TRMLCM Chapter 84

Chapter 84: The Only Blood Relative

Shen Jiacheng had only recently returned to City C.

The dilapidated little shack from back then had long been occupied by countless tenants. Twenty years passed in the blink of an eye. The building was old and decaying, and the arrangement of the rooms was no longer as he remembered.

He stood beneath the withered old tree in the courtyard of the residential area, raising his head to look at the crowds coming and going above. A trace of confusion flashed in his eyes.

His home was gone.

And he was travel-worn and dressed in rags.

Back then, he had wandered around, hiding here and there. Finally, he joined a group of undocumented workers and became a stowaway, illegally crossing the border into a relatively underdeveloped neighboring country.

He treated those people as close friends, but he didn’t expect them to see him as a fat sheep to be slaughtered. They skillfully stole all his money, tied him up, and planned to sell his organs.

Luckily, he found an opportunity to escape on the way, or he would have been done for.

But he didn’t expect to enter a black-hearted factory, where he was kept and forced to work like an animal every day without pay. If he didn’t meet the workload, he would be whipped and starved.

He had spent most of his years there. It was only later that the factory was taken over by another force. The new boss didn’t like the factory and wanted to remodel it, so they discarded them, these useless animals.

In recent years, he had found a low-paying job, working cautiously and diligently every day until recently, when he finally saved enough money for a ticket back.

But back here, times had changed long ago.

His money had been spent, and he couldn’t afford a hotel, not even the cheapest one.

For a moment, he didn’t know where to settle down.

After seeing the residential area, he left with his worn-out, yellowed bag, carrying a glimmer of hope for blood ties.

He first returned to his old home.

It was also a village in City C, but it was more prosperous than Li Family Village.

The mud house was uninhabited. The neighbor next door stared at him for a long time before recognizing him. After chatting casually for a few words, he learned that his parents had passed away several years ago, and his two older brothers had long since moved to the city to live, only returning to sweep the graves, set off firecrackers, and pay respects on the first day of the Lunar New Year.

As for his disappearance back then, the Shen family was too ashamed to talk about it. The villagers only thought that he had chased after a thief who had broken into his house and ended up dying somewhere.

The neighbor curiously asked where he had been all these years. He had changed so much, even his left hand was missing a finger. He looked worn out and overworked.

Shen Jiacheng vaguely answered a few questions and then asked about the aftermath of the incident.

After he ran away, his son was left unattended, and his father-in-law took his and his wife’s ashes back home.

The neighbor said he was lucky. His father-in-law’s funeral a few days ago was very lively. Many people attended, and some even rushed back from other places. The luxury cars lined up in a long queue. He heard that they were all big bosses, and he didn’t know how much money they had received in gifts.

The speaker didn’t mean anything, but the listener took it to heart.

Shen Jiacheng was worried about money right now.

Unable to wait any longer, he turned around and began to inquire about how to get to Li Family Village.

He had walked the road once when he was young, but he couldn’t remember it now.

By the time he stumbled along the long mountain road and arrived at Li Family Village, it was already dark. The rain soaked his old, ill-fitting, and not-so-warm clothes.

The cold wind was bone-chilling, and he shivered.

But unexpectedly, in the pitch-black world, Li Family Village was lit by a warm yellow light.

The flickering light illuminated the path ahead for the weary traveler.

He walked up in a daze, following the light.

The greenhouse blocked the rain, and he walked into the house, soaked to the bone.

The unfamiliar man turned around and looked up when he heard the noise.

Familiar eyebrows and eyes, and the black-and-white portrait.

The bag in his hand suddenly fell to the ground. He choked with tears, took two steps forward, and emotionally tried to hug the person.

But Shen Chang’an frowned and dodged.

His phoenix eyes narrowed, and his eyes were ice-cold.

Shen Chang’an sized up this scruffy tramp, his eyebrows furrowed, a hint of doubt flashed in his eyes, and he asked in a calm tone, “May I ask who you are?”

Hearing his question, Shen Jiacheng looked excited. His thin body trembled, and tears streamed down his face. He took two steps forward, wanting to hug the person.

“Chang’an… I’m your father.”

He said, “I’m back!”

Shen Chang’an’s eyes widened for a moment, and then he looked at him with seeming doubt, his face filled with confusion. His lips trembled as he murmured to himself, “Father? But I don’t have a father.”

Shen Jiacheng was stunned. He looked at Shen Chang’an intently, his eyes filled with pity and kindness.

“I’m Shen Jiacheng. I’m really your father. You were so small back then, only up to my thigh. I was forced to leave you. Now, nearly twenty years have passed, and Dad has finally returned after enduring countless hardships.” As he spoke, he gesticulated excitedly.

Shen Chang’an listened, his face still showing an incredulous and suspicious look. He quietly looked at the man, without saying a word.

Seeing him thinking, Shen Jiacheng anxiously took off his hat and pushed back his hair, revealing his old face. His skin was dark, and his face was covered with scars, a clear sign that he had suffered a lot.

He pointed to his face, “Look, do you still remember my face? I’m really your biological father. Think about it.”

