Sulanqiao's pupils dilated as he tried to digest the implications of the words, and then he stammered, "Not an accident, then... it was... deliberate?"
He tried hard to recall the details of the past for the first time, those memories he didn't want to touch, swept over him like crazy whirlpools.
It was such a winter day, very cold, with rain and snow, terrible weather. His mother was playing with him on the pedestrian path by the bridge when suddenly a car, out of control, hit them directly, very fast, with no chance to dodge it.
His mother instinctively protected him, wrapping him into her arms, her blood splattered all over his face.
Sulanqiao wiped his face, unable to stop trembling all over, even after many years, he could still feel the terror of the blood covering his whole face. He was only thirteen that year.
After a few impacts, he rolled off the bridge. At the moment he fell, his mother instinctively grabbed his hand.
The car that caused the accident drove off, and the blue bridge fell silent. This place was very remote, with only the sounds of wind and water, and no one to save them.
Not knowing how long they were in a stalemate, drops of his mother's blood fell on his face and body. He begged desperately, "Let go, let go."
Pulling him would only deepen the wounds on his mother's body, but she still refused to let go. Below was the swift river, and Sulanqiao couldn't swim. In the end, she gasped her last breath, and then slowly let go of his hand.
Sulanqiao leaned on the wooden table behind him, his face pale. "The car... suddenly came... the police said the brakes failed..."
"No, it was a planned car accident," Ryan lowered his voice, afraid of being overheard, "your stepmother orchestrated all this to gain power."
Sulanqiao hadn't expected to touch the truth after eight years, and it was such a devious truth. His heart suddenly tightened. He had lived with the murderer of his mother for several years...
His mother's grave was in the garden, her photo still placed on the tombstone. Could she rest peacefully every night?
Sulanqiao gripped the edge of the table behind him, leaving deep marks, trying to calm himself. "Is there evidence?"
"No, she covered it up very well," Ryan shook his head, "and with so many years passed, it's even harder to find traces. Your stepmother has a lot on her mind. Originally, according to the previous will, most of the property was yours, and your father was still sensible at that time. But she was too anxious and manipulated things to the current state."
Sulanqiao understood, he had just felt that this condition was so inexplicable. When he thought about Alan's engagement, it was easy to understand.
Whoever married first would receive all the shares... it was all about the money.
"The accounts from those years will eventually be settled with them," Sulanqiao made a great effort to control his emotions, to keep himself from losing control, "and they won't get hold of the inheritance."
Ryan nodded, "After Mr. leaves, I'm also planning to retire. Before that, I'll help you as much as I can."
Sulanqiao looked at him, with a hint of gratitude in his eyes. "Thank you, I need to sort out my thoughts and figure out a way."
"Do you have a marriage partner?" Ryan was very direct.
Sulanqiao shook his head.
"That's what I thought," Ryan looked knowing, "that's why the suggestion I just made is the quickest. Find someone to contract marry with, it can be done in a few days, and it will solve the issue. They won't expect you to act this fast."
"But it's so sudden, who can I find to marry?" Sulanqiao sat on the table, kicking the edge of the table. Even if it was a fake marriage, he didn't want to marry anyone else unless it was Chucheng.
Ryan continued, "I have a few potential candidates in mind. My niece is studying at Oxford University, with good conditions in all aspects, she's beautiful and has good grades, albeit being from a poor family. Anyway, for a contract marriage, money can be discussed. There's also the Duke of Arthur, who's not short of money, and he's gay, I heard he wants to get married to pass the scrutiny of his family. Oh, and remember Christine, she quite likes you and should be willing..."
Sulanqiao sighed in his heart, was he trying to act as a pimp?
"Let me think about it, I don't want to marry someone randomly," Sulanqiao's voice was very soft, and these words were more for himself, "if this option doesn't work, I'll find other ways to get back the house."
Ryan sighed, glanced at the door, "You're too naive, that's why they bully you. Once the house ends up in their hands, it will be difficult to get it back. I know this decision is difficult, so think about it as soon as possible."
Sulanqiao nodded without speaking.
"Are you going back to stay? I'm going to arrange the funeral time now, it should be three days later if all goes well," Ryan, as an experienced butler, remained clear-headed at such times.
Sulanqiao got off the table and walked to the door, "I won't go back, I'll just find a hotel at random. Thanks for taking care of father's matters."
Ryan patted his shoulder, "You've been on a long flight and dealt with a lot of events, you must be tired. Rest well, I'll notify you if anything comes up."
Sulanqiao retrieved his luggage from the car with Ryan, ready to check into a nearby hotel. When passing by a convenience store, he bought a bottle of water and the brand of cigarettes that Chucheng usually smoked, then returned to the room.
