They Regretted it After Their Hearts Turned to Ashes

What happened after that was beyond his control.

Power and wealth are useless, and severe hypothermia after falling into the water can kill a person.

Passengers were evacuated in life jackets 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 and rescue, and described Luo Zhi's situation as much as possible.

"...You said there are still people 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 that just now?!"

Luo Jun felt uncomfortably pierced by his gaze, and instinctively frowned, but suddenly fell silent because of the next question.

Why didn't you say it just now?

Every second counts in the rescue of a shipwreck, and the sea of ​​ice where one more life could be lost if one more delay is delayed. I saw my brother fall into the water with my own eyes, but I didn't speak out until this time...

The other party's complicated expression obviously hides more meanings, and his gaze is so straightforward that it is almost rude.

It was the first time for Luo Jun to be doubted in such an almost insulting way, and he felt annoyed and annoyed for no reason: "The situation was too chaotic at that time."

Of course, this was not the explanation he wanted to give, he just said the first sentence, and then the following words suddenly stuck back in his throat for some reason.

...The situation was so chaotic at the time, he just forgot that there was such a person.

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

What's more, there could only be one more person on the lifeboat.

There can only be one more person on the lifeboat, and Luo Jun didn't even think about who this seat is for.

He didn't think of anything about Luo Zhi at that moment at all.

……

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

I don't know if it's because of the severe loss of body temperature or some other reason, but the words he tried to justify seemed to weigh a thousand catties, falling on his chest without going up or down, and couldn't even arouse any airflow that affected the vocal cords.

Luo Jun stood there silently.

The crew member shook his head inexplicably, did not waste time with him, and contacted the rescue team to search and salvage through the microphone, and continued to transfer the other people on board to a safer ship.

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

The waterproof performance of the mobile 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 reporting her safety. She is currently on another ship.There was also a phone call and news from my father. Both my parents were fine, and they were extradited to a safe small ferry in time.

Mrs. Luo was slightly frightened, but now with Luo Chengxiu's company, she has stabilized, and she just kept talking about Jian Huaiyi over and over again.

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 almost hopeless oppression brought by the shipwreck came to an abrupt end.

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

……

Those are the things that usually happen throughout the day, dealing with work and entertainment, and family reunion when you are free.

So too many things have become inertia in this day-to-day calm.

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

Luo Zhi was arrogant and rebellious, contradicted his father and drove his mother crazy, aimed at bullying Jian Huaiyi, and recently made his younger sister restless, and never did anything that was beneficial to others.

It happened that such a scum who disturbed the whole family's life was also a relative who was connected by their blood and could not 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 when he was furious, he did have another thought that was somewhat similar.

It would be fine if there is no Luo Zhi.

Without Luo Zhi, everything would have gone smoothly, and the life of the family would have been more stable and happy.

So this kind of "if there is no Luo Zhi" thought has become a habit, and it will pop up in every scene where I feel irritable, annoyed or furious, and it happens to be related to Luo Zhi.

Because of Luo Zhi, everything would become so bad, and nothing could get better.

If Luo Zhi stopped pestering them, could go far away, and didn't bother their family, so many bad things wouldn't happen again.

It's not just him, this may be the habit that every Luo family has developed long ago.

No one is free enough to question inertia for nothing, unless this inertia extends to something completely different, and finally leads to serious consequences that may be so deviated that they cannot be corrected.

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

It turned out that without any moral restraint, he could already blurt out with peace of mind, "The situation was too chaotic at the time, so I didn't care about his life or death."

Footsteps approached, and Jian Huaiyi walked over with a bowl.

Jian Huaiyi seemed equally preoccupied, sitting opposite Luo Jun, brought him the ginger soup distributed: "Brother...it's my fault."

"I fell into the water and passed out." Jian Huaiyi didn't dare to look at him, and lowered his eyes and said in a low voice, "When I woke up again, I was the only one, and I didn't see Xiao Zhi. I should look for him..."

He had already said so much, Luo Jun looked at Jiang Tang, and said in a low voice, "How could it be your fault?"

