Everyone in the car had their own thoughts, and no one said anything. The driver, Xiao Wei, was used to Hong Xiangfeng and knew his moody temper, so he didn’t make a fuss and drove the car smoothly.
Li Tang’s cheeks were hot. He had been slapped by Du Xiaobiao before, and now they were even more swollen. He was feeling hot and painful.
The car drove all the way back to the Hong family’s house. Hong Xiangfeng opened the door and got out, saying, “Follow me.” Then he hurriedly walked into the house. He went to the study upstairs. Then he reached out and pulled out the pistol, placing it on the desk. This place was easily accessible, so he felt a little more at ease.
Li Tang and Hong Minhang followed him to the second floor. When Li Tang stood at the door of the study room and was about to knock on the door, Hong Minhang grabbed his wrist. Hong Minhang raised his hand and gently touched Li Tang’s red and swollen cheek. He asked, “Are you okay?”
Li Tang started to move away, but Hong Minhang held his hand tightly.
Li Tang shook his head. “It’s nothing.”
He knocked on the study door and heard Hong Xiangfeng say from inside: “Come in.”
Li Tang and Hong Minhang pushed the door open one after the other.
Hong Xiangfeng put his hands on the desk and looked at Li Tang. He confirmed again, “Du Xiaobiao is really dead?”
Hong Minhang said, “I shot him with my own hands and hit him on the forehead. It was impossible for him to survive.”
Hong Xiangfeng breathed a sigh of relief and cursed in a low voice, “That bastard! He really wanted to kill me!” Then he asked, “Where’s the body?”
Hong Minhang said, “I’ll find someone to handle it.”
Hong Xiangfeng nodded and cast a scrutinizing gaze on Hong Minhang. “Not bad.” Then he said to Li Tang, “What’s going on? Please tell me the truth here.”
The blood stains on the corners of Li Tang’s mouth had not been completely wiped off. He did not hide his ideas from Hong Xiangfeng and told him the whole story, including Bai Xiaoqi’s identity and Bai Xiaoqi’s purpose for approaching him.
“Bai Xiaoqi,” Hong Xiangfeng snorted, “I told you to stay away from that woman, but you just didn’t listen to me!”
Li Tang said nothing.
Hong Xiangfeng took out a cigarette, lit it, and then took a long puff. “That bitch didn’t have good intentions from the beginning!”
Li Tang suddenly said, “She’s dead.”
Hong Xiangfeng stopped. Holding a half-smoked cigarette in his hand, he said, “What do you mean? So what if she dies? She almost killed you and your Gandie! You still can’t let her go?” Hong Xiangfeng threw the cigarette in his hand. The cigarette butt bounced towards Li Tang, the red cigarette butt almost burning his face. Then Hong Xiangfeng slapped the table and stood up. “You think I don’t know what you’re thinking? You’re still blaming me for touching that thing that day. That woman surnamed Bai!”
In fact, how couldn’t he blame him? Even if it was not rape, even if Bai Xiaoqi deliberately seduced him, and even if there was no relationship between him and Bai Xiaoqi, Hong Xiangfeng was still his Gandie. He clearly knew that she was his son’s girlfriend, but he still slept with Bai Xiaoqi without hesitation.
Now that these rumors have spread out, how should Li Tang deal with himself?
In fact, Bai Xiaoqi succeeded in trying to drive a wedge between Li Tang and Hong Xiangfeng, didn’t she? Although Li Tang couldn’t kill Hong Xiangfeng with his own hands, at least they couldn’t go back to the way they were.
Hong Xiangfeng clasped one hand under the table and touched his gun. He felt that Li Tang was a time bomb around him. If it was not solved, he would not be able to rest assured for a day. But after all, he was still the child who had grown up with him. It would be impossible to say that he had no feelings at all, but no one could tell how heavy those feelings were.
Hong Xiangfeng suddenly said, “You go.”
Li Tang and Hong Minhang looked up at him at the same time.
Hong Xiangfeng continued, “When you first came out from your hometown to follow me, you even picked up your uncle’s pants. I haven’t treated you badly over the years. You have Dihong, and you must have a lot of money there now. Regarding Bai Xiaoqi, just treat it as if you repaid me and that we are even. I can’t afford to be your Gandie anymore.”
