After Breaking Up, I Married the Dying Tycoon in a Flash-Chapter 388: Long River of Dim Lights (Part 8)

"Drifting and homeless? Suffering hardships? Song Nian, have you had it too good for too long that you’re starting to seek discomfort?" Lu Zhonian’s voice was laced with ice, very cold, as he said, "Stop these wild thoughts of yours; you simply have no idea what real life is actually like."

"I know..." Song Nian was resolute, "I’m not afraid of anything."

Lu Zhonian stood up, took the cake from the side, and placed it on the table.

Lu Zhonian loathed the sweetness, detested the meaningless sense of ceremony.

But for so many years, this was how he had celebrated Song Nian’s birthday.

She was always an exception to him, realizing belatedly, breaking his own rules many times.

Lu Zhonian picked up the candle, carefully inserted it into the cake, and lit it with a lighter.

The flame flickered, casting light on Song Nian’s face, her eyes bright, pupil’s color deep.

Lu Zhonian said, "Nian Nian, make a new wish."

Song Nian’s gaze dimmed.

She understood Lu Zhonian’s implication.

She had already denied herself.

Song Nian hadn’t expected Lu Zhonian to reject her so straightforwardly.

"Why..."

"There’s no why."

Song Nian rose from her chair, ran frantically to Lu Zhonian, and grabbed his hand, "I don’t want to be rejected without a clear reason, you owe me an explanation."

"Consider it as if you owe me," Lu Zhonian said, "Song Nian, I haven’t raised you all this time just to watch you spread your wings and leave without looking back."

"I will repay you," Song Nian said desperately.

Lu Zhonian glanced over with a measuring look, asking, "How do you plan to repay me?"

Song Nian’s face paled, and she tightened her grip on Lu Zhonian’s arm, her soft and delicate features showing confusion, "I will earn money in the future, all the money I spent at the Lu Family over the years, I will repay every penny with interest."

"Do you know how much you’ve spent?" Before Song Nian could respond, Lu Zhonian pulled at her arm and dragged her upstairs.

Song Nian was caught off guard, being pulled upward by Lu Zhonian, her expression revealing discomfort.

The two stopped at the bedroom door.

Lu Zhonian pointed at the exquisite and pretty bedroom, his voice indifferent, "Everything in here was custom-made for you. Just this bed alone, you might need to repay for more than 10 years. Song Nian, maintaining you hasn’t been cheap, can the young man you like afford to keep you?"

Song Nian’s hand was very cold, whether out of despair or sadness, she did not know.

She blinked, her eyes feeling sore and painful.

"I’ll manage somehow..."

"You can’t repay it," Lu Zhonian said with increasing coldness, interrupting Song Nian’s words, "You’ll never be able to repay it."

This was the first time Song Nian wanted so desperately to escape from Lu Zhonian’s side, yet the man’s words echoed like a curse in her mind, over and over.

She could never repay it, never.

So, she was most likely to be trapped here for life, unable to move on.

Desperate, Song Nian bit her lip hard, tears falling, she pushed Lu Zhonian away and rushed downstairs.

Not long after this unpleasant birthday had passed, Lu Zhonian left again.

He never had much time to spare for himself; being able to take a break to celebrate her birthday was already him doing his best.

Song Nian felt relieved; after all, given her current circumstance, she wasn’t too keen on seeing Lu Zhonian again.

But just a few days after Lu Zhonian left, Jiang Ci met with a disaster.

His body was carried out of the mountains, already slightly swollen.

He was taken away from Song Nian, his expression serene, not looking dead, but more like he was sleeping.

Song Nian couldn’t believe her eyes, nor dare to believe that all this was real.

Not until the police handed Jiang Ci’s phone to Song Nian.

The police said, "This is the deceased’s personal effect. He had no parents, and the only contact inside is you."

Song Nian took the phone, her hands trembling.

She couldn’t even cry out loud, completely despairing to the point of breaking down, unable to react in the slightest.

That night, after dealing with Jiang Ci’s affairs, Song Nian still felt as though it was all a dream.

The cause of death the police gave was accidental death, but Song Nian didn’t believe it. How could there be so many accidents? She was more inclined to believe that it was all a deliberate scheme.

And the phone left behind by Jiang Ci sowed deeper seeds of suspicion in Song Nian.

Jiang Ci’s last call before his death was made to Lu Zhonian.

Song Nian couldn’t bring herself to believe that none of this had anything to do with Lu Zhonian.

With someone of his stature, making a person vanish silently was all too easy.

Song Nian lay in bed, staring at the phone’s glow, her jaw trembling from biting back tears, and resisting the urge to cry out loud.

Lu Zhonian returned that very night.

He sat beside Song Nian, watching the girl bury herself in the quilt, her body shuddering as she tried to contain herself.

After a moment’s hesitation, Lu Zhonian patted her shoulder, his voice very soft, "Nian Nian..."

But Song Nian, like a frightened bird, froze entirely upon hearing Lu Zhonian’s voice.

Lu Zhonian frowned, unable to see Song Nian’s face through the quilt, so he tentatively pulled it down, "Don’t cover yourself with the quilt."

"Don’t touch me!" Song Nian’s emotions were unstable, she growled lowly, "Don’t touch me!"

Lu Zhonian’s movement halted, he leisurely watched Song Nian’s figure, a trace of cold contempt sneaking into his gaze, "Song Nian, do you no longer wish to live since he’s dead?"

Those words touched Song Nian’s raw nerve.

She burst out of the quilt suddenly, her face red from crying, the corners of her eyes and brows filled with anger and grief.

She sat up straight, extending her hand towards Lu Zhonian, and shook violently, "Tell me! Was it you?"

Lu Zhonian sneered, originally still feeling pity for Song Nian’s sweat-drenched face, but now, hearing her accusation, he only found it absurd, "You think I killed him?"

"It was you! It was you!" Song Nian screamed in hysterics, crying while she shook his shoulders, "You’re responsible for his death! Lu Zhonian, you’re a murderer!"

Lu Zhonian really wanted to know what else Song Nian would do to him.

He watched her coldly, his tone as icy as dripping water, "Jiang Ci is dead, and you think I did it? Okay, I’m curious to ask you, if it really was me, what are you prepared to do?"

He asked without emotion, and Song Nian stiffened, staring blankly at him, murmuring, "You admit it... you’re admitting you did it..."

Lu Zhonian’s chest was searing with anger.

He wasn’t as calm as he imagined himself to be.

He watched as Song Nian hysterically fell apart over a man she’d only known for a short time right in front of him, his own mood just as terrible.

So, he sneered, articulating each word, "It was me, so what? Are you going to take revenge on me for him?"

As his words fell, Song Nian pulled a dagger from under the pillow and stabbed it into Lu Zhonian’s shoulder.

Such a demure girl, yet slept every night with a dagger under her pillow. Lu Zhonian always knew, but he never imagined that one day, this dagger would be aimed at himself.