Lu Yan furrowed his sword-like eyebrows. "Who else?"
Ah Cai came out of the villa. "What Uncle and Aunt mean is, where is Sister Ah Yin?"
Lu Yan pressed his thin lips together tightly. His voice was deep, cold, and hoarse as he said, "She is working in Harbor City."
Mother Lu slapped the back of Lu Yan's head. "You brat, you couldn't even bring my daughter-in-law back. You really need to work on your charm."
Lu Yan, "..."
"If you don't bring my daughter-in-law back next time, don't bother coming back yourself."
After saying that, Mother Lu went inside to spend time with her grandson and granddaughter.
Lu Yan stood outside the door for a while. By the time he entered the villa, cheerful laughter was coming from the living room.
The twins obediently called out to their grandpa and grandma.
Father Lu and Mother Lu's faces bloomed with joy.
Lu Yan looked at Little Yiyi. The little guy was sitting on Father Lu's lap, and although his small face looked aloof, he did not resist.
Lu Yan felt a bit sour in his heart.
The little guy accepted his grandparents, but he alone refused to acknowledge him as his daddy.
After dinner, Lu Yan called Little Yiyi aside privately.
"Kid, can you call me Daddy?"
Little Yiyi snorted proudly, "Have you coaxed my mommy yet?"
Lu Yan, "..."
"If you can't make my mommy happy, I won't acknowledge you."
Lu Yan raised his large hand and rubbed the little guy's head. "If you don't want to acknowledge me as your daddy, I won't force you. But from now on, can you bring your sister and visit grandpa and grandma often?"
"Grandpa and grandma like me, my sister, and Mommy. Naturally, we will visit them often."
With Little Yiyi's words, Lu Yan felt relieved.
He stayed at home to accompany his parents for nearly a week. Before leaving, he told Father Lu and Mother Lu to take good care of themselves.
Mother Lu noticed Lu Yan's unusual behavior. She held his hand. "Are you going out on another dangerous mission?"
Otherwise, why did his words just now sound like he was leaving his last will and testament?
Lu Yan's deep eagle-like eyes reddened slightly. "Mom, Dad, when I joined the IBI, I was already prepared to sacrifice myself. Even if I'm gone one day, you still have your grandson and granddaughter. Your son has left descendants for the Lu family and fulfilled his duty!"
Father Lu and Mother Lu exchanged a glance, their expressions heavy, and remained silent for a long time.
Yes, ever since Lu Yan joined the IBI, their family had been prepared for him to sacrifice his personal life for the greater good and to lay down his life at any time.
But if that day truly came, the elderly burying the young, they still wouldn't be able to bear such a massive blow!
They were not saints, after all.
Tears welled up in Mother Lu's eyes. "Did the mission regarding Third Master Qin cause some problem with your health?"
When her son returned this time, she could clearly feel that he had lost a lot of weight.
Lu Yan bent his knees, knelt before Father Lu and Mother Lu, and kowtowed to them three times.
"Mom, Dad, I hope you can understand and respect my decision."
Father Lu patted Lu Yan's shoulder. "Do whatever you want to do. Even though your mother and I sometimes speak harshly, you will always be our proudest son!"
After Lu Yan left home, everyone lost contact with him.
He seemed to have vanished from the face of the earth; no one knew where he had gone.
...
After Jiang Shuyin's confession was rejected by Lu Yan, she never took the initiative to contact him again.
It wasn't until over twenty days later, when Jiang Shuyin returned to Country M to attend the parent-child sports meet held by the twins' kindergarten.
Little Sweet Orange wanted Lu Yan to participate together and proactively called him.
However, Lu Yan's phone indicated it was turned off.
Little Sweet Orange's big eyes were filled with disappointment.
"Daddy is a big liar. He clearly promised me last time that he would attend the parent-child sports meet."
Unable to bear seeing the little girl shed tears, Jiang Shuyin took the initiative to call Lu Yan.
She couldn't get through either.
She sent him messages, but the sent messages were like stones dropped into the ocean, receiving no response.
Jiang Shuyin had no choice but to contact Qin Chuan.
Qin Chuan told her that Lu Yan was on leave, and now everyone in the IBI couldn't contact him.
"Miss Jiang, to tell you the truth, during this time, we have exhausted all methods but still couldn't get Ji Shaoqin to hand over the antidote for the Five-Color Flower poison. In another month, Captain Lu will likely die from the poison!"
Hearing Qin Chuan's words, Jiang Shuyin's ears buzzed.
After a long while, she finally snapped back to reality and asked with a trembling voice, "Didn't Qin Xiaoxiao get the antidote for him?"
"The medicine Ji Shaoqin gave Qin Xiaoxiao was fake."
At this moment, Jiang Shuyin finally understood why Lu Yan had rejected her confession.
It turned out that it was because he didn't have much time left to live.
Thinking of him hiding away all alone to endure the torment of the deadly poison, Jiang Shuyin's heart tightened with unbearable pain.
After explaining things to Little Sweet Orange and Little Yiyi, she immediately bought a plane ticket back to Harbor City.
As soon as she got off the plane, she rushed non-stop to find Ji Chi.
After Ji Shaoqin's incident, the Ji family went bankrupt. Unable to accept the blow, Ji Chi spent almost every day getting drunk in bars.
A few second-generation rich kids happened to be looking for trouble with Ji Chi.
Ji Chi was exceptionally handsome and alluring, and coupled with his wealth, many women used to throw themselves at him.
The sister of one of the rich kids had once committed suicide over Ji Chi. In the past, he hadn't dared to offend Ji Chi because Ji Chi had Ji Shaoqin backing him up.
But now that the Ji family had fallen and Ji Shaoqin had become an international criminal, Ji Chi's status had plummeted.
He naturally wanted to kick him while he was down and make life miserable for Ji Chi.
The rich kid threw a glass of alcohol in Ji Chi's face. "Young Master Ji, if you kneel down and crawl between my legs, I won't cause you trouble anymore. How about it? That's a fair deal, right?"
The other rich kids all burst into laughter.
Ji Chi narrowed his peach-blossom eyes. He stood up from the barstool, his long fingers grabbing the rich kid's collar. "What the hell do you think you are, daring to ask me to crawl between your legs?"
The rich kid raised an eyebrow. "If you don't do it, don't even think about walking out of this bar tonight. Do you think you're still the high and mighty Young Master Ji? Crushing you now is as easy as stepping on an ant!"
The rich kid called his bodyguards over. "Break his stubborn bones and make him kneel on the ground and beg for mercy."
A dozen bodyguards all attacked Ji Chi.
Being all alone, Ji Chi was naturally no match for the bodyguards, and he was quickly beaten to the ground.
Seeing Ji Chi beaten black and blue, a sinister smile curled on the rich kid's lips, and then...
He raised his foot and stomped viciously on Ji Chi's most vulnerable spot.
Like a small beast that had suffered a massive injury, a pained, muffled groan escaped Ji Chi's throat.
The rich kid laughed uproariously. "Ji Shaoqin got life imprisonment, and now Ji Chi has become a cripple. The Ji family will never be able to turn things around again!"
When Jiang Shuyin rushed to the bar, she happened to see the scene where Ji Chi had been beaten beyond recognition, curled up on the floor, weak and helpless.
"Stop! All of you, stop!" Jiang Shuyin rushed over, holding up her phone. "I've already called the police!"
Seeing this, the rich kid immediately left with his bodyguards.
Looking at Ji Chi, who was in so much pain he was about to pass out, Jiang Shuyin hurriedly called an ambulance.
