Twisted Dreams-Chapter 206 - 176: Liu Changgen
The bar was almost empty of guests.
Zhi Qiluo was wiping the tables, occasionally sneaking glances at Li Yang, who was reading by the window.
Her beautiful eyes shone with admiration.
She felt more and more that following such a boss was the right choice.
Although she didn’t know what exactly the desire Li Yang spoke of was.
Yang Xiao kept his head down, diligently tidying up the bar counter.
The door was pushed open, and slow-paced footsteps could be heard.
Yang Xiao looked up and said with a smile:
"Sorry, we’re closed."
The visitor was an elderly man who appeared to be over eighty, frail and weak, with almost no hair left.
He was wearing a hospital gown, with an old coat over it, and a catheter attached to his abdomen.
Yang Xiao recognized the old man’s appearance, and his smile froze!
This is... this is...
Why would this old man be here!
The old man struggled to reach the bar, breathing heavily.
Walking from the entrance to here was like running a full marathon for a critically ill man.
The old man adjusted his breathing and smiled kindly:
"Young man, is the boss here?"
Yang Xiao sharply turned his head to look at Li Yang, who was reading near the bar, and swallowed hard.
Who exactly is this boss!
The old man followed Yang Xiao’s gaze to Li Yang, and a trace of shock appeared in his eyes.
Others might not see it, but he could see the noble aura around Li Yang.
His sharp eyes were amazed the moment he saw Li Yang, just like the first time Su Yutang saw Li Yang.
The old man said seriously:
"Thank you."
The old man walked towards Li Yang and stopped in front of the table.
Li Yang seemed not to notice, completely absorbed in reading.
The two appeared frozen in time, as the space gradually grew silent.
Yang Xiao wanted to remind Li Yang, but unsure of the situation, he dared not say a word.
The old man moved, bowing respectfully:
"I am Liu Changgen, I’ve met with you, sir!"
Liu Changgen, Director of the Imperial Capital’s Discipline Bureau, head of the Liu Family, one of the Four Great Families of the Imperial Capital.
This was a true figure, whose mere footstep at home would cause the entire Imperial Capital to tremble.
Yang Xiao’s pupils contracted violently!
Such a person, such a person was so respectfully addressing his boss as sir!
And the main thing is, it seemed like it was their first meeting!
Li Yang turned a new page:
"I’ve heard of you."
Liu Changgen chuckled:
"Then I am truly honored, to have caught the attention of someone as important as you."
Li Yang pointed towards the dumbfounded Yang Xiao and said:
"He mentioned you to me."
Liu Changgen glanced back at Yang Xiao, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth:
"White Asura, Yang Xiao.
If tomorrow I am still alive, I will visit the He Family and withdraw the wanted notice against you.
As for the Extraordinary World’s pursuit of you, it’s something beyond my control."
The Extraordinary World’s pursuit of Yang Xiao referred to the Talisman Sect’s pursuit of him.
Liu Changgen had been bedridden for the past two months, but even during his bed-ridden chemotherapy, he was kept informed of the latest news in the Imperial Capital.
He once told himself that even the day before his death, he should not give up the pursuit of power.
He was a thoroughgoing ambitious person.
Yang Xiao squinted his eyes.
Withdraw the wanted notice against me?
Is it that good?
I’ve committed quite a few offenses over the years.
By the way, why does Liu Changgen believe he might not live to see tomorrow?
Is it because the person he’s seeing today is my boss?
Knowing that seeing my boss today might lead to his death, he still insists on meeting?
What kind of benefit could make a person like Liu Changgen take such a huge risk?
Yang Xiao restrained the shock on his face, revealing a gentle smile, clasping his fists:
"Then, I wish you can live till tomorrow."
Li Yang glanced at Yang Xiao and said:
"You two may get off work now."
Yang Xiao and Zhi Qiluo bowed slightly, not daring to linger, and quickly walked out of the bar.
.......
Liu Changgen pointed to the chair in front of Li Yang:
"May I sit down?"
In his critically ill condition, standing for even a second was torment.
Li Yang nodded:
"Please, go ahead."
Liu Changgen pulled out a chair and sat down.
His murky old eyes fixed intently on Li Yang, and he slowly opened his mouth:
"Recently, I’ve been dreaming of a cat.
That cat claims to be the messenger of a great being.
That great being can help me get through this difficulty.
I’ve been wondering if this dream indicates something.
Following this dream, I found this bar and met you."
No wonder Suzu had been acting extra haughty lately, she had already prepared a big gift.
Li Yang continued to read with a nonchalant tone:
"Dreams are a reflection of the real world, a mirror of human desires."
Having said that, Li Yang lifted his gaze, his eyes as deep as a lakebed seemed to peer into Liu Changgen’s soul, as he murmured:
"So, what is your desire?"
Liu Changgen’s face took on a look of reminiscence.
Liu Changgen was seventy-five years old this year, the oldest patriarch among the Four Great Families.
Fifty-five years ago, he rode a tricycle from the countryside to this power-symbolizing city.
He did not have an illustrious family background like the other patriarchs, he was just an ordinary country boy.
A fortune teller said he would be a late bloomer.
He joined the army at eighteen and transitioned to the Imperial Capital’s Discipline Bureau at thirty-six.
Over the years, he endured countless grievances and hardships; if he didn’t reach the pinnacle of power, what was the point of all those sufferings?
He wanted to climb higher, traditional thinking pushed him to bring glory to his ancestors, to make the ’Liu’ family shrine honored because of him.
However, without a strong background, a division-level position was his ceiling.
Fortunately, the old director saw a diligent shadow of his former self in Liu Changgen.
So, he married his daughter to Liu Changgen.
At that time, the old director’s daughter was already pregnant with someone else’s child.
The old director wielded significant power in the Imperial Capital, himself from officialdom, his wife in business; his daughter was undoubtedly regarded as a prominent figure in the Beijing Circle.
To progress, Liu Changgen decisively abandoned his wife of many years and married the willful woman.
Later, Liu Changgen finally rose to the director position, and through his wife’s family’s wealth, he became the patriarch of one of the Four Great Families.
Everyone said Liu Changgen had doggedly lucked into marrying a much younger lady of wealth.
Over the years, Liu Changgen’s personal life hadn’t gone well.
That woman’s temper was too volatile, too domineering.
Even when he tried a bite of his wife’s diet meal at the dinner table, the chopsticks would be thrown away.
Though he was the patriarch of the Liu Family, he had to adhere to his wife’s every whim.
Many old brothers, after achieving success, would find several concubines.
But Liu Changgen dared not.
Even though he loved his first wife very much, he dared not go to her bedside before her death.
When his first wife died of illness, the ruthless man hadn’t even provided financial aid.
He knew that, even though the father-in-law passed, and he now held immense power, he couldn’t do without his wife’s financial backing, he couldn’t defy her.
He knew that his unhappy marriage was his own doing, a price to pay as an ambitious person.
But he was going to die, die in the pursuit of power.
Severe illness, uncurable, surviving only through chemotherapy.
Liu Changgen was unwilling.
After giving so much, why should illness take everything away?!
Was he not trying hard enough, not giving it his all?
Could those who always shout about hard work, truly accomplish what he did?
He was ruthless to those around him, and even more so to himself!
He knew well that to gain five points of reward, ten points of effort were needed.
For ten points of reward, he absolutely exerted twenty points of effort!
In the end, he overcame his modest background but lost to his overworked body.
Liu Changgen was unwilling.
