Cheng Lie quietly stared at the man before him, and suddenly realized that the hatred in his heart would not disappear simply because the man had paid the price.
Seeing him, an intense loathing still churned within.
Moreover, Cheng Lie noticed that Cheng Guomin wasn’t surprised to see him appear here.
Cheng Guomin smiled at him, saying, "It appears you’ve truly inherited my ruthlessness."
Years spent silently biding his ti, only to personally deliver him to prison and shatter his family into pieces.
Not long ago, Zhao Haishuang ca to visit him. After suffering a serious illness, both her health and spirit had deteriorated—gone was her proud, commanding aura of the past.
And hasn’t he suffered the sa fate?
Even soone as cunning as Cheng Guomin was not capable of feigning as convincingly as Cheng Lie. At least, in the monts when he disguised himself, Cheng Guomin failed to notice it was all pretense.
To deceive so thoroughly—yes, that’s a skill in itself.
Watching Cheng Guomin greet him with an attitude of appreciation, rather than hatred, Cheng Lie felt a surge of nausea deep in his gut.
As if all the traps he had set, all the deeds he had done, ant nothing to Cheng Guomin.
Cheng Guomin spotted the flicker of emotion in Cheng Lie’s eyes and imdiately knew he had struck a chord.
Smiling, he said, "My son, you really make proud."
Cheng Lie abruptly stood, his cold gaze fixed on Cheng Guomin. "I am not your son."
"How can you say that? When I get out of prison, when I have nothing left, won’t I have to rely on you?"
Cheng Lie’s hand, hidden in the sleeve of his jacket, clenched tightly into a fist with such force that he didn’t even feel pain.
Only like this could he keep his emotions in check.
Coming here, he had wanted to see a regretful, broken Cheng Guomin. Yet Cheng Guomin’s attitude now seed smug, as if he took pride in Cheng Lie’s success.
Like a father beaming at his son’s accomplishnts.
But how could there be any semblance of father-son affection between them?
Cheng Guomin fixed his gaze on Cheng Lie again and said, "Xiao Lie, whether you believe it or not, when I brought you over from there, it was for your own good. Your mother’s death was an accident. Over the years, I’ve doted on you; you must’ve seen it. If it weren’t for fearing that Haishuang and Ah Huai might get jealous and bully you when I wasn’t around, I could’ve treated you even better, even hired special tutors to teach you."
Sighing, he continued, "Now, Haishuang’s ntally unstable. She claims everything was orchestrated by you. Ah Huai also fell ill and passed away, and she said you were the one who caused his death. Honestly, I don’t believe it. Even when you refused to donate bone marrow to save him, I trusted you had your own reasons."
"Xiao Lie, I know you hate . You think I’m the one who caused your mother’s death—but it wasn’t ... If watching suffer in prison for a few years can ease the hatred in your heart, I’m willing to do that."
Cheng Lie heard this and, with pitch-black eyes, stared intently at Cheng Guomin—a man old now, gazing at him with an expression of deep feeling and sincerity as he uttered these remarks.
How much of it was genuine, how much a lie—he couldn’t tell.
Yet even if Cheng Guomin’s words were dripping with sentintality, Cheng Lie wouldn’t believe a single syllable.
With the faintest curl of his lips, Cheng Lie gave a cruel smile. "I ca here to see how much you’ve suffered in prison, how you’ve aged, how you’ve grown thinner—and now I’m satisfied."
Then he stood, turned, and walked away.
Through the glass window, Cheng Guomin watched the silhouette of Cheng Lie departing.
After such a long ti apart, he had grown taller, his figure unmistakably that of an adult man.
Tall and upright, it instantly reminded Cheng Guomin of soone.
He couldn’t help but chuckle. In the past, he had perhaps refused to truly regard Cheng Lie as his son. After all, Cheng Lie wasn’t truly his—but rely a smokescreen to conceal a truth even more terrifying than an illegitimate child.
But from now on, he would treat Cheng Lie as if he were his real son.
He understood the deep darkness within Cheng Lie’s bones—the sort of thing that grows in places untouched by sunlight, nurtured over years until it beca monstrous. Killing him would actually be the easiest thing in the world.
Deep inside, Cheng Guomin harbored countless evil thoughts—thoughts even darker than Cheng Lie’s.
Thus, he understood Cheng Lie, better than Cheng Lie understood himself.
And he knew that if he didn’t treat Cheng Lie as his own flesh and blood, once released from prison, his future days would likely be bleak.
anwhile, Cheng Lie walked through the bustling streets.
The festive atmosphere of the holiday was palpable—lanterns hanging high, shops playing cheerful New Year songs.
Yet in Cheng Lie’s heart, darkness prevailed. His mind replayed Cheng Guomin’s words from earlier.
Though he didn’t want to admit it, Cheng Guomin’s words clung to him like a brand, etched deeply into his mory.
He was his son—sothing he refused to acknowledge but was nevertheless a lifelong stain.
The blood running through his veins was the sa as Cheng Guomin’s.
He felt disgusted by Cheng Guomin—so did that an he, too, was just as revolting?
With tightly pursed lips, he stood beneath the dazzling sunlight, yet still felt a bone-deep chill. His face darkened, an air of hostility suffusing him.
So children shopping with their mothers caught sight of his expression and instinctively tugged their mothers away, afraid this nacing-looking man might harm them.
Cheng Lie stood still for a long mont before taking out his phone. On the screen, a map displayed a single red dot fixed at a particular location.
He knew Yun Shifei had already arrived in Nantian Town.
The necklace he had given Yun Shifei contained a tracking device—a creation of his recent work—and she was the first person he thought of gifting it to.
Wherever she was, he could always find her instantly. Seeing that small beacon brought a fragile sense of calm to his restless heart.
At this mont, as he stared at the red dot, a bit of peace returned to him.
Then, by reflex, he dialed Yun Shifei’s number.
After a while, Yun Shifei answered.
"Cheng Lie." The girl’s bright voice ca through.
He could hear the sound of footsteps—clearly, she was speaking while walking.
"Have you arrived at your grandmother’s house?" Cheng Lie asked.
The instant he spoke, his deanor turned gentle, as though the man from earlier was soone else entirely.
"I’ve arrived." Yun Shifei replied with a smile. "And you? Are you getting ready to head to the airport?"
Yesterday, Cheng Lie had told her he had to return to Beijing today.
Yun Shifei felt bad for him coming all this way; the short trip back and forth seed exhausting.
Cheng Lie humd in confirmation. "About to leave."
"Then take care and travel safe, okay? Make sure everything goes smoothly."
Listening to the soft and sweet tone of her voice and imagining her concern for him on the other end, Cheng Lie felt his heart soften imasurably.
She cared about him. He was utterly addicted to this feeling—that in this world, soone actually cared for him like this.
She was his only light.
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