14.1 - 14.8

When he received the call from the traffic police, Xue Rui couldn't recover for a long time.

"Are you saying Zhao Yin drove my adopted son's car and hit someone, and he is now in the hospital? What about my adopted son?"

"We are also looking for him at the moment, but his phone has been turned off all this time." The young traffic police officer said in a harsh tone, "Please take him to the bureau as soon as possible to assist in the investigation. You must know that even though the driver is not him, his car has hit someone, so he has to bear joint responsibility."

Just as he finished talking, another traffic police officer rushed over and said, "We have thoroughly verified it, Huang Yi did not lend this car to Zhao Yin. It is Zhao Yin who stole the car while Huang Yi entered a store to buy things. 110 received a call from Huang Yi reporting the theft. The call was made just four hours prior. That store has also provided their security footage. It recorded the entire process of Zhao Yin stealing the car."

[T/N: 110 is the police number in China.]

Hearing this, the young traffic police officer looked a little embarrassed, and said into the receiver: "Mr. Xue, I'm really sorry about just now. After investigating, we found out that your adopted son, Huang Yi, has nothing to do with this matter, but please still bring him over to the bureau. After all, he is the owner of the car."

"Okay, I will contact [him]." Xue Rui hung up and immediately dialed the teenager's mobile phone number. As soon as the document was signed, the planned car accident was moved forward, and the person he had bribed in advance was injured. No matter how you looked at it, this matter was quite extraordinary. Xue Rui called several times but the call never went through. An ominous premonition rose in his heart.

At the same time, Xue Zi Xuan was also calling the teenager. The pre-recorded message of "the phone number you dialed is turned off" made him more distraught. He picked up his car key on the table and planned to go home, but he didn't expect the assistant to push open the door and come in to hand him an envelope. "President Xue, this document specified that it should be delivered to you. Do you want to take a look?"

"I'm don't have time." Xue Zi Xuan waved his hand and rejected it, but as he passed by, he caught a glimpse of the words on the envelope, and suddenly stopped.

"Where is the person who delivered this letter?" He took the envelope and anxiously asked about the bold cursive calligraphy on the letter. It was a hundred percent Xiao Yi's handwriting.

"They already left. It's from Zhongtong Express. The guard has their registration. I will check it for you." Before the assistant had finished speaking, the vice president had already run out in pursuit.

Of course Xue Zi Xuan knew that he could not catch up to the person at this time. He was flustered and at the same time very confused. What can Xiao Yi not say [to him]? Why must he send him a letter? And his phone was turned off too. What did he plan to do?

Xue Zi Xuan's scalp was numb. He hardly dared to think too deeply about the cause. While waiting for the elevator, he opened the envelope and found that there was a memory card and a sheet of paper inside. There were not many words written on the sheet of paper, only a simple sentence — All members of the Xue family are sincerely invited to watch the contents of the memory card, respectfully Huang Yi.

What content? Why invite the while family to watch? Xue Zi Xuan paced back and forth in the cramped elevator like a trapped beast. His handsome face was completely distorted because of his anxiety, and he looked scary and anxious.

The elevator arrived at the first floor. He made a few more calls, but got the same pre-recorded message, so he could only contact Xue Rui.

"Where did you send Xiao Yi off to?" His voice was low and full of viciousness.

"What are you talking about? How would I know where he went? Aren't you and him attached at the hip?" Xue Rui was still pretending to be stupid. He did not plan to go to the Transportation Bureau. He only sent his assistant to assess the situation. Right now, he also really wanted to know where did Huang Yi that little bastard go.

Xue Zi Xuan was about to ask, but he carelessly glanced over at the LED screen in the lobby, which was playing the scene of the car accident. He was all too familiar with the dilapidated red supercar.

For an instant, his blood froze and his body was unstable. If it were not for a staff member who saw that he was about to faint and kindly supported him, he might have collapsed to the floor on the spot.

"President Xue, is your situation serious? How about I take you to the hospital?"

"Yes, go to the hospital, I want to go to the hospital." He brushed off the staff member, staggered a few steps, and then ran towards the parking lot like crazy.

While he started up the engine of the car, he called the traffic control department and asked about the accident. The operator didn't know the situation either. He heard that he was the brother of the car owner and immediately asked him to go to the hospital to look for the [injured] person.

Xue Zi Xuan rushed to the hospital as quickly as possible, and happened to run into Xue Rui's assistant at the gate. The assistant saw him, and like a mouse that saw a cat, he went up the stairs and did not even dare to take the elevator.

Xue Zi Xuan gave him a cold look, ignored him, and went straight to the operating room on the top floor.

