked out of a stretched car in a rather high-profile manner, followed by Lu Ye, with a commanding presence.
Wenren Ying and Li Guang immediately went over to greet Long Xiuyu.
Long Xiuyu was older than them. When they and Long Xinyu got together when they were young, they were just troublemakers. Only Long Xiuyu disciplined them mercilessly, beating them like it was nothing. Even as adults, the “childhood trauma” remained, and the two of them obediently called Long Xiuyu Big Brother when they saw him.
Long Xiuyu nodded to the two of them, and the three of them went inside together.
The funeral was held at the Min Family Manor, and a mourning hall was set up. Quite a few people had already gathered inside. After the eulogies and funeral orations, there was a farewell ceremony for the body. Not many people went, so the people who had finished saying goodbye to the body were waiting and resting in the side courtyard of the manor.
The atmosphere of the funeral was unusually solemn, but everyone’s faces didn’t show much sorrow. Min Jun was too young and just a junior with a bad reputation. Everyone came only to give Min Bocai face after so many years in the business world.
Wenren Ying and Li Guang followed Long Xiuyu, and the two couldn’t help but complain to each other, feeling that every second in this atmosphere seemed incomparably long.
Wenren Ying tried to make conversation and said, “Big Brother, where’s Xinyu? Why didn’t he come today?”
Long Xiuyu said, “He’s at the hospital, working like a dog for his lifesaver!”
“What?” Wenren Ying and Li Guang, who were familiar with Long Xinyu’s personality, were very surprised by Long Xiuyu’s words.
However, before the two of them could ask further, Min Bocai walked over with Jiang Mo and an ugly, somber man.
In just a few days, Min Bocai had aged a lot. The wrinkles on his face seemed unable to hold the flesh and were piled together. Coupled with his somewhat bloodshot eyes and gloomy expression, the heavy dark circles under his eyes gave him a sense of decaying hideousness.
Long Xiuyu felt that Min Bocai looked a little strange. This person started out by running entertainment venues, and had some dealings with the elders in his family in the early years. Later, they gradually drifted apart because he used vicious methods in business. Min Bocai delivered the invitation to his house, and the elders couldn’t pretend not to see it because of their early relationship, otherwise Long Xiuyu wouldn’t have gone.
Min Bocai opened his mouth to greet them, “Thank you, President Long and the young master of the Wenren family, for attending my son’s funeral!” His voice was hoarse and grating.
Long Xiuyu nodded politely, “Please accept my condolences.”
Min Bocai gave a forced smile, “That day at the police station, I thought Xiaojun’s death was related to Xinyu. I couldn’t control my temper and had some conflicts with Xinyu. Is Xinyu alright? He’s not holding a grudge against this old man, is he?”
Long Xiuyu smiled, “President Min, you’re joking. Xinyu is young and doesn’t always measure his words. Please forgive him.” Long Xinyu had mentioned the conflict at the police station to him. Long Xiuyu didn’t think that Long Xinyu was wrong, but he still had to be polite.
Min Bocai smiled, but his eyes turned cold as he said, “What Xinyu said that day was right. I didn’t discipline Min Jun strictly, allowing him to become somewhat reckless. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have died so violently.”
Long Xiuyu listened calmly as Min Bocai called Long Xinyu by his name, wondering what his intentions were in trying to get close to him, especially since Min Jun’s body was found in Long Xinyu’s car, and then Long Xinyu was shot. If Xu Ming wasn’t the killer who killed Min Jun, Long Xiuyu would have thought that Min Bocai had hired someone to do it. So what was Min Bocai up to by adopting such a humble attitude now?
Although he was full of doubts, Long Xiuyu still politely exchanged a few pleasantries.
Min Bocai smiled and turned to look at Wenren Ying. The smile on his face perfectly explained what was meant by a forced smile, but he didn’t say anything.
Wenren Ying felt uncomfortable all over from his gaze, and the corner of his mouth twitched.
Min Bocai said that he had to greet other people, so he turned and left with his men.
Wenren Ying was a little confused and muttered to Li Guang, “Why is Old Man Min acting so strangely?”
“Is his brain not working because he’s too sad about Min Jun’s death?” Li Guang guessed.
Wenren Ying pursed his lips and shook his head, commenting, “He specially invited me here, but he didn’t even talk to me. That old man is definitely up to no good!”
Long Xiuyu listened to them muttering and couldn’t help but say to Wenren Ying, “Knowing Min Bocai’s personality, did you go to the funeral alone?”
Wenren Ying widened his eyes, “Although our family has some business conflicts with the Min family, it’s not like we’re going to risk our lives. Besides, I’m not alone, I came with Li Guang, didn’t I? Is Min Bocai going to dare to do us both in at once? This is broad daylight, what am I afraid of?”
“You shamelessly dragged me along, so you wanted to use me as a shield!” Li Guang suddenly realized.
Wenren Ying touched his forehead: he let it slip!
Li Guang refused to accept it and said that there was no such thing as screwing over a friend, but Wenren Ying refused to admit it, and the two of them almost started fighting.
Long Xiuyu shook his head helplessly. These two were usually respectable figures outside, but why were they so childish when they got together?
Suddenly, there was a loud “bang,” and the explosion shook the ground and made everyone’s ears ring. They looked in the direction of the mourning hall in surprise. Before everyone could understand what was happening, a piercing scream was heard.
Along with the scream, a person engulfed in flames rushed in through the entrance of the hall.
“What the fuck!” Li Guang exclaimed.
Many others exclaimed like him.
At the doorway, the person in the fire let out heart-wrenching screams. The flames around him flickered, and the sound of burning flesh and the smell of burning quickly filled the air. The scene was extremely horrifying.
The guests near the entrance were frightened and screamed as they retreated inward. The person engulfed in flames staggered forward, and the crowd retreated backward in even greater panic.
Long Xiuyu, Wenren Ying, and Li Guang were a distance from the entrance and were all shocked. Lu Ye reached out a hand to block them from behind, telling them to move back.
The hall was very spacious, and the burning person was some distance from the crowd, but if he continued to move forward, everyone would eventually have nowhere to retreat.
The flames on the person were raging, and no one dared to come forward to help him, especially as he moved further and further into the hall, setting the carpet on fire, which began to burn in that direction.
Seeing that the situation was not good, Lu Ye grabbed a chair and smashed it against the window. The glass shattered in response. Lu Ye swept away the broken glass with the chair, then threw the chair away and told Long Xiuyu, Wenren Ying, and Li Guang to jump out of the window as soon as possible.
When the other guests saw this, they reacted and followed suit, smashing the glass and jumping out of the windows. The window area was in chaos.
After Lu Ye protected Long Xiuyu and the others out of the window first, they saw through the broken window that the burning person suddenly fell to the carpet in the hall and rolled around. Then, with a bang, the flames on the carpet joined with the person’s, and the person screamed, rolled, and struggled. The flames began to spread and grow larger. The terrifying flames burned, and the light rushed up to the roof, eventually engulfing the entire figure. The hall quickly turned into a sea of fire…