Chapter 95 Chapter 95 The First Step of Treatment
After the daily psychological treatment, Zhao Jingqun returned to the ward where he had been staying for three months. This was actually a mental hospital. Some patients were crying and laughing, while others seemed calm. Zhao Jingqun was the latter.
After coming out of the police station, he was scolded by his parents, who said that the Zhao family was wealthy and had once been a family of scholars, and had never before gotten themselves into trouble. He said that he had brought shame to their ancestors and the head of the family, and had let them down.
In his excitement, he blurted out that no matter how capable he was, he couldn't change the bad habits he had after being raised by an alcoholic...
After hanging up the phone, Zhao Jingqun came to the mental hospital to receive treatment from a psychiatrist. During this process, he gradually lifted the close surveillance on Tao Ning and only asked Sun Laoer to report Tao Ning's recent situation every week, and in text form, without photos.
The doctor said that learning to respect "him" is the first step in treatment.
Zhao Jingqun wanted to be a normal person because he knew that Tao Ning would not fall in love with a madman.
The blue and white hospital gown was a bit tight, so Zhao Jingqun casually unbuttoned a few buttons and buried his head in the quilt. He kept his eyes still, feeling the weight of the quilt pressing on his eyelashes. Everything in front of him was dark, but he didn't dare close his eyes, because as soon as he closed his eyes, the person who would appear in his mind would definitely be Tao Ning.
Tao Ning, ...
On the fourteenth day, he thought of Tao Ning for the sixty-four thousand one hundred and sixty times.
Suddenly, a dazzling light shone in, and the quilt was lifted up. Then a little boy about ten years old in hospital gown appeared, drooling and staring at Zhao Jingqun with a giggle.
Zhao Jingqun did not go to a private hospital, so there was a fellow patient in his ward, the boy who lifted up his quilt. He had congenital intellectual disability and was not afraid of Zhao Jingqun at all.
Squinting his eyes, Zhao Jingqun said bluntly, "Get out." He snatched the quilt from the boy and continued to cover his head with it. Just as he turned over, the quilt was lifted up again.
Along with the treatment, Zhao Jingqun's temper became increasingly unpredictable. After all, his previous cheerful smile was all fake. As the case report said, the real him was a person with a cold heart and a tendency towards antisocial personality disorder.
All the humanity he had left was in Tao Ning. Now that he could no longer see Tao Ning and had to undergo painful mental treatment, Zhao Jingqun was too lazy to even pretend, let alone have any so-called sympathy, even if it was just for a boy.
Just as he was about to hit someone, he saw Sun Laoer's terrified face. Zhao Jingqun's heart suddenly twitched, and his originally empty and dark eyes suddenly became sharp. "What's the matter?"
"Mr. Zhao, something happened..."
His heartbeat quickened, and his foreboding grew stronger. He even held his breath. Zhao Jingqun remained silent, then suddenly erupted in anger, "Did something happen to Tao Ning?" He reached out and yanked Sun Laoer by the collar, his eyes fixed on the face so close, as if trying to find any hint of a joke.
However, what almost made Zhao Jingqun's heart stop was——
Sun Lao Er said with a sad face and trembling lips: "Sister-in-law, sister-in-law was captured by Zhao Yi's people. He said... he wanted to negotiate with you..."
"What did you say?"
With a loud bang, Zhao Jingqun felt as if he had been thrown into a freezing hell by these words. He was shivering from the soles of his feet to his head, and his heartbeat stopped at this moment. The illusion of rationality that he had been struggling to maintain for some time collapsed in an instant.
The fear made him retch physically on the spot, and hideous bloodshot instantly covered his eyeballs, making him look horrifying.
Seeing Zhao Jingqun's abnormal behavior, Sun Laoer immediately knelt down and cried, "Brother Zhao, Master Zhao, kill me. It was my fault that I didn't keep an eye on my sister-in-law. Someone who claimed to be his classmate said he wanted to discuss something with me. I thought my sister-in-law would be safe in the short term, so I believed him... and in the end... kill me. It was my fault that I didn't protect my sister-in-law. I knew he was your life, but I still let him be taken away by Zhao Yi..."
Although the boy was mentally retarded, he was still a ten-year-old child after all. He was immediately frightened by the scene and burst into tears. For a moment, sharp and guilty cries rang out at the same time. The noise in the ward attracted the attention of the doctor, who came in and wanted to scold them to be quiet, but was frightened by Zhao Jingqun's expression and was speechless.
The doctor couldn't describe the expression on his face, but he felt murderous rage and...almost desperate fear in this man.
*
Tao Ning was awakened by a basin of cold water.
The cold liquid slid from the heavily inked eyebrows to the pale lips. My whole body ached as if being eaten by ants, and my head was filled with fog because of the fever. The moment the cold water hit my body, my drowsy thoughts were forced to wake up.
Slowly opening her eyes, Tao Ning saw a face that bore a passing resemblance to Zhao Jingqun, and couldn't help but murmur, "...Zhao Jingqun."
But he quickly reacted, because this face did not have the familiar doting and ruffian air, only a half-amusing, half-contemptuous look fell on him, and looking closely, they did not look alike at all.
"Zhao Yi?"
