Become the Sickly Villain in the Novel - Chapter 82

Seeing Li Yan, Li Nuo did not panic. His expression remained unchanged as he greeted him, “You’re awake? The power just happened to go out.”

Li Yan’s gaze was fixed on the phone in his brother’s hand, and he muttered, “The power is out, just the right time to make a call.”

Li Nuo walked past him and entered the living room. “The hallway is cold. Let’s talk inside.”

He was not reckless with his own health. He had draped a blanket over himself before coming out. However, the wind in the hallway was strong, and there were always places it could reach.

Compared to his composure, Li Yan appeared completely at a loss.

He had been woken by the sound of thunder, only to find his brother missing from the room. After checking Li Nuo’s room and not finding him there either, he had come downstairs, only to see his brother standing in the hallway, pressing a phone to his ear, speaking to someone unknown.

In that instant, the blood in his veins seemed to freeze.

Although a signal jammer had been set up, the possibility of a power outage rendering it ineffective had not been considered. This was a mistake.

Even more unexpected was that his brother had been persistently trying to reach the outside world and had seized this power outage as an opportunity to succeed.

He had known his brother always carried a phone, yet he had let his guard down… Had he known, he should have followed Director Qin’s advice and broken the phone.

Now, it was too late.

Who was it? Zhang Wanhui? Or was it simply Li Yuzhi?

Not knowing what Li Nuo had learned, he dared not speak first and could only gauge his brother’s expression.

The two sat facing each other in the living room, neither speaking a word.

Li Nuo seemed deep in thought, his expression solemn, while Li Yan was filled with unease.

At last, Li Nuo spoke. “I received a message. An absurd message. But Dad… Li Yuzhi said the same thing, so now I am confused.”

He raised his eyes to see Li Yan lowering his head, biting his lip hard. At that moment, he had already arrived at a conclusion.

The timing of this revelation was abrupt, but rather than feigning ignorance, it was better to unravel the mystery once and for all.

“The message said that we are not biological brothers, let alone twins.”

He had tried to keep his tone as calm as possible, yet his voice still trembled slightly.

Only then did Li Nuo realize he had been deceived by the original novel. The book had stated from the beginning that they were fraternal twins, never once casting doubt on it, so he had believed it without question.

Looking back now, he saw how dangerous preconceived notions could be. Of course, it was also possible that the original novel had simply not reached that revelation yet, but he had never read that far.

Time passed in silence as Li Nuo continued to stare at Li Yan, watching the myriad expressions flicker across his face, watching as he opened his mouth only to close it again.

In truth, Li Yan wanted nothing more than to escape. He regretted not smashing the phone when he had the chance.

But deep down, he knew that one day, Li Nuo would learn the truth.

He just hadn’t expected it to happen so soon.

What should I say to minimize the impact of this?

What should I say to make sure nothing changes between us?

His prolonged silence was his form of resistance. But his brother clearly had no intention of letting it go and instead seemed determined to have this conversation.

Li Yan looked up, trying to make his gaze as resolute as possible.

Seeing the trembling in his pupils, Li Nuo hesitated for a moment, almost deciding to drop the subject. But in the end, he steeled himself.

Li Yan finally spoke, his voice slow and deliberate. “Yes, we are not twins, nor are we brothers. From a genetic standpoint, we are complete strangers. But I have never thought of us that way.”

Li Nuo nodded. “…When did you find out?”

After a brief silence, Li Yan replied, “When I started middle school. Dad told me then.”

“That was a long time ago. So the whole family knew except for me. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I… I didn’t want to.”

Looking back, when he had just started middle school, he had still been a child but was old enough to understand what it meant to be adopted. At the time, he had cried for a long time.

Knowing he was just a child, Li Yuzhi had still told him outright. He probably hoped that he would bear this kindness in mind and take good care of Li Nuo. At the time, it was well-intentioned, but later, this kindness became a shackle.

Because he knew that Li Yan was inherently kind and longed for a family.

“If I had told you… You would have left me.”

Before this, their mother had left. After this, Li Yuzhi also departed. The family, in a sense, no longer existed. Li Yan did not want Li Nuo to leave as well.

It was after that Li Yuzhi began using this as leverage to repeatedly demand money.

Li Nuo let out a sigh, but it was as if it had burned Li Yan, causing him to shrink back slightly.

“You never planned to tell me? Not for your entire life?”

“…Mm, I intended to keep it hidden. After paying off the loans, we could move somewhere else and leave all of this behind.”

The corner of Li Nuo’s mouth twitched. With the original owner’s freeloading nature, he figured that Li Yan would probably never be able to pay off the loans in his lifetime.

He studied Li Yan with a complicated gaze. He had once heard from a psychologist at the hospital that some people were like this. From a personality perspective, he could not determine whether Li Yan had a self-sacrificing or a people-pleasing disposition. However, the twisted education from Li Yuzhi undoubtedly left psychological scars on him.

Otherwise, Li Nuo simply could not understand why, under such circumstances, Li Yan would still take such good care of the original owner.

Meanwhile, Li Yan continued, “I thought that one day you would understand, so I felt it was better not to say anything.”

Li Nuo raised an eyebrow. “And if I found out?”

“…I… I don’t know…”

“Exactly, you don’t know,” Li Nuo said, his expression complicated.

The fact that Zhang Wanhui and Li Yuzhi were only bringing this up now meant that they had never mentioned it to Li Nuo before. So where had the original owner caught on?

Forget it, no need to dwell on that for now.

