A Good-for-Nothing

246. Psycho

Translator: Dragon Rider

He Zheng was sitting on the stairs in a daze, his elbows propped against his knees, his hands clenching and unclenching in front of his eyes in a vain attempt to hold something.

Sunlight went through the gaps between his fingers before hitting the ground, leaving nothing but emptiness in his palms.

Just like He Zheng himself, who felt he had nothing but a sense of emptiness.

When his old man had used him as barter to strike a deal with Li Zong, he had lost everything.

He Zheng had always hated the word “abandon” the most since childhood. His mother had passed away and no one had shown him a shred of love ever since. When He Changchun had married him to Li Zong to save his own skin, he had lost his last tie of kinship.

Though always good to him, his grandfather was far away in Shen City.

Loneliness and helplessness had taken root in his little heart and been quietly growing.

A big hand covered He Zheng’s forehead. The palm was warm and made him feel so comfortable he involuntarily narrowed his eyes. The man’s voice was as bracing as a breeze blowing past glacier, making his mind clear. “What are you thinking about?”

The sound of the voice dissolved his melancholy as quick as a beam of light scattered the darkness. There had been countless occasions when he had wanted to hug him, but feeling the warmth of that palm, the urge he felt to embrace the owner of it was more intense than ever.

He had been abandoned several times, but that kind of thing would never happen again, for he had Li Zong now.

His heart racing, He Zheng pulled Li Zong’s hand down and looked up at him, smiling an extremely harmless-looking smile. Actually, at first, He Zheng had only wanted to gave Li Zong a brief smile, but Li Zong’s eyes and face were so charming He Zheng couldn’t look away from him.

When Childe He was acting like a nice person, his appeal could be irresistible. Fingers sliding restlessly in Li Zong’s wide palm, he replied in a low and faintly husky and suggestive voice, “Material comforts lead to sexual desire. What do you think I’m thinking about?”

He blinked and waited for Li Zong’s answer. In his mind, he was fantasizing about what Li Zong would do. Would Li Zong abruptly pull him to his feet, pin him down in a corner of the stairwell and directly do it? Or would Li Zong raise his chin and kiss him frantically? Uh, on second thought, Li Zong would probably act in a more conventional way – he would take him back to his dorm room, shut the door, and then do what they both wanted to do.

Feeling that the last one was more likely to be the case, He Zheng prepared to stand up from the ground.

Then he heard Li Zong say, “Let me take you out for a talk. You’ll feel better when your stomach is less full.”

He Zheng paused in the act of rising to his feet. He was dumbstruck, he really was.  Yes, he knew that Li Zong had been a government official for many years, and that Li Zong was not as fond of sex as he was, but this time around the poise Li Zong displayed verged on the psychopathic!

He Zheng silently dismissed the erotic thoughts from his head, stood up and brushed down his pants with his hands. He wanted to pretend nothing had happened, but his temper had begun to fray already and after smoldering for a while, he failed to restrain his annoyance.

“I’m sleeping alone tonight.

And tomorrow night.

I’ll sleep alone for the rest of my life.”

He Zheng stared into Li Zong’s eyes and enunciated through clenched teeth, “I’ll never let you share a bed with me again, even if you beg me to!”

He Zheng stormed off immediately after finishing speaking.

Li Zong, who was left alone on the stairs, dissolved into chuckle.

A grave-faced staff member hastened over and said, “Supt. Li.”

“What is it?”

The expression on the man’s face seemed to become a little awkward. In a deep and low voice, he said, “Supt. Li, shortly after you left, Mrs. Qiao Peiyu committed suicide. Now He Yu’s claimed that her mother took her own life because He Zheng’s remarks infuriated her. The other two group leaders and Director Zhen have gone there to check already.”

At first Li Zong was listening with a calm face, but when he heard the latter half of the man’s words, his eyes turned frosty. “I see.”

“Has anyone informed He Zheng?”

“Group Leader Zhang has told him personally.”

Li Zong’s heart sank and with that he quickened his pace.

