MCFEM C54

Chapter 54 – Multiple Outsourcing Shenanigans

Yu Bai’s smile froze.

In the past, he might have brushed it off as a joke.

But after everything he had experienced and overheard, his nerves weren’t nearly that thick anymore.

He wanted nothing more than to grab Gu Yang’s arm and shake out every last morbid thought in his head.

“Pfft.” He muttered under his breath, “You’ve got quite the imagination. Why isn’t it you attending my funeral instead?”

Hearing this, Gu Yang was still smiling, as if his earlier words had been nothing more than a casual throwaway.

Ying Jiayi cast a pleading glance toward He Ming’an, but his gaze remained fixed on Gu Yang, leaving her no chance for eye contact. He had just opened his mouth to speak when a voice interrupted.

“What are you whispering about over there? Let me in on it too.” Supporting himself on one desk after another, Xie Wu came over. He had actually heard part of their conversation, and despite his throbbing head, had rushed over immediately.

He slung an arm around Gu Yang’s shoulder in a brotherly gesture, cheerful as a German shepherd wagging its tail.

After all, having just brushed past the gates of death, he felt invincible.

“I’m going to play basketball at the gym after school. Want to come try it out?”

Gu Yang rejected him without a thought.

He hated basketball. Dribble a ball a few times and his palms would sting, not to mention the grime sticking to his hands.

“Then soccer? Volleyball? Badminton?…”

As Xie Wu rattled off sports like ordering dishes from a menu, Gu Yang’s eyes gradually turned into lifeless fish-eyes.

Even Yu Bai was awed.

This kid must’ve wandered into the wrong genre.

Staying in their melodramatic wealthy-family soap opera was a waste—he clearly belonged in a hot-blooded sports drama.

“Stop.” Gu Yang raised his hand slightly, cutting him off. “Don’t you have anything else to say?”

Xie Wu paused, thought seriously for a moment, then continued:

“Oh, right. I plan to take up racing after graduation. Want to do it together?”

Gu Yang: “…”

Forget it. Pretend he hadn’t asked.

Xie Wu’s reasoning was simple. From what he knew of Gu Yang, even if friends invited him out, half the time he’d be too lazy to come.

Staying cooped up at home only darkened one’s mood, so he decided to approach it from another angle—drag Gu Yang outside more often, because exercise was good for body and mind.

But clearly, Gu Yang wasn’t buying it. His eyes grew even colder than before.

Xie Wu quickly added, “Why that reaction? Not to nag, but you’ve seen it these days—run-ins with thugs are pretty common. With those thin arms and legs of yours, if someone came looking for trouble, you’d be sent flying before you could even cry.”

Gu Yang’s eyes stayed cold, but his lips quirked up ever so slightly as his gaze lingered on the bandages wrapped around Xie Wu’s head.

Xie Wu: “…”

Now it was his turn to fall silent.

“Exactly. Look at me, ended up like this. Imagine what they’d do to you.”

Thick-skinned as ever, Xie Wu quickly bounced back, launching into a rambling tirade. “Guys like them love picking on people like you. Stripping your clothes off would be the least of it…”

Influenced by his family background, he had spent some of his middle school years as a petty delinquent—a stereotypical cocky, bleached-haired brat. Only after starting high school had he dyed it back to black and cleaned up his act.

Caught up in his rant, he slipped back into old habits, and only realized halfway what he’d said.

Under the scrutiny of several pairs of eyes, he forced a sheepish smile.

He Ming’an grinned at him. “You seem awfully familiar with the process, classmate Xie.”

A chill prickled down Xie Wu’s spine. Before he could patch things up, Gu Yang had already brushed his hand off his shoulder in disgust.

“Actually, Gu Yang’s pretty good at fighting,” Lu Ji interjected softly, trying to defuse the situation.

“Haha, really? Then that’s impressive.” Grabbing the chance to step down, Xie Wu rolled with it without even questioning if it was true.

Unable to watch him make a fool of himself any longer, Ying Jiayi instead turned to Lu Ji with concern. “What about those punks who were caught? Did they say who sent them?”

They all had a pretty good idea. There was only one person who had the free time and malice to plot against Lu Ji.

But knowing it was one thing. Concrete evidence was another, especially with how blind the Lu couple’s favoritism was.

“Still under investigation.” Lu Ji shook his head, his words carrying quiet weight. “Once you do something, you always leave a trace. I wonder what surprises they’ll find in the end.”

Lu Ran’s heart skipped a beat. Sweat dampened his back. This time, he didn’t fly into his usual tantrum, but instead looked uneasy.

