Liang Feifan's cell phone suddenly rang. The ringtone interrupted Liang Jiannan's stuttering conversation.
He took it out and glanced at the caller ID. It was Guan Chao's cell phone. He then looked at the time. It was 9: 45 a.m. Guan Chao was calling him at this time. Could something have happened to Bai Lu?
He didn't tell Guan Chao that he had returned midway, so Guan Chao must have thought that he was on the plane. If it wasn't something serious, he wouldn't have called him at this time.
Liang Feifan gripped his cell phone tightly and stood up. "Let me take this call first." He paused before saying, "Since you don't think you're ready, you can get ready now. I'll come back after I finish the call."
After leaving the study, Liang Feifan quickly called back.
The call was picked up after one ring. Liang Feifan had a bad feeling about this. He frowned and spoke first. "Did something happen to Bai Lu?"
"Mr. Liang …" Guan Chao's voice was unprecedentedly panicked. Every word was trembling. "Mrs. Liang … Mrs. Liang suddenly had a fever. It's over 40 degrees now …"
Liang Feifan's eyes turned cold. "What's going on?"
Guan Chao had followed Liang Feifan for so many years. Naturally, he was influenced by Liang Feifan's words and actions. He had a bit of Liang Feifan's calmness and restraint. He had never spoken in such a flustered tone. Liang Feifan's heart sank. He could vaguely guess that things weren't as simple as they seemed.
"She was fine before. I don't know why she suddenly had a fever. An hour ago … Mrs. Liang went out. When she came back, she said that she took a shower and then went to bed. But just now … she suddenly said that she wasn't feeling well. I called the doctor over and found that she had a high fever for half an hour."
Guan Chao seemed to be blaming himself. "Mr. Liang, I'm sorry. It was my mistake. I … I didn't know before. Otherwise, Mrs. Liang wouldn't have had a high fever for half an hour."
Liang Feifan raised his wrist to look at the time. "I'll be right there."
After hanging up, he looked at the time on his watch. It was 9: 50. He put away his phone and turned to walk into the study.
Liang Jiannan had just stood up. When he raised his head, he saw his son push open the door and enter. His expression was solemn, but his eyes flickered for a moment. In fact, it was only a short two or three minutes. Liang Jiannan didn't have time to think too much about what happened 20 years ago. However, what happened back then had always been on his mind.
Actually, it had nothing to do with anything. It was just the courage to face it.
…
"… Fan."
Liang Jiannan frowned and said awkwardly, "… I didn't mean to hide what happened twenty years ago from you. I used to think that I wouldn't have to talk about it for the rest of my life, but I didn't expect this day to come. I'll tell you now …"
"Father." Liang Feifan interrupted him and said decisively, "I don't need a preamble. I just need to know the truth. I only have thirty minutes. Get to the point."
Liang Jiannan saw the urgency between his brows. He thought it was something important at the company. After all, it was a critical time. Logically speaking, he felt guilty towards his son. The Liang Clan's problems were all handled by his son alone, and he would undoubtedly become his stepping stone …
Sighing, Liang Jiannan didn't give himself a chance to back down. He nodded and said, "… Twenty years ago, the Liang Clan could only be considered a little famous. At the time, Ye Zijie and I met on a project. Back then, he wasn't as greedy as he is now. We worked together on a resort development project. The designer was from the Liang Clan. Back then, the Liang Clan and the Ye Clan weren't considered large enterprises, so the designers they hired were third-rate architects. I got someone to find two architects, but at the time, I was still working on another project, so I let my assistant and the people from the Ye Clan handle the work … "
Liang Jiannan paused. His gaze was distant, but there was a flash of annoyance on his face. "… Of course, back then, if I had put in more effort, maybe things wouldn't have happened."
Liang Feifan frowned slightly. There was a hint of coldness in his deep voice. "What happened later?"
