16 – Farewell After the Fight

Episode 16: Farewell After the Fight

Throughout the interrogation, He Yu and Xie Qingcheng treated each other like air.

Once the questioning ended, Xie Qingcheng immediately took a taxi home with Xie Xue. Xie Xue tried to wait for He Yu, but Xie Qingcheng firmly pushed her head into the taxi.

He Yu simply stood there, leaning against the pillar of the police station’s main entrance with his hands behind his back, watching them. He didn’t even insist on coming along. Seeing him look like a puppy that knows it’s been abandoned but cannot follow, Xie Xue felt uneasy.

“He Yu… Oppa, let’s take He Yu with—”

“Get in.”

“But still…”

“Get in!”

“…Fine. He Yu, text me when you get home.”

“Enough already. Just get in.”

Just as Xie Xue was about to speak again, He Yu stood silently and shook his head.

As they pulled away in the taxi, he waved to Xie Xue and watched the car disappear in silence.

Xie Xue leaned back into her seat and let out a sigh.

“Oppa, did something happen between you two again?”

Sitting in the passenger seat, Xie Qingcheng ignored Xie Xue and tore open a cigarette he had extorted from Chen Man. He was about to light it, but remembering Xie Xue in the back, he stopped. Instead, with the cigarette in his mouth, he rested his elbow on the open window and stared indifferently at the city’s night view flashing by.

Xie Xue asked in a small voice.

“Did He Yu accidentally do something to make you angry…?”

“…”

“Don’t be too hard on him, Oppa. His mood swings are a bit severe, but he’s a good kid at heart. I heard everything about the accident. If it weren’t for He Yu—if you and He Yu hadn’t arrived on time—things would have been much worse. He Yu is…”

“Why are you still talking about He Yu?”

Finally, Xie Qingcheng spoke, the cigarette held between his fingers. His tone was exceptionally cold.

“I told you not to get close to him, so why do you insist on sticking to him all day?”

At this point, Xie Xue felt a bit wronged.

“But he’s a good person. He’s kind to me, and he respects you so much…”

Xie Qingcheng’s face turned pale. He was momentarily speechless.

Respect.

Respect my ass!

That was all a performative act. Still, he couldn’t reveal He Yu’s pathology to Xie Xue. Since He Yu only showed a kind and polite side in public and only scratched at his nerves behind the scenes, even his own sister wouldn’t believe him if he badmouthed He Yu. It was frustrating, but what choice did he have?

“Oppa…”

“Shut up!”

Xie Xue promptly shut her mouth.

This was how families were supposed to be. From the moment she survived that major accident, she thought she should live this life without fighting with her family, communicating smoothly and gently. That was how a normal person should think.

However, the patriarchal macho man, buffed by the warmth of a narrow escape from death, welcomed Xie Xue with the same old condescension and lecturing. The way he poured out harsh nagging was no different from before.

Damn, isn’t the time limit on this buff way too short?

It was unfair, but it couldn’t be helped. What could she do? He was her brother.

Sigh, whatever. If I don’t cherish him, who will? I guess I’m the one who has to put up with the eldest’s temper…

Grumbling inwardly, she crossed her arms and pouted.

He Yu was such a smart, moral boy who knew how to respect his elders. Why did her brother keep telling her not to hang out with him? Why was he so dissatisfied with He Yu? She really couldn’t understand him…

“Ah…”

After a while, Xie Xue spoke again.

“You know.”

There was no response. Xie Xue knew exactly what that silence meant. It meant: I’m listening, so go ahead and babble whatever you want.

Thus, Xie Xue continued cautiously.

“Earlier, while I was resting in the lounge, that… that person called… and asked if something had happened…”

As if it were a tacit agreement between the two siblings, Xie Qingcheng didn’t specifically ask who ‘that person’ was.

“What did you say?”

“What else? I just said nothing much happened. I didn’t talk for very long.”

Xie Xue paused for a moment.

“Oppa, do you feel any better?”

“Do you think I’d feel better talking about that guy?”

Deflated, Xie Xue poked her head out from the backseat and cutely scratched the edge of the seat like a cat to get her brother’s attention.

“Then look at me. I’m perfectly fine. Do you still feel bad?”

“…Never go to a dangerous place like that alone again.”

His tone had softened slightly.

Not wanting to miss the opportunity, Xie Xue quickly replied.

“I know, I know…”

The car sped across the road, leaving a trail of dust behind.

The next day. News about the Qingkang Psychiatric Hospital dominated the newspaper headlines.

The people who had been driven to the rooftop that day provided various testimonies to the police. Consequently, it was revealed that there was another incident behind the arson and murder committed by Jiang Lanpei, and the inner details of her life—spending nearly twenty years in detention in a state worse than death—were laid bare. Unfortunately, Liang Jicheng was already dead, and Liang Zhongkang had died even before his younger sister. Other high-ranking officials who might have known the details of the case were no longer of this world. The few who remained perished in the fire.

The flames of revenge ignited by Jiang Lanpei seemed to have eyes, swallowing only those who had touched the sin.

Just as He Yu had predicted, she appeared in the newspaper in her ugliest photo. However, the surprising thing was that despite being such a photo, she looked truly beautiful. The woman stared blankly beyond the newspaper with a gaze that was somewhat intense yet somehow pitiful.

The article continued below the photo.

[The name Jiang Lanpei may not be her real name. This is because information was lost as hospital records transitioned from paper to computer files. The police are currently conducting DNA matching with Jiang Lanpei’s remains, but as the information has been missing for a long time, there are no definitive clues. Anyone with information regarding this case is requested to report to the relevant department. Phone: 138-xxxx-xxxx]

At the He family villa, He Yu folded the newspaper.

