The snow fell harder and harder, obscuring everything. Lin Fengzhi was so dazed with pain that all he could do was mechanically cradle his head. Just then, a cold voice rang out.
"What are you doing?!"
Hearing the familiar voice, Zhao Huilin immediately wiped away her tears, let go of the security guard, and stood up. "Young Master Lu, he's here!"
After receiving Yan Shengbing's call, she had immediately dug out Lu Muchi's business card and notified him.
The money was here!
4.9 million!
Zhao Huilin secretly rejoiced.
Yan Shengbing didn't dare move either. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he plastered on a fawning smile. "Young Master Lu, I was helping you teach him a-"
"Fuck!"
Lu Muchi kicked Yan Shengbing in the stomach, sending him flying to the ground.
Gasps rose all around. Many people backed away in fright, secretly filming on their phones.
Just then, several bodyguards in black suits appeared and made the students delete the videos.
Lu Muchi's expression was complicated as he stared at the young man curled up on the ground. His chest felt unbearably tight.
He was irritated beyond measure.
He was so defiant with me, so why did he let other people hit and curse him however they wanted?
Lu Muchi stepped forward and nudged Lin Fengzhi's back with the toe of his shoe. "Can you get up?"
Through his daze, Lin Fengzhi faintly heard Lu Muchi's voice. Tears streamed down his face. "Lu Muchi, it hurts so much..."
Lu Muchi's expression shifted slightly. That voice...
He crouched down and turned Lin Fengzhi's face toward him, revealing the bloody froth at the corner of his mouth and his pale, ashen face. "Lu Muchi, it hurts so much I could die..."
Lu Muchi was stunned. How was it Lin Fengzhi?!
He hurriedly scooped Lin Fengzhi up in his arms, rose, and strode away. "Don't be scared. We're going to the hospital right now!"
It was also at that instant that Zhao Huilin finally saw Lin Fengzhi's face.
Zhao Huilin was stunned too.
That wasn't right. He wasn't Yan Heqing!
He looked very similar, but he definitely wasn't! Then why was he wearing Yan Heqing's clothes?
Where was Yan Heqing, then?!
Yan Heqing finished reading a section, set down the book, and rubbed his neck as he checked the time.
3:20.
The round trip took less than half an hour, yet Lin Fengzhi still hadn't returned. Barring anything unexpected, he had run into the couple, Zhao Huilin and Yan Shengbing.
Yan Heqing stood, put on his coat, picked up an umbrella, and went out.
The snow was still falling heavily. Yan Heqing opened his umbrella as he left the apartment building and walked unhurriedly into the snow.
A thin layer of snow covered the ground, clean and untouched by footprints.
Yan Heqing left a neat line of footprints behind him. By the time he reached Beijing University's gates, the crowd had long since dispersed. It was deserted, with only the sound of falling snow.
With so many people passing through Beijing University's gates, the white snow had been trampled into dirty, faintly black slush.
A black scarf lay quietly in the slush. Yan Heqing went over and picked it up.
He brushed it off, easily imagining the earlier battle.
Yan Shengbing punching and kicking, Zhao Huilin crying and making a scene. The usual routine.
A month had passed. Given Yan Shengbing's habit of gambling whenever he had money, that hundred thousand should soon be gone.
Once it was gone, it would be time to deal with them.
Yan Heqing walked calmly into the university.
When collecting a new ID card, the old one had to be invalidated. If someone wanted to keep it as a memento, they only needed to snip off a small corner.
Expressionless, Yan Heqing cut his into several pieces and threw every last one into the trash.
When he left the university, the snow was falling even harder, swirling everywhere and making it difficult even to see the road.
Yan Heqing took out his phone and called Lin Fengzhi. "Fengzhi, where are you? You haven't come back after so long, and I didn't see you when I got to the university either."
In the hospital room, a nurse was treating Lin Fengzhi's wounds.
The pungent smell of disinfectant made Lin Fengzhi uncomfortable. Glancing at Lu Muchi, who sat silently on the sofa with his head lowered, he guiltily lowered his voice. "Something came up, so I left first. I'll help you pick it up in a few days."
Yan Heqing's tone was gentle. "Go take care of what you need to. I'm at the university now, so I can pick it up myself."
"I took your clothes to the dry cleaner's. Come get them when you have time."
Lin Fengzhi didn't want Lu Muchi to know he was adopted yet. He murmured a few quick words of agreement and hung up.
Lu Muchi was at a loss too.
He knew Lin Fengzhi had learned about his origins, but since Lin Fengzhi hadn't brought it up himself, he could only pretend not to know.
Looking at the padded jacket folded over the back of the sofa, Lu Muchi had recognized it at a glance as Yan Heqing's.
Lin Fengzhi didn't wear off-brand clothes.
The Yan couple had mistaken the clothes and beaten the wrong person.
Lu Muchi looked up at Lin Fengzhi, whose face was scrunched up in pain on the hospital bed, and actually found his mind wandering.
If Yan Heqing had been the one beaten today, with that slender body of his, he would definitely have been hurt worse...
"Oh, right. What were you doing at Beijing University?" Lin Fengzhi suddenly called out to him.
Lu Muchi had already thought of an excuse. "The president of Beijing University invited my uncle to give a lecture."
At the mention of Lu Lin, Lin Fengzhi immediately forgot his pain. His eyes shone as he asked, "When?"
Lu Muchi thought back for a few seconds. "The day before the break, I think."
Yan Heqing returned home, washed the scarf thoroughly, wrung it out as dry as he could, and hung it outside the window to dry.
Night fell, and lights came on in countless homes. The howling wind swept past, carrying great flurries of snow.
With snow this heavy, the lake water must be very cold.
Tomorrow...
Yan Heqing shut the window.
He hoped Lu Lin would go fishing.
At two the next morning, Yan Heqing went downstairs right on time.
The car he had booked in advance was waiting downstairs. Seeing Yan Heqing's equipment, the driver clicked his tongue and struck up a conversation. "Going fishing in the mountains in weather this cold?"
Yan Heqing smiled faintly without answering.
The driver fell silent, started the car, and drove off into the swirling wind and snow.
At the foot of the mountain, Yan Heqing swiped his membership card. The guard raised the barrier to let the car through, adding, "Come straight back out once you've dropped him off."
The driver muttered, "What kind of place is this? So fancy..."
It was past four. The mountain road was utterly silent apart from the sound of the car. Feeling a little spooked, the driver stepped on the gas and sped to the lakeside. Once Yan Heqing had unloaded his things, the driver turned around at lightning speed and drove out of the valley.
Yan Heqing looked toward the parking area a short distance away.