After all, he had indeed been the one to orchestrate it.

But he had inquired, and the captured thugs had confessed. They admitted they were paid, but the name they gave was unfamiliar to him.

At least Nie Ying hadn’t been stupid enough to hire thugs under his real name.

Thinking this, he glared at Lu Ji defiantly.

Ever since Lu Ji’s declaration of war, peace between them had been impossible. In the end, only one of them could remain.

Truthfully, he was already sick of Xie Wu.

More than once, he thought: if Xie Wu hadn’t interfered, then it would have been Lu Ji who’d taken that blow.

And without a helmet, that swing of the iron rod…

Lu Ran’s eyes darkened.

But there was no use dwelling on it now.

The plan had failed. That the punks hadn’t implicated him was already the greatest stroke of luck.

—At least, that’s how it should have been.

Lu Ran’s brow twitched as he locked eyes in silence with Nie Ying, standing in his living room.

As it turned out, Nie Ying had indeed been brazen enough to hire thugs openly—only because his family matters had kept him busy, he had shoved the task onto the little assistant his father had assigned him.

When the assistant realized the target was none other than the Lu family’s young master, he nearly dropped his phone in fright.

But he no longer worked directly for Mr. Nie. And if he tattled, the two madmen would just tear each other apart, and he—an ordinary employee—would be caught in the crossfire.

So he came up with a brilliant plan.

Since he was the one following up, he found a few timid thugs from A High School. The boldest things they’d ever done were skipping class or sneaking into an internet café.

The assistant thought it was perfect—just scare the kid a little, nothing too serious.

But those thugs were too timid.

They dared take the money, but not actually corner someone.

Pooling their untainted, unpolluted brains together, they decided to outsource.

This way, they’d pocket some money while dodging all the risk.

Nie Ying had budgeted 100,000. The assistant skimmed 20,000. By the time it reached the A High thugs, only 80,000 remained.

They pocketed 50,000 and subcontracted the job to thugs from B High.

But B High had the same stroke of genius. Taking 30,000, they outsourced further to C High.

The C High thugs were actually prepared to act. But when they realized the target was Lu Ji—whom several of them knew from school and recognized as formidable—they balked, afraid the money wouldn’t even cover hospital bills.

So they scraped together 10,000 to hire an older gangster from the streets, infamous for his brutality and prison time, known as “Club Brother.”

When the police caught them, it was those C High kids and Club Brother on the scene. Tracing the chain backward, they uncovered the entire line.

Cornered, the assistant confessed everything about Nie Ying—chat logs included.

Nie Yunhua’s face turned black with fury. He had half a mind to beat his useless son to death on the spot. But Nie Ying, sensing danger, immediately threw Lu Ran under the bus, handing over their chat logs too.

And so here they all were.

Nie Yunhua had come today specifically to shift the blame. And so he ranted on and on, spilling everything in detail.

The gist was simple: This was the Lu family’s own internal strife. His son had merely been used as a pawn.

The Lu couple’s faces turned ashen.

They didn’t want to believe it—that the little son they had coddled all these years had become so deranged.

And Lu Ji was their trueborn child.

He had suffered most of all in this matter. They had been blind, but now that things had reached this point, with the truth laid bare, the parental filter shattered.

To secure his place in the household, would he really stoop to eliminating another child this way?

He already had every advantage. Did he truly not see it?

Had he never once considered his parents’ feelings? Never thought that the one he was attacking was the son they had finally recovered with such difficulty?

No—of course not.

For some reason, Madam Lu suddenly recalled what that man surnamed Huo had once said: that after learning the truth, Lu Ran had never once considered returning to his original family.

Only now did she feel the chill seep into her bones.

What kind of cold-blooded person could be so utterly devoid of feeling for his own parents?

Lu Zhenxing’s brows furrowed deeply. If Lu Ran could plot against Lu Ji for standing in his way, would he one day turn on him as well?

Clearly, such a family background produced nothing good.

He was already calculating. He could no longer keep Lu Ran by his side—it would mean never sleeping soundly again.

Beyond exposing the plot, Nie Yunhua had another agenda.

Though nothing serious had resulted, Nie Ying’s actions were still extremely vile. From the C High kids onward, none of them could escape punishment. Their only hope was to get leniency from the victims.

“The one most seriously hurt wasn’t me. It was Xie Wu.” Lu Ji’s tone was cold. “If not for his luck, who knows what would’ve happened.”

“We’ve already been to the Xie household. Young Xie said this incident was aimed at you. In the end, it’s your decision.”

