rose ashes

Luo Yang had a good sleep that night, a rare night without dreams, and slept soundly until the sun was high in the sky.

When he woke up, Ye Gu was not around as usual. Luo Yang sat on the bed for a long time with sleepy eyes before slowly getting up to prepare for today's work.

Xi Jinzhou's message had arrived while she was asleep last night. She was relieved to know that Mr. Fil was fine.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, he saw the blocked phone number of Luo Jiancheng. Luo Yang's eyes were deep and profound, but were quickly hidden by the sunlight, bathing in the warmth of the morning.

/ / /
A piece of document was passed across the table, and Xi Jinzhou observed Ye Gu's expression in silence.

The sound of turning pages filled the room, with measured pauses.

"I have verified this paternity test. It is indeed from our hospital."

Ye Gu drummed his knuckles on the table, looking at the document and the 99.99% data casually, without saying anything for a long time.

After a while, he closed the document and pushed it to the middle of the table.
She raised her eyes slightly and looked at Xi Jinzhou, and said calmly, "Who gave it to you?"

Xi Jinzhou: "I saw it yesterday when I passed by the mailbox at the entrance of Luo Yang's psychological counseling center. You probably don't want her to see it now."

Ye Gu didn't comment, just stroking his fingertips, with an imperceptible curve at the corner of his mouth. Xi Jinzhou knew what he meant with just a slight expression.

"You should think about this carefully before you do it."
Ye Gu just raised his chin slightly and didn't answer.

Although this document is simple, it contains a lot of information. Just based on this data, Luo Jiancheng is involved in many things.
Yang Yue had already cheated on her before she left, including Zhang Peilan and Luo Ke's usurpation of her throne. Ye Gu couldn't be sure if this was premeditated. If so, they were all responsible for Yang Yue's departure.

But this evidence alone is not enough to scare Luo Jiancheng. As a thousand-year-old fox, Luo Jiancheng must have taken measures on this matter long ago. As for the leaked document, it must have been done intentionally by someone.

Ye Gu was deeply immersed in the car, watching the shadows of the trees changing outside the window, his thoughts drifting away.

/ / /
Luo Yang did not have any appointments with any consultants in today's schedule. Taking advantage of the rare free time, Luo Yang went straight to the hospital.

When I arrived, the ward was silent, without even any light, and the curtains were closed, as if everything was trying to isolate itself from the outside world.

In the wheelchair, the man sat quietly, holding a string of what looked like agarwood in his hand.

One by one, the fragrance lingered on his fingers. Luo Yang stood by the door for a long time, making all preparations in his mind before slowly walking in.

"Mr. Fil, how do you feel now?"

The man didn't say anything. He slowly stopped twisting the beads in his hand and looked up at Luo Yang indifferently. Although his voice was calm, it was full of oppression, as if he was questioning.
"Why did you save me? You should have let me go."

As if she was stumped by the question, Luo Yangmu stayed where she was, but soon, she smiled softly, "Why do you want to leave? I think you must have someone you miss in this world."
Luo Yang looked at the man frankly and sincerely, and did not dodge his probing eyes, accepting his suspicion generously.

"You'd better not think you can understand me." The man neither acquiesced nor denied it. He just turned his head away with a bad tone and continued to twist the beads in his hand.

Luo Yang laughed, slowly sat down on the sofa opposite him, and nodded slightly to express his apology.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry into your privacy, but when I rescued you yesterday, I saw a braided bracelet placed by the window of your room. If I'm not mistaken, the braiding method of the bracelet should be a lover's knot, Mr. Fil."

The man looked at Luo Yang with a meaningful look, but still did not let him let down his guard.

"If you really feel sorry, you should just keep quiet about it and pretend you didn't see it."
The moment these words came out of Luo Yang's mouth, it seemed like it was just yesterday.

Ye Gu once said such merciless words, but not to her. He said them to others when defending her.
At that time, Luo Ke had just come to the Luo family not long ago. Because she was not familiar with the school environment, although Luo Yang did not have a good impression of her, he still took her to familiarize herself with the campus and class at Luo Jiancheng's request.

But it rained that day and Luo Ke didn't bring an umbrella. Luo Yang hesitated for a long time but finally gave the only umbrella to Luo Ke. Originally, Luo Ke invited her to go home together, but Luo Yang really didn't want to go with her.

That day, the family's driver happened to follow Luo Jiancheng to another province, and Luo Yang was alone waiting for the rain to stop at the school gate.

When the rain finally subsided, Luo Yang ran back home slowly.
That day, Luo Yang felt deeply that this road was so long. He had never had this feeling when he went home with Ye Gu before.

But there was always laughter from other students behind him. Luo Yang didn't know what was going on, and didn't want to be distracted by it. He just kept walking forward, but he didn't expect that Luo Ke hadn't arrived home yet. He ran into Luo Ke walking slowly with an umbrella in front of him. Luo Yang's eyes turned slightly, he dodged sideways, quickened his pace, and passed Luo Ke.

