Chapter 20： covered with water

What happened after that was not for him.

Power and wealth are of no use at all, and severe hypothermia after falling into the water can kill people.

Passengers were put on life jackets for emergency evacuation and sent to nearby rescue boats, which would transfer them to the nearest land.

Luo Jun finally stopped a crew member who was in charge of contacting the rescue and described Luo Zhi's situation as best he could.

"...You said someone was still in the water?" The man stopped, "or your brother? Did you see him fall into the water?"

The man stared at Luo Jun in surprise: "Why didn't you say it just now?!"

Luo Jun was uncomfortably stabbed by the sight he cast, and instinctively frowned, but suddenly fell silent because of the next question.

Why didn't you say it just now?

The rescue of the shipwreck where every second counts, and the sea of ​​ice that may cost an extra life if one more delay is delayed, I watched my brother fall into the water with my own eyes, but I didn't tell it until this time...

Yu Fang's complex expression obviously contained more meaning, and his gaze was even more straightforward to the point that it was almost disrespectful.

It was the first time that Luo Jun was suspected of being so insulting, and he felt annoyed and angry: "The situation was too chaotic at the time."

This is of course not the explanation he was going to give, he just said the first sentence, and then the following words were suddenly blocked back in his throat for some reason.

… The situation was so chaotic, he just forgot that there was such a person.

The tension between life and death was so urgent that Luo Jun had no time to think about it, he just couldn't think of Luo Zhi in time.

Besides, there could only be one more person on the lifeboat.

There could only be one more person on the lifeboat, and Luo Jun didn't even think about who the position was for.

He didn't remember anything about Luo Zhi at that moment.

…

Luo Jun himself didn't know that he could still say such a thing.

I don't know if it was because of the severe loss of body temperature or some other reason, but the words that I tried to defend seemed to weigh a thousand jins and fell on his chest, unable to even arouse any airflow that affected the vocal cords.

Luo Jun stood silently on the spot.

The crew member shook his head inexplicably and didn't waste time with him. He contacted the rescue team for search and salvage through the microphone, and continued to transfer the others on the boat to a more secure boat.

Luo Jun was also urged to leave the lifeboat. He and Jian Huaiyi got on the boat together and were placed on the deck in a place slightly sheltered from the wind.

The waterproof performance of the phone came in handy, and a lot of information and calls flooded in as soon as it was turned on.

There was a text message from Luo Cheng saying she was safe, and she was now on another ship. There were also calls and messages from the father, who were all right and were extradited in time to the safety of the small ferry.

Mrs. Luo was a little frightened, but now that Luo Chengxiu was with her, she had stabilized, and she just kept talking about Jian Huaiyi.

The rescue operation is tense and orderly, and everything has begun to become orderly.

The momentary daze brought about by the disaster is slowly receding.

Luo Jun replied a few messages, also confirmed the safety of himself and Jian Huaiyi, then turned the phone to silent and put it aside.

The oppression that the shipwreck brought people to near despair ended abruptly.

If it weren't for the fact that the clothes on his body were terribly wet and cold, it would almost give people the illusion that they had completely escaped danger and returned to the most ordinary life.

…

Those are the things that usually happen in the whole day, dealing with work and socializing, and reuniting with the family when they are free.

So too many things have become inertia in the calm day after day.

In this inertia, Luo Jun really didn't like Luo Zhi very much.

Luo Zhi is arrogant and rebellious, contradicting his father and driving his mother crazy, and bullying Jian Huaiyi.

However, such a scum that disturbed the whole family's life, and a relative who is connected with their blood and cannot be shaken off.

Of course Luo Jun never thought of letting Luo Zhi disappear in this way. He didn't want Luo Zhi to die-although there were many times, under his anger, he did come up with another kind of idea that was somewhat similar.

It would be better if there was no Luo Zhi.

If there is no Luo Zhi, everything will be very smooth, and the family's life will be more stable and happy.

So this idea of ​​"if there is no Luo Zhi" has become a habit, and it will jump out in every scene where I feel irritable or angry, and it happens to be related to Luo Zhi.

