Chapter 19 - 2#
So Luo Mingshan rolled down the stairs himself.
The moment Luo Mingshan fell down the stairs, he happily curled the corners of his mouth: Great, Brother Xing was so fond of him. Now that he had an “accident,” Brother Xing wouldn’t leave, right?
But when he lay on the hospital bed and his consciousness began to clear, he overheard the nurses chatting—
“How tragic, such a small child falling like this, and his mother doesn’t even care.”
“His mother’s a lunatic. Poor kid.”
“I heard there’s no surveillance where he fell? So how did he fall?”
“Don’t know, but at the time he was with that kid named Zhao Xing.”
“Zhao Xing and his mother were supposed to leave today, but now because of this, they have to stay for questioning. Seems like they can’t leave until the kid wakes up.”
Luo Mingshan understood then.
So his accident wasn’t really an “accident.”
Brother Xing was still going to leave. The moment he woke up, Brother Xing would leave.
What to do, then.
Just then, he heard another nurse whisper a guess.
“Was it that kid Zhao Xing who pushed him? That kid’s always fighting and causing trouble, isn’t he?”
“Shh, don’t talk nonsense. If that kid really did push him, that would be attempted murder. He’d have to stay here for re-education.”
Luo Mingshan suddenly saw the light.
Ah, so as long as he made others think Brother Xing pushed him, Brother Xing wouldn’t leave.
Great.
Luo Mingshan slowly opened his eyes.
Hearing Luo Mingshan’s words, Zhao Xing could hardly believe his ears.
What did he mean by “I didn’t want you to leave, so I framed you”?
What did he mean by “I didn’t want to be apart from you, so I wanted you to stay in prison”?
Hearing this, Zhao Xing couldn’t even get angry—he was just stunned.
Even more terrifying, the lie detector chair didn’t react—Luo Mingshan was telling the truth.
Zhao Xing was silent for a long time before finally squeezing out a sentence: “Are you fucking insane?!”
Did those words match the normal thinking of a five-year-old human child?!
Luo Mingshan lowered his eyes and said nothing.
Yes, he was insane—dark, selfish, cowardly, lacking the empathy normal humans had, a monster living underground.
Luo Mingshan quietly awaited Zhao Xing’s judgment.
Would Zhao Xing loathe him? Fear him? Stay away from him?
Would he finally understand that Luo Mingshan was never the sweet, innocent kid he saw—just a poison wrapped in chocolate syrup?
Zhao Xing paced in the room, walking from left to right, then couldn’t help turning his head to curse Luo Mingshan: “Don’t you think what you said is ridiculous? What’s wrong with your brain? How do you come up with this stuff? Hey, have you been checked? Are you mentally ill? Does your family know your brain is messed up—”
Zhao Xing’s voice cut off abruptly.
Because he suddenly remembered that as a child, he had met Luo Mingshan’s mother—the famous “crazy woman.”
Fuck!
Mental illnesses are hereditary!
Luo Mingshan really might have a hereditary mental disorder!
Zhao Xing froze.
He turned to look at Luo Mingshan, his expression serious: “Have you been checked? For brain issues?”
Luo Mingshan felt a sudden relief in his heart. He looked at Zhao Xing and gently shook his head: “No, but if Brother Zhao wants me to, I can get it done.”
Zhao Xing: “…”
Zhao Xing gave him a meaningful look: “You must find time to get a brain exam. Hereditary mental illnesses are terrifying. Early detection, early treatment.”
Zhao Xing squinted and asked another question: “Then at the beginning, why did you lie and say Liang Xiaopang told you to do it?”
Luo Mingshan quickly accepted the setting that he had a mental problem and said in a low voice: “Because we had just reunited then. I wanted to leave a good impression on you. I didn’t want you to think I was insane.”
Zhao Xing: “…”
So he just admitted he was insane, huh.
Zhao Xing was speechless.
He only felt absurd.
Absurd and speechless. He even forgot to stay angry.
Luo Mingshan looked up quietly at Zhao Xing and said softly: “No matter the reason, I did wrong and hurt you. So Brother Zhao, you can bully me, hate me, treat me however you want.”
Beep—
The lie detector chair gave a warning.
Zhao Xing: “…”
Zhao Xing lowered his head and frantically searched for the remote on the floor, wanting to manually cut the power, but it was too late.
With a muffled groan of suppressed pain, Luo Mingshan’s face instantly turned pale, veins bulging on his temples, and even his fingers cramped.
