Chapter 92.1: Xishan Residential Area (12)

The doorbell sound continued to ring, as if the person outside was determined to keep ringing until the door was opened.

Yang Tianhao’s expression darkened. Why did people always come to disturb his and his wife’s happy life?

It seemed he needed to make time to buy two more refrigerators.

After all, the previous refrigerator would be too cramped if it had to accommodate four people.

He wouldn’t let his beautiful wife go, even if the boss insisted. He was strong enough.

Anyone who coveted his beautiful wife deserved to die, including the boss.

Yang Tianhao stood up and walked to the door, while Teacher Xia continued eating slowly, his gaze mostly fixed on Ruan Qing.

Yang Tianhao opened the door, revealing a man standing outside.

As soon as the murderer saw the man outside the door, his eyes widened, and he froze in place.

Even Teacher Xia, who had glanced casually, was stunned.

Teacher Xia looked abruptly at Yang Tianhao. His handsome face carried a hint of shock, and his eyes seemed to gleam with the words “You didn’t kill him?” written across them.

The man outside the door who had rung the doorbell was none other than the homeowner, ‘Yang Tianhao’.

...At least, the man outside the door looked exactly like the man in the photograph.

Even the clothes he was wearing were the same as what the murderer had seen him wear on the day he killed the other.

The murderer was also greatly shocked. He was certain he had killed the homeowner!

He had killed him!!!

He had mercilessly stabbed the other five or six times, all of which were fatal wounds, and three of them had gone straight into the heart. How could he possibly still be alive?

But who was this man in front of him, who looked exactly like the homeowner?

Had the homeowner come back to life?! Or was the man before him an impostor?

If the murderer hadn’t verified that the homeowner was the only son of the Yang family, he would have suspected that the person before him was the other’s twin.

Outside the door, ‘Yang Tianhao’ seemed surprised that a stranger had opened the door. He looked inside the house and saw another man sitting at the dining table, along with his wife.

‘Yang Tianhao’ furrowed his brows slightly and asked in a deep voice, “Why are you all in my house?”

Upon hearing the familiar voice, Ruan Qing paused and looked somewhat puzzled towards the door, his misty eyes filled with doubt.

It seemed like he didn’t quite understand why his homeowner would say such a thing.

No one answered ‘Yang Tianhao’s’ question. Teacher Xia gave the murderer a faint glance, his gaze filled with clear intent. If he hadn’t killed the homeowner before, he should kill him now.

The murderer didn’t need any signal from Teacher Xia. He simply drew his knife and stabbed forward.

Did it even matter anymore? Killing the other one more time should do it.

The beautiful wife could only belong to him.

Originally, the murderer thought this stab would hit for sure. He had already prepared to cover the man’s mouth to prevent him from yelling and scaring his wife.

However, ‘Yang Tianhao’ managed to... dodge.

After ‘Yang Tianhao’ created distance, he looked at the murderer by the door, his gaze falling on the knife in the murderer’s hand. His expression turned serious, and he coldly spoke, “Sir, it’s illegal to kill with a knife.”

“And I don’t even know you. We have no grudges. Why do you want to kill me?”

The murderer was somewhat surprised. His stab had actually been avoided. Just as he was about to stab again...

Ruan Qing’s panicked and worried voice came, “homeowner! What’s happening? Are you okay!?”

Upon hearing ‘Yang Tianhao’s’ words, Ruan Qing couldn’t sit still. He widened his eyes, stood up in panic, and tried to walk toward the door.

However, he was in too much of a hurry and was tripped by a chair leg, falling to the ground.

Two identical voices sounded simultaneously, with the same tone and only differing in address.

“Ah Qing!”

“Wife!”

Teacher Xia was the closest, but he was separated from Ruan Qing by a table, making it inconvenient for him to assist. However, he instinctively stood up.

Because of the door opening, the murderer was farther away and couldn’t catch up in time.

The closest to Ruan Qing was actually ‘Yang Tianhao’, who had distanced himself from the murderer.

‘Yang Tianhao’ also reacted quickly. He swiftly moved to Ruan Qing’s side, supporting him. His voice, as gentle as the wind, was filled with concern. “Ah Qing, are you okay?”

Ruan Qing hesitated for a moment, shook his head, and after steadying himself, he removed the hand that was supporting him. He took a couple of steps back, displaying caution and wariness on his face, and spoke softly, “Who are you?”

“I seem to have just... heard the voices of two Ah Hao?” A hint of confusion appeared on Ruan Qing’s delicate face, his voice carrying hesitation and uncertainty.

He even doubted if he had misheard.

The murderer at the door had approached just as Ruan Qing was about to fall. He wanted to get closer to him.

However, Ruan Qing’s expression turned guarded as he heard the footsteps approaching. He even took a step back as the footsteps drew near.

