Young Brave Hearts – CH 084

Chapter 84

Lu Rangchen spoke with a drawn-out, affected tone, flippant and reckless.

But who would have thought that this man, known throughout the club and even the entire circle as a cold-faced devil, aloof and unapproachable, with countless women vying for his bed, would be so utterly devoted to Zhu Yunque, bowing down to her in love?

Zhu Yunque was the same.

Always serene and aloof to outsiders, calm and distant, only in his presence could she be her true self.

She didn’t need to be so sensible.

She didn’t need to bear burdens she didn’t want to bear.

She could be coquettish, clingy, and act like a child.

Holding her arm around his shoulder, Zhu Yunque gazed intently at him and said, “What do you want to know?”

“I want to know a lot.”

Lu Rangchen lightly touched the corner of her mouth with his fingertip, his magnetic voice low and husky, “I want to know what you went through when I wasn’t here. I want to know if my grandfather forced you to go abroad and what your aunt said.”

Actually, these things should have been said on the way here.

Lu Rangchen wasn’t prepared.

He didn’t know how to face it, and he had never imagined that Zhu Yunque’s departure back then would have hidden reasons.

He even felt a sense of helpless anger.

Angry that Zhu Yunque had gone through so much behind his back without revealing a single thing to him, and that if it weren’t for this chance encounter today, Zhu Yunque might never have told him in her entire life.

He had never felt so dejected.

It seemed all those years of obsession and love-hate relationship with her were nothing more than a childish and laughable act of self-pity.

Zhu Yunque owed him nothing.

On the contrary, she had protected the reckless and impetuous Lu Rangchen in his youth.

At this point, Zhu Yunque saw no need to hide it any longer. She lowered her voice and said, “Your grandfather did contact me back then, on the day my mother’s video went viral.”

“My mother was terribly criticized online. Some people came to confront her offline, filmed her, and humiliated her.”

“Ye Tian got into a fight with a man and ended up in jail trying to protect her.”

“And me,” Zhu Yunque paused for two seconds, as if revealing the most unspeakable thing in her life, and slowly said, “The whole school was digging into me, watching my downfall.”

That’s what she said.

But it was far more than that.

At that time, Zhu Yunque’s phone number was exposed, and she was subjected to all sorts of accusations and insults, told she wasn’t good enough for Lu Rangchen, and wished she would be dumped sooner or later.

How could Zhu Yunque, who wasn’t yet 20 years old, remain calm?

She was truly panicked and afraid.

She was afraid of being further insulted and afraid that Lu Rangchen would abandon her.

That was why, when they broke up, she said she didn’t want to be the one left behind.

Now, hearing what she said, Lu Rangchen’s expression froze completely.

An indescribable bitterness and guilt welled up in his heart, suffocating and oppressive.

Zhu Yunque didn’t know.

Lu Rangchen had almost hated her for life because of her words and betrayal.

But now, he only felt that he had been pitifully naive back then.

His gaze darkened, and Lu Rangchen’s words were choked with difficulty: “I’m sorry, Queque, I know nothing. I was locked up at home those days.”

These words had been ingrained in Lu Rangchen’s heart for many years, but he had never had the right opportunity to tell Zhu Yunque.

He said, “It was an elder in the family who intervened, locking me up in a resort hotel within the company.”

“No cell phone, no computer, I couldn’t contact anyone.”

“There were people specifically watching me.”

At the time, Lu Rangchen only thought it was his family preventing him from having any further contact with Zhu Yunque, never imagining it was just one step in the Cheng family patriarch’s powerful manipulation.

By the time he was free, Feng Yanlai’s situation had also vanished without a trace.

However, Zhu Yunque already knew all of this.

She said, “I guessed it a long time ago.”

She looked up at him, her eyes still wet with tears. “I’ve never blamed you.”

That snowy day, she went to get an IV drip alone and couldn’t contact Lu Rangchen. At that time, she wasn’t entirely feeling wronged or sad; she knew that the two of them couldn’t go on anymore.

Even if they could only cling to life…

They could never have a future together.

That was a chasm they, in their youth, couldn’t cross.

She had no choice but to let go.

