Chapter 83.1: Xishan Residential Area (3)

“You’ve gone too far.” Ruan Qing’s misty eyes were filled with moisture. After speaking, he directly hung up the phone and turned to walk in the direction of the door.

He no longer cared that he was blind.

Fortunately, there were no obstacles on the path from the edge of the sofa to the door. Even though Ruan Qing walked a bit faster, he didn’t bump into anything.

Ruan Qing walked hurriedly, as if the man had angered him. There was a hint of anger on his face as well.

But in reality, Ruan Qing was just anxious to leave. The man clearly had no intention of leaving, so it seemed he was the one who needed to go.

Whether the man was staying in the Xishan Residential Area for the convenience of committing a murder or to hide his identity as a killer, his departure should be the best outcome for him.

After all, once he left, nobody would recognize Yang Tianhao anymore. The man would have gained the identity of a resident of Xishan, without the worry of exposure.

Ruan Qing felt that if he was the murderer, he would certainly let him leave.

However, Ruan Qing was disappointed once again.

When Ruan Qing was just a few steps away from the door, Yang Tianhao grabbed his hand and pulled him into his embrace. “I was wrong. I didn’t forget to pick up our child on purpose. I won’t do it again next time. Don’t be angry.”

The man’s apology was sincere, and his tone was so convincing that he completely embraced the role of a loving husband. He portrayed it even more convincingly than Ruan Qing did.

As if he was the original husband himself.

Yang Tianhao continued, even adopting a slightly submissive tone, “Don’t be mad. It’s not worth it to harm your health over anger. If you’re angry, you can hit me or scold me, whatever you want.”

Ruan Qing: “…”

He didn’t understand, truly didn’t understand.

He had created all the conditions that would benefit the killer. Why did he insist on choosing the worst one?

…Could it be that he really wanted to have a wife?

The problem was, if he wanted a wife, he could have pursued someone else. Why kill the original husband and then impersonate him? What did it mean?

Could it be that the man’s strange interest was… to have other people’s wives?

It couldn’t be that he killed the original husband just for the sake of having his wife...?

In this situation where the murderer’s identity and motives were unclear, Ruan Qing also felt somewhat powerless and could only choose to go along with the man’s act.

He had no choice but to cooperate with the man’s performance.

Ruan Qing struggled out of the man’s embrace. Though he couldn’t see, he stared angrily in his direction and said, “Let go.”

Yang Tianhao looked at the young man before him and was slightly taken aback. His beautiful wife’s eyes, devoid of spirit, glistened with a watery sheen due to anger and sadness. Although they were exceptionally clear, his handsome eyes stared back at him, trying hard to put on a fierce expression.

However, because he looked too gentle, even when angry, it seemed more like a coquettish pout. It was like a little kitten getting its fur ruffled by its owner after playfully getting upset.

Both delicate and weak.

If he left him, how could he live?

Clearly, apologies and sweet words alone couldn’t appease his wife. Yang Tianhao once again pulled him into his embrace, his voice tinged with a touch of discomfort. He began to act pitifully on his own. “I was wrong today. There were some issues at work, and on top of that, a cold gave me a headache, so I forgot to pick up our child.”

Upon hearing these words, Ruan Qing’s struggle subsided, and he stopped resisting.

The original owner and his husband, Yang Tianhao, were classmates in college and had been together since their sophomore year. However, after graduation, Yang Tianhao used the excuse of not wanting the original owner to work too hard and convinced him to become a stay-at-home husband.

The original owner naively agreed.

So, after graduating, the original owner never looked for a job, while Yang Tianhao did work, as he needed to support their family of three.

After moving to the Xishan Residential Area, Yang Tianhao found a new job. It wasn’t difficult for someone with a prestigious university degree to find a job, and Yang Tianhao was capable as well. To take care of the original owner, he found a job with a finishing time of 4:30 PM.

The kindergarten dismissal time was 5 PM, so the three of them could have dinner together when they got home.

Before the original owner had the accident, he took care of all the household chores, including picking up their child.

However, after the accident, whether it was earning money for the family, doing laundry, cooking, or picking up their child, everything fell on Yang Tianhao’s shoulders.

Although Yang Tianhao didn’t express any dissatisfaction or impatience, the original owner felt guilty. Combined with his preexisting self-esteem issues, he decided to go grocery shopping before Yang Tianhao returned home.

The original owner wanted to lessen Yang Tianhao’s burden and prove that he wasn’t completely useless.

But obviously, Yang Tianhao returned today a bit too early, unusually early.

He replied that he was ‘already home’ before even 4:30, so he shouldn’t have finished work yet.

So, it’s highly likely that there really was a work-related issue that caused him to come back so early.

It’s just unfortunate that on this one occasion of coming back early, he encountered the murderer and met an untimely death.

The original owner truly loved Yang Tianhao. He loved him to the extent that despite both of them graduating from the same prestigious university; he was willing to become a full-time househusband for him, staking his future on Yang Tianhao.

You see, the original owner was an orphan, and managing to get into a top university while working and studying was truly not easy.

But due to Yang Tianhao’s words, he gave up his job and abandoned his lifelong persistence.

Ruan Qing speculated that Yang Tianhao, not allowing the original owner to work, might have been in order to detach him from society, possibly for some undisclosed purpose of his own.

Only the original owner deceived himself into thinking that Yang Tianhao loved him.

It’s because Yang Tianhao’s performance was just too flawless.

Aside from not touching the original owner, Yang Tianhao was almost a perfect husband—non-smoker, non-drinker, not into socializing, gentle, and family-oriented.