The police officer in charge of the traffic accident naturally knew the famous pianist. When he saw the pale-faced man coming in with large strides, he hurriedly took him to a vacant ward to talk.

"Where is Xiao Yi? How is he?" Xue Zi Xuan's voice trembled. He dared not think about anything on the way [to the hospital], because the more he thought about it, the more afraid he would be. He could not bear to lose the teenager again.

"What? Didn't your father tell you? The person who drove the car was not Huang Yi. Four hours ago, your driver Zhao Yin stole his car. After driving around the city for two hours, he collided with a Maybach. Right now, both of them are in the operating room."

"The one driving was not Xiao Yi?" Xue Zi Xuan slowly sat down on a hospital bed and asked in a muted voice, "Then where did he go?"

The traffic police officer waved his hand helplessly: "We have to ask you guys that question. We have no way of knowing. Or you can swing by the police station to have a look? Maybe he went there to report [the theft] to the police."

"Okay, I'll go right away, thank you." Xue Zi Xuan stood up to leave, but the traffic police officer stopped him.

"Hey, don't leave yet. The car belongs to Huang Yi. As one of his guardians, you have to stay and assist in the investigation. When the family members of the owner of the Maybach arrive, you have to negotiate with them. Zhao Yin's family members are all out of town and will not be here until tomorrow. You guys are the vehicle owner and the employer, you must show your face [in the negotiations]."

Seeing the man's irascible expression, the traffic police officer placated: "Don't worry. You* won't be held responsible if the stolen car hits someone. Just talk to the victim's family, otherwise they will clamor to talk to you, and we would still have to go look for you [and bring you back]. Why waste time?"

[*T/N: The plural "you" is being used here to refer to the Xue family and Huang Yi.]

Just as the traffic police officer finished talking, there was a loud noise outside. Another police officer came in and urged: "Team Liu, the victim's family is here and they are crying outside. Quickly, go and see [them]."

Before the traffic police officer could open his mouth to respond, Xue Zi Xuan pushed open the door and went out. He saw the middle-aged woman in a luxurious dress, but her hair was in a mess. He froze on the spot.

"Who is the owner of the Maybach?" His eyes gradually became bloodshot. Only at this moment did he realize that this was probably not a genuine accident, but a man-made car accident. He recognized this woman, and her husband was the culprit who killed Xiao Yi's parents.

In the last life, Xue Yan had ruined them. In this life, he originally planned to avenge Xiao Yi, but he hadn't had time yet.

Of all the people that Zhao Yin could have crashed into, he specifically rammed into Xiao Yi's enemy? Was there such a coincidence in this world? He couldn't help but recall the scene of Xiao Yi using the PSP to control the car on the winding highway after he remodeled it. He vaguely inferred the truth in his heart. The police officer's answer made him even more certain that this accident was Xiao Yi's doing.

Xue Zi Xuan had planned to immediately rush to the police station, but he ended up staying. He sat down on the cold bench and waited. He had to deal with the aftermath of Xiao Yi's actions. Whether Xiao Yi had planned the car accident or not, he had to make it into a pure accident.

The assistant who climbed up to the top floor saw that the vice president was still there, so he didn't dare to step forward.

"Go back and tell Xue Rui that at eight o' clock this evening, I will wait for him at home. If he wants the Xue consortium to go bankrupt, then he can refuse to come." Xue Zi Xuan touched the memory card in his pocket. His expression was a cold front, a portent of the storm to come.

The assistant nodded repeatedly, not daring to ask more.

Xue Zi Xuan took out his cell phone again and texted Xue Li Dan Ni and Xue Jing Yi. He never went against Xiao Yi's wishes, even if he wanted to hang a knife above his head, he would not avoid it. He wanted everyone in the Xue family to see the contents of this memory card. Then let's see it.

Thinking about this, he pressed his hand above his heart, only to feel a sudden pain in his chest.

Mrs. Hu learned that the red supercar belonged to the adopted son of the Xue family. She came over aggressively ready to unleash a wave of criticism, but before she could open her mouth, the young man's reddened and extremely hostile eyes gave her a fright.

"Before trying to interrogate others, you better ask yourself if your husband is completely innocent? Maybe his suffering right now is all due to retribution." Xue Zi Xuan said in a low voice. Then he got up and went to the stairwell for a smoke.

His hands trembled as he lit the cigarette. He took a firm drag of the cigarette. Then, without a care for his image, he sat down at the top of the stairs and fished out his phone to give the teenager a call.

After the call automatically hung up, he called again and again. The mechanical beeping [of the ended call] echoed again and again. It made him flustered for no reason.