Zhao Yi didn't expect Tao Ning to recognize him. He showed a disgusted expression, "I didn't expect Zhao Jingqun to be such a disgusting homosexual. I heard from my people that you shook them off, but unfortunately I caught you in the end. Tao Ning, huh? You're a little smart, and your face isn't bad, but you just have to be with a piece of trash like Zhao Jingqun. What a shame, being with someone like him won't end well. Do you know why I called you here?"
Tao Ning was not angered at all, and her eyes were calm. "I don't know."
While observing the surroundings through the corner of his eye, he discovered that this was an abandoned building. He was tied to a chair, surrounded by the group of people who had captured him. Some were patrolling, while others were standing not far away, staring at him with a fierce look.
Tao Ning was stunned when he saw a cowering face in the room. When the latter saw him wake up, he quickly lowered his head, as if afraid of being discovered. However, Tao Ning had already recognized who he was: Liu Yuliang, the one who spread rumors that he had cheated.
Zhao Yi snorted coldly, hatred piercing his bones suddenly blazing in his eyes. "Why would the Zhao family's company end up in the hands of that scumbag Zhao Jingqun? He's a scumbag, his conversation and knowledge are no match for mine, and he's not even worthy of being the head of the Zhao family! If the Zhao family hadn't found him back then, Zhao Jingqun would have been a low-level scum his whole life, not even worthy of carrying my shoes. Not only is he ungrateful, he even dares to compete with me for the position of head. And that old man wants to pass the position to him just because he's the eldest grandson. Why?!"
Even after so many years, Zhao Yi still remembered the day Zhao Jingqun returned. While he nominally called the current patriarch "Grandpa," Zhao Yi knew he was a marginalized child of a collateral branch, his blood relationship with the patriarch only tenuous. The Zhao family's direct lineage had few descendants, and by this generation, only one branch remained. By the time of the grandchildren, Zhao Jingsui was the only girl left, the eldest grandson having been abducted as a child.
The next oldest was Zhao Yi, a member of the side branch. Not only was he male, but he was also the brightest child in the side branch, earning him the opportunity to be brought into the main family and trained as the next leader. For seven or eight years, Zhao Yi had been convinced the position of leader was his.
Until Zhao Jingqun came back.
When Zhao Yi got the news, his heart instantly sank to the bottom, and it took him a long while to control his decent expression. The people around him complimented him, saying that Zhao Jingqun was raised by an alcoholic, and was still collecting protection fees when he was found. He was an out-and-out gangster. Even if he came back now, how could he compare with him, a prodigy who had received elite education since childhood?
Feeling somewhat reassured by these words, Zhao Yi went to see his nominal brother. In the villa, filled with cries, he found the young man surrounded by people. He was tall, and unlike his biological parents, who were excited, he smiled and comforted those around him.
But just as those who complimented Zhao Yi said, Zhao Jingqun was a gangster with dyed yellow hair and a tattoo on his neck. He was indeed a social scum. Zhao Yi breathed a sigh of relief.
As if sensing the gaze behind him, Zhao Jingqun turned around. Beneath his yellow hair, his dark eyes looked towards him. With his hands casually tucked into his trouser pockets, he tilted his head and smiled, "Who are you?"
Zhao Yi forced out a friendly smile, "Brother, I am your younger brother Zhao Yi..."
"Ah—" He saw the gangster in his eyes make an exaggerated sound and asked in confusion, "Mom and Dad, after you gave birth to Jingsui, did you give me another brother? Why didn't you tell me? I probably didn't see him when I was a child."
Everyone in the Zhao family knew his identity. Now that their beloved eldest grandson had returned, where would he find a place in the future? An awkward atmosphere instantly spread, and Zhao Yi could no longer maintain his smile. His entire body was trembling with shame and anger, and the seeds of hatred had taken root and sprouted.
Afterwards, Zhao Jingqun came over, patted him on the shoulder like a good brother, and said nonchalantly, "I'm kidding, brother. I see you hate me, so I'm helping you. This way you don't have to force yourself to pretend to accept me."
Zhao Yi was filled with hatred and shame for having his inner thoughts easily seen through by a thug he despised. Since then, the conflict between him and Zhao Jingqun has deepened, finally reaching the point of irreconcilability. The trigger for this conflict was Zhao Jingqun's terrifying growth rate.
In just a few years, he'd gone from an illiterate hoodlum to a truly accomplished young master of a wealthy family. He consistently exceeded all the funding projects his master provided, and now owned several well-run companies. Even when he was tasked with traveling to war-torn areas like northern Myanmar, he managed to bring back the goods intact, convincing even some prejudiced old guard.
Whenever Zhao Yi thought about this, he would be filled with jealousy and hatred. It was not until he accidentally learned that the head of the family intended to pass the position to Zhao Jingqun that the hatred that had been brewing in his heart for many years finally erupted.
He sent many people to search for something that could bring down Zhao Jingqun, but they found nothing. Some people who were close to Zhao Jingqun were even nearly crippled. One day, Zhao Jingqun suddenly told the family head that he wanted to do some business overseas, and since then, Zhao Yi's people have lost track of him.
Until recently, a phone call came in, and a gentle voice told him: "Zhao Jingqun is in Haizhou."
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