Hades, the Urban Legend

Chapter 560: Chapter 561: Accepting with Composure

In Yan Capital, within the Yang Family Defense District courtyard, in the back garden.

Yang Gongming, dressed as always in simple grey cloth, held a pair of scissors and pruned the extra branches of a few boxwood trees. However, his eyesight was somewhat failing, making the task rather strenuous.

Not far away, at a stone table with stone stools, Li Mosheng, having taken off his coat and wearing a low-neck sweater, patiently watched his old friend tend to the trees, holding a tea cup in his hand without any intention of speaking.

Standing by the corridor of the courtyard was the elderly woman Yan Sanniang, squinting and smiling as she watched the two old men in the yard, though no one could tell what she was smiling about.

After about ten minutes, Yang Gongming finally felt satisfied with the pruned boxwood trees, which now looked rounded and neat. He walked back to the table, put down the scissors, and sat down opposite Li Mosheng.

Taking a sip of warm tea, Yang Gongming let out a long breath, seemingly tired, but his face was glowing with pleasure. He glanced back at the boxwood trees and said, "These trees need to be pruned from time to time. They might not seem to change much, but once you take the scissors to them, you realize many parts need trimming, even if it's not obvious at first glance."

Yang Gongming spoke as if to himself, and Li Mosheng followed along, "I don't have your leisure. I'm busy with many things daily, so the flowers and plants at home are left to the servants. But these plants do need care when the time comes. Although I don't have your patience, if something looks wrong, I'd rather uproot it."

"Ah, that's not right," Yang Gongming waved his hand and said, "A tree growing to the point where it needs pruning is no easy feat. If you cut off the branches, there's still the trunk. If you cut down the trunk, there are still the roots. The roots might even be connected to other trees, perhaps with many saplings. It takes ten years to grow trees but a hundred years to nurture people. Who can say trees have no feelings? If it can be pruned and improved, it's worth the effort."

Li Mosheng sipped his tea and chuckled before saying, "The tea here at Yang's place is still as rich and flavorful as ever."

"Haha, if you like it, feel free to take some home. This tea isn't anything special, just leaves picked and processed from a few tea trees at the old Yang family residence. I can't handle luxurious living; I'm used to simple food and drink. If I were to drink tea that costs thousands per kilo, I'd find the sweetness too cloying," Yang Gongming shook his head.

Li Mosheng laughed heartily, "Simple food and drink are good. We're getting on in years; if we indulge too much, it's not about how long we can enjoy it, but that our old bones can't take it and we'll end up with ailments of wealth. I suggest you give me some of this rustic tea, and I'll reciprocate by sending over some pickles my wife made. How about that?"

"You old rascal, I'll let you have this one. But remember, don't buy pickles from outside to fool me."

"As if I could fool you," Li Mosheng replied with a sincere face.

Thus, the two old friends chatted about gardens and daily life, like old friends catching up after a long time apart. If others overheard, they might think the two had senile dementia.

As for the incident of Lu Min being murdered and Yang Chen's pursuit, neither of them mentioned a word.

At the headquarters of Yu Lei International in Zhonghai, the place was bustling with traffic and people from early morning.

With the successful operation of new materials at Yu Lei International, profits had multiplied several times, the company's stock had twice narrowly escaped disaster and made a dramatic rebound, and Yu Lei International's reputation was growing more and more prestigious.

Especially after that world-shocking stock market battle, where Yu Lei International threw in five billion in cash at the last moment and turned the tide, the external perception of this originally seemingly immature and unstable multinational enterprise had completely changed.

Nowadays, countless newcomers wanted to join Yu Lei, and many executives from other fashion industry companies considered jumping ship to come over. This situation made even ordinary employees of Yu Lei proud and excited, walking down the street with spirits high as if they were on stimulants.

Naturally, as the supreme leader, Lin Ruoxi had become an even deeper spiritual leader and idol in the minds of the lower-level employees. The number of fans in Lin Ruoxi's "Laundry Powder" fan club was growing daily, and she was even becoming a popular idol among the younger generation in Yanxia.

