I shook my head.
“You’re very kind to me. You’re very good to me,” Ni Duoduo said softly. “Actually, even if you didn’t say it, I knew how you felt. It’s just… it’s just that I…”
"But you're going to apologize to me, right?" Luo Lie gave a bitter smile.
"I'm...I'm sorry," Ni Duoduo whispered, her voice very soft. But after a while, she suddenly spoke again, "Luo...Luo Lie. I know I'm really stupid, really stupid. No matter how much I think about him, he can't see or hear it. And...even if he could see and hear it, what could he do? He and my father are already at odds. And I, unfortunately, am my father's daughter. So, no matter how stupid I am, there's no hope between us...not even a chance. I...I know you're very good to me...I...I understand your feelings, and sometimes I'm very touched. But...I really can't accept you right now. Sometimes, I see you more as a...brother, an older brother, someone I can confide in."
Although I couldn't see Luo Lie's expression clearly, I knew it must be quite unpleasant.
As expected, Luo Lie was silent for a moment, then his voice was hoarse: "Brother...brother?"
He gave a wry smile, then sighed, "Why do girls always use such a lame excuse when they reject someone? 'I only see you as a brother'... Haha! What a cliché excuse!"
Ni Duoduo was a little nervous and quickly said, "I, I'm telling the truth."
Luo Lie waved his hand and said, "Alright, no need to say anything more. Whether it's 'brother' or real or fake, it doesn't matter what the reason is. I only know that you rejected me, and that's enough."
The two were silent for a while. Luo Lie said wearily, "Alright, we've had enough fun. Can we go back now? It's getting late."
Ni Duoduo hesitated for a moment, then suddenly gritted her teeth and said, "I...I want to go in and take a look."
"What?"
“I want to go in and take a look.” Ni Duoduo suddenly made up her mind. “I’m so tired… Luo Lie. I think about him every day, I can’t forget him, I’m so tired… Lately, I’ve been coming here a lot, downstairs, looking at this place from afar… Actually, I’m ridiculous, I know I’m ridiculous. I’ve only been to this house once before, just before we ran away. Lately, I’ve been feeling more and more that if I keep going like this, it won’t lead to anything… I, I know all that.” The girl shook her head vigorously and whispered, “Today, I just want to go in and take a look… I don’t know what I want to see, I just want to go in and see what his old house looks like now. Maybe, after seeing it, I can put an end to my last thought… Seeing his house changed, with other people living in it, maybe I can finally find peace… Then I won’t have to sneak here to look at it when I can’t sleep at night.”
Luo Lie shrugged: "If you insist on going in to see, then go in and see. It's not a big deal anyway."
As a gangster, Luo Lie wasn't one to back down. He walked past Ni Duoduo to the door, knocked, and said calmly, "I knocked for ages but there was no answer. Looks like no one's inside. If you want to go in, I'll find something and pry the door open. But let's get this straight: go in and take one look tonight, then give up on this idea. You won't need to come here at night anymore! Understand?"
Ni Duoduo nodded. Luo Lie immediately said, "Okay! You wait here, I'll go find a crowbar."
“No need.” Ni Duoduo gave a wry smile, then took a hair clip from her hair, straightened it in her hand, shook it, and said in a low voice, “You might know that I used to be a delinquent for a while, and I used to do bad things with some friends. As for unlocking, I can open it even without a key.”
After saying that, she carefully inserted the hairpin into the keyhole, then pressed her ear against the door and gently turned it...
A slight clicking sound came from the lock, then, with a click, it opened...
Ni Duoduo put away the hair clip, then seemed to smile: "You see, it seems I haven't forgotten many things."
After saying that, she grasped the doorknob and gently pushed open the door...
Part Three: The Pinnacle, Chapter 122: The Dark Room
As soon as Ni Duoduo took out the hairpin and inserted it into the keyhole, I quickly stepped back from behind the door. After a slight hesitation, I felt Fang Nan's small hand gently squeeze my palm. I smiled, then pulled her quietly to the back, lifted the curtain on the side of the living room, and the two of us hid behind the curtain.
The large, thick curtains were enough to completely conceal our figures, and their dark color made it difficult for any traces to be seen.
Fang Nan whispered in my ear, "You... you've stolen another girl's heart."
I gave a wry smile, unsure how to respond, when Ni Duoduo pushed open the door and came in. I quickly shut my mouth and stopped talking.
