Chapter 251: Liu Changqing’s Thoughts |
Liu Changqing was momentarily stunned by An Qianxun’s sudden question. He glanced at him, surprised by his serious expression, then fell silent, thinking for a moment.
“Is your father planning to make a move against him?”
“No, my dad doesn’t intend to get involved.”
The answer was unexpected.
Hearing An Qianxun bring this up, Liu Changqing had assumed that An Yuanyao’s father would want to deal with Li Chongming for the sake of his daughter.
But An Qianxun’s next words proved that wasn’t the case.
“You probably already know—Li Wanran’s father and my dad used to be very close friends. Because of that, he can’t interfere in this matter.”
“……”
“The reason my family sent me here was, first, to see how my sister is doing. And second…”
An Qianxun paused briefly, instinctively glancing behind him to make sure his sister wasn’t eavesdropping. Then, he stepped closer to Liu Changqing and lowered his voice.
“The second reason… is to ask for your opinion. Do you plan to act like nothing happened and just live a good life with my sister? Or… do you intend to make Li Chongming pay for what he did?”
Liu Changqing didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he gave An Qianxun a glance before reaching into his pocket.
Once again, he pulled out his pack of cigarettes.
“I’m having a smoke.”
“Go ahead.”
An Qianxun didn’t object. He simply stood with his arms crossed, leaning casually against the wall, watching as Liu Changqing lit up.
Liu Changqing took a slow drag and exhaled.
He had significantly cut back on smoking recently. Although An Yuanyao never outright banned it, he had been mindful not to expose her to secondhand smoke. He always smoked outside and made sure to brush his teeth afterward.
Compared to before, his smoking frequency had decreased drastically.
The reason he lit up this time was because of An Qianxun’s question.
In reality, Liu Changqing had already started secretly investigating Li Chongming last month.
At first, Li Chongming’s company had been thriving. But due to increasing competition from both domestic and international markets, it was now on a downward spiral.
Perhaps realizing the impending failure, Li Chongming had practically abandoned his own company and instead gotten involved with Ye Rong’s business.
It seemed Ye Rong had personally invited him in.
Liu Changqing had learned all this through Chen Dafu’s sources.
And the reason he had been looking into this was…
“I can’t touch him for now—Ye Rong is backing him.”
“Ye Rong, huh…”
Hearing that name, An Qianxun’s expression shifted slightly, then he nodded. After all, even in his childhood memories, that woman had never been a good person.
“But… does that mean you’re just going to let this go?”
“I never wanted to have anything to do with him. But… some things are beyond my control.”
“Beyond your control?”
An Qianxun was confused by this cryptic response.
From an outsider’s perspective, the best course of action for Liu Changqing was to move on, leave the past behind, and focus on building a new life.
But… Liu Changqing wasn’t originally from this world.
He had inherited this body’s memories, this body’s love for its children, and… this body’s lifelong pain of living in Li Wanran’s shadow.
That was why, when he had first encountered Li Wanran, he couldn’t hold back his anger and lashed out at her.
That was why, when he saw Li Chongming and Li Wanran together, he instinctively threw out hurtful words.
And that was why he absolutely despised Ye Rong.
Logically, these three people should have had nothing to do with the new Liu Changqing. There should have been no lingering connections between them.
Yet, the hatred he felt toward them wasn’t entirely his own—it was a remnant of the past Liu Changqing’s emotions.
Fortunately, over time, that influence had gradually weakened.
The last time he saw Li Wanran, his emotions were much more stable.
But that didn’t mean he had let go.
No—far from it.
Liu Changqing had already made up his mind.
He would make sure that both Li Chongming and Ye Rong paid for what they had done.
For that 35-year-old Liu Changqing, he would fulfill the last wish he had in this world.
And for their repeated attempts to step over his bottom line, he would make them pay.
An Qianxun waited a long time for a response. Seeing Liu Changqing lost in thought, silently smoking until only the filter remained, he was about to speak—
But then, Liu Changqing finally answered.
“I never planned on letting them have it easy.”
A straightforward answer.
Hearing this, the serious expression on An Qianxun’s face slowly eased.
He gave Liu Changqing a long, scrutinizing look.
“I’ve heard about you before. People say you were a useless loser who only had a career because of Li Wanran’s father…”
“Who the hell’s been gossiping about me behind my back?”
“Doesn’t matter. Besides, it looks like they weren’t entirely right.”
Lowering his arms, An Qianxun stretched lazily in front of Liu Changqing and then grinned.
“Well, that settles my questions. I’ll let my dad know when I get back. Oh, and…”
He deliberately paused for effect. Then, stepping closer, he lightly patted Liu Changqing’s chest with the back of his hand and revealed an inside secret.
“My dad’s known about you and my sister for a while now. Otherwise, do you really think your game got recommended on that variety show by coincidence?”
“You’re saying…?”
“Just a little help to get you started. The rest is up to you.”
After saying that, An Qianxun continued,
“My dad also said that any grudges between the younger generation should be handled by themselves. But… he’s still my sister’s father, isn’t he? His daughter went through all that suffering—how could he possibly do nothing?”
With that, he shot Liu Changqing a meaningful smile.
“You’re a father too. You should understand how it feels when your child gets hurt, right?”
After those final words, An Qianxun brushed past Liu Changqing and headed toward An Yuanyao’s room.
As the sound of the door closing echoed, Liu Changqing was left alone by the window.
His cigarette had burned down to the filter, leaving only a stub.
Liu Changqing silently turned to look outside.
Then, raising his hand, he flicked the cigarette out the window with his thumb and middle finger.
Watching the tiny ember disappear from his sight, his previously expressionless face gradually curved into a faint smile.