Become the Sickly Villain in the Novel - Chapter 91

Laughter came from the other end of the line. “What are you two talking about?” Mo Chuan said cheerfully.

Hearing that grinning tone, Li Yan immediately felt a surge of anger.

“I heard from my brother about the debt. I heard Director Mo paid it off. Why did you do that?”

“Hm? Isn’t that a good thing? It lifted a big burden.”

“But I’m the debtor.”

This was what Li Yan was worried about. He clearly knew that Mo Chuan had repaid the debt for the sake of his brother. As a result, that responsibility had shifted to Li Nuo.

In other words, the debtor had changed from Li Yan to Li Nuo.

Mo Chuan always had intentions toward Li Nuo. Now, with this, Li Nuo would have no way to refuse him.

“Heh.” Mo Chuan chuckled lightly over the phone. “I think you’ve misunderstood something. I did this, and Li Nuo agreed to it. So why should I care what you think? This matter no longer concerns you. Got it?”

Li Yan was rendered speechless.

Just as Mo Chuan said, he had no position to argue, and in fact, the situation even benefited him.

However, he was extremely dissatisfied with Mo Chuan’s opportunistic behavior.

This unexpected turn of events left him in a foul mood.

On the other side, Mo Chuan was lounging in his office chair with an indifferent expression.

So what if he had acted first and reported later?

Li Nuo is already my wife. Whatever happens between me and my wife, what business is it of yours, you annoying little brother?

Oh right, not even a biological brother.

Thinking of this, Mo Chuan’s desire to live with Li Nuo grew even stronger.

“I’ve already held back from bringing him home before.”

Mo Chuan spun idly in his chair. “Anything else? If not, I’m hanging up.”

“Do you really have to do this?”

“Do what?”

“The debt. I could have repaid it myself. But you went and told my brother about it. You knew full well he couldn’t accept that in good conscience.”

Mo Chuan raised his eyebrows. Although he had indeed wanted to use this to tie Li Nuo to him, he never intended to actually have him repay it.

But Li Yan’s words amused him. Repay it himself?

Mo Chuan was growing impatient. It’s good to care about family, but blind loyalty is just foolish.

“You, repay it yourself? How long would that take? Until you die? If I’m not mistaken, the interest on that debt is sky-high. Over the past few years, it’s multiplied several times. When your repayment can’t keep up with the rising interest, have you considered what those people might do to Li Nuo?”

“Let me put it another way. What can you do for him? The past is the past. If you’re still blindly refusing help now, that’s far from wise.”

The words were harsh, but Mo Chuan didn’t think he was wrong. By paying off the debt, Li Yan himself would be far less burdened. Yet he stubbornly insisted on taking the hard road.

If the debt had to be repaid, wouldn’t it be better to repay him than some loan company charging outrageous interest?

“You can’t take care of Li Nuo on your own. The only reason you can stay with him in the hospital is because your boss is Chairman Qin. If it were any other company, there’s no way you’d get this much leave. You understand that, don’t you?”

Mo Chuan’s barrage of words left Li Yan completely silent.

He spoke, voice trembling, “He’s my family.”

“Only on paper. If you can get someone on the household register, you can also take them off.”

“You dare!” Li Yan roared furiously over the phone.

Mo Chuan moved his phone a little farther away, clearly baffled. “Isn’t it better to live independently? Anyway, Li Yuzhi won’t show up again.”

He frowned. No wonder Li Nuo wanted Li Yan to see a psychologist. This dependency issue was far more serious than average.

“Don’t worry, since Li Nuo hasn’t said anything, I won’t act. I’ll repeat what I said. Life can’t be sustained by love alone. Reality isn’t that simple, especially for someone who’s ill. You know this—Li Nuo’s body needs proper care.”

“……”

After a moment of silence, Li Yan asked, “I’ve been meaning to ask. Are you serious about my brother?”

Hearing that, Mo Chuan let out a laugh. Seriously—after they’d already kissed a few times, now he was asking? It was almost laughable.

He gave an ambiguous answer, “It’s been a while now.” He was referring to when they decided to be together.

“Why my brother, of all people?”

“Hah? Why should I tell you? I’ve already made myself clear. Think it over on your own, and don’t call me again about this.”

Before Li Yan could reply, Mo Chuan hung up.

He spun the phone in his hand, thinking that if he and Li Nuo ended up living together, Li Yan would probably cause trouble. But Li Nuo had always hoped this younger brother could live his own life, so it likely wouldn’t be a major obstacle.

In any case, he had already secured an unshakable position, so there was no need to put too much pressure on Li Yan.

While he cheerfully set his phone down, things were far less pleasant for Li Yan.

Biting his lower lip, he stared at the black screen of his phone, filled with a deep sense of helplessness.

He isn’t wrong.

What Mo Chuan said was right. That’s what made it so frustrating.

Although he wanted to say he could take care of his brother, reality wasn’t so kind.

If Qin Xu wasn’t his boss, he would’ve already been fired for taking this much time off.

Moreover, he didn’t have an advantage in terms of education or work experience, so finding a job would be tough.

Just as he was deep in thought, footsteps approached, along with Li Nuo’s voice.

“Li Yan, are you okay?”

At the end of the corridor, Li Yan turned his head and saw Li Nuo not far off, his face full of concern.

