Bite Your Fingertips

78th -【Brand】

Soon, the phone lit up. Old Zhao sent an audio file.

Lu Shi clicked play.

“…Old Elder Lu insisted that the blood of the Lu family couldn’t be brought up outside, it’s difficult to control and is likely to cause trouble. So, he told Lu Shaochu to bring the child back and raise it under Fang Weiyun’s name. Lu Shaochu thought about it for two days before agreeing. However, they weren’t aware that Fang Weiyun also came to know of this.”

“…That night, it was raining heavily and many flowers in the garden were stunted. Fang Weiyun went out after lunch and didn’t return even after dark. Lu Shaochu called Fang Weiyun, Fang Weiyun said that she was playing cards, it might go on for the whole night and she wouldn’t be back that day.”

“But it didn’t take long for her lie to be exposed.”

“Lu Shaochu questioned where Fang Weiyun had gone and the two quarreled loudly on the phone, but Fang Weiyun didn’t say anything. Eventually, Lu Shaochu asked the driver only to find out that Fang Weiyun had secretly gone looking for Jiang Yueman by herself.”

Lin Cuifang’s voice was weak. Probably because her breaths couldn’t keep up with her words, she gasped for air and stopped speaking to rest. There was a blank space in the recording, accompanied by faint ‘cizi’ sounds.

Chu Yu thought to himself that what this person said and the information Lu Shi had collected were basically the same.

After a while, the old and weak voice started again.

“Lu Shaochu was very nervous and hurried over. That night, Old Elder Lu sat in the living room and didn’t sleep, I didn’t dare sleep either. It wasn’t until dawn that Lu Shaochu came back with Fang Weiyun, holding a recently born baby in his arms. I saw blood on his clothes.”

“…Lu Shaochu was very furious, saying that Fang Weiyun was vicious, that she’d actually gone to Jiang Yueman’s to kill, and that when he’d arrived, the ground was covered in blood, and Fang Weiyun was still holding a knife, planning to kill the small baby as well.”

“Fang Weiyun fell to the ground crying, kneeling and begging Old Mr. Lu to protect her and not reveal what happened. She only did something like murder because she’d heard Old Elder Lu say that he wanted to bring Jiang Yueman’s child back and was afraid that Jiang Yueman and her child would steal her position.”

“Afterwards, Old Mr. Lu instructed me to hold the child and then called Lu Shaochu to the study. They talked for a long time.”

“At the time, I was holding the baby and waiting in the living room. Fang Weiyun, who had been sitting on the ground, suddenly resembled a crazy person and asked me, ‘guess how that bitch died?’”

“How dare I answer?”

“But, Fang Weiyun didn’t care if I answered or not. She said with a grin that she had stabbed several times and a lot of blood had spilled out, but she wasn’t sure if the woman had stopped breathing. However, Lu Shaochu had been more anxious than she was, so before it could’ve been confirmed whether she was dead or not, he hastened Jiang Yueman’s disposal.”

“I subconsciously covered the baby’s ears during that time. Later that afternoon, the baby became Fang Weiyun’s child.”

The recording ended there.

Chu Yu, who listened from beginning to end, had a thought circling in his mind— if Jiang Yueman wasn’t dead at the time, but still Lu Shaochu directly sealed her into cement and sunk her underwater…

Chu Yu only felt cold all over his body.

While at death’s door, what kind of regret and despair would you feel when you learn that your former lover was going to end your life?

Lu Shi didn’t speak for a long time.

His eyes were cold as he tapped his fingertips on the table, issuing dull ‘du du’ sounds.

It wasn’t until all the intense and fierce emotions were repressed into his heart that he said, “Fang Weiyun killing Jiang Yueman must’ve been very in line with Lu Zhaohe’s intentions.”

Lu Zhaohe was Elder Lu’s full name.

Chu Yu understood what Lu Shi meant.

Fang Weiyun killed Jiang Yueman. On one hand, Jiang Yueman’s death completely eliminated the root cause of Lu Shaochu’s impulsive actions.

On the other hand, while Lu Zhaohe kept this matter under wraps, Fang Weiyun and the Fang family now possessed an enormous handleBlack material or information that can be used against somebody (black mail) which was gripped by Lu Zhaohe.

In addition, the child was brought back, which was exactly what Lu Zhaohe wanted. From then on, there would never be a chance for Jiang Yueman to hold the child, threaten the Lu family, or damage the reputation of the Lu family.

The family was completely free from worries.

Chu Yu quickly figured out the key points. “But it’s also because of this incident that Lu Zhaohe and Lu Shaochu are afraid of Fang Weiyun, so they never let her have children, right?”

“Hm.”

Lu Shi knew Lu Zhaohe and Lu Shaochu very well.

“Lu Zhaohe likes to control people and everything in the palm of his hands. They were afraid of the consequences Fang Weiyun could bring, because she can ruthlessly kill people. They were worried that since Fang Weiyun could kill my mother, would she also be able to kill them to achieve her own goals? Therefore, Fang Weiyun couldn’t have children of her own.”

