Chapter 82.3: Xishan Residential Area (2)

Ruan Qing had no choice at all. He could only choose not to realize that his husband had already become a different person.

Fortunately, the man didn’t have the memories of the original husband. It’s likely he didn’t understand the original husband either, so Ruan Qing had the final say in how they interact with each other.

Moreover... the murderer was right beside him, giving him more opportunities to coax out his name.

However, the man might not be the ultimate answer.

The note didn’t specify finding the murderer; it specifically pointed out finding the murderer who killed ‘Xiao Xi’.

The fact that the man killed Ruan Qing’s original husband didn’t necessarily mean he also killed ‘Xiao Xi’.

So, first, it’s necessary to ascertain who this ‘Xiao Xi’ really was, how they died, and what connection they had to the Xishan Residential Area.

Based on Ruan Qing’s experience from her previous two instances, this ‘Xiao Xi’ must have a deep connection to the Xishan Residential Area, even if they didn’t live there.

The two people huddled together might seem warm and blissful, but they each have their own hidden intentions.

After consoling his wife, the man started tending to the wounds in his hands.

The man’s movements were very skilled; it’s clear this wasn’t his first time dressing wounds.

Once the man finished, he glanced at the male owner on the ground. The male owner’s body had begun to stiffen, yet his eyes remained open.

His eyes were wide open, his dilated pupils fixated on the direction of the sofa where they were sitting. His gaze seemed to carry a profound resentment and unwillingness.

Unwilling to just die like this.

In reality, due to lying down, the male owner’s head was slanted to the side, and the height wasn’t enough to see the young man on the sofa.

At most, he could only see his feet.

Yet, for some inexplicable reason, the man felt somewhat displeased, as if he sensed that his beautiful wife was being coveted by someone else.

The man looked at the young man sitting obediently on the sofa, nonchalantly stood up, and then proceeded to drag the male owner’s body toward the kitchen.

The dragging of the body on the ground produced a sound that drew Ruan Qing’s attention. In his misty gaze, a trace of confusion emerged, like the most beautiful piece of glass gem.

“Honey, what’s wrong?”

The man replied calmly while dragging, “Oh, nothing much. Earlier, didn’t I hurt my hand? I accidentally knocked over things on the table.”

“I’ll take care of it.”

After dragging the body, the man noticed Ruan Qing standing up, seemingly wanting to help. He immediately nervously spoke. “Just sit still and don’t move. I’ll clean up. Don’t step on the fruits or you might fall.”

Aside from the fruits on the ground, there were also large amounts of bloodstains. Stepping on any of them could easily result in slipping.

His beautiful wife was so delicate; if he fell, he would surely cry.

And there was so much blood, claiming it was just water wouldn’t pass, and it would definitely make his wife suspicious.

Hearing this, tears welled up in Ruan Qing’s eyes as he looked in the direction the man’s voice came from, and he spoke with a sense of grievance, “You yelled at me, you actually yelled at me. You’ve changed; you never used to yell at me like this before.”

“And what did you mean by what you said earlier? Do you think I’m useless?”

“I knew it. Now that I’m blind, I can’t do anything. I’m just a useless waste, can’t even clean the room. I have to rely on you for everything.”

“Do you regret it now?”

Ruan Qing’s voice carried a hint of a sob as he spoke.

In reality, Ruan Qing’s words were quite unreasonable and deliberately provocative. Since the man was capable of murder, he likely wasn’t a patient person.

Maybe he wouldn’t be able to tolerate his unreasonable behavior and would simply leave.

That would be just perfect.

However, Ruan Qing didn’t know the kind of attraction his current appearance held over the man.

His soft voice, tinged with a sob and helplessness, was like a feather gently brushing against the depths of a person’s heart.

Moreover, the young man’s eyes were devoid of vitality, misty and dewy. There was a slight tinge of red at the corners of his eyes, as if he had applied rose-colored rouge. When the young man looked over with his misty gaze, it was as though he could entice anyone.

It could also stir up certain dark things lurking in the depths of one’s heart, like weeds growing wildly.

The man’s eyes dropped a bit unnaturally, his voice carrying a hint of obscurity. “No.”

“I was just worried you might fall, and then I’d have to worry about you.”

Ruan Qing couldn’t see the man’s expression, but he listened to his somewhat suppressed tone and thought he had succeeded.

He continued, his eyes reddening, his voice filled with sadness, as if there’s a lump in his throat, “You don’t need to lie to me anymore. In reality, haven’t you regretted it for a while now?”

“Regretted for breaking ties with your parents for my sake, regretted abandoning your status as the young master to live with me in this small three-bedroom apartment.”

The original owner was deeply insecure, not just because of being an orphan, but also due to his husband, who was too perfect.

With his privileged family background, handsome and elegant appearance, and gentle and gentlemanly personality, the original owner often doubted himself.

Doubted what Yang Tianhao truly liked about him.

In Ruan Qing’s eyes, it was highly likely that Yang Tianhao, the original owner’s husband, didn’t actually like him at all. Being together with him was probably for some other purpose.

They had been together for over a year, and although Yang Tianhao was gentle and attentive, treating the original owner as his cherished one, nothing had truly happened between them.

At most, they had held hands a few times, and he had kissed his forehead lightly once.

Even if the original owner wanted to take things further, Yang Tianhao would use the excuse that he was still too young to reject him.

This clearly wasn’t the behavior of someone deeply in love. Only the original owner foolishly believed that the other loved him.

No, perhaps the original owner had realized it a long time ago, but he was unwilling to admit it, clinging to the bit of tenderness Yang Tianhao had shown him.

