Chapter 63: The Truth of the Past

From the moment he arrived in this world, Chen Qianqing had been trying to avoid one thing—investing too much emotion into it. In this world, he was no longer Lu Zhengfei but Chen Qianqing. Yet, even as Chen Qianqing, he wasn’t truly himself.

Chen Qianqing had loving parents, but for the impostor Chen Qianqing, the affection from Liu Huamei and Chen Qingyang felt like an illusion because he wasn’t the real Chen Qianqing. Similarly, Lu Zhengfei had loving parents, but in this world, there was already a Lu Zhengfei.

At this moment, Chen Qianqing felt like an abrupt outsider. He felt undeserving of the kindness from Liu Huamei and Chen Qingyang, and Huang Yuping and Lu Zhongqian no longer appeared as his parents in this world.

Yet, upon hearing the news of Huang Yuping and Lu Zhongqian’s deaths, Chen Qianqing couldn’t help but feel an inexplicable sorrow. In his previous life, after becoming completely disappointed in their son Lu Zhengfei, they had poured all their energy into his younger sister, Lu Yiqin. After her marriage, she had a son and a daughter, and Chen Qianqing could still recall the happiness on their faces during his nephew’s one-month celebration.

But in this world, they didn’t live to see that moment. The sins committed by their son ultimately needed to be repaid, and Chen Qianqing could only think of two words—retribution.

As the saying goes, justice may be delayed but never denied.

Years ago, it was also a fire that took away Chen Qianqing’s eyesight.

Lu Zhengfei had locked Chen Qianqing in the villa, preventing him from escaping in time. He inhaled excessive smoke, and though his life was saved after resuscitation, his eyesight was permanently lost.

For the real Chen Qianqing, this was yet another devastating blow, following the death of his parents.

At that time, Chen Qianqing was only in his early twenties. After learning the news, he was on the verge of collapse. He refused treatment, refused to communicate with others, and even began to starve himself.

In Chen Qianqing’s eyes, the worst culprit wasn’t the arsonist but Lu Zhengfei, who had locked him in the villa and prevented his escape. Without Lu Zhengfei, he wouldn’t have ended up in such a miserable state.

Lu Zhengfei’s negligence was fatal. Though he didn’t lose his life, he lost something far more important than life itself.

The days that followed were excruciating for both Lu Zhengfei and Chen Qianqing.

The most painful thing is not never having something, but having it and then losing it. For a person who had once been whole, losing his eyesight brought despair far greater than someone born blind.

Later, Lu Zhengfei discovered the arsonist and learned that his sister, Lu Yiqin, had been involved. Lu Yiqin had intended to kill Chen Qianqing and had provided the arsonist with false information, leading to Chen Qianqing’s misfortune.

As he thought about all this, Chen Qianqing, sitting on the plane, fell asleep. He leaned against Lu Zhengfei, his breathing even, seemingly in a deep and peaceful slumber.

Lu Zhengfei’s face was expressionless. Since his reappearance, he no longer displayed obvious emotions. Even in front of Chen Qianqing, he seemed to wear a mask of restraint.

He placed a blanket over Chen Qianqing and kissed his cold lips before pulling out a file his assistant had prepared and began to review it.

Chen Qianqing dreamed again. It seemed he only dreamed when he was by Lu Zhengfei’s side, often of the same scenes.

This time, he was back on that hospital bed. He still couldn’t see, but his hearing was sharp.

He heard a woman’s voice saying, “What’s the point of treating him? Isn’t Lu Zhengfei just counting on his sweetheart being blind so he can’t go anywhere? What he did, don’t I know?” It was the same line he had heard in previous dreams, but this time, Chen Qianqing finally understood its meaning and guessed the identity of the speaker.

It was none other than his sister, Lu Yiqin.

The sister he had cared for deeply for over two decades had stabbed him in the back. Behind his back, she spread slander that no one would have believed: “My brother doesn’t even want to cure him. All those medicines are just for show. Don’t believe me? Ha… Just see if he can recover his sight.”

Such words might not have caused much strife between ordinary couples.

But between Lu Zhengfei and Chen Qianqing, whose relationship was already fraught with misunderstandings, they struck deep. Chen Qianqing believed Lu Yiqin’s words. He even believed that the fire was orchestrated by Lu Zhengfei.

Blinded by rage and fear over his loss of sight, Chen Qianqing had no time to discern the truth.

And Lu Zhengfei? He never imagined Chen Qianqing would think that way about him. When Chen Qianqing accused him, saying things like, “It’s all your fault! You made me blind! You planned this! Lu Zhengfei, you’re so cruel, so cruel!” Lu Zhengfei thought it was just an outburst of anger and helplessness.

Indeed, there was anger and helplessness, but their thoughts and emotions were worlds apart.

When the dream ended, Chen Qianqing, the dreamer, could fully feel the original Chen Qianqing’s desire to kill Lu Zhengfei out of hatred.

This misunderstanding lingered until Chen Qianqing’s death and Lu Zhengfei’s eventual suicide. It was never resolved.

