Chapter 43 - 2#

“Seeing you makes me very uncomfortable.”

“When you touch my body, I feel very uncomfortable.”

“Your voice… it’s quite pleasant, but I still feel very uncomfortable.”

I looked at his livid complexion and said softly: “I am in too much pain. What should I do?”

Du Yijie suddenly stood up from his chair.

He looked at me, then took a deep breath and turned away.

I thought he was going to walk out again, but he just went to the desk, opened a drawer, and busied himself for quite a while.

In the end, I watched him walk toward me.

He was holding a gun in his hand.

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“Xiao Qi, you hate me to death right now, don’t you?”

Du Yijie looked at the gun in his hand and said, seemingly nonchalantly.

I looked at him, suddenly let out a laugh, and nodded.

Hearing that laugh, Du Yijie tilted his head back and tossed the gun toward me. It landed right in front of me.

“That’s right, you hate me to death. While I’m not thinking very clearly, I’ll give you a chance.”

I froze, looking up at him.

Du Yijie walked over to me, sat down on the edge of the bed, and gently grabbed my hand.

My exposed elbows were all bruised and purple; those were from Du Yijie gripping me on the bed. I understood that the rest of my body must be an even more horrific sight.

“Like this, yes, that’s it…” He taught me how to hold the gun with great patience. Once my posture was correct, he said, as if in praise: “Xiao Qi, you really have a knack for this. The way you hold a gun is crucial; if you don’t master it, you’ll never hit your target.”

After saying that, he stood up and took a step back.

He still had a smile on his face.

I looked up at him. He said: “Aim at my heart, Xiao Qi.” He pointed to the left side of his chest, “It’s right here.”

“Xiao Qi, as long as you fire one shot, your pain, your discomfort, will be over.”

I stared at him blankly.

I held the gun in my right hand; the heavy weight of it made it almost impossible for me to lift it. I looked at him for a long time and said: “Du Yijie, I want to ask you some questions.”

“You… from the very beginning… were you aiming for something when you approached me?”

Du Yijie laughed. “When you say ’the beginning,’ do you mean ten years ago, or six months ago?”

I looked up at him, dazed.

“Oh, then I’ll tell you everything. I’ll start from that first meeting ten years ago.” He shoved both hands into his pockets and smiled.

“Ten years ago, on a boring afternoon, I saw a little chubby kid who was quite nimble at climbing walls. I didn’t pay much attention back then, just thought this chubby kid looked interesting and that his gaze toward us was quite kind, not like he was afraid. Later, when I was being set up by Kun Qi’s gang, I saw that same chubby kid again. At first, I only wanted to use a knife to threaten him, but I didn’t expect him to actually take me to a small shed. He wasn’t even that panicked, unlike those people who only knew how to scream.”

“Later, I thought this chubby kid was pretty good, quite cute. But he was a goody-two-shoes, studying hard every day, and someone like me would inevitably corrupt him. So, I’d have him come out to keep me company during his study breaks, since he looked so bored in class anyway. Heh.”

He chuckled, as if lost in that memory, then his gaze darkened: “But he and I were always different people. He was a rich young master, from a good family with good breeding. He looked pleasing to the eye when he was chubby, and after his eyes were injured and he suddenly slimmed down, he looked even better. When he came to my place and found out I was leaving, he even said he wanted to send me off at the airport—heh, how could he have known? I was actually going there to throw my life away.”

“What do you mean?” I asked him.

Du Yijie said: “That’s all in the past. You wanted to know if I had an agenda, didn’t you? Then keep listening.”

“We were separated for ten years, and many things changed. He was still that rich young master, just having had a falling out with his family, while I had fought and struggled for ten years to finally reach the position I’m in today. We met by chance—at a club I owned. I discovered that every time I met him, he was comical and in a wretched state. But this time, I knew the one who was truly wretched was me.”

“Just as I was immersed in the joy of reuniting with him, I discovered that he was actually an informant sent by the police, or perhaps a shield.”

I looked at him and shook my head: “I don’t know… what you’re talking about.”

Du Yijie smiled: “Even if you really were a police informant, they’ve already discarded you. You’re just a pawn.”

“I know, explanations are redundant… but I’m not… I only went with Cheng Chen to look for… Li Ling.”

Upon hearing this, Du Yijie’s gaze darkened. He was silent for a moment before continuing: “I used the Desmond King case to slowly build conflict between him and the police, or rather, between him and his friends.” He shrugged, laughing: “Actually, I originally intended to just let that kid Desmond stay in jail; he’s a brainless, troublesome brat. But much to my surprise, you guys won that lawsuit. As a result, that brat Desmond went crazy wanting revenge and invited that ‘Sick Man’ over, humph.”