Li Yan forced a smile. “I’m fine.” He was just shaken, that’s all.

Though the lighting in the hallway was dim, Li Nuo could still tell that Li Yan was feeling down.

“You don’t want that debt to be paid off?”

“Of course not! I just…”

Li Yan lowered his head. He just didn’t want his brother to be involved in the matter.

As for the debt, he had always thought he could pay it off himself. But over the years, with interest compounding, the debt had indeed grown.

If anything happened later, he might end up borrowing again.

“It’s probably for the best that it’s been paid off,” Li Nuo said with a sidelong glance at him. “There was so much going on before that I didn’t get the chance to tell you. I’m, ahem, currently dating Mo Chuan.”

Clatter.

Li Yan’s phone fell to the floor. Li Nuo quickly bent down to pick it up. “Ah, the screen cracked a bit.”

But Li Yan didn’t care. After the initial shock, what rose in his heart was anger and panic.

No wonder Mo Chuan had spoken with such confidence just now.

After the anger came fear.

He’d never been apart from Li Nuo since childhood. Although he had imagined that his brother might one day meet someone and start a family, he didn’t expect it to happen so soon or that the person would be someone he distrusted.

He couldn’t control his tone. Grabbing Li Nuo’s shoulders, he asked urgently, “Brother, is that true? Did he threaten you? Did he use the debt?”

His agitation made him tighten his grip unconsciously. Li Nuo gently held his arm in reassurance. “What are you talking about? I agreed to date him before this. Back when I was still living at the Songshan Villa.”

Li Yan stood there in a daze, his energy suddenly drained. “Brother… Do you really like him?”

Li Nuo nodded. “I was the one who suggested we start dating.”

Li Yan was deeply shaken, and the strength in his hands loosened. “I… I’m just scared. I’ve never been away from you.”

“Li Yan…” Li Nuo took his hand and held it tightly. “I’ve told you before. You should be doing what you love. The debt was originally incurred by my father, and it was also for my medical expenses. I don’t want to keep dragging you down.”

“I never thought of it as a burden.”

“Well, I do,” Li Nuo said firmly. “Even without Mo Chuan’s help, rather than troubling you again, I’d rather trouble someone else.”

His determined tone made Li Yan tremble. “Brother, are you abandoning me?”

His pitiful voice made Li Nuo sigh. “I don’t understand why you think I would abandon you. You’re not a child anymore. The reason I didn’t reject Mo Chuan’s approach was so we both could live a bit more easily. Isn’t that a good thing?”

“Or is it that you won’t be satisfied unless I go back to how I used to be?”

Just like how the original plot described, treating Li Yan with complete coldness would only push him to become more independent.

But Li Yan couldn’t take that now. Hearing his brother speak like that, he immediately pleaded, “I won’t say anything more. I-I was just worried about you. I won’t bring it up again.”

He stepped forward and hugged Li Nuo tightly, as if terrified of being abandoned.

Still too soon.

Li Nuo thought to himself. Seeing a psychologist only once didn’t seem to have helped much.

……………

Early the next morning, Li Nuo picked up his luggage and looked around. He really didn’t want to come back to this hospital. He was sick of it.

Thinking that Mo Chuan would be coming to pick him up soon, his mood lifted a little.

But Li Yan came in first, picked up his luggage, and said, “Brother, let’s move to a different place.”

“Hm?”

Li Nuo looked puzzled. Why suddenly change places? That apartment was very comfortable.

“It’s Chairman Qin’s money after all. It’s not right to keep troubling others.”

Noticing Li Yan’s evasive gaze, Li Nuo felt a mix of helplessness and amusement.

Did he really think changing locations would stop Mo Chuan from finding them?

Clearly, last night’s conversation was still hard for him to accept.

It was amusing, but Li Nuo didn’t refuse. He was his little brother, after all, so he let him have his way. But if Mo Chuan did find them later, their relationship might get even worse.

“So where are we staying? The old place?”

“At my place,” came a voice from the door. It was He Yan, who had just walked in. “You can help with the cleaning while you’re at it.”

He Yan had a house farther from the hospital, but rarely stayed there because of the distance.

“I’ve already had someone clean it. You can move in right away and help the place feel a bit more lived-in.”

Worried that Mo Chuan might show up soon, Li Yan quickly borrowed a car and took Li Nuo to the other place.

After they left, Mo Chuan swaggered into the hospital room. Seeing it empty, he let out a soul-searching question, “Where is he?”

He quickly took out his phone and saw a message from Li Nuo.

【 Li Yan’s throwing a tantrum. I couldn’t let you pick me up. Left ahead of time. 】

Mo Chuan raised an eyebrow but didn’t mind. He drove straight to the apartment.

But even after pressing the doorbell for quite a while, he heard nothing from inside.

He pulled out his phone and asked, “You’re not home?”

On the other end came Li Nuo’s amused voice. “I’m not there. Li Yan found a new place for me to stay.”

“Huh? Where?”

“Well… It’s not really appropriate for me to give you someone else’s address. Just hold on a bit. Let’s wait until Li Yan calms down.”

After hanging up, Mo Chuan gave a chilly smile. Hold on?

The only time he’d ever “held back” was when he wanted to kiss Li Nuo.

Since Li Yan was being so unreasonable, he might as well take this chance to move in with Li Nuo.