Chapter 82
Qu Xing was sitting in a car with Qu Chen at this moment.
He was speechless about his stubborn brother: "You ran faster than anyone else that day, and said goodbye like it was forever. Why are we meeting again now?"
Qu Chen looked at the scenery outside the car window: "But I'm afraid I won't have the chance to see him again after I go back, and I still want to talk to my brother."
"Okay." Qu Xing smiled and said, "It's okay, I will always remember you."
Qu Chen didn't say anything.
The younger brother said he had booked a restaurant and was determined to treat him. Qu Xing glanced at the message on his phone and said, "Send my younger brother the restaurant address."
Qu Chen: "Oh."
Qu Chen sent it over, then looked up and asked, "Why are you sending the address?"
"Someone will pick me up after dinner." Qu Xing forwarded the address to Ling Yin and sent him a kiss emoticon. Ling Yin replied with an even more enthusiastic one.
Every time he saw Ling Yin post this kind of emoticon, he felt very happy. Qu Xing smiled and watched for a long time. Qu Chen looked at him and said after a while: "It's time, brother."
The dining area was a large Chinese courtyard, which was surprisingly large, but there was not a single diner dining there.
"Are you sure?" Qu Xing paused.
"We just booked the whole place." Qu Chen said, "Otherwise, it would be very noisy when we were eating."
Qu Xing: "...Okay."
The waiter led them through twists and turns, around the intricate courtyard, into the room, and through a short corridor to an exquisitely decorated private room.
When the door was opened, soft light shaved by the thin porcelain fell down, illuminating the person sitting in the middle.
Qu Xing took a sharp step back, and the men guarding the flanks quickly advanced, blocking his retreat. Several men, one house, their backs slamming into an obstacle, a familiar impasse, a familiar road to nowhere, a familiar face that might not have been familiar to him, but had appeared in countless nightmares.
Qu Xing suddenly turned his head and glared at the person who led him in: "Qu Chen?!"
Qu Chen quickly avoided his gaze: "I'm sorry, brother, but Dad just wants to say a few words to you."
Qu Xing, seething with rage, turned fiercely towards the person sitting in the middle. Qu Hongfei, seated at one side of the narrow table, his figure less cold and hard in the soft Chinese light, turned quietly to look at him.
This guy threatened him a few days ago that there were still three months left, so why is he getting so restless now?
But Qu Xing also noticed that Qu Hongfei seemed much older than the last time they met.
Qu Hongfei: "You don't have to look at me like that. I'm not going to tie you back up. I'm stopping you just to get you to sit down and have a good talk with me."
Qu Xing stood there without moving.
Qu Hongfei sighed, and the cold mask on his face fell off, making him look like a real father. "Sit down, I'll leave after I finish talking... I won't live much longer, and you won't see me again in the future. I've kept you in jail for a month as an apology."
Qu Xing: “…”
So, did Qu Hongfei come here because he realized he wasn't going to live long? Did Qu Chen help trick him into coming to see Qu Hongfei because his father wasn't going to live long? Why was he so obsessed with seeing him?
Qu Xing looked at Qu Hongfei strangely, his tense nerves relaxed a little, and he sat down at the urging of the mountains behind him.
"How did you play in the game?" Qu Hongfei asked.
Qu Xing: “…”
Seeing that he still had his eyes open, stubborn and doubtful, and refused to speak, Qu Hongfei's mouth twitched slightly, and the originally narrow curve disappeared, becoming a straight line.
After a long while, Qu Xing finally said, "It's in the news."
As soon as the words fell, Qu Xing saw Qu Hongfei's face suddenly become stern. Perhaps because of his illness, his face had a sad look of dejection. Even with his habitual dignity, he only made people feel pitiful.
Qu Xing sighed and said, "It's fine."
"Okay." Qu Hongfei stared at him, as if he wanted to see through him: "Okay."
“…”
Qu Xing leaned back unconsciously.
His feelings for this father were complex. First, he was a foreign friend, like those in English essays. Then, he was a kind man who wanted to help ease his grandmother's pain while planning his future. Then, he suddenly became a kidnapper. Now, he was just another ordinary life, about to disappear. The shock of this realization temporarily overshadowed his other emotions. Feeling sorry for him, Qu Xing decided to chat with him for the time being.
Qu Xing: "What do you want to tell me?"
Qu Hongfei looked at him sternly and deeply: "I am your father."
“…”
Qu Xing was stunned for a moment, then shuddered inexplicably. Overwhelmed with shock, he couldn't help but raise his voice: "You came all this way and went to all that trouble to see me before your death countdown just to emphasize this sentence?!"
