Water and Fire~Chapter 133.1: Unlock and Add Request

 

Chapter 133.1: Unlock and Add Request

Time went back to the night the incident occurred.

Chu Qianmiao ran downstairs and ran into the arms of Ren Yan, who was on his way. Ren Yan handed her to Gu Miaoyu, instructing her to take her home and apply a facial mask.

He watched them get into the car, then turned back and went upstairs, heading straight for the Xinfeng Law Firm.

Arriving at the Xinfeng Law Firm entrance, Ren Yan dragged Qiao Zhixin to the door. He grabbed Qiao Zhixin by the collar and beat him hard.

Then he dragged Qiao Zhixin to a dark corner in the hallway. He had smoked there before and remembered there were no security cameras.

There he beat Qiao Zhixin severely.

Thinking of Chu Qianmiao's swollen face, panicked expression, and trembling body, Ren Yan's anger surged, and each punch he delivered was heavier than the last. He was so furious he couldn't stop.

Later, Lei Zhenzi, who had been stuck in traffic, raced to the scene and finally managed to separate Qiao Zhixin before Ren Yan could kill him.

Lei Zhenzi urged Ren Yan to calm down. "Is it worth it to beat him to death and then face legal action for this scumbag? Just a couple more punches," he said, striking Qiao Zhixin twice.

Lei Zhenzi later said he had never seen Ren Yan so angry. He was stunned. Ever since he met Ren Yan, he had felt his emotions were controlled by a switch. He had never seen Ren Yan lose control of his emotions like this for anyone.

It was precisely because of this usually restrained and self-controlled person that once he let loose his emotions, it was like a landslide.

Lei Zhenzi worried that Ren Yan, in his rage, would lose control and actually beat Qiao Zhixin to death or cripple him.

He quickly dragged Qiao Zhixin, like a stray dog, toward the elevator, saying to Ren Yan as he walked, "Ren, don't go anywhere. Just wait here. I'll go deal with him first."

Ren Yan leaned against the wall, catching his breath and calming himself.

Just then, Tan Shen appeared with a lunch box. He was delivering takeout for Chu Qianmiao.

The two brothers, who had agreed at the overseas returnee gathering to "stay away from her," had unexpectedly run into each other at the door of her law firm.

Tan Shen had been drinking before his arrival, and, high on alcohol, he hurled the lunch box at Ren Yan.

He pointed at Ren Yan's nose and angrily demanded, "What do you mean? Didn't we agree to stay away from her? What are you doing now? What do you want to do to her?"

Tan Shen roared like a madman, "Why the hell are you harassing her again?"

Ren Yan's anger, fueled by Qiao Zhixin, hadn't yet subsided. Seeing Tan Shen again and facing his questioning, he lost his usual composure. He coldly replied, "What right do you have to ask me what Iam doing now? Aren't you also harassing her by rubbing your body? What kind of a good person are you?"

Ren Yan never cursed, but this was the harshest thing he had ever said.

Tan Shen immediately went berserk. He lunged at Ren Yan, punching him in the mouth.

"I'll let you curse me, and I'll smash your mouth. I'll let you curse."

Ren Yan punched him back, then pushed him away, unwilling to engage him any further. He pushed open the stairwell door and left.

Tan Shen pointed at his back, cursing at the top of his lungs, his voice cracking. In the dark corridor, he looked like a mad beast.

"Ren Yan, you're treacherous, you're a worthless villain! Ren Yan, don't worry, I'll never let you off the hook."

Amidst his shouts and curses, Ren Yan hurried down the stairs. He was afraid if he slowed down, he'd lose his mind and turn around to fight Tan Shen to the death.

He drove all the way home at top speed.

Entering the bathroom, he saw a self he'd never seen before in the mirror. His face was sullen, his eyes cold, and his demeanor radiated murderous intent.

The corner of his mouth had also been cracked by Tan Shen, and blood still clung to it.

He turned on the faucet, rinsed away the blood, and poured handfuls of cold water over his face. Reason finally returned.

After calming down, he made a decision. He planned to have Chu Qianmiao transfer to Litong and put her under his wing, so he could feel at ease.

The phone rang. It was Lei Zhenzi.

As soon as Ren Yan answered, Lei Zhenzi thunderously asked, "Where are you? Are you home?"

Ren Yan replied, "I'm home."

Besides Lei Zhenzi's voice, the taxi navigation system also rang through the receiver. He was in a taxi.

"I just dealt with that bastard, and when I came back to look for you, you were gone. That bastard was so damned shameless, I almost wanted to kill him. I tried to get him a taxi and tell him to get out of here, but he just lay on the ground and clung to my pants leg, insisting I treat him. He even asked my name and threatened to sue me. I'm so f*cking awful! I only just got rid of him and got in a taxi now."

