Chapter 20 – Goodbye

"Why did you stop talking?" Hao Ritian noticed Cheng Nian hold his tongue with a frightened look and raised his brows, seemingly puzzled.

Cheng Nian felt like he'd been seen through. Complex emotions like diffidence, helplessness, guilt, panic and so on interwove. He, who'd just woken up from surgery, couldn't handle it and under this great pressure, his eyes went dark and he fainted.　

Hao Ritian, "…"

Even someone as calm and collected as him couldn't help but freeze. Cheng Nian's psychological quality was just this much, yet he dared to put on an act in front of him—who gave him the courage?!

However, it was precisely this very 'thing' that he disdained who became the cause of tragedy in Yan Qi's later life. Once he thought of that, Hao Ritian's complexion suddenly became indescribable.　　

At first, he was determined to crack down on Cheng Nian but, suddenly, he found his interest flag. Cheng Nian's life was pretty much done for. Not only was he wantonly played with, he'd even become a druggie while the Yuan Wenyu he had blackmailed had been sent to jail. Even if he managed to recover and leave the hospital, he would never receive any good prospects for the rest of his life. Compared to planning his direct death, Hao Ritian felt this was a worse punishment.　

He swept his eyes over Cheng Nian without a thread of emotion. Cheng Nian was no different from any inanimate object in his eyes. With his hands in his pockets, Hao Ritian turned around and left the ward, tossing Cheng Nian out of his mind.

When Cheng Nian woke up again, he spent many days trembling in fear. During those days, neither did the police come looking for him nor was he summoned to court. He was relieved and thought Yan Qi had forgiven him for the sake of past affections.　

After a couple of days, he found himself alone in the hospital with no one visiting him. When he called 'Ah Cheng', he discovered that he'd been blacklisted. Ah Cheng was that strong man who had turned him from a one to a zero. He couldn't find Ah Cheng and he didn't have any other family. Once the hospitalisation fee Hao Ritian had paid for him was used up, the hospital began to drive him away.　

The most unendurable thing for him was that after a few days of not taking drugs, he started to face withdrawals again. But he couldn't even afford to be hospitalised, so how could he afford the drugs? Since he left the hospital in a mess, he was left with no choice but to go to the Yan House. However, he could've never dreamt that during the mere half month or so that he had stayed in the hospital, the owners of the Yan residence had changed!!!　

Cheng Nian was totally confused. It was like he was the only one left in the whole wide world. He didn't know where the Yan family had gone and when he tried to inquire about it, people would look at his slovenly and indefatigable spirits, his 'severely ill patient' appearance, and couldn't be willing to bother with him. With a flash of inspiration, he clutched onto his final life-saving straw, which was the Yan company.　　

Using the little bit of money left on him, he called a cab to the Yan company with difficulty and told the front desk that he was chairman Yan's older cousin. However, he had long since lost his original gentle, handsome and elite graduate appearance. He looked merely a little better than dishevelled, how could he enter the company? He was mercilessly kicked out by security guards. Though he didn't give up and waited outside, he never once saw Yan Qi again.

Left with no alternatives, Cheng Nian ultimately became someone who sold his ass at 'Beauty1',accepting all sorts of customers. The money he earned from selling himself would then be used to buy drugs time after time. The consequences were imaginable.

Countless times, he would look back on the year he had spent at the Yan family's, and even the time before coming there. It wasn't that Cheng Nian didn't regret being bewitched by Yuan Wenyu's conditions, but regretting after the fact was useless. There was no medicine for regret in the world. He could only, repeatedly, live a depraved life, where he was as good as dead, day after day.　

As for Hao Ritian, having already anticipated Cheng Nian's outcome, he truly threw him to the back of his mind after leaving the hospital. Since his goal for vengeance had been achieved, he wouldn't care about insignificant people.　

After leaving the hospital, Hao Ritian took two bodyguards to the Yan family. The Yan family was a mess because of Yuan Wenyu's incarceration. Yan Yang and Yan Yue both beseeched Yan Yongan to save her but he, too, was in terrible shape.

