Hear this life

Wen Tingli heard Xiao Taozi's clear voice in a daze, her heart trembled, and she quickly opened her eyes.

People gathered around immediately.

"woke up?"

Wen Tingli looked around. This rose-colored room was clearly her own bedroom. She couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Suddenly, he caught a glimpse of Xiao Taozi sitting next to the pillow. Without thinking, he reached out to hug his sister, but was held back by Mrs. Zhou.

"Don't move. You scared everyone yesterday. You were crying and laughing, and you just wouldn't let go of Xiao Taozi. We finally got home, but you fell asleep after a few words. Mr. Lu was very worried and stayed with you all night. Fortunately, the doctor said that you were fine, but you were too excited and a little weak. He also said that you had a little cold yesterday, and told you to rest these days."

As Mrs. Zhou spoke, Wen Tingli heard the sound of fierce gunfire, one after another, accompanied by screams and shouts. She remembered everything and her eyes gradually calmed down. She looked down at her body and found that the unusually thin cheongsam had been changed. Now she was wearing a clean set of pajamas. She was no longer cold but warm all over.

Where is Lu Shicheng? She looked around anxiously.

Just at this moment, someone knocked on the door. Mrs. Zhou hurried to answer it. The next second, she saw Lu Shicheng leading someone in. When their eyes met, Wen Tingli was secretly shocked. Overnight, Lu Shicheng became much more haggard, and his eyes looked particularly dark.

She didn't even have time to look at who was behind Lu Shicheng, and she couldn't wait to reach out her hand to him. Lu Shicheng held her hand and sat on the chair beside the bed. However, their sight was blocked by Xiao Taozi's head. Xiao Taozi leaned close to her sister's face and looked at her worriedly: "Sister, are you still filming?"

Wen Tingli looked at Lu Shicheng with a little surprise, and saw Lu Shicheng nodded almost imperceptibly. She then looked at Zhou Sao, who was desperately winking at her.

Looking more closely, it turned out that the person behind Lu Shicheng was Huang Yuanshan.

Huang Yuanshan was also communicating with her with a tacit look. Then, Huang Yuanshan leaned over and said to Xiao Taozi, "Of course we are filming. Have you forgotten that Sister Huang is a great director? In the bandit scene yesterday, Xiao Taozi acted very well. Everyone praised you highly. Here, this is a prize given to you by the crew. The heroine your sister used this prop to beat the bandits yesterday. You can keep it as a souvenir. We will ask you to play another role next time, okay?"

As he spoke, he took out a toy gun from his bag and ceremoniously presented it to Xiao Taozi.

Xiao Taozi's eyes moved around the faces of several adults. Huang Yuanshan had always been her favorite big sister. After hearing this, her doubts finally disappeared. She nodded excitedly, stretched out her little hand to take the toy gun, and played with it very cherishedly. Mrs. Zhou took the opportunity to pick her up from the bed: "Sister has to shoot the next scene, let's go outside and wait."

Wen Tingli felt a sore throat. It was obvious that they truly loved the child. After the incident, it took them a lot of effort to convince Xiao Taozi that this horrible incident was just a show.

Her eyes swept across Lu Shicheng's face, and she said to Huang Yuanshan earnestly, "Thank you, Sister Huang."

Huang Yuanshan's eyes were slightly red. "Do we still need to say such polite words between you and me? This damn White Dragon Gang, luckily everything is over!"

"My play..."

"It's already this late, and you're still thinking about filming?! Just rest and recuperate, I'll take care of everything."

Wen Tingli held Huang Yuanshan's hand silently. Huang Yuanshan saw that she was in good spirits and his expression gradually relaxed. He sat with her for more than an hour before saying goodbye and leaving.

Lu Shicheng sat on the sofa beside the bed and placed Wen Tingli's hand to his lips tenderly.

"Did you prepare that toy gun?" She smiled at him.

Lu Shicheng forced a smile, but he didn't dare to speak because he was afraid that she would hear the choking in his throat.

Wen Tingli had different thoughts. Even when she was unconscious, she was subconsciously worried that Xiao Taozi would be frightened. She didn't expect that Lu Shicheng's arrangements were more thoughtful than she thought. Now she was completely relieved.