Several planners at Yu Lei Entertainment Company even had wild ideas about turning Lin Ruoxi into an artist, estimating it would be very profitable.

Of course, the planners dared to think of such ideas but never dared to express them openly. Who would dare to mess with their superior? Were they tired of living or simply out of their minds?

As the director of Yu Lei Entertainment, Yang Chen naturally knew about these ideas. However, despite the company's booming success, Yang Chen didn't feel much about it. Even though the company was making big money, his wife didn't seem any happier. Instead, their relationship always seemed on the brink of collapse.

Driving from home to Yu Lei headquarters, Yang Chen took the elevator straight to the top floor where the CEO's office was located.

As soon as he stepped out of the elevator, he saw the CEO's assistant, Wu Yue, standing in the hallway in a black suit and black-framed glasses, seemingly waiting for someone.

Since Yang Chen had previously discovered her relationship with Li Minghe, Wu Yue felt both anger and fear towards him. She had always thought no one knew about her relationship with Li Minghe, unaware that Lin Ruoxi had known all along but had spared her the embarrassment by not revealing it.

Seeing Yang Chen, Wu Yue's face showed a hint of disdain, and she said stiffly, "President Lin is waiting for you. Go in."

Yang Chen thought Wu Yue would stop him from seeing Lin Ruoxi again, but surprisingly, she was there to let him in.

"Ruoxi wants to see me?" Yang Chen hesitated and asked to confirm.

Wu Yue was annoyed, "Is there another Yang Chen? President Lin said she wouldn't see anyone else this morning, so I'm here to make sure you go in."

Yang Chen was even more puzzled. What was this about? Wasn't she mad at him? Why was she suddenly waiting for him?

Having experienced Lin Ruoxi's meticulous and complex thoughts, Yang Chen wasn't surprised she anticipated his visit, but everything felt strange and unpredictable.

Thinking this, Yang Chen walked slowly to the door of the CEO's office and knocked.

"Come in."

Lin Ruoxi's voice was as pleasant and clear as ever, without any hint of emotion, making it hard to gauge her mood.

This calmness made Yang Chen even more unsure. This wasn't what he expected at all.

But having come this far, he couldn't turn back to figure things out before entering. Yang Chen braced himself, pushed open the door, and stepped into the spacious office.

The office was just as clean, neat, transparent, and elegant as the first time he had entered, except for a few new potted plants. Everything else was the same.

Lin Ruoxi, dressed in a beige British-style dress, hadn't changed her outfit despite returning to the office. She was standing behind her desk, hands on the table, looking down at a large blueprint.

After closing the door, Yang Chen walked forward and saw that Lin Ruoxi wasn't looking at a fashion design but a construction blueprint.

Feeling a bit awkward, Yang Chen pretended to cough and said, "Honey, Wu Yue said you were waiting for me?"

Lin Ruoxi didn't answer directly but pointed to the large blueprint on the table and casually asked, "What do you think of these villa and building designs?"

"Huh?" Yang Chen walked closer in confusion, carefully examining the blueprints. There were at least three, all of which depicted either villas or large-scale, modern buildings.

The villa designs combined Eastern symmetry with Western elements like columns and spires, making them quite unique. They seemed to be the work of a very skilled designer.

The building designs resembled large-scale hotels or resorts, with very avant-garde shapes. Realizing such projects would require an initial investment of at least billions, Yang Chen found it hard to believe.

"They look good, but why are you looking at these?" Yang Chen's mind was racing. At this moment, he didn't care about blueprints; he was eager to explain the facts he had organized to hopefully redeem himself.

Lin Ruoxi seemed determined to dig deeper. "Good? That's very vague. Specifically, what do you like about them?"

Yang Chen's mouth twitched. Was he here to give a work report or to resolve family issues?

"I can't pinpoint it. I just know building such villas would cost a lot. The more you spend, the better things will be," Yang Chen replied, feeling uninterested.

