ABOES 46: Big Brother Promises

Chi Yunxing and Duan Zhiyan arrived at just the right moment. The police had already entered the Xia family’s villa. Several squad cars were parked nearby, and a perimeter had been cordoned off with yellow tape. A few officers were leading police dogs across the lawn, searching for something.

Near their car, a small group of residents had gathered, watching the commotion with curiosity. They were chatting animatedly about something shocking enough to shake the entire neighborhood chat group.

They were standing close enough that Chi Yunxing could hear some of the conversation.

“They’re investigating the Xia family, huh?”

“Yeah, that’s them.”

“What kind of crime would bring out this many cops?”

“You don’t know?”

“You do?” someone whispered. “Come on, tell us what happened.”

The speaker, a well-dressed wealthy lady, didn’t lower her voice at all. “I just heard it from someone else. You know how the Xia family had some trouble recently, right? Their company’s cash flow dried up, and apparently, they ran out of money, so they fired all their household staff. But you all know how delicate Madam Xia is, she wouldn’t lift a finger for housework. So today she hired a temporary cleaner to come in and tidy up.”

“The cleaner got to the study and noticed a strange smell. He looked around for a bit and ended up finding a pool of blood near the safe! The poor guy panicked and ran out to call the police.”

At the word “study,” Chi Yunxing’s pupils contracted. He turned abruptly, eyes wide.

The rich lady outside was still talking. “It just so happened that I was heading out at the time. He saw my car, ran over and begged me to help him find a safe place to hide. He looked so pale, I thought something serious might’ve happened, so I had my husband stop the car and let him in. He called the police from inside our car. The things he described to them…”

At this point, her expression turned faintly disturbed. “It was horrifying. Just listening to it gave me nightmares.”

“What did he see?” Someone asked, curiosity piqued.

The lady took a deep breath, patted her chest, and said, “He said… the safe wasn’t locked. He pulled it open, and several heads rolled out…”

She couldn’t continue. Covering her mouth, her face went pale.

Chi Yunxing froze.

Suddenly, he remembered what Song Jing had said to him right before he died—

“Ye Xinian, don’t blame me. If you want to blame someone, blame yourself. If you hadn’t gone into Xia Huaiming’s study that day, you wouldn’t have…”

At the time, Chi Yunxing hadn’t caught those last words but now he understood.

What Song Jing had meant to say was, “You wouldn’t have died.”

If he hadn’t entered that room, he wouldn’t have died.

His face turned ashen.

And at that moment, long-buried memories surged up.

It was about a month before he had caught Xia Huaiming and Song Jing in the act. His relationship with Xia Huaiming had already deepened, and he had visited the Xia family several times. Mr. and Mrs. Xia had always looked at him coldly.

Back then, Chi Yunxing had been confused. They were already engaged, so why did they still dislike him?

He couldn’t make sense of it, so he asked Xia Huaiming.

Xia Huaiming had given a weak explanation. “Maybe they’re just not familiar with you yet. Don’t worry, if you have time, go visit them more. Show some filial piety. Maybe they’ll warm up to you.”

Looking back now, Xia Huaiming had just been brushing him off.

After all, to him, Chi Yunxing was nothing more than a plaything he bought for a million yuan from Father Ye and Mother Ye. He never intended to marry him.

Yet Chi Yunxing had taken it seriously.

So whenever he had time on the weekends, he would visit the Xia home. Sometimes cooking elaborate meals, sometimes cleaning to help the staff.

Until one day, he accidentally entered the study.

He couldn’t even remember clearly what he had seen there. Only that the air had smelled strange, and he had opened a window to ventilate it.

Just as he was about to leave, the door opened and he ran straight into Mr. Xia.

Mr. Xia’s gaze had been bone-chilling, like a reptile stalking its prey. It made Chi Yunxing’s skin crawl.

Then Mr. Xia asked him a strange question, “Did you see it?”

Frightened by that gaze, Chi Yunxing stammered, “N-No.”

Mr. Xia’s eyes had swept over him, evaluating. Just when Chi Yunxing was about to ask to leave, Mr. Xia suddenly smiled, a smile that never reached his eyes.

“It’s fine,” he said. “Even if you saw it… you can just end up like them.”

Chi Yunxing hadn’t understood at the time.

That same night, Xia Huaiming had come over, looking grim, demanding to know if he’d touched anything in the study.

