Chapter 141 Never Break a Promise
In the morning, Lin Yao, half-asleep, called Xie Xingchen, his daily wake-up call ringing on time.
"Xie Xingchen is up. Lin Yao likes you even more today than yesterday..."
Before I could finish speaking, another call came in and the line was busy, so I hung up.
"Brother Yao, where do you want to go today? Xie Dai and I will come with you." He Li said in an exaggerated tone, "You're twenty-two years old, don't be a lazybones who loves to sleep in!"
"I got up early."
More than half a month has passed since Xie Xingchen went missing, and there has been no news of him at all, as if he had vanished into thin air.
That suicide note was like a time bomb. He was terrified that one morning he would wake up and sign for it as the recipient, only to be blown to pieces.
After routinely checking the backend and finding nothing, Lin Yao breathed a sigh of relief: "I want to go to Rose Star."
"What are we going there for? Didn't Xie Dai pick him up from there?" He Li was completely confused.
"My dear master must want to revisit these places with me~ ...
Xie Dai, while brushing his jet-black fur, said, "Why does this stuff get blacker the more I brush it? I want it pink!!! Cheng Boyan is so annoying, this paint he put on me can't be washed off!!!"
He Li suggested in a very wicked way, "I'll spray it green for you."
"You're the one who's cuckolded, you unwanted, stupid Alpha."
"Who are you calling an idiot who no one wants!"
The two, one human and one bird, were making a huge fuss on the other end of the phone. Lin Yao got out of bed, silently brushed his teeth with a toothbrush in his mouth, and cursed Xie Xingchen in his heart.
You promised you'd never miss your own birthday again, you liar.
Nineteen, twenty, twenty-one, this year she's twenty-two, and Xie Xingchen is still not here.
The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. He used too much force and smashed the cup in his hand to pieces with a crack.
Lin Yao: ".........."
"What's that sound, Yao-ge?" He Li had been very concerned about Yao-ge's mental state lately, and would think he was suicidal at the slightest noise, becoming extremely paranoid.
Lin Yao said expressionlessly, "Clean up Xie Xingchen's remains."
This is a hellish joke; nobody dares to laugh.
There was a moment of silence between the two people on the other end of the phone. Xie said dryly, "I'm going to pluck some feathers. I'll be leaving in five minutes."
Lin Yao expressionlessly cleaned up the broken pieces, threw them into the trash can, and then lowered his eyes to look at his phone screen.
I dreamt about him last night. The two of them were sitting in a convertible sports car, and he was introducing him to every passerby: "This is my boyfriend, isn't he handsome? He's mine."
Many people looked over, and Lin Yao was so annoyed that he could only raise his hand to cover his burning face.
But when I lowered my hand again, half-asleep, my palms were wet with tears.
"What exactly are we going to Rose Star for...?" Xie Dai asked cautiously. "You're not planning to take over the lab all by yourself, are you?"
"Let's go to Wishing Island." Lin Yao himself found it laughable.
Someone who never believed in this nonsense is now eager to try every possible way to pray.
The longer time goes on, the slimmer the hope becomes; praying to Buddha every day has not brought the person back.
He wondered if his birthday wish, combined with the legendary Wishing Island, could bring Xie Xingchen back.
He Li stiffened, cautiously asking, "Excuse me for asking, is Wishing Island something from some animated film?"
"No, it really is!" Xie Dai pointed to the wedding ring on Lin Yao's ring finger. "This is what Xie... brought back from Wishing Island... Ah... Ah... The weather is so nice today."
He was only halfway through his sentence when He Li suddenly grabbed him by the neck, and he realized he had spoken out of turn.
Lin Yao said calmly, "Why not mention his name?"
He Li struggled to smooth things over: "Who? Whose name did you just mention?"
"No, I was saying there's a really popular celebrity lately, what's his name again?" Xie Dai scratched his head, feeling like there were minefields everywhere.
Lin Yao, controlling the console, said, "You two are really bad at changing the subject."
Xie Dai and He Li exchanged a glance, not daring to speak.
For the past two weeks, Lin Yao has been unusually calm. In the past, if someone had been out of contact for more than seven days, it would have been time to prepare for their funeral.
But he still does the same thing every day: praying to Buddha, going out to sea, and going to Cheng Boyan's lab at night. I don't know what he's busy with, like a wound-up machine.
The calmer they are, the more worrying it is.
Upon arriving at the sea on Rose Star, He Li's expression grew even more somber: "Brother Yao, you're not planning to commit suicide with Xie Xingchen here, are you?"
“Your idea is good, we can consider it.” Lin Yao pulled his clothes up and threw them aside before walking into the sea. “You’re not a good swimmer, so wait for me on the shore.”
The sky and sand were a deep rose-red, creating a dreamlike scene, yet Lin Yao's silhouette was remarkably resolute.
Xie Dai flapped his wings and chased after him, shouting, "I'll go with you, wait for me!!!"
Lin Yao was in the sea, and even though it was July, he still felt his limbs were ice cold. He just swam silently toward the distant island.
The distance looked far, and in reality it was even farther. Xie Xingchen was still injured at the time, and he didn't know how the other party gritted his teeth and completed such a round trip.
Lin Yao belatedly realized that Xie Xingchen's love might have only been glimpsed to one percent.
“Wishing Island is very effective; it will definitely grant your wish,” Xie Dai said.
"Will it?" Lin Yao muttered to himself. "Probably. If that doesn't work, I don't know who else to ask for help."
The roads on the island were also difficult to navigate. The wishing stone was located in a very steep cave, and most of the stones were just oddly shaped rocks. He searched for a long time but couldn't find the one he liked.