Because of Luo Zhi, everything got so bad, and it couldn't get better.

If Luo Zhi no longer pestered them, could go far, and stop disturbing their family, so many bad things would not happen again.

It's not just him, this may be the inertia that every Luo family has already cultivated.

No one will be idle enough to question inertia, unless this inertia extends to a completely different occasion, and finally leads to serious consequences that may be deviated beyond correction.

Luo Jun had just discovered that his disgust and dislike for Luo Zhi was already enough for him to instinctively ignore Luo Zhi's existence when he was on the line of life and death.

It turned out that without the premise of moral restraint, he had been able to blurt out "the situation was too chaotic at that time, so I didn't care about his life or death".

The footsteps approached, and Jian Huaiyi came over with a bowl.

Jian Huaiyi looked equally preoccupied. Sitting in front of Luo Junyu, he brought the **** soup distributed to him: "Big brother...it's my fault."

"I fell into the water and passed out." Jian Huaiyi didn't dare to look at him, lowered his eyes and whispered, "When I woke up again, I was the only one, I didn't see Xiaozhi, I should find him..."

For his sake, Luo Jun looked at Jiang Tang with a low voice: "How could it be your fault?"

"I don't blame you." Luo Jun shook his head, "You drink."

He didn't pick up the bowl, the reddish-brown liquid didn't reflect, and rippled slightly as the hull shook.

It is indeed easy to have a transient fainting when the height is smashed into the water without buffer. Jian Huaiyi and Luo Zhi may have been washed away by the water at that time.

It can't be wrong.

Jian Huaiyi could not protect himself, and he was only pulled into the lifeboat by Luo Jun at the last moment, so how could he care more?

Luo Jun put his hand on the heater, and the frozen wood's skin eased a little bit, and gradually began to report a tingling pain that seemed to be bitten by an ant.

... What about Luo Zhi?

It seemed that it was only at this time that Luo Jun finally began to think about this issue.

He rescued Jian Huaiyi because he heard Jian Huaiyi's cry for help.

People are always more sensitive to the sounds they are familiar with. Although the surroundings were unusually chaotic, Luo Jun immediately followed the sound to find Jian Huaiyi who fell into the water and dragged him into a lifeboat.

Why didn't Luo Zhi call for help? Is it because he was also temporarily unconscious due to the violent impact of falling into the water, or because he was so drunk that he didn't realize the danger at all?

Why does Luo Zhi drink?

Jian Huaiyi was holding a wine glass. Did he give Luo Zhi the wine?

Why would he take Luo Zhi to drink in a dangerous place like the side of the ship?

How could Luo Zhi drink his wine?

...Actually, those countless scenes in the past also had the opportunity to think about these issues, but it was really unnecessary.

Luo Jun's work is very busy, and he doesn't have such a good leisure time to let go of the things at hand and be considerate of a brother who is doing evil.

It is much simpler as long as the conclusion is reached and the crime is directly pronounced.

Anyway, Luo Zhi has too many criminal records, and his temperament is difficult to change, and his actions and methods are repeated over and over again. Even if it takes time and effort to figure out every detail, the conclusion will not be different.

…

But this time, they had nothing to do until the rescue boat docked.

Perhaps it was because there was really nothing to do, so those fleeting doubts finally popped up inadvertently.

"Huai Yi." Luo Jun said slowly, "Before you—"

He paused for a few seconds, wondering whether he was considering or choosing a question, and then asked again, "What did you go to Luo Zhi for before?"

Jian Huaiyi was distributing **** soup into a paper cup. Hearing this, he was a little stunned, and raised his head to look at Luo Jun.

Luo Jun frowned: "Is it inconvenient to say?"

"...No." Jian Huaiyi smiled stiffly, "Brother, I never thought you would ask me this."

Luo Jun shook his head: "I'm not doubting you, I'm just asking casually."

Jian Huaiyi laughed: "Really?"

Luo Jun looked at him, his brows tightened.

