C14- Taking Care Of Lu Ran

　As the son of the kidnapper, Lu Ran was also a witness to the past. He clearly remembered the despair and darkness that Gu Yan experienced in the first week.

In the invisible basement, Lu Ran’s father tried almost every evil method he could think of on Gu Yan. He even used the door to get a cage of poisonous snakes and put them in the basement.

Although the poisonous teeth were pulled, the bite would not be fatal. But in such an environment, fear could be infinitely magnified, and even a strong-minded adult would probably not be able to survive it.
Gu Yan, who was only seven years old at the time, was undoubtedly almost driven insane.

It must be said that the heir raised by the High Gate had his own special characteristics. Although he was driven almost crazy, Gu Yan did not cry out like those children before him, and he did not even beg for mercy from beginning to end. When he woke up, he even tried to provoke Lu Ran’s father as much as possible to keep his attention on him, so that he wouldn’t strike at Yun Zheng on a whim.

As for Yun Zheng, who was only five years old, he was also surprisingly calm. In the most critical situation, he took the initiative to reveal his identity and offered to exchange all of the Yun family’s assets for the chance to let Gu Yan leave, to tempt his father.

“If you don’t spare Gu Yan, the Gu family will come to your door sooner or later. He is the heir to the Gu family, and if he is really destroyed, it will not only be a matter of paying for his life. I’m sure you’ve heard of the Gu family’s tactics.”

“But I’m different,” Yun Zheng took out the specially shaped key hanging around his neck, “I’m the only one left in the Yun family, and the business has been handed over to a brokerage firm to manage. The specific money is in the vault of the bank. Here are the key, password, and contact information of the responsible lawyer. Although you can’t get the business, you can get the wealth accumulated by the Yun family so far, as long as you let go of Gu Yan. ”

People died for money, birds died for food. The bait Yun Zheng threw out was dangerous, but it was enough to satisfy greed. What made Father Lu’s heart flutter was Yun Zheng’s identity.

Who would have thought that the child he kidnapped in passing was the only remaining bloodline of the Yun family in China?

At that time, there was a saying circulating among the gentry in Yanjing that the Gu family was the loyal dog of the Yun family. Every generation of the Gu family would unconditionally accept the Yun family’s three orders. Therefore, as long as Yun Zheng said that the Gu family should spare them, the Gu family would not dare to do anything even if they wanted to tear them apart.

What was more, Gu Yan was already a ruined rag doll, so even if he were to leave, he wouldn’t be able to say anything.

What happened afterward was logical. Yun Zheng gave an order to the delirious Gu Yan and left with Lu Ran and his son. After Gu Yan was recovered, he had to be sent abroad for treatment due to mental problems. On Yun Zheng’s side, Lu Ran’s father took him and Lu Ran back to his hometown of Xingcheng in order to keep out of the limelight for a while, while a plan to replace him with his son was gradually born.

It was at this time that Lu Ran was groomed to imitate Yun Zheng’s every move.

Unfortunately, as fate would have it, as soon as they stepped into Xingcheng, Lu Ran’s father was killed instantly in a car accident, while Yun Zheng suffered a head injury and lost his memory, unable to remember anything except his name. As for Lu Ran, he was lucky enough to escape and was given the key to the bank vault which Yun Zheng had exchanged for Gu Yan.

The memories ended here, and under Gu Yan’s aura of coercion, Lu Ran’s feigned composure finally collapsed. Shaking his hands, he took out the key and begged in a low voice: “Boss Gu, please let me go, I was also forced to …… won’t touch the Yun family’s things, and Yun Zheng …… is also fine! …… Please, please let me go.”

Lu Ran was really afraid that after Yun Zheng’s case became a big deal on the Internet, his adoptive father and mother would treat him as an abandoned son. The Xingcheng Gu family, as if they had been raided, became desolate and cold overnight. Even the housekeepers and servants were scattered in all directions.
　　
　　There was only one person in the huge mansion, Lu Ran. The feeling of panic that he might be hunted at any moment, every second he survived was like a year. So much so, that when Lu Ran was handcuffed by the police, he even had a sense of excitement that he was finally relieved and thought he had nothing to fear.

However, when he came face to face with Gu Yan, he suddenly realized that he wasn’t afraid of death, but rather, he was afraid that he couldn’t die even if he wanted to.

As if he was in a cave of ice, Lu Ran’s body was swaying, his face was pale, and he was shaking. However, Gu Yan smiled unexpectedly, and his tone became much softer.

He said, “Lu Ran, if I let you go, who will make up for the pain Yun Zheng has suffered for so many years?”

“The kidnapping in Yanjing, the displacement along the way, the car accident in Xingcheng, the gossip you created in elementary school, the school violence in middle school, and now the jail sentence ……”

One by one, one by one, every time Gu Yan recited the sentence, Lu Ran’s fear increased. At the end, Lu Ran was almost scared to death in the interrogation room. He couldn’t believe that in just a few days, Gu Yan had investigated his and Yun Zheng’s lives for the past ten years so carefully.