Qu Hongfei remained silent, his gaze deep and fierce, as if he was determined to hammer the words "I am your father" into Qu Xing's mind. Qu Xing felt uncomfortable under his murderous gaze.
"Okay, you're my dad!" Qu Xing said, taking out his phone and quickly sending a message under the table, saying, "If you're still worried, let's do a paternity test. I'll consider it a gift to you, okay?"
Qu Hongfei took a deep breath, slowly leaned back in his chair, and raised his chin slightly: "I just hope you don't forget this, you know..." Qu Hongfei paused.
After Qu Xing sent the message, he looked up at him.
Ling Yin just got through to the professor on the phone.
Chen Qi: "What's going on with your friend?"
"I just learned about his past experiences," Ling Yin said, "Let me give you a brief overview."
Chen Qi: "Yes, sure."
"He used to..." Ling Yin paused and saw the message pop up on the call interface.
Xingxing - Come pick me up, that restaurant
Xingxing - I'm in the same room with Qu Hongfei now. He's a little weird and he's cleared the room. Please call the restaurant staff when you come.
Ling Yin stood up and walked away under the gaze of the couple: "Sorry, Uncle Chen, I have something urgent to do now. Let's make an appointment later."
Ling Song stood up: "What's wrong?"
Ling Yin had already walked to the entrance: "Xingxing is with his father."
Ling Song said: "Let's go, I'll go with you."
Ling Yin glanced at his father and said, "Yeah."
"Do you know that during these eighteen years of your life," Qu Hongfei said, "I have been trying to bring you back for fifteen years? But your grandmother—"
As if his hands and feet were frozen by these words, Qu Xing moved his head slightly, half stiffly, as if he wanted to take a closer look at Qu Hongfei who said this.
"Your fake—"
"Stop!" Qu Xing stood up suddenly, and then forgot why he was so excited. He looked at Qu Hongfei blankly, but his body began to tremble unconsciously.
"Sit down." Qu Hongfei ordered.
Qu Xing held onto the table without moving, his eyelashes trembling slightly, and looked at Qu Hongfei with confusion and ignorance.
"Do you like your grandma that much?" Qu Hongfei said expressionlessly, "I just mentioned it, and you don't want to have a good meal with me anymore."
"..." Qu Xing sat down and said, surprised even himself: "I hate her."
Qu Hongfei let out a short laugh that sounded like mockery, but the joy was genuine: "I hate your grandmother too. Do you know how much I hate her? If killing someone wouldn't cause trouble, I would have..."
"Qu Hongfei!" Qu Xing stood up again, his eyes burning with anger: "What did you say?"
Qu Hongfei looked at him and said, "You still can't learn to call me daddy, right?"
Qu Xing: "If it's not murder, what's wrong? What are you going to do to my grandma?"
"What's going on?" Qu Hongfei stared at him sternly. "I want to ask you what you want. How do you talk to me? You can't learn to respect your elders, right? I just want to talk to you nicely. How many times have you stood up in the past? What do you want?"
Qu Hongfei's voice held a distinctly fatherly pressure, and Qu Chen, listening to it, began to feel intimidated. Qu Xing, however, had never encountered such an elder, one whose words were incoherent and who relied solely on "power" to oppress others. He was unfazed by his intimidation, viewing him only as a hypocritical, ill-tempered fool. Qu Hongfei's accusations, let alone fear, hadn't even crossed his mind.
Qu Xing sneered: "You really are a great emperor."
“…”
Qu Hongfei was irritated by his nonchalant attitude. His eyes suddenly turned cold, shooting at Qu Xing like a stinging thorn. He had been sitting steadily, his hands untouched since Qu Xing entered, truly sitting like an emperor. He sneered, "Just because I said a few words about your grandmother, you're so upset?"
Qu Xing didn't bother to pay attention to him. He turned his head to look at the people blocking the door and sat down. "What do you want to say? Hurry up and finish it. I'm leaving."
"I told you, I came here just to be with you properly—" Qu Hongfei emphasized the word "properly": "To emphasize, I am your father."
"..." Qu Xing slowly picked up the porcelain cup and took a sip. With the aroma of the hot tea, he wondered if Qu Hongfei was a bit mentally retarded: "You've emphasized enough."
Qu Hongfei sneered: "Those who have never had a father teach them don't know what a father is."
"Okay." Qu Xing smiled at him and sat up straight: "You teach me."
I'm going home after finishing teaching.
Qu Hongfei looked at him calmly and said slowly, "You should know about your grandmother."
Qu Xing: "What?"
Qu Hongfei said, "You still think that grandma is your real grandma."
“…”
Memories drifted back to him as Qu Hongfei spoke. Qu Xing curled his fingers, "I know."
