Chapter 54: Multi-Layered Outsourcing Shenanigans
Yu Bai’s smile froze on his face.
In the past, he might have brushed it off as a joke.
But after everything he had experienced and overheard, his nerves weren’t that thick anymore.
He almost wanted to grab Gu Yang by the arm and shake whatever nonsense was in his head right out.
“Tch,” he muttered, “you sure think beautifully. Why don’t you come to my funeral instead?”
Hearing that, Gu Yang was still smiling, as if what he’d just said had only been casual trash talk.
Ying Jiayi shot a pleading look at He Ming’an, but He Ming’an’s gaze had been fixed on Gu Yang the whole time, so their eyes never met. He had just opened his mouth to say something when a voice interrupted him.
“What secret are you guys whispering about over there? Let me hear it too.”
Xie Wu walked over, bracing himself on the desks one by one. He had actually heard what they were saying and rushed over immediately, cradling his still-buzzing head.
He slung an arm around Gu Yang’s shoulders in a buddy-buddy way, cheerful as a German Shepherd wagging its tail.
After all, he’d already crossed the line between life and death. He felt invincible now.
“I’m going to the gym to play basketball after school. Wanna come try?”
Gu Yang rejected him without hesitation.
He hated basketball. After dribbling a few times, his palms would start to hurt, and they’d end up coated in dust.
“What about soccer? Volleyball? Badminton?…”
As Xie Wu rattled off sports like he was reading from a menu, Gu Yang’s eyes slowly turned into dead fish eyes.
Even Yu Bai felt a sense of solemn admiration listening to him.
This kid had definitely walked onto the wrong set.
Staying in this wealthy-family melodrama was a waste of talent—he belonged in a hot-blooded sports drama.
“Stop.” Gu Yang lightly raised a hand, interrupting the spellcasting. “Don’t you have anything else to say?”
Xie Wu paused to think, then continued very seriously.
“Oh right. I’m planning to get into racing after graduation. You in?”
Gu Yang: “……”
Forget it. He shouldn’t have asked.
Xie Wu’s logic was simple. From what he knew about Gu Yang, even if they invited him out, half the time he couldn’t be bothered to leave the house.
Staying cooped up all the time made people gloomy. So he’d decided to attack from this angle and drag Gu Yang out more often. Exercise was good for both body and mind.
But clearly Gu Yang wasn’t buying it. His gaze grew even colder.
“What’s with that reaction?” Xie Wu hurriedly said. “You’ve seen it these days—the chance of running into street punks is pretty high. With your skinny arms and legs, if someone picks a fight, you’ll get knocked flying in one swing before you even have time to cry.”
Gu Yang’s eyes remained cold, but the corners of his lips lifted slightly as he studied the bandage wrapped around Xie Wu’s head.
Xie Wu: “……”
Now it was his turn to fall silent.
“Yeah, look at me—I ended up like this. If it were you, who knows how badly you’d get bullied?”
Xie Wu’s skin was thick enough. He immediately launched into a rambling speech. “Guys like them love bullying people like you. Stripping your clothes would be the lightest thing they’d do…”
Influenced by his upbringing, he’d actually been a small-time hooligan in middle school—a textbook case of a rebellious yellow-haired punk. After entering high school, he dyed his hair black again and turned over a new leaf.
He’d gotten carried away just now and only realized halfway through how inappropriate he sounded. His words stalled midair.
Under several pairs of scrutinizing eyes, he twitched his mouth and gave an awkward smile.
He Ming’an smiled at him. “Sounds like you’re very familiar with the process, classmate Xie.”
A chill ran down Xie Wu’s neck. Before he could backtrack, Gu Yang had already brushed his hand off his shoulder in disgust.
“Actually, Gu Yang can fight pretty well,” Lu Ji said quietly from the side, helping Xie Wu out.
“Hahaha, really? That’s impressive then.” Xie Wu seized the lifeline without hesitation, not even questioning whether it made sense.
Ying Jiayi couldn’t bear to watch Xie Wu’s stupidity anymore. Instead, she asked Lu Ji, “What about the punks who were caught? Did they find out who ordered it?”
They all more or less knew who had the time and motive to target Lu Ji.
But knowing was one thing; having concrete proof was another—especially given how notoriously biased the Lu parents were.
“They’re still investigating.” Lu Ji shook his head. His voice carried deeper meaning. “As long as something’s been done, it’ll leave traces. Who knows what surprises we’ll uncover in the end.”
Lu Ran’s heart skipped a beat. A thin layer of sweat formed on his back. Unlike usual, he didn’t lash out, but looked somewhat guilty.
Because he had indeed orchestrated it.
He’d asked around. The punks inside had confessed.
They admitted they were paid to do it, but the name they gave was someone he’d never heard of.
