Chapter 73: Two-Faced Phoenix Man 32

Not until the dense crowd had fully dispersed, and even the last faint traces of gray faded along the misty edge of the beach, did Jiang Rang’s expression slowly turn grim.

The young man clutched a wilted rose in his palm, its petals shriveled and reddened by the salty sea spray. His cheeks, smooth and beautiful as ivory, cracked like scorched porcelain, splintering with veins of resentment and malice.

He had been so close.

He had already reached the point of proposal, even carrying his ID card with him at all times—marriage was all but guaranteed.

Jiang Rang had accounted for everything, except how quickly this would be exposed to the Lu Family.

The bitter taste of shattered dreams was impossible to stomach without fury. While Lu Xiang was still around, the young man could still maintain his facade, but the moment the man’s figure vanished completely, Jiang Rang could no longer hold back.

He turned his gaze to the elegant tent pitched nearby, kicking aside the scattered remnants of the bouquet with a surge of unwillingness and rage.

“Useless junk.”

Crown Prince this, Lu Family Eldest Young Master that—what was Lu Xiang without real power and money firmly in his grasp? Absolutely nothing!

Embers of anger smoldered on the young man’s face, and amid his creamy pale skin and flesh, a shocking ruthlessness gleamed through.

Just as he moved to vent further, a cool voice laced with amusement drifted in faintly, rising and falling with the sea waves.

“Still stewing in your anger?”

Jiang Rang froze. His frost-pale face was half bathed in moonlight, half illuminated by the tent’s hazy orange glow. His thin lips pressed together, blooming with a vivid red that conjured images of a crimson poison berry half-hidden in wild grass.

Irritated, he ruffled the fluffy ends of his hair. “I just don’t get it. Who the hell leaked this to the Lu Family? I thought no one dared cross Lu Xiang.”

Ji Mingyu’s features were mild and refined, his narrow, foxlike eyes narrowing slightly in the moonlight, exuding a lazy contentment.

The man idly toyed with the delicate pearl earrings dangling from his ear. The shimmering strands cascaded along his slender, graceful fingers one moment, then swayed in the dim air the next, lending him an exotic allure.

Jiang Rang’s gaze was drawn despite himself. Catching the young man’s fleeting look, Ji Mingyu’s lightly flushed lips curved into a slow smile. “Finding out who’s responsible is simple. Whoever comes fawning over you first afterward—that’s your culprit.”

Jiang Rang narrowed his eyes, his brows twitching. “So you’re saying they did this to steal Young Master Lu’s man? But that hardly seems worth the risk.”

These heirs from wealthy families were masters of calculation, always weighing costs and benefits. Who would chance a direct confrontation with the Lu Family just to pry away an ordinary guy like him?

Ji Mingyu said nothing. Draped in a dark blue overcoat, the man glided slowly through the shadows. The pure, deep hue only accentuated his fair, luminous skin, lending him an air of refined elegance.

He came to a stop beside Jiang Rang, his slightly lowered face evoking a poised beauty from some dramatic stage play. The man’s lips were red, his complexion creamy white, his thick black hair grown out just long enough and layered to perfection. His lips hovered a whisper away from the young man’s beautiful features as he murmured softly, “Jiang Rang, you really have no idea how alluring you are.”

With that, he drew back a fraction, smiling. “Whether it’s worth it depends on their own calculus. Clearly, you’re more interesting to them than the risk.”

Jiang Rang shot him a slow sidelong glance, suspicion flickering in his heart—then his phone began to vibrate.

The young man paused. Ji Mingyu’s lips hooked upward. “See? Right on cue.”

Jiang Rang pulled out his phone. Sure enough, a familiar contact pulsed on the screen.

Chen Ming.

It was someone both expected and surprising. Jiang Rang had always seen through him—Chen Ming had remarkable patience, the product of rigorous upbringing among the elite. Without some profound shock, he’d never step out of line in his life.

Let alone betray secrets behind a friend’s back or steal their boyfriend.

A wave of stifled agitation roiled in Jiang Rang’s chest. He chalked it up to his own past meddling, teasing where he shouldn’t have—now reaping the bitter harvest.

In his current mood, the young man had no patience for this and planned to let it ring until the caller gave up.

The phone buzzed for a moment before cutting off unanswered, only for a second call to buzz in moments later.

Ji Mingyu arched a brow, his smile unruffled. “Pick up. Otherwise, he won’t let it go.”

Thoroughly annoyed, Jiang Rang finally answered.

