After becoming a widow, I became the apple of a rough man's eye.

Draw your gun.

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This set of movements was so fluid and fast that it was impossible for anyone to react.

"Click".

The sound of the fuse being released rang out.

"Don't move!"

Li Dongye roared, his voice hoarse and cracked.

The dark muzzle of the gun was pointed at Mu Hongying on the ground.

At that moment, the hall fell into a deathly silence.

The guards who had been struggling just moments before froze, slowly raising their hands and backing away. Mu Zhenbang stared wide-eyed at his son in disbelief.

Liu Shuyan collapsed to the ground, staring at the gun barrel, her soul nearly leaving her body in terror.

"Yunqi...Yunqi, don't do this..." Liu Shuyan cried, her makeup ruined. She crawled over on all fours and hugged Li Dongye tightly. "That's your own brother! What are you doing?!"

"His own younger brother?"

Li Dongye's face was grim. "When he was about to burn Lin Qingqing to death, did he ever think of me as his own brother?"

Li Dongye's voice was soft, yet it was like a rusty saw, sawing into everyone's heart.

"Mom, do you know where he set the fire? The abandoned warehouse. The door was locked from the outside. He wanted to burn Lin Qingqing to death inside!"

Liu Shuyan was stunned.

She looked up at her son in her arms.

Only at such close range could she clearly see just how severe Li Dongye's injuries were.

His calves were covered in blisters, and the skin on the back of his hands, which were holding the gun, was gone, leaving raw, exposed flesh. Although it had been treated, it was still a horrific sight.

"Son...your hand..."

Liu Shuyan's tears suddenly welled up.

Her hands trembled as she tried to touch Li Dongye's hand, but dared not, only weakly protecting it. "Does it hurt...? Call a doctor! Zhenbang! Call a doctor!"

Li Dongye's hand holding the gun trembled slightly.

He looked at Liu Shuyan's tear-streaked face.

This is his biological mother.

He was taken away as a child and grew up in the countryside, relying on the kindness of others. When he was bullied and called a bastard as a child, he thought that if he had parents, they would definitely protect him.

Later, he followed his older brother and several other brothers and started a family, but the place that was missing in his heart was like an obsession.

He doesn't lack so-called family affection, but he also misses his biological parents very much.

But this home doesn't seem to be the home he envisioned.

At this moment, the heartache in Liu Shuyan's eyes was genuine.

But her action of standing in front of Mu Hongying was also genuine.

Even if Mu Hongying wanted to burn Lin Qingqing to death, even if Mu Hongying was a beast, at this moment, a mother's instinct still made her protect the son she had raised by her side since childhood.

At that moment, Li Dongye's heart was colder than if he were in a fire.

"mom."

Li Dongye called out.

Liu Shuyan looked up at him, her eyes full of hope: "Hey, Mom's here, Mom's here. Put the gun down, okay? Let's talk this out. Mom will take you to the hospital, Mom will bandage you up..."

"No."

Li Dongye gently shook his head.

He slowly and carefully pulled his arm, which was being held by Liu Shuyan, out of her grasp.

The movements were light, yet carried a resolute air.

"I'm just a truck driver, cheap as I am, thick-skinned and resilient, I won't die."

Li Dongye took two steps back, increasing the distance between himself and Liu Shuyan.

He raised his gun again.

Mu Zhenbang was horrified: "Li Dongye! You dare to fire! Once this shot is fired, there's no turning back!"

"I've wanted to leave this place for ages!"

Li Dongye suddenly raised his hand.

The gun was not aimed at Mu Hongying, but was suddenly raised and pointed at the priceless crystal chandelier directly above the hall.

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

Three gunshots rang out.

The sound was deafening.

The enormous crystal chandelier was hit at its joint by a bullet and crashed to the ground.

"Splash—"

Countless crystal shards rained down like a storm, shattering in the center of the hall. The dazzling light instantly dissipated into a scene of utter devastation.

The loud noise stunned everyone.

Liu Shuyan screamed and covered her ears. Mu Hongying covered her head and huddled under the table, trembling.

The smell of gunpowder permeated the air.

Li Dongye lowered his hand holding the gun and casually threw it on the ground.

Looking at the broken glass all over the ground and at the terrified parents, he suddenly felt incredibly listless.

This is the home he longs to return to.

This is fucking boring.

Li Dongye bent his knees and knelt down on the floor covered with broken glass and soup with a "thump".

"Dad, Mom."

Li Dongye looked at them, his voice frighteningly calm.

"This kneeling is to thank you for giving birth to me."

"Thump!"

He kowtowed repeatedly to the ground.

"This kneeling is to thank you for finding me and letting me dream of being a young master for a few days."

"Thump!"

Liu Shuyan covered her mouth, crying so hard she almost fainted: "Yunqi... don't do this... you're tearing my heart out..."

Li Dongye didn't stop.

"This kneeling settles our scores."

"Thump!"

The third slap.

This sound was particularly heavy, as if it were about to sever the bond of this lifetime.

Li Dongye straightened up, his face streaked with blood and tears.

"From this day forward, there will be no Mu Yunqi in this world."

He supported himself on his knees, stood up unsteadily, staggered for a moment, but then firmly regained his footing.

"I am Li Dongye. Li Dongye of Qingshan."

After saying that, he didn't look at anyone again, turned around and walked towards the gate.

His back view was desolate yet resolute; he walked with a limp, yet moved swiftly.

"Yunqi! You stop right there!" Mu Zhenbang roared angrily. "Come back here! Can't we talk this out? Stop right there!"

Li Dongye didn't stop walking.

"Son! Son, don't go!"

Liu Shuyan chased after her, crying and shouting. She lost one of her high heels in the process and stumbled to the door. "You're still injured! Where are you going! Don't scare your mother!"

Li Dongye heard the heart-wrenching cries behind him.

It felt like a piece of my heart was being cut with a dull knife.

That's his mother.

How could he not be upset?

But Lin Qingqing is still lying in the hospital, and her older brother is still working in the southwest for Tiger.

I wonder if my silly second brother missed him, and I wonder if Gu Qiangying spoke ill of him while he was away.

I wonder if Xiao Wu can endure the hardships in the Southwest or if he'll throw a tantrum.

Li Dongye gritted his teeth, tears welling up in his eyes.

He suddenly raised his hand and slapped himself hard.

"Snapped!"

The slap was so hard it turned his face to the side, shattering that moment of tenderness.

Li Dongye took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the bitterness in his chest. He didn't look back or stop, but quickened his pace and rushed out of the courtyard.

"Li Dongye, run forward."

He said to himself.

"Don't look back. Take her home."