If he didn't have to be here to deal with the aftermath of the teenager's actions, he would have desperately rushed out to look for him. His nerves have been pushed to the limit and were about to collapse.

Two hours later, both Zhao Yin and Hu Dong were out of danger. However, it was like an unspoken pact was made, the former had to amputate his left leg, and the latter had to amputate his right leg, resulting in a life-long disability for both men.

Mrs. Hu cried bitterly. While crying she heaped verbal abuse upon Zhao, and would stare at Xue Zi Xuan with hatred from time to time. After hearing that the two men would wake up tomorrow, Xue Zi Xuan left without saying a word. When he passed by Mrs. Hu, he didn't even bother to look at her directly, never mind offering any words of comfort.

When Xiao Yi's parents were crushed under Hu Dong's wheels over and over again, he should have known that such a day would come sooner or later. Moreover, it was just an amputated leg. Compared with his previous life, he was considered lucky, better than being jailed. In the end, he was beaten to death by the other convicts. When Xue Yan did things, he would never leave the other person any leeway.

Xue Zi Xuan stopped the traffic police officer and inquired softly, "Can I see the video of when the car was stolen?"

"No problem, you can go to the bureau with me," the traffic police officer nodded in agreement.

The group of people went to the Transportation Bureau and pulled up the video provided by the shopkeeper and the public video on the roadside for viewing. The picture was not clear, but the juvenile's delicate and extraordinary looks were highly recognizable. He was wearing a set of leisurewear that didn't fit very well, and carrying a black backpack. He walked slowly into the shop.

With a psp in his hand, he casually fiddled with it while looking at the shelves. When he reached the beverage area, he took a bottle of mineral water and walked to the counter to pay the bill. He glanced outside when he paid, and then dropped the mineral water and rushed out quickly.

The video from the shop only recorded the incident up to here. The traffic police then put on the video from the road and continued to broadcast. A red supercar whizzed away at high speed. The teenager jumped angrily. Under the urging of the people nearby, he picked up his phone and called the police.

Everything matched up with the information sent back by 110. The youth really had nothing to do with the car accident. As for his whereabouts, it was probable that he was angry and afraid after losing the car and didn't want to go home.

"That is all of the recorded footage." The traffic police officer closed the web page and comforted, "These are enough to prove Huang Yi's innocence. You should find him as soon as possible and make it clear to him that he is not responsible for this matter, and that there is no need to be afraid."

"Okay, thank you." Xue Zi Xuan said goodbye to the police officers. Only when he returned to his car did he reveal an anxious expression.

Others didn't know the inside story, but he knew clearly that the psp in Xiao Yi's hand was used to control the sports car. It could control the sports car on the rugged winding mountain road for over hundreds of kilometers, so naturally it could also make the car crash into Hu Dong.

The question now was if the police dismantled and inspected the vehicle, would they find some clue? Would they find out about the old grudges between Hu Dong and Huang Yi, and then doubt him?

Xue Zi Xuan took out a cigarette and lit it. He smoked fiercely while thinking about how to deal with this matter. He must not let Xiao Yi go to jail. Even if Xiao Yi punched a hole into the sky, he still had to find a way to fill the hole at all costs.

He finished up the cigarette in a short time and extinguished the cigarette butt. He drove quickly away from the Transportation Bureau. On the road, he made calls non-stop. He was going to use all of his connections [to cover this up]. He also did not forget to tell the bodyguards to look for Xiao Yi everywhere.

By eight o' clock in the evening, Xiao Yi was still not found. Xue Zi Xuan dragged his tired body back to the Xue manor, and found Xue Rui, Xue Li Dan Ni, and Xue Jing Yi sitting in the living room.

"What do you need us for? Don't always threaten to destroy the company. My patience is limited." Xue Rui's face was ashen.

"Brother, I heard from the housekeeper that Xiao Yi is missing? Did you find him?" The thing that Xue Jing Yi cared the most about was her heart.

Xue Li Dan Ni sipped her coffee. Her elegant but slightly trembling fingertips revealed her inner tension. Zhao Yin crashed into someone. She was worried that the police would find evidence of murder in the Xue family if they followed the trail. Thinking about this, it looked like she was going to suffer from insomnia tonight. However, she didn't know that she might not have the chance to return to that magnificent home tonight.

Xue Zi Xuan turned on the computer without saying a word, inserted the memory card into the port, and slowly said, "This is something Xiao Yi sent, and it is for the whole family to watch."

At this point, he felt his heart squeezing again. He sat as far away from the rest of the Xue family as possible and watched quietly.

The boy was playing the piano on and off. The tune was indiscernible. Then he approached the camera and said goodbye to everyone. His one sentence, "I'm leaving," made Xue Zi Xuan's breathing stop.

