CH 42.2

Lu Li was shocked when he found out the results of the investigation.

Xie Xing was Xie Jianwei’s, and his brothers, father — the head of the Xie family.

Way before Xie Jianwei was born, the Xie family was already full of brilliance, but they weren’t so powerful since Xie Xing still hadn’t involved himself in the political circle at that time.

The family who held the most power during those years was the Qi family. Mr. Qi only had one daughter and he raised her delicately, away from politics and influence.  He didn’t make things difficult for her, nor did he control her too much.

He believed that times were already different—it’s long past time for those in power to keep their politics in check. Therefore, he wanted to delegate some of his power, but some people were greedy of it.

He wants to decentralize the Qi family’s power, but some people were greedy it.

Xie Xing was already married and had two sons at that time, but he resolutely divorced his wife and met Miss Qi by chance.

The young lady was naive and full of innocence. Meeting such a handsome, dashing and witty mature man, she fell for him instantly.

Xie Xing managed to capture a beauty, and at the same time obtain an influential father-in-law.

Mr. Qi only had one daughter. Although he was initially dissatisfied with her finding a man who already fathered two sons, he couldn’t win against his daughter’s begging, so he could only agree. .

In addition, Xie Xing was indeed an outstanding man, so much so that people couldn’t help but like him—especially Mr. Qi, who loves talents.

He even helped Xie Xing conceal the origins of the first two children for the better of his daughter and son-in-law. He let other people think that those two sons were Miss Qi’s biological children. The two children were still young so it was quite easy to manipulate their documents. The people who knew the secret dare not mention it, and even if someone did, other people wouldn’t take them seriously.

Later, Miss Qi finally gave birth to her and Xie Xing’s first child, Xie Jianwei.

Xie Jianwei was smart since he was young, and his amazingly high IQ made him invincible. He graduated from university at the age of twelve. He had a promising future ahead of him, becoming the most dazzling star of the Xie family.

But Mr. Qi suddenly passed away, and the control of the entire Qi family fell onto Xie Xing’s hands.

After ascending to a high position, Xie Xing’s true appearance was revealed, and Miss Qi’s happy marriage began to have a dark crack.

Miss Qi, who completely trusted her husband, realized that she was living in a huge scam.

Xie Xing indeed got divorced with his first wife, but she found out that the two were still in contact with each other. His two sons knew where their mother was. Xie Xing even stayed with that ex-wife of his from time to time.

What’s even more outrageous was that the woman gave birth to a baby boy at almost the same time as Miss Qi.

After the Qi family got swallowed up, Miss Qi’s naivety became foolishness.

As a matter of fact, Xie Xing didn’t that have much affection for his ex-wife, but she was an extremely shrewd woman. She knew a lot of Xie Xing’s secret, and once she uses those against him, everything Xie Xing had, would turn into ashes.

This woman endured and lived in the shadow for so many years, watching her own sons call the woman who stole everything from her, their mother…

Did she hate it her situation?

She did.

But she couldn’t hate Xie Xing, so that hatred shifted into Miss Qi.

She wanted to take back what belonged to her. She wanted that woman surnamed Qi to taste the pain she felt; she wanted her third son to also bear the Xie surname; she wanted to return to the Xie family!

And so, a dirty and nasty conspiracy quietly wrapped around Miss Qi and her brilliant young child.

Xie Jianwei was subjected to a brutal mental interference. The unknowing Miss Qi thought he was suffering from an illness. She already trusted Xie Xing so much, and upon learning of her son’s condition, she became all the more dependent on him.

They said that a tiger, though cruel, will not devour its cubs,1 but who would have thought that Xie Xing could do such a cruel thing to his son in exchange for status and power.

Xie Jianwei’s condition worsened and he suggested that Miss Qi take him abroad for treatment.

Miss Qi naturally agreed, but after she left, the domestic situation changed.

It wasn’t until when Xie Zhiwei became the new Third Young Master of the Xie family, that the crazy woman approached Miss Qi to tell her everything.

With that, Miss Qi finally woke up.

Why was Xie Xing so reluctant for Xie Jianwei to meet others for so many years?

Why did Xie Xing refuse to make Xie Jianwei’s name public until now?

The Xie family’s third son was excellent and outstanding, but everyone only knew him as the ‘Third Young Master of the Xie family’¾ almost no one knew who this young master was.

Xie Xing only explained: “The tree that grows tallest in the forest, will always be first to be toppled by the winds. 2 Our child is too exceptional. Many people are staring at him, so exposing too much of his information is not good and could hurt him.”

Since Miss Qi was the only daughter of the powerful Qi family, she got kidnapped three or four times during her childhood. She knew exactly what children born under the peak of power could experience. Hence, she believed in Xie Xing’s arrangement and didn’t think much about it.

But all the truth got revealed eventually.

Her son’s glory, her son’s future, everything that should belong to her son, all became another person’s.

That Xie Zhiwei…How could he be worthy of the identity of Xie Family’s Third Young Master…

Later, Miss Qi was forced to commit suicide, and Xie Jianwei was completely banished due to ‘insanity’.

All these things happened just a few days after Xie Jianwei rescued Lu Li’s mother.

Xie Jianwei was only fourteen years old at that time. After suffering for two years, the sixteen-year-old Xie Jianwei slowly recovered but as a result, he forgot about the things that inflicted him with pain. He got adopted by others, went to high school and was admitted to a film school for higher education.

And then he made his debut.