He couldn't be bothered to turn on the lights in the room, and he stood by the window, lighting a cigarette, which made his throat burn intensely and caused him to cough violently, hurting all of his organs.
Sulanqiao didn't smoke, but at this moment, he couldn't calm down. Chucheng's scent brought him tranquility, or rather, provided him with some comfort.
The sudden death of his father, the truth about his mother's death, felt like countless knives stabbing into his heart, causing excruciating pain.
Thinking about this, his eyes slowly turned red, and tears started to flow, feeling a sudden and overwhelming grief.
Sulanqiao slowly curled up on the floor, watching the burning cigarette in his fingertips, and the tears began to slip from the corners of his eyes, realizing the profound sadness.
He longed for Chucheng at this moment, to just hug him, a hug would be enough.
Just like that hug back then, when Chucheng had rescued him from the water, it had been like a beam of light shining into his life.
When he fell into the water, struggling desperately and on the verge of drowning, it was Chucheng who rescued him.
When he woke up, Chucheng was feeding him air mouth to mouth, looking East Asian, and softly saying, "What's your name? Don't be afraid, the ambulance is on its way."
At that time, Sulanqiao realized he didn't have a Chinese name. He shook his head, his voice weak, "Save my mom, she's on the bridge, dying."
At that moment, his mother was already dead.
Later, when he had thought of committing suicide countless times, he would remember what Chucheng had whispered in his ear, "Hold on, for your mom to live on."
It was Chucheng's appearance that had given him a second chance at life, and hope to carry on.
He didn't dare to tell Chucheng about these things, partly because he didn't want to dwell on the past, and partly because he felt that these emotions were too heavy for a stranger.
As the cigarette burned out, the room's smell dissipated a bit, and Sulanqiao lit another one.
Ryan's suggestion was indeed correct. The quickest way to leave behind his mother's final memory was to contract marry.
If this person is Chu Cheng, he will surely agree immediately, but how can he make Chu Cheng nod? Over the past period of time, he could feel Chu Cheng's kindness towards him, but he didn't know what attitude Chu Cheng had, Su Lanqiao was unsure. If Chu Cheng doesn't react, he won't go down the path of a contract marriage. Going round and round is just for money, if it doesn't work, find a handle to threaten, buy it back at a high price. Su Lanqiao checked the time, took a deep breath, and decided to take a gamble, then trembled and pressed the call button to reach Chu Cheng. The waiting process was very long, and every minute was agonizing. "Hello, what's wrong?" Chu Cheng answered the phone and asked, "Why aren't you saying anything?" Su Lanqiao originally wanted to provoke Chu Cheng, but as soon as he heard his voice, his emotions instantly collapsed and he choked, "Mr. Chu, I've lost my father." "Little cat, are you crying?" Chu Cheng instantly understood the reason for his return to England, his voice softened, "Do you want to video call? I'll take a look at you." Su Lanqiao agreed and hung up the phone. Soon after, Chu Cheng's video call request came through. He pressed to accept and looked at the person in the video with red, teary eyes. Unable to hold back, he blurted out as he cried, "I actually dislike him, but I felt so sad when he stopped breathing." "During the plane ride back, I kept thinking, would I regret it, feel guilty if I didn't see him one last time?" "My mother passed away early, now he's gone too, there's just me left, what do I do?" Chu Cheng was speechless, not very good at comforting people. He could only quietly listen to his emotional outpouring. Su Lanqiao continued, "I don't care about the inheritance, but that house is the only memory left for the three of us, I can't give it to anyone else." "Okay, then don't. Where are you now?" Chu Cheng listened to his confused talk and made a rough guess, trying to console him. Su Lanqiao wiped his face with a piece of paper, "I'm at a hotel near the airport." Chu Cheng pondered for a moment, "Send me the hotel address and room number." Su Lanqiao didn't understand why Chu Cheng wanted his address. He sent a link and continued to cry. After a while, feeling a bit more stable, he remembered the purpose of his call. Su Lanqiao gritted his teeth, looked at Chu Cheng on the screen, and cautiously said, "To get the inheritance, I must enter into a contract marriage and do it as soon as possible. The steward has given me a few suitable options to choose from, I'm planning to discuss it tomorrow." "You want to enter into a contract marriage with someone else?" Chu Cheng's gentle expression turned cold, "You've really grown, Su Lanqiao." Chu Cheng rarely called him by his full name. Su Lanqiao was frightened by his tone and then fearlessly said, "Even though it's a contract, we still have to ensure loyalty, so, let's end our intimate relationship here." "Fine, let's end it here." Chu Cheng said through gritted teeth with a dark expression and immediately ended the video call. He called Ling Feng, "Book me a ticket to London, the sooner the better." Su Lanqiao stared blankly at the dark screen of his phone, unable to wipe away the tears in his eyes. His heart pounded, had he gone too far?