Only at this moment did the intermittent piano notes link together to form a short and exciting melody. It was "Assassin in the Wind", a track composed by Sears for the legendary heroic assassin Mandela. He lurked beside the enemies for revenge, cutting their throats one by one with a sharp dagger. This was a song full of hatred, mockery, and murder. The teenager used his slender fingertips to strike the accents [of the song]. The sharp notes pierced into Xue Zi Xuan's chest like a short blade, whipping his heart into a mass of ground meat.

His guess was correct. The reason why the teenager could not play emotional music was not because he had no talent, but because he had never opened his heart to them. On this earth, who in his right mind would open up his heart to a group of people who intended to murder him?

When the teenager played this song of revenge, the intense desire to commit murder and cold loathing were enough to paralyze the hearts of the audience. He didn't lack emotion at all. It was just that he would not waste emotions on irrelevant people.

It started with murder, these four words destroyed Xue Zi Xuan's will and soul. Amidst the heart-piercing pain, he suddenly realized that the teenager had never loved him in both lifetimes.

Whether it was in the previous life or in this life, the teenager knew that their relationship began with murderous intentions. From start to finish, everything was a mistake.

From the moment he first saw Xue Jing Yi, he had already seen through everything. Then what place did he have in his heart? A tool that could be exploited? Or perhaps a murderer?

Thinking up to here, the taste of fishy sweetness bubbled up in Xue Zi Xuan's throat, and then he chuckled lowly. His laughter was full of bitterness. That's right, no matter whom he fell in love with he absolutely could not fall in love with a murderer. This love made him feel fear and dread, so he did not dare to accept it.

The fact that the teenager once exploited him could never compare to [the pain of] the teenager fearing him. This made Xue Zi Xuan despair even more. This was despair deeper than the one he felt in his previous life. The more he understood how the teenager must have been feeling uneasy and tiptoeing around extremely cautiously while living in the Xue manor, the more he could not let go [of his negative feelings].

Xue Zi Xuan thought that being reborn would change everything, but it turned out that they were doomed from the beginning. How could he ignore Xiao Yi's brilliant intelligence? How could he think that with his wit he would not even be able to see through the plotting of the Xue family? Was he, Xue Zi Xuan, too stupid, or was he simply too afraid to entertain the thought?

Xue Zi Xuan slowly covered his face that was twisted by despair, and cried silently.

However, after the video was over, the computer was still running and automatically played one audio clip after another. Xue Zi Xuan had to suppress the endless fear in his heart and listen carefully.

After the audio clips came to an end, he quickly took out the memory card and put it into the safe that he had already changed the password for. Then he turned around to look at the three people who were sitting in a daze.

He knew that they were planning to murder Xiao Yi, but he didn't know that they were so ruthless. They planned to hide drugs in Xiao Yi's bag, call the police to catch, and then bring in the media to publicize the matter, thus completely stigmatizing Xiao Yi as an addict. After Xiao Yi's reputation deteriorated and his credibility hit rock bottom, they would conceal drugs in Xiao Yi's car, and have him drive off a cliff and die on the spot.

What a good scheme. With the public believing Xiao Yi to be a drug addict and then planting drugs in his car, no one would think that it was premeditated murder. Blinded by preconceived notions, the police would think that it was a car accident caused by Xiao Yi overdosing on drugs.

So cruel, so poisonous! Such a poisonous strategy was actually planned by a seventeen-year-old girl. From listening to the audio files, the truth came to light. Xue Jing Yi not only proposed a general idea, but she also personally perfected every detail.

If it weren't for concern about damaging the health of the heart, Xue Jing Yi originally planned to lure Xiao Yi into taking drugs, but after pondering it a bit more, she changed it to having him consume a drugged beverage before the accident.

This was a double insurance. Even if the car wasn't tampered with, Xiao yi, with his brain muddled by drugs, would still drive off a cliff and die on the spot.

Xue Zi Xuan could hardly imagine how Xiao Yi must have felt when he heard these audios. No wonder he walked away so straightforwardly. No wonder he showed no quarter to Zhao Yin.

He might never come back [to Xue Zi Xuan] in this lifetime. He hated everyone in the Xue family, including Xue Zi Xuan. Like an assassin in the wind, he would cut through the enemies' throats one by one with a dagger that shone with cold light, and then disappear into the wind without a trace.

Thinking of this, Xue Zi Xuan suddenly shed two lines of tears. Right now, he was in deep despair. It was so painful that he did not want to live. He felt so helpless. It was an unprecedented feeling of helplessness.