The keywords ‘psychiatric hospital’ and ‘mentally ill’ became the center of public debate. Overweight middle-aged men and blonde girls alike possessed the personas of sociology and medical experts, chattering away about the incident.

Naturally, people grouped the mentally ill as ‘them.’ The opposite of ‘them’ was, of course, ‘us.’ No matter how pitiful ‘they’ were, they could never become ‘us.’

Without even knowing how mental illness manifests.

He Yu recalled something Xie Qingcheng had told him in the past.

—Generally, mental illness is a kind of feedback that manifests when a normal human is placed in an abnormal environment. Obsessive-compulsive disorder, depression, bipolar disorder… these patients are people who have been pressured by one or more abnormal elements in their living environment. Things like school bullying, cyber violence, sexual harassment and assault primarily suffered by women, or the abnormal atmosphere of unequal social relationships. Ironically, the main culprits who deal psychological blows to ‘them’ are mostly ‘us’—the family, the workplace, and society.

—I believe that to recover the emotions of a mentally ill person, we shouldn’t forcibly lock them away, but rather let them out like normal people and make them part of ‘us.’

—Prisons are for criminals. Not for patients who have already suffered too much pain.

He Yu disliked Xie Qingcheng, but he agreed with what he had said.

The reason he had spent so much time with Xie Qingcheng was precisely because of this ideology. After all, he felt that Xie Qingcheng viewed him as a living human being.

Because of that, after yesterday’s events, He Yu realized he had crossed a line. If Xie Qingcheng was genuinely upset, He Yu was willing to apologize personally.

But perhaps the problem was that he had acted too hypocritically. Fed up with He Yu’s acting, Xie Qingcheng took that apology as a lie and poured beer over He Yu’s face.

The moment he recalled that incident, He Yu’s expression turned gloomy. He closed his eyes and tried to shake off the humiliation of the cold beer streaming down his cheek.

Forget it… let’s just not think about it.

At least Xie Qingcheng only pours out curses; he doesn’t treat the mentally ill like animals like other people do.

If he had been admitted to a psychiatric hospital like Qingkang from the start, his condition would have been far worse than it is now.

I wonder if Jiang Lanpei’s condition improved or worsened after being locked up for twenty years. She was someone who might not have had to walk this path in the first place.

“Young Master He, I have handled the matters you instructed.”

Driver Zhao, who had knocked on the door, entered upon permission and reported several items to him. A terrified yellow dog followed him in, wagging its tail timidly.

“I’ve finished talking with the people from the homeless shelter. I’ve conveyed your wishes to Representative He that Zhuang Zhiqiang will stay at our nursing center for the time being. Zhuang Zhiqiang will not be going toward Wanping.”

“Yes, thank you for your hard work.”

Seeing as he was the first to be rescued from the first floor, Zhuang Zhiqiang was indeed lucky. He Yu felt it was a kind of fate; having experienced such an event, he didn’t want to just stand by and ignore him.

Xie Xue would surely worry about that homeless man too.

Those involved in the Qingkang fire incident took a long break of about a week to recover their bodies and minds.

Those who survive must move forward. Since they had escaped from a hell of fire, it was only right that they live more joyfully and peacefully.

He Yu thought to himself. Xie Qingcheng, you said no one would want to date me? That if I find someone who dates me for more than a month, you’d let me take your surname?

Fine, then I’ll grit my teeth and date Xie Xue.

I’ll date the person closest to Xie Qingcheng. I’ll steal Xie Qingcheng’s sister. The moment he changes his surname from Xie Qingcheng to He Qingcheng, I wonder what his state of mind will be as he accepts this reality.

At this thought, He Yu’s mood became slightly cheerful.

—If that arrogant and cold face… makes an expression I’ve never seen before?

And so, after spending a week on vacation, He Yu quickly returned to campus.

He intended to confess to the sister Xie Qingcheng cherished most and give him a proper blow to the back of the head.

* * *

On a villa terrace.

A few flying insects hovered near the dim lighting, chasing the light. A hazy, damp light, like fog, outlined an armchair with its back to the terrace door.

A person was sitting in that armchair.

Because the back of the chair hid the body, the subordinate who entered through the door could only see the elbow of the other person resting diagonally on the armrest.

“Is that so? Those mentally ill people successfully escaped in such a short amount of time?”

“Yes, President Duan.”

“Interesting…”

The man called President Duan chuckled low in his throat.

“By helping each other kindly? Qingkang is a psychiatric hospital, not a daycare center that teaches children manners. How strange.”

Cold sweat beaded on the subordinate’s forehead.

“President Duan, the Qingkang CCTVs were already broken. After the fire broke out, even the ones that weren’t broken were all destroyed. I tried to extract the records from that day, but it seems…”

“I didn’t expect to be able to extract any useful records from that piece of trash, Liang Jicheng.”

After a brief silence, President Duan changed the subject.

“Any news from the police side?”

“We managed to get a little from them. They said a few of the mentally ill shared keys and cooperated to open the doors. But we couldn’t dig up any other information.”

At those words, President Duan let out a sneer.

“They told them to give the keys and open the doors, and those creatures obediently listened?”

“…”

“It was a sea of fire. Their lives were on the line.”

The subordinate flinched.

“President Duan. Does that mean, perhaps—”

The man sitting in the armchair did not answer further. The dim light illuminated a piece of paper hanging on the chalkboard in front.

Two characters drawn together with a circle and a question mark.

Those two characters were:

‘Blood Bone.’