Chapter 61 - The Edge of the Cliff

Qing Chen got in the car with a heavy heart. It was as if his mind were full of clouds and the sun was nowhere in sight. Wuming had filled them with more information, but as of the moment he was as clueless as the rest of them. Wuming would stay at the Qing's until everything was over. He protested that he wanted to go back to the north continent and trace everything. But their father had insisted and put his foot down on the decision.

"I would not have my son running amok with a target on his back!" Qing Zihao had bellowed in the living room and it shut all of them up.

Then he had pointed to Qing Chen, "You. Talk to your father-in-law and tell him all about this. Let him decide and tell him you need a decision now. It's either he takes his daughter in his own hands or he would placed her fate in our hands."

Qing Chen felt his throat tighten. Of course he would be the one to protect her. "She's my wife."

When his father spoke, it was like a wolf barking at his young. "She's your wife for two months. She's his daughter for twenty-two years. Talk to him and come to an arrangement. We can't let any member of this family to be in danger! And you!" he said and pointed to Qing Lok. "Stay away from women. We don't need more people they could dangle in front of us to save. We don't need damsels. Lay low. Understood?"

Qing Lok looked at his feet but nodded his head.

Qing Zihao turned to Qing Chen. "Understood?"

"Yes, father," he answered.

Qing Chen had instructed his driver to take him home. He really needed some sleep before he could make a case for Feng Xuan to her father. His whole body ached and he had a migraine. It felt like someone was drilling on the top of his head.

He was barely awake when he pushed open the front door. As always, his wife was in the kitchen and appeared in the doorway when she heard him came in. "Lunch?" she asked with a small smile.

He shook his head. "Maybe later. I really need to sleep."

Feng Xuan tailed after him while they climb up the stairs. "So what did they say?"

"They were overjoyed," he said with a low voice. He could feel his phone vibrating in his pocket—probably emails and messages regarding the murder at the hotel. "I'll tell you more about this later… or tomorrow—whichever time I wake up."

"Do you want some tea to help you sleep?"

"I don't think I'll need one," he said and opened the door. He unbuttoned his coat and shrugged it off. He was about to unbuckle his belt when he remembered his wife was still there. "Do you mind?" he asked.

"N-no. Not at all," she said and took his coat. "Sleep the way you want. You need it."

Qing Chen pulled his pants off and left himself standing there in his boxers. "I'll take off my shirt."

"Nothing I haven't seen."

Qing Chen would've chuckled if he weren't so tired. He pulled it off his arms in one swift motion and he immediately plopped down the bed, feeling the cold and softness of it under his rising temperature.

Feng Xuan picked up his garments as he was cocooning himself inside the blanket. "Anything else you need?" she asked, drawing the curtains with a remote.

"Well, can you stay here for a bit?" he asked. "I need to talk to you for a minute."

Feng Xuan bundled his clothes on her lap as she sat on the edge of the bed. Qing Chen opened his eyes and felt his eyes strained just to keep on looking at her.

"Can you please lay down so I can see you?"

Feng Xuan obliged and laid down on her side. "What is it?"

"I have something to ask you."

Qing Chen saw the fear that crossed her eyes just with that. Sweet heavens, just how he would drop the truth bomb on her when little things like this made her nervous.

"It's nothing big. Purely… hypothetical."

"O…kay?"

Qing Chen took in a breath. He had been thinking about this in the car. "Let's say, I'm keeping a secret from Qing Lok about Wuming and that secret would change his perception of his older brother whom he loves very much. Do you think I should tell him the truth?"

Feng Xuan looked taken aback. "That is rather very personal."

"I know," he said. "You are part of this family now. You will get personal at some point. So what do you say about this?"

"Is it really happening? You have a secret of Wuming?"

Qing Chen gave her a smile. "Let's just say I could be holding a secret of Wuming."

"That would destroy his relationship with Qing Lok?"

Qing Chen gave it some thought. "Possibly."

"In a major way?"

"Depends on how he would take it in."

Feng Xuan bit her lip. "I do not know Qing Lok that much. But I think everyone deserves the truth, you know? It is hard to be kept in the dark. There will be endless questions."

"What if he does not have any ideas that this secret exists?"

"Still. If it involves Qing Lok then I think he should know the truth. He has to know—truly—the people that are surrounding him. I think he'd even thank you for letting him know—that you would include him the secret."

Qing Chen let out a breath out of his mouth. That settled it then.

"It would be hard. But I think you owe your brother the truth, specially if he looks up to Wuming. The question is," she said. "What would Wuming say if he found out you told Qing Lok the truth?"

Qing Chen closed his eyes. "That I do not know yet." He did not know how Feng Xuan would react if she knew everything that had happened to her mother. Would there be a reawakening in her? Would she remember everything that happened that day? What she did? How would she react to her fifteen-year-old self?

Oh, how Qing Chen wished there was just a sleeping pill he could take just so he could escape this world for a few short hours. Maybe he should have gotten that tea Feng Xuan offered him.

He opened his eyes again and reached for her. She placed her face in his hands. "Do you really think I should tell him?"

"Yes."

"Even if it would hurt?"

Hesitation could be read all over her face but she didn't bend to it. "Yes, even if it would hurt."

If only he could just let his eyes do all the talking. To speak the words for him. To tell her that it would not just be hurt. There would be disappointment. Sadness. Betrayal. Depression. Rage. Wrath. And heavens know what else could be there. But it would fill her with negative emotions—enough to bring her down. She would be in her most vulnerable state.

And then what would happen next?

He made a promise to Feng Lizhao he would protect Feng Xuan by not telling her the truth. But there they were, on the cliff of that truth with the knowledge that they would explode when they reach the bottom.

Qing Chen pulled her on a tight embrace. Why was his mind whispering that his wife was a ticking bomb and he could hear the countdown had started? Who would know what would happen to their marriage after she finds out about everything.

Feng Xuan's hand drew circles on his back. "It'll be alright, Qing Chen. You'll be fine. Let's just hope Qing Lok will take the truth well. If not, I'm sure he'll come back to your family and Wuming anyways."

Qing Chen bowed his head on top of hers. If she found out the truth there was no turning back. There was no checkpoint that they could get back to. They got one shot with this and if they would fail, it would be all over. They might even lose her.

Qing Chen couldn't remember at what point in his thinking he fell asleep but he woke up with Feng Xuan in his arms, looking peaceful. They both got up and had dinner. After a few hours of rest, Qing Chen's mind seemed to be clearer, and he knew what he had to do.

Dinner was over and he rushed upstairs to make the phone call to Feng Xuan's father. It rang a few times before it was answered. "Good evening, sir. We should take about your daughter. I am afraid she might be in danger."