…And then he met Lu Li.

After reading the documents, the blue veins on Lu Li’s temple swelled up, he slammed his fist against the wall.

A bright red liquid stained the wall, but Lu Li didn’t feel any pain.

Pain? It couldn’t even compare to the growing hatred in his heart right at this moment.

In the past, he regarded Xie Jianwei as a boy constantly surrounded by brightness…but  this person, who was supposed to only bathed under the light, experienced such darkness.

It was hard for Lu Li to imagine…

Lu Li thought about the delicate boy, and then about Xie Jianwei, who had to constantly please others in order to get more…

All the pain overlapped, and it became a three-headed blade that kept on stabbing into Lu Li’s heart until it became into a pool of blood.

Xie Xing, Xie Family! Death and destruction isn’t enough to make up for the sins you’ve committed!!

Yan Ke watched as all of Xie Jianwei’s arrangements unfold before his own eyes. After he witnessed Xie Jianwei completely reverse the “past”,  he could only kneel and worship the advisor: [Not even a gold medal screenwriter could surpass Military Advisor Xie’s prowess in writing such scenarios.]

Military Advisor Xie smiled politely: [That’s a given. After all, I rely on my brain to feed myself.] Da-Li also loves to write plays, but in the end, he is a still a military commander… (t/n: ahhh.. . NOW WE KNOW how Lu Li was able to make such dog-blood dramas in his dreams lmao)

.

.

.

When Lu Li was still in the middle of his investigation, Xie Jianwei also began to show some signs of recovery.

He was able to finally get out of the hospital bed.

The view outside showed that it was already winter. The withering leaves in the yard continued to sway,greedily clinging onto the their branches— reluctant to fall but was destined to  fall—like lovers in love doomed to eventually separate.

Upon opening the door, Lu Li saw the young man sitting by the window.

He was wearing a white hospital gown, but his exposed skin was whiter than all the whites in the room. He was looking outside the window in an upright posture, but his straight back revealed helplessness and fragility.

Lu Li suddenly felt like he couldn’t approach.

Xie Jianwei turned his head, and a pair of jet-black eyes completely enveloped Lu Li’s entire being like the dark night.

Lu Li just stood in place.

Xie Jianwei spoke slowly: “I didn’t expect that we would become like this.”

Such a simple sentence said everything.

Maybe it was the stimulation from the anesthetics, maybe it was time, or more maybe it was the neurological recovery after a serious illness that Xie Jianwei remembered everything—his happy childhood, his proud teenage years, and all the messy and awful things.

Looking at Xie Jianwei like this, Lu Li didn’t know what to say.

He insulted his savior and used his identity as a Gold Master to defile the person who gave him a new life.

Lu Li hated the Xie family, but he hated himself more.

Xie Jianwei beckoned to him: “Come here.”

Lu Li walked towards him.

Xie Jianwei looked up at him, with a faint smile on his pale face: “You are much more handsome now than then.”

The fifteen-year-old Lu Li, who suffered from violence and abuse all year round, lived in a dark ditch. He was like a young wolf that can bite at any time and full of vigilance against everything.

Xie Jianwei’s gaze was very soft: “It’s good that you’ve become like this…very good.”

Although Lu Li did not shed a tear, it looked like he was on the verge of crying. Then he said in an extremely hoarse voice: “I’m sorry. “

“What are you I apologizing for? I should be glad that I met you, and…” He looked down, embarrassed, “… that you treat me really well.”

Lu Li didn’t know what to feel upon hearing these lines again.

He used to feel angry that Xie Jianwei just regarded him as a gold master, but now, all he wanted was for Xie Jianwei to treat him like one, because that way he won’t feel so bad about himself.

How does Xie Jianwei feel at this exact moment? Lu Li couldn’t help but ponder.

The once proud son of the heaven had now been reduced to serving others or more specifically Lu Li— the person he had personally rescued and had shown kindness to.

How should the two of us get along from now on? Lu Li was full of guilt and anxiety.

The ward fell into a solemn silence.

Xie Jianwei sighed lightly and changed the subject: “What happened to me?”

Lu Li explained his condition. The operation was successful, so there was no need to hide it him.

Xie Jianwei smiled bitterly: “Maybe I shouldn’t have been born.” He ruined the fate of his mother and himself. Was there a need for such a being full of ill luck? So God gave him this illness.

Lu Li grabbed his hand and said anxiously: “Don’t say that, if it weren’t for you, I…”

If it wasn’t for Xie Jianwei, the young Lu Li would have been left in despair.

Xie Jianwei looked at Lu Li’s hand resting above his,and said softly, “Even without me, you will definitely live well, but now, I…” He took his hand out, turned his head and said, “I’m sorry for all the inconveniences that I’ve caused.”

Lu Li wanted to say something more. He opened his mouth, but he realized that all the words he was going to say would only become an empty talk.

He couldn’t comfort Xie Jianwei, couldn’t cheer him up, and couldn’t erase the things he had done to him.

Xie Jianwei, who now remembered everything, would only feel that those were great insults. Knowing that he exchanged his body for money was a terrible blow to the Xie family’s third youngest child, and it’s enough to destroy his spirit.

Lu Li’s mouth remained slightly agape for a while, but then, he suddenly knelt on one knee, looked up at Xie Jianwei who was sitting, and said seriously, “The truth is, I have always liked you3.”

___________

Translator’s notes:

Tip: You can hover (or click) on the number beside the orange-colored texts to see the notes