"Mr. Xie's father... came to see him."

Yang Li's words, transmitted through the intercom, were like a cold bolt of lightning, instantly shattering the tense atmosphere that had been building up inside the apartment.

Su Nian's hand tightened slightly on the walkie-talkie, her heart sinking. Father Xie! The man who was so closely associated with terrifying images of "dark red," "cold," "smashing things," and "mother crying" in Xie Chen's fragmented memories had appeared at this most inopportune moment!

The moment Ah Chen behind her heard the word "father," the furious rage fueled by jealousy seemed to be instantly frozen and replaced by a deeper, bone-chilling cold! The violent expression on his face froze, transforming into an extremely complex mix of deep-seated hatred, immense fear, and a chilling shiver, almost instinctive, that he himself hadn't even noticed. He abruptly took a step back, as if avoiding some unseen filth, his dark pupils contracting sharply as he stared intently at the doorway, as if standing outside it wasn't a person, but a ferocious beast ready to devour its prey.

Even inside the tightly closed guest room door, the faint sobbing abruptly ceased, replaced by a deathly silence, a fear that seemed to have stopped even breathing.

The entire apartment was gripped by a suffocating, almost frozen panic because of the man's arrival at the door.

[Host! High-energy warning! The source of trauma has directly manifested! The mental fluctuations of both personalities are rapidly increasing, especially their fear levels!] 088's alarm blared sharply in Su Nian's mind. [This could be a breakthrough, but it could also be the trigger for complete collapse! Be extremely cautious!]

Su Nian took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down quickly. She glanced at Yang Li, whose face was pale and whose eyes were darting around, and at the middle-aged man beside her, whose face was serious, whose eyes were sharp as a hawk, and who wore an expensive suit but could not hide a rigid and cold aura—Xie's father, Xie Hongyuan.

"Ms. Yang, Mr. Xie is currently not feeling well and is unable to receive guests." Su Nian spoke into the walkie-talkie, trying to keep her tone calm as she made a final effort.

“Assistant Su,” Xie Hongyuan himself answered her. His voice was deep and carried an unquestionable authority that came through the intercom, making her feel an invisible pressure. “Open the door. I need to see my son.”

His word choice was "need" rather than "want," conveying a sense of self-righteous control.

Yang Li forced a smile and added softly, "Assistant Su, Mr. Xie came back from abroad specifically to see Xie Chen... You see..."

Su Nian knew that this door would likely have to be opened today. Xie Hongyuan was clearly not Yang Li; his will wouldn't change because of a simple "it's inconvenient." Forcibly turning him away would only escalate the conflict and might even lead him to take more drastic measures.

She glanced back at Ah Chen. He was still staring intently at the doorway, his face pale, his tightly pressed lips bloodless, and his injured hand clenched unconsciously, the edges of the newly healed scar faintly turning white. He didn't shout as usual to drive away the intruder; this unusual silence was all the more unsettling.

Su Nian was silent for two seconds before pressing the door open button.

With a soft "click," the door lock was unlocked.

The apartment door was pushed open from the outside, and Xie Hongyuan stepped in, with Yang Li following behind him, looking somewhat uneasy.

Xie Hongyuan's gaze, like a cold searchlight, quickly swept across the entryway and living room. His eyes first fell on the crumpled sheet music scattered on the floor by A-Chen, his brows furrowing almost imperceptibly, a fleeting hint of disgust flashing in his eyes. Then, his gaze passed over Su Nian and landed on A-Chen, a few steps behind her, who stood like a trapped beast with its fur standing on end.

The instant Xie Hongyuan saw the look and aura in Ah Chen's eyes, so different from the "son" he remembered, his pupils contracted slightly, and a fleeting emotion—a mixture of astonishment, understanding, and a deeper loathing—crossed his face. Clearly, this wasn't the first time he'd seen "this" Xie Chen.

"As expected..." Xie Hongyuan uttered two words in a low voice, his tone carrying a chilling indifference that seemed to confirm it all. He offered no address, no greeting, as if confirming a defect in a substandard product.

Under his scrutinizing and icy gaze, Ah Chen's body tensed like a fully drawn bow, a suppressed growl emanating from his throat, like that of a wild beast cornered. Hatred and fear battled fiercely in his eyes, almost making him unable to control the urge to pounce, but a fear of this man rooted deep in his childhood bound his hands and feet like invisible chains.

"You brought him out again?" Xie Hongyuan turned his gaze to Su Nian, his tone questioning and blaming, as if Su Nian was the culprit behind all of this.

Facing his intensely piercing gaze, Su Nian did not flinch: "Mr. Xie's situation is quite complicated and cannot be 'manufactured' by any individual. I am his psychological observer and assistant, Su Nian."