“Hello—”

Ji Mingyu tilted his head slightly, eavesdropping on the young man’s conversation with the fool on the line. For a fleeting instant, the elegant smile at his lips caught the moonlight reemerging from behind the clouds. In that pristine glow, it appeared strangely blurred, like a moldering poster—eerie and decayed.

He recalled certain fragmented shards of the past.

For instance, he had casually brought up to Chen Ming several times the twisted, abnormal obsession between Lu Xiang and the young man. He had also “offhandedly” chatted about Father Lu’s harsh discipline over Lu Xiang. He had even subtly fanned the flames of jealousy, leaving the Chen Family’s Young Master unwilling to play second fiddle.

One could say that Chen Ming had reached this point largely thanks to his efforts.

Still, Ji Mingyu reflected, he had done the man a favor in a way. At the very least, during this time, Chen Ming had indulged in one grandiose delusion after another.

Ji Mingyu watched with a smile as the young man ended the call, finding his look of dashed hopes utterly endearing.

It was indeed adorable—the eyes that were usually brimming with schemes and deceit now flashed with frustrated irritation, yet he could only grit his teeth and play along with empty pleasantries.

In front of the man, he was brazenly wicked, flagrantly so. His pale, powdery cheeks burned like a blood-drenched bouquet in the night, radiant and dazzling.

Ji Mingyu’s throat tightened. In that instant, he desperately wanted to step forward and kiss him.

Kiss his cool, distant gaze, kiss his wanton heart, kiss his rotten core.

Best of all, if he could lick and melt them all away entirely, leaving that wicked boy flushed with desire, dazedly crying out “husband” and “darling,” transformed into a princess locked away in some high tower, hidden deep by her man.

Jiang Rang, of course, had no idea of the surging lust churning in Ji Mingyu’s mind. He continued to pin all the blame on Chen Ming, oblivious to everything else. He had no patience for the man’s confessions and sincerity—they were far too commonplace for him, cheap and ordinary.

After brushing off the man with a few careless words, Jiang Rang hung up and vented his irritation with a string of curses.

It was Ji Mingyu who had distracted him.

Under the gentle sea breeze and moonlight, the man looked so warm and inviting, his back to the light, the faint gleam from his pearl earrings soft and harmless.

It made his whole demeanor seem refined and gentle.

Ji Mingyu smiled and extended a hand to the young man. Faint blue veins bulged slightly along the back in a sensual curve, while his full lips parted just enough to issue a tempting, irresistible invitation.

“Tonight your husband’s not around,” he said. “Why don’t you come blow off some steam?