Lei Zhenzi told Ren Yan, "I was on my way to your house." After a pause, he asked Ren Yan, "Ren, are you okay tonight?"

"Don't come. Go back to your own place." Ren Yan rubbed his forehead and told him calmly, "Nothing. I'm going to bed. I'm hanging up."

Before hanging up, he softly said, "Thanks, brother."

This was the first time Chu Qianmiao had heard the complete story of what happened that night from one of the people involved. The true situation was this.

Outside the café, the sky was already overcast, a heavy rain, trapped within a sky full of clouds, seemed poised to fall. A wind picked up everywhere, and even through the glass, one could hear the rustling of branches outside.

The impending storm outside made the small corner of the café seem especially warm and peaceful.

Chu Qianmiao looked up and suddenly asked Ren Yan, "Did you bring an umbrella?"

Ren Yan was startled, unprepared for such a sudden change of subject. He shook his head, but then said, "There's a supermarket nearby. If it rains later, I'll go buy an umbrella."

As soon as he finished speaking, the rain began to fall, large droplets pattering against the glass. The world outside grew blurry. Chu Qianmiao's once confused and uncertain mind began to clear up.

Her throat ached with thirst. Seeing that Ren Yan's glass was still half full, she reached out and grabbed his glass without a second thought, bringing it to her lips and taking a long sip. After finishing her drink, she naturally returned the cup to Ren Yan.

A faint lip print remained on the rim of the cup.

After moistening her throat, she raised her eyes, looked at Ren Yan, and asked, "Did you already know that there was a surveillance camera installed in the dark corner of the Xinfeng Law Firm's corridor when you hit Qiao Zhixin?"

Ren Yan glanced at her, his gaze deep.

He picked up the cup, turned it, and brought it to his lips, right where her lip print was, and drank from it. After setting it down, he licked his lips.

Chu Qianmiao watched his actions, her throat suddenly burning.

He was breaking the rules again.

Ren Yan put down his water glass, answered her question, and nodded. "I want to know why you waited over a year to deal with Qiao Zhixin, and why you wouldn't tell me about it."

Chu Qianmiao's mind raced. "So, you found a way to contact Wang Jun and help him resolve the allegations made by Qiao Zhixin, and helped him strengthen his resolve to hand over the materials on Qiao Zhixin's illegal activities to me."

Ren Yan nodded.

Chu Qianmiao sighed inwardly. She had wanted to take some responsibility for him, but in the end, he had taken on more of the responsibility. He was like a knight in black, hiding in the shadows, always helping her.

"Why didn't you tell me you were secretly helping me?"

"If you don't want me to know, then I don't know."

The raindrops pounded the glass, and also pierced Chu Qianmiao's heart, each drop a sour note.

Chu Qianmiao called the waiter over and ordered two cups of hot chocolate. A sweet drink at this time would bring some comfort.

Ren Yan asked the waiter to wait, wanting to change the hot chocolate for water. Chu Qianmiao narrowed her eyes at him. He saw her expression, which was exactly the same as the displeasure of the yellow cat when it wasn't satisfied.

He sent the waiter away, not changing the drinks. "Let's have the hot chocolate, that kind of kiddie drink. What's wrong with sharing it with her once? If it makes her happy."

The hot chocolate arrived quickly. Chu Qianmiao sipped as she asked, "I remember when I was working on an acquisition project in Shanghai, you came by once. Yes, it was on your birthday. But you left without seeing me. Did something happen that time? After that, your attitude towards me started to fluctuate again."

Ren Yan's gaze shifted from the sweet-smelling hot chocolate to Chu Qianmiao's face. He looked at her and nodded.

It was indeed Ren Yan's birthday, but he was supposed to fly directly from the project site to Beijing for a meeting, but for some unknown reason he ended up in Shanghai.

He took a taxi to Chu Qianmiao's hotel. Her room was dark; she wasn't there. He sat in the cafe on the first floor, waiting for her, though he didn't quite admit it.

Later, Tan Shen and Chu Qianmiao entered the hotel together. He deliberately positioned himself to her right, obscuring her view and preventing her from noticing Ren Yan sitting in the open-plan cafe.

Tan Shen and Chu Qianmiao went upstairs.

Ren Yan watched them walk together and decided to finish his coffee, run something, then check out and return to Beijing overnight.

He wanted to talk to Tan Shen. He wanted to ask him what he was thinking. What kind of situation did he intend for this innocent girl to be caught between them?

As Ren Yan was finishing his last sip of coffee, Tan Shen appeared.

He took a seat across from Ren Yan and smiled again.

"Senior Ren," he called his cousin, his words dripping with sarcasm and teasing.

"Senior Ren, I want to talk to you," he said.

Ren Yan looked at the person across from him. This was clearly the closest person to him in the world, a blood-related family. Yet, they were so repulsed by each other, wishing they could become completely strangers.

