Chapter 6

Father Zhou and Mother Zhou rushed in right behind, brushing past He Family’s parents.

 

“Mom, where’s my phone? I need to call the police. The reason He Huan ended up like this is actually…”

 

Before Zhou Hua could finish, Father Zhou slapped him across the face, leaving him stunned.

 

“I’m telling you, this matter is over. You’ve done more than enough, you’ve done everything you could. You’re never to get involved with the He Family again, do you understand?”

 

“Dad! But it was clearly…”

 

“It was the butler! The investigation is complete. The butler’s son was a failure, so he resented the two children and imprisoned them. When he saw they were about to die, he fled. Do you understand?”

 

“But that’s not the truth at all!”

 

“That’s the truth. The butler has already confessed. This matter is closed, do you understand?”

 

Zhou Hua stared at his mother in disbelief. She turned her face away, wiping away tears, unable to meet his gaze.

 

“Didn’t you teach me to always be honest? I know the truth of what happened…”

 

“Zhou Hua! How many times do I have to tell you? You have no idea what really happened. Stay here and rest until this is over. Your mother will take care of you.”

 

“What? You’re afraid of retaliation, so you’re imprisoning me?”

 

Father Zhou raised his hand, but seeing Zhou Hua’s stubborn gaze, he couldn’t bring himself to strike. His lips trembled, and a hint of moisture welled in his cloudy old eyes.

 

“Forget it. You’re grown now. I can’t control you anymore. Do whatever you want.”

 

Zhou Hua turned to his mother, but to his surprise, the woman who usually obeyed Father Zhou without question just shook her head through tears. “Xiao Hua, your father and I are only doing this for your own good. You know we’ve always tried to get you whatever you want. But this time, it’s really not that simple…”

 

“Mom, let me be honest with you. I bear some responsibility for what happened to He Huan. If I don’t tell the truth, I’ll never be able to live with myself.”

 

“Then live with it. At least you’ll still be alive…”

 

“Mom, it’s not as serious as you’re making it out to be. They’re businessmen, not gangsters. They can’t just kill whoever they want.”

 

“Child, it’s the merchants who are truly terrifying. They have money, and with money, even the government has to listen to them. Just listen to your mother this once, please don’t get involved in this, okay?”

 

Zhou Hua clenched his fists tightly. On one side was his friend, who had nearly lost his life, and on the other, his mother, weeping and begging him. He couldn’t bear to abandon either.

 

Seeing that her son still refused to comply, Mother Zhou knelt beside the bed. “Xiaohua, can I beg you? Please, don’t get involved in this…”

 

“Mom, get up!”

 

“Promise me first, Xiaohua. Promise me, okay?”

 

Zhou Hua finally noticed that his mother, who had always been so loving and supportive, now had streaks of white in her hair. Wrinkles etched by time marked her temples and forehead.

 

Closing his eyes, he gritted his teeth and said, word by word, “Alright, I promise. Now, please get up…”

 

---

 

Moonlight bathed the ground in a gentle glow, casting a beautiful sheen over everything.

 

When would that light finally reach He Huan?

 

Zhou Hua turned restlessly in bed, seeing his mother’s brow still furrowed in her sleep.

 

The He Chen family truly were ruthless!

 

Zhou Hua quietly lifted the covers and stepped out, intending to clear his head. To his surprise, he found his father standing by the hallway window.

 

“Why are you still up so late?”

 

Father Zhou stubbed out his cigarette. “I went to see that classmate of yours, He Huan, today…”

 

“How… is he doing?”

 

“Not well. He’s covered in tubes, even his breathing is assisted by an oxygen machine.” Father Zhou raised his cigarette, but before it reached his lips, he awkwardly set it down.

 

“I still remember when you brought him home before. Though he was thin, his smile was genuine. His eyes were terrifyingly pure, like an infant’s, eager to give everyone his wholehearted trust. I genuinely liked him.”

 

“Then you…”

 

“Some things truly can’t be done just because you want to. But sometimes, a person needs to be a little selfish, or how can you truly call yourself human?”

 

Zhou Hua looked at his father with surprise. In his memory, his father had always been silent and unyielding, his decisions unchangeable by anyone.

 

*Father Zhou, even you would say something so sentimental?*

 

“I’m giving you the choice now. You can tell the police the truth, but no one can predict the outcome…” Father Zhou handed the phone to Zhou Hua, his fingers pinching the already extinguished cigarette as he stared into space.

 

Zhou Hua felt the phone in his hand weigh a thousand pounds. He understood his father’s unspoken meaning perfectly well—no one could say for sure, perhaps their entire family would pay for this with their lives.

 

“Dad, do you think I should make this call?”

 

“I know I can’t stop you.”

 

Father Zhou’s reply seemed completely unrelated, yet Zhou Hua’s eyes welled up with tears.

 

Indeed, the scene in the basement had torn a gaping wound in his heart.

 

After a long silence, Father Zhou seemed to hear a soft “Hello” from his son.

 

His hand trembled, and he raised the extinguished cigarette again, only to silently put it back down.

 

*So be it.*

 

*What would it change if I forcibly stopped Zhou Hua this time?*

 

Zhou Hua might die on this cool evening.

 

“Hello, I’d like to report a crime. It’s about the recent imprisonment of He Huan by the He Family. The real culprit isn’t the so-called butler; it’s actually He Chen.”