Lin Ruoxi looked up, her face, free of makeup, showing a hint of tiredness and a faint trace of helplessness. "What kind of logic is that? According to you, there's no need to spend a lot of money on design drawings. Just save the money to build more expensive ones."

Yang Chen felt frustrated. Was this woman really going to argue with him about building houses? He didn't want to drag this out any longer. If this continued, he might forget the main purpose of coming here.

So, he directly said, "Ruoxi, I know you're in a bad mood right now. Don't beat around the bush with me. I'm here to explain everything. Whether you believe me or not, I have to say that what you saw and heard this morning isn't entirely what you think. I was wrong, but I only got home this morning because I was..."

Before Yang Chen could continue, Lin Ruoxi raised her hand to stop him, shook her head slightly, and sighed softly. "You don't need to explain. I know you rushed back to Zhonghai for more than just that little thing. You wouldn't lie to me over something like that."

Yang Chen was stunned. This girl had such an open mind! But if she was so understanding, why did she leave home angrily and come to the office immediately?

Ignoring Yang Chen's confused expression, Lin Ruoxi walked to the floor-to-ceiling window at the back of the office. She looked out at the dense array of buildings and the roads, reduced to the width of a fingertip from this height. After a moment of silence, she said calmly, "Originally, I planned to let it go. There wasn't much to say, but now it seems that even if I don't listen, you want to talk. So, you should listen to me first."

Her silhouette looked somewhat slender, and her words carried a touch of melancholy, but more so a tranquility after the tide had calmed.

"Yang Chen, do you remember the first time Yang Lie came to our house? Because he provoked you, you beat him up badly. Later, a Taoist priest came with Sister Cai Ning to plead for him. In the end, Yuan Ye stepped in, recognizing Yang Lie as his cousin, and you spared him.

At that time, because I had confirmed that Hui Lin was part of the Lin family, I was a bit down and didn't think much about it. But afterward, I thought about it. Yang Lie and that Taoist priest were extraordinary people, yet in front of you, they were nothing. You must be incredibly powerful. That incident was the first time you gave me a real sense of how far apart we were.

Moreover, that day when Yuan Ye recognized Yang Lie as his cousin and you suddenly let him go, I had a rough idea about your parents' identities. But since it seemed you didn't want to acknowledge it, I pretended not to know anything."

As Lin Ruoxi spoke, Yang Chen's eyes gradually widened. This woman appeared to be indifferent, but she hid so much inside.

"Later, because I used some tricks to crush Changlin Media and the Xu family's industries, I faced retaliation from Zeng Xinlin and Xu Zhihong. I know you probably thought it was foolish for a girl like me to conduct business so ruthlessly, bringing danger upon myself.

At that time, although I hadn't accepted Lin Zhiguo as my grandfather, I knew that if something really happened to me, he wouldn't stand by. I wasn't sure what power Lin Zhiguo had, but since he could protect my grandmother, he could protect me too. So, I used Lin Zhiguo and went all out to destroy the Zeng and Xu families. But in the end, Lin Zhiguo didn't come to my aid. Instead, you saved me from that disaster. That's when I realized you were connected to the power that Lin Zhiguo had, or perhaps he asked you to take care of me. But for me, it didn't matter. I just needed someone to shield me from their retaliation."

At this point, Lin Ruoxi turned around and gave Yang Chen, who was dumbfounded, a slight, bitter smile. "Yang Chen, do you remember what I said to persuade you not to mind after you killed Zeng Xinlin and Xu Zhihong?"

"Remember," Yang Chen said blankly, "you said that you and I are both scorpions, and the only ones who can destroy us are ourselves."

"Yes," Lin Ruoxi's fragrant shoulders trembled slightly, as if she couldn't help but laugh, "Yang Chen, you are really so foolish. I was just telling a story to deceive children, and you actually believed it.

Yang Chen, do you think that a woman like me, who has never seen a dead person since childhood, can calmly accept it so quickly when I see a man crush someone's head into pieces with his bare hands right in front of me?"