If he could, Xue Zi Xuan wished that he could destroy this magnificent mansion, destroy everyone present, and finally destroy himself. Then everything could be reset again. But that was just wishful thinking, so he could only pick up the phone and make the right choice.

By the time Xue Rui regained his senses and wanted to snatch the memory card, it was too late. His son had already locked the memory card in the safe. He rushed to input the password into the safe, but he forgot that Xue Manor was no longer his territory. The servants, rooms, and facilities here have all been changed anew. He had no way of removing the evidence from within the safe.

"Scram!" Xue Zi Xuan kicked him away. His eyes were red with hatred. They ruined his last life, and they ruined his present life. Just when would it all come to an end? If he could, he really wanted to return all the blood in his body to the Xue family, and use it in exchange for his teenager.

"Zi Xuan, please don't call the police! If you call the police, our family will be ruined. I still have to go on stage to perform in the future, and your younger sister still has to attend school. She has just received the acceptance letter from the Curtis Institute of Music. She has a great future. Zi Xuan, Mother is begging you!" Xue Li Dan Ni also regained her senses and threw herself at her son's feet to beseech him.

She was really frightened. She never thought that Huang Yi could have compiled such a comprehensive collection of their criminal evidence. Did he wiretap them? How could he have this know how? Could it be that her son helped him? But then looking at her son's reaction, it did not seem to be the case.

As someone who had disregarded Huang Yi from the start, she could not have known how cunning and talented he was. He only needed to implant a small software into their mobile phones to monitor their calls. And he could activate the recording function of their phones at any time, turning their phones into an undetectable monitoring device that would not disturb their phone conversations.

This little software worked twenty-four hours a day. Not only did it record their conspiratorial conversations, it also recorded the sound of their snoring at night. Even when the phone was turned off, it could still function as normal.

Xue Jing Yi realized that some of the recorded audio clips were of her phone calls with Fu Bo. She immediately opened up her phone case, but she did not detect anything that might be a monitoring device. She saw her father unable to get up after being kicked by her brother, her mother kneeling and begging, and her brother calling 110 without any hesitation. Only then did she startle and rush over with a scream.

"Brother, isn't Xiao Yi unharmed? He left. We won't hurt him anymore. Just forgive us! We are a family! Brother, did you forget how close we were when we were young? You said you would take care of me for a lifetime…" Xue Zi Xuan squeezed her throat before she could finish speaking.

"Xiao Yi is fine, so that means you guys can be forgiven for hurting him?"

Xue Li Dan Ni knocked his phone out of his hand. Just as he was about to bend over to pick up his phone, Xue Jing Yi gripped onto him firmly.

In an instant, his hatred shot up to the sky. He squeezed Xue Jing Yi's neck tightly, wanting to send this woman who ruined two lifetimes for him to hell. He already knew that it was hard to change her essential nature. Since he already knew that, he should have just killed her as soon as he opened his eyes in this lifetime.

His fingers tightened even more, and Xue Jing Yi's face turned from pale to purple and black. She was on the brink of death.

Xue Li Dan Ni kicked the phone far away and turned back to beat against her son's arm. Xue Rui staggered upright and went over to help out. The four of them scuffled together, knocking over cups and plates, and overturning tables. The housekeeper was so shocked that he did not dare to approach.

"I can't forgive you. I can't forgive a single one of you." Xue Zi Xuan roared like a beast. He let go, a second away from crushing Xue Jing Yi's windpipe.

He opened his hand and stared at his palm. It was whole and intact, without the hideous scar from his previous life. But the scar still remained in his heart, engraved in his soul. That scar was an honor, a medal, and a sign of his gratefulness. It was the one thing that he did right.

If he killed Xue Jing Yi, the blood of sin would stain this honor. He had said that in this life, he was willing to become a better version of himself for Xiao Yi, and he could not break his promise.

He came back to his senses from the cloud of anger. He threw Xue Jing Yi and Xue Li Dan Ni aside, and then bent over to pick up his cell phone. But then he felt the cold barrel of a gun pressed against his temple.

"Give me the memory card!" Xue Rui snapped.

Xue Rui should have remembered it sooner, but he had hidden a pistol under the coffee table of the living room, just in case.

Xue Zi Xuan picked up his cell phone and got up slowly. Xue Li Dan Ni and Xue Jing Yi crawled to a position far away from the two of them and watched silently. They didn't want to go to jail, so they had to get this memory card by all means.

"Do you think that Xiao Yi only has this one memory card? You think he only sent it to me alone? Xue Rui, when did you become so naïve?" Xue Zi Xuan chuckled lowly and continued to dial the number on his phone without any regard to the threat aimed at him.