Light footsteps approached, and Ni Duoduo and Luo Lie had already entered the room. Luo Lie carefully closed the door behind him.
Snap!
A crisp sound rang out as Luo Lie lit a lighter in his hand, allowing Ni Duoduo to see her surroundings by the light of the small flame.
"It's a pity the power's out, but if you want to watch, hurry up and watch." Luo Lie's tone was somewhat dismissive: "After we're done watching, we need to get back quickly... Hmm? Oh? Miss Duoduo, what's wrong?"
I peeked through the gap in the curtains and saw Ni Duoduo standing there, seemingly mesmerized, her eyes fixed on the furniture in the living room. Her body was stiff, but her hands, hanging limply at her sides, trembled uncontrollably, her fingertips shaking. Her eyes, however, grew wider and wider…
"What's wrong with you?" Luo Lie immediately became alert upon seeing Ni Duoduo's strange reaction. "What's wrong?"
"This...here! Here!!" Ni Duoduo's voice was hoarse and choked with emotion, as if she was too excited to speak. Her breathing was rapid. Her chest heaved, and she squeezed out a sentence, each word trembling, "The furnishings here...haven't changed...this is his home! His home!"
"What?"
"This is his house! This is still his house!" Ni Duoduo suddenly became excited, then pointed to the surrounding furniture and exclaimed, "Look! Look! This sofa, coffee table, TV, and that table, um... and the curtains, none of them have been changed! They're exactly the same as when I came here before! Look! Even the placement is exactly the same! This is still his house! No one else has moved in!"
Ni Duoduo became more and more excited as she spoke. Her voice began to tremble, and then she screamed and ran into the bedroom next door. Then, she screamed again from inside the bedroom: "Ah!"
Luo Lie, who was standing in the living room, was startled when he heard her scream from the room. He rushed in, only to see Ni Duoduo turn around and come out, her face full of surprise: "It's in the room too! It's in the room too! I recognize that room. I came here once before, and Sister Yan Di even helped me take a bath and change my clothes. I even slept on that bed in there... and the sheets haven't even been changed!"
The girl became increasingly excited as she spoke, finally grabbing Luo Lie's hand and exclaiming, "Luo Lie, do you know what this means? Do you know? Well, if someone else bought this house, or if someone else rented it, and the owner changed, then the new occupants wouldn't possibly keep all the original furniture and decorations! Even if the furniture was discarded before, there's no reason why the bed sheets and curtains wouldn't have been changed! In other words, the house hasn't changed owners! This house still belongs to Chen Yang! My God… everything here is exactly the same as it was three years ago! And look! Look…" She quickly ran to the side, reached out and vigorously touched the sofa a few times, raising her hand and laughing, "Look! There's no dust! That means someone cleans here! That means…" She couldn't help but laugh as she spoke, "That means someone still lives here! Ah!!!"
Finally, she exclaimed again, "Maybe... ah! Maybe, just maybe, Chen Yang has come back to stay here these past few years! My God! Why didn't I think of coming in to take a look before! If I had come in sooner, maybe I could have run into him here..."
She was overjoyed by the discovery before her, but she didn't notice that Luo Lie's expression was growing increasingly grim. Luo Lie couldn't help but discourage her, saying, "Miss Duoduo, don't overthink it. Everyone knows that guy has been in Canada for the past few years. How could he possibly come back to live in this small place?"
“…” Ni Duoduo was speechless.
Indeed, I have been in Canada for the past few years, that's an indisputable fact, and Ni Duoduo herself has met with me twice in Canada. Since I don't have the magic to be in two places at once, it's impossible for me to have moved into this house in China.
Ni Duoduo was momentarily disappointed, but then she mustered her hope again and said, "Hmm... well, maybe he stayed here recently, who knows! Ah! That's right! Chen Yang is a very sentimental person! After he returned to China, he might have secretly come here to visit! Yes, that's right, he must have been to this place before!"
I sighed. Ni Duoduo really does understand me quite well; her later speculations were basically accurate. I am indeed a very sentimental person, which is why I came here in the middle of the night to take a look.
"Hmph!" Luo Lie's face was grim in the flickering flame of the lighter. He liked Ni Duoduo, and seeing her so excited naturally displeased him. He couldn't help but retort, "Alright, Miss Duoduo, it's very simple to know whether anyone has lived here before!"