Shen Chang’an looked at his face, and finally the corners of his mouth turned up.

He smiled.

He smiled happily.

Shen Jiacheng also breathed a sigh of relief when he saw his smile.

A few seconds later, Shen Chang’an finally stopped smiling, and the corners of his mouth turned down. He stared deeply at Shen Jiacheng and asked in a faint and somewhat doubtful tone, “Then what are you here for?”

He couldn’t have traveled all the way here just to recognize his son, right?

“Uh…” Shen Jiacheng’s eyes flickered, and his expression hesitated, as if he was having trouble speaking.

He scratched his white hair and put his hat back on, hunching his back even more.

Shen Chang’an smiled and comforted him softly, “We’re family. If you have any difficulties, I, as your son, should naturally help you.”

Shen Jiacheng clenched his fingers and lowered his head. Tears instantly flowed out again. He cried heartbreakingly, his body trembling violently, as if he wanted to cry out all the grievances he had suffered over the years.

“Chang’an, I was able to return safely this time thanks to one of my brothers.”

“He has taken care of me all these years. Even the money for my ticket back was given by him… But as soon as I left, he fell ill with mid-stage cancer.”

Shen Jiacheng cried with tears and snot, “His family doesn’t have any money either. When they heard that it would cost a lot of money to go to the hospital, they didn’t want to take him.”

“But he’s my good brother!”

“Chang’an, you’re my son. My benefactor is your benefactor. You must help your uncle!”

He spoke earnestly, his face full of pleading.

Shen Chang’an curled his lips and smiled, his eyes flashing with cold light. “Really? Then of course I’m willing to help. Just tell me how much money you need.”

His tone was lazy, and he seemed to have lost interest.

Turning around, he knelt properly and slowly burned paper money one by one.

The disheveled man didn’t notice his coldness at all.

Hearing this, Shen Jiacheng’s eyes lit up instantly, his pupils dilated for a moment. He suppressed the excitement in his heart and walked to his side, bending over slightly and raising his trembling fingers to make a “2” in front of him.

He swallowed and said in a trembling voice, “Chang’an, I only need two million.”

Two million was all he could think of.

Shen Chang’an lowered his head, his eyes indifferent. He casually threw a piece of paper money into the burning fire.

“Is that so?”

He asked softly, the corners of his mouth curving up slightly, a trace of mockery in his indifferent eyes.

“But… I don’t have any money.”

The calm and indifferent voice shattered his illusion.

Shen Jiacheng couldn’t help but widen his eyes, his eyeballs seeming to jump out of their small sockets, making him look terrifying.

He realized that he had been tricked.

The anger in his heart rose ‘with a whoosh’. He forcibly suppressed the fire in his chest, his yellow face turning red rapidly, his features twisting. His greedy face was exposed, and he could no longer maintain his kind and pitiful appearance.

His narrow eyes were sharp, and he pointed at Shen Chang’an, questioning him sternly, “Do you really not have any money, or do you just not want to lend it?”

The kneeling man didn’t even spare him a glance.

Shen Jiacheng’s fiery temper flared up, and he couldn’t help but roar:

“I’m your father! Is this how those two old geezers raised you?”

“They’re both dead now. I’m the only relative you have left. It’s just two million. Didn’t you receive a lot of money when that old man died? Can’t you even take that out?”

Shen Chang’an turned to look at him, his eyes cold.

The icy gaze seemed to gaze over from a dark abyss, filled with coldness and danger.

Shen Jiacheng was startled and immediately fell silent. He shifted his gaze guiltily, his fingers curling up, only touching a patch of cold sweat in his palm. He was cold all over, his heart still pounding.

Shen Chang’an glanced at him indifferently and said coldly, “You’re not worthy to mention them.”

The extinguished anger was reignited. Shen Jiacheng’s eyes turned cold, his fierceness fully revealed.

He grabbed Shen Chang’an’s collar, his pupils red, his expression crazed. He roared angrily, “Not worthy? Why am I not worthy? If they hadn’t disagreed so vehemently back then, would I have ended up like this?”

When a person is unlucky in everything, he will blame everyone and hold grudges against everyone, not even letting go of the heavens.

Shen Jiacheng lost his mind and raised his fist to punch him.

Shen Chang’an’s pupils dilated, and he closed his eyes involuntarily, unable to dodge, preparing to take the punch head-on.

A gust of wind blew up his forehead hair, the touch was cold.

His hair slowly fell, and a dark shadow seemed to fall in front of him.

The next second, the swinging fist was stopped in mid-air.

With a “thump,” Shen Jiacheng fell heavily to the ground.

After two muffled groans of pain that couldn’t be stopped, the air suddenly fell silent. Eyelashes as dark as crow feathers, like thin butterfly wings, trembled uneasily.

Two seconds later, Shen Chang’an slowly opened his eyes.

A broad, sturdy back stood in front of him.

The hair on the back of his neck was still flying gently, and the white suit shone brightly in the light.

In that instant,

Shen Chang’an’s eyes turned red.