The young man only felt a severe pain on his forehead before collapsing to the ground, body stiff, with eyes wide open and a bullet hole on his forehead from which fresh blood flowed out.
At this moment, several figures hurriedly ran towards the area. The one leading was Xiao Liu, followed by several burly men. When Xiao Liu saw the two dead bodies on the ground, he paused slightly, then quickly walked over to Lu Tianxing, calling out in a low voice, "Brother Lu."
Lu Tianxing looked at Xiao Liu, nodded, and said, "Xiao Liu, you’re here. These two bodies are a bother. I don’t want them to be seen by others."
"No problem, leave it to me to take care of."
Xiao Liu nodded towards Lu Tianxing, gestured to the burly men behind him to clean up the two bodies on the ground, and soon, the spot was wiped clean, without a trace of blood to be seen.
After finishing, Xiao Liu glanced at Lin Qianru, who was standing a little distance away with her head down, understood the situation without asking any questions, and said, "Brother Lu, if there’s nothing else, I’ll be leaving first."
"Xiao Liu, thank you for your trouble this time." Lu Tianxing turned his head to glance at Lin Qianru and nodded again.
"Brother Lu, you’re too polite. If it wasn’t for you back in the day, I, Xiao Liu, would’ve already died within the Sky Alliance. How could I have seen today?" Xiao Liu said with a smile.
After saying this, Xiao Liu called his men to the car and left the Huangpu River, leaving only Lu Tianxing and Lin Qianru behind.
As he watched Xiao Liu leave, Lu Tianxing, with a sullen expression, walked over to Lin Qianru without saying a word. He picked her up despite her struggles, walked to the front of the BMW, opened the passenger door, and placed Lin Qianru in the seat. He then sat down in the driver’s seat and didn’t drive away but instead lit up a cigarette and smoked in silence.
The inside of the car fell into silence. Lin Qianru curled up in the passenger seat, her face pale, contemplating something.
It was a long while before Lu Tianxing threw away the cigarette in his hand and spoke, "Why did you do this? Do you know that if I had been even a little later, you would have died?"
"No reason. Besides, death might be the best escape for me," Lin Qianru said calmly.
"But, I don’t want you to die. I want you to live," he responded.
Upon hearing Lu Tianxing’s words, Lin Qianru’s body trembled, and a strong surge of emotion welled up in her heart. She felt an urge to throw herself into Lu Tianxing’s arms and weep uncontrollably. Yet, deep inside, a voice was telling her that it was impossible between her and Lu Tianxing; they were from two different worlds now because Lu Tianxing was already married, and his wife was her best friend and boss.
Seeing Lin Qianru silent, Lu Tianxing’s mouth showed a trace of a bitter smile: "Qian Ru, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hide it from you, I..."
Before Lu Tianxing could finish his words, Lin Qianru interrupted him, saying, "Tianxing, you don’t need to apologize to me. Do you remember what I once told you? If one day I grow tired of you, I’ll leave on my own. Now, I find that I am indeed tired of you, so I want to tell you, let’s break up! From now on, there will be no relationship between us. I will also resign from Bai Zhiqing and completely leave Bai’s Group to go to a place where no one knows me, to live the life I want..."
After finishing, Lin Qianru’s face showed a desolate smile. Perhaps this outcome was the best for the three of them because there always has to be one who backs away in a love story. She did not want to see Lu Tianxing in pain, so she chose to withdraw.
Hearing Lin Qianru’s words, Lu Tianxing’s body shook, and he turned his head sharply, his eyes flickering as he stared at Lin Qianru and said forcefully, "Then do you remember what I have said? If you ever want to leave my side, I would tie you to me because you are mine, Lu Tianxing’s, for your whole life."
"But what’s the point? You and Bai Zhiqing are already married. Do you intend to leave her and marry me? If you do that, I would despise you even more, because that is not what a man does. Furthermore, I can see that Bai Zhiqing has started to like you, fell in love with you just like I did, willing to give up everything for you. She loves you very much. I do not want to be the reason for ruining the feelings between you two; after all, when it comes down to it, I am just the ’other woman’."
"No, you’re not the ’other woman’."
Lu Tianxing looked at Lin Qianru, sighed, and said, "Do you still remember when I told you that I was married?"
Lin Qianru nodded her head. During her time with Lu Tianxing, she had never noticed a call from his wife, nor had he returned home all night. Likewise, there hadn’t been a single call from his wife, and it was for this reason that she truly believed that Lu Tianxing was not married. She thought that the claims of having a wife were just Lu Tianxing’s excuse to play around for a few more years and deceive her.
After all, if Lu Tianxing was truly married, a husband not returning home all night would, for any woman, warrant at least a phone call to check whereabouts or whether something had happened! As Lu Tianxing never received such calls, this naturally reinforced the idea in her heart that Lu Tianxing was not married.
Looking at Lin Qianru, Lu Tianxing lit himself another cigarette and began to slowly recount everything, revealing the entire history between himself and Bai Zhiqing to Lin Qianru. He didn’t want to continue deceiving the woman who loved him deeply.
"In fact, I didn’t lie to you back then; I was indeed married, even having picked up the marriage certificate from the civil affairs bureau, legally recognized as husband and wife..."
Upon hearing this, Lin Qianru’s fingers unconsciously tightened, and a self-mocking smile appeared on her face. So that was it.
Lu Tianxing paused for a moment, then continued, "However, my marriage with Bai Zhiqing wasn’t as you think—it wasn’t out of mutual love. Our marriage was a contract marriage. In other words, as long as the contract we signed before getting married expires, or if Bai Zhiqing grows tired, the marriage can be directly terminated."
"Why?" Lin Qianru asked instinctively. In her mind, Bai Zhiqing was always proud and aloof; if she didn’t know Lu Tianxing, she would never have married him, not even a contract marriage.
Lu Tianxing did not immediately answer her question, but instead looked at Lin Qianru and asked, "Do you know Bai Zhiqing’s father, Bai Shan?"
Lin Qianru did not speak, just silently nodded. Of course, she knew who Bai Shan was—a father worse than a beast, ready to do anything for money. There were several times when Bai Qiao Mountain caused chaos within Bai’s Group, even threatening to sell Bai Zhiqing off for money. As a veteran of Bai’s Group, how could she not know about these things.
PS: I have some matters to attend to these next few days, so I might only be able to guarantee two updates. Tomorrow or the day after, I’ll go to the hospital for a check-up; damn, I’ve been itching all over, hardly in the mood to type. My back, hands, thighs—are covered in red bumps. I will find time to get examined at the hospital and hope it’s nothing serious!!