"I don't blame you." Luo Jun shook his head, "Go ahead and drink."

He didn't pick up the bowl, the reddish-brown liquid couldn't reflect its reflection, and it rippled slightly with the shaking of the ship.

It is true that falling into the water from such a height without a buffer is prone to fainting for a while. Jian Huaiyi and Luo Zhi may have been washed away by the water at that time.

Can't fault it.

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

Luo Jun put his hand on the heater, Dongmu's skin gradually eased, and gradually began to feel itching and stinging pain as if bitten by ants.

...What about Luo Zhi?

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

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 extremely chaotic, Luo Jun immediately followed the sound to find Jian Huaiyi who fell into the water, and dragged him into the 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 held the wine glass, did he give the wine to Luo Zhi?

Why did he take Luo Zhi to drink in such a dangerous place beside the ship?

How could Luo Zhi drink his wine?

…In fact, there are also opportunities to think about these issues in the countless scenes before, but there is really no need for this.

Luo Jun's work is very busy, he doesn't have such a good leisure time to let go of the things at hand and care about a younger brother who does a lot of evil.

But as long as the conclusion is made and the crime is directly pronounced, it is much simpler.

Anyway, Luo Zhi has too many previous convictions, her disposition is hard to change, and her actions and means are repeated.Even if it takes time and effort to figure out every detail, the conclusion will not make a difference.

……

But this time, there was nothing they could do until the rescue ship docked.

Perhaps it was because there was really nothing to do that those fleeting doubts finally surfaced inadvertently.

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

He paused for a few seconds, not sure if he was thinking or choosing questions, and then asked again: "What did you go to Luo Zhi for?"

Jian Huaiyi was dispensing ginger soup into paper cups, he was a little dazed when he heard this, and raised his head to look at Luo Jun.

Luo Jun frowned: "Is it convenient 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, frowning even tighter.

He just asked casually, unable to figure out why Jian Huaiyi reacted so strongly, subconsciously wanted to continue denying it, but his heart sank slightly due to his own thoughts.

...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 misremembered the person who gave the tie clip as Luo Zhi?

Jian Huaiyi is his assistant and also his partner.They have been handling the company's affairs together all the time, how many pairs of eyes are fixed on Jian Huaiyi's position, it is of course common for them to be provoked by others.

Because these few words shake the life that accompanied him all the way, and instead worry about an irrelevant outsider, Luo Jun himself feels a little outrageous.

The boat swayed suddenly, and more than half of Jian Huaiyi's ginger soup splashed out.

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

Jian Huaiyi rolled up the soaked paper towel, squeezed it a few times, and threw it into the trash can, 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 while, and then chuckled lightly.

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 good for me."

"The two of us were in obvious positions at the time. We were not having a good chat, but I was looking for an opportunity to push him down."

Jian Huaiyi simply turned around to look at him: "Luo Cheng is young, so he may not be able to tell, but you should have the ability to distinguish, big brother."

Luo Jun's gaze froze uncontrollably.

His expression suddenly became serious, and he almost asked Jian Huaiyi what nonsense he was talking about, but another voice grew in his heart for no apparent reason.

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

...He really never knew that some of the conflicts between Luo Zhi and Jian Huaiyi were not unilaterally targeting Jian Huaiyi by Luo Zhi?

If he didn't even have this level of discrimination ability, Luo Jun wouldn't have to deal with people in the business field and calculate those boring profits and losses.

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

Jian Huaiyi said: "After talking for a few more words, he stopped talking and stood there motionless, as if something went wrong with his mind."

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 fell into the water after drinking. But because It was a temporary idea, lack of preparation, just happened to be bumped into by you..."

"... Huai Yi."

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

Jian Huaiyi just looked at him with a smile: "Brother, don't you guess that way?"

Luo Jun was speechless.

... Of course he had guessed so.

If it wasn't for this speculation, he wouldn't have been unable to resist asking Jian Huaiyi that question.

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

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

It is logical that that is probably the most chilling truth.

Luo Jun slowly clenched his right hand hanging by his side.

He couldn't tell what kind of emotion was running through his body ferociously.