Sure enough, not long after, Zhu Yunque met with Lu Rangchen’s grandfather. There was no coercion or bribery; simply removing the trending topic was enough to leave Zhu Yunque with no other option but to submit and accept her fate.

As the saying goes, money and power could crush a person.

Zhu Yunque experienced this cruel reality all too deeply before she was even twenty.

She understood then that she and Lu Rangchen were from completely different worlds.

This realization remained in Zhu Yunque’s heart until many years later, when she had grown from a desperate and helpless little girl into an independent adult capable of taking care of herself; she finally dared to yearn for Lu Rangchen again.

Zhu Yunque’s eyes flickered slightly, and she sniffed softly, saying, “Lu Rangchen, I never thought you’d still be willing to look at me.”

Lu Rangchen hadn’t expected her to say such humble words either.

His eyes moistened slightly. “I never thought you could turn back.”

“…”

“It still feels like a dream,” Lu Rangchen chuckled, his eyes betraying his honesty. “Last night I even dreamt you left again.”

His tone held an unspeakable grievance and unbearable pain.

Zhu Yunque’s heart clenched painfully.

She hurriedly said, “I won’t leave again.”

Lu Rangchen smiled. “I know; I heard everything.”

His smile stirred a sudden emotion in Zhu Yunque. She said, “Has anyone ever told you that you look a lot like your grandfather?”

She pointed to his brow and eye area. “This part is especially similar, but your temperament is different. He looks imposing even without anger, and his smile is intimidating… But you’re different. To me, you’re gentle even when you aren’t smiling.”

These were simple, unassuming words.

Yet, the emotions they contained were comparable to sweet nothings.

Hearing this, Lu Rangchen’s Adam’s apple bobbed slightly, and he unconsciously hugged her tighter.

His warm lips landed, giving her a brief, fleeting kiss. His voice was hoarse. “It’s all my fault for making you suffer so much.”

“I promise you, with me here, you won’t have to worry about anything anymore.”

“You don’t have to worry about my grandfather or my mother.”

Those two names, like rain clouds lingering in her heart, hadn’t dissipated for years.

Zhu Yunque’s eyes welled up with tears, her nose suddenly stinging. She said, “I know, with you by my side, I have nothing to fear.”

No need to fear his mother’s opposition, no need to worry about his grandfather trying to break them up again.

“And then?” Lu Rangchen asked again. “And then what happened? Why did he involve your father after forcing you to go abroad?”

“…Because he knew you came to find me.”

Zhu Yunque lowered her eyes and said, “He knew you came to get back together with me.”

Perhaps money was all-powerful.

Even when someone was far away in a foreign country, their every move could still be detected immediately.

Zhu Yunque would always remember the day she returned home from work and was told by her neighbor that someone was waiting for her downstairs, and that person was none other than Lu Rangchen. The overwhelming mix of joy and sorrow at that moment made it hard for her to breathe.

Zhu Yunque had never cried like that before.

She locked herself in the bathroom, sat on the floor by the door with her knees drawn up, tears streaming down her face like a burst dam, but she dared not cry out loud.

Because Feng Yanlai was in the bedroom.

The two of them squeezed into a low-rent apartment, struggling daily for survival and her studies, all their courage worn away.

She couldn’t imagine the guilt and pain she would feel if Lu Rangchen were to live such a life with her, not to mention that before she returned home that day, Cheng Fusen’s assistant had called to say that his father had been laid off from his job.

Zhu Ping’an was already old and no longer suitable to be a train conductor. The company was outsourced, not a secure job.

He had originally planned to find someone to transfer him to another position until retirement, but unexpectedly, a single word from the Cheng family patriarch had led to Zhu Ping’an being fired.

The whole family depended on Zhu Ping’an for food.

Deng Jiali was frantic, sending her messages like, “Queque, how could you do this? Why did your father have to be involved in your problems? Now your father has lost his job; how are we, a family of four, supposed to survive!” The woman’s accusations were still vivid in Zhu Yunque’s mind.

In that instant, Zhu Yunque felt she couldn’t bear it anymore.

