Become the Sickly Villain in the Novel - Chapter 69

The original owner’s thought process was something he truly could not understand.

Instead of asking Li Yan directly, why did he rely on outsiders to help find his “father”?

This was what he thought, and so he asked.

“Li Yan and Uncle have a terrible relationship. I don’t know the exact details either. You told me before that you once overheard Li Yan on the phone with Uncle, where he threatened the person on the other end, saying, ‘If you call again, I’ll kill you.’”

“I said that?” Li Nuo’s expression became even more complex. Zhang Wanhui didn’t seem to be lying, but Li Yan was not the type to casually make threats, especially not to his own father.

Something came to mind, and he picked up his phone to scrolled through his chat history with the contact labeled “Dad.” The conversation had ceased more than six months ago. Looking at the earlier messages, most of them consisted of this person demanding money transfers from the original owner.

Li Nuo was speechless. How could this father be so shameless?

The worst part was that the original owner had actually sent the money!

Making an already financially strained life even more difficult—this was what the original owner had done.

He didn’t even know how to evaluate it.

It wasn’t as if the original owner was unaware of how this debt had come about. Yet, he had still treated his father so well, sending money and checking in on him from time to time. Though, whenever his father wasn’t asking for money, he never replied. Even when the original owner lost contact with his father, he had gone so far as to ask Zhang Wanhui for help in finding him.

“See? Li Yan is just a bastard. He even dares to speak so harshly to his own father.”

“Don’t talk about him like that.” Li Nuo frowned.

Zhang Wanhui choked on his words and turned his head away.

He still couldn’t get used to this Li Nuo, who now spoke in defense of Li Yan.

For so many years, Li Nuo had despised Li Yan.

Li Nuo frowned in thought. He knew that in the novel, the original owner had hated Li Yan, but there was a more pressing issue at hand.

What was the reason the original owner was killed?

It couldn’t be as simple as Qin Xu finding him annoying and deciding to kill him on a whim, right?

Impossible. No matter how irritating the original owner was, considering Qin Xu had feelings for Li Yan at the time, he must have known how much Li Yan valued his older brother. He wouldn’t have killed him so easily and caused Li Yan unbearable grief.

Or perhaps… It was precisely to break Li Yan mentally before taking advantage of the situation?

Thinking of Qin Xu, Li Nuo also recalled a subtle detail mentioned in the novel. It was that the Qin family had built their wealth through illegal means. His lips twitched. That theory might not be so far-fetched after all.

Shaking off this unreliable idea, he continued analyzing the situation. Zhang Wanhui and Li Yan didn’t get along either, so could it be that, in the end, the original owner’s self-destructive actions involved relying on this so-called friend?

He nodded to himself. It was highly likely. Given how barren the original owner’s social circle was, the only person who might have helped him in such a matter was Zhang Wanhui.

So, the real question was…

What exactly had the original owner done to get himself killed?

What had pushed Qin Xu to the point of ordering his death?

As he recalled, the event seemed to have taken place not long from now.

There was no specific timeline, so Li Nuo could only make a rough estimate.

He thought and thought but found no clues, mainly because he didn’t have access to the original owner’s memories.

However, the person before him might know something.

Li Nuo lifted his gaze to Zhang Wanhui and deliberately provoked him.

“If Li Yan said something like that, he must have had a reason.”

As expected, Zhang Wanhui’s expression darkened. He almost lashed out but managed to restrain himself.

“I’ve told you before. Li Yan isn’t who you think he is,” he said, struggling to keep his emotions in check. “When you remember, you’ll understand.”

Li Nuo silently observed him. Zhang Wanhui truly loathed Li Yan. Perhaps that was the very reason he and the original owner had been able to work together.

“No matter what you say, he’s my family now. Even if I remember everything, I will still treat him well.”

Zhang Wanhui took a deep breath. Seeing the calm expression on Li Nuo’s face, he said nothing more.

It was still the same beautiful face. Though slightly gaunt due to illness, it did not diminish his allure. Without the sharpness and neurotic tendencies he once had, the current Li Nuo sat there quietly, exuding a beauty as ethereal and pale as moonlight cascading down.

A flicker of emotion crossed Zhang Wanhui’s eyes.

Since high school, Li Nuo and Li Yan had been famous, so well-known that no one in the entire school failed to recognize them.

Fraternal twins, each with their own distinct style of attractiveness. Just looking at them was a visual delight.

Li Nuo had always been in poor health, never participating in physical education classes, always watching from the sidelines.

Beneath the dappled shade of the trees stood a beautiful young man, an enchanting sight.

Unfortunately, Li Yan had been too overprotective, making it impossible for anyone to get close.

It wasn’t until the second year of high school, when the class was reshuffled, that the two were separated. With Li Yan no longer keeping such a close watch, more people began fawning over Li Nuo.

Back then, however, Li Nuo had thought himself above them all and rejected every single one.

It was only when Zhang Wanhui befriended him that Li Nuo was willing to talk. Through careful effort, Zhang Wanhui gradually built a close relationship with him. Over time, Li Nuo even started confiding in him.

It was then that they discovered a shared sentiment—they both hated Li Yan.

As their bond deepened, Zhang Wanhui realized that Li Nuo’s heart wasn’t as pure as his appearance suggested.

That was fine. In fact, it was even better.