Lu Ji was moved.

Xie Wu had just handed him all the leverage.

His frosty gaze landed on Nie Ying. He resented him deeply for meddling too.

But better to resolve the primary conflict now, rather than wait for the Nie family to secretly strike a deal with Lu Zhenxing and then force forgiveness out of him.

Lu Ji decided then and there. Word by word, he declared: “This was all because of Lu Ran.”

Nie Yunhua’s face lit with approval. Yes—everything had started with that fake heir. Only by cutting out the source could the matter be resolved.

No further words were exchanged, but the consensus was clear.

“Lu Ji, you—” Lu Ran, stunned speechless until now, finally found his voice.

“Dad!” Knowing words were useless, his instinct was to call out to Lu Zhenxing.

“Don’t call me Dad.” Lu Zhenxing cut him off sharply, his disgust plain. “Your father is someone else.”

At the mention of that gambling wretch, Lu Ran went pale. Panicked, he turned to Madam Lu. “Mom—”

A sliver of softness remained in her heart. She turned her head away, unable to bear looking at his face.

But hurt as she was, Lu Zhenxing would not throw him out on the spot—that would seem too cruel.

Lu Ji had expected as much. As long as Lu Ran remained, he’d always have a chance to make a comeback. He couldn’t risk leaving it to the Lu couple’s hearts.

So as soon as the Nie family left, he produced the dossier he had prepared.

And the moment they saw it, their eyes widened.

It was full of records of Lu Ran’s private dealings with outside parties—some even competitors. He’d been undermining his own family’s company.

The timing began right after Lu Ji’s return—once he’d learned his true identity, Lu Ran had started paving his escape route.

They had never guarded against him. Lu Zhenxing’s office and study had always been open to him.

That trust had only made it easier for him to embezzle.

Even after discovering he wasn’t their biological son, they had never lessened their affection for him.

How could this ungrateful brat?!

Only now did Lu Zhenxing realize that several of his recent business losses had been due to an insider.

Face dark, he flung the documents at Lu Ran.

Reading the words, Lu Ran collapsed, all strength and excuses gone.

It was over.

How had he been exposed? He’d hidden everything so carefully.

And Lu Ji had only just returned—how could he have the connections to investigate this?

Zhenxing no longer looked at him. Coldly, he ordered servants to pack his things and send him back to the Huo family immediately.

Lu Ran could not accept it. He struggled frantically against the servants, screaming, trying to win back the couple’s love.

But this time, not only Zhenxing, even Madam Lu lowered her head in cold despair.

He had plotted to cripple their trueborn son, and even stolen trade secrets for profit.

Her heart was thoroughly broken.

What kind of child had she raised—so venomous, so ungrateful?

Amid the chaos, she only wished to flee, not wanting Lu Ji to witness any more.

But when she turned, she realized he was already gone.

Amid the turmoil, Lu Ji had left the Lu household. He didn’t want to stay and watch them entangle further.

His mind was still in turmoil, his body burning, blood surging, heart pounding almost out of his chest.

A bitter wind howled past.

The icy chill clashed against his fevered mind, leaving him dazed.

For an instant, he thought he saw another version of himself.

A lifeless body pushed in a wheelchair, with Lu Ran behind him. The Lu couple and Lu Zheng walking on either side, laughter all around.

Lu Ran said something amusing, sending Zhenxing into hearty laughter. Madam Lu playfully tapped his nose with fondness.

As they teased, he leaned in close, whispering something softly, the picture intimate.

What a warm, happy scene.

And they brushed right past him.

Lu Ji shuddered, tearing himself from the vision—only to find nothing there.

He couldn’t be sure what he had seen, only that his chest surged with fury and bitter resentment.

At that moment, the servant at the gate asked his purpose, and he realized he had wandered near the Gu residence.

He had been wandering aimlessly, lost in thought, and somehow ended up here.

He instinctively said he was Gu Yang’s classmate.

Seeing his school uniform, and recognizing him as the Lu family’s young master, the servant let him in out of the cold.

Lu Ji forced himself calm as he followed the servant down the garden path.

Meanwhile, Gu Yuhui, working at the company, received the call and let out a strange smile.

“The Lu family’s boy—the one who was switched at birth.”

Of course, he knew. These past days, Gu Yang had used his connections to dig up plenty about the false Lu heir’s private dealings.

When his own reputation had been dragged through the mud by the Shen family, he hadn’t cared enough to intervene personally.

So what had changed in his mindset now?

Truly strange.