I never could have dreamed that this would be the answer.
I thought Xu Tie's son had done something—the Xu Guangming who had died and become a ghost. But it turned out to be Xu Gang's son...
If Chen Xiao Qiu hadn't said anything, I would already have guessed Xu Bingjie's motive.
But...
A surge of anger was crashing around inside me.
While I was blaming myself and drowning in regret over what had happened at the film studio, someone else had already casually taken another person's life.
It was hard to describe the feeling. It wasn't that my worldview had been turned upside down. I was just angry. They could have lived out their lives in peace, but instead, they chose an extreme course of action.
"For his father?" Skinny asked. "Revenge? Really?"
Chen Xiao Qiu nodded. "They arrested Xu Bingjie late last night. He nearly made it out of the country. After they caught him, he confessed to everything."
As Chen Xiao Qiu told the story, Skinny and I heard about an even greater family tragedy.
Xu Gang had been sent to live with his second uncle from a young age, separated from his parents and younger brother. He longed to grow close to his real family, but there was always a barrier between them. His second uncle treated him well, like his own son, but he still wasn't Xu Gang's real father. And the rest of his second uncle's family treated him more like a guest—one who wouldn't leave.
Even after Xu Gang came of age, he continued trying to please Xu Guangzong, hoping to win his father's affection.
After he got married, he toned down that behavior somewhat.
His wife was strong-willed and sharp. She didn't mind him taking care of the elderly, but she firmly