Li Tang looked at Hong Xiangfeng in disbelief. After so many years of relationship, it was not an exaggeration to say that it has become a father-son relationship, but now Hong Xiangfeng wanted to break it off with such a simple sentence.
Hong Xiangfeng looked at Li Tang, wondering if he felt a little indebted. He sat down again and said, “Are you still living in that old house now?”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Li Tang said nothing.
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Hong Xiangfeng said, “Do you still think I’m your Gandie? Right now, even in this discussion, it’s hard for us to believe in each other! That’s it, don’t talk to me about these anymore. Just go!”
Li Tang then didn’t want to say anything more, so he turned around and walked towards the door of the study.
Suddenly, Hong Minhang reached out and grabbed Li Tang’s wrist, refusing to let him leave. Then he turned around and asked Hong Xiangfeng, “Are you sure you want to cut off all relations with him?”
Hong Xiangfeng asked, “What do you mean?”
Hong Minhang said, “Since you have nothing to do with him, from now on, the relationship between me and him will be purely ours.”
Hong Xiangfeng put his hands on the table and leaned forward, asking with cold eyes, “What on earth do you mean?”
Li Tang sensed that something was wrong and quickly shouted to Hong Minhang, “Minhang!”
Hong Minhang smiled reassuringly at Li Tang, and then said to Hong Xiangfeng, “He is no longer your son. What right do you have to interfere with his affairs?”
Hong Xiangfeng was rather angry. “I am your father! I have the right to get involved in your affairs!”
Hong Minhang said, “I have never recognized your right to interfere with me.”
“Hong Minhang!” Hong Xiangfeng shouted angrily, “What on earth do you want to say?!”
“No, it’s nothing.” Hong Minhang shook his head. “You don’t have to worry about anything. You are still my dad, Dihong’s largest shareholder and chairman of the board of directors. You can still eat, drink, have fun, and play with different women every day. Nothing will change, except that you can no longer get involved in anything related to Li Tang.”
After saying that, Hong Minhang took Li Tang’s hand and walked out. “Let’s go, I’ll take you back to rest.”
Li Tang frowned and waved away Hong Minhang’s hand. “No need, I’ll go back by myself.”
Hong Minhang disagreed, “I don’t want you to leave my sight in a short period of time. I really don’t trust you.”
Li Tang felt that Hong Minhang said these words to Hong Xiangfeng on purpose. He didn’t understand what Hong Minhang’s plan was, but even if he broke off the relationship with Hong Xiangfeng in the future, he still didn’t want Hong Xiangfeng to know this.
Li Tang wanted to leave here.
Hong Xiangfeng suddenly said angrily, “Li Tang, is this how you plan to take revenge on me?”
Not only Li Tang but also Hong Minhang were slightly startled.
Hong Xiangfeng said, “You have already planned to take revenge on me. You want my son to betray me! You want him to follow you and secretly help you harm me!”
Li Tang noticed that Hong Xiangfeng’s mental state seemed a little abnormal. He shook his head and felt that explaining was futile, so he said to Hong Minhang, “You’d better take Gandie to see a doctor.”
After saying that, Li Tang was about to open the door and leave when he saw Hong Xiangfeng suddenly pull out a gun from under the desk and point it at him. “It’s indeed you. Did you find that person last time? Xiangjun and the others told me so much that I didn’t want to believe them every time. Only now do I know that you really have bad intentions. Where have I been unfair to you? If you want a woman, I will find it for you. Why would you go to such an extent with me for a woman?”
“I didn’t!” Li Tang said in a deep voice, “Gandie, please calm down! I wouldn’t do anything. I have never wanted to harm you!”
Hong Minhang couldn’t help but reach out and touch the gun on his waist. It was the gun he snatched from Zhang Hao and later shot Du Xiaobiao.
Hong Minhang said, “Dad, you’ve gone mad.”
The gun in Hong Xiangfeng’s hand turned towards Hong Minhang. He pointed at him with a trembling wrist and said, “Shut up! You have been bewitched by this outsider! You want to help him fight against your father.”
Li Tang was shocked. He quickly said, “Gandie, you have misunderstood. Neither Minhang nor I have ever thought of going against you.”
Hong Xiangfeng pointed his gun back at Li Tang. “You’re not qualified to speak.”
