The Arrogant Young Master Targeted by the Overbearing President - Chapter 25

Chapter 25: Disappearance

He rubbed his temples with a headache, his eyes revealing total exhaustion.

If today’s events had happened to his father, how would he have responded? If it were his close friend Sheng Muyan, how would he have handled it? Undoubtedly, they would have found the person playing tricks behind the scenes in the shortest time possible and swiftly eliminated the hidden threat…

Lu Siyang let out a weak sigh. This feeling of having no clue only made him more irritable and uneasy.

After spending the whole morning reviewing documents without time for lunch, and then holding a shareholders’ meeting in the afternoon, Lu Siyang felt groggy, as if he were about to reach his limit. Right now, he just wanted to find a place where he could peacefully let everything go, close his eyes, and have a good sleep.

Subconsciously, he thought of Fang Lv.

Lu Siyang had been so busy all day that he hadn’t contacted him. He pulled out his phone and sent a WeChat message to Fang Lv, wanting to ask what he was doing. But by the time he returned home in the evening, Fang Lv had not replied.

Lu Siyang stood in the entryway, looking at the pitch-black room. A tide of silence nearly submerged him. He threw himself onto the sofa, curling his body and staring blankly at a single point in the darkness.

Lu Siyang remembered that before meeting Fang Lv, he had troubles and pain, but no matter how hard things got, he would grit his teeth and push through. Since when had he become so weak?

Perhaps people are just like that; when they have nothing, they can face the gale and rain, walking with their heads held high. But once they have a harbor where they can truly let loose, someone they want to rely on, they become fragile.

Lu Siyang lay back on the sofa, staring at a black speck in the void, his mind a chaotic mess. He hadn’t felt this way in a long time—this sense of powerlessness, having no clue where to even start, pressed down on him until he could barely breathe.

His eyes felt a bit sore. He shifted his gaze to look out the floor-to-ceiling window at the familiar night sky, which had turned completely black. When he first took over the Lu Corporation, the situation was perhaps even worse than it was now. How did he solve it then? He sat alone on the balcony, digesting it by himself until dawn broke. Why couldn’t he do it now? Why did a little bit of frustration almost crush him?

Lu Siyang rolled over and checked his phone in the dark. Ten o’clock. Without realizing it, he had been lying there for three hours. But… why hadn’t Fang Lv come back yet?

Lu Siyang couldn’t help but unlock his phone and dial the number. It rang until it automatically disconnected without being picked up. He frowned. Was the bar too noisy for him to hear…

In the pitch darkness, the brightness of the phone screen was particularly piercing. He closed his eyes; the name “Fang Lv” in his contacts seemed imprinted on his eyelids. He hadn’t eaten dinner, but he wasn’t hungry at all. His whole body just felt weary. He thought it might be better to just nap for a while and wait for Fang Lv to come back so they could eat together.

Lu Siyang found a comfortable position and fell asleep. Little did he expect that he would sleep straight through until the next morning. When he sat up, startled as if waking from a nightmare, it was already light out.

He sat motionless for a long time before realizing he had actually spent the entire night sleeping on the sofa. Rubbing his aching waist, he was about to put on his slippers when he suddenly froze. The pair of pure white slippers in the entryway were in the exact same position as yesterday.

Fang Lv… didn’t come back last night?

He leaned over to grab his phone from the carpet. No missed calls, no new messages. For no reason at all, his heart panicked for a split second. No matter how busy the bar was, it was impossible to not have a single moment in twenty-four hours to check his phone.

Lu Siyang’s face went pale. Could it be… something happened?

In an instant, ten thousand possibilities flooded his mind, each one making his heart leap with fear. Lu Siyang felt he couldn’t sit still any longer. He washed up briefly, not even pausing for food, and hurriedly drove out.

On the way, he called Fang Lv seven or eight times, but the other party didn’t pick up. Lu Siyang’s breathing suddenly became rapid. Watching the red light countdown on the traffic signal, his index finger tapped the steering wheel anxiously.

It was already early winter, and the morning air was tinged with a bone-chilling cold. The heater wasn’t on in the car, but Lu Siyang’s palms were already sticky, and a small patch of his shirt was soaked with sweat.

At this hour, the bar had already closed. When Lu Siyang pushed the door open, only a few waiters were cleaning up the remnants of the guests’ overnight revelry.

“President Lu?” The waiter wiping the bar saw Lu Siyang, his expression somewhat surprised. “Why are you here at this time?”

Lu Siyang took a deep breath and strode to the bar: “Where is Boss Fang?”

The waiter froze and replied, “Boss Fang has already sold the bar.”

Sold it?!

Seeing Lu Siyang’s shocked expression, the waiter asked, “The paperwork was finalized just yesterday. President Lu… you didn’t know?”

