Chapter 137 I Only Care About You
Xie Xingchen couldn't bring himself to say a single word of agreement.
How could it end like this? Lin Yao and those innocent people have suffered so much, but he couldn't bring himself to look Yun Qing in the eye.
The past ten years were fragmented and unclear. He guessed that perhaps the experience was too cruel, so Yun Qing chose to erase her memories.
What a gentle dad.
But it would be too unfair to Lin Yao to simply wipe the slate clean.
"I'm sorry." He could only apologize with his head down.
"Am I putting you in too much of a difficult position?" Yun Qing gently brushed her finger under his eyes. "Then just follow your heart. Whatever you do, I won't blame you."
"Yun Qing!" Xie Hengzhi called his name, rarely showing any emotion.
Yun Qing smiled gently: "Visiting time is limited. Could you spare some time for Hengzhi and me? After all, it will be difficult to see each other again next time."
Xie Xingchen nodded heavily, stood up and said, "Please take care of yourself. I'm so sorry, I'm really sorry."
"It's okay, don't cry, go out," Yun Qing said.
Xie Hengzhi watched the door close, still silent, his face ashen.
"Are you angry?" Yun Qing leaned forward a little, tilting her head to look at him. "Time is running out. Are you sure you want to stay angry with me like this?"
Xie Hengzhi lowered his eyes, took out a bottle of nail polish from his pocket, grabbed his hand, and slowly painted it: "The thing I promised you the day before yesterday was delayed by your stupid son."
"Well, this is a make-up, so it's not breaking my promise." Yun Qing loved to look pretty, so she spread her ten fingers out obediently, and her expression looked a little cheerful.
Xie Hengzhi applied the ointment with great skill: "Why should you admit it? You know perfectly well that I have many ways to help you get away with it."
Yun Qing watched as the bright nail polish was slowly applied, and said softly, "We all know Xing Chen's temper all too well. For four years, he was determined to avenge Lin Yao, and someone has to pay for it."
"He loves Lin Yao, and I love you. If someone has to bear the consequences, I'm willing to. The fact that you haven't intervened means you know what I'm thinking. Since you respect me, then keep quiet and don't get involved anymore, okay?"
"I can't do it." Xie Hengzhi's voice was cold, but his movements were gentle. "If the sentence is too long, I'll blow up the prison to get you out. Do you want to be a queen?"
Yun Qing reached out and covered his mouth, her nail polish slicing across the back of her hand, leaving a bright red mark.
"Don't talk nonsense, are you crazy?"
"I've thought so for a long time. Let whoever wants to be the leader of this lousy alliance be it."
Xie Hengzhi took out a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped off the nail polish on his arm. "Your original intention has long since changed, Yun Qing. Even if you change that law, the world is still terrible, and I've become even worse. There's no going back."
Yun Qing stared at him and suddenly saw herself from many years ago.
She was the lowest class in the elite school, and she liked to wear skirts and paint her nails, so she was bullied by her classmates. However, because the other party was too young, she was only given a light demerit each time.
Then he met Xie Hengzhi.
A product born out of shared interests, a psychopath who self-harms on the rooftop and remains unmoved as blood flows down his wrists.
For some reason, Yun Qing mustered up her courage and asked, "Can you protect me?"
Xie Hengzhi was extremely cold, his wrist still bleeding: "What will you offer in exchange?"
Yun Qing thought that Xie Hengzhi, a child raised in a family that had never experienced love and warmth, whose starting point for everything was the weighing of interests, was actually different from others. He did not look down on his own background, but only asked, "What will you give in exchange?"
So he replied, "Take myself; I am yours, forever."
From then on, he could wear pretty dresses and paint his nails however he wanted. No one dared to bully him anymore, but he still held a grudge against the people who had bullied him and often brought them up with great resentment.
This madman, who puts profit above all else, actually agreed to his suggestion one day: "Then I'll become the leader of the alliance. My first thing to do is amend Article 277: anyone between the ages of eight and fourteen who engages in excessive bullying will still be held legally responsible."
He later actually amended the law.
It's just a bit late.
The first time he threatened to withdraw from the election, in between was a painful experiment for Hsieh Hsing-chen for several years. As he said, by the time he made changes, his original intentions had long since changed.