"Heh." Qu Hongfei laughed mockingly, "Seeing you protecting your grandma like that, I thought you'd forgotten."
Qu Xing: “…”
A fragment of memory was turned out, and the others began to stir restlessly. Qu Xing's head felt a little swollen, and he suppressed the confusion in his mind: "What exactly do you want to say?"
"I've never understood it," Qu Hongfei said, his hands under the table seemingly stroking something. "Your grandma clearly wants to get rid of you, so why won't she give you back to me?"
Buzz.
Qu Xing didn't even register what Qu Hongfei was saying at first. By the time he did, his once-repressed, already shattered memories were already madly escaping. His vision blurred for a moment: "Shut up."
Qu Hongfei frowned and glared at him, mocking him coldly: "What? You still can't accept the facts?"
Qu Xing closed his eyes and exhaled softly: "What do you want to do with Qu Hongfei?"
"I'm afraid you don't understand it clearly enough," Qu Hongfei stared at him with a pair of cold and piercing eyes. "Let me tell you how much your grandmother, who loves you so much, wants to throw you away."
Qu Xing raised his eyes, his gaze trembled slightly, and there was a hint of uneasiness in his bright eyes.
"Back then, Cun Ziying tried to stop her like that and spread rumors about me in front of her, saying that I was a corrupt person with no humanity, and even that you wouldn't live long in my hands."
Qu Xing stared at him intently, and saw the devilish curl of Qu Hongfei's lips: "Even though your grandmother's image of me has become like that, we still almost completed the adoption procedures."
Qu Xing: “…”
Qu Chen sat beside Qu Hongfei. His brother had been tricked into coming here, forced to face his father's cruel words. But he felt no remorse, his eyes glued to his brother's face and eyes.
There seemed to be a tremor deep within those eyes, a tremor that was quite beautiful. With a slight blink, the light in the pupils briefly dispersed and then gathered again.
Qu Hongfei: "If your grandma really loved you that much, why would she be willing to hand you over to someone like me? In your heart, she's your grandma, your dear grandma, the only family you have in this world. But in her heart, you're just a strange child who was inexplicably thrown into her hands, a burden, a nuisance."
Qu Xing was speechless.
"Why aren't you talking? Huh?" Qu Hongfei sat up straighter and looked at him: "Look at me, Qu Xing, Qu Xing!"
Qu Xing stared at him with a hint of hatred.
Qu Hongfei suddenly raised his voice: "Don't look at me like that!"
Qu Xing's chest rose and fell slightly, and he breathed in quickly, still looking at him in the same way.
Qu Hongfei was completely enraged by his gaze. He couldn't understand why, despite what he said, Qu Xing still didn't hate his grandmother but looked at him with hatred. Qu Hongfei felt that he was looking at the wrong person.
"Tell me, what's your last name!" Qu Hongfei glared at him. "Huh? What's your last name? Why is your last name Qu? Why don't you have the last name Cun? Why don't you have the last name of your grandmother? Do you even know your grandmother's name?!"
Qu Chen saw his brother's brows suddenly frown, and he opened his mouth to let out a few trembling breaths. His beautiful eyes were covered with more fragile emotions, and he looked a little confused and ignorant from beginning to end, as if he couldn't understand what his father was saying.
"I'm asking you, why?" Qu Hongfei asked his deceased grandmother loudly through Qu Xing, "Why don't you return my child to me?"
"Why won't you give it back to you?" Qu Xing stood up, holding onto the table. He looked at Qu Hongfei, emphasizing each word and asking contemptuously, "Give it back to you?"
Qu Xing said: "Because it was never yours."
"A very clear fact is right in front of you, don't you see it?" Qu Xing stared at him and said, "I've grown up this big and I don't have a father."
Qu Xing: "Don't you realize that I don't need a father at all?"
There was a constant buzzing in his ears, as if he was trapped in a twisted turbulence, and his whole body was torn into a mess of fragments. Qu Xing's hands on the table began to tremble slightly: "Even if you emphasize it to me ten thousand times, I will not think that I have a father."
Qu Hongfei looked at him resentfully and shouted in a low voice, "No father? Where did you come from without a father?!"
"Why do you care where I come from?" Qu Xing began to breathless.
Qu Hongfei roared, "Did your fake grandmother create you out of thin air?!"
"Shut up, Qu Hongfei..." Qu Xing lowered his head to catch his breath, then raised it again. Through his unfocused gaze, he was slow to notice something was amiss with Qu Hongfei's expression. A hand suddenly swung up, bringing it close. By the time Qu Xing realized he was holding a knife, the cold, sharp touch had already penetrated his flesh.
Qu Chen's pupils suddenly shrank and he shouted, "Dad!!!"
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