His son almost entirely ran the show in the company. Shareholders, big or small, all praised and respected his eldest son for being able to bring greater benefits to the company, and seeing the conflict between him and his son, they had long since stopped paying him any attention. After all, he merely occupied the position as the president of the company. A president that didn't even hold company shares didn't hold much power.

In this situation where Yuan Wenyu was being jailed for murder, Yan Yongan was worried, and at the same time, angry. Angry at Yuan Wenyu for causing him more trouble. However, on learning the reason why she wanted to kill Cheng Nian, he became silent.

He was still digesting some of the information. Whether it was about Yuan Wenyu finding Cheng Nian to use as a chess piece to control Yan Qi, or the fact that his son was gay, he needed time to digest it.　

And it was at this moment that Hao Ritian arrived at the Yan House.　

At the sight of him, Yan Yongan wasn't able to control his anger now. He charged forward to slap him, yelling angrily, "You disgrace. You didn't learn well from a young age and even learned to like men. How can I trust the company with you! If others were to know that the controller of the Yan Company is a pervert who likes men…"　

Hao Ritian hadn't let Yan Yongan hit him the first day he had transmigrated, let alone now, after such a long time. The instant he tried to strike, the bodyguard behind Hao Ritian tied Yan Yongan's hands behind his back, holding him in –which was to Yan Yongan –an embarrassing and humiliating pose. This also forced him to choke back his curses down his throat.　

Leisurely, Hao Ritian sat on the sofa. His back reclining against its soft cushions with his legs crossed. His relaxed posture formed a sharp contrast to Yan Yongan's, who seemed like he was going for a cockfight.　　

His unusual behavior also froze Yan Yang and Yan Yue in place. Even if they wanted to make a move, they lost all superfluous thoughts once they saw the other Herculean bodyguard standing toweringly beside Hao Ritian with a stalwart and cold face.　

"You beast, is this how you treat your old man? Hurry and make him let go of me!" Yan Yongan was really about to blow up from being trussed up. The normally gentle and loving father was nowhere to be seen. He was so furious, he wished he could raise his arms and give Hao Ritian two resounding slaps to death.　　

Hao Ritian watched him struggle like a clown but, surprisingly, still carried a smile on his face.

If others were the driving force of Yan Qi's tragic life, then his father, Yan Yongan, was the root cause. Hao Ritian couldn't feel the slightest compassion for such a person. The angrier, the more embarrassed the man was, the more content he felt.

As for Yan Yongan's chastisement, he didn't mind at all. Despite Yan Yongan's righteous words, how could Hao Ritian not know his game? Didn't he just want to use his sexuality to attack him? If he really minded, he wouldn't have deliberately leaked it to Yuan Wenyu at the start.　　

Without his employer's say-so, the bodyguard naturally wouldn't let go of Yan Yongan just because he was swearing. No matter how many curses Yan Yongan yelled, he turned a deaf ear.　

Hao Ritian raised an index finger to his lips and shushed. Yan Yongan involuntarily stopped when he saw him. One side was unconcerned while the other was flustered. This sharp contrast gave Yan Yongan's pride a big blow. At this moment, he was overly sensitive to Hao Ritian's every move, his nerves jumping in nervousness.　

"You must know why Yuan Wenyu went to jail, don't you?" Hao Ritian crossed his arms and looked indifferently at Yan Yongan.

Yan Yongan had no words. He wasn't even able to call out on his son's disrespectful address of his wife. When all was said and done, he still had a guilty conscience. As long as he had his head on right, he wouldn't consider his wife's actions to be correct. His son surely knew the truth if he was asking him so. On this premise, he didn't have the guts to play the fool.　

It wasn't that he hadn't thought of hiring a lawyer to reverse Yuan Wenyu's verdict, but now, Hao Ritian was the person in power in the Yan Company. He had more contacts than he imagined. How could he assume that a lawyer he found would be able to successfully reverse Yuan Wenyu's verdict, not to mention, there was more than ample evidence available that helped send Yuan Wenyu to jail. No matter what he did, it would only serve as ammunition for outsiders to mock him with.