He asked Tan Shen coldly and mockingly, "Is there anything we can talk about?"

Tan Shen nodded at him, his face defiant, "Of course. After all, we both like the same person, right?"

The rest of their conversation was a scathing exchange of swords and sharp criticism.

Finally, Tan Shen said, "Senior Ren, aren't you single? If you're single, you should distance yourself from her, right?"

Ren Yan stared at Tan Shen, his face expressionless and silent.

After a long pause, he sneered at Tan Shen. "Why don't I get married? Don't you know? The unhappy marriages of my elders have made me afraid of marriage. But isn't it you, my dear cousin, who really holds me back? With you around, you'll do everything you can to ensure my girlfriend ends up cheating on you, won't you? With a cousin so determined not to see me happy, how can I get married?"

Tan Shen sneered back. "You deserve it. Don't sound so aggrieved." He placed one hand on the sleeve of his other, pinching a button. "After my aunt passed away, my father insisted on bringing you home. He treated you better than his own son. Whenever Mom had the slightest objection, he'd accuse her of having a man outside and kick her out. If it weren't for you, Mom wouldn't have gotten sick, and she wouldn't have died so early. You've deprived me of family warmth. Why should you?"

He paused buttoning his shirt, his face settling as he said to Ren Yan, "But I'm not here to rehash these past events. I came to you today to solemnly tell you, Ren Yan, I'm tired."

His tone was truly weary. When he said he was tired, he seemed like a different person. The rage in his body had vanished, like a child, exhausted and wanting to go home after wandering for so long.

"Ren Yan, from today on, let's be even. I don't want to steal the woman next to you to get even with you. I like Chu Qianmiao, truly. I missed her once, and I don't want to miss her again. Ren Yan, let me pursue her, but don't bother her. From now on, we'll just live our lives, you and I, and we'll be even."

Ren Yan was stunned.

Tan Shen: "Don't have any inappropriate thoughts about her. She's my woman, completely and utterly mine. You two can't be together. If she knew you and I were brothers, she wouldn't be able to get over it. So why don't you just back off and let her be with me?"

Ren Yan looked at Tan Shen for a long moment. He asked, "Are you serious?"

Tan Shen looked at him, his face clear of anger, revenge, or confrontation. He answered, "Yes."

"I'm serious about her."

"Yes."

"You're serious about letting me go from now on." Ren Yan could hardly believe it.

"You should thank her," Tan Shen said seriously. "Her power is greater than yours. Before, my desire to be with her couldn't overcome my desire for revenge against you. But now it's different. My desire to be with her has finally surpassed my desire to make you unhappy."

Ren Yan looked at him and asked, "What do you like about her?"

Is it because she likes me, or because I like her, that's why you like her?

Tan Shen chuckled. "My love for her is truly not that superficial. But I don't think I need to tell you. I don't need to tell anyone. I keep it to myself."

These words sounded genuine.

Ren Yan's thoughts swirled in his mind. Each twist brought a pang of pain to his heart.

He thought Tan Shen was right. Chu Qianmiao had always been Tan Shen's girlfriend. They were deeply involved. If the knot between the three of them was to be resolved, it seemed only a perfect combination of Tan Shen and Chu Qianmiao would be possible. As for him and Chu Qianmiao, there was Tan Shen, his grandmother, and the unbearable humiliation of a girl with two brothers. If Tan Shen could stop being so entangled with him, treat her well, and make her happy, and she agreed to it, that would be a good outcome.

He was confused, but he just thought, perhaps this was the best outcome.

He said to Tan Shen, "Okay, if you are sincere about her, I won't recruit her and I'll withdraw. But I will watch you. You must truly treat her well, not betray her or hurt her. If you betray her in the future, our current agreement will be voided immediately."

Chu Qianmiao raised her hand and took the hot chocolate from Ren Yan's eyes, bringing it to herself.

Finally, after hearing this, she still...

She couldn't help but get angry.

Outside, raindrops pattered against the glass, and the wind blew sideways, flipping umbrellas on the street.

Chu Qianmiao's mood was accentuated by the raging wind and rain, making it even more furious and tragic.

Ren Yan tried to hold her hand, but she dodged him.

He sincerely apologized and begged for forgiveness.

"No forgiveness, no forgiveness." Chu Qianmiao's face puffed up with anger. "Ren Yan, is your love IQ a sham? Your brother's not normal, and you're not normal too. You're both eighty years old, and you're still playing around with women? Is your higher education fake? Did you buy your diploma off a telephone pole?"

Her face flushed with anger, and she hurled sharp insults at him.

Seeing her lively, angry expression, he felt that even if the wind and rain grew stronger, his heart would still warm.

He nodded and apologized to everything she said to him.