Do you feel guilty about misunderstanding Luo Zhi at that time?

Maybe there is, but it's so thin it's almost swallowed up in a flash.

What's more, it's still the anger of being deceived by the most trusted person, and the ignorant people who seem to be ridiculed and humiliated.

He hadn't been so angry for a long time, and he was so angry that he was so angry that there was a faint bloody smell in his throat.Luo Jun lifted Jian Huaiyi's collar vigorously, his chest heaved rapidly, and his hands were almost stretched with faint veins.

Luo Jun asked hoarsely, "Why?"

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

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

Maybe she will care about it in the future—when the matter has nothing to do with her and she can calmly give a little mercy, she will care about Luo Zhi and give some compensation as comfort.

Or maybe it was when he knew some truths that would eventually 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 it so much that he couldn't help but run to Jump off the building.

But at least for now, Luo Jun is not concerned about Luo Zhi, nor is he angry at 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, you might as well peel off his skin.

The Luo family seems to be like this, and somehow there is a genetic mutation that produces a Luo Zhi who is out of place.

"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 cannot be completely wiped away."

Luo Jun's pupils were dark, he looked at Jian Huaiyi, his voice hoarse: "I may not know how to investigate."

There were so many times in the past when Jian Huaiyi and Luo Zhi had conflicts, didn't he just convict Luo Zhi without investigating anything?

Since he has chosen Jian Huaiyi as his assistant, he will not be easily shaken or questioned, even if the reasons given by Jian Huaiyi do have some loopholes, even if Luo Zhi is his own younger brother...

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

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

...How could 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?

The rescue was very timely and professional, and no one will be left behind.

There must be a lifeboat that picked up Luo Zhi, but because there are no relatives and friends around, Luo Zhi's identity cannot be confirmed for the time being, so I didn't contact them...

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

Luo Jun's arms were frozen in the air motionless.

His breathing was a little heavy, like bloody breath, and finally turned into some kind of almost short 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 played in this matter, it was because Luo Jun didn't think of Luo Zhi in time that everything turned out like this in the end.

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

"Your family is very interesting." Jian Huaiyi smiled softly, "It's like you don't really care about Mrs. Luo. What you care about is whether Mrs. Luo's condition has deteriorated and has nothing to do with you."

These two are not the same.

Luo Jun's eyes showed a gloomyness that had never been seen before, and at the same time, the sharp contrast was that the rage that was so intense that it seemed to be able to choose someone to devour gradually faded away.

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

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

"It's very different." The collar was pulled too tightly, Jian Huaiyi coughed twice before continuing to speak as if nothing had happened.

"If what you care about is Luo Zhi, you will look for him like crazy... You will look for a large number of ships, knowing that it is futile and ridiculous, but you still have to salvage the bottom of the sea for a month, and finally hold a pair of people who don't know what it is. Not his bones weeping."

Speaking of this, Jian Huaiyi even smiled viciously: "Brother, maybe you will really do this in the future."

He had never spoken to anyone in the Luo family other than Luo Zhi in this tone. In front of the Luo family and his son, he was always the most obedient and obedient one. Of course he knew what they wanted to hear.

So since he was a child, he can easily intercept all the kindness and admiration Luo Zhi has for his family, and they will believe him as long as he says it.

In fact, Jian Huaiyi had no intention of fooling Luo Jun with the tie clip back then—Luo Zhi had Ren Chenbai's mother as a guide, so he could meet the founder of a multinational group, coax the other party to smile, and even do it for him. Luo Zhi casually handed over an eight-figure bill to the fledgling Luo Jun.

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

How much he learned, how much he wanted to really become Luo Zhi.

How could there be someone like Luo Zhi in the Luo family, who was as clean and blazing as a ball of fire.

It should be bright and eye-catching, but because I want to be close to my family, I press down my own ironing, it becomes warm and soft, and I lean on it warmly and gently stick it.

Later, the fire gradually cooled down in the hands of the Luo family, until it was only a warm body, and even the remaining warmth dissipated, and drowned in the bottomless deep sea of ​​ice.

