Become the Sickly Villain in the Novel - Chapter 71

Never in his dreams did Li Nuo expect that the three on the other side were discussing locking him up. Lying spread-eagle on the bed, he was sorting through the information he had gathered.

It was known that both the original owner and Zhang Wanhui despised Li Yan. As a result, they made a reckless move that pushed Qin Xu to the brink, ultimately leading him to take action and end the original owner’s life.

Why was it certain that the action had harmed Li Yan? Because the only person the original owner was capable of hurting was Li Yan.

Moreover, compared to Li Yan, who had always stayed by his side and taken good care of him, the original owner was more eager to find his gambling-addicted father. Even after that old scoundrel lost contact, the original owner went so far as to ask Zhang Wanhui to look for him.

This was the most perplexing part. That old scoundrel was the one who had abandoned his son and left behind a mountain of gambling debt.

And yet, the original owner could tolerate all of this?

What, was that extreme personality only directed at others?

Li Nuo shook his head. He couldn’t figure it out for now.

But it seemed that Li Yan really hated that old scoundrel, to the point of uttering death threats. Maybe that had scared him because the old scoundrel hadn’t contacted Li Nuo in over six months.

A sudden ringtone interrupted his thoughts. Li Nuo turned to pick up his phone. It was an unknown number. With some doubt in his heart, he hesitated for a moment before answering.

“Hello?”

“Why did you take so long to pick up?”

An angry voice came from the other end.

Li Nuo frowned. “Who are you?”

“You lost your memory, and now you don’t even recognize your father’s voice?”

“?” Li Nuo raised an eyebrow. Speak of the devil, and he appears.

“You changed your number? I remember saving your old one.”

“My previous number was deactivated.”

Li Nuo understood. It was probably because he was being hounded by debt collectors.

“Forget that for now. You’re in the hospital, right?”

“That’s right, and you…”

“I heard you’re staying in an expensive room. That means you must have money now.”

Li Nuo closed his eyes briefly. So this long-lost contact was still about the same thing.

“I have no money.”

He wasn’t lying. His medical bills were covered by Qin Xu, and his previous salary had all gone to Li Yan to pay off debts. Although Li Yan had refused for a long time, he eventually accepted under Li Nuo’s firm insistence.

The other end of the line suddenly went silent. Li Nuo pulled his phone away and glanced at the screen. The call was still connected.

“So you really did lose your memory, huh? Even your personality has changed,” the voice finally spoke again.

“Zhang Wanhui told you?”

“Yeah, I didn’t believe it at first when he said it. Ah, forget it, let’s not talk about that. Xiao Nuo, transfer some money to your dad.”

After exchanging just a few words with his amnesiac son, he was already asking for money. What kind of father was this? He might as well be dead.

“I really have no money.”

“Ah, if you have no money, just use your looks to ask someone for some. Not much, just tens of thousands will do.”

“……”

“If it’s urgent, even a few thousand is fine.”

Li Nuo asked, “You contacted Li Yan before. What did he say? Did he give you money?”

The breathing on the other end grew heavier. Clearly, that remark had brought up some unpleasant memories for the old scoundrel.

“Xiao Nuo, Dad is really desperate.”

“What did you say to Li Yan?”

“It’s not what I said. It’s that bastard who cursed at me!” The voice on the other end became more agitated.

Li Nuo responded with an indifferent “Oh.” So at least one thing the original owner and Zhang Wanhui had said was true.

“He asked me how I had the audacity to contact you and even threatened that if I did it again, he wouldn’t be so nice. Really, is it a crime for a father to reach out to his son?”

Other people’s fathers might not be at fault, but yours is a different story.

Li Nuo rolled his eyes, though no one was around to see it.

“I happened to run into some trouble on my end, so my previous phone number couldn’t be used anymore. That’s why I haven’t contacted you for a long time. I never expected that you’d even ask Xiao Zhang to find me. You really are a good son.”

Li Nuo made a gesture as if he were about to vomit.