She couldn't help but stretch out her fingers and gently stroke his face, stroking his furrowed brows and tightly pursed lips. She could see that he was still trapped in deep fear and self-blame.

She tried to look relaxed. "You came so quickly yesterday. As soon as I told you about the gift you gave me that day, you guessed that I had hidden the pocket gun you gave me. That's what we call telepathy, right? Hey, why don't you talk? What are you thinking about?"

"I was wondering why I didn't protect you from the beginning."

Wen Tingli's eyes were bitter: "How can I blame you for this?! There are only thieves who have been thieves for a thousand years, but no one can guard against thieves for a thousand years. Moreover, Qiu Dapeng is risking his life this time. No one can guard against such a despicable trick. If you blame yourself again, I will cry in front of you."

Lu Shicheng forced a smile, but it was short-lived. He said to her seriously, "I want to discuss something with you. Qiu Lingyun is not dead—"

Wen Tingli's eyes sharpened: "Where is he?"

"I want to spare his life." Lu Shicheng whispered a few words to her. The dark aura on Wen Tingli's face slowly dissipated, and she sighed with relief: "I was worried that he would die too easily. Well, let's do it!"

The mood of both of them improved a little. "Are you hungry?" He stroked her forehead.

"Hungry. But you'll never guess what I want to eat the most right now."

“Knife fish noodles.”

"How did you know I wanted to eat this?"

"I guessed it right at random."

Wen Tingli couldn't help laughing: "Okay, okay, I still want to eat the pickled snails."

"I'll go and buy."

"I also want to eat the pink fruit and Taishi frog from Qihonglu."

"I'll get it."

“Don’t forget the creamy chestnut cake from Feida Pastry Shop!”

"I'll buy them all for you."

After dinner, Wen Tingli felt a little drowsy. Lu Shicheng helped her pull the quilt to her chest and quietly guarded her.

When she fell asleep, he did not move immediately. Instead, he carefully helped her brush away the two strands of hair on her cheek, staring at her sleeping face. He sat there for about half an hour before he got up very quietly.

As soon as he walked out of the door, Kuang Zhilin and his men came to greet him: "Everything has been arranged."

His people are everywhere inside and outside the house.

Lu Shicheng's face turned a little cold, and he looked back at the closed door with some concern. Zhou Wei and others said ashamedly: "Master Cheng, don't worry, there will be no mistakes this time!"

***
In a gray garden house on Jinshengfu Road.

Lu Kejian looked out from behind the second-floor window, urging them: "What are you dawdling about for? It's been so long, and the carriages and horses are not ready yet?"

The two men responded by running upstairs, one on the left and one on the right, lifting Third Master Lu's wheelchair, and trotting downstairs: "Third Master, Gang Leader Cao wants to see you again, why are you leaving like this without saying goodbye?"

Lu Kejian clasped the wheelchair armrests with both hands, and said with a sullen face, "What's there to be ashamed of? The whole thing was done by Qiu Dapeng on his own initiative. It had nothing to do with me from beginning to end. Besides, the White Dragon Gang has been fighting for years. This time, only a few brothers were killed or injured. What's the big deal? If you want to blame someone, blame it on Gang Leader Cao for not governing strictly and allowing the father and son surnamed Qiu to stir up trouble under his nose. Now that they are dead, it can be considered a lesson learned."

"But - I heard from the White Dragon Gang that although Qiu Dapeng is dead, his son's body has not been found yet. We are not afraid of anything else, but we are afraid that if this kid survives, he will take revenge on the Third Master. Don't forget that day, the father and son wanted to get in the car and escape with us, but we kicked them out."

"The revenge should be against Lu Shicheng, what does it have to do with me?" Although he said this, Lu Kejian's eyes flickered a little, "Send a few people to secretly inquire about Qiu Lingyun's whereabouts. Once we find his hiding place, we will immediately eliminate him. All right, let's go quickly, and we must leave the city within half an hour! Don't take the railway, don't take the ship--"

As he was talking, the two arched doors of the living room suddenly opened and someone rushed in. Lu Kejian was about to draw his gun to intimidate the other person, but someone kicked the wheel of his wheelchair, causing him to fall to the ground.

The guards in the house rushed in from all directions, but were quickly surrounded by the dozen people who broke in.