Fortunately, Nie Ying hadn’t been stupid enough to hire someone under his real name.
Thinking of that, he shot Lu Ji a glare.
Ever since Lu Ji’s public declaration of war, peaceful coexistence between them had become impossible. In the end, only one of them could remain.
Honestly, he was sick of Xie Wu.
More than once he’d thought—if Xie Wu hadn’t interfered that day, wouldn’t Lu Ji have taken that blow?
And Lu Ji hadn’t even been wearing a helmet. If that stick had landed solidly…
Lu Ran’s gaze darkened.
No use thinking about it now.
It had failed. The fact that the punks hadn’t caused bigger trouble and dragged him down was already a stroke of luck.
—Or so it should have been.
Lu Ran’s brows twitched as he silently locked eyes with Nie Ying, who was standing in his living room.
As it turned out, Nie Ying had originally been arrogant enough to hire someone under his real name. But recently, overwhelmed by family matters,she’d handed the task to a junior assistant who used to work under his father and had now been assigned to him.
When the assistant learned the target was actually the young master of the Lu family, he nearly dropped his phone in shock.
But he no longer worked directly under President Nie. If he tattled, those two lunatics would just tear each other apart—and in the end, it would still be him, the working stiff, who suffered.
So he came up with a brilliant plan.
Since he was the one handling it now, he hired a few timid punks from A School to do the job. The most rebellious thing they’d ever done was skip class and climb over walls to play at internet cafés.
The assistant thought it through carefully—just scare him a little. No need to cause major trouble.
What he hadn’t expected was that those punks were too timid.
They dared to take the money but didn’t dare block anyone.
So with their few uncorrupted brain cells, they came up with a plan: outsource it.
That way, they’d make some money without taking the risk.
Nie Ying had allocated a budget of 100,000 yuan. The assistant pocketed 20,000. The punks received 80,000, took 50,000 for themselves, and outsourced the job to punks from B School.
Under this “excellent matching system,” the B School punks also came up with the genius idea of outsourcing—taking 30,000 and passing it to C School punks.
The C School punks had been ready to go. But when they found out who they were supposed to fight, they backed out.
Several of them had attended the same high school as Lu Ji. They knew how formidable he was and were afraid the money wouldn’t even cover their medical bills.
After discussing it, they decided to spend 10,000 to hire a seasoned thug who’d been in society for years and even served time in prison—a ruthless man known as “Brother Stick”—to back them up.
The ones caught on the spot were the C School punks and Brother Stick. Following the trail, the whole chain was uncovered. In the end, the assistant immediately confessed and handed over his chat records with Nie Ying.
Nie Runhua’s face turned black with anger. He’d wanted to beat his troublemaking son to death on the spot. Seeing the situation turn bad, Nie Ying quickly dragged Lu Ran into it as well, providing their chat logs too.
And thus came the present scene.
Nie Runhua had come today with the intention of shifting blame. So he rattled everything off in one go.
The core message was simple: This was your Lu family’s internal conflict. My son was merely used as a gun.
The Lu couple exchanged looks. Their expressions were ugly.
They couldn’t believe that the younger son they had doted on for so many years could be this insane.
Lu Ji was their biological child.
Originally, the one most wronged in this matter was Lu Ji. They had been too immersed in it to see clearly. But now, at this point, when they calmed down and looked at it objectively, the filter of parental bias shattered.
Was it really for the sake of staying in this house that he resorted to such methods to eliminate the other?
The one who had enjoyed all the advantages was Lu Ran. Did he have no self-awareness at all?
Had he ever once considered his parents’ feelings? Had he thought about the fact that the person he targeted was the son they had finally found again after so much hardship?
No—of course he hadn’t.
For some reason, Mrs. Lu suddenly recalled what that Mr. Huo had said: that after learning of his true identity, Lu Ran had never once considered returning to his original family.
Only now did she feel a chill in her heart.
What kind of cold-blooded person could feel nothing at all toward their biological parents?
Lu Zhenxing frowned deeply. If Lu Ran could hire someone to cripple Lu Ji today for blocking his path, what about tomorrow? Would he set his sights on him?
As expected—no good genes ever came from that kind of family.
He had already made up his mind. Lu Ran could no longer stay by his side. Otherwise, he wouldn’t sleep peacefully again.
Aside from laying everything bare, Nie Runhua had another purpose.
Although the final outcome hadn’t been severe, Nie Ying’s behavior was extremely malicious in nature. Starting from the C School punks, none of them could escape responsibility. The only way to mitigate consequences was through the victim’s side.
“The one most seriously injured wasn’t me, but Xie Wu,” Lu Ji said coldly. “If he hadn’t been lucky, who knows what would have happened.”
“We’ve already visited the Xie family. Xie Wu said the incident was aimed at you. In the end, it’s up to you.”
Lu Ji’s eyes flickered.