Hearing this, Li Tang raised his hands and said, “Okay, I won’t say anything. I will leave immediately and promise not to appear in the Hong family’s house again. I will not say anything to poison and bewitch Minhang. Gandie, don’t worry. I won’t fight against you again. You will be safe, and no one will be able to hurt you.”
He didn’t know if he was comforted by these words, but Hong Xiangfeng looked at Li Tang for a long time and slowly lowered the hand holding the gun.
Li Tang frowned at Hong Minhang, signaled him not to say anything more to irritate Hong Xiangfeng, and then slowly backed away.
Hong Minhang stood aside and watched silently.
Li Tang turned sideways and opened the door. He looked up at Hong Xiangfeng and then walked out. The moment he turned around, Hong Xiangfeng suddenly raised the gun in his hand.
Gunfire rang out. It was not the gun in Hong Xiangfeng’s hand that fired the bullet, but the gun in Hong Minhang’s hand.
The bullet shot into Hong Xiangfeng’s chest. He wondered if Hong Minhang had hesitated when he shot him. Maybe the shot was originally intended to hit Hong Xiangfeng’s wrist.
Hong Xiangfeng looked down at his chest, blood flowing from his lips.
Li Tang’s mind went blank. He turned around and saw Hong Minhang holding a gun in his hand, looking expressionlessly in Hong Xiangfeng’s direction. At the same time, he heard rapid footsteps running up from downstairs.
Li Tang almost subconsciously grabbed the gun from Hong Minhang’s hand.
The moment the study door was pushed open, what appeared in front of everyone was Hong Xiangfeng, who had been shot in the chest and fell to the ground, and Li Tang, who had a gun in his hand, which he grabbed from one of Hong Minhang’s arms.
Two or three people rushed to hold Li Tang down. Seeing this, Hong Minhang shouted loudly, “Let him go, no matter…”
Before he could finish speaking, Li Tang suddenly slapped Hong Minhang with all his strength. The force was so strong that the corner of Hong Minhang’s mouth instantly bled. Li Tang looked at Hong Minhang fiercely, not knowing whether it was because he hated him for attacking Hong Xiangfeng or to shut him up from talking.
Hong Minhang stretched out his hand to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth, and finally said nothing.
Someone had already called an ambulance.
Hong Xiangfeng did not die. He fell to the ground, and no one dared to touch him. His hands and feet twitched slightly from time to time.
Hong Minhang slowly approached. He squatted down and called “Dad”.
Hong Xiangfeng breathed hard and made a brief sound from his mouth.
Hong Minhang lowered his eyes and whispered, “Dad, what did you say?” He came closer and put his ear to Hong Xiangfeng’s lips.
No one knew what Hong Xiangfeng said. Except for the driver, Xiao Wei, the others in the room were all bodyguards hired by Hong Xiangfeng. He did not trust the closest people around him, but felt that these strangers were more reliable.
Afterwards, Hong Minhang slowly stood up and said to everyone calmly, “Let him go. My dad said it is none of Li Tang’s business. This is a misunderstanding.”
Hong Xiangfeng’s life was at risk at any time. The bodyguards were counting on getting money from the Hong family. At this time, they all chose to listen to Hong Minhang’s words. Only the driver, Xiao Wei, frowned and hesitated to speak. In the end, he didn’t say anything.
When the ambulance arrived, Hong Xiangfeng was already unconscious.
Hong Minhang followed Li Tang to the hospital and watched Hong Xiangfeng be sent to emergency surgery. At the door of the operating room, Li Tang and Hong Minhang didn’t say a word to each other.
Soon, Hong Xiangjun, Hong Xiangguo, and Hong Xiangfeng’s old brothers arrived one after another. Hong Xiangjun kicked Li Tang to the ground, then fiercely pulled his hair. He forced him to raise his head and said, “I will definitely beat you to death.”
No one agreed, but everyone used their gazes to cut him into pieces.
Hong Minhang stretched out his hand to pull Hong Xiangjun away and stood in front of Li Tang. He said, “My father said that he would not pursue Li Tang.”
Hong Xiangjun naturally didn’t believe it. He raised his hand and pointed at the door of the operating room. “Your dad is still in there. We don’t even know if he will survive! Will he tell you personally that he will not pursue the traitor who shot him?”
Hong Minhang’s tone was firm, and his expression was calm. “He said it to me personally, and many people saw it at that time.”