They are no longer the teenagers they once were; they have become adults with hands stained with filth.
Yunqing later discovered that Xie Hengzhi still loathed everything. He hated family, children, and all emotional bonds. If she hadn't insisted, Xie Yunhuai and Xie Xingchen would never have had any chance of being born.
But Yun Qing was the only exception who didn't hate herself.
Xie Hengzhi is like a wound-up machine, relentless in pursuing his goals. Just like when he said he wanted to change the law, he would use any means necessary to become the leader of the alliance. Now, his worst-case scenario is that if he can't get things out of control, he'll simply overthrow the regime. He's completely insane.
Yun Qing lowered her eyes, staring at her fingernails painted with ink, and said softly, "Hengzhi, let Xingchen and Lin Yao go. I'll accept whatever the outcome may be."
"I don't acknowledge it." Xie Hengzhi expressionlessly finished applying the last bit of paint to his little finger. "No matter what means you use, you'll look beautiful. I'll take you back, and when the time comes, I'll come see you again another day."
Yun Qing's eyes welled up with tears: "He is your son."
Xie Hengzhi remained unmoved: "I only care about you."
Yun Qing thought that perhaps if he hadn't let Xie Xingchen be born that night many years ago, none of what happened in the future would have occurred.
But what can I do? His baby is so good. It's my fault for being so willful, making him suffer so much.
Xie Hengzhi wiped away his tears: "Why are you crying? You'll be fine. Let's go."
He got up and went outside, where he saw Xie Xingchen standing in the wind smoking. He walked over and said, "Tell Lin Yao not to submit any more evidence. I'll handle the rest."
Xie Xingchen remained silent, surrounded by white smoke, transforming into a taciturn statue.
“You saw how Yun Qing looked just now. He loves being so vain, how could he stand being in prison?” Xie Hengzhi looked up at him. “If you let him go, I’ll let you and Lin Yao go. I don’t care anymore.”
"I can't make the decision for Lin Yao. If there's nothing else, I'll head back now," Xie Xingchen said in a hoarse voice.
Xie Hengzhi watched him walk forward with his head down and called out to him, "Xie Xingchen, will you regret your decision today? You will."
Xie Xingchen slightly tugged at his lips, unable to answer, so he remained silent.
He stood by the roadside, hailed a taxi, and returned to the hotel on the mountain. When he got back to his room, He Li wasn't there. Lin Yao was sitting half-sitting in front of the French windows, looking into the distance.
"Why didn't you go back to the military region?" Xie Xingchen slowly walked over, sat down next to him, and gently pulled him into his arms.
Perhaps because of his awkward posture, Lin Yao noticed something was wrong: "What's wrong with your legs?"
"I knelt for a few hours after going back, but it's nothing. I've been punished like this occasionally before." Xie Xingchen paused, then said in a low voice, "When do you plan to hand over the rest of the evidence?"
Lin Yao reached out and tugged at his pants, insisting on seeing the injury on his knee: "Take it off."
Xie Xingchen had no choice but to do as he was told, and because he had been in the same position for so long, he had developed a layer of bluish-purple bruises.
Lin Yao frowned slightly: "I plan to do it in the next couple of days."
Then the answer is already there. Yun Qing asked if they could let each other go, and the answer is no.
Xie Xingchen nodded, watching him lean closer and gently blow on it: "Okay."
"Something seems off about you." Lin Yao looked up and saw his red eyes, and said softly, "Are you regretting it? Can't you get over that hurdle in your heart?"
Xie Xingchen shook his head, his voice muffled: "No, I just learned about some old things, and I'm a little sad."
Lin Yao felt himself being held tightly in his arms.
He had never seen Xie Xingchen with such a broken and sorrowful expression, as if he would turn into mist that would dissipate with the slightest touch.
"Yaoyao, I've realized that it seems all the bad things started because of me," Xie Xingchen said softly. "If I hadn't been born, would everyone be happier?"
Lin Yao was struck by the immense sorrow in his voice.
He used to hate Xie Xingchen, who was loved by everyone. Now he hopes that he can always be the arrogant center of attention, loved by everyone.
"No." Lin Yao looked up and kissed the moisture in his eyes.
"Your existence is the definition of my happiness, Xie Xingchen."
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