In the dark

"From your description, your symptoms are very similar to Qi Sijing's last time, but yours are clearly much more severe." In his office, An Shi sat in his chair, scribbling on a sheet of paper.

It was all information he had compiled.

Cheng Yu was thoroughly miserable, especially when he remembered how he had mocked Qi Sijing last time. Now he had made an even bigger fool of himself.

Who knew how humiliating it would be if word reached him? Bo Xi probably wouldn't give him the time of day, either.

Whenever he thought of the harsh things he had said to Lin Xingye, regret filled his heart. He had no idea what his darling would think of him now.

An Shi looked up and glared at him. "Focus."

Cheng Yu slumped over the desk, his face full of misery. "Doctor An, you've got to save me~"

An Shi ignored his grumbling and merely warned him, "Since you've had more extensive contact with him, there's a greater chance of a relapse. Be careful."

His assistant had probably fallen victim first. That afternoon, he had inexplicably said he was bringing someone in for an interview. Who could have guessed it would be Qin Ke, who suddenly started getting handsy with Cheng Yu right there in the office?

What happened afterward was hard to explain. He felt as though he had been bewitched. He wouldn't say he had treated Qin Ke particularly well, but in the blink of an eye, they had become friends.

Then Qin Ke hinted that they should go out for a meal together, constantly finding ways to increase their physical contact throughout. After that, Cheng Yu had naturally started defending him as a good friend, and had even snapped at Star...

He just didn't know why Qin Ke had been asking about his company's projects. What, was he trying to steal confidential information? At the thought, Cheng Yu clicked his tongue in disgust. How vile.

Strangely enough, why had he felt that inexplicable dislike toward Star back then?

He told An Shi about this discovery. After thinking for a moment, An Shi suspected that the emotion had been transmitted by Qin Ke.

Qin Ke was the one who hated Lin Xingye.

"Xingye, are you okay?" Only once they got home did Xu Chen dare to draw him aside and sit down for a quiet talk.

He seemed very off, as though he lived entirely in his own world, not saying a word.

With his head lowered, he shook it slightly, then got up and returned to his room. "...Don't worry."

Xu Chen watched him go. After hesitating for a long time, he decided not to follow. Perhaps Lin Xingye just wanted to be alone for a while.

Heaven knew how shocked he had been when he heard the news. He had thought Lin Xingye was merely going out to eat with An Shi, so he hadn't gone along. Then a friend he had worked with suddenly messaged him.

His boss had gotten into a fight.

He had assumed it was Lin Xingmo and found that strange. After all, Lin Xingmo had left early that morning for another province to deal with an urgent company matter.

Who would have thought his friend meant Lin Xingye?

And the person he had beaten up was Cheng Yu.

There was so much wrong with that that Xu Chen didn't even know which part to be shocked by first.

He sighed deeply. He should tell Father Lin and Mother Lin about it first. Perhaps talking to his family would help.

For some reason, he kept feeling that Lin Xingye had been avoiding him lately.

It didn't seem to be because he disliked him. Rather, it was as though he was afraid of something.

Inside the room, Lin Xingye leaned quietly beside the door, staring blankly ahead.

So that was how it worked.

No wonder Qin Ke had flirted with so many people in his previous life, and all of them had been willing to adore him. It turned out they had all been stripped of their "souls" and turned into his puppets.

But that didn't explain it. It didn't explain it at all. Why had he targeted the Lin Family?

What did their family have? Why had Qin Ke made him lose everything instead of simply killing him?

This realization weighed on his chest like a massive boulder, as though he were the source of all evil, as though he had brought ruin upon everyone he loved.

He knew he shouldn't think that way. This clearly wasn't his fault, but he couldn't stop blaming himself.

If he hadn't existed, would they all have been spared...?

He hugged himself tightly, his entire body ice-cold.

"Why..."

He sank deep into it, as though boundless darkness had replaced everything around him, and there was nothing he could do.