He was clearer than ever before that for nearly two years, this son of his had been playing dumb to take advantage of them. Biding his time, he reckoned, until he reached adulthood to take over the company. Yan Yongan's heart chilled at the thought.　　

He started at Hao Ritian with utter focus, and asked the question he cared about the most, "Did you know that your mother left all the company's shares to you?"　

Hao Ritian raised his brows, refusing to comment. Despite his lack of response, Yan Yongan got his answer.　　

His face was bewildered with a smudge of abject disbelief. He only came to know of this after Yan Wenyan died and the lawyer called him. Back then, he thought he would obtain his late wife's company shares after she passed away. The shock he received when he learned that it had long been transferred away—he wouldn't mention it for now. But according to the lawyer, Yan Qi shouldn't have been in the know when the transfer happened. Where in the world did he learn of the truth?　　

Hao Ritian read his shock and incomprehension, but wasn't so kind hearted as to clear his confusion. He snapped his fingers, boredom laced in his every word, "Alright. No more nonsense. I just came to inform you that I've sold this house. You have to move out as soon as possible."

The moment his voice fell, he successfully witnessed the three, father and children, show an idiotic expression. When Yan Yue gathered her wits, she shrieked, "On what grounds can you make us move…"　　

Hao Ritian interrupted her impatiently before another shriek could leave her mouth. "On the grounds that this house is mine. I can handle it however I see fit. I only came to inform you, not to ask for your permission, understand?"

The bodyguard who understood Hao Ritian's gesture restrained Yan Yue a moment before he was about to speak up, not feeling guilty at all about bullying a little girl. To him, his employer's demands were his first priority.

All of a sudden, the living room descended into silence. The steward was still able to stand steadily in place, while all the other servants had long gone into hiding since the start of the dispute. When they heard that the residence had been sold, they looked at each other in surprise. It seemed they needed to find a new job as soon as possible.　　

For Hao Ritian, he had countless ways to handle this, but this was the most direct. He also didn't have much attachment to this house and didn't even bother to consider the next course of action the Yan family of three would have to take. More importantly, this would be useful for the final step of his plan.

"I've already informed you of this. You best hurry up, otherwise it won't look very good if you're chased away when the time comes." Standing up, Hao Ritian waved his hand. The two bodyguards released Yan Yongan and Yan Yue and quickly followed him. The three men soon left the Yan House, one after the other.　　

From beginning to end, Hao Ritian never acted aggrieved for Yan Wenyan, nor did he face Yan Yang and Yan Yue with a cool scowl. What's more, he wasn't as angry or hysterical as he was when Yan Wenyan had just died and he found out that his father had accepted his mistress into the Yan family. However, it was precisely this unconcern and detachment that caused people's hearts to freeze.

This meant that he didn't take them seriously at all. That was the thought that unanimously crossed the minds of Yan Yongan and his children.　

"Dad, what about mom? And where will we go after the house is sold?" A long time afterwards, Yan Yue's shaky voice spoke up.　

Now that it had come to this, she finally knew fear. Even if she was dumb, she'd still know that she would never live her previous wealthy life again. Her mom was in jail and everything depended on her dad. When she went to school, her classmates would know that she had a murderer for a mother. Yan Yue was terrified at the thought of such a life.

Yan Yongan was both agitated and angry. Where would he have the time to comfort Yan Yue? "Pack your things. We're moving."

He dropped that sentence and, with a flick of his hands, left.

Yan Yue approached Yan Yang in panic. "Brother, what should we do?"

She had no plan at all. She could only grasp onto everything around her that could be grasped, as if it would give her a sense of security.

Yan Yang's brows were heavy and he looked gloomy. "Pack your things first."

Yan Yue stammered, "…Oh."

She didn't know what to do besides listen.