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

Jian Huaiyi paused for a while, then continued: "But you are not, you are too afraid of the conclusion '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?To even regard this as a crime and punish Luo Zhi for so long?

They blamed Luo Zhi, just to excuse themselves.

She excused herself for not protecting Luo Cheng well, and excused her negligence for causing Mrs. Luo to lose her mind.

As long as he believes that these are all Luo Zhi's faults, he will of course be able to relax.

Jian Huaiyi said: "You will investigate, you will dig 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 is actually just because Luo Jun refuses to admit that he picked the wrong person.

Luo Jun never doubted him, and always sided with him when he and Luo Zhi conflicted.It's just because Luo Jun refuses to admit that he may have chosen a wrong assistant, and refuses to admit that the younger brother he admits is actually born to be a snake in the arms of a farmer.

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, collect evidence and send me to prison, and then you can easily sigh in front of Luo Zhi's grave, shed two tears, and continue to live your life .”

Jian Huaiyi said: "It's like when you all made a tacit decision to shift all the responsibility for the loss to Luo Zhi..."

Jian Huaiyi didn't finish her sentence.

He was slapped heavily by Luo Jun, and he turned back with a muffled grunt, bleeding from the corner of his mouth instantly.

Luo Jun threw him away and asked coldly, "Are you the same as him?"

Jian Huaiyi was beaten into a mess, and half of his face quickly turned red and swollen, but he still pulled the corner of his 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 developed the shameless ability to categorically deny a series of lies.

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

So 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 survive, to continue to be his fake young master in the Luo family, and to get everything he wants.

He will not be willing to be that scapegoat, and will not let the Luo family step on him with peace of mind and continue to live in deception.

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

——From Luo Cheng's perspective, the situation at that time was even like this.

The corner where Luo Cheng huddled was behind Luo Jun. From her point of view, it was Jian Huaiyi who was blocking the elder brother who was about to attack Luo Zhi.

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

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

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

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

Jian Huaiyi met Luo Jun with unbelievable shock in his eyes.

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

Jian Huaiyi laughed.

He knew that he had won the bet. Luo Jun had no way of finding any evidence to prove his innocence.Isn't Luo Zhi their own son?

Jian Huaiyi suddenly felt quite mocking.

He tried his best to calculate step by step, and did all kinds of disgusting things, so he snatched these things from Luo Zhi.

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

Luo Jun silently frowned.

He suddenly had a strong sense of foreboding. Although he didn't know what Jian Huaiyi was going to do, the chill still kept growing from the bottom of his heart.

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

Several figures hurried over, and the sound of chaotic footsteps resounded on the deck.

Jian Huaiyi asked: "Do you want to live a few days like Luo Zhi's?"

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

Luo Jun was startled, and wanted to pull him, but was restrained by the rushing crew, who couldn't help but hold him down heavily.

……

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

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

He actually guessed what Luo Zhi was playing with. Luo Zhi didn't want them to celebrate Jian Huaiyi's birthday because it was his birthday.

But it was hard for Luo Jun to understand what was wrong with this.It was just a birthday, neither he nor his father had the habit of celebrating birthdays, and Jian Huaiyi's birthday party was only for socializing, without any more practical significance.

Luo Jun thought that he would soon forget about it. He was very busy with work and had no time to take care of his incompetent younger brother who was causing trouble everywhere.

But the same scene turned to himself, he was stuffed into Luo Zhi's perspective, and when he was sweating coldly from the pain that his arm would dislocate after a little struggle, that memory jumped out again without warning.

……

Luo Zhi's arms were twisted by the Luo family's bodyguards, and she couldn't move on the ground.He walked over, snuffed out Luo Zhi's cigarette in front of Luo Zhi's eyes, and asked Luo Zhi if he insisted on destroying their house.

Luo Zhi just watched the smoke quietly, watching the last flame dimming little by little.

Then Luo Zhi raised his eyes.

Half of the sky was filled with colorful fireworks, and Luo Zhi sat in the other half of the dark, looking at him quietly and smiling.

"Brother, I'm 23 years old."

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