He crouched there, quietly listening as the sound of his heartbeat grew clearer.

Until it seemed to be the only sound left in the world.

Memories of his previous life flooded his mind. He struggled to recall exactly what Qin Ke had done, and whether he had ever slipped up.

Qin Ke seemed like a very calculating person, but sometimes he could be seen making extremely stupid little mistakes.

It was as though someone clever was guiding him from behind the scenes, while he was merely carrying out their instructions.

Who could it be?

Were they human?

His gaze turned cold and sinister. If they weren't human... how could he deal with them?

That was another difficult question, but it no longer mattered to him.

He braced himself against the wall and stood, then walked into the bathroom. Seeing that he was drenched in sweat, he took off his shirt.

He moved closer, tracing the contours of his collarbone down to his chest with his fingers.

There had once been a deep scar here.

Li Hanwen had left it when he beat him in his previous life.

It had clearly been deliberate assault. How could it have been brushed aside just like that?

Xu Chen had apparently been disfigured while trying to save him. He still remembered breaking down in tears then, sobbing that he wanted to divorce Li Hanwen, that he didn't care about the assets or anything else anymore.

He only wanted them to be okay.

Yet even such a simple wish had been impossible to fulfill.

Li Hanwen had been like a demon whispering in his ear, uttering a chilling curse. "I'll torment you forever and ever. Don't even think about escaping."

Until, in the end, no one remained by his side.

Aunt Liu had aged beyond recognition by then. The doctor had secretly told him that she had spent her whole life toiling away, that her body was plagued by illnesses and pain that could no longer be treated.

She lived in agony day and night, clinging to life and dragging herself out of bed every day to care for his mother. He couldn't begin to describe how guilty he felt toward her.

Aunt Liu had been with his mother since childhood. Every night, he heard her murmuring softly beside his mother, "Ah Qin, if you go, I really won't be able to hold on either..."

"Star... he needs you."

He slammed his fist into the wall so hard that blood instantly appeared on his hand. "Why! Why! Why me!"

Punch after punch, as though he could feel no pain.

Until the pain left him unable to raise his hand again.

Those images mingled and echoed through his mind. Suddenly, a fragment of memory surfaced.

The rich young man Qin Ke had hooked up with had challenged Qi Sijing to a car race after a banquet. Qi Sijing had declared that if he won, he would bring the person he loved most home with him.

People had said Qi Sijing had been in a terrible mood during that period, as though he had suffered a breakup, only to suddenly say something like that that day.

He had also had a huge fight with his grandfather. Apparently, he wanted to marry a man, and everyone had assumed he meant Qin Ke.

A few days before the wedding, on the day of the race, Qi Sijing had sent him a message asking whether he wanted to leave with him.

He had been confused at the time. Then Li Hanwen had suddenly entered the room, and he had put his phone facedown and forgotten to reply.

By the time he sent another message to ask what Qi Sijing meant, no reply would ever come.

On the day of the race, the man competing against him had acted like a lunatic, suddenly ramming Qi Sijing's car and flipping it over. Qi Sijing had spent more than half a year in a hospital bed.

He had been unconscious for a long time and had nearly died.

The only reason he hadn't lost any limbs was that the Qi Family had done everything in their power to save him.

But apparently, he had still been left with many injuries that would never heal.

A terrifying possibility occurred to him.

Had Qi Sijing originally intended to come and steal him away from the wedding?

And could Qin Ke know what they were planning to do?

His phone chimed.

[Little Star~ A friend invited me to a car race today. It's starting soon. Want to come watch your big brother~?]

Lin Xingye's hand jerked. His phone struck the floor, its screen shattering before going black.

He stood frozen, feeling as though the entire world were against him.

"Fuck."

Without caring how drenched he was, Lin Xingye pulled on a shirt and dashed outside.

Even if it was only this once, he had to make it in time. He had to save him.

Qi Sijing, you lunatic, please, please,

Please be okay!