In an instant, Lu Siyang felt as if his brain had suddenly rusted; even his speech became sluggish. After several seconds, he managed to speak with difficulty: “Why… why was it suddenly sold?”

The waiter shook his head: “I don’t know about that.”

“Where is he?” Lu Siyang grabbed the waiter’s arm, his tone becoming urgent, “Where is Fang Lv right now?”

“Pre-President Lu,” the waiter was startled by him and stammered, “I-I don’t know either… Boss Fang left after finishing the paperwork yesterday…”

Yesterday… he left?!

“…Left…” Lu Siyang chewed on those words repeatedly, then suddenly looked at the waiter with a distorted expression, his voice rising, “What do you mean left? Where did he go!”

The waiter trembled all over: “I-I don’t know, President Lu, I really don’t know… Boss Fang didn’t say anything when he left…”

Gone… Fang Lv actually left?!

Lu Siyang slowly released the waiter’s sleeve and took two steps back, falling into the booth next to the bar. Why would Fang Lv sell the bar? Why… why didn’t he say a word to him?

Just left like that? What did “left” mean? Where did he go?

Lu Siyang leaned against the sofa in a daze, persistently dialing Fang Lv’s number, but the response was still that cold busy tone. Why… why wouldn’t Fang Lv even take his calls anymore…

On the way over, he had thought of countless possibilities. A car accident, drowning, illness—he had even thought of something as absurd as a kidnapping—but he never expected it would be like this.

“President Lu,” seeing him sitting there in a daze with a deathly pale face as if he’d lost his soul, several waiters hurried over, “President Lu, are you alright?”

Lu Siyang looked up at their anxious faces, but a sharp ringing in his ears drowned out their voices. It was as if he were sealed in a transparent space; he only saw their lips moving open and shut, but he couldn’t hear a word they were saying.

After a long while, the ringing in his ears gradually faded. Lu Siyang waved his hand and slowly stood up: “I’m fine.”

His body swayed, nearly crashing into the corner of the bar. The waiter quickly supported him: “President Lu, are you unwell? You look terrible, let me take you to the hospital.”

“No need.” Lu Siyang pushed the waiter’s hand away and stumbled out.

The cold wind blew fiercely, making him stagger. Lu Siyang stood stiffly by the roadside, letting the passing pedestrians stare at him curiously. He held his phone, pressing Fang Lv’s number over and over again.

After an unknown number of attempts, the mechanical voice from the other end rang out.

“The number you have dialed is unavailable. Please check the number and dial again.”

The sudden prompt finally made his stiff body move. Unavailable… He knew what that meant. He had used this method himself to brush off countless people who tried to get close to him.

Yes, Fang Lv… had blacklisted his number.

It felt as if something were crushing his chest, making it nearly impossible to breathe. His heart felt as if it were being gripped tightly by a hand; every breath carried strands of pain. Deep in his chest, it felt like a clump of cotton was stuffed there, making him incredibly uncomfortable. His throat spasmed in waves, as if something were trying to surge up from its depths.

A burning sensation rose in his stomach, churning with waves of cramping pain. Lu Siyang leaned over and gagged a few times, but nothing came out. The waiters in the bar watched his movements curiously from the doorway. Lu Siyang took advantage of his lowered head to quickly wipe away the physiological tears at the corners of his eyes caused by the gagging.

He couldn’t stay here any longer; he didn’t want to expose his pathetic state in front of people. He just wanted to find a place to hide and be alone.

Lu Siyang turned around and walked toward the parking lot with a normal expression. The car door lowered, acting like a heavy barrier separating him from the outside world. Lu Siyang curled up in the driver’s seat, his back pressed tight against the chair; this enclosed space provided him with a temporary support.

What on earth was going on? Why did Fang Lv suddenly leave like this?

He suddenly remembered something, sat up abruptly, and started the car.

Arriving outside the courtyard gate, before he even had time to be confused, Lu Siyang rushed down from the driver’s seat. He ran like a madman to the second-floor bedroom and flung open Fang Lv’s closet door. Previously, he had specifically cleared a section for Fang Lv to put his clothes, but now, aside from that deep brown loungewear set, it was completely empty.

It felt like a heavy blow to the head; his whole mind began to hum. Lu Siyang returned to the entryway. As if wanting to prove something, he violently pulled open the shoe cabinet. In the next moment, he froze on the spot. On the other side of the shoe cabinet, the several pairs of shoes Fang Lv frequently wore were also gone.

Lu Siyang unwillingly searched the entire villa. Everything Fang Lv had brought was gone, as if the traces had been deliberately erased. Looking at the pure white slippers on the floor, they had actually become the only thing capable of proving Fang Lv had ever existed.

Lu Siyang crouched on the floor, clutching his aching chest. The intense pressure forced him to open his mouth and gasp for breath. He had to force himself to accept the fact that Fang Lv was truly… gone…