 

On the other end of the line, the police officer yawned. “Falsely reporting information is also a crime, kid.”

 

“I’m not joking. I’m He Huan’s friend, so I know exactly what happened. He Chen was furious that He Huan went out with me and didn’t answer his calls. He angrily took He Huan away, and I haven’t been able to contact him since.”

 

“You’re saying that just because of a phone call, He Chen locked up his own brother and nearly killed himself in the process?”

 

“I know it sounds absurd, but He Chen isn’t an ordinary person. He suffers from a mental illness and won’t let He Huan get close to anyone…”

 

“Then how did you and He Huan get together in the first place?”

 

“Because He Chen eventually got tired of it and stopped caring about He Huan…”

 

“Stopped caring? Then why would he try to kill someone over a phone call? Kid, have you been reading too many detective novels?”

 

“I’m the one who rescued He Huan! Why won’t you believe me?”

 

A cacophony of noise erupted from the phone. The officer on the line lowered his voice, saying, “Kid, let me be frank with you. Higher-ups have already ordered the case closed. Even if you take this all the way to the Central Court, it won’t make a difference. Just go to sleep.”

 

“What do you mean by that? Hello? Hello!”

 

Father Zhou took the phone back. “Quiet down, you’re disturbing the other patients.”

 

“Dad…”

 

Father Zhou didn’t ask Zhou Hua what he’d heard. He simply stroked his son’s head in silent comfort.

 

Liu Ying was drenched in cold sweat after hearing the officer’s words. If he truly fell into He Chen’s hands, he’d probably be skinned alive, if not worse.

 

Zhou Hua sighed. “He Chen is far crueler than his parents. Over the years, he’s only grown wealthier, and he’s likely cultivated connections with people we could only dream of meeting in our lifetimes.”

 

---

 

Days passed, and an eerie tension settled over Lishui, like the calm before a blizzard.

 

Zhou Hua and Liu Ying remained holed up in their hotel, observing the small building across the street. Though they occasionally saw shadows flitting past the windows, the elfin young man never opened his window to gaze at the snow again.

 

Lishui buzzed with activity every day. Many people paused outside the mysterious little building, snapping photos of it. Many sighed in disappointment, muttering, “Bad luck. The Little Prince didn’t come out.”

 

Liu Ying finally understood. *Narcissus and the Little Prince* had become a sensation. After relentless online sleuthing, netizens had finally located the real-life setting.

 

They, too, wanted to see if the Little Prince was as handsome in person as he appeared in the photos.

 

Today, Lishui welcomed a group of peculiar visitors. Leading them were two men—or rather, one man in a wheelchair.

 

Liu Ying sensed a turning point approaching. The suddenly vanished photographer was undoubtedly connected to them. He wanted to say something to Zhou Hua, but saw him staring intently at the two men, lost in thought.

 

Suppressing his curiosity, Liu Ying swallowed the words he’d been about to say. He had a nagging feeling that Zhou Hua was hiding something from him.

 

Without a word, the newcomers ordered their bodyguards to force their way in.

 

Clearly prepared, they outnumbered He Chen’s bodyguards two to one. The new bodyguards violently broke down the door and bowed as the two men entered.

 

Unfortunately, the moment the two men entered, the door slammed shut, blocking any glimpse from the outside.

 

The two leading men sat in silence while the bodyguards went upstairs. Moments later, they returned, dragging a thin man down with them.

 

The man looked incredibly gaunt, his physique a perfect match for Yu Huan’s.

 

“He Chen, how dare you play me like this!” The man in the wheelchair slammed his fist against the armrest, clearly furious. “Bring all his bodyguards in here.”

 

Eight burly bodyguards were forced to kneel in a row, facing the man in the wheelchair.

 

“Tell me, what did He Chen say before he left?”

 

“He said there’s no need to look for him. He’ll return naturally once he and Mr. He Huan have reconciled.”

 

“Bullshit!” This time, it was the standing man who spoke. Dressed in a simple down jacket and sporting a basic black haircut, his narrow eyes, high nose bridge, and thin, tightly pressed lips betrayed his simmering anger. “He Huan would never reconcile with him. Is he planning to hide away forever?”

 

“Did you hear that? They’ll never reconcile!” The man in the wheelchair stopped his agitated tapping and turned to the bodyguards with a mocking smile.

 

“Mr. He said you told him the same thing three years ago.”

 

The standing man clenched his fists so tightly that the veins on his knuckles stood out. “That bastard He Chen!”

 

The man in the wheelchair kicked away the bodyguard who had spoken. “Can’t you see this isn’t the time or place to talk?” Then he took the standing man’s hand. “Alright, Qingqing, don’t be angry. Hubby will teach him a lesson for you.”

 

Yu Qing pulled his hand away. “Be serious.”

 

“Alright, I’ll do whatever Qingqing says.” Before Yu Qing could respond, the man in the wheelchair had already turned his head. “What else did He Chen say?”

 

“If you’re bored, you can deal with those two annoying flies outside.”

 

Yu Qing’s lips curled slightly. “Flies only buzz around rotten eggs.”

 

“Qingqing is right. He Chen is just a rotten egg with cracks.”

 

“It’s ‘a rotten egg’,” Yu Qing corrected him, unable to resist the urge to be precise.

 

“Mhm, He Chen is just a rotten egg with cracks.” Then he turned to the bodyguards below, his smile completely vanishing. “I can smell his stench from halfway across the world.”