So, Ruan Qing’s words weren’t out of place, and they didn’t shatter the character. After all, the original owner had this kind of self-deprecating personality.

Ruan Qing lowered his gaze, gripping the blanket on the sofa tightly. It was as if he had cooled down, speaking calmly, “You can leave.”

“I will let you go.”

Ruan Qing paused for a moment and continued, “You don’t need to feel guilty either. I don’t need your pity.”

“Your pity is the greatest harm to me. If you still have even a trace of love for me, please let me go.”

Hurry and leave! Thank you!

The man could walk away without any sense of discord now. As long as he dealt with the body properly, it wouldn’t even arouse any suspicion from anyone.

After all, everyone would only think that Yang Tianhao and he had a falling out and that Yang Tianhao had returned to his original home.

One should know that Yang Tianhao’s home was not in this province, it’s very far away, and no one would bother investigating.

The conditions for the man had already been set, now all that was left was for him to leave.

Although the young man on the sofa appeared calm, his eyes were misty in reality, as if he was about to burst into tears the next second. He exuded an aura of pitiful helplessness, looking incredibly fragile.

The man restrained himself for a moment, but couldn’t hold back any longer. He walked over to the young man in large strides, directly pulled him into his arms, lifted his fair and jade-like chin, and lowered his head to kiss him.

Passionate and unrestrained.

Due to not being careful, even Ruan Qing’s face was tainted with a trace of blood.

Ruan Qing: “…?”

Ruan Qing realized what was happening, and when the man became more invasive, he pushed him away directly.

“I said, I don’t need your pity.”

Ruan Qing wiped the corner of his mouth and a hint of disgust appeared in his eyes. “Behaving like this only makes me feel nauseous.”

The man didn’t pay attention to what the young man was saying, but instead his gaze remained fixed on the young man’s lips.

The young man’s lip color was actually very light, but because of his previous unrestrained actions, a reddish hue had appeared, making them slightly more vivid. They were like ripe cherries, making people want to taste them lightly.

The man’s throat bobbed, and he licked the corner of his own mouth.

Ruan Qing finished speaking and turned around. Feeling his way, he left the living room and entered the bedroom, closing the bedroom door behind him.

The man did not immediately follow.

Evidently, his wife was angry, but he didn’t understand why.

It seemed that he needed to find out what had happened between the male owner and his younger wife.

The man wasn’t in a hurry to investigate; instead, he began by cleaning up the bloodstains on the floor and tidying up the living room.

Once all traces were eliminated, the man entered the kitchen.

Dealing with the body of the host wasn’t easy; keeping it in the kitchen would eventually lead to a foul smell.

But for now, it wasn’t feasible to remove the body.

Originally, the man hadn’t planned to conceal the body or the crime scene. However, now, for the sake of his beautiful wife, he had no choice but to handle the body without anyone discovering.

This became a bit of a headache.

He had never dealt with a body before. The man temporarily stuffed the body into the kitchen freezer.

Before putting it in, he used the make owner’s fingers to unlock the phone, directly removing the password and fingerprint settings.

Then he began to use the phone to access various information about the male owner and search for traces of the three people’s lives within the house.

The more he looked, the more peculiar it seemed.

The male owner... didn’t seem to love his wife?

The male owner and his wife, along with the child, apparently didn’t sleep together, but each had their own room.

In a locked drawer, the man found two paternity test reports.

One stated that Yang Tianhao and Yang Mingzhen had no blood relation.

The second stated that the possibility of Zhou Qing being the son of Yang Mingzhen was ninety-nine percent.

The man furrowed his brows. Zhou Qing was his wife, but who was this Yang Mingzhen?

Soon, he found the answer in the host’s phone: Yang Mingzhen was... Yang Tianhao’s nominal father.

He was also the chairman of the Yang Corporation.

It’s evident that the husband and wife were not together out of love; it’s simply to prevent this matter from being discovered, to avoid losing the identity of the young master. That’s why he’s keeping his wife tightly controlled.

This situation was quite challenging.

The man was both troubled and somewhat excited about this situation.

He’s troubled because he’s afraid his wife would realize the male owner had ulterior motives for being close to him, and excited because his wife was completely his.

But it’s alright. Because from now on, he’s Yang Tianhao.

Yang Tianhao directly burned the two paternity test reports and deleted all possible information that could expose his knowledge of this matter.

He didn’t care about being the young master of the Yang family; if it’s exposed, so be it. He only wanted his beautiful wife.

With a contented smile, Yang Tianhao tossed his phone onto the couch, picked up the groceries his wife had brought back, and entered the kitchen.

His wife probably hadn’t had dinner yet.

While Yang Tianhao was busy in the kitchen, the phone on the couch began to ring.

Someone was calling.

Yang Tianhao didn’t pay any attention to it, continuing to prepare his dinner.

However, the ringing persisted, as if it wouldn’t stop until the call was answered.

The bedroom door opened, and Ruan Qing walked out. He fumbled around the couch and found the phone, answering the call.

“Hello, may I help you?”

A male voice came from the other end of the phone, with a hint of suppressed anger, “Sir, the kindergarten dismissed half an hour ago. Please pick up your child.”

“Moreover, we informed you an hour ago to come to the school. Why didn’t you come?”

At this moment, Yang Tianhao was carrying the dishes out, and he happened to hear the voice on the phone.

Ruan Qing looked in Yang Tianhao’s direction with red eyes, his lifeless phoenix eyes filled with despair. His voice choked. “Are you now even indifferent to our child?”

Yang Tianhao, who had seen the text message earlier, realized he had forgotten about this matter.

 

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