He just asked casually, he couldn't understand why Jian Huaiyi reacted so much, and subconsciously he would continue to deny it, but his own thoughts caused his heart to sink slightly.

...is there really no doubt at all?

Why did he start to question Jian Huaiyi's behavior? Could it be that because of the ambiguous memory of his partner, he mistakenly remembered the person who gave the tie clip as Luo Zhi?

Jian Huaiyi is his assistant and his partner. They have always dealt with the company's affairs together. How many pairs of eyes are staring at Jian Huaiyi's position, and it is of course common to be provoked by others.

Because these few words would shake up the life that he had walked all the way through, instead of worrying about an irrelevant outsider, Luo Jun himself felt that it was a bit outrageous.

The boat shook suddenly, and half of Jian Huaiyi's **** soup splashed out.

He took a breath of cold air, put down the bowl in his hand, pulled a tissue, and wiped the wet mess.

Jian Huaiyi rolled the soaked tissue into a ball, squeezed it a few times in his hand, and threw it into the trash can. He stood up and walked to the deck.

Luo Jun got up and walked over: "Sorry."

"I shouldn't think so." Luo Jun said, "If you don't want to say it, I can pretend that I didn't ask about it."

Jian Huaiyi suddenly turned his head, looked at him seriously for a long time, and then chuckled softly.

Luo Jun's eyes narrowed slightly and fell on him: "What are you laughing at?"

Jian Huaiyi thought for a while: "The situation is not very good for me."

"The position of the two of us was obvious at the time. It was not a good chat, but I was looking for an opportunity to push him down."

Jian Huaiyi simply turned around and looked at him: "Luo Cheng is young, so he may not be able to tell, but you should have this discernment, eldest brother."

Luo Jun's eyes narrowed uncontrollably.

His expression suddenly became serious, and he was about to blurt out what Jian Huaiyi was talking about, but another voice grew out of his mind for no apparent reason.

Because he hadn't listened to that voice for so long, Luo Jun had almost ignored its existence.

... He really never knew that some of the conflicts between Luo Zhi and Jian Huaiyi were not Luo Zhi's unilateral acupuncture against Jian Huaiyi?

If he didn't even have this level of discernment, Luo Jun wouldn't have to deal with people in the business field and calculate the profit and loss of those boring benefits.

"Luo Zhi didn't drink either. I drank it. I just chatted with him about Ren Chenbai's mother - what Xiaocheng said. I heard it and got curious, so I asked him."

Jian Huaiyi said, "After a few more chats, he stopped talking. He stood there and didn't move, as if something was wrong with his brain."

He spoke quickly, and continued in a flat breath: "I realized that this was the right time, so I poured him a glass of wine and prepared to push him down, pretending that he stumbled and fell into the water. But because It was a temporary intention, insufficient preparation, and happened to be bumped into by you..."

"...Huaiyi."

Luo Jun's voice was deep, he stared at the person in front of him, and a cold air slowly rose from his spine: "Do you know what you are talking about?"

Jian Huaiyi just looked at him with a smile: "Brother, didn't you guess so?"

Luo Jun was speechless.

...of course he thought so.

If it wasn't for this kind of speculation, he wouldn't be able to help but ask Jian Huaiyi that sentence.

But in the end, he still chose to swallow all the doubts and silenced the voice in his heart.

Because... If you can tell the weird postures of Jian Huaiyi and Luo Zhi at that time, then the following series of ideas derived from it are simply too logical.

It's probably the most depressing truth.

Luo Jun slowly squeezed his right hand that was hanging by his side.

He couldn't tell what kind of emotion was running fiercely in his body.

Did you feel guilty for misunderstanding Luo Zhi at that time?

Maybe there is, but it's so thin that it's almost engulfed in a flash.

What's more, it is the anger of being deceived by the most trusted person, and the anger that seems to be ridiculed and humiliated.

