Can a System Have Bad Intentions? - Chapter 102

They rushed over, worried that Lu Tang might be in danger.

He saw it clearly—just as Xu Shen dashed forward, his knee banged hard against the stone table. It must have hurt a lot, but he didn’t even flinch and kept running.

They stepped back because they saw that Lu Tang was fine now. They didn’t want to interrupt if Lu Tang needed to say something important.

Xu Shen didn’t even glance at his injured knee because he was so concerned.

This is what friendship means.

True friendship.

If he tried to take them out for a walk now, they wouldn’t leave. Xie Yu simply sat down on the doorstep.

He really wanted to know about his grandpa’s past, but his grandpa never talked about it.

Inside.

Xie Chengnian, pale-faced and breathing heavily, glared at Lu Tang.

Lu Tang didn’t move, letting him glare for a while. When he started to calm down, Lu Tang spoke, “Years ago, Huang Bangyuan stole your designs and forced you out of the Ministry of Works. Now, his son, Huang Yunsheng, wants to build a dam near my home. I don’t know the quality of the dam, but I know he plans to embezzle the funds.”

Lu Tang’s voice was calm, each word sinking into Xie Chengnian’s ears.

Xie Chengnian looked at the young person before him and finally asked, “How do you know about me? Do you know the Ninth Prince…?”

He trailed off, not finishing his sentence, and walked shakily to a chair, collapsing into it like a traveler drained of all energy.

“My story doesn’t matter anymore.”

His demeanor clearly showed he didn’t want to say more.

Lu Tang walked over and sat opposite Xie Chengnian. “Your life was ruined, and that’s your business. But what about Xie Yu? What did he do to deserve living like this?”

Outside, Xie Yu stiffened.

Inside, Xie Chengnian looked at Lu Tang. His eyes, which had dimmed, now shone with excitement.

“What can I do? Little Yu has been like this since he was a child. What can I do? I…”

His emotions were too intense, making his voice rough and hoarse.

Lu Tang cut him off mercilessly, “You know he’s been poisoned.”

Xie Yu:!

Xie Chengnian stared at Lu Tang, “Who exactly are you?”

“I’m Xie Yu’s friend. As his friend, I won’t stand by while he suffers. Xie Yu is brilliant and loves hydraulics. If he were normal, he could have taken the imperial exam at fifteen and had a bright future. How can you ruin that?”

Xie Yu sat at the door, trembling uncontrollably.

Xie Chengnian glared at Lu Tang, fury bubbling up, making his face twitch. He slammed the table and stood up, “I ruined him? I’m his grandpa. I want nothing more than for him to be well!”

“But you don’t want your past to be exposed. You’re afraid your name will be cursed. You were framed by Huang Bangyuan and couldn’t fight back. You became a coward and dragged your grandson down with you. You’re scared that if Xie Yu succeeds, your past will be brought up again.”

Xie Chengnian’s eyes burned with anger, his face twitching with rage.

“You…you…” Anger choked his words. He grabbed something from the table and threw it at Lu Tang.

It was a tea cup.

Lu Tang couldn’t dodge in time, and it hit her forehead, leaving a bloody mark.

[Congratulations to the host for completing the task and earning the champion reward. The system is loading the reward, please wait.]

Lu Tang let out a breath of relief.

Since entering Xie Chengnian’s house, she had been thinking about her troublesome task.

If the task had been to flatter Xie Chengnian, to make friends with him, and to comfort him, then Zhou Shu and the others had already been doing that non-stop since they arrived.

If the system wanted that, it would have prompted her to hurry up. But it had been silent.

That meant the task wasn’t like that.

She remembered the last task at Qiao Village, where her competitor turned out to be Qiao Fugui.

So this time, her competitors might not be Zhou Shu and the others, but someone else.

Her guess was Qin Mo and Song Qingzhan. She didn’t know anyone else involved.

Both Qin Mo and Song Qingzhan had been reluctant to come here, suggesting their past encounter with Xie Chengnian wasn’t pleasant.

Lu Tang decided to give it a try. She would have mentioned Huang Yunsheng’s dam anyway, task or no task.

Unexpectedly, she hit the mark.

The task completed, Lu Tang relaxed, and her attitude softened. “Grandpa, I mean no harm. I just can’t stand seeing Xie Yu’s life ruined. He’s so talented and has such a bright future, yet…Grandpa, I feel for him.”

Her concern was genuine.

Xie Chengnian, who had been furious, was suddenly moved by her words.

Tears streamed down his face.

No one knew better than Xie Chengnian how much suffering Xie Yu had endured. No one cared for him, not even his own parents.

Now this young person was standing up for Xie Yu, speaking from the heart.

Xie Chengnian’s heart ached. He reached out and touched Lu Tang’s forehead, “Does it hurt?”

Lu Tang smiled and shook her head, “As long as Grandpa plans to help Xie Yu, I don’t mind the pain. I treat him like my brother, my real brother.”

She glanced outside the window, “Those are my brothers. Xie Yu is just like them.”

Xie Yu sat on the doorstep, his head buried in his knees.

A low sobbing sound came into the quiet room, and Xie Chengnian couldn’t take it anymore. He collapsed into the chair, his tear-filled eyes closing slowly as he leaned back.

“I always wonder, what will happen to Yu’er after I die? I think about it day and night but can’t find an answer. If I die, no one will care for him. He…he probably wouldn’t live long. I never thought Yu’er could make friends like you. He’s had such a hard life. Yesterday, he came back excitedly telling me he had brought friends. I was afraid he had lost his mind.”

Lu Tang held Xie Chengnian’s hand, “Grandpa, Xie Yu is worthy of being our friend.”

Xie Chengnian’s hand trembled lightly. He sighed, “He was poisoned by Huang Bangyuan. When Yu’er was two years old, Huang Bangyuan came to me, asking me to draw a palace design for him. I refused. I hated him too much to help him.”

Xie Chengnian’s refusal led Huang Bangyuan to poison Xie Yu.

Using the antidote as leverage, he forced Xie Chengnian to hand over the design.

Though Xie Chengnian handed over the design, the antidote Huang Bangyuan provided only saved Xie Yu’s life but left him in his current condition.