Xue Rui's expression was malevolent. Of course he knew that Huang Yi has more than this memory card. He had collected so much evidence of their crimes and yet he did not report it to the police. Instead, he went missing. Wasn't it all just for money? Didn't he send the card to the Xue family just to shock them? Xue Rui was sure that within a few hours Huang Yi would call back to blackmail them for a lot of money.

When the time came, Xue Rui could deal with Huang Yi slowly. He would hire people to cut the weed and pull out its roots, eliminating Huang Yi completely.

He had originally intended to let Huang Yi die comfortably, but that boy just had to choose a life of living hell. So what could Xue Rui do? In this world, there were simply too many people who did not know what was good for them!

But the biggest problem now was how to stop this stubborn, one-tracked mind son of his.

Xue Rui pushed the barrel of the gun against his son's temple and said sharply, "Put down the phone and give me the memory card!"

Xue Zi Xuan heard him, but deliberately ignored him. The number had already been dialed. He opened his mouth to speak, but then he heard a "click" sound. It turned out that Xue Rui had actually pulled the trigger in panic.

Xue Li Dan Ni and Xue Jing Yi screamed, only to realize that there were no bullets in the gun, and they immediately collapsed onto the floor in a heap. Xue Rui was also paralyzed. Just then, it was like he had been possessed. If there had been bullets in the gun, then he would be a murderer. He would have killed his son with his own hands.

Xue Zi Xuan already knew that there were no bullets in the gun. Xiao Yi had a strong sense of curiosity. Naturally, Xue Zi Xuan would not let him touch something so dangerous, but he never expected that his father would actually pull the trigger. It reminded him of his last life. For exoneration, his father pushed all the blame onto Xue Jing Yi, and later had his mother bear most of the charges for him.

Xue Rui was such a selfish person. He did everything for himself. Sure enough, there was no good person in his family. Sooner or later, they would destroy all the good things in life.

Xue Zi Xuan's vision was red. He heard an anxious voice from the other end of the phone, and he slowly said: "Hello, I want to report something to the police. My father, mother, and sister intend to join forces to murder my brother, and now my brother is missing. Please, can you help me find him?" He gave the manor's address, and the person on the other end of the line said that there would be police officers there soon.

"What nonsense are you saying? Huang Yi left. Nothing happened to him. We didn't murder him at all!" Xue Rui rushed to grab the phone.

Xue Zi Xuan kicked him away. Then he called and had the security company that he was working with send a few people over to watch Xue Rui and his party.

The bodyguards came quickly and they escorted the frightened Xue Li Dan Ni and Xue Jing Yi to the guest room on the second floor.

Xue Rui was sitting in the living room. There was another bodyguard with a gun trained to Xue Rui's head.

Xue Zi Xuan took out the memory card from the safe and cut out the clip of Xiao Yi's farewell to save to another disk. He wanted to save it for himself. He didn't want to give it to the police.

He stared at the disk in a daze. After a long while, he said in a low voice: "Did you think that Xiao Yi sent the evidence back for extortion? You were wrong. He didn't take any valuables when he left. He only had the set of clothes that he wore when he first came to our house. He disdains our family for being dirty, and anything from our family would dirty his hands."

Xue Rui was sweating profusely and echoed: "Yes, we were wrong. We shouldn't hurt him. He is a good kid. Son, your father begs you. Seeing as how we've raised you for so long, how about you just let us go? When you get Huang Yi back, if you want to come out of the closet then you can come out of the closet. If you want to get married then you can get married. We won't interfere. Before the police comes, destroy that memory card, then everyone can live together in harmony and pass our days happily. There's no need to push things to this point. Zi Xuan, your dad is begging you!"

"I let you go, but who will let Xiao Yi go?" Xue Zi Xuan suddenly stood up and shouted, "If he didn't notice your schemes, what were you guys going to do? Plot against him even more? Have him fall off a cliff? Dig out his heart? Who's going to let him go? Who's going to let him go?"

Xue Zi Xuan vented his emotions on the things in the living room, breaking them without restraint. He did not even know when the tears had started streaming down his face. He was about to crumble and fall apart.

He roared at Xue Rui until Xue Rui was almost like a cicada in the winter. Stiff. Even the bodyguard's hand, which held a gun, shook. He had never seen an employer get so angry that they lost control like this. It was as if his employer would go insane in the next second.

But Xue Zi Xuan was not crazy at all. He must find his beloved teenager, and he must deal with the aftermath of the car accident. These murderers also had to be dealt with. He stepped over a piece of broken debris and sat on the sofa. His eyes fell upon his wristwatch.

It only took a little over an hour for the police to drive up to the front door of the Xue manor. Taking the memory card with Xiao Yi's good-bye edited out, Xue Zi Xuan gave it to the police officer in charge of the case and played the files for them.