He hadn't been so angry for a long time, his anger was burning with rage, and even a faint **** smell appeared in his throat. Luo Jun picked up Jian Huaiyi's collar with force, his chest heaving up and down rapidly, and faint blue veins almost stretched out on his hands.

Luo Jun asked hoarsely, "Why?"

Having been his assistant for many years, Jian Huaiyi knew exactly which question he was referring to by "why".

Luo Jun didn't care why Jian Huaiyi did this to Luo Zhi.

Maybe I will care about it in the future - when it's none of my business and I can give a little mercy calmly, I will care about Luo Zhi and give some compensation as comfort.

Or maybe it was when he knew some truths that were about to be exposed, uncovered the whitewashed past little by little, and figured out what happened in the first place... At that time, Luo Jun would probably regret running away and jumping off the building. .

But at least now, Luo Jun is not concerned about Luo Zhi, nor is he angry about what happened to Luo Zhi.

This is an extremely self-centered and extremely arrogant person. His own dignity and absolute correctness are more important than anything else. If you want to prove him wrong, it is better to peel off his skin.

The Luo family seems to be like this, and they don't know how the genetic mutation has resulted in an out of place Luo Zhi.

"Even if I don't take the initiative to admit it, you will find out sooner or later."

Jian Huaiyi said: "Doubt is like this. Once it is born, it is impossible to wipe it off completely."

Luo Jun's eyes were dark. He looked at Jian Huaiyi and said in a hoarse voice, "I might not know how to check."

There were so many times in the past that Jian Huaiyi and Luo Zhi had conflicts. Didn't he convict Luo Zhi without checking anything?

Since he chose Jian Huaiyi as his assistant, he would not be easily shaken and questioned, even if the reasons given by Jian Huaiyi were indeed flawed, even if Luo Zhi was his own younger brother...

"What if Luo Zhi died in this shipwreck?" asked Jian Huaiyi.

Hearing that word, Luo Jun's gaze suddenly trembled: "What did you say?"

... How did Luo Zhi die?

Luo Zhi's life is very hard, he has survived so many times, how could he fall into the sea and die?

This rescue is very timely and professional, and no one will be left behind.

There must be some lifeboat to pick up Luo Zhi, but because there are no relatives and friends around, Luo Zhi's identity cannot be determined for the time being, so they have not been contacted...

"Brother, Luo Zhi won't move at all." Jian Huaiyi's voice was very soft, "Before he fell, he was already an empty shell."

Luo Jun's arm froze in the air motionless.

His breathing was heavy, bloody, and finally turned into some sort of rapid gasp.

"I know what kind of person you are."

Jian Huaiyi's voice was still ringing: "What you can't accept is not 'Luo Zhi died' but 'Luo Zhi died because of your fault'."

No matter what role other people had played in this matter, it was because Luo Jun didn't think of Luo Zhi in time that everything ended up like this.

Even if they were together when the cruise ship rolled over, Luo Jun didn't have any idea about Luo Zhi at all—even if he thought of it a little, it might be too late for the crew to contact other lifeboats to try to salvage them.

"Your family is very interesting." Jian Huaiyi smiled lightly, "It's like you don't really care about Mrs. Luo. What you care about is that the matter of Mrs. Luo's condition getting worse has nothing to do with you."

The two are not the same.

Luo Jun's eyes showed a gloom that he had never seen before, and at the same time, there was a particularly sharp contrast, and the rage that was so intense that it seemed to be able to choose someone was gradually fading.

This is obviously not a good change, Luo Jun stared at him, the gloom in his eyes became more and more obvious, the whole figure seemed to be slowly peeled off, and then the most humid and cold night dew condensed.

Luo Jun asked, "What's the difference?"

"Very different." The collar was pulled too tightly, and Jian Huaiyi coughed twice before continuing as if nothing had happened.

"If you cared about Luo Zhi, you would look for him like a madman... You would find a large number of boats, knowing that it was futile and knowing that it was ridiculous, but you still have to salvage the bottom of the sea for a month, and finally hold a pair of boats. His skeleton wept bitterly."