“They all, they all made me do it …… they all made me do it!” Lu Ran shouted hysterically. He understood that Gu Yan would never let him go. But he was unwilling, why did he get such a result in the end even though he had planned everything?

“Back then, if I didn’t let you go ……”

“But there are no regrets. The sins you and your father owe should be paid back by now. As for your adoptive parents, don’t worry, they will soon come to accompany you. It’s really foolish of you, with your unappetizing behavior, that the Xingcheng Gu family and your father could come up with a substitute like you.”

After saying that, Gu Yan turned off the video call and ordered the housekeeper, “Keep an eye on him and keep his mouth shut. Yun Zheng said before that he would do it himself.”

“Yes.” The housekeeper quickly agreed, but before leaving, he hesitantly asked a supplementary question, “That young master Yun’s object, do you want to let Xingcheng know that ……”

“No need.” Gu Yan shook his head, a gleam of rare amusement appeared in his eyes: “The one in Lu Ran’s hand is a fake, but I really have it. Besides, pack up your things and return to China in two days.”

“Go back to China?” The butler froze incredulously.

“Hmm. The original order did not include his amnesia.”

———

After three more days, with the thunderous outburst of the provincial leaders, the lawsuit between Yun Zheng and the city manager was quickly investigated to the end.

In just seventy-two hours, not only was Lu Ran, who had maliciously paid off the city manager, arrested but also the Xingcheng Gu family was wanted for corruption, bribery, tax evasion, and other charges. Even Lu Ran’s adoptive mother’s mother’s family was also implicated.
　　
　　The Xingcheng Gu family, once known as the “earth emperor” of Xingcheng, had collapsed overnight. The Xingcheng government’s top brass, too, had a large-scale blood change. The new leadership of the city council, came directly from the head of Yanjing. Even a seemingly insignificant place like the City Administrative Office was hit by the storm.

Li Wenyi, as the director of the City Administrative Office, was not strict, but when it came to first-time offenders, there was no end. If there were no special opportunities, he would most likely squat in his current position until retirement. As for those few city managers who found trouble with Yun Zheng, they even lost their jobs directly and were never hired by the institution.

The Xingcheng City’s case also became one of the biggest cases in China this year and was classified as typical to serve as a warning to others.

“Great joy, to deal with these corrupt officials, we have to be ruthless!”

“Exactly! The poor kid who was caught before still came out, and I don’t know how many more there are that didn’t burst out.”

“Hey, it’s a pity about that little boss’s handiwork, since the accident, the little boss doesn’t come out to set up his stall anymore. It feels like life has lost a lot of fun.”

Sitting in front of the computer, Yun Zheng looked over the news about Xingcheng, and his heart, which was always preoccupied after his rebirth, was finally completely put down. The plot of this life was successfully reversed by him, and the bad fate between him and Lu Ran could also be cut off.

In his last life, Lu Ran caused him to die with regrets, but in this life, he would have a taste of prison himself. What was more, Lu Ran deserved it, so he wasn’t innocent at all.

He got up and walked to the window, the bright sunlight shined on Yun Zheng. This long-lost relaxation and coziness, at this moment, made his eyes redden faintly.

It was finally over.
Yun Zheng understood that until now, he had never truly been reborn!

————

Because it was still summer vacation, and because Chen Jun was still in a state of shock after the big change, he went to Yun Zheng’s place almost every day recently. After a simple adjustment, Yun Zheng also finalized his future plans smoothly.
The noodle stall could no longer be set up, but the money-grubbing could not be stopped. So, Yun Zheng thought of a better way – he planned to become a food blogger.

The previous incident in Xingcheng had brought great exposure to his Weibo account. And the rewards from the netizens also gave him new inspiration. The point was, after relieving himself of all the hazy baggage, Yun Zheng, who now had nothing to worry about, had developed a great curiosity and desire to explore the auction house system.

He was very interested in what kind of special surprises the system could bring him after the increasing wealth value. In addition, Yun Zheng also hoped that with his own efforts, he could make the old director and the children of the orphanage live a more comfortable and stable life.

“Blogging?” The first time he heard this term, Chen Jun was a little confused. But he was accustomed to following Yun Zheng, so he didn’t raise any counter-argument, and soon began to actively cooperate with Yun Zheng’s arrangement.

Even such relatively unfamiliar tasks as filming and editing could be started immediately.

In the orphanage’s kitchen, a one-finger-wide piece of fatty meat, half a bowl of white noodles, a few sweet potatoes, and a handful of wild vegetables were all the ingredients Yun Zheng would use today.

“Is it okay?” Chen Jun also looked a little worried. In the past few days, he has followed many food blogs to learn from them and found that most of the food bloggers cooked exquisite food, while Yun Zheng’s seemed to be extraordinarily simple and homemade.

As for the little ones who followed to see what was going on, they were also curious.

“What is Brother Yun Zheng planning to do?”

“Is this delicious, Brother Yun Zheng?”

“When is Brother Yun Zheng’s dinner going to be ready?”

“We’ll see in a moment.” Yun Zheng smiled and touched their heads, then turned to Chen Jun and affirmed, “It doesn’t matter, there’s absolutely no problem.”