8 The Deceiver

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Lu Mingzhou pressed his thin lips tightly, the line of his jaw tense. His eyes, deep and fathomless like an abyss, brewed a storm of fierce anger, and his entire presence exuded a dark and terrifying aura.

No one knew how anxious he had been when he searched the second floor in vain for Luo Wen and Ke Tianyu.

It wasn’t the hatred value skyrocketing as the system warned, but the fear of seeing someone who should be walking a path of peace and happiness dragged once more into the abyss by some so-called plot.

He wanted to help Luo Wen as much as possible, to see the once-dimmed favored son of heaven shine brightly again, radiating his own light.

But before that, he had to deal with reckless fools like Ke Tianyu.

“...No need to be angry with your brother, right?” Ke Tianyu was caught red-handed by him, his expression a mix of surprise and awkwardness. But his mindset was good-natured; he pointed at Luo Wen, whose head hung low, face obscured, and said, “I’ve got witnesses. It was that greedy waiter who made the first move.”

Lu Mingzhou gave him a sidelong glance, a half-smile playing on his lips, yet the smile didn’t reach his eyes, which chilled the soul with an inexplicable dread.

“Really?” he asked the waiter beside him, who had been uneasy since Lu Mingzhou appeared, his eyes darting nervously, fearing he would become the scapegoat for these two wealthy young masters.

The waiter gritted his teeth and admitted, “Yes, I saw him approach Young Master Ke first.”

Ke Tianyu’s face flickered with pride as he laughed and tried to throw an arm around Lu Mingzhou’s shoulder. “We’re brothers, after all. Just a little waiter—I wouldn’t lie to you for him.”

“Brothers?” Lu Mingzhou mused over the word, his obsidian-like eyes gleaming with a haunting coldness before he slowly smiled.

His smile seemed to release some signal. Ke Tianyu secretly breathed a sigh of relief, mumbling and tugging at Lu Mingzhou’s arm as if to head upstairs, saying their friends had been waiting a long time.

The youth who had just held onto Luo Wen also relaxed, about to follow them.

To their eyes, it was as if nothing had happened.

Luo Wen’s fingers were stained with blood; his disheveled hair veiled the emotions in his eyes. He seemed absent-minded, kneeling on the floor with a loss of strength, pitiful and lonely under the dim light.

Then his fingers trembled as he slowly covered his eyes, the black pupils seen through his fingers heavy with mockery.

...Liars.

Lu Mingzhou and that heartless man who had abandoned him and his mother were both liars.

Luo Wen’s lips quivered faintly, a bitter, self-mocking curve forming on his pale lips.

“I say, isn’t this a crime?” Lu Mingzhou slightly turned his body, letting Ke Tianyu’s hand slide from his shoulder. Tilting his head to look at him, a smile curled at his lips. Though it seemed warm, his peach-blossom eyes gradually leaked a chilling coldness that sent shivers down the spine.

“What a joke,” Ke Tianyu looked at him in disbelief, clueless.

Lu Mingzhou ignored him and lowered his gaze to Luo Wen, his throat suddenly dry.

He squatted before Luo Wen, from the bruises on his cheek and the corner of his lips to the blood-stained fingers, reaching out with trembling fingertips, hesitating to touch for fear of hurting him more.

In the end, he only took off his jacket and wrapped Luo Wen in it, muttering in frustration, repeating, “I’m late, I’m late...”

Luo Wen’s sharp eyes fixed on him, mingling confusion and alarm.

Finally, he lowered his gaze, and those battered fingers slowly clenched, quietly gripping the hem of Lu Mingzhou’s shirt that hung low as he held him.

A familiar, slightly bitter scent wafted from Lu Mingzhou, and a wave of drowsiness and fear surged through Luo Wen. He finally could no longer hold on; his shoulders relaxed, and he fell straight into the embrace behind him.

Enveloped in darkness, the woody scent wrapped him tightly.

Warmth, just as imagined.

***

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Luo Wen unexpectedly collapsed into Lu Mingzhou’s arms, and the first to panic was the system.

“Host! The villain, he he he he…”

Lu Mingzhou was a little flustered as well, instinctively replying, “Is he okay? System, you’re a high-tech system; can you check on him?”

The system remembered it could still do something within its power, scanned Luo Wen’s body, and breathed a sigh of relief. “No internal organ damage—only surface wounds. Still, it’s best to go to the hospital for a checkup and clean the wounds.”

Lu Mingzhou finally felt somewhat reassured. He made a call for medical help, carefully settled Luo Wen in a corner, then stood up and cast a dark gaze toward Ke Tianyu and the other.

“Are you leaving by the official route or the back door?” His lips curled in a smile, but the upward-tilted eyes held a bone-chilling coldness, as if they could freeze everything.

Ke Tianyu stood frozen under that icy stare, a chill running up his neck. He looked at Lu Mingzhou in disbelief. “No need for this, right? You’d turn against me over some little lover?”

“Wasn’t I just hit by him?” Lu Mingzhou rolled up his sleeve and wiped the blood off his face, pointing at the wound and speaking matter-of-factly, “Look at this injury! Lu Mingzhou, if you want to play that game, your little lover and I ended up in the police station for mutual assault. He’s a guy, and I barely laid a hand on him. Honestly, he’s got me stumped.”

“...” Lu Mingzhou’s smile vanished suddenly, his dark eyes growing terrifyingly fierce.

Ke Tianyu saw the change, his face turning solemn—so unlike the spoiled playboy he usually was. For some reason, he stopped his provocative words and shifted tone. “But I think it’s pointless to drag this to the station and have others laugh at us. Let’s just go quietly. Tomorrow I’ll have someone send some good stuff to your little lover.”

“Scumbag!” The novice system, unversed in the cruelty of human hearts, widened its eyes beside Lu Mingzhou and indignantly pointed at Ke Tianyu.

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