The deaths of Liu Huamei and Chen Qingyang, along with the loss of his eyesight—these two events had already sealed the fate of Chen Qianqing and Lu Zhengfei, ensuring there would be no happy ending for them.

Chen Qianqing opened his eyes, a faint mist lingering in his gaze, as if he hadn’t fully woken from the nightmare. The scent of disinfectant seemed to linger in his nose—sharp, cold, and nauseating.

The warm chest behind him shifted slightly. A voice spoke, “What’s wrong? Nightmare?” It was Lu Zhengfei.

Chen Qianqing rubbed his eyes and murmured, “Yes.”

“What did you dream about?” Lu Zhengfei asked.

Chen Qianqing replied, “I dreamed that I went blind.”

Lu Zhengfei tightened his arms around him. “Baby, how could I ever let you go blind?”

Chen Qianqing remained still, leaning against Lu Zhengfei. He thought, Yes, Lu Zhengfei would never let Chen Qianqing go blind. If medicine allowed it, he would probably even give his own eyes to Chen Qianqing. But such emotions never reached him. Chen Qianqing had believed Lu Yiqin’s words and took all of Lu Zhengfei’s sincerity as insincere pretense.

Lu Zhengfei, sharp and calculating all his life, had never anticipated that his own sister would deal him the deepest and most ruthless blow.

The two of them were like trains hurtling on parallel tracks, seemingly destined to meet but continuously diverging further and further apart under various misfortunes.

Chen Qianqing asked, “Who was the arsonist? Did you catch him?”

Lu Zhengfei replied, “I caught him.”

This life was different from the previous one. Lu Yiqin hadn’t been involved this time. Upon hearing the news of Lu Zhongqian and Huang Yuping’s deaths, she had been so devastated that she hadn’t recovered and was still undergoing treatment abroad.

“What did you do to him?” Chen Qianqing asked.

Lu Zhengfei toyed with Chen Qianqing’s soft hair and replied slowly, “I peeled the skin off his body, bit by bit.”

“Is he dead?” Chen Qianqing asked.

“How could I let him die? Staying alive is the only way to truly understand pain,” Lu Zhengfei said. He paused before asking, “Why do you care about this?”

“I was just asking,” Chen Qianqing replied casually.

Lu Zhengfei wasn’t worried that Chen Qianqing had any involvement in the matter. His investigation showed that Chen Qianqing hadn’t left D City in the past four years, and his phone records indicated that the only person he had been in contact with was Wang Wulin. Speaking of Wang Wulin, Lu Zhengfei’s expression darkened slightly. He asked, “Baby, are you close with Wang Wulin?”

Chen Qianqing glanced at him. “Don’t you already know?” Given what he knew about Lu Zhengfei, he was sure that every single thing he’d done in the past four years had been thoroughly investigated.

Lu Zhengfei felt uneasy at Chen Qianqing’s response. He lowered his head and kissed him for a long time, only releasing him reluctantly when Chen Qianqing began to struggle.

A few hours later, the plane landed in A City.

After getting off the plane, Lu Zhengfei took Chen Qianqing to a pre-arranged restaurant. As soon as Xu Shaoren, who had been waiting for a while, saw them, he smiled and said to Chen Qianqing, “Long time no see.”

Chen Qianqing nodded slightly and replied, “Long time no see. I’m going to the restroom.”

The moment Chen Qianqing left, Xu Shaoren’s smile turned sly. He asked, “So, how’s it going?”

Lu Zhengfei sat down and replied, “What do you think? I already drugged him; how could it not work?”

Xu Shaoren sighed. “You really lack confidence, don’t you? Couldn’t you at least try before resorting to drugs?”

Lu Zhengfei’s expression darkened. “You said it was a psychological issue—why bother trying?” In truth, he feared facing the possibility that Chen Qianqing still might not respond to him, which would be too much for him to bear.

Xu Shaoren nodded. “Fair enough. But he looks much healthier compared to a few years ago.”

Lu Zhengfei sneered. “Otherwise, this past year would’ve been wasted.” The reason he waited a year before seeking out Chen Qianqing was twofold: first, he worried that his anger might lead him to hurt Chen Qianqing again, and second, there were unresolved issues within his family. He didn’t want to expose Chen Qianqing to any potential dangers.

So, he suppressed his longing for Chen Qianqing and spent the year cleaning up his family affairs and establishing his authority. Only after everything was settled did he go to D City to bring Chen Qianqing back. During this time, he had assigned people to watch over Chen Qianqing to prevent any unpleasant incidents from occurring.

Xu Shaoren asked, “Was it really worth all this effort?”

He knew about how Lu Zhengfei had once gone to find Chen Qianqing, only to be turned away. That incident had ended with Lu Zhongqian giving Lu Zhengfei a severe beating that nearly left him unconscious.

Lu Zhengfei replied coolly, “When you’ve made mistakes, you have to face the consequences.” He was referring to the time when, in a fit of youthful arrogance, he had broken Chen Qianqing’s leg.

Xu Shaoren shook his head and sighed. “If I encountered someone like you, I think I’d hesitate for a while too.”

Lu Zhengfei gave him a disdainful glance. “Don’t worry, your face is perfectly safe.”

Xu Shaoren: “…”