One week later.

"Number 532, someone is here to visit." Not long after the prison guard's voice fell, a woman in handcuffs appeared in the visitation room. Her originally beautiful and charming face had aged a lot in just this short amount of time. Her spirit was totally different from before and that privileged temperament of hers had been worn down until nothing remained.　

The second those lifeless eyes saw the visitor, they glowed and exuded hatred. Yuan Wenyu lunged at the glass window but was forced to sit by the prison guard. She picked up the phone, her expression rancorous. "What are you here for? To see me as a joke? Do you think it's funny that I fell to this point? I just wish I'd killed you earlier, you bastard…"　

A series of curses poured continuously from Yuan Wenyu's mouth. She wished she could use the most malicious words on Hao Ritian. Still, she had to stop after being warned by the prison guard again, but the look of resentment didn't dilute.　

Hao Ritian who was cursed at just now acted like he didn't even hear them. He didn't come here to listen to Yuan Wenyu show off her eloquence. With a meaningful smile on his face, he took out his phone, opened the photo album and swiped it one photo at a time for Yuan Wenyu.

As photo after photo were turned over in the photo album, Yuan Wenyu's expression began to change again and again like a colour palette.

Until Hao Ritian took back his phone, her twisted expression still hadn't changed in the slightest. She clawed at the glass window with one hand, seemingly on the verge of collapse.

Hao Ritian held his cheek on one hand, waiting quietly for her to regain her composure.　　

Those pictures constantly ran through her head. There were pictures of Yan Yongan with lots of women, and even a picture of a woman looking for Yan Yongan with a child. The family of three looked glaringly harmonious, while her Yangyang and Yueyue were so gloomy and appeared haggard and embarrassing. How could she not feel heartache? Feel hatred?

She clenched her fist with hate. Yuan Wenyu finally focused her eyes on Hao Ritian again. She had no doubt about the authenticity of those photos, because she had long known that there was no way Yan Yongan would be content with only her. Furthermore, before this moment, she had already received pictures of Yan Yongan with other women many times.　　

She stared at Hao Ritian, her lips closing and opening. "Did you send me those photos I received before?"　　

At the pinnacle of her collapse, she instead smartened up. The things she couldn't figure out in the past were now clear to her. When she now thought back to her small tricks, she found them ridiculous. She thought she was playing Yan Qi in the palm of her hands, but in the end, who was playing whom?

Hao Ritian raised his eyebrows. The look on his face said it all. He didn't mention his contributions to those matters.　

Yuan Wenyu tried to tug the corner of her lips but found that such a small action cost her a lot of energy. She didn't say anymore nonsense, not even the most basic probes. She stared unwaveringly at Hao Ritian, saying a word at a time, "I can help you get Yan Yongan in here, as long as you guarantee that my Yangyang and Yueyue live free of worries before I get out. How about it?"　　

"Let's hear it." Hao Ritian didn't express his stance.

But Yuan Wenyu didn't know who else to ask except for him. She shut her eyes firmly and when she opened them again, they were full of determination. "It's true your mother died of illness. But Yan Yongan did something to your mother's medicine, otherwise she wouldn't have died so early. I can give you the information of the doctor who tampered with her medicine."　　

Hao Ritian looked at Yuan Wenyu with shock. This wasn't feigned at all as he had no idea about this. It wasn't in the story outline.

"System, What's going on? Is what Yuan Wenyu said true?"

"I'm sorry, that isn't within the system's scope of query. The system has no way of knowing."

"…"

"Host will have a grade assessment after every task. You can obtain privileges in certain respects if your grade is A or above. At that time, System will be able to help Host." 　

Hao Ritian didn't expect Yan Yongan to, surprisingly, be related to the death of the original owner's mom, since he hadn't thought of this at all and the system did not prompt him either. He actually made such a big mistake, really—

He held his forehead with one hand, rather depressed and also somewhat angry. It wasn't wrong at all to call Yan Yongan a scum.