For a fleeting second, she even wanted to rush downstairs, run to Lu Rangchen’s arms without a care in the world, and tell him, “Take me away, let’s elope; I don’t care about anything anymore.”

But she could not.

She could not.

She wiped away her tears and, through the old bathroom window, gazed longingly at Lu Rangchen waiting for her downstairs.

The young man wore a black down jacket, a cigarette between his fingers, still tall and slender, but exuding a carefree and untamed air.

He was thinner and taller.

His expression had become listless, no longer spirited.

Even the material of his clothes was no longer the expensive quality of before, but the most ordinary style.

But the way he looked at her hadn’t changed.

Looking up in her direction, his gaze remained as deep and passionate as ever, sweet and tender.

But the faint, bluish-white smoke subtly obscured their vision, and the dim, yellowish light of the bathroom cast a shadow, preventing Lu Rangchen from clearly seeing her face.

That was the first time Zhu Yunque felt she had ruined Lu Rangchen.

And his life was originally lofty.

However, she never imagined that in the future, when they recounted this past, Lu Rangchen’s response would be a mocking laugh.

As if helpless against her, yet filled with rage, he coldly sneered, “Zhu Yunque, are you a masochist? What do you mean you ruined me? Do you think you can so easily destroy a perfectly healthy person like me?”

“What’s the point of having a life that’s supposed to be lofty?”

He scoffed. “How do you know being lofty is where I want to be? Can’t I just run towards you?”

The word “run towards” struck Zhu Yunque like a hammer blow to her heart, leaving her stunned.

Her eyes trembled, and she almost involuntarily murmured his name, saying, “Lu Rangchen…”

Lu Rangchen raised an eyebrow, scoffing, his brows brimming with arrogance and disdain. “Or perhaps, you lack the confidence to believe you’re better than my being lofty?”

“…”

Zhu Yunque was suddenly rendered speechless.

She seemed to be instantly overwhelmed by a surging tide of emotion.

Lu Rangchen wanted to tell her more than just that. He even found it amusing, saying, “You said I looked dejected back then? That’s because I had just finished training before coming to see you, and I couldn’t wait to come after receiving my bonus.”

“I was wearing the down jackets the team issued, which cost 500 yuan each per person. I didn’t think they were cheap.”

“I had just gotten off the plane and came straight to you without much trouble. You did look quite tired.”

“But no matter what, I disagree with your assessment that I’m unconventional.”

“I’m not that spoiled, Zhu Yunque. I’ve never been the kind of rich kid you imagine, born to eat, drink, play, and enjoy a life of luxury.”

“Even without you, I’ll earn my own money when I grow up. Isn’t it normal for a man to be upright and responsible at his age? Besides, I was there in a foreign country to pursue my wife. Do you think I’d ask my family for money?”

After a few words, Zhu Yunque was completely convinced.

Before, some people said Lu Rangchen was eloquent and wanted to recruit him into the debate club, but Zhu Yunque didn’t believe it. But now, she truly believed it.

It wasn’t just eloquence.

Lu Rangchen’s character was so good that he seemed to radiate light, and that was precisely why she fell for him in the first place.

At an age when all boys didn’t know how to respect women, only he did. She was moved by him, not just because he was a prodigy, but because he was such a wonderful young man, such a wonderful person.

Zhu Yunque had never been so touched before.

Her voice trembled as she said, “Lu Rangchen… what have I done to deserve this…”

Lu Rangchen smiled faintly and said, “Because you’re Zhu Yunque.”

“The one and only Zhu Yunque in the whole world.”

“…”

Tears welled up in her eyes, but Zhu Yunque held them back, forcing a soft laugh through her tears, “Lu Rangchen, what should I do? I feel like I owe you more and more, that I love you more and more…”

If he remembered correctly.

This was the second time Lu Rangchen had heard her say she loved him.

His Adam’s apple bobbed.

A burning wind seemed to surge in Lu Rangchen’s heart.

He stared intently at her, his eyes blazing with passion, and said, “Then let’s get a marriage certificate.”

“…”

He mustered his courage, his gaze resolute. “Let’s get the certificate, Queque; let’s get the certificate.”