Zhao Xing finally found the remote. He picked it up and looked at it—his face also went white.
When he had turned on the device earlier, he’d pressed buttons randomly, and it was on the highest current.
Someone with a weak constitution could even be electrocuted to death.
Zhao Xing stiffly looked up at Luo Mingshan and found him shaking all over from the pain, his lips pale, but he still gave a faint smile and said: “Sorry, Brother Zhao. I lied. Although I’d let you do whatever you want to me, I still don’t want you to hate me.”
Zhao Xing used the remote to turn off the lie detector chair. The restraints came off Luo Mingshan, and he pitched straight forward.
Zhao Xing took a big step forward and let him fall into his arms.
Luo Mingshan’s voice was weak: “Sorry, Brother Zhao. I need a moment to recover.”
An electric shock of this level did require a moment to recover—about three or four seconds.
But since he was now in human form, he naturally had to put on a more convincing act.
Luo Mingshan decided to take at least five minutes.
But the next second, Zhao Xing suddenly crouched down in front of him and hoisted him onto his back.
Luo Mingshan froze for a moment, then whispered, “…Brother Zhao.”
Zhao Xing didn’t speak. He silently carried him out.
Luo Mingshan was quiet for a while, then carefully wrapped his arms around Zhao Xing’s neck.
Zhao Xing turned his head and glanced at Luo Mingshan, who was resting on his shoulder, pale-faced, as if already unconscious.
Forget it.
He’d been hit, cursed, and electrocuted half to death.
Let’s pretend Luo Mingshan’s deception never happened.
Actually, in Zhao Xing’s eyes, the truth was a bit better than the excuse Luo Mingshan had made up before.
After all, one was a betrayal by a close friend, the other was pure childish stupidity and mental illness.
But still…
Zhao Xing thought over Luo Mingshan’s words again.
For some reason, a chill suddenly ran down his spine.
Zhao Xing put Luo Mingshan on the bed in the shared room to rest, then went to find Zhou Ming.
When Zhao Xing reached the door of Zhou Ming’s classroom, class had just ended.
As soon as Zhou Ming saw Zhao Xing, his eyes lit up. He slipped out quickly: “Brother Zhao! You need something?”
Zhao Xing: “Nothing major. Let’s go, talk over lunch at the cafeteria.”
Zhao Xing’s reputation was already well-known. The moment he sat down in the cafeteria, the five or six seats around him were empty.
“Brother Zhao, what’s the matter?” Zhou Ming asked curiously.
For some reason, he felt like whatever Brother Zhao wanted to talk about today had something to do with his sister-in-law—probably emotional advice.
Zhou Ming could barely contain his gossipy excitement.
Zhao Xing glanced at Zhou Ming and said: “I remember you once mentioned that your father works at a mental hospital. So you must know something about that field?”
Zhou Ming humbly said: “A little, just a little.”
Zhao Xing: “I have a friend. His mother does have a mental illness. He grew up in an environment of maternal neglect and abuse, and his own mind seems a bit abnormal. Does he need systematic psychiatric treatment?”
Zhou Ming: “…Huh?”
Why was it suddenly academic?
Zhou Ming cautiously asked: “This friend… do I know him?”
Zhao Xing shot him a look: “Does that matter?”
Zhou Ming: “No, no, it doesn’t matter. My bad. Let’s continue… You said his mind seems abnormal. In what ways?”
Zhao Xing thought for a moment and said: “Let me give you an example. When he was very young, the neighbor’s older brother was about to move away. To stop the neighbor from leaving, he falsely accused the neighbor of… harming him, forcing the neighbor to cancel the move and stay to face punishment.”
Zhou Ming frowned for a while: “Was this neighbor very good to him?”
Zhao Xing: “Like a real brother.”
Zhou Ming: “Are there any other signs of abnormal mentality besides this?”
Zhao Xing: “Later, when this person grew up, many of his habits remained stuck in the time he spent with the neighbor in childhood—even his handwriting hasn’t changed.”
Zhou Ming: “Did this person and the neighbor meet again as adults?”
Zhao Xing: “They did. The neighbor treats this person very badly, but this person is completely submissive to the neighbor—does whatever he’s asked, never talks back, never fights back, waits for him to come home, and even gives him a black card.”
Zhou Ming’s eyes lit up, and he slapped the table: “Got it! It’s love! A kind of twisted love!”
Zhao Xing: “…”