Like this, the police would not know that it was Xiao Yi who had collected all this evidence. Instead, they would only think that the teenager found out about the truth, got scared, and then ran away. In this way, the teenager could completely stay out of the matter.

The police questioned the source of the audio files, and Xue Zi Xuan said that he got it from a private detective that he had hired.

"You hired a private investigator to monitor your family?" The police officer found a room to speak with Xue Zi Xuan alone. His tone was full of disapproval.

"Why is that strange? They asked me to bring Xiao Yi home to dig out his heart. After repeated persuasion, they cancelled their plans, but their attitudes were reluctant. In order to ensure Xiao Yi's safety, I had to monitor them." Xue Zi Xuan said with an expressionless face.

"Why didn't you report the crime back then?" The police officer frowned.

"People say don't air your family's dirty laundry in public. I still had to give them a chance to change. Do you think it is easy to report your family? Do you think it is glorious to have such a family?"

Xue Zi Xuan's eyes were red, his hair was a scattered mess, and there were still crystalline tear tracks on his face. He cut an extremely sorry figure. He kept looking at his mobile phone, and dialing the teenager's phone number every few seconds. His anxious mood did not seem to be faked.

The police officer sympathized with him very much. After asking him a few simple questions, he sent out a search warrant for Huang Yi.

On the other side, Xue Rui, Xue Li Dan Ni, and Xue Jing Yi repeatedly denied the authenticity of the audio, but they were still taken away and confined in jail.

Since the audio was obtained from wiretapping, its source violated normal legal channels and could not be used as evidence for filing a case. So the police must find more human testimony and material evidence before they could initiate a prosecution.

Fortunately, Fu Bo, Zhao Yin, Xue Rui's private lawyer, and the doctor they had bribed were all people involved in the case, so the police arrested all of them for interrogation. They were finally able to find a breakthrough, and it was not difficult to close the case at all. It was just that the inside story was simply too sensational.

From listening to the audio files, it could be heard that the mastermind of the case was the twin sister of the victim. This really made the police officers handling the case want to sigh. What kind of people was in this Xue family? They were simply too frightening. Luckily, Huang Yi was smart and escaped fast.

The next day, two heavy pieces of news went out, and both were related to the Xue family.

Article 1: The supercar that hit a person belonged to the adopted son of the Xue family, Huang Yi, who was missing.

Article 2: The president of the Xue consortium and his wife and daughter were arrested on suspicion of murdering Huang Yi.

There was an uproar in society, and the Xue consortium's stock prices also fell all the way down. The people in the company were in a panicked mess.

Xue Zi Xuan had experienced this kind of scene many times before. He quickly convened a shareholder meeting and announced several very large cross-border mergers and acquisitions, which stabilized the company's stock prices and soothed everyone's anxiety. Then he went to the vehicle management office to inquire about the progress of the car accident investigation.

Companies, stocks, family properties, and even parents detained in the detention center could all be put on the backburner, but the hole that Xiao Yi stabbed open must be filled immediately. Xue Zi Xuan could not have Xiao Yi be labeled as a murderer. Yes, this was indeed a double standard. While unable to forgive his parents and Xue Jing Yi, he could tolerate everything about Xiao Yi.

Some people might think of Huang Yi as reprehensible [if they knew the truth], but Xue Zi Xuan knew that he was innocent. He was the most innocent one of them all. Without the Xue family and Hu Dong, he would still be living happily with his parents. Although they were poor, Huang Yi would still be warm, safe, and comfortable. When he came to the Xue manor, he did not enter heaven, but instead, fell into hell.

When Xue Zi Xuan stepped into the vehicle management office with a haggard face, the traffic police handling the case cast him a sympathetic look: "I heard that Huang Yi ran away from home? Because he found out that your parents and sister were going to murder him?"

With an expressionless face, Xue Zi Xuan gave an "en" sound in response.

The traffic police officer understood his state of despair. There were not many people who would choose to report their family members for the sake of the law. If family members committed a crime and their loved ones helped them to cover up the crime, then what about the victims? Who would help them get justice? Especially since the principal culprit of this case was Xue Jing Yi, Huang Yi's only blood-related relative.

This world was too cruel to him. He had no choice but to run away.

"I want to ask, when can I get the car back?" Xue Zi Xuan tentatively asked.

"It's so wrecked. You still want it?" The traffic police officer was a little surprised, but he thought that it was a pity that there were only five of these cars in the world and now one of them was destroyed, so he responded, "After the person in the forensic department has completed the inspection and identified the person responsible for the accident, it can be returned to you. At the fastest, one or two months, and at the slowest, it could be more than half a year."