Without waiting for Yuan Wenyu to ask a second time, Hao Ritian straightened up and looked at her with heavy eyes. "Deal."　

He didn't care about how Yan Yang and Yan Yue lived. But with their parents in prison and no one to support them, this would be enough to have them slowly realize life's difficulties. He didn't have to do anything else, reality would teach them everything.　

Yuan Wenyu gave a sigh of relief and handed over all the information she had originally been planning to control Yan Yongan with. In her opinion, there couldn't be a worse result than what she was going through now.

Once he got the information he wanted, Hao Ritian left without a pause. Yuan Wenyu watched his departing figure and tears suddenly fell from the corner of her eyes. She herself wasn't sure why she was crying. She just knew that her heart felt very sad.

It didn't take long before the truth about Yan Yongan killing his late wife blew up. Once the investigation concluded and with the help of the doctor's testimony, the police soon put Yan Yongan in jail. His reputation was in complete ruins.

Many were aware that Yan Yongan and Yuan Wenyu's imprisonment had something to do with Hao Ritian. Some secretly commented that chairman Yan was ruthless. They could accept that he moved against his stepmother but he didn't even let go of his biological father. However, a greater number of people thought that a cruel and unscrupulous thing like Yan Yongan didn't deserve to be forgiven. The opinions were diverse and varied, but didn't have much impact with Hao Ritian, the person involved.　

Hao Ritian didn't interfere much with Yuan Wenyu's children. But, as he had thought, having a pair of infamous parents was a heavy enough burden to carry. Whether they became a dragon or an insect someday depended entirely on themselves.　　

"What's wrong? Unhappy?" A warm body suddenly came up behind him. Hao Ritian relaxed and leaned back.　

Wei Zhichen placed a soft kiss on the tip of his nose. The warm breath from his nose made Hao Ritian a little ticklish. He turned to grapple the man's neck and kiss him back.

Hao Ritian watched the man deeply and used his finger tips to trace over his facial features. He went over them bit by bit, before stopping over the bridge of his nose.　　

They had known each other for two years, but the time they spent together was undoubtedly cozy. His recent actions weren't small. This man had also made a lot of effort behind his back, but has never mentioned them in front of him. To tell the truth, if he met him in his own world, perhaps he would have really liked to keep this relationship with him for a long time.

Unfortunately—

It was impossible for him to shake his resolve for one man. When it was time to be rational, he would always be rational, till the point of cruelness.

Wei Zhichen thought the mood of the man in his arms wasn't quite right. He held the finger on the bridge of his nose and pinched it. Just as he was about to speak, he was prevented by Hao Ritian's action.

Hao Ritian directly pushed the man onto the large bed in the bedroom and, without a word, pressed him under. The two used all the energy in their body and after the deed was done, they were both tired. Wei Zhichen held the man in his arms while caressing his waist. Softly, he said to him, "Sleep. If you have any matters, you can tell me after you wake up."　　

Hao Ritian breathed lightly and closed his eyes. He waited a long time, though how long exactly, even he didn't know. After the man's breathing stabilized, he opened his eyes and looked fixedly at him. He bent down to leave a kiss on his lips, "All this time here with you, I was very happy. Goodbye."

Then he laid his head in the crook of the man's arm and closed his eyes.

...

In the system transit space.

"Host's task completion evaluation this time is A+. Congratulations, host. Please continue your efforts in the next world."　　

Hao Ritian rubbed his eyebrows and didn't speak. He planned to go straight to the next world but stopped at the last moment. He asked quietly, "Can I see the follow-up of the last world?"

"Yes."

Immediately after the system's voice fell, an image of the last world appeared in front of Hao Ritian. In the scene, Wei Zhichen and Yan Qi were eating at a dining table. Neither of them were speaking, but there was a warmth emnating from it.　　

"Alright. We can go." Hao Ritian looked away and adjusted his mind to its optimum, then instructed the system.

"Roger that. System transmitting… 3, 2, 1. Transmission was successful. Please do your best, host."

—