Mr. Lu Sanye crawled forward a few steps in embarrassment, loaded the gun in his hand as quickly as possible, turned around and was about to aim at Lu Shicheng, but unexpectedly Lu Shicheng had already walked behind him and slowly stepped on his hand under his feet.

"Ah——" Master Lu's face twisted in pain, "Lu Shicheng! What are you crazy about!"

Lu Shicheng squatted down and grabbed Mr. Lu San's hair, forcing him to look into his eyes.

"When did you return to Shanghai? Did you get my consent?" Lu Shicheng's tone was so calm, even gentle, but Master Lu San began to tremble all over.

This kid knows how to piss him off. He's had enough of this condescending tone!
"I can go back to Shanghai whenever I want. Do I need your approval? For more than two years, I have been hiding in Beijing like a coward, while you, my nephew, are in Shanghai and in control of everything. What else are you dissatisfied with?"

His words came to an abrupt end as Lu Shicheng put a gun to his temple.

Master Lu swallowed in fear. This nephew was capable of anything. At this point, he had to save his life first. "Don't shoot yet! You come to trouble me for no reason. I really don't understand what happened."

Kuang Zhilin said coldly, "Third Master, let's not beat around the bush. You were the one who ordered this kidnapping, right?"

"What kidnapping--" There was a bang beside his ear, and a bullet barely grazed his earlobe before accurately hitting the floor in front of his vision. Master Lu San looked at the smoking bullet hole in horror, swallowing back all the sophistry in his throat.

"I ask, you answer. If you answer wrong, I will give you another hole in your body." Lu Shicheng's voice was as cold as ice.

Mr. Lu nodded desperately with a pale face.

"When did you hook up with Qiu Dapeng? How long have you been planning this kidnapping? Besides you and Qiu Dapeng and his son, who else in Shanghai is involved?"

Mr. Lu was sweating profusely. "I didn't want to take Qiu Dapeng in either. It was Gang Leader Cao who came to Beiping to ask me for help. I couldn't save face, so I reluctantly agreed to let Qiu stay in my private residence for a while. This kidnapping plan was also Qiu Dapeng's idea. I didn't know he wanted to kidnap your Miss Wen."

Facing Lu Shicheng's eyes, Third Master Lu said with a stiff face: "Yes, I'm sorry, it's Third Uncle's fault this time. I promise that I will never touch your people again in the future--"

Suddenly, the sound of bullets being loaded again was heard. This time, it was for real. Mr. Lu San's face turned pale and his whole body began to tremble like a sieve. In a flash, a tall figure flashed at the door. Seeing this scene, he did not care that he was also in danger of being shot, and rushed forward to hold down Lu Shicheng's hand holding the gun.

Lu Shicheng didn't need to look back to know who was coming, because no one around dared to step forward to stop them, including Kuang Zhilin.

"Cheng'er." Old Master Lu said sternly, "What are you doing? Put down the gun quickly. Didn't you promise grandfather that you would never hurt your uncle's life?"

Mr. Lu felt that he had someone to rely on, and he cried out to his father without caring about his dignity: "Dad, save me!"

Lu Shicheng held the gun tightly and refused to let go no matter how Old Master Lu pulled.

In a hurry, Old Master Lu said in a deep voice: "Don't forget the agreement we reached last year. At that time, you promised to let your third uncle go, and grandfather promised not to get involved in the matter between you and Wen Tingli again. Do you want to break the agreement? Aren't you afraid that grandfather will cause trouble for your Miss Wen later?"

As soon as these words came out, Lu Shicheng's eyes were filled with murderous intent. This time, the target was clearly Old Master Lu. Kuang Zhilin saw it clearly and couldn't help but shudder.

Fortunately, Master Cheng quickly concealed the viciousness in his eyes. He looked at the ground and smiled silently, then asked innocently, "Grandfather, don't you even ask what Third Uncle did?"

Old Master Lu sighed sympathetically: "No matter what your Third Uncle did, Grandfather doesn't want to see the Lu family members killing each other again. Your Miss Wen has been wronged, and Grandfather can give her some compensation on behalf of the Lu family, but you have to listen to Grandfather and stop pointing the gun at your own family!"

Kuang Zhilin couldn't help but speak up: "Old Master, but this time, it was Third Master who pointed the gun at Young Master Cheng first, and Young Master Cheng almost died at Third Master's hands!"

