Chapter 54#
Extra Chapter 7#
Smoke filled the air.
He looked outside with a somewhat absent-minded gaze. On the table lay that finely crafted platinum pendant, gleaming faintly under the dim, yellow light.
He picked it up again, twirling it between his fingers.
The design of the pendant was quite unique—an outer ring with a crescent moon inside. It was indeed a hidden spot where some tricks could be played.
A day ago, he had still been immersed in the joy of meeting that person.
Or rather, he should say excitement.
If it hadn’t been for the facts Ade brought him earlier, he might have foolishly fallen for it, just like a hot-headed kid would.
A few hours ago, Ade had stood at the spot in front of the table. They were no longer the impulsive youths who would resort to violence at the slightest provocation. Time had worn them down. Ade had been with him from the very beginning, at least twenty years now.
“Brother Du, I know what I’m about to say might not sound pleasant.”
Ade raised his eyes, weighing his words before speaking. “It’s too much of a coincidence. How does he just happen to show up in this place, and then just happen to be saved by you, Brother Du? Hah.” Ade spread his hands.
“Brother Du, he seems really clueless, just like before. Looks like he hasn’t changed a bit.”
Yeah.
Except for some subtle differences in his appearance, everything else truly hadn’t changed.
But that was only “looks like.”
Over the past ten-plus years, he had been through too much—so much that even emotions he thought he would never forget had started to blur.
Ade handed him the pendant. “Brother Du, we all understand. Many things can’t be judged by their surface.”
Ade looked rough and gruff, but he was meticulous. Over the years, he had been a great help.
Inside the crescent of the pendant was a delicate bug. Looking closely at the edge, one could clearly see the traces of hurried gluing.
“Brother Du, no one stays the same.”
He agreed with that.
No matter what scheme this thing represented, the “purity” he had kept buried in his heart all these years seemed unable to withstand the test of time.
“I understand.” He pinched the bridge of his eyes wearily. He hadn’t slept all night. Meeting that person had stirred him so much he couldn’t control himself, yet he was afraid of scaring him off. He had thought they still had plenty of time.
But this beautiful dream had ended too quickly.
The ashtray was filled with cigarette butts. He looked at this brother who had shared life and death with him. He was no longer the hot-headed, reckless youth. Now, there were many things he couldn’t afford to gamble on.
It wasn’t that he was unwilling to believe Ren Qiri; he just didn’t have much faith in “human nature.”
The pain in his heart—he adjusted to it faster than he had imagined.
So much so that when he met Ren Qiri for the second time, he naturally controlled his emotions.
When Ren Qiri saw him, he was clearly overjoyed—whether that joy contained any other elements, he couldn’t tell.
He wondered if this, too, was a coincidence—Ren Qiri had become a lawyer.
He stubbed out his cigarette. Thinking back to the words of their youth now, even he felt they were naive.
Ren Qiri was somewhat nervous when interacting with him. He took him to a French restaurant. Whether it was his demeanor or table manners, Ren Qiri handled them perfectly. Back then, he hadn’t realized that this was someone born with a silver spoon. But Ren Qiri was different—there seemed to be a soft, ingrained sense of justice in him. So, for the sake of a prosecutor friend, sacrificing himself to get close to someone as heinous as him didn’t seem impossible.
The red wine that entered his mouth was extremely bitter.
This meal was meant to be a simple ending to that hazy, unripe emotion of their youth.
But what happened later caught him off guard.
When he saw the sweat on Ren Qiri’s forehead and the way he gasped as he shoved the sweet potato into his hand, he felt an indescribable emotion.
“I often buy these to eat when I’m working.”
He knew Ren Qiri’s current life wasn’t easy, even though he didn’t quite seem like the type of rich kid who would quarrel with his family.
He felt he was increasingly unable to see through Ren Qiri.
It was like taking drugs.
On one hand, he knew it was dangerous; on the other hand, he was drawn to him.
He returned the pendant to Ren Qiri, secretly observing every change in his expression—there was a complex emotion resembling guilt.
He thought he understood something.
Ren Qiri was a contradictory person.
Now, Cheng Chen and he stood on opposite sides, and Ren Qiri couldn’t possibly stand on the balance point.