Xue Zi Xuan didn't ask more. He could just directly find the person from the forensic department to understand the situation. When he lef the vehicle management office, he asked: "Is Zhao Yin awake yet?"

"He's awake. Right now, our colleagues and the people from the police station are recording his oral confession. This man has a black heart, and he has a finger in every pie." The traffic police officer shook his head contemptuously.

"Can I go to the hospital and take a look?" Xue Zi Xuan asked politely.

"Yes, it's fine. I was just thinking of going myself, let's go together."

The two of them arrived at the hospital.

Before Zhao Yin could break free of the looming shadow of his new disability he was charged with murder, and he pleaded hoarsely: "I had a car accident before I could do it. It's not a murder, right? Police officer comrade, this shouldn't count as a murder, right? Look at me. I am also a victim. I didn't steal the car, it was the car that drove on its own and ran around in the streets. I'm telling you, it [the car] suddenly tightened the seat belt and trapped me in the car, then it stepped on the accelerator, turned the steering wheel, and it drove through the streets. There was a ghost. It was a ghost that was driving. You guys have to believe me."

The more he talked, the more agitated he got, and the more incoherent his words became. The nurse standing to the side thought it was prudent to give him a sedative, and asked the police to wait for him to calm down before coming back to get his confession.

"There was a ghost driving?" Xue Zi Xuan said, pretending to be doubtful.

"You believe that kind of drivel? How can there be ghosts in this world! Unless someone was remotely controlling that car." After saying that, the traffic police officer waved his hand. "[I'm such a] dumbass, look at me imagining such wild things. A remote control car can only drive up to thirty miles per an hour, which is slower than a person walking, and the car must be within a five hundred to eight hundred meter radius of the person holding the remote control. Driving like Zhao Yin, with speeds of up to one hundred and sixty kilometers per hour, and circling the city with a range of three hundred and twenty kilometers, while perfectly dodging all sorts of obstacles. This is not something that modern technology can accomplish. Maybe in fifty or a hundred years, we can reach this stage."

[T/N: The author really did mix the imperial system with the metric system in the above paragraph… It threw me off for a beat, but it doesn't affect the main point she's trying to make, so just overlook it, I guess.]

Xue Zi Xuan nodded and did not comment on these remarks. After he left the hospital, he called an acquaintance related to the case and asked how the inspection for the sports car was going.

"You can take it back if you want. I'll have the staff do things a bit faster, but I have to tell you that the car was completely demolished and it can't be repaired." That person thought Xue Zi Xuan was distressed over the car [because he liked the car a lot]. When he spoke, his tone was full of regret for Xue Zi Xuan.

"Is there anything unusual about the car?" Xue Zi Xuan asked solemnly.

"There's nothing unusual. Zhao Yin didn't have time to do anything to it yet." Evidently, the other party also knew about the inside story of Xue Rui bribing Zhao Yin to doing something to the car. This matter blew up greatly. Probably everyone in the capital has heard about it already.

"When can I get the car back? Is tomorrow okay?"

"You still want a pile of broken copper and iron?"

"Yes," Xue Zi Xuan did not want to say any more.

"Okay, you can come pick it up tomorrow morning."

After hanging up the phone, Xue Zi Xuan supported his forehead with his hand. He felt very tired. He wanted to know where Xiao Yi was, whether the teenager was doing well or not, how he was feeling, and whether he would come back [to him] in this lifetime. And would he forgive Xue Zi Xuan?

He didn't want to come to this step. But from the moment when he went to find Xiao Yi with the purpose of digging out his healthy heart, they were already doomed to break off relations with each other.

He thought that his rebirth in this life was a gift from God, and he thought that he didn't wake up too late, but in fact, it was already too late from the moment Xiao Yi saw Xue Jing Yi that very first time.

This was not a gift, but a punishment.

The previous life was not enough to repay the debt. So in this life, God was having him continue to repay that debt.

Xue Zi Xuan could not imagine how Xiao Yi endured this span of over a year's worth of time. Xiao Yi was so smart. He must have realized Xue Jing Yi's condition and understood the truth almost immediately. He was trapped in a cage every day, surrounded by a group of murderers. How was he able to fall asleep? How was he able to come to terms with the evil thoughts of his own twin sister?

No wonder he always liked to curl up into a small ball after he fell asleep. It was because he was afraid. He was afraid all this time. And then all his fears and worries eventually condensed into hatred so strong that he could never love Xue Zi Xuan. That's why he chose to disappear into the wind…

Preventing himself from thinking about it anymore, Xue Zi Xuan held the steering wheel tightly and let out a painful cry.