"We are talking, grandparents and grandchildren. It's not your turn to interrupt!" Old Master Lu shouted loudly. His voice shook the spacious hall like a lion's roar, making everyone present feel cold in their hearts.

"Remember, you are a descendant of the Lu family. Never make things difficult for your family because of outsiders. Grandfather only has your third uncle as his son now. Do you have the heart to make him sad?"

Lu Shicheng's expression showed neither pleasure nor resentment, only numb calmness. The corners of his mouth slowly rose, and he asked sarcastically, "Grandfather, in fact, I have always had a question in my heart over the years. When my parents were murdered by someone, did you really never suspect that the murderer might be your other two sons?"

Old Master Lu was speechless. "You claim to be smart, but there were so many loopholes in what happened back then. I don't believe you didn't see that there was something wrong with the two brothers. Or, you clearly had doubts in your heart, but you deceived yourself just because they were the sons of your beloved Abaya!"

Old Master Lu slapped Lu Shicheng in the face with his backhand, and several clear finger marks immediately appeared on Lu Shicheng's face. He remained indifferent, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand, and slowly stood up from the ground.

As he stood up, his sight gradually rose, from looking up at first, to looking straight, and finally to looking down.

He began to look down at his grandfather.

Old Master Lu's forehead jumped, and he seemed to realize for the first time that his weak grandson had grown taller than himself.

Under an invisible oppression, he, who had never understood what submission was, subconsciously took half a step back. This made him feel that he had lost his dignity and became more and more angry.

Lu Shicheng noticed every subtle change in his grandfather's expression, including the trembling wrinkles and the corners of his mouth that were as cold as a knife.

The smile on his face grew wider.

When he was young, he had hoped to get enough love and protection from this elder. When he was most helpless, he hoped that this elder would find out the truth as soon as possible and seek justice for his parents. But later he realized that there are fathers in this world who are so biased that it is outrageous.

As a child, he did not understand why his grandfather suddenly ordered him to stop investigating the truth behind his parents' tragic death. In order to answer his doubts, he once searched everywhere for answers. Later, he accidentally walked into his grandmother's room and found a diary hidden in a drawer. Since his grandmother's death, this room had been sealed by his grandfather. He sneaked in at night when no one was around.

Through his grandmother's diary, he learned that after his grandfather and grandmother got married, they always treated each other with respect. His grandfather had no feelings for his first wife at all, and the marriage was completely arranged by the family.

When he was middle-aged, my grandfather accidentally met a beautiful woman named Abaya, and he was so fascinated that he turned against my grandmother in order to marry her. Unfortunately, this move was strongly opposed by the Lu family, because when the ancestor of the Lu family came to Southeast Asia, he personally established a rule: the descendants of the Lu family were not allowed to marry Southeast Asian women.

My grandfather was unable to openly defy the clan rules, so he simply took Abaya to live in another courtyard. Because of this, my grandmother suffered from insomnia almost every night.

Abaya died in her early thirties. In order to commemorate this woman, the grandfather not only raised the two sons she left behind, but also planned to let them return to their ancestral home. Not long after, the two sons successfully followed their grandfather back to the Lu family mansion...

Thinking of this, Lu Shicheng's chest began to ache again. All the sins were caused by his grandfather's undisguised favoritism!

After reading his grandmother's diary, the young boy vaguely felt that he would never get justice.

He had to seek justice with his own hands. Blood debts had to be paid with blood!

Sixteen years later, in the kidnapping case that was also planned by Uncle San, Grandfather still chose to favor his youngest son. The difference was that he was no longer the helpless child. He smiled silently and pretended to move the gun barrel away from Uncle San's head. Old Master Lu took this opportunity to say to his followers behind him: "Why don't you come up and save people?!"

But to his surprise, the followers just looked at Lu Shicheng and no one came forward to respond.

Old Master Lu turned around in surprise, and met his eldest grandson's calm gaze.

Facing his shock and helplessness, the eldest grandson smiled slightly: "Grandfather, you probably forgot that I am the one in charge of the Lu family now."

Old Master Lu's feet swayed. Seeing that they were about to tie up his son, he rushed forward again to block them and shouted, "Very good! It seems that you no longer take your grandfather seriously, but don't forget that everything you have was given to you by the Lu family! If you want to kill, why not start with the oldest one in the Lu family? Kill your grandfather first, and it won't be too late to kill your third uncle later!"