"A psychological observer?" Xie Hongyuan scoffed, his laughter devoid of warmth. "I think the more you observe, the worse it gets." His gaze swept over the messy ground and the crazed Ah Chen's eyes again. "I told you long ago, playing those pointless, whiny tunes would only make him weaker and more abnormal! Looks like I was absolutely right!"

His words, like a poisoned dagger, pierced precisely at Ah Chen, and also at the main personality who was probably trembling in the guest room.

"You are not allowed to... slander me...!"

A hoarse, pained, and furious voice squeezed out of Ah Chen's throat. He took a step forward, his aura becoming dangerously unstable again due to extreme anger, and his dark eyes churning with a madness that could destroy everything.

"Slander?" Xie Hongyuan wasn't afraid at all. Instead, he took a step forward, facing A-Chen directly. He was slightly shorter than A-Chen, but the imposing aura he exuded from years of giving orders was in no way inferior. "I'm stating the facts! You, and that useless thing inside, are proof of failure! Proving how utterly wrong her (obviously referring to Xie Chen's mother) weak, illusory education was!"

His words were vicious and cruel, completely tearing open that bloody old wound, denying not only Xie Chen's music, but also his very existence, and the gentle yet tragically fated mother in his memory!

"ah--!!!"

Ah Chen let out a roar that sounded inhuman, and the string of reason snapped completely at that moment! He suddenly raised his scarred hand, clenched his fist, and with a whooshing sound, smashed it hard towards Xie Hongyuan's cold face!

This punch contained all his anger, hatred, and the pain of being rejected. If it landed, the consequences would be unimaginable!

"Ah Chen! No!"

Su Nian cried out in alarm, trying to stop them, but it was too late.

Yang Li screamed in fright and covered her eyes.

However, faced with this thunderous attack, Xie Hongyuan stood still, neither dodging nor avoiding! He simply stared intently at A Chen with his cold, sharp eyes, his gaze even carrying a hint of... a cruel calm that he had anticipated.

Just as Ah Chen's fist was about to touch Xie Hongyuan's nose—

His movements froze in mid-air, as if a scene from a movie had been frozen in time!

The fist was less than an inch from Xie Hongyuan's face, trembling violently, but it could not go any further.

Ah Chen's face was filled with extreme pain and struggle, his eyes were chaotic and confused. The huge fear that came from his childhood was like the strongest shackle, which held back his arm of revenge at the last moment.

He can't do it.

Even with boundless hatred and destructive power, the shadow of that helpless child trembling outside the music room still firmly bound him when facing the man who inflicted his initial trauma.

Xie Hongyuan looked at the fist that was so close yet unable to land, and a cold, victorious smile curled at the corner of his mouth, a smile filled with undisguised contempt.

“See?” he said calmly to the pale-faced Su Nian and the terrified Yang Li, as if presenting the conclusion of an experiment, “No matter how fierce the outer shell, at its core, it is still a coward who cannot defy his father.

The word "coward" struck Ah Chen's heart like a final judgment.

His arm, frozen in mid-air, fell limply to his side. All strength seemed to have been drained from him. He staggered back a few steps, crashing into the wall behind him with a dull thud. He lowered his head; his disheveled bangs obscured his eyes, revealing only his clenched teeth and violently heaving chest. A silent despair, more suffocating than any roar, enveloped him.

Xie Hongyuan stopped looking at him, as if he were nothing more than a useless pile of trash in the corner. His gaze shifted to the tightly closed guest bedroom door, his tone leaving no room for argument:

"Xie Chen, come out."

"I know you're in there."

"Don't make me say it a second time."

The guest room was deathly silent. A few seconds later, a faint, trembling sound came from the doorknob.

The door was slowly pulled open a crack from the inside.

Xie Chen (the main personality) appeared behind the door. His face was ashen, his whole body was trembling uncontrollably, tears streamed down his face silently, and his eyes were filled with a tremendous fear that seemed to engulf him. He didn't even dare to look up at Xie Hongyuan, but instead looked at Su Nian helplessly and pleadingly, like a small animal driven to the brink of despair.

Su Nian looked at the scene before her—the alter ego on the verge of collapse, the primary ego terrified to the extreme, and the man who, like the source of shadows, coldly controlled everything.

She knew that the most dangerous moment had arrived.

Xie Hongyuan's arrival was not a visit, but a trial, a reckoning.

He not only had to confirm the defects of the "product," but also had to personally tear open the bloody packaging to see just how rotten it was inside.

And the "key" that locks in the truth seems to be cracking under this suffocating pressure, making a faint, unbearable sound.

(End of Chapter 136)

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Next chapter preview: How will Xie's father's trial proceed? How will he treat the main personality driven to the brink of utter terror? Where will A-Chen go after the ultimate humiliation and despair? How will Su Nian protect these two split souls in this storm? Will the secret of the locked music room surface under Xie's father's pressure? Truth and collapse are separated by only a fine line.