Volume One, Chapter 20: Yang Chongrui Lost His Temper

Zhang Han stood by the hospital room window, opening it to let the July evening breeze gently brush his face. He pulled out a soft cigarette, held it between his lips without lighting it.

The streetlights outside cast shadows on Zhang Han’s profile, intertwining light and darkness—half of his face bathed in brightness, the other half shrouded in shadow.

Yang Song tilted his head, glancing sideways at Zhang Han, waiting for a response. Yet an inexplicable stir unsettled him; Zhang Han seemed somehow different, though he couldn’t quite put his finger on what had changed.

All he knew was that the aura emanating from Zhang Han was unlike that of a recent high school graduate.

Zhang Han pretended to blow out the smoke from his mouth. “Yang Song, do you really see me as that kind of person?”

“How could I ever lay a hand on Aunt Yan!”

“Tsk, just admit whether you like her or not,” Yang Song urged anxiously.

First, you don’t let outsiders benefit from your own turf.

Second, Zhang Han was young—he could definitely satisfy Liu Yan.

Third, there was the long game to consider: perhaps they could scheme something bigger, like installing a hidden camera in the hotel, and have her mother stage a protest.

“I’m not named Cao,” Zhang Han waved his hand dismissively, signaling to drop the subject. “The doctor said you need to eat light meals. I ordered some porridge for you. Drink it yourself later; if you can’t…”

Zhang Han grinned mischievously, “Call the nurse to feed you.”

Yang Song shook his head helplessly. “What else am I good for like this?”

After chatting with Yang Song for a while longer, Zhang Han left and headed to Liu Yan’s ward.

Liu Yan was inside, doing some simple stretching exercises. She was feeling much better now; the pain in her abdomen had subsided.

Seeing Zhang Han enter, she asked with concern, “How are those two?”

Zhang Han forced a bitter smile, shaking his head. “No way to reason with them. Both are stubborn—it won’t be settled in a day or two.”

He rubbed his neck and tapped his shoulders. Liu Yan, perceptive as always, gestured for him to sit and began massaging his shoulders. Her upper body lightly brushed against his back, and her gentle voice surprised even herself. “Thank you for all your hard work, Xiao Han.”

“If it weren’t for you today, I wouldn’t even know what to do.”

Zhang Han raised an eyebrow, flashing his white teeth. “Aunt Yan, you wouldn’t happen to be in love with a guy twenty years younger than you, would you?”

“Ugh, stop it~” Liu Yan acted coy, wrapping her arms around Zhang Han and leaning her upper body against his back, her red lips brushing his ear. “What’s wrong? Already tired of Aunt Yan?”

To be honest, Liu Yan had indeed noticed Zhang Han’s virtues—strong body, handsome face, and willing to spend money on her.

Money wasn’t the point—it was the willingness to spend it on her that mattered.

Gifts, hospital bills—at least over a hundred thousand yuan. Liu Yan knew Zhang Han wouldn’t have spent so freely if it weren’t for her.

Her heart warmed, especially compared to that useless Yang Zhongrui, who was a thousand times worse.

“Men are all the same in the end—want something they can’t have, but once they get it, they change completely,” Liu Yan teased.

Zhang Han hooked his large hand around Liu Yan’s waist. She sat on his lap, entwined her neck around his, resting her chin on his head, eyes closed, breathing in the strong scent of his virility.

“Actually, if you ever get tired of me…”

“Never. Nothing tastes better than dumplings, nothing’s more fun than…” Zhang Han cut her off with a kiss. A minute later, they parted.

“Aunt Yan, your stomach tonight…”

“It’s fine.” Liu Yan flicked her long hair seductively, her voice alluring. “Aunt Yan’s not just got one mouth, you know.”

Half an hour later, Zhang Han left the hospital. Though Liu Yan’s room had two beds, it wouldn’t do to let rumors spread.

Besides, he was busy!