Those people stopped in shock and waited for Lu Shicheng's signal.

Old Master Lu couldn't catch his breath, he covered his chest and gasped loudly, he understood that this kind of threat, to the eldest grandson now, was as weak as a breath in his ear. It was strange that he was not biased enough back then!
If he hadn't felt extremely guilty about the child, he wouldn't have just sat back and watched the child grow up day by day, until one day, this grandson took away his power, influence, and even people's hearts!
Now that the situation was hopeless, he, who had always been tough, had to lower his head a little and said softly, "Cheng'er, Grandfather knows that you have been hiding a lot of hatred in your heart all these years, but your second uncle and third uncle have paid a heavy price for that incident. Your second uncle is still lying in bed unable to move, and he has to rely on others to take care of him for everything, including eating, drinking, defecating and urinating. Your third uncle has also lost his legs and has become a disabled person. Seeing them like this, even if you have a lot of hatred in your heart, you should let it go."

As soon as these words came out, Lu Shicheng's eyes were not only full of mockery, but also burst out with strong hatred, unable to let go! The most innocent person is the mother. The right and wrong of the Lu family had nothing to do with her from beginning to end. She was killed just because she was the eldest daughter-in-law of the Lu family.

Originally, they didn't even intend to let him go!

If it weren't for my mother's desperate protection -

No, only death can make my grandfather truly empathize.

Tears welled up in the corners of Old Master Lu's eyes. In just a few minutes, he seemed to have aged more than ten years. He discussed with his eldest grandson in an almost pleading tone: "Your Miss Wen was not hurt, right? Why do you have to make things so extreme? As long as you spare your Third Uncle's life, Grandfather can agree to any conditions you ask for."

Lu Kejian, who was standing by, had a premonition of something and started struggling like a madman beside his father's legs: "No, Dad, don't listen to him. This guy hates me to the core and will definitely make me lose everything! I'd rather die than let that happen!"

***
Wen Tingli woke up in the middle of the night and saw someone sleeping next to her bed.

She was startled, but immediately realized that it was Lu Shicheng.

She couldn't help but smile, opened her eyes wide, and quietly moved closer to observe him.

When did he come back? In the darkness, I couldn't see his features, but I could see his profile. He was probably too tired, and he was sleeping soundly with his head resting on his arms.

Listening to his even breathing, she wanted to put her face against the back of his hand, but was afraid to wake him up. The weather was getting colder, and he would definitely catch a cold if he continued sleeping like this. She turned around and pulled half of her quilt over him. When she moved, she realized that her hand was held by Lu Shicheng.

Even though he was sleeping so deeply, he never let go of her hand.

She felt a little distressed for no reason and was in a daze for a long time. She pulled the quilt over him with her other hand, and still maintained the same posture, lying quietly next to him.

***
The next morning after breakfast, Lu Shicheng was helping Wen Tingli peel an apple by the bed. Mrs. Zhou brought her a newspaper, and Wen Tingli flipped through it and saw a piece of news.

【Mr. Lu Hongjun, a wealthy man from Southeast Asia, officially announced that he and his third son Lu Kejian had severed their father-son relationship. 】

Wen Tingli glanced at Lu Shicheng tacitly, suppressed the turmoil in her heart, and continued reading the text.

In the main text, there was no mention of why Old Master Lu suddenly expelled Lu Kejian from the family. He only announced that Lu Kejian was no longer allowed to have the surname Lu from now on, and all the shares, factories, and real estate under this boy's name were taken back by the Lu family.

The newspaper did not mention cash, so perhaps Old Master Lu had other arrangements. But even if Third Master Lu was given a large amount of cash at one time and asked to go out and set up his own business, this announcement meant that Lu Kejian could no longer consider himself a member of the Lu family, nor could he stir up trouble under the banner of the Lu family.

From now on, the Lu family is the Lu family, and he, Lu Kejian, is himself. If underworld gangs like the White Dragon Gang want to get involved with him again, they must first consider whether it is worth it.

This time, Lu Kejian was completely left alone.