“Xiao Zhang said that after you lost your memory, that bastard brainwashed you.”

Li Nuo chuckled. “That guy can barely string words together properly. There’s no such thing.”

“……”

“Anyway, that’s about it. I’ll send you my bank account details in a text later. Make sure you transfer the money immediately.”

“The bank actually let you open an account? You haven’t been blacklisted?” Li Nuo was quite surprised.

“……” The person on the other end choked. “Xiao Nuo, I’m your father. It’s already winter. Surely you wouldn’t want to see me starving on the streets?”

“I don’t care. Go ahead and starve. I have no money anyway.” Li Nuo casually trimmed his nails with an indifferent expression.

“Li Nuo!”

Before the furious roar on the other end could continue, he directly hung up, blocked the number, and even deleted the previous contact and chat history. There was nothing important in there anyway. It was all just demands for money

“I should let Li Yan know about this too.”

It was best to take swift action to sever ties with that old scoundrel completely. Even if they were related by blood, some family members were better off abandoned.

Their mother had been able to leave both her husband and son behind, so a son abandoning his father wasn’t such a big deal.

As long as he felt no moral obligation, he wouldn’t be bound by it.

Ah, and then there’s Zhang Wanhui, Li Nuo frowned. I can’t cut ties with him just yet. He’s still useful. Tsk, that guy is annoying too, always leaving his words half-finished.

He was desperate to cut off all those toxic ties from before and truly start a new life.

……………

Two uneventful days passed before Li Yan finally found time to visit the hospital.

“Brother, you can be discharged tomorrow.” His expression was somewhat complicated, but unfortunately, Li Nuo, who was already sick of staying in the hospital, didn’t notice.

Instead, he was delighted. “Really? I’ve been fine for ages now. I can finally leave!”

Seeing how happy he was, Li Yan forced a smile. “I’ll go ask Brother He about it. Wait for me here.”

“Mm.”

About ten minutes later, Li Yan returned to the hospital room, casting a discreet glance at the people stationed outside. His brows furrowed slightly. There were more of them than he expected. It seemed things really couldn’t be delayed any longer.

As he entered the room, he saw his brother staring blankly at a photograph in his hand.

“Brother, what picture is that?” The photos at home should have been well hidden.

“Oh, you’re back. This is…” Li Nuo slid the photograph toward him. “Take a look for yourself.”

Li Yan picked up the photo and glanced at it, his brows immediately furrowing.

“Zhang Wanhui gave it to me earlier.”

“He came to the hospital?” Li Yan’s frown deepened.

“Yeah, he said a bunch of vague nonsense, but mainly, he wanted to show me this. He showed it to me and said I had given it to him before.”

Li Yan didn’t speak, but his lips pressed together tightly. It looked like he was gritting his teeth.

“I didn’t recognize the person at first. He had to tell me. He said I gave him this photo and asked him to help me find this, um, person.”

He hesitated. He couldn’t bring himself to say dad or father.

Li Yan realized that it was because of his brother’s request that Zhang Wanhui had gone looking for that old scoundrel.

And now that he had found him, he had come back to contact his brother?

Ever since Li Yan had threatened that old scoundrel last time, the man had stayed silent for a long while. He hadn’t expected that his brother would still go out of his way to find him.

Li Yan felt somewhat shaken.

Li Nuo tugged at his hand, his voice lowering. “I should apologize to you. Some of the living expenses you gave me before… I transferred part of it to—”

He didn’t finish his sentence, but Li Yan already understood.

“I’m sorry…”

Li Nuo lowered his head. The money Li Yan had worked so hard to earn was used by the original owner to give to that gambling-addicted old scoundrel.

Li Yan took a deep breath and placed his hands on his brother’s shoulders. “It doesn’t matter since I’m fine. There’s nothing to apologize for. Did Zhang Wanhui say anything else?”

“He said that I had told him before that when you were on the phone, you cursed at… uh…”

“You saw it?”