Speaking of this, Jian Huaiyi even smiled wickedly: "Brother, you might really do this in the future."

He has never spoken to anyone in the Luo family except Luo Zhi in this tone. In front of the Luo family and his son, he will always be the most obedient and obedient one. Of course he knows what they want to hear.

So from childhood to adulthood, he could easily intercept all the kindness and affection of Luo Zhiyu's family, and he would believe them as long as he said it.

In fact, in the original tie clip, Jian Huaiyi himself did not have any plans to deceive Luo Jun—Luo Zhi had Ren Chenbai’s mother as a lead, so he could meet the founder of some multinational group, and he could coax Yufang into a smile, even for Luo Zhi’s sake. Zhi gave an eight-digit list to the fledgling Luo Jun.

What does he have? He has only one half-mad Mrs. Luo, who hides from the questioning, condemnation and guilt in his dreams like a frightened bird every day, forcing him to be a vivid shadow of the second young master of the Luo family.

The more he learned, the more he wanted to really become Luo Zhi.

How could there be someone like Luo Zhi in the Luo family, clean and fiery like a fire.

It should be so bright and dazzling, but because I wanted to be close to my family, I pressed down my own heat, made it warm and soft, and leaned against it warmly and gently pasted it.

Later, the fire cooled down a little bit in the hands of the Luo family, and it became only a warm body, and then even this residual warmth was dissipated, and they drowned in the bottomless deep sea of ​​ice.

"If you are such a person, I won't rob you from Luo Zhi, I don't need to rob you from him."

Jian Huaiyi paused for a while, then continued: "But you are not. You are too afraid of the conclusion that 'you caused Luo Zhi's death', so you must overturn it."

The Luo family is like this.

What kind of family would blame a seven-year-old for losing himself and his sister? Even take this as a crime and punish Luo Zhi for so long?

They blame Luo Zhi, just to exonerate themselves.

Excuse yourself for not protecting Luo Cheng, and excuse yourself for the negligence that made Mrs. Luo delirious.

As long as he believes that these are all Luo Zhi's faults, of course he can relax.

Jian Huaiyi said: "you will check, you will find out every suspicious detail and suspect every suspicious person. You will find me sooner or later, and then you will hate me. "

Luo Jun's so-called trust in him was actually just a result of Luo Jun's refusal to admit that he had picked the wrong person.

Luo Jun never doubted him and always favored him when he and Luo Zhi conflicted. Just because Luo Jun refused to admit that he might have chosen a wrong assistant, and that the younger brother he admitted was actually a snake in the farmer's arms.

But this kind of favoritism and trust will become completely vulnerable when Luo Jun urgently needs someone responsible for Luo Zhi's death.

"You will hate me for killing Luo Zhi."

"Then your family will hate me - you will want to kill me, you will collect evidence and send me to prison, and then you can easily sigh in front of Luo Zhi's tomb, shed two tears, and continue your life. "

Jian Huaiyi said, "Just like you tacitly decided to put all the responsibility for the loss on Luo Zhi..."

Jian Huaiyi didn't finish her words.

He was slapped heavily by Luo Jun, the whole person snorted and turned back, and blood flowed from the corner of his mouth instantly.

Luo Jun threw him away and asked in a cold voice, "Are you the same as him?"

Jian Huaiyi was beaten so badly that half of her face quickly became red and swollen, but she still moved the corner of her mouth and pulled out an ugly smile: "Of course it's different."

Although Luo Jun was furious, he did not deny what he said.

This is one of the few advantages of Luo Jun. The future heir of the Luo family, the proud son of heaven, has never rolled in the mud, and has not yet exercised the shameless ability to flatly deny his lies.

Luo Jun couldn't refute his words, because with the emergence of the precondition that "Luo Zhi died in a shipwreck", everything after that would develop logically according to that situation, and even Luo Jun himself had to admit this.

Therefore, Luo Jun could only slap him because he shamelessly compared with Luo Zhi.

"Of course it's different." Jian Huaiyi said, "Brother, I'm not as kind as he is."