He was a selfish person.
Even knowing what situation that gentle man would face afterward, he still had to do this.
No matter what, he had to force Ren Qiri to make a choice.
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Below is an additional short extra chapter: (Previous Life)
When he saw the obituary in the newspaper, Du Yijie froze for a moment.
He recognized this person.
The president of Ren Corporation—that mild-mannered man.
He had been overseas for many years, and upon returning, he received this shocking news.
To be honest, he was surprised. Although he didn’t have a deep impression of this man named Ren Qiri, he still remembered the feeling.
The feeling of talking to this person—it was very pleasant.
Back then, he had returned to Singapore for a fairly large cooperation project with Ren Corporation. To be honest, Ren Corporation was declining day by day. Apart from Ren, there were many better emerging companies. But after meeting with this president of Ren Corporation, he still made a somewhat unexpected choice.
Du Yijie looked at the photo in the obituary.
This wasn’t a particularly handsome man. When it came to Ren Corporation, the one that left an impression on him was actually the arrogant executive manager. He only went for men, and that Manager Wang had a beautiful face. At first glance, indeed, that man had a kind of wild, flamboyant beauty.
However, during the meeting with Ren Corporation, his gaze unconsciously kept falling on the man in the center—the one who spoke little but held the highest position, the president of Ren Corporation.
He had heard many rumors, which could be summed up in one sentence: The boss of Ren Corporation was a soft-tempered good-for-nothing.
After meeting Ren Qiri, he felt that assessment was too harsh, though not entirely false.
This man was gentle and soft-tempered, but when it came to critical points, he could be strangely stubborn. If one had to say why he had ended up in such an awkward position, it probably had to do with the people he employed.
Overall, Ren Qiri wasn’t very good at judging people.
However, Du Yijie had previously felt a desire to get along with this reportedly incompetent president of Ren Corporation. But before he could act on it, he had left Singapore for other matters, leaving the project to his subordinates to oversee.
He hadn’t expected that in just a year or two, this young man would be dead.
He was someone long numb to death.
But at this moment, he felt uncomfortable—perhaps feeling regret, or some other emotion.
Still, he felt he ought to go see that person.
That gentle man with a soft demeanor.
What kind of thing could drive such a person to a dead end?
Ren Qiri’s grave was in a prime feng shui location. He had heard it was chosen by the new boss—the former executive manager. That man had handled everything personally, from the burial to the funeral, without delegating to anyone. However, he had also heard that this manager had played a significant role in driving Ren Qiri to his demise. Doing all this after the man’s death was probably a sign that the man couldn’t find peace within himself.
Another thing that bothered him was Ren’s Third Master. Although they had no dealings, he had heard many rumors—another formidable figure. But after harming his own nephew, whether it was karma or not, he was said to be in bad shape. Rumor had it he talked nonsense every day, and when Ren Qiri was buried, he even jumped into the grave. That story was somewhat laughable.
The affairs of big families had nothing to do with him.
He had risen from humble beginnings, achieving his status by stepping on corpses—including that of his own biological father.
All these superficial gestures after death—wasn’t it redundant?
Du Yijie carried a bouquet of lilies, following the guide.
When he reached Ren Qiri’s grave, he paused briefly. The front was covered in cosmos flowers. The guide turned to look at him and said, “This man died wrongfully. These flowers are the ones he liked. A former servant of his used to bring his son here every day to place them.”
“Sir, it was quite a scene a while back. Every few days, someone would come and stand here all day, refusing to leave even when pulled away. I heard it was the one who caused his death—maybe he was possessed or something. But I heard he’s not long for this world either.”
Du Yijie tipped the guide and stood alone before the grave.
The tombstone had no epitaph. Although it wasn’t required, it felt as if something was missing.
He placed the lilies in front of the grave and said to himself, “I don’t know what you like. I came here uninvited today. I hope you don’t mind.” He knew this person wouldn’t mind.
They weren’t close, but at this moment, it felt like old friends, as if they had known each other for many years.
Finally, before leaving, he reached out and touched the photo on the tombstone.
Thirty years—for this person, it had already been a long life.