Chapter 314 - Burn My Back

When Qing Chen left that room with the sand still on the floor, he went straight to the bathroom and turned on the shower head at full blast, letting it hit the back of his neck and spine. His mind floating somewhere else with all the water and possibly down the drain too.

Feng Xuan was left in the room after Qing Lok retreated back to his own. She was the one patient enough to put the sand back inside the urn and sweep its floors. She didn't know where else to put it so she returned to its place.

She got back in the room and found Qing Chen by the bed, wiping his head dry and was scrolling through his cellphone.

"What are you doing?" she asked, taking off the coat that she was still wearing.

"Working," he answered. "I need my mind elsewhere or heavens forbid I would fly to my father and I will strangle him until he tells me where my mother is."

While she was cleaning, Feng Xuan also wondered about what they should do. "Chen," she said in a quiet voice, not knowing how he would react with what she was about to say. "What if your mother doesn't want to be found? What if the reason why she went away because she wanted to hide?"

Qing Chen sighed but he did not take his eyes off his phone. "I get that. What I don't get was why they wrapped us all up in this lie? Did she want me to find her? Did father want me to find her? Why didn't they put fake ashes in that urn? They could easily burn another body. Why did she want me to burn that painting?" 

Qing Chen shook his head. "There's too many questions here, wife. I don't have any answered."

Feng Xuan could see how tensed his back muscles were. She reached out to touch him but before she could, he bolted upright.

"I'll be in the bas.e.m.e.nt."

Feng Xuan bit her lip and let herself fall on the mattress without answering her husband. He needed time and space to think. 

While Feng Xuan was left alone with her thoughts, she could not help but think that maybe The Zookeeper was not going nuts after all. He had been right with Qing Chen's mother. It was very much possible that he was also right with her mom?

Feng Xuan tried to sleep and she was successful for a few minutes until her eyes snapped wide open again. She was not going to fall asleep this way so she changed into more comfortable clothes and went down to the bas.e.m.e.nt.

She found Qing Chen shirtless going restless at the punching bag. He was covered in sweat and his hair stuck to his forehead.

"You still good?" she asked him.

Qing Chen stopped, his chest and stomach expanding with every haggard breath. "Why didn't I burn that painting immediately?" Qing Chen gestured for the tumbler of water on the side and Feng Xuan rolled it to him on the floor. "I honestly just want to burn my back."

"The Zookeeper would've told you still," she said. "You should be a little thankful that you have that with you. At least you have something that would point you to her." 

Upon saying that, she realized that she did not have anything that would lead her to her mother. She fiddled her empty hands. She grinned at that. That sounded like a blessing in disguise. 

"I'm sorry," Qing Chen said, feeling like he had been insensitive.

"Don't be," Feng Xuan lifted her head and smiled at him. "I have nothing that tells me where to find her. I have an excuse not the find her. I'm sorry I can't say the same for you."

Qing Chen nodded and started to slowly punch the bag again.

"Want to get in the ring with me?" she asked him, eyeing the boxing gloves hanging on the side.

"Start stretching," Qing Chen answered and Feng Xuan dropped to the floor, stretched out her already sore muscles from today's work. 

"Come to think about it," she said, wanting to lighten the mood. "Since I came into your life everything seemed to starts crumbling."

Qing Chen laughed and pulled to the bag to stop it. "You're the best thing that has ever happened to me, so don't say that."

"How can I be the best thing that has ever happened to you?" she exclaimed. "Life became messy when I came."

"Yeah, because of you things fell apart. But then again, they would finally fall in their rightful places." Qing Chen took another swig of water. "Are you done with that?"

She nodded and pulled herself to her feet. "Yeah, ready whenever you are."

**

There was no signal. There were no signs.

"Sir, I think they may have ceased looking for her," said the man who had once caught the Qings looking for their mother. 

"They'll be back. Try again tomorrow," the boss said.

"Certainly, sir," answered the man. He knew that the Qings would try to get into the systems of the other countries. But lucky for him, his one job—ever since he had been hired—was to only watch out for someone who would try to find the name "Hao Suyin" the name of the wife of the mafia lord Qing Zihao.

It was a no-brainer. That was not her real name. She was a foreign woman who got into Chengshi and got herself a new identity with the help of her powerful husband.

Her real name was Illona Corvin.

The man had to thank this woman—wherever she might be. He had no clue where she was or if she was alive. He had one purpose and it was to alert the boss if someone was trying to find this woman.

His life had been boring, filled with days playing on his computer.

And then finally, it was going to explode in excitement.