“Since when did Third Uncle…”

Du Yijie sneered, his tone unkind: “Your Third Uncle is a ruthless character, more devious than anyone. His code of conduct is the most cold-blooded there is; everyone knows you can’t get along with him. Forget it, let’s not talk about him.”

I tugged at the bedsheet and asked in a stiff tone: “Then, why did you… why did you kill Wang Zheng?”

He fell silent.

I lowered my head and said: “If you were fighting against Ren… Third Uncle, your target should have been me, not Wang Zheng. But… why did you…?”

“Heh.” Du Yijie chuckled, looked at me, and said: “Xiao Qi, the reason is even simpler.”

“If I can’t have it, why should he get to have it?”

I whipped my head up.

Du Yijie looked perfectly self-righteous. He smiled and said: “Xiao Qi, I told you before, I know I’m not a good person. But when I encounter the best, I will pull out all the stops to get my hands on it.”

“And Li Ling…”

Du Yijie frowned: “Xiao Qi, your taste really is too strange. Is that kind of cargo, who knows how many people have slept with her, really worth your concern?”

“Shut up!!”

I raised the gun and pointed it straight at him.

Du Yijie narrowed his eyes, smiled slightly, walked toward me, and said: “Very good. Xiao Qi, just like that. Aim, and then… pull the trigger.” He sat on the edge of the bed and leaned in, the muzzle pressing against his chest.

I took a few deep breaths.

He slowly leaned in, kissed my face, and called out: “Xiao Qi.”

He buried his head in the crook of my neck.

I tilted my head back, and many images seemed to flash before my eyes, passing by too quickly to capture.

The only thing clear was that time in that narrow house, when Du Yijie was sitting on the floor, flipping through the photo album, pointing at the couple in the pictures, smiling slightly, saying something. Back then, he was no longer an ignorant youth, but besides the malice in his eyes, there were also many more sentiments.

Du Yijie…

“Clang.”

The gun slid from my hand and, following the slant of the bed, slowly fell to the floor.

When the crisp sound rang out, Du Yijie slowly lifted his head from my neck.

He said: “You can pick it back up, Xiao Qi. Standing in front of you is the man who forced you, killed your precious Wang Zheng, and schemed against your friends and family—”

“A person like this, and you still can’t bear to kill him? Shouldn’t you be taking revenge for them?”

He cupped my face, making me look at him.

“You… are crying?” He laughed. “What’s there to cry about?”

I pushed him away and raised my hand to cover my face.

A deep sense of despair enveloped me.

Du Yijie sighed, turned to pick up the gun from the floor, and took two steps back.

“Xiao Qi.”

He said: “Then I’ll do it myself.”

I looked up in terror, only to see him point the gun at his own chest and slowly pull the trigger.

“No—”

“Click.”

After the sound, Du Yijie looked at me, a curve forming at the corner of his mouth. I stared at him, stunned. Du Yijie threw the gun to the floor and walked toward me.

I continued to gaze at him in a daze.

Du Yijie reached out to touch my face, saying as if in heartbreak: “I scared you to death.”

He sat on the edge of the bed, reached out to hold me, rubbed his cheek against mine, and sighed, “Xiao Qi, it was my fault to test you like this.”

“If you had chosen to pull the trigger back then, I could have also… told myself to end all of this and make a clean break.” He paused, kissed my earlobe with affection, his behavior gentler than ever before.

“Xiao Qi.” He wiped the tears from the corner of my eye with the tip of his tongue.

“What should I do? I think I’m going to love you to death.”

Du Yijie told me he had another gun hidden in his jacket.

If I had chosen to pull the trigger back then, he would have taken out the real gun, the one that was actually loaded.

And then, he would have ended my pain and my life.

Later, I discovered that the one who was truly insane wasn’t me, nor was it Du Yijie; it was the choice itself.

In the days that followed, I rarely saw a glimpse of Du Yijie.

He didn’t restrict me to the room either; as long as I stayed within the house, I was free to move around.

Wang Zheng’s pendant couldn’t be fixed. Sometimes, looking out the window, I could almost hear Wang Zheng’s voice, so clear it was as if he were right beside me.

Only then did I truly understand that Wang Zheng was never coming back. And the feelings I held for him were too complex; I couldn’t even explain them myself. Looking at that pendant, I only vaguely knew that my life and Wang Zheng’s… perhaps would never intersect again.

