Hidden Shadow – CH 350

Chapter Three-Hundred-Fifty: Threat

“Come in,” Chu Dingjiang said.

Hua Rongjian pushed open the door and entered. Seeing that Chu Dingjiang did not intend to get up, he walked to the bedside and stood there for a while before uttering a provocative remark, “Since you cannot protect Ah Jiu, then let me do it.”

Chu Dingjiang glanced at Hua Rongjian indifferently. He could despise himself for being useless, but that did not mean anyone could boss him around, let alone try to take away his beloved.

Hua Rongjian looked at this somewhat familiar man with a complicated expression. “I only regret that I did not pay attention; that is why Fourteenth is like this today.”

Hua Rongjian was not being arrogant. If An Jiu were with him, at least her safety would be guaranteed. Leaving aside the Hua family’s immense power, he would not let his woman risk her life.

Chu Dingjiang understood his meaning. However, even without the Hua family, with An Jiu’s abilities, she would definitely not die unless she deliberately sought her own death. Now, Chu Dingjiang was too lazy to argue with him, only telling him a simple fact: “This is the path she chose herself. I can indulge her, but you cannot.”

How could the Hua family tolerate their daughter-in-law committing assassination? After all, this was still a world where most people were normal.

Hua Rongjian looked at An Jiu’s pale, thin face and sighed. He liked her very much, but this liking was complicated by other emotions. He had many fair-weather friends, but only two truly close ones. Being with An Jiu felt different from being with others. To put it nicely, she was a very pure person; to put it another way, she was single-minded. He could be childish and shameless to his heart’s content, and she would still be that trustworthy friend.

Unfortunately, Chu Dingjiang took all of that away!

Chu Dingjiang killed Hua Rongjian’s birth mother, and An Jiu, as someone who knew the truth, chose Chu Dingjiang over him and lied to him.

Hua Rongjian could not accept this fact.

Objectively speaking, having a son born to a concubine raised as a legitimate son was a good thing for Hua Rongjian. Even if his birth mother had not died, she would only have been a concubine. He only had one real mother. However, there’s always something inexplicable about a man’s dignity, and Hua Rongjian could not bring himself to treat him like a wolf.

Seeing Chu Dingjiang’s current state, his early schemes seemed like a joke. He suddenly wondered if Chu Dingjiang had ever regretted it. “Do you regret it?”

Chu Dingjiang remained silent. He was out of place in this world. His pursuits and ideals seemed too naive to people today, incomprehensible to them. If he said he did not regret it, others would probably just think he was being stubborn, so it was better to remain silent.

Seeing his silence, Hua Rongjian did not jump to conclusions. “Abandoning your family background and status to become someone who cannot see the light of day, unable to even protect the woman you love—was it worth it?”

Chu Dingjiang truly felt a destiny-bound connection between himself and Hua Rongjian; every word pierced his heart.

However, Hua Rongjian underestimated Chu Dingjiang’s resilience. To him, even if the sky were to fall, he would simply laugh it off.

“Whether it is worth it or not is my life.” Chu Dingjiang’s calm and understated words made Hua Rongjian grit his teeth in frustration. What he hated most was having his life arranged by others, without even a choice. He had once asked An Jiu if thinking like this seemed pretentious. He was living a wonderful life; few in the entire country could be richer or more carefree than he was. Yet, upon learning of past grievances, he began to despise his life! If he could make an exchange, countless people in the world would be willing to trade places with him.

But Hua Rongjian was a man of deep feelings. Some were willing to sacrifice a concubine for a prestigious position, but he wasn’t. Some would rather forgo a close friend for a lifetime of carefree living, but he wasn’t.

“You are not as good as a woman.” Chu Dingjiang easily understood his current dilemma.

Hua Rongjian frowned, not immediately becoming angry. “I’d like to hear the details.”

“Do you know the Lou family?” Chu Dingjiang asked.

Hua Rongjian paused. “Yes.”

“The Lou family was almost completely wiped out because of the Liao people. Second Young Lady Lou vowed revenge.” Chu Dingjiang held An Jiu’s hand and succinctly explained Lou Mingyue’s situation. “She and Physician Mo were childhood sweethearts; their feelings were extraordinary. Since there’s no way to have both, she was able to ruthlessly sever ties with Mo Sigui. Regardless of whether her choice was right or wrong, at least she acted decisively. You, on the other hand, struggle even to make a choice. Are you not far inferior to her? If you came to me seeking revenge, perhaps I would respect you more.”

There were always people in this world who did not want to offend anyone, only wanting to make everything perfect. If an ordinary person had this kind of personality and some social skills, they could only earn a good reputation for harmony through hard work and could not achieve anything more.

When Chu Dingjiang was Hua Rongjian’s age, he already held the fate of his entire clan in his hands, decisive and ruthless.

“With your personality, it is not surprising you missed out on An Jiu.” Chu Dingjiang knew that Hua Rongjian and An Jiu were already acquainted long before he met An Jiu, and he knew that Hua Rongjian had boasted about wanting to marry An Jiu. However, given his personality, Chu Dingjiang never considered him a competitor. In Chu Dingjiang’s view, Hua Rongjian’s competitiveness was even less than Gu Jinghong’s and Wei Yuzhi’s.

It must be said that men understood men best. Chu Dingjiang did not sense any ambition in Hua Rongjian for An Jiu. Leaving aside Gu Jinghong, who was already dead, Wei Yuzhi, on the surface, appeared gentle and unassuming, but deep down, he possessed a strong sense of determination. Chu Dingjiang had not missed any of Wei Yuzhi’s interactions with An Jiu, so he knew that this man truly cared for An Jiu.

Hua Rongjian initially showed interest in An Jiu, but his efforts were somewhat slow. Firstly, their relationship was more of a friendship than romantic love; secondly, his upbringing was quite normal, and subconsciously, he harbored various concerns about the female assassin’s identity.

Hua Rongjian, seemingly carefree and unrestrained, actually had many inner constraints.

“Yes,” Hua Rongjian chuckled.

Chu Dingjiang looked at him seriously upon hearing this, noticing a significant change in his demeanor; the sunny young man was long gone. “It seems you’ve been thinking about a lot lately.”

Has he figured things out? Or had he gotten stuck in a rut?

Chu Dingjiang, born in a chaotic era, could not understand the word “mediocrity.” He believed that people needed passion and the drive to pursue their dreams, so no matter how Hua Rongjian changed, he thought it was a good thing.

A man should always have some spirit.

Thinking of this, Chu Dingjiang paused slightly. After all, what did it matter to him what Hua Rongjian became?

“Ah Jiu, let’s fight again when you wake up.” Hua Rongjian reached out to touch An Jiu’s face.

However, before he could reach her, Chu Dingjiang grabbed his wrist.

The atmosphere instantly became tense.

In the past, Chu Dingjiang had never felt that Hua Rongjian posed a threat, but this time was different.