Li Nuo shook his head. “I don’t remember now, but that’s what he said.”

Li Yan narrowed his eyes in thought. Setting aside whatever his brother had done in the past, the fact that Zhang Wanhui had found that old scoundrel so quickly meant that Mo Chuan’s findings were likely correct.

Those two had been in contact for a long time.

Since abandoning them, that old scoundrel first reappeared three years ago, when the brothers had just turned twenty

He had come to them looking utterly pitiful, claiming to be penniless, shamelessly asking his sons for money.

Li Yan had given him some, but it was quickly spent, and soon after, he came asking for more.

Later, he finally learned that his gambling addiction never went away. All that money had just been gambled away again.

Naturally, Li Yan refused to give him any more. But the man had simply said that if Li Yan wouldn’t give him money, he would just go and ask Li Nuo instead.

Li Yan fell silent.

Their father, Li Yuzhi, put on an expression as if he was doing this all for their sake. “Li Nuo is about to undergo his second surgery. You can’t afford the medical bills, can you, Li Yan? I promise this is the last time. Just treat it as repaying me for raising you. I’ll definitely win this time, and when I do, we can all live together again, just like before!”

Even though Li Yan knew it was a lie, he still gave him the money.

Before he became addicted to gambling, he had truly been a good father, working tirelessly to pay for Li Nuo’s medical expenses.

But Li Yuzhi had betrayed his trust.

In the end, he ran off, leaving all his debts to the brothers and even leaking their address to the loan sharks.

Those people had stormed into their home, causing so much havoc that Li Nuo nearly suffered a relapse.

They even wanted to take Li Nuo away as a hostage.

Li Yan desperately promised to repay the debt before the thugs finally let them go.

At the time, he thought that would be the last they’d hear from Li Yuzhi. But to his surprise, the man later found a way to contact Li Nuo.

He played the victim and continued to extort money from his eldest son.

Even though Li Nuo was fully aware of where the gambling debts had come from, he still handed over money.

It wasn’t until Li Yan finally threatened Li Yuzhi that the man disappeared for more than six months.

He had always wondered how Li Nuo had managed to contact Li Yuzhi right under his nose. Now, he finally understood. Zhang Wanhui had been acting as the middleman.

After listening to everything Li Yan said, Li Nuo’s brow twitched. “So, we were almost done paying off the debt, and because of him, it increased again?”

He only regretted not cursing out that old scoundrel when he called two days ago.

“Brother, if he ever calls again, don’t answer. And don’t give him any money.”

In the past, Li Yan would never have said something like this, but now his brother could actually take it to heart.

“…Actually, he called me two days ago.”

“Hah? He contacted you again?” Li Yan’s expression darkened. “What did he say?”

“Nothing much. Just the usual. Asking for money.”

Li Yan’s hands clenched slightly. “Did you give him any?”

“No,” Li Nuo chuckled. “I hung up and blocked his number. I haven’t answered any unknown calls in the past two days either.”

He reached out, removing Li Yan’s hands from his shoulders and holding them instead. “None of this matters anymore. I won’t contact him again. You’re my only family. As for that man… Let’s just pretend he doesn’t exist. Can we do that?”

Li Yan was overjoyed. “Of course we can! Besides, now that we’ve moved, he wouldn’t even be able to get into a high-end residential complex like this. He doesn’t know the address either.”

So what if they weren’t blood-related?

Both of Li Nuo’s blood relatives had abandoned him, yet he was the one who had always taken care of his brother. Relationships need time to develop, especially now that his brother has lost his memory, even knowing all these past events didn’t bring his memories back.

Especially now, when his brother had lost his memories. Even though he knew so much about the past, it didn’t seem like his memories were coming back.

Being able to break free from the pain their so-called family had caused was the best thing that could happen.

But first, he needed to get his brother somewhere safe. Otherwise, everything else would be meaningless.

“Tomorrow, I’ll come pick you up from the hospital.”