“You must be holding back pretty hard lately, right?”

~~~

That very night, Lu Xiang was hustled onto a plane. It was nearly midnight by the time he got into a car and returned to the Lu Family.

Huajing’s nights were shrouded in a hazy mist. Even passing through the city center, he could see the blazing lights and shimmering colors.

The bars on every street corner conjured visions of decadent nightlife, like hallucinations from poisonous mushrooms—vivid hues and alluring beauties that overwhelmed the senses, fraying even the optic nerves.

Once, Lu Xiang had been part of that world.

Of course, he had always stood apart. The man had been recklessly indolent, forever lording above it all. Countless figures who seemed like venomous snakes and ferocious beasts to outsiders had groveled before him, fawning and obedient.

But now, he simply sat in silence in the car. The hem of his gray hoodie carried a salty, damp chill, rose juice splattered on his pant legs, lending him an air of defeat and disarray.

From the moment he boarded the plane, his phone had been confiscated by the assistant on some pretext.

Anxiety gnawed at Lu Xiang’s heart. He was terribly worried about his fragile lover.

He kept imagining: Was Jiang Jiang too scared to sleep? Was he curled up under the covers, crying quietly? Was he calling out Lu Xiang’s name even in his dreams? Had his condition relapsed?

The more he thought, the more it tormented him. Endless worries wracked him to the point of agony, even manifesting as physical stiffness and numbness.

Only when the car pulled into the courtyard of the lavish, elegant Lu Family Old Mansion did Lu Xiang regain a shred of composure.

Someone tapped on the glass window with curved fingers. Then the door was respectfully opened a crack, letting the night’s chill breeze over his damp forehead, adding an unbidden pallor to his weary face.

Lu Xiang’s palms felt cold. Without a word, he entered the brightly lit Old Mansion.

The Lu Family Old Mansion had a thoroughly modern layout, dominated by brown and black tones. Shell-like lamps cast a mechanical glow, while the stern businesslike atmosphere imbued the entire home with an air of aloof detachment.

Father Lu sat squarely in the middle of the sofa. The middle-aged man bore plenty of wrinkles now, but he still exuded formidable presence—every glance or gesture radiating unyielding authority and striking handsomeness.

Seated a short distance away was a woman in soft loungewear—Lu Xiang’s mother, exceptionally well-preserved. She appeared gentle yet distant, looking no older than her thirties at first glance.

The moment he laid eyes on Lu Xiang, the middle-aged man barked coldly, “Kneel!”

Lu Xiang said nothing. He merely lifted his eyelids, then knelt after a long pause.

The man’s forehead throbbed with bulging veins. He jabbed a finger at Lu Xiang with one hand while turning his head toward Mother Lu. “Look at his attitude! He never does anything proper from morning till night. I said from the start we shouldn’t have let him leave Huajing. Now he’s gone wild and even dared to get married behind our backs to some worthless nobody.”

Mother Lu said nothing, merely glancing faintly at Father Lu. “Worthless? If I remember correctly, that boy comes from an ordinary family with no parents. Lu Zhengyuan, don’t forget—you saw me as worthless too.”

Father Lu’s face stiffened. It took him a long while to respond. “How can he compare to you? Yunhua, this child needs to be disciplined. If he’d found some honest guy, that would be one thing, but I’ve looked into that boyfriend of his. They’ve only been dating a few months, and who knows how much money this idiot Lu Xiang has thrown at him? I suspect that kidnapping has something to do with his boyfriend too!”

Mother Lu remained silent, wearily rubbing her forehead. In a flat voice, she said, “This is your family’s business. It has nothing to do with me. Sort it out yourselves—I’m going upstairs.”

Father Lu’s handsome, mature features darkened in an instant. He suppressed his emotions for a long moment before forcing a smile. “Yunhua, Lu Xiang is your son too…”

Mother Lu paused mid-step, casting a glance at Lu Xiang, who knelt there with his head bowed. Without a word, she headed upstairs.

Father Lu’s expression grew even uglier. For half his life, the man had climbed to the top under the admiring gazes of others, yet he could never earn so much as a look from Mother Lu.

Even their children had never received the slightest attention from her since birth.

Her world consisted solely of herself and her career.

Father Lu knew he was asking too much. After all, Mother Lu had made it clear from the beginning that she had no desire to marry him. It was he who had fallen for her at first sight, developed an obsession, and forced the issue.

But a sense of resentment and anger still churned inside him. Unable to vent it at Mother Lu, he could only unleash it on Lu Xiang.

Lu Xiang took several hard kicks. The man’s blows were forceful, slamming his back against the table behind him so he couldn’t even get up.

With a grim face, Father Lu said, “Starting today, you’re staying home and reflecting on your actions properly. No more school—I’ll hire a tutor to come here. Lu Xiang, I’ve held back from making demands of you before out of consideration for your mother, but you had better remember this: without the Lu Family and without your mother, you’re nothing.”

Struggling to his feet, Lu Xiang wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth at random. Suddenly, he braced himself against the floor and let out a snickering laugh.

His face flushed red from laughter. After a long moment, he sneered, “Dad, you’re pretty pathetic yourself. You’ve been with Mom for half your life and never won her love.”

“I’m not going down your same old road. I don’t want to follow in your footsteps.”

“Do you think I care that much about this status? From the time I was little, has either you or Mom ever cared about me? Is this even a home, or is it just a prison locking all of us up?”

Father Lu trembled with rage, nearly losing his balance. His voice cracked almost beyond recognition. “You… say that again?!”

Lu Xiang’s eyes burned red, the dark circles under them sinking deep like spiderwebs. “I don’t give a damn about being part of the Lu Family. If that status gets in the way of me marrying Jiang Rang, then I’d rather have nothing to do with it!”

Shaking, Father Lu clutched his chest. After a long while, the middle-aged man’s face turned ashen and cold. Composing himself, he said, “Lu Xiang, you’ve made up your mind to marry that man, haven’t you?”

Lu Xiang’s lips were pale as he gritted his teeth. “Yes. I’m going to be with him, no matter what.”

The man paced slowly for a couple of steps. After a long pause, he closed his eyes and rasped, “In that case, you’re no longer part of the Lu Family starting today. I’ll announce it publicly and strip you of all your rights as heir. Every card and asset in your name will be frozen. Get as far away from here as you can.”

Lu Xiang fell silent. After a long moment, he gritted his teeth and murmured, “Mr. Lu, thank you and Lady Yang for raising me. Jiang Jiang is great. He loves me a lot, and I’m serious about spending my life with him. You should understand what kind of feeling that is.”

Father Lu said nothing. Finally, after a long while, his lips trembled as he spat out, “Idiot.”