Yang Tianhao always returned home immediately after work, handed over his entire salary, and even paid constant attention to the original owner’s emotions. Whenever the original owner was unhappy, he would coax and comfort him, providing a strong sense of security.

He was truly a perfect husband, so perfect that it felt unreal.

Yet, it also made Ruan Qing more suspicious. After all, most parents probably couldn’t achieve what he did.

And if his love was so deep, why wouldn’t he touch the original owner? He wouldn’t even hold hands.

Saying that the original owner was still young, when in reality, the original owner was the same age as Yang Tianhao, both already twenty-two years old. No matter how you looked at it, he couldn’t be considered young.

The original owner did have suspicions, but he was greedy for everything Yang Tianhao gave him and selectively ignored all the anomalies.

In Ruan Qing’s eyes, the original owner was just incredibly foolish.

But since he was now this deep-in-love, foolish person for Yang Tianhao, he couldn’t just break the illusion the original owner put on himself.

In the midst of ‘Yang Tianhao’s’ deeply in love act, the other provided an irrefutable reason, and Ruan Qing couldn’t continue to argue after hearing the man’s words.

Though he was so close to leaving, after hearing the man’s words, Ruan Qing could only awkwardly reach out, his soft voice filled with guilt, “Husband, I’m sorry, I was too sensitive, I shouldn’t have doubted you.”

Ruan Qing spoke and as he spoke, his voice carried a hint of a sob, sounding fragile enough to elicit pity, “I’m just so scared, scared that you won’t want me anymore.”

“I only have you now.”

His beautiful wife was clearly feeling a bit vulnerable and uneasy. Both in his words and in his actions, he was expressing his love, making it all too tender and touching.

His heart palpitated intensely, even to the point of excitement, wanting to be a bit more intimate with the person in his embrace.

But he couldn’t do that; it would frighten his wife.

He was so timid; he would definitely be frightened.

Yang Tianhao suppressed the surge of excitement, gently embracing his wife in front of him, his slightly hoarse voice carrying reassurance, “It won’t happen. Don’t overthink it.”

“You’re my wife, and I’ll never leave you.”

Yang Tianhao’s words of affection were sincere and resolute, as though he was making an oath, providing a strong sense of security, inducing one to instinctively believe his words.

Yet, Ruan Qing felt a tingling sensation on his scalp, even a desire to escape.

To him, these words sounded like a declaration of his death.

After all, the person speaking these words had not long ago killed the original owner’s husband, and had taken on Yang Tianhao’s identity. In the light of this knowledge, no one could truly feel at ease.

Who knew if the man would draw a knife and stab him in the next second?

Ruan Qing became even more cautious. He discreetly struggled, pushing the man away gently, and softly said, “Honey, it’s getting late. Let’s go and pick up the child quickly. We can’t keep causing trouble for the kindergarten.”

Yang Tianhao, who had been planning to hold him a little longer, stiffened slightly at these words, and following Ruan Qing’s force, he let go.

The beautiful wife had been in a car accident, temporarily turning into a blind person. It was quite evident who would be responsible for picking up the child.

In other words, the kindergarten teacher must know the child’s parents.

Yang Tianhao looked up at the photograph on the living room wall of a family of three.

The man in the photograph was handsome and refined, gentle and serene, giving off the sense of a jade-like, unparalleled person from a distant era, a noble son beyond compare.

He clearly looked like someone from a prestigious family.

Even the man’s voice carried that gentle and refreshing quality like a breeze.

However, he had nothing in common with this gentleman like jade; they were completely different. Even their appearance was like night and day.

As long as one wasn’t blind, they could clearly tell that he’s not the real Yang Tianhao.

Obviously, the kindergarten teacher wouldn’t be blind. As soon as he went to pick the child up with his wife, he would immediately be exposed.

Yang Tianhao glanced at his wife in front of him, hesitated for a moment, and then spoke, his voice filled with hesitation and difficulty, “Honey, can you... pick up the child today?”

“I’m feeling really uncomfortable because of the cold, and there are a few things at work that I need to handle.”

After Yang Tianhao finished speaking, he hesitated again and quickly changed his words. “Or should I go? You can have dinner first, and I can work on the way.”

He finished speaking while looking at his wife’s reaction, slowly walking towards the door.

Ruan Qing understood the man’s thoughts very well. He was obviously afraid of being recognized, so he used this move to retreat and let him pick up the child.

This further confirmed that the man in front of him couldn’t possibly be the original owner’s husband, Yang Tianhao.

Yang Tianhao was too perfect to let his blind wife pick up the child just because of his own reasons.

He wouldn’t even forget to pick up the child in the first place.

But for Ruan Qing, this was definitely a good opportunity. As long as he left, whether he returned or not would be up to him.

As for reasons not to come back, those were easy to find.

For example, being approached by Yang Tianhao’s parents, or being kidnapped and missing. Anything would do.

Ruan Qing grabbed the man’s arm and gently and considerately said, “I’ll go. Your hand is injured, you have a cold, you should rest at home.”

“Besides, you can also handle some work.”

Perhaps worried that the man would be concerned, Ruan Qing continued, “The kindergarten isn’t far, I can do it. Look, I’ve already bought the groceries.”

The kindergarten was indeed nearby, right next to the residential area. It’s just a little farther than the market.

Whether it’s the market or the kindergarten, they both belong to the Xishan Residential Area.

One was called the Xishan Market, the other was called the Xishan Kindergarten. There’s even an elementary and middle school nearby. The facilities were complete, highlighting just how good the geographical location of the Xishan Residential Area was.

 

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