Li Zong was not far away from the Ministry of Supervision. When he reached the doorway, He Zheng, sulky-faced, was brought over by Zhang Jingqiu. The two of them exchanged a glance, both appearing somewhat grave. Zhang Jingqiu’s fingers twitched as he saw them exchange a look, but he didn’t say anything.

He pointed at He Zheng and said, “The situation in there is quite messy. I suggest you psych yourself up before going in.”

After saying that, Zhang Jingqiu entered the suite. He Zheng and Li Zong stood there for a few seconds, unaware of how messy the situation in the house was.

“Let’s go inside,” Li Zong said.

He Zheng inclined his head with a heavy heart. No sooner had he entered than He Yu, who had had a hard job to recover herself, ranted, “Murderer! He murdered my mother!”

“He Yu, calm down.” He Qin made an attempt to restrain He Yu’s arms which were working madly like windmills but was scratched by He Yu’s sharp fingernail. The cut was rather deep and blood flowed out from the wound on his cheek.

He Qin’s pupils contracted drastically and all the color instantly drained from his face, making him look a little scary. “Blood … “

As he recalled the moment when Qiao Peiyu’s blood splattered across his face, He Qin started trembling uncontrollably, cold sweat quickly breaking out over his whole body, making his clothes soaking wet.

He Qin looked terrible.

He Yu was still shouting, “Murderer! Kill him! Kill him!”

“He Zheng, would you mind stepping outside so we can speak to her?” said Zhen Daoyuan in a would-be mild voice.

Li Zong turned his head back subconsciously. Unsurprisingly, He Zheng stiffened at the words.

As He Zheng cottoned on to what was going on, an ugly look appeared on his face, his chest heaving violently as if he was trying to suppress something. Zhen Daoyuan asked him to go outside because he wanted to protect him, but in these circumstances, He Zheng felt that he was being declared to be a murderer. A great sense of humiliation swept over He Zheng.

His lips tightened into a thin line and whitened. He could feel all his muscles tensing up tremulously. Tons of words sprung to the tip of his tongue. Exercising all his self-restraint, he put up his hand to cover his eyes as though trying to fight down the ferocity in his eyes.

In the end, he walked out without saying a word.

Predictably, He Yu was much less agitated after He Zheng left.

Zhen Daoyuan snapped his fingers and with that He Yu, who had been kicking up a stink, fell into a coma after a faint noise issued from her throat.

“Li Zong … ”

“Wait a moment, Director Zhen,” Li Zong said quickly and then followed He Zheng out of the suite.

Xiang Hailou in the distance glanced in the direction of the door but didn’t utter a word.

The Ministry of Supervision was on Floor B1. Although there was an air purification system, people would still feel quite uncomfortable if they stayed in it for too long. He Zheng rushed up the stairs, out of the building, into the fresh air outside and then exhaled deeply.

“He Zheng.”

Li Zong’s unhurried voice came from behind. He Zheng looked over his shoulder at him and asked in a terribly hoarse voice, “Why did you come out as well?”

Li Zong made no reply, quietly looking at He Zheng’s face, which creased into a dry smile looking more unpleasant than a crying face. “I’m okay. I just came out here to get a breath of air.”

When He Zheng said this, his hands and feet were stiff and he seemed to have difficulty figuring out where he should put them.

Li Zong took He Zheng’s hand, which had balled into a fist, unclenched it and then interlocked his own fingers with He Zheng’s.

Tempted by that position, He Zheng conveniently leaned into Li Zong’s embrace. Li Zong gently pressed He Zheng’s head against his chest. He Zheng was cloaked in the smell of Li Zong which gave him a sense of security and comfort.

“I’m here,” said Li Zong, his chest moving slightly as he did so. He Zheng closed its eyes wearily and made a non-committal noise, his tense muscles gradually relaxing. He took two deep breaths and then found himself in his usual poise again.

“I’m okay now.” He Zheng’s voice was still faintly unusually hoarse. He smiled a set smile at Li Zong, but he was so bad at concealing his emotions that the hurt and helpless look in his eyes remained too manifest to escape Li Zong’s notice.

Knuckles of Li Zong’s forefinger slid heavily across He Zheng’s forehead, then moved down to gently knead He Zheng’s cheek and the corner of his mouth. “Don’t smile if you don’t feel like it. Forced smile doesn’t look good.”