Hong Xiangjun sneered, “What a joke! You probably don’t know that a few days ago, my eldest brother was feeling uneasy, so I accompanied him to see a fortune teller. Do you know what the fortune teller told him? He said that he might suffer a bloody disaster, so he should be careful about his son. Since then, eldest brother has been wary of Li Tang. He has been worried all day, and now you’re saying that he will not pursue this?”
Li Tang was still kneeling on the ground. When he heard Hong Xiangjun’s words, he couldn’t help but raise his hands to cover his face. It turned out that this was the reason why Hong Xiangfeng didn’t believe him. He would rather believe in a fortune teller! Unexpectedly, the bloody disaster on Hong Xiangfeng finally came true, but what he should be careful about was not his sworn son, but Hong Minhang, his biological son. Now that Hong Xiangfeng was lying on the operating table, did he have a sudden realization?
Even though Hong Xiangjun said this, Hong Minhang still kept his face and insisted, “He did tell me personally. As for the reason, he may have suddenly realized when he faced death that his sworn son is the most loyal and devoted person to him. This is the point.”
Hong Xiangjun said, “Do you dare to swear?”
Hong Minhang responded calmly, “Why can’t I? I, Hong Minhang, swear to God that every word I said today is the truth; otherwise, I will not have a good death.”
Hearing that Hong Minhang swore such a poisonous oath, Li Tang was instantly shocked. He reached out to grab Hong Minhang’s ankle, trying to stop him.
But Hong Minhang still said the oath.
Hong Xiangjun took a step back and finally did not insist. He was still waiting, hoping that Hong Xiangfeng could come out safely and tell everyone the truth of the matter in person.
However, after Hong Xiangfeng came out of the operating room, he never woke up again. He relied on a breathing machine for two days and finally died after resuscitation failed.
The Hong family used their connections to suppress the incident with the police. However, for Li Tang, no matter how hard Hong Minhang persisted, he could not stay in the Hong family, not to mention that he himself felt discouraged. The Hong family was no longer the Hong family he could remember.
It’s not that Hong Xiangjun had never thought of dealing with Li Tang in private, but Hong Minhang had been looking for someone to protect Li Tang secretly. After all, as soon as Hong Xiangfeng died, Hong Minhang inherited all the property in Hong Xiangfeng’s name and was already Dihong’s largest shareholder. Hong Xiangjun didn’t want to offend Hong Minhang, so he had to give up temporarily and look for another opportunity.
After that, Hong Minhang went to look for Li Tang in the old house where Li Tang lived.
Li Tang opened the door, let him in, and then closed the door.
Hong Minhang stood in the living room and said, “Li-ge, come back with me.”
“Come back? Where to?” Li Tang asked.
Hong Minhang said, “Come back to the Hong family’s house. If you don’t like it, we can move out, change houses, and live together.”
Li Tang shook his head. “Minhang, do you think it’s still possible for us to live together?”
“Why?” Hong Minhang asked, “Because I killed Hong Xiangfeng? If I didn’t shoot, it could have been you who was dead.”
Li Tang took a deep breath and said, “I know, so I’m not blaming you. I just can’t find a suitable reason to feel at ease with you in the future.”
“Do I make you feel uneasy?”
Li Tang said, “No, it’s because I can’t feel at ease myself. It’s like a nightmare. As soon as I see you, I can’t help but think of the bullet in my father’s chest. I won’t feel at ease for the rest of my life.”
Hong Minhang said in a deep voice, “He has gone crazy.”
Li Tang suddenly raised his hand and touched Hong Minhang’s face. “Minhang, we shouldn’t have put him to death. Do you understand?”
Hong Minhang was silent for a moment and then said, “That shot—I originally wanted to hit his hand.”
Li Tang put his arms around Hong Minhang’s shoulders, hugged him tightly, and then let go. “Minhang, don’t come to me again. I have nothing to do with Dihong and the Hong family anymore. From now on, Li Tang will just be Li Tang.”
After Hong Minhang left that day, when he came to this dilapidated, small residential building again, Li Tang had already moved. It’s not that Hong Minhang didn’t know where Li Tang had gone, but he didn’t appear in front of Li Tang again. He only waited silently, hoping that Li Tang’s nightmare would fade one day.