It seemed impossible to determine whether the person approaching was really his homeowner.

The murderer could only stand not far from Ruan Qing.

The three of them stood together at a not-too-distant distance.

This distance was ideal for murder, but the murderer couldn’t focus on killing at the moment. He looked at Ruan Qing, his gentle voice tinged with nervousness. “Ah Qing, don’t believe him. He’s fake.”

“He tried to kill me when I opened the door.”

Yang Tianhao’s voice carried a trace of fear. “If I hadn’t dodged quickly, I would have surely been killed by him.”

The murderer had realized he used the wrong name when he heard the male neighbor call his wife ‘A Qing,’ but he didn’t want to correct it. After all, his wife hadn’t suspected him.

But things were different now; he had to use the correct name to make his wife believe him.

The murderer was certain that the male homeowner was dead. When he had disposed of the thief’s body earlier, he had seen the homeowner’s body.

It had already stiffened.

Moreover, the man with the homeowner’s face had evaded his attack. Clearly, he wasn’t an ordinary person.

So, the person before him couldn’t be the homeowner, but he wondered how this man managed to make his face look exactly like the homeowner’s.

But even if their faces were the same, so what?

His wife couldn’t see, anyway. They all looked the same. Let’s see who had the upper hand.

He had a ‘witness’ who would stand on his side, so how could he lose to this impostor who came out of nowhere?

The murderer didn’t give ‘Yang Tianhao’ a chance to speak, continuing, “Ah Qing, I just cleaned the walls, tidied up the house, and sat with you. How could I possibly be fake?”

“And Teacher Xia can vouch for me.”

“If I was a fake, Teacher Xia would have exposed me a long time ago.”

“Right, Teacher Xia?” The murderer finished speaking and looked at Teacher Xia who had remained silent beside him.

“Ah...?” Teacher Xia seemed as if he hadn’t quite registered the response. It was only after the murderer mentioned his name that he slowly nodded, seemingly a beat behind. “Yes.”

To an observer, it might have seemed like he had momentarily spaced out, but to someone who couldn’t see, it carried a sense of being threatened.

Murderer: “...” Haha, playing the innocent act, huh?

Teacher Xia raised an eyebrow when the murderer glanced his way, and he returned a smile, one that held a deep meaning.

The smile was rather conspicuous, and yet the murderer remained silent at this moment. Instead, he turned his cold gaze towards ‘Yang Tianhao’ and spoke with a threatening tone, “Although I’m not sure why you’ve been impersonating me, I won’t let you succeed.”

“I suggest you leave promptly, or I will call the police!”

Even though the murderer had taken the initiative to put up a defense, the recently arrived ‘Yang Tianhao’ appeared unfazed. He didn’t offer any explanations for himself but instead looked directly at Ruan Qing. His voice, warm and magnetic, held a gentle quality as he spoke. “Ah Qing, can you recognize me?” 

“Do you remember? The day before yesterday, you saw me off to the elevator. When you came back, you found the door closed by the wind, yet you didn’t even tell me. You pitifully sat by the door waiting for me without calling.”

‘Yang Tianhao’ continued speaking calmly, as if recounting a bedtime story. His warm voice carried a tender quality. “The day before yesterday, when you saw me off, you gave me a few pieces of milk candy to take to the company. You were wearing a beige sweater and gray casual pants; you looked very attractive.”

“And also, yesterday morning when you saw me off to work, you heard the weather forecast predicting rain, so you handed me an umbrella. But I told you I drive and won’t get caught in the rain. So, you put the umbrella back on the table.”

Ruan Qing’s gaze faltered at his words. He looked misty-eyed at the ‘Yang Tianhao’ on his left, and the resistance and guard in his eyes faded, replaced by a hint of intimacy.

‘Yang Tianhao’ took slow steps towards Ruan Qing, his pace neither hurried nor imposing. It seemed as though he would stop immediately if he showed any resistance.

This time, Ruan Qing didn’t resist or retreat. Evidently, he believed that the ‘Yang Tianhao’ on his left was genuinely Yang Tianhao.

It confirmed that the things ‘Yang Tianhao’ had just mentioned were indeed true events.

‘Yang Tianhao’ gently pulled Ruan Qing into his embrace, his warm voice tinged with regret and self-blame. “Ah Qing, I’m sorry for coming back late. I almost let you be in danger again.”

The murderer and Teacher Xia were taken aback. While the scene before them was quite unsettling, they couldn’t directly intervene. Even if they teamed up, they could easily overpower ‘Yang Tianhao’.

However, such an act would mean ‘Yang Tianhao’ would be “dead” in his wife’s heart, and no one could impersonate him again.

The murderer frowned as he looked at ‘Yang Tianhao’.

T/N: Sorry late update. Busy with some irl things. ><

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