A heart driven by self-interest made relationships all the more rewarding.

And after that, everything followed naturally. Li Yan grew increasingly silent toward his older brother, while Li Nuo’s neurotic tendencies became more pronounced.

Several years passed like this.

Until a few months ago, when Li Nuo went to the hospital for a check-up and subsequently lost his memory.

And then, he became the person he was now.

Gentle, quiet, and beautiful. Most importantly, he had started treating Li Yan well while simultaneously growing distant from Zhang Wanhui.

Zhang Wanhui’s eyes darkened. It hadn’t been like this at the start. So why had he suddenly lost his memory?

In that case, he had no choice but to shift his target…

“After you’re discharged, come with me somewhere.”

“Where?”

“I can’t tell you yet, but it’s definitely a great place. You’ll love it.”

He flashed a mysterious smile.

Li Nuo didn’t respond. Instead, he picked up the photograph on the table. “Can I take this back with me?”

“Ah, of course. I’ve already taken a picture of it. You can keep it. Look at it a few more times. Wouldn’t want you running into your dad on the street and not recognizing him.”

“Oh, and don’t tell Li Yan. He doesn’t know about this.”

“Got it. I won’t tell him.”

“Alright then, I won’t disturb your rest any longer. I’ll contact you after you’re discharged and take you to that place.”

Zhang Wanhui stood up and left the hospital room without hesitation.

The nurse had stopped coming, leaving Li Nuo alone in the hospital room once again.

“So boring. Might as well use this time to sort through all the information I’ve gathered so far.”

He opened the notes app on his phone and began writing down everything he knew and speculated.

……………

In stark contrast to Li Nuo’s boredom, Li Yan was currently overwhelmed with work, so much so that he wished he could split himself in two.

Thanks to Qin Xu’s recent actions, the workload had multiplied several times over. His desk was piled high with documents, and the stack never seemed to shrink.

But there was no way he could just stop. Qin Xu, Secretary Yang, and even Fang Che were all swamped with work. He couldn’t exactly request time off to visit his brother. If he stopped working, the others would have to wait for him, and the backlog of documents would only grow, creating a vicious cycle.

“Dammit, those two must have done this on purpose,” Li Yan gritted his teeth. “They never wanted me to go to the hospital in the first place.”

Despite his complaints, his hands never stopped moving as he flipped open another document in frustration.

Li Nuo was still hospitalized. Brother He had suggested observing him for a few more days, and Li Yan had agreed. With someone keeping an eye on his brother at the hospital, he felt a little more at ease.

But in the past few days, he hadn’t been able to see him at all. By the time he finished work, it was always late at night. He didn’t want to disturb his brother’s rest, so he had no choice but to go home, get a little sleep, and wake up to yet another grueling workday.

He was now even more convinced that those two had done it on purpose.

Sighing, he refocused on the documents in front of him. After glancing through a few pages, his expression turned serious.

“This is…”

Flipping through more pages, his expression grew even stranger.

“They’re giving this to me? Aren’t they afraid I’ll take it straight to Director Wen?”

It was an accounting ledger Fang Che had dug up, containing records of secret transactions involving Wen Dong, one of the company’s most powerful directors and Qin Xu’s biggest competitor. The documents implicated a lot of people.

Li Yan knew how crucial this information was, which made him wonder—why give it to him? He had been working under Qin Xu for less than two years. Wouldn’t it be safer to entrust this to Secretary Yang instead?

He fell silent, his mind drifting to the medical bills and rent Qin Xu had covered, to his brother’s improving health, and to the growing bond between Li Nuo, Qin Xu, and Mo Chuan.

In the end, he compromised.

He reopened the seemingly ordinary document and carefully categorized and organized its contents.

Since he was now handling something this dangerous, he was no longer working in his usual office.

Instead, he was in a vast, restricted-access room that required a password just to enter.

When Secretary Yang had first brought him here, Li Yan had been shocked. He had never heard of such a place existing within the company.

Looks like they’re ready for the final move.

In just over a year since he had joined the company, Qin Xu and Wen Dong had already clashed several times, their conflicts escalating each time. It seemed that Qin Xu had run out of patience for probing and was going straight for the final blow.

Thinking back to every encounter he’d had with Director Wen, Li Yan recalled the man’s cold, calculating gaze. He shook his head.

An old man like that—why waste so much energy scheming?

With Qin Xu’s methods, he was certain the man wouldn’t get to enjoy his retirement in peace.

Still, he muttered under his breath, “Why do we have to be dragged into this mess? Other people’s inheritance battles have nothing to do with us.”

As Qin Xu’s secretary, it was only natural for outsiders to see him as being on Qin Xu’s side. That wasn’t the issue.

But the fact that Li Nuo—who had nothing to do with any of this—could also get caught up in it? That, he could not accept.

“Those two bastards!”

He gripped the mouse so hard it nearly broke.

Qin Xu and Mo Chuan knew full well that anyone associated with them would come under scrutiny, yet they had still chosen to get close to Li Nuo.

A sense of unease crept into his chest. His brother was still in the hospital, and that wasn’t exactly a secure location. With so many people coming and going every day, what if something happened…?

The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. With a loud bang, he slammed his hand against the desk.

“Ugh—I just want to see my brother.”

For now, he could only endure it until the day Qin Xu seized full control and became chairman.