“It’s such a shame to lose my cool.” He Zheng turned his head around and ran a hand over his face heavily. When he turned his head back again, that ugly smile had disappeared.

It was a few moments before he recovered himself and said, “You should go back there. I’ll be here waiting. Give me a call if you need me.”

Li Zong, who could tell that He Zheng was now in a noticeably better mood, felt relieved and returned to the scene.

At this time, of all the four eyewitnesses, He Changchun was the only one who was still clear-headed.

After all, He Changchun had been through things much worse than this. Qiao Peiyu committing suicide in front of them was far less a blow to him than it was to He Qin and He Yu.

Zhen Daoyuan briefly raised his eyes to glance at Li Zong as the latter walked in, and then he asked He Changchun, “Changchun, what happened just now exactly?”

“She killed herself. He Zheng has nothing to do with it.” He Changchun subconsciously cast a look at Li Zong. He knew the cause of Qiao Peiyu’s death, and he also knew that he couldn’t drag He Zheng into this matter.

The He family had already been reduced to what it was. Although He Zheng had disowned other members of the He family, He Changchun couldn’t give up on him, not if his surname was still He.

However, this was by no means about any kind of fatherly affection. It was because He Zheng was now in the limelight in Coastal City. Though He Zheng had severed ties with the He family, it didn’t change the fact that he used to be a member of the He family. As long as He Zheng still drew breath, the He family wouldn’t be consigned to complete oblivion.

“Qiao Peiyu had been mentally unstable for quite some time. I think her committing suicide on this day is just a coincidence. I’m positive it has nothing to do with He Zheng.

And, before she died, she made some quite weird remarks.”

Zhang Jingqiu asked, “What did she say?”

“She said that we were all fooled by Zhu Ning, that she found out a big secret of Zhu Ning’s, but she wouldn’t tell it to anybody.”

He paused for a moment as his eyes swept across the face of everybody present. He Changchun suddenly found that their expressions had changed slightly. Of course, it lasted only an instant. When He Changchun looked carefully again, all the others’ faces had returned to normal.

“She said she wanted all of us to be kept in the dark about that secret. After saying that, she took her own life.” He Changchun tried to imbue a hint of grief into his voice. Pity nobody seemed to care.

When He Changchun finished speaking, the room fell silent. After a long moment, Zhen Daoyuan said, “We’ve got the information we need now. I’m sorry for your loss, Changchun.”

He Changchun inclined his head with deep sorrow on his face.

“What should we do with them?” said Zhang Jingqiu in an undertone, pointing to the sofa.

He Yu and He Qin on the sofa had been put to sleep, but even so, they appeared to be facing something terrible in their dreams.

Shaking his head, Zhen Daoyuan sighed, “Modify their memory.”

“All right.”

Li Zong didn’t say anything. Zhen Daoyuan toss a casual glance at him. They had both come to know what the other person was thinking about.

What else had happened between Zhu Ning and Qiao Peiyu?

Wait.

A seemingly impossible possibility suddenly crossed Li Zong’s mind.

Qiao Peiyu had said that Zhu Ning had fooled all of them. Did it have something to do with the fact they had found out that Qiao Peiyu had been responsible for Zhu Ning’s death?

Perhaps Zhen Daoyuan and the others didn’t know about this matter, but Li Zong was positive that Qiao Peiyu had played a part in the matter of Zhu Ning’s death. In fact, both using a piece of yin jade to restrain Zhu Ning’s ghost and sealing He Zhen’s aptitude for cultivation had been Qiao Peiyu’s doings.

But had she really been involved in all that?

The look in Li Zong’s eyes became even more inscrutable.

Not ruling out this possibility, Zhu Ning had indeed had some very deep secrets. However, Li Zong was baffled as to why Mrs. Zhu Ning had done all that.

Qiao Peiyu’s suicide seemed to be just an insignificant interlude, but what she had said before her death thickened the shroud of mystery the whole situation was cloaked in.

What had happened twenty years ago exactly?

What role had Zhu Ning played in the whole labyrinth of bewildering events?

The darkness before dawn was gradually spreading into view.