Chapter 91

Chapter 91

"091"

South District Detention Center.

Xiao Lancui went alone to see Xiao Liqin. In the small, sealed room, Xiao Liqin was still wearing the same suit from two days ago, wrinkled and hanging loose on him. His face was haggard and defeated, and his hair had gone partly gray overnight, making him look even older than Xiao Jingli.

"Where is he?" That was the first thing Xiao Liqin said. He stared hard at Xiao Lancui. "At this point, telling me won't matter, right?"

Xiao Lancui said nothing. Xiao Liqin balled his fists and spoke again, "Doing time doesn't affect my shares. If you want them, just tell me where he is."

Xiao Lancui finally spoke. "Your shares are worthless to me."

Xiao Liqin slammed his fist on the table. "Xiao Lancui!"

The cop immediately warned him, "If you get this worked up again, we're done here."

Xiao Liqin's face twitched. He stared at Xiao Lancui, took two deep breaths, and lowered his voice. "I'm begging you. For the sake of being your biological brother. Give me news about him."

Xiao Lancui smiled faintly. "All I can say is he's doing fine now. Whether he contacts you is up to him."

Xiao Liqin's heart clenched. He knew damn well—he'd accidentally caused Xiao Jingli's death, and while the Xiao Corporation had kept it out of the news, Xiao Anfeng had plenty of ways to find out.

Xiao Anfeng hadn't come to see him, which meant he wanted nothing to do with him anymore.

Xiao Anfeng didn't care about either of them anymore.

His worst fear had come true. Xiao Liqin went limp, slumping and hunching over, looking years older.

Xiao Lancui got up and left.

Before he even made it out the front gate, his pocket vibrated twice. He pulled out his phone—an overseas number.

Two messages.

"I heard what happened... I'm not trying to stir anything up. I'll keep my word—I won't come back, and I won't have anything to do with the Xiao family or anyone in it. I just want to ask you to look after Mom."

"If you can, tell her I'm sorry."

Xiao Lancui deleted the messages, then texted the person watching Xiao Anfeng that the job was done.

After settling the bill, Xiao Lancui put his phone away and went to pick up the plastic bag he'd left there.

Xiao Lancui opened the bag. The milk had gone cold, and the ice bread had gone hard. Still, he ate the bread bite by bite and drank every last drop of milk, neatly gathered the trash and tossed it in the bin, then headed to the parking lot.

The second he got in the car, Lu Ao pulled him into a hug. The guy's voice was actually shaking. "All the test results came back—you're okay, you're okay!"

Lu Ao tightened his arms and hugged Xiao Lancui harder. "Thanks, A Lan... thanks for being okay..."

But Xiao Lancui seemed detached, like it wasn't happening to him. His chin on Lu Ao's shoulder, he stared ahead, his dark eyes unfocused.

After a while, hearing Lu Ao call his name, he snapped out of it, blinked his long lashes, and said slowly, "What did you say?"

He really hadn't heard.

Lu Ao's dark eyes flickered for a second, then went back to normal. He repeated, "To celebrate you being healthy, I'm taking you somewhere."

Xiao Lancui had a guess, but when they got there—an empty, endless lot right in the middle of the city—he was still a bit surprised.

"How about we live here?" Lu Ao hugged him from behind. He loved holding Xiao Lancui like this, smiling against his cool earlobe. "We'll get someone to design a house you like and start building."

Xiao Lancui didn't answer again. Lu Ao's smile dimmed. He held tighter, pretending not to notice, and rubbed his chin against Xiao Lancui's neck. "A Lan, what do you think? Do you like it?"

"It's okay."

Xiao Lancui answered this time.

Lu Ao let out a small sigh of relief. He craned his neck to look at Xiao Lancui's face and smiled. "If it's just okay, we'll find another spot. We're going to live here our whole lives—pick the one you love most."

Xiao Lancui turned to look at Lu Ao too. Their eyes met, and a small smile tugged at Xiao Lancui's lips. "We'll see. It's too early to say."