After saying that, he strode to the kitchen, yanked open the refrigerator door, and shouted, "Look! Look!"
The refrigerator was empty, with no food inside, and it wasn't even plugged in.
"There's not a single thing to eat in the fridge! What does that mean? It means nobody lives here!" Luo Lie said angrily. Then he strode towards the bedroom, quickly opened the wardrobe, and shouted, "See that? The wardrobe is empty too! Not a single piece of clothing! No food in the fridge, no clothes in the wardrobe! Doesn't that prove anything? Are you still not convinced? This is an empty house! An empty house that nobody lives in!"
Ni Duoduo swayed in the dim firelight. The hope on her face faded little by little, and then she suddenly shouted at Luo Lie, "Why did you do this! Why!!" She suddenly ran over and started pounding her fists on Luo Lie's body, her voice already trembling with tears, "Why! Why did you say these things! I just had a glimmer of hope, just that glimmer of hope! And you had to be so cruel as to shatter it!"
Luo Lie let Ni Duoduo pound on him. He didn't flinch, but simply sighed softly, "Miss Duoduo, we agreed that you could come in and take a look for a while. Then you would give up those fantasies and obediently come back with me. Now you've seen it all..."
"No!" Ni Duoduo stubbornly shouted, "No matter what, the furniture and decorations here are clearly still the way he left them! It means the owner of this house hasn't changed! It means..."
"That doesn't prove anything," Luo Lie said calmly. "Have you forgotten? We've already checked; the owner of this house has changed. Someone else bought it. As for why the furniture and decorations haven't changed... Hmph. Maybe the woman who bought this house is one of the many women he abandoned! Just like you, she's still hung up on him, using a house to while away her idle fantasies! Anyway, you know that guy has so many women! Who knows if she's one of them!"
These words made me feel a little strange as I hid behind the curtains. A slight pain shot through my palm. It turned out Fang Nan had pinched me lightly. I turned to look at her; her eyes held a hint of resentment.
Sigh, it's true, this kid named Luo Lie, though his words were blunt, did say the truth... At least this house was indeed bought by Fang Nan to remember me, and all these years, I have indeed wronged Fang Nan, leaving her in the country without any regard for her, leaving her to live in an empty house and miss me...
Indeed. These were my mistakes.
Luo Lie's words not only stirred my heart, but even Ni Duoduo was stunned for a moment upon hearing them. Her hands stopped moving.
"Alright, we've seen it all, let's go." Luo Lie sighed, took Ni Duoduo's arm, and was about to leave when his gaze suddenly swept over the bedroom next door...
The two of them stood at the bedroom doorway in the living room. From Luo Lie's angle, he could see the bed inside the bedroom perfectly...
The young man had only glanced at it casually at first, but when his eyes suddenly fell on the bed in the bedroom, his expression changed instantly!
Suddenly pulling Ni Duoduo behind him, Luo Lie said in a deep voice, "Duoduo, were you lying on the bed in the room just now?"
"...Lie down? No." Ni Duoduo was somewhat confused.
"Hey!" Luo Lie gritted his teeth, then suddenly pulled a gun from his chest and shouted, "Come out!!"
Seeing Luo Lie's actions, including drawing his gun, Ni Duoduo was startled: "Luo Lie! What are you doing? What's wrong?"
Luo Lie's face darkened, his eyes scanning the surroundings as he muttered, "I can't believe I misjudged! Hey! There are clear signs that someone just walked on the bed inside! The sheets and blankets have marks indicating that someone just lay down and stepped on them! There's someone here!"
I sighed. This kid does have some skills; he's a talent. Indeed, I had just carried Fang Nan into the room and put her on the bed, and we even made love for a bit, but I hadn't made the sheets. He saw through that.
Luo Lie's eyes searched around. The house wasn't big to begin with, and the living room was only a dozen square meters. Where could someone possibly hide? Luo Lie's gaze naturally fell on the large curtains!
"Come out! If you don't, I'll shoot," he said in a deep voice.
I sighed, then smiled and said, "I didn't expect to be found out." I casually lifted a corner of the curtain and stepped out, with Fang Nan holding my hand tightly as she followed behind me.
The moment I stepped out from behind the curtains, Ni Duoduo, who was standing behind Luo Lie, widened her eyes in surprise!
She almost broke free from Luo Lie's grasp, stared at me in disbelief, and finally cried out in a trembling voice, "Chen Yang! Is it really you?"