Chu Yu understood. “So the result of the discussion between Lu Zhaohe and Lu Shaochu was to give you to Fang Weiyun to raise. This way, outwardly, the Lu family is harmonious; there’s a loving husband and wife, the mother’s kind and the son filial, and the reputation is excellent. Internally, Fang Weiyun has a handle within Lu Zhaohe’s grasp and she has no biological children of her own. Even if she was named Mrs. Lu, she can only be controlled and dared not do anything. As for the Fang family, of course, they’ll be suppressed by the Lu family.”

Just like with Lu Shaochu; for so many years, his stream of lovers had never broken, and Fang Weiyun had always maintained surface dignity for the Lu family, pretending to be deaf and dumb, daring not to meddle in the slightest.

Talking about these things made Chu Yu’s fingers slowly tighten.

When people were bad, how scary could they be?

Jiang Yueman had been killed. Her former lover and husband, Lu Shaochu, quickly hid the traces without any grief, and even discussed with his father immediately afterwards how to exploit this incident to maximize their own interests.

Moreover, Fang Weiyun wasn’t afraid even with blood on her hands because she knew deep inside that she wouldn’t receive punishment.

Chu Yu remembered what Lu Shi had said.

Compared to monsters, humans are more terrifying.

“More than that.”

Lu Shi held Chu Yu’s icy fingertips, his tone calm.

“Having me as Fang Weiyun’s biological child was a foreshadowing that could be taken advantage of at any time. If my relationship with Fang Weiyun and the Fang family got close and threatened Lu Zhaohe, what would Lu Shaochu and the Lu family do?”

Chu Yu responded almost immediately, “They’d tell you that you’re not Fang Weiyun’s biological child. At that time, you’ll know that Fang Weiyun and the Fang family are unreliable, and the only people you can rely on are the Lu family, only Lu Zhaohe and Lu Shaochu! You’ll be more willing to be controlled by them!”

Holding Chu Yu’s fingertips and putting them to his lips for a kiss, Lu Shi praised, “Very smart, that’s right.”

He pinched, kneaded, and pressed Chu Yu’s finger joints with lowered eyes. “I gradually grew up, but I’ve always depended on Fang Weiyun. Lu Zhaohe wouldn’t allow such a situation to happen, so, during a quarrel, Lu Shaochu said to Fang Weiyun, ‘Lu Shi isn’t your child.’”

“I was hiding outside the door back then. Lu Shaochu probably discovered me and let me purposely hear. Later, Lu Shaochu told me that my mother died of dystocia; what a clean reason.”

As he spoke, there was deep disgust in his eyes.

Chu Yu listened and took in Lu Shi’s calm expression, which made the tip of his nose feel a little sour.

How many nights had he tossed and turned restlessly in bed, how many times had he deduced and investigated, and how much psychological structuring had he done, so that he was able to accomplish the present. Faced with the truth of that year, Lu Shi was calm amidst the storm as if he was narrating an old story of a passerby.

Chu Yu would rather Lu Shi be angry and weep loudly, than go out and fight to vent.

But he also knew that Lu Shi wouldn’t be like that.

Lu Shi was calm, restrained, and having buried the rotting wound in the depths, he was shouting in pain all by himself.

Lu Shi saw that Chu Yu’s eyes were reddish and leaned in for a kiss. “The only thing that Lu Zhaohe and Lu Shaochu missed is the possibility of the murder being exposed. They didn’t expect that I’d use a method that wasn’t in plain sight and gift a necklace with wiretapping to Fang Weiyun, resulting in me knowing that my mother didn’t die due to childbirth. They also didn’t expect that I’d wiretap Fang Weiyun’s phone.”

At last, the truth of the past was revealed piece by piece.

The last piece of the puzzle was found, and the whole picture of the events of the past were finally in full view.

That night, Chu Yu had many dreams.

He dreamed of the young Lu Shi squatting in a corner, crying. He wanted to coax him, but he couldn’t get close.

He dreamt of him and Lu Shi kissing in that narrow alley. When he lifted his head, he saw Lu Shi’s eyes full of tears.

Lu Shi’s body was full of knife wounds everywhere, dripping with blood. The blood wouldn’t stop and even dyed his white shirt bright red.

He asked in a panic, Lu Shi, are you hurt?

Lu Shi shook his head and said he wasn’t hurt.

At that moment, Chu Yu’s heart was wrung tight. It hurt so much that it was hard to breathe.

After a while of feeling stifled, Chu Yu woke up from his dreams and subconsciously took a deep breath.

He was lying on a pillow, the impassioned symphony from the campus broadcast drifting in through the seams in the windows.

After several seconds, Chu Yu realized that there was no Lu Shi on the pillow beside him.

He subconsciously wanted to get out of bed to look for him, but Chu Yu only managed to move a little before he was restrained.

“Be good, don’t move.”

The voice was deep, husky, and familiar.

Hearing what Lu Shi said, Chu Yu subconsciously stopped his actions and lay back down on the pillow again.

Soon, Chu Yu noticed the hem of his pajama being lifted, his pants were pulled down, and his exposed back waist came in contact with the slightly cold air and became sensitive.

The lights weren’t on in the dorm room. Only the dim daylight shone in through the windows and everything seemed dusky and hazy.

Lu Shi knelt down on the bed, leaned down, and gently licked and kissed the tattoo on Chu Yu’s back with the tip of his tongue.

The author has something to say: Here’s a heart carved out of wood~ mwachu!!

• 1Black material or information that can be used against somebody (black mail)