But I could clearly hear the sound of a camera shutter behind me, and the laughter and pointing became louder and louder, just like the rain that day, which came unexpectedly.

The moment Luo Yang turned around, he was covered by a figure, and there was warmth around his waist. Ye Gu's low whisper fell in his ears.
"I am coming."

The voice was accompanied by panting, and Luo Yang could clearly feel the body temperature and even the transmission of air.

Ye Gu snatched the phone from Luo Ke's hand. Looking at the secretly taken photo and looking directly into Ye Gu's eyes, Luo Ke felt scared and kept saying sorry.
Ye Gu just sneered, deleted the photos from her phone, and said, "You can choose not to remind her, but you shouldn't take photos. If you really feel sorry, you should keep silent about this matter and pretend you didn't see it, instead of making plans to publicize it at any time."

That day was Luo Yang's menstrual period. Fortunately, Ye Gu came and took Luo Yang to his car and returned to the Ye family.

Luo Yang came back to her senses, looked at the man in front of her, felt regretful, and put her bag next to the sofa.
"Mr. Fil, I really admire you for being able to design something as realistic as a rose."

Although the man remained silent, Luo Yang did not feel neglected. She told her story as if she was catching up with an old friend she hadn't seen for a long time.

After a long time, the man finally raised his eyes and looked at the sunlight that leaked through the curtains and wandered aimlessly on the shiny tile floor.

"So what? What if I have talent? What if I don't? I am just a disabled useless person. If my relatives who you call blood is thicker than water abandon me, no one will care whether I live or die."
Mr. Fil spoke in a flat tone, as if he was narrating a very ordinary fact, and his eyes were filled with coldness and indifference.

Luo Yang was silent for a while, and gently placed a card on the table. "Mr. Fil, I once thought about this, but I didn't leave because the rose on the balcony needs watering. If I leave, no one will water it. If your departure will make the bracelet by the window dusty, I hope you will reconsider it. If you need anything, you can call me. Take good care of yourself, and I will come to see you again."

She left silently, just like when she came, the door closed, and Fil seemed to be turned on, and picked up the business card left by Luo Yang on the table.
——"Since I planted the rose, I should be responsible for it."

Fil turned his wheelchair and slowly moved to the window. The moment he opened the curtains, the sunlight poured into the ground unreservedly, filling the room with light.

/ / /
Life was still going on as usual, but one day before the wedding, gossip broke out.

Ye Gu was photographed attending a banquet alone. There were many wealthy and famous people there. In the photo, he was still unrestrained and noble. Even the unfocused camera could not hide his natural romantic charm.

Tian Tian sat next to Luo Yang, scrolling through her phone angrily while responding passionately.
“Look, this actually says that you are just a couple in name only, and it’s just a marriage for you, but they don’t really care about you at all, and you will definitely be ignored after marriage?!”
She snorted softly, "Is this man's family unhappy? When he sees others living miserable lives, he always thinks of them to make up for his unbalanced heart!"

Luo Yang laughed, didn't seem to care, and even comforted Tian Tian.
"You can only believe half of what the reporter says. Did you know it was the first day? You're still so excited. It's normal for them to exclude me. They are indeed right. It was announced as a marriage from the beginning."

Tian Tian put down her phone, sat next to Luo Yang, and looked at her expression worriedly, but could not see any flaws.
She was a little discouraged. "Are you really not angry? Don't you suspect that he is looking for another woman outside?"

Luo Yang put the document he was reading back into the cabinet, and looked at Tian Tian with a smile: "Do you think if he really wanted to find it, he would be stupid enough to blatantly go to a place where there are cameras in every corner?"

Even though Ye Gu has a casual and unruly personality, he still has brains. Luo Yang knows that he understands this.

Tian Tian put her hands on her hips. She just felt that Ye Gu really just regarded this marriage as a business cooperation between the two families. She couldn't tell whether Luo Yang would be happy in the future. She was always worried and couldn't help but distrust Ye Gu.

He is well-known in the industry for his love of playfulness, and with such a reputation, Tian Tian couldn't help but think too much.

Luo Yang stared at the picture of the lonely figure in the dim light on his phone for a long time. The well-tailored suit perfectly outlined his superior figure. Even someone with a sharp and picky eye like Luo Yang could not point out any faults.

The glittering luster of the red wine glass was captured by the camera, and the figures of the people around were blurred. Apart from the clinking wine glasses, only Ye Gu's appearance could be seen.

The slender fingers traced the man's profile inch by inch along the phone screen, from his forehead to his nose, and then to his lips.

With his eyelashes furrowed, Luo Yang looked at the setting sun outside the window. Such good weather was worth a drink of good wine.

(End of this chapter)