He had been busy all day, unable to reply to messages on WeChat. Zhao Rui, Xia Shuang, Bai Bing, and even male classmates from his class all invited him out.

Zhang Han replied selectively, then stood by the roadside waiting for a ride, lighting another soft cigarette.

“Phew…”

Blue smoke curled upward, partially obscuring his handsome face. Tonight he hadn’t gone to anyone’s side—he returned home alone.

He didn’t turn on the lights, curling up on the sofa, his mind replaying fragments of his past life.

His next target was Liu Zhong’s mistress. Not to expose her now and ruin Liu Zhong’s family, but to force the mistress to demand money from Liu Zhong.

As for the mistress, she was no saint either. According to his roommate’s information, she was a habitual third party—whoever paid her, she’d sleep with, ruining many families.

Liu Zhong was merely greedy for pleasure and didn’t take precautions, which led to the mistress’s pregnancy. At first, she wanted to abort it, but Liu Zhong wanted a son, and since Li Jie couldn’t have children, they decided to wait.

Later, a hospital check revealed it was a boy, so they chose to keep the child.

Especially since Li Jie had fallen downstairs and couldn’t bear children anymore, she could no longer fulfill Liu Zhong’s wish for a son.

In a few days, Zhang Han planned to leak some information about Liu Zhong to the mistress. He stared coldly at the moonlight outside the window.

Early the next morning, Zhang Han took a taxi to the hospital and bought porridge and steamed buns nearby.

He came to care for the Yang family of three.

He first visited Yang Song’s ward. Youth was indeed capital—Yang Song was recovering quickly. Today, he could already open his eyes and complained while drinking porridge.

Zhang Han was too tired to listen to his nonsense and went to deliver breakfast to Yang Zhongrui.

Yang Zhongrui had long since woken up; many of the bandages on his face had been removed. After all, it was summer, and too much covering would cause sweat and infection—though his head was still wrapped in gauze.

His face was dark and sullen, his brows tightly furrowed. Though he had taken sick leave for his injuries, work was still manageable, but the incessant calls and messages demanding payment left him irritable.

If this dragged on, he would have to sell his house.

Maybe barely enough to weather this crisis.

Zhang Han handed Yang Zhongrui a steamed bun. “Uncle, what’s wrong? Why the long face so early?”

Yang Zhongrui bit into the bun, tasteless as ever. After staring silently at Zhang Han for a while, he finally spoke slowly.

“Xiao Han, I have something to tell you.”

“It’s like this… I’m really tight on cash right now—over a million short. You have plenty of money: five million from the demolition compensation plus eighteen million from the lottery, about twenty million in total.”

“Can you lend me a million? Please, I’m begging you.”

Yang Zhongrui gripped Zhang Han’s hand tightly, eyes moist again.

Zhang Han was now his only lifeline.

“Ah?” Zhang Han was very surprised. “Uncle, why didn’t you tell me sooner? If you had, I wouldn’t have thrown all that money into building a chicken farm in Fulai Village.”

“What!” Yang Zhongrui felt as if struck by lightning, his vision darkening as he almost collapsed.

“You’re telling me? You spent twenty million on a chicken farm?”

“Yes, I want to do business. I always felt money was unsafe in the bank, so I bought property to raise chickens.”

“Oh, that was arranged by Uncle Liu. I promised him over a million if the deal went through and already paid him four hundred thousand. I still owe him almost a million.”

“You’re crazy! Fulai Village is a godforsaken place—how can anyone raise chickens there?”

“I already bought it…” Zhang Han scratched his head sheepishly. “Uncle, I have to go now—I’m off to take care of Aunt Yan.”

Zhang Han dashed out the door.

But he didn’t leave; instead, he hid outside, pretending to ponder life while secretly observing.

Five minutes later, Yang Zhongrui’s furious roar echoed from the ward.

“Liu, split the forty thousand you made from Zhang Han with me, or I’ll expose your scheme to cheat Zhang Han on the design!”