"… Later, there was a communication problem between the two architects. Because the design of the resort was completed by the two of them, there was a problem with one of the buildings. Before that, my assistant did mention this problem to me, but in terms of design, I didn't know much about it. At that time, I only thought that no matter what I did, it was mainly for profit, so I didn't take it to heart at all. When the resort started operating normally, I found out that there were many problems. One year after the resort was built, there was a storm one night, and half of the problematic building collapsed. At that time, there were people inside, but fortunately, no one died. However, the Liang Clan and the Ye Clan also lost a lot of money, and the resort was later closed down. The Liang Clan's reputation was also in big trouble. "
"… After that incident, I was very angry. This was all the fault of those designers. There was a problem with the entire design, but they still had to build the resort like that. In the end, it caused Liang Group to suffer heavy losses. I went to look for those two designers in private. After I looked for them, I found out that after the incident, one of the designers ran away, while the other came to look for me. He told me that the design of the resort wasn't his fault. At that time, he insisted on changing the design, but we didn't change it in order to save costs. After I heard that, I was even angrier. One of the architects ran away, and the one who didn't run away, of course, justified himself. Who knows if what he said was true or not? I wanted him to stand up and take all the responsibility, and prove the Liang Clan's innocence, but he refused. At that time, I didn't think about anything else. I only thought that someone must stand up for the whole thing. No matter how bad the blame was, someone must take it. It couldn't be the Liang Clan or the Ye Clan, it had to be the two architects. Anyway, they weren't famous people. Let them stand up, and then give them some money. I think they won't lose out. "
"Who knows? That person has a very stubborn temper, and I couldn't persuade him. But in the end, he was just a third-rate architect. It wasn't a big problem for me to make him take the blame. He didn't agree, so I thought that even the 'hush money' could be saved. After I discussed it with Ye Zijie, we came to a conclusion. We found someone to smear that architect's name first, and then let someone spread the news that the design of the resort was from him, and that the problem was all his fault … "
"I thought that this kind of action would at most teach him a lesson, give him a warning, and make him take the blame. But I never thought that … it would actually cause a death."
At this point, Liang Jiannan's voice was a little choked up. He thought back to that day, when he returned home and saw the man lying in front of the Liang Residence's door. He felt a chill run down his spine. Even though more than 20 years had passed, he still felt a lingering fear when he thought back to it.
In fact, he was just an honest businessman. Maybe doing business really needed to be unscrupulous, but he really wouldn't do anything that offended the heavens and reason, and he didn't dare to do it. But what he didn't know was that because of a moment of crooked thoughts, he teamed up with Ye Zijie to plot against the designer, but he had a pride and refused to admit defeat, and refused to bow his head. He actually chose the most intense way — death — to prove his innocence.
"… At that time, I was really scared. The first thing that came to my mind was to call Ye Zijie. He was also involved in this matter. After something like that happened, I thought that he had to take responsibility too! I was in a mess at the time and couldn't handle it, so he took care of the aftermath. After that, the whole thing seemed to have been covered up by someone. No one mentioned it again. City A was also peaceful. Although the resort wouldn't have a chance to operate again, the Liang Clan and Ye Clan's partnership gradually expanded. That incident … I think it's already in the past. I don't want to think about it anymore, so I don't know anything about that architect. I also don't want to investigate. I'm also a person with a conscience. Someone died in front of me … I can't pretend that it didn't happen. For the past 20 years, I've been constantly being condemned by my conscience … "
"But what I didn't expect was that Ye Zijie, he …"
…
"You didn't expect that Ye Zijie actually had a trick up his sleeve. Back then, when he helped you, it was actually for his own sake. He has always been sinister and cunning. You just fell into his trap."
Liang Feifan took a deep puff of his cigarette. He narrowed his eyes and continued Liang Jiannan's words with a heavy expression. He threw the cigarette in his hand into the ashtray and raised his wrist to look at the time. Only then did he stand up. "Father, if it's possible, I'd like to have the architect's information from back then. It's good to have a name. But there's no rush now. I still have something important to do. You don't have to worry about Ye Zijie. I'll take care of it. "
Liang Jiannan still wanted to say something, but Liang Feifan pulled open the door with a heavy expression and walked out.
…
Architect, accident, death …
These words kept floating through Liang Feifan's mind. His delicate features were clouded over. Who would have thought that there was such a bloody past hidden in the past 20 years? It was no wonder that all these years, his father had always acceded to Ye Zijie's every request. His weakness had been grasped, so naturally, there was no way for him to fight back.
… And now, the person who had no way to fight back seemed to have become himself.
This was probably the so-called "the son pays the father's debts" principle.
Liang Feifan steadied his thoughts. After getting into the car, he took out his phone and called Guan Chao. "How is it now?"
Guan Chao didn't know that Liang Feifan hadn't gone to America. He thought that he was on his way back. "Mr. Liang's fever hasn't subsided yet. The doctor said that it might be a virus infection. We have to wait for the test results."
"How long will it take?"
"We'll have to wait until tomorrow morning for the results."
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