Since that day, Du Yijie hadn’t done anything to me in bed, perhaps out of concern for my eyes and mental state. Before the last doctor left, he had said this to Du Yijie: “The situation might not be very optimistic. I suggest going to the hospital for a thorough examination…”

“If I could go, would I have needed you to come here? If you’re useless, get out!”

Du Yijie’s temper had become much more volatile. His phone seemed to be ringing every single second, and even if he returned in the middle of the night to hold me for a while, he would be woken up by a ringing phone, then walk out with a sullen face.

He looked like he was on the verge of breaking.

I slept and ate in a haze, occasionally wandering around the house, unaware of what was happening in the outside world.

One day, I got up from the bed and sat there for a long time until my legs went numb. I shifted my body, wanting to get off the bed and walk around.

The guards who had previously been stationed outside the room had been pulled away. Walking down the stairs, I didn’t even see many servants.

When I reached the floor below, I heard an explosion of rage.

“If you do this, you’re just going to drag us all down with you—!!”

Several people in suits were sitting on the sofas in the hall downstairs. Du Yijie sat in the head seat, looking exhausted, one hand resting on his forehead. Each of those people had bodyguards surrounding them; they looked like underworld leaders. What made me freeze for a moment was seeing Desmond King among them, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, his face dark.

“Case, don’t be so impulsive. Boss Du, why don’t you say something? That man has already declared that as long as you let the person go, he’ll wipe the slate clean of past grievances and won’t make things difficult anymore…” The person who sounded like a mediator suddenly paused.

Du Yijie sneered at him and said: “Do you really believe his words?” Then, his gaze swept across the room: “You all… do you really believe that ‘Sick Man’?”

Everyone fell silent.

“Ha.” Du Yijie let out a loud laugh, leaned back, clasped his hands together, and said: “You were the ones who invited him here in the first place. The ‘best partner’? Yes, that’s right. He is indeed quite brainy, no—he’s too brainy. Do you know? With just one finger, he could crush you to death.”

Du Yijie’s tone was deep, but a smile hung on his lips. “If we were united, he would have some reservations about moving against us, but it would only be a matter of time—Ren Xiaoyun is no sick cat; he’s a starving tiger. Haven’t you heard of his reputation in Southeast Asia? Heh—”

“If…” His gaze was sharp, sweeping over the crowd. “If you still want to stay alive, do as I say.”

The people present looked at each other. Desmond King, however, suddenly raised his head, saw me standing on the stairs, and said with a smile: “Oh, isn’t that person’s treasure standing right there?”

Everyone looked over at once.

Du Yijie frowned slightly. The white man named Case, who had been arguing with Du Yijie earlier, stood up and pointed at me: “Even if that’s the case, if we don’t let that boy go, we won’t even last another month! You were the one who said that if he were thrown into disarray, it would be easier to strike. He is in disarray, but he’s acting like a madman, taking a knife to all of us!”

Du Yijie looked somber. “He’s also suffered heavy losses; we aren’t necessarily going to lose. But if we really return the person to him, we truly won’t have any chance of winning at all.”

“Bullshit!” Case suddenly stood up and waved at the bodyguards nearby. “If you don’t give him up, I’ll do it myself! If you want to die, go die alone! Yellow monkey—ah ah!”

The man named Case suddenly struggled and fell backward.

I stared blankly to the side.

On the other side of the stairs, a person sat in a wheelchair, the muzzle of the gun in his hand still smoking.

“A-De.” Du Yijie frowned and called out.

I also looked at A-De, who was pushing the wheelchair forward. Aside from his legs, his left sleeve was also empty.

His eyes held a hint of ruthlessness. His face was pale. He raised his gun and fired two more shots into the ceiling.

Everyone went quiet; even the bodyguards dared not act rashly.

A-De didn’t look at me, just laughed at them: “Sigh, I finally managed to get some good sleep. Which dog was barking over there? It’s noisy as hell.”

Case clutched his wound, his face turning gray. His two bodyguards supported him, debating whether or not to act.

Du Yijie, though frowning, ordered a bodyguard standing by to walk upstairs and bring me down.

I turned my head back a few times. The bodyguard dragged me forcefully. I only heard Du Yijie say something, and then several more gunshots rang out behind me, accompanied by the screams of the man named Case.

As I passed A-De, he glared at me with a dark expression, slowly revealing a deep, enigmatic smile.