"A Lan." Lu Ao asked straight out, "Are you still mad?"

"A little." Xiao Lancui was still smiling. "So for now, you've got to keep me company and make me laugh."

An unexpected answer. If not for the real smell of Xiao Lancui in his arms, Lu Ao would've thought he was dreaming a sweet dream.

Since Xiao Lancui asked, Lu Ao immediately booked a private custom trip through a travel agency.

With money and time to spare, they traveled around for three months, far from the Xiao family's mess.

It was a call from Xie Jingfang that brought them back to the capital from some historical site.

Xiao Liqin's case was settled.

Six years behind bars.

Xiao Jingli died without dignity. No one arranged a funeral. At Xiao Mian's suggestion, he was cremated quickly one night, and his ashes were scattered at sea. It didn't cost a thing—actually, they got a few hundred yuan in subsidies, which Xie Jingfang tossed straight into a donation box.

Xie Jingfang had called Xiao Lancui back about the Xiao Corporation shares.

With Xiao Jingli dead, his shares went to Xie Jingfang, who then transferred them to Xiao Lancui. It took months, but everything was done yesterday. Even without Xiao Liqin's shares, Xiao Lancui was now the biggest shareholder in the Xiao Corporation.

Xie Jingfang had Xiao Lancui come to the family villa.

The villa was completely empty. Tomorrow, it would be put up for sale.

It was early summer, with all the doors and windows open for air. Even without AC, it didn't feel hot. Xie Jingfang had no attachment to the house, but she hated leaving the flowers and plants in the garden.

A wall of blue snowflakes was in full bloom under the blue sky, spilling down like a waterfall of flowers.

Xie Jingfang touched the flower wall, a little lost in thought. After a while, she turned to Xiao Lancui and smiled. "I never told you—I planted this wall of blue snowflakes myself the month you came back."

Xie Jingfang's fingers touched the blue-purple petals, trembling a little. "Back then, I didn't know you were my child. I wasn't tricked into thinking you were someone else's either. I really thought you were just an adopted son."

"I've been thinking a lot lately."

Xie Jingfang paused. She really wanted to touch Xiao Lancui's face—her hand even came up—but she pulled it back. "You've never really forgiven me, have you?"

Xiao Lancui thought of the dark, cold seawater that night.

The man who had the right to hate, or to forgive, had long since sunk into that sea.

He couldn't say "I forgive you" for him.

Xiao Lancui told the truth. "The person who could've forgiven you died the day he was pushed into the sea."

Xie Jingfang's whole body jolted.

Soon, she forced a bitter smile, hurting, but no tears would come.

Yes, if she hadn't poisoned him since childhood, a healthy young man could never have been easily pushed into the sea by that bastard Xiao Jingli.

She hadn't done it directly, but she'd indirectly caused Xiao Lancui to fall into the sea. If not for a miracle, Xiao Lancui wouldn't have woken up—which meant she'd basically killed her own child.

"I understand." Xie Jingfang forced a bitter smile. "I've booked a flight out of the country for tomorrow."

She looked at Xiao Lancui until she saw that his dark eyes were as calm as ever, and her last shred of hope faded.

She finally gathered her courage, and for the first and last time, reached out and touched Xiao Lancui's face.

Xiao Lancui hesitated for a second, but in the end, he didn't pull away.

Xie Jingfang traced Xiao Lancui's features with her fingers—his brows, his eyes—before she reluctantly pulled her hand back, keeping a smile on her face as she said, "I'm going to the city where Xiao Mian goes to school. It's cool in the summer and mild in the winter. You can come visit us whenever you have time."

She knew "whenever you have time" was an empty promise, but still, the moment Xiao Lancui nodded, tears poured down her face.

Xie Jingfang leaned in to hug Xiao Lancui one last time, pressing a set of keys into his pocket. "I bought a big apartment near the company. There's not much I can do for you, so don't turn this down."