They ended up arguing.

They didn’t speak for several days until Xia Huaiming came to apologize and proposed to him.

Chi Yunxing was surprised and overjoyed.

He never understood why Mr. and Mrs. Xia suddenly accepted their engagement after initially refusing.

Now, he did.

It was harder to kill an outsider but if they got married… he would become family.

Once he was legally a Xia, they could easily claim he was just a full-time homemaker. Who would question it?

Ye’s parents only cared about money. The only friend who might notice was Song Jing but Xia Huaiming could’ve easily imitated his tone and messaged Yu Jun now and then. No one would’ve suspected a thing.

No wonder they agreed to the marriage.

No wonder Song Jing had been so confident.

It had all been a plan. A premeditated murder.

Him catching the affair had just sped things up. Even if he hadn’t discovered it, he wouldn’t have survived the marriage.

The realization chilled him to the bone.

So… he had been walking toward death all along. There was no escaping it.

“…Yunxing?”

“Yunxing!”

A warm hand touched his sweat-soaked forehead, and the heat pulled him out of his nightmare.

He was trembling violently, drenched in cold sweat.

Duan Zhiyan was alarmed. “Are you okay? Are you feeling unwell? I’ll take you to the hospital—”

He reached for the ignition, but Chi Yunxing grabbed his arm.

“No… no need.”

Duan Zhiyan turned, eyes filled with worry. “But you look terrible,” He instantly regretted bringing him here. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have brought you…”

Seeing Chi Yunxing still shivering, Duan Zhiyan switched off the air conditioning. Just like when they were kids, he gently pulled him into his arms and rubbed his back in comfort.

Caught off guard, Chi Yunxing found himself enveloped in a warm embrace. The man’s chest radiated heat, and a faint familiar scent filled his nose, calming his frayed nerves.

Time passed.

Outside, the crowd’s murmurs suddenly grew louder.

Someone shouted, “They’re coming out!”

“Is that Mr. and Mrs. Xia?”

“But where’s their son?”

Chi Yunxing turned slightly, just enough to see Mr. and Mrs. Xia being escorted out by police.

He was too far away to see their faces clearly.

A hand suddenly covered his eyes.

Duan Zhiyan’s voice came softly, “Don’t look.”

Chi Yunxing blinked, his long lashes brushing against Duan Zhiyan’s palm, tickling slightly.

For some reason, his eyes suddenly grew hot. The secrets he had buried so deeply inside were surging to the surface.

“I…”

“Hmm?” Duan Zhiyan’s hand stayed gently on his back. His voice was soft. “What is it?”

Chi Yunxing hesitated for a long time before speaking, his voice raspy, “I don’t want to tell Mom and Dad about any of this. I don’t want to tell my Ge either.”

Duan Zhiyan froze. His brows knitted, a terrible thought flashing through his mind. “Yunxing… don’t tell me you…”

Chi Yunxing closed his eyes, a tear slipping down his cheek.

“Can you not tell them?”

He felt wetness on his palm.

Duan Zhiyan’s heart ached like it was being squeezed.

“I won’t say anything,” His arms tightened around him. His voice was solemn and firm. “I promise. I swear, as your Ge.”

Finally, the string holding Chi Yunxing together loosened.

He opened his mouth, voice barely above a whisper. “I… actually died once.”

Duan Zhiyan’s eyes widened in shock.

Once the first sentence came out, everything else followed more easily.

Chi Yunxing recounted his past life.

Back then, he’d been so naive. He never assumed malice. Every time something happened, his first thought was always, ‘Is it because I’m not good enough?’

Growing up neglected, he’d treasured every bit of kindness others gave him and returned it tenfold.

He got engaged to Xia Huaiming not because he loved him, but because Xia Huaiming had treated him well.

He befriended Song Jing because Song Jing always said, “I’m doing this for your own good.”

“…Honestly, I knew deep down that some of what Song Jing said were lies but I didn’t want to question him,” Chi Yunxing said. “Because I was scared. I was scared that once those lies were exposed, I’d lose my only friend.”

His voice was calm now. “Even though I tried so hard to hold on… in the end, they never cared about me at all.”

Then he described his death. When he mentioned the car accident, his body trembled faintly.

Chi Yunxing had thought he’d already moved on but now he realized he hadn’t.

Feeling your own life slipping away… was terrifying. 

He would never forget it.