He looked at Li Yan and continued asking, “What about your biological parents?”

“I was told they passed away when I was very young. That’s why I was adopted, so growing up together wouldn’t be an issue…”

“When is your birthday?”

“January 1st.”

Li Nuo chuckled. A good date—the beginning of everything.

“So, I am the older brother, right?”

“…Mm…”

Li Nuo could feel emotions churning inside him. Someone like Li Yan, born on what should have been an auspicious day, had not been granted a smooth life.

Exploited by Li Yuzhi, bullied by the original owner, and emotionally entangled with a dangerous superior, Li Yan in the novel was the embodiment of “living just to survive.”

He stood up. The sound of the chair scraping against the floor made Li Yan flinch.

But Li Nuo did not leave. Instead, he leaned down and embraced Li Yan. “You’ve really had a hard time.”

In every sense, this young man, barely in his twenties, had been burdened with too much.

“My words remain the same. You will always be my family. Thank you, truly, for taking care of me all these years.”

“We both need time to process this.”

Click—

The lights flickered back on, and under their glow, Li Nuo’s expression was exceptionally gentle. “Whenever you’re ready to tell me everything, it will be your decision.”

He let go, intending to head upstairs. Now was the best time to give each other some space and time to calm down.

But Li Yan reached out and grabbed his hand. His fingers were trembling, yet his grip was firm.

“I will tell you everything. I’ll say it now.”

……………

The biggest secret had already been exposed. What remained were just minor details.

“The decision to let Brother stay here has no other meaning. It was simply to protect you. Director Qin and another high-ranking board member are locked in a power struggle. But don’t worry, we won. Otherwise, I’d still be busy handling things.”

Li Nuo made a sound of acknowledgment. “I figured. Brother Qin’s injuries and his need for recovery are related, aren’t they?”

Then he asked, “What about you? Are you okay?”

Li Yan shook his head. “I’m fine. I’ve been working in secrecy for a while now, and there are a lot of people protecting me. Right now, the other side is just making desperate moves. That’s why I was sent here to lay low until Director Qin cleans everything up. After that, I’ll go back to deal with the aftermath.”

Li Nuo puffed out his cheeks slightly. “They really know how to make you work hard, huh? No wonder you look so exhausted.”

Li Yan let out a small laugh but then furrowed his brows. “Earlier, the director showed me a document. It mentioned that Director Wen’s secretary had been in contact with Zhang Wanhui and… our father as early as a year ago.

“Then there’s that MLM company. It said that person approached you voluntarily. Brother, do you have any clues about this?”

Li Nuo was caught off guard by the information and frowned, trying to recall. He had nearly forgotten about that situation. But now that it was brought up, fragments of memories returned, especially the person’s overly flattering attitude…

“A while ago, they contacted me again, and then… Dad came to ask for your address.”

Only now did Li Nuo fully understand why Zhang Wanhui and Li Yuzhi had been so eager to contact him. His anger flared, and he took a deep breath to steady himself.

Seeing this, Li Yan patted him on the back in concern.

“I’m fine. I’m just once again appalled by their shamelessness.”

After a brief silence, Li Nuo let out a cold laugh. “So that’s why they said they wanted to come and pick me up.”

Li Yan hesitated for a moment before asking, “Who was it? Zhang Wanhui?”

“Yeah. He asked multiple times where I was living now.”

Li Nuo ground his teeth slightly, as if trying to vent his frustration.

With this new piece of the puzzle, he felt he was getting closer to the truth.

“So, what we need to do now is pray that Brother Qin successfully secures his position as chairman, right?” He made a rare attempt at humor.

But Li Yan could not relax. Even a sinking ship still had a few nails left holding it together. Who knew what Director Wen’s final move would be?

After that, silence fell between them again.

Li Nuo exhaled slowly and glanced at Li Yan. “Let’s take some time to process everything. I need some time to think.”

Li Yan nodded.

Just then, Aunt Zheng returned with the staff from the backyard, likely indicating that the power system had been restored. She apologized, “I’m terribly sorry. The backup power supply hadn’t been used in a long time and malfunctioned. Everything is back to normal now. I’ll have dinner prepared right away.”

Li Nuo exchanged a few words with her before heading back to his room.

When he checked his phone, as expected, there was no signal again.

He began sorting through the information he had gathered so far.

At the start, Li Yan had appeared by Qin Xu’s side. Director Wen had sought out Zhang Wanhui and Li Yuzhi. At that time, their target must have still been Li Yan.

The original owner had been nothing more than a useless fool.

Having long known that Li Yan was not his biological brother, the original owner had instead been more fixated on Li Yuzhi, who was related to him by blood, and his attitude toward Li Yan had only grown more hostile.

Then, the original owner and Zhang Wanhui conspired to kill Li Yan. But because the person they hired was unreliable, their plan never came to fruition.

After that came the original owner’s hospitalization, leading to Li Nuo’s arrival in this world, inheriting nothing but an empty head.

All the schemes, grudges, and entanglements of love and hatred were completely forgotten.

Seeing that Qin Xu and Mo Chuan had been drawn to Li Nuo instead, Director Wen shifted his target to him as well.

However, Mo Chuan acted first and sent Li Nuo away.

So, in the end, the original owner had really failed to kill someone and instead ended up getting himself killed.

Li Nuo flopped onto the bed, feeling that the original owner must have been seriously lacking in intelligence. It was a good thing he hadn’t inherited those memories. What if they ended up contaminating his own mind?