Xiao Lancui was quiet for a moment, then finally reached up and hugged her back briefly. "Okay."

Xie Jingfang cried on Xiao Lancui's shoulder for a long time. As it got dark, she finally stopped crying and asked one last question.

"Is your boyfriend good to you?"

Xiao Lancui paused, then nodded. "He's very good to me."

Xie Jingfang nodded, wiped her eyes, and smiled as she waved at Xiao Lancui. "Don't bother seeing me off tomorrow. If you come, I'll regret it and cling to you, and I won't let go."

Xiao Lancui didn't commit to an answer, only saying, "Take care of yourself. Live a good life. Living a long life is your way of making up for it."

Xie Jingfang held back the tears that were welling up again, nodded firmly, and watched Xiao Lancui walk away until he was out of sight. Only then did she crouch down, bury her face in her hands, and cry without a sound.

Xiao Lancui walked out of the villa.

As soon as he stepped outside, Xiao Mian was crouching by the door.

Xiao Mian seemed to have dozed off, his head buried in his knees. As Xiao Lancui was about to walk by, Xiao Mian shot out a hand and grabbed his pant leg.

"Brother."

His voice was so hoarse it was barely a whisper.

Xiao Mian looked up, his eyes so swollen from crying he could barely see, but he still looked up at Xiao Lancui seriously and asked, "Is what Mom said for real?"

You don't want us anymore?

Xiao Mian didn't ask that out loud. He didn't want to hear Xiao Lancui say yes.

Honestly, the signs had all been there.

Last time, Xiao Lancui had already told him on the phone—to learn to grow up and take good care of their mom.

What Xiao Lancui had said to him didn't include Xiao Lancui himself.

Xiao Mian's voice was hoarse. "Brother, I'll change everything. I'll do whatever you say. Can I—"

Xiao Lancui interrupted him. "Everyone has to pay for what they've done."

Xiao Mian's lips trembled, then he clenched his jaw tight.

Xiao Lancui didn't push him either. Time passed slowly, and when it was completely dark, Xiao Mian finally let go finger by finger, releasing Xiao Lancui's pant leg.

Xiao Lancui didn't stick around and kept walking.

At the same time, he pulled out his phone and called Lu Ao. "Don't wait for me. I'm staying at the Xie house tonight, so I won't be back."

The two had been glued to each other for months—this was their first time apart.

Lu Ao was still pouting. "Brother, I'm right outside. I can wait until you're done with dinner. Even if you talk with Auntie until she falls asleep, I can wait."

"Behave." Xiao Lancui smiled. "I'll be back in the morning. Have breakfast ready for me."

Xiao Lancui even told him exactly what he wanted for breakfast.

Lu Ao whined a few times, then agreed. "Fine, but you better be back on time. Not even a second late."

"I promise."

Xiao Lancui hung up.

The streetlights came on along both sides of the road, and in the dim light, a faint, elusive scent of flowers drifted through the air.

Xiao Lancui took a shortcut, and before long, he saw a familiar car leaving the neighborhood in the distance.

Lu Ao was already gone.

Xiao Lancui didn't wait long—the car he'd called soon arrived.

He got in, and the driver took him all the way to City University.

Qi Ying had an apartment near City University. For convenience during the semester, he stayed there instead of going home.

Qi Ying had dinner with friends, then went out for a few drinks, and headed home feeling low.

Over the past few months, he'd asked around several times—Xiao Lancui had never come to campus, and there was no sign of him going back to grad school.

The more Qi Ying thought about it, the worse he felt. Drunk and staggering home, he didn't notice the figure closing in behind him.

Lu Ao stared coldly at the unsteady figure up ahead.

Since he'd been glued to Xiao Lancui's side all this time, he finally had a chance to deal with Qi Ying now.

He sped up, about to catch up to Qi Ying, when his phone rang.

Xiao Lancui's special ringtone.

Lu Ao answered right away. Before he could say anything, the man's clear, calm voice came through the phone—

"Xiao'ao."