Qin Mubai clenched his fingers almost numbly until the stitches on his hand, where he had been bitten, burst open, and large patches of thick blood slid down his palm.
He seemed oblivious, flipping through Nan Qing's notebook again and again, his mind filled with only a tear-stained face.
That period was a complete upheaval for Qin Mubai, who was always composed and a role model for his peers.
His unspoken desires, his filthy and sinful love, nearly drowned him every night.
He longed to see him.
He was also afraid to see him.
He didn't know how to face him, nor did he know how to face himself.
He might be sick, or he might be insane.
That's why they are so rebellious.
At his most carefree moment, he watched as the other person stood smiling in front of him, sharing the interesting things that had happened to them recently, bright and radiant.
But he was so dark that all he wanted was to strip the other person naked and fall into that endless, ever-inverted, and decadent dream with him.
It was as if he was in the final stages of some kind of mental illness; he had to work very hard to control himself and not reveal the slightest hint of it.
But that night, as he masturbated while calling his name, the sound of knocking on the door, accompanied by his voice, rushed into his mind in a panic.
Qin Mubai was driven to the brink of extinction by his own despicable actions.
But he still put on his clothes and went out, looking impeccably dressed. Looking at that somewhat panicked face, he muttered that he had been having nightmares again and wanted to sleep with him.
Qin Mubai was in a state of utter confusion and panic.
For the first time, he lost his composure, harshly refusing the other party before hurriedly closing the door.
He couldn't explain what was hidden beneath those seemingly ordinary black trousers.
And it also prevented him from seeing his filthy room.
He is a guilty man and does not deserve to live under the sun like everyone else.
It was almost like an escape. After settling things behind him, he took the fastest plane abroad and half a year passed in the blink of an eye.
He could only see her figure repeatedly in the Bai Family's public surveillance cameras, or from Bai Yanxiu's side.
In the silent night, drops of blood rolled down, forming a small river on the carpet beneath their feet.
Qin Mubai closed his eyes, his neck taut.
All the evil deeds I have committed in the past were due to beginningless anger, ignorance, and greed.
He made a mistake; he harbored evil intentions.
If Heaven truly intends to punish, then it should punish him.
Instead of his young and naive Qingqing, he wanted to share these pains with him.
After an unknown amount of time, a soft sigh finally came from the room.
He is willing to spend his entire life atoning for the crimes he committed.
-
There is a hidden compartment in Nan Qing's room, a secret known only to Nan Qing and Qin Mubai.
Behind the bedside table, moving a few common decorative items in the room will create a partition.
When he was little, Nan Qing was fond of eating and playing, and he would hide his treasured toys and food here. Later, probably because he found it too troublesome, Nan Qing never opened it again.
She didn't dwell on or talk to him about this secret base.
Qin Mubai wiped his hands clean, tossing clumps of filthy blood along with tissues into the trash can. Making sure his palms were free of any other stains, he then opened the hidden compartment.
The contents inside were somewhat cluttered.
There was a toy car with chipped paint, a yellowed crystal ball, a few scattered notebooks, and a suitcase at the bottom.
Wooden, dark color, with a lock on it.
Qin Mubai paused for a second, then carefully picked it up and opened it.
The neatly stacked consecutively numbered cash had long since vanished, not to mention the property and vehicle contracts; the keys were gone, as were several bank cards of different colors.
The empty suitcase contained only a small USB flash drive.
The USB drive was plugged into the powered-on laptop, containing an audio file encoded with the date. Qin Mubai realized something, his Adam's apple bobbed rapidly, and his hand trembled as he clicked the mouse.
" Nan Qing is really going too far! Our family treats him so well, what could he possibly be dissatisfied with?"
"How did I bring back such an ungrateful wretch? I used to treat him so well, what a scoundrel!"
" Ruanruan is a very patient and kind-hearted child. He has been bullied by Nan Qing so many times, but he only broke his arm and suffered a great injustice this time before he finally snapped. It's already quite remarkable."
"That bastard is truly ungrateful; it seems that having no blood relation is no good. I've wanted to send him packing his things away for a while now—but then there's Xiao Mu..."
The call started, and the background noise disappeared.
A transoceanic phone call spanned half the globe; the arrogant accusations soon turned into cautious inquiries, and finally, the voice on the other end grew impatient.
" Xiao Mu, Dad knows you've always doted on him, you grew up with him, but this kid is just too unruly!"
"We wouldn't have needed another bite to eat or another pair of chopsticks, but he went too far! He pushed Ruanruan off the third floor. Ruanruan's head was covered in blood, and her fingers were shattered. She'll never be able to play the piano again..."
"He was switched at birth all these years and grew up outside. Our whole family owes him a debt and should treat him better. But look what this bastard has done! He's going to drive me crazy!!!"
" Xiao Mu, Ruanruan is kind-hearted. He doesn't want us to pursue Nan Qing's mistakes; he just doesn't want to live in the same house with Nan Qing anymore. After he was found and brought back from outside, he only made this one request to me and your father, and under these circumstances, your father and I really couldn't bring ourselves to refuse..."
" Nan Qing's child is not your father's or my biological child, and has no blood relation to you and Yanxiu whatsoever. All these years he has lived a life of luxury and carefree in our family, we have already done more than enough for him."
"Your mother and I have already discussed it and decided that Nan Qing will leave the Bai Family. He's 22 years old now, not a child anymore. Our two families were originally strangers, and we've fulfilled our parental obligations over the years. We haven't done anything to wrong him!"
" Xiao Mu, we plan to have him leave as soon as possible. Do you have any thoughts on this?"
A long, drawn-out silence filled the recording, the air itself seeming deathly still.
After what seemed like an eternity, a somewhat hoarse male voice finally came from the other end of the phone, its tone exceptionally low.
"I see."
That was his last MECT procedure abroad. The effects of the anesthetic and muscle relaxants left him somewhat disoriented. The treatment required fasting, and he hadn't eaten or drunk anything. But at that moment, hearing the angry accusations on the phone made him feel even more nauseous.
Why is it that such a well-behaved and obedient child who stays by his side is now universally condemned and considered beyond redemption?