Lin Yao stood at the cave entrance, feeling lost and dejected: "There's only one truly precious thing. Once you miss it, it's gone forever."
"No, you can make a wish right here and it will come true." Xie Dai was afraid he would be disappointed, so he gestured frantically, "Quick, stand here and make a wish facing the sea, shout it out."
Lin Yao looked at the surging sea, opened his mouth, but no sound came out.
Xie Dai awkwardly scratched his head: "Is it true that cool guys usually don't shout like that? Oh well, I'll just keep it down..."
"Xie Xingchen!!! I miss you! Come back soon! Come back alive!"
Lin Yao shouted at the boundless waves, then lowered his voice: "Please, please."
Xie Dai raised his hand to his heart, sobbing and crying, "Damn it, I want to cry."
It painstakingly picked out several wishing stones from the cave, carried them with difficulty to Lin Yao, and placed them in his palm: "They're all for you. They'll come true, they definitely will."
Lin Yao nodded slightly: "Okay, I'll trust you this once."
It seems that this trip has given me some new hope, and I can keep waiting.
On the way back, He Li spoke very little, which was very strange.
"What's wrong?" Lin Yao asked.
"Uh, it's nothing, just focus on what you're doing." He Li took the phone with its screen lit up, not daring to say another word.
Lin Yao immediately noticed his unusual behavior: "You're hiding something from me."
He Li shook his head and said very firmly, "No."
When the aircraft landed in front of the Pei family's house, Lin Yao was about to check his phone when He Li quickly stopped him and changed the subject: "What do you want to eat tonight? Let's see what dishes the General has prepared for you."
"Oh right, right, there's another package for you here. Let's see which mysterious person sent you this as a birthday present." Xie Dai hurriedly picked up the small box from the mailbox and placed it in his hand.
Lin Yao took it, and as soon as he opened the door, he saw Pei Xiang, who also looked flustered.
"Brother, um, do you want to take a shower first? I'll go get the cake."
"What's wrong?" Lin Yao asked, clutching the box, standing still. "Are you hiding something from me?"
Pei Yizhong moved his lips slightly and sighed, "Forget it, I can't hide it from him. He'll find out sooner or later. Let him see it."
"Please don't get agitated. It's not necessarily true... after all, the body hasn't been found yet..."
Pei Xiang handed over the phone and carefully explained, "It was Xingchen's own setting that the suicide note would be automatically released if he went missing for more than eighteen days, so... it was released today."
He added, "He changed the original one-to-one delivery permission to make it visible to everyone online. Now, this suicide note has caused a huge uproar."
Lin Yao's pupils trembled slightly, and he instantly understood the motive behind the special modification he made before leaving.
Xie Xingchen was aiming for this result from the very beginning.
Publishing a suicide note, revealing the truth in this way, is the most believable way. No one can deny the confession of a victim, the cruel self-examination, the final tears of blood.
Is this the birthday present you gave me, Xie Xingchen?
I don't want it.
If it takes such a life-threatening approach to prove Xie Hengzhi's innocence, I don't want it.
"Thank you, you're wrong. Wishing Island doesn't work at all," Lin Yao said in a low voice, releasing his grip and letting the pink crystal fall to the ground.
He prayed to Buddha every day and made loud vows, but Xie Xingchen never returned.
Lin Yao sat dejectedly on the sofa and opened the suicide note that had been publicly released on the military's official website, visible to all citizens:
Greetings.
By the time this letter is seen, I should no longer be in this world.
For the past few days, I've been thinking, if I hadn't been born, would everyone be happier? I think so.
If I hadn't been born, Zhao Quan wouldn't have kidnapped and imprisoned me because of the political struggles of that year, Alliance Leader Xie wouldn't have been threatened with withdrawing from the election, and Uncle Yun wouldn't have kidnapped countless other people's children for human experiments because I was on the verge of death after being injected with drugs.
My darling, my dearest darling, Lin Yao, would never have become my cruel, one-on-one experimental subject right after birth.
He should have been a beloved child, growing up in the love of his parents, instead of suffering countless injections and electric shocks from a young age, working alone in the dark to earn ten or twenty yuan a month for food.
I'm sorry.
Besides him, there were many other innocent people.
The cruel blood plague drug was also developed during the experimentation on my behalf. It was used by Alliance Leader Xie to control countless innocent warriors, causing their families to be destroyed, and forcing them to kill each other. Tens of thousands of lives were lost, but no one knows why.
I knew that standing behind justice meant personally sending them to trial, yet I hesitated because of the bonds of family.
As I write this letter, I am on a transport route to the military region. I am gambling that my father would not be so cruel as to kill my beloved to destroy evidence, and I hope he still has a conscience.
If something unexpected happens, then I'll have lost the bet. The debt of gratitude for raising me will be repaid with my life, and the debt will be wiped clean.
Yao Yao, I left in such a hurry that I forgot to say I love you.
Lin Yao, I love you more than anything.
Next time I pursue you, could you please agree to be my boyfriend sooner so we can have a proper relationship?
Xie Xingchen, handwritten.
"Xie Xingchen, this isn't even over yet, and you're already thinking about next time." Lin Yao looked up at the worried crowd staring at him, his fingers touching the newly brought-in package, and he opened it expressionlessly. "He's just playing a prank, and you all believe that?"
“Brother Yao, you…” He Li looked at his misty eyes and wanted to say, “But you look so sad, like you’ve been crying.”
Lin Yao lowered his head in a panic, then suddenly froze, and the tears he had been holding back while reading the suicide note suddenly fell.
Inside the box lay Xie Xingchen's wedding rings, and below them was a crookedly handwritten card with a few words that seemed to have been written with all his might.
"I promised to celebrate your birthday with you, and now that I'm here, I won't break my promise."
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