Xie Wu had handed all the chips to him.
His cold gaze fell on Nie Ying’s face. He resented him deeply for interfering in this matter.
But he also knew that rather than wait for the Nie family to reach some private agreement with Lu Zhenxing and then pressure him to forgive, it was better to resolve the main conflict now.
Lu Ji made a decisive call, speaking word by word.
“This whole matter started because of Lu Ran.”
Approval appeared on Nie Runhua’s face. Everything stemmed from that fake young master. Only by resolving the source could this truly end.
They exchanged no further words, yet reached an unspoken agreement.
“Lu Ji, you—” Lu Ran, who had been too stunned to speak, finally reacted.
“Dad!” Knowing nothing he said would matter, he instinctively called out to Lu Zhenxing first.
“Don’t call me Dad,” Lu Zhenxing cut him off. “Your father is someone else.”
Thinking of that gambling addict, Lu Ran’s face turned pale. He looked desperately at Mrs. Lu.
“Mom—”
She still had a trace of softness left. She turned her head away, unable to look at his face.
But even so, Lu Zhenxing couldn’t throw Lu Ran out on the spot. That would make him seem too heartless.
Lu Ji had already anticipated this outcome. As long as Lu Ran stayed one more day, he still had a chance to turn things around. Lu Ji didn’t dare gamble on the Lu couple’s hearts.
So the moment the Nie family left, he immediately took out the materials he had prepared.
One glance was enough to shock them.
They were records of Lu Ran’s private transactions with others—some even with rival companies. It was outright betrayal.
The timeline began from the days Lu Ji returned—right after Lu Ran learned of his true identity, he had already begun paving a path for himself.
They had never guarded against him. Lu Zhenxing’s office and study were open for him to enter freely.
That trust had instead made it convenient for Lu Ran to siphon money.
Even after learning Lu Ran wasn’t their biological child, they had never reduced their love for him.
How could this ungrateful wretch do such a thing?!
Lu Zhenxing finally understood why he had stumbled several times in business. There had been a traitor in his own home.
With a cold face, he flung the documents at Lu Ran.
After reading the contents, Lu Ran instantly lost all strength and schemes.
It was over.
How had it been discovered? He’d been so careful.
And Lu Ji had only just returned—how did he have the connections to investigate all this?
Without another glance, Lu Zhenxing began clearing house on the spot. He ordered the servants to pack Lu Ran’s things and send him back to the Huo family immediately.
Lu Ran couldn’t accept it. He struggled wildly, screaming, trying to call back the Lu couple’s love.
But this time, even Mrs. Lu only lowered her head coldly.
Hiring thugs to break her biological son’s leg. Stealing company secrets to profit other firms.
She was utterly heartbroken.
How had she raised such a vicious, ungrateful child?
Amid the chaos, she only wanted to escape this mess—and didn’t want Lu Ji to witness it any longer.
But when she turned around, she realized the very person who had stirred today’s storm was no longer there.
Lu Ji had already left the Lu residence during the commotion. He didn’t want to continue watching the entangled drama.
His mind was still in disarray. His skin burned, his blood vessels dilated, his heart pounding so violently it felt like it would burst from his chest.
A sharp wind swept past.
The biting cold crashed into his overheated brain. The friction left him dazed.
For a split second, he seemed to see another version of himself.
He was like a walking corpse, pushed forward in a wheelchair. The one pushing him was Lu Ran. Mr. and Mrs. Lu and Lu Zheng walked on either side, laughter filling the air.
Lu Ran said something amusing, making Lu Zhenxing burst into hearty laughter. Mrs. Lu affectionately flicked his nose.
Lu Ran dodged coquettishly, moving closer during the playfulness. He leaned near and whispered something to him, looking intimately close.
What a warm and beautiful scene.
The two versions of him brushed past each other.
Lu Ji shuddered, snapping out of the trance—only to find nothing around him.
He didn’t know what he had just seen, only that anger and bitter hatred surged in his chest.
It wasn’t until a servant at the gate asked what he was doing there that he realized he had wandered near the Gu residence.
In his daze, he had walked aimlessly—and somehow ended up here.
Subconsciously, he said he was Gu Yang’s classmate.
Seeing he wore Guanli High School’s uniform, and recognizing him as the Lu family’s young master, the servants let him in from the cold.
Lu Ji forced himself to calm down as he was led along the garden path.
Gu Yuhui, who had been working at the company, received the call and smiled faintly.
“The Lu family’s boy who was switched at birth and only recently brought back.”
Of course he knew.
These past days, Gu Yang had used his connections to dig up quite a few of the fake young master’s private dealings.
Back when his own reputation had been smeared by the Shen family, Gu Yang hadn’t even bothered to step in personally.
He didn’t know what change of mindset had occurred.
Quite rare indeed.