But Wen Tingli knew that this was just the beginning, and the real purgatory was still waiting for Lu Kejian. Lu Shicheng didn't look at her and continued to peel the apple in his hand: "What do you want to ask?"

Wen Tingli smiled and shook her head. In the next few days, Lu Shicheng stayed by her side almost every step of the way. No matter what she wanted to do, he would go along with her. No matter what she wanted to eat, he would find ways to get it for her.

Friends took turns visiting Wen Tingli. Wen Tingli felt extremely happy and slept soundly every night.

She finally got rid of the biggest worry with her own hands, and from then on even the air in the city was fresher than before.

She discussed with Lu Shicheng: "When I am discharged from the hospital, I want to go back to Nanjing."

"Want to go and pay respect to your aunt and uncle?"

"Well, my father died in such a miserable way that I still dream about his face when he was dying. Not only did he hate Qiu Dapeng to death, but he was also worried about my sister and me. I want to go to his grave in person and tell him the good news so that he can finally rest in peace."

"Okay, I'll go back to Nanjing with you." He cut a piece of the apple and put it in her mouth.

Wen Tingli was eating an apple when she suddenly got excited: "How about we spend a few days in Nanjing? Although I was born in Nanjing, I came to Shanghai when I was very young. I have long forgotten the scenery of Nanjing. How about we take a good walk in Nanjing this time?"

He smiled and nodded. As he was speaking, Mrs. Zhou came over and said that there were guests visiting. Lu Shicheng and Wen Tingli exchanged glances and temporarily retreated to the study.

After a while, Cao Renxiu was seen leading someone upstairs.

"Why are you here?!" Wen Tingli was surprised and happy, and hurried to get up to greet him.

It was Ding Xiao'e, the female worker at the Red Cotton Textile Factory. Compared to the last time we met, her cheeks were much fuller and she looked less like a skeleton, but her body was still very thin.

Ding Xiao'e rushed to support Wen Tingli. When she first entered the door, she was still a little at a loss and nervous. But when she saw Wen Tingli welcoming her so much, her frown suddenly relaxed.

Cao Renxiu smiled and said, "She heard that you were sick and insisted on coming to see you in person."

"Miss Wen, are you feeling better?" Ding Xiao'e said hesitantly, "I've wanted to come visit you for a long time. I feel really bad about what happened last time. I thought you and Director Huang were trying to make fun of me, but I didn't expect you to really donate all the money from selling movie tickets—"

She fumbled out a cloth bag from her pocket and said, "Everyone has received the money you and Director Huang raised. It was sent by the female lawyer named Liu. Zheng's tuberculosis has been dragging on for quite some time. As soon as Lawyer Liu arrived, she sent Zheng to the hospital. The two Japanese foremen were reluctant at first, but Lawyer Liu scolded them so much that they couldn't utter a word. This is the first time I've seen a female lawyer since I was a child! She was so arrogant. She said that the money was donated to us by your Women Workers Foundation, and we don't have to pay it back--"

As she was talking, Ding Xiao'e suddenly seemed to remember something. She hurriedly put the bamboo basket on her arm on the bedside table, lifted the cloth on the basket, and let Wen Tingli see the eggs inside.

"We sisters pooled our money to buy this. It's the best thing for your body." Ding Xiao'e said sincerely, "There's also a can of foreign milk powder underneath. I heard it's the most effective when you're sick."

In her opinion, this is already the best tonic. Wen Tingli didn't know what to say. Every time Ding Xiao'e said something, she nodded with tears in her eyes.

"Miss Wen, Miss Cao said that you have set up a night school for us to teach us how to read. Is this true?"

"it is true."

Ding Xiao'e's expression became more and more panicked, and she stammered, "But you and Director Huang don't know us, why are you so nice to us?"

"Because..." Wen Tingli sniffed, "Someone helped me like this before."

Ding Xiao'e was a little surprised: "Miss Wen also worked in a factory before?"

"I have never been a female worker, but I have been a telephone operator and a newspaper boy." Wen Tingli said with a smile, tears in her eyes, "Don't forget, I am just an orphan who walked out of Ping An."

If someone hadn't helped her selflessly back then, she wouldn't be where she is today.

She held Ding Xiao'e's hand and said, "Please believe me. I know your suffering better than anyone else. So please don't feel uneasy and accept our help calmly, okay?"

(End of this chapter)