He wants to protect himself, to live, to continue to be his fake young master in the Luo family, and to get everything he wants.

He wouldn't be willing to be that scapegoat, wouldn't let the Luo family step on him with peace of mind, and continue to deceive himself and others.

Jian Huaiyi turned her face sideways and wiped the blood from the corners of her mouth on the clothes on her shoulders: "So I decided to tell everyone... At that time, you were going to hit Luo Zhi, and I stopped you, and an accident happened during the push."

—From Luo Cheng’s perspective, this was even the case at the time.

The corner where Luo Cheng was huddled was behind Luo Jun. In her opinion, it was Jian Huaiyi's eldest brother who was trying to stop Luo Zhi.

As for what happened later, it has become so chaotic, who knows?

"The hull tilted and we were pushed down by you."

"Luo Zhi lost consciousness as soon as he fell into the water. I couldn't hold him and watched him sink."

"I desperately called you to save him, but you just pulled me onto the boat. You didn't notify the rescue in time, because the lifeboat can only get on one more person..."

Jian Huaiyi met the unbelievable shock in Luo Jun's eyes.

"You are the adopted son." Luo Jun's voice was hoarse. After being silent for so long, he actually just said a powerless rebuttal, "Father won't believe you."

Jian Huaiyi laughed.

He knew that he had won the bet, and it was wrong. Luo Jun had no way to find any evidence to prove his innocence. As for the parent-child, did the Luo family really care so much about family and blood? Isn't Luo Zhi their own son?

Jian Huaiyi suddenly felt quite sarcastic.

After trying his best to calculate every step of the way, he did all the disgusting things, and he snatched these things from Luo Zhi.

"It makes sense." Jian Huaiyi nodded, "Then let's add another plot... Brother."

Luo Jun frowned silently.

He suddenly had a strong ominous premonition, although he didn't know what Jian Huaiyi was going to do, the chill was still brimming from the bottom of his heart.

"What are you doing!" Someone not far away noticed their strangeness, and was walking over quickly, "When are you still fighting? Is it time to fight now! It's already so messy..."

Several figures hurried over, and chaotic footsteps sounded on the deck.

Jian Huaiyi asked, "Have you thought about how Luo Zhi lived for a few days?"

He raised his hand, grabbed Luo Jun's arm and pulled it back sharply, pushing him hard, his body suddenly lost his balance and leaned back.

Luo Jun was startled and wanted to pull him, but he was restrained by the crew members who had arrived, and he couldn't help but hold him down.

…

This scene is all too familiar. Luo Jun's arm was twisted backwards, and he fell on the rough deck, and his heart sank infinitely in his chest.

He remembered Luo Zhi who had a fight with Jian Huaiyi that day.

He could actually guess what Luo Zhi was betting on. Luo Zhi didn't want them to celebrate Jian Huaiyi's birthday, because it was originally his birthday.

But Luo Jun had a hard time understanding what was wrong. It was just a birthday. Neither he nor his father had the habit of celebrating birthdays. Jian Huaiyi's birthday banquet was only for social contact, and had no more practical significance.

Luo Jun thought that he would soon forget about it. He was so busy with his work that he didn't have time to take care of an ineffective younger brother who was in trouble.

But the same scene turned to himself. He was thrust into Luo Zhi's perspective, and when he was forced into a cold sweat by the pain that his arm would dislocate after a little struggle, the memory jumped out without warning.

…

Luo Zhi was pinned to the ground by the Luo family's bodyguard, unable to move. He walked over, extinguished Luo Zhi's smoke in front of Luo Zhi's eyes, and asked Luo Zhi if he wanted to destroy their home.

Luo Zhi just looked at the smoke quietly, watching the last fire light dim little by little.

Then Luo Zhi raised his eyes.

Half of the sky was full of colorful fireworks, Luo Zhi sat in the quiet darkness on the other half, watching him quietly and smiling.

"Brother, I am twenty-three years old."

Luo Zhi said to him, "You forgot to wish me a happy birthday."