I smiled slightly, then glanced at her, sighed, and whispered, "Duoduo, you...sigh, you're too silly."
Ni Duoduo burst into tears on the spot. She suddenly tried to run towards me, but Luo Lie held her arm tightly. Ni Duoduo struggled a couple of times but couldn't break free. She couldn't help but shout angrily, "Luo Lie! Let go of me!"
Luo Lie's face was grim, and in his other hand, he gripped the gun tightly, pointing it at me: "No! Miss! He is your father's mortal enemy!"
Then, he glared at me: "Chen Yang? Hmph, the famous Fifth Brother! We meet again! But I didn't expect to meet under these circumstances. Now what do you have to say?"
I raised an eyebrow: "What can I say? What do you mean?"
"Hmph! Now I've got a gun pointed at you." Luo Lie gritted his teeth: "If I pull the trigger, Brother Huan will immediately lose one of his mortal enemies!"
Before I could speak, Ni Duoduo screamed, "Luo Lie! Put down your gun!"
Luo Lie frowned, then suddenly swung his hand and struck Ni Duoduo on the back of the neck. Before Ni Duoduo could say anything, she slumped to the ground and fainted. Luo Lie caught her with one hand, then continued staring at me: "How are you?"
"Not very impressive." I frowned at the young man. "You actually knocked her unconscious... Hmm, that was a clean and swift move. Did Jin He teach you kung fu? You think you can kill me?"
"Hmph... In this situation, even if I knock Duoduo unconscious, her father won't blame me when I get back; he'll only praise me! But you, Chen Yang, what makes you think I can't kill you! The gun is in my hand right now..."
"Then go ahead and shoot." I shrugged, but took a small step forward without making a sound, using my body to shield Fang Nan behind me.
Luo Lie's expression turned grim. He gripped the gun but dared not pull the trigger.
I laughed: "You wouldn't dare shoot, Luo Lie... You're a smart man. You should know that since I'm here, how could I not have men with me? Even if you could kill me, my men are outside, and you certainly wouldn't survive. You're not someone blindly loyal to Ye Huan. You don't need to trade your life for mine... right? Besides, do you think you can kill me just because you have a gun? Over the years, I don't know how many times I've had a gun pointed at me. But I'm still alive."
Part Three: The Pinnacle, Chapter 123: Reincarnation
Luo Lie's gaze softened slightly, and in that moment of distraction, I suddenly flung out a dagger that I had been holding in my palm!
call out!
The dim lighting in the room somewhat hampered Luo Lie's reaction speed. He let out a low shout, and then I heard a clang as my dagger knocked the gun out of his hand.
I held back and didn't hurt him; I just knocked his gun away.
The dagger, carrying the gun, flew all the way to the corner of the wall. Luo Lie was, after all, a formidable character. Instead of grabbing the gun after losing it, he yelled and lunged at me first!
His choice was correct, and his reaction wasn't slow either; it's just a pity that his skills are still far inferior to mine. After all, according to the records, three years ago he was just a low-level hoodlum. Although Ye Huan has put a lot of effort into training him over the past three years, and Jin He even taught him kung fu, good skills can't be developed in just two or three years.
The moment he lunged forward, my fist slammed into his chin. An uppercut sent him sprawling into the air before he crashed backward.
This kid is stubborn. After falling to the ground, he immediately sprang up, crouched down, and stared at me intently. He was quick to react; having just suffered a setback, he immediately realized that a head-on confrontation wouldn't work, so he adopted a more aggressive stance, looking for an opportunity.
I smiled, gestured for Fang Nan to step back a little, then walked up to him and looked him up and down. Suddenly, I said, "You...does Ye Huan often have you spar with him?"
"How did you know?" Luo Lie blurted out, then immediately understood: "Hmph, Brother Huan used to make you spar with him, didn't he?"
I watched as this guy stared at me like a little tiger cub. I couldn't help but chuckle, then a thought struck me, and I whispered, "Hmm, that's right, I did spar with him a lot back in the day." Then I glanced at him: "Your stance is pretty good, but your lower body is a bit stiff..."
As I spoke, I twisted and charged forward. He immediately assumed a double dragon playing with a pearl stance, his two fists coming at me one after the other. I dodged with a quick movement and hooked my foot, knocking him to the ground. Then I took two steps back and laughed, "Again."