Next Day,
The hot, scorching sun's rays penetrated through the white porcelain window and landed on his scruffy face. Empty bottles lying on the ground, and a burning tobacco scent ruining the nice candle-lit perfume. Lixin scrunched up, yawned, and winced in pain.
His head recalled what had happened last night. How he had chased Suyin out of his life and blamed her greatly for his mother's death. He also remembered her pleading look; after all, she was the one who took him in when nobody else did. His father's family rejected their blood, regarding him as illegitimate since Haoyu and Nuying were already divorced. Their excuse was...
'Having a son whose mother was a divorcee and mentally ill would ruin their upheld reputation,'
Lixin blankly recalled as they kicked him out of their compound the next minute. He pushed his lazy legs off the bed, yawned again, and tapped his phone. His gaze was hazy, but he was able to see the time.
'10:00 am'
He read it out, wondering how long he had slept. Lixin reminisced but was taken aback by the knock on his door. He stood up and strode over the smashed and leaking whiskey bottles. He pushed the door open to see Bai Yuming with a tray of towels in her arms. She smiled softly and continued.
"Madam is ready to leave. She only begs to see you one last time before..."
"Tell her to get out! Get out!" He yelled, slamming the heavy door in her face. The scary atmosphere stiffened Bai Yuming's body as she became motionless. The towels dropped to the ground, and her face became colder. Never had she seen this side of their master.
Lixin was always cool and calm, and although he was known very much for his easy outbursts when it came to Madame Suyin, his attitude softened. Could it be that they fought? The howls from last night crept into her memory, and she shook her head. Last night was not a funny argument, even though she heard nothing from their conversation. Her eyes blinked, and she retracted from his door down to the steps. Bai Yuming looked up to see the anxious, swollen eyes of Suyin and sighed. She was pitiful.
"Where is Lixin? I need to explain to him that I am innocent. He misunderstood me that day. I did not kill his mother." Her teary voice made it impossible for anyone to fathom what she had said. Suyin's face was pale and feeble. She had lost her beauty and domineering spirit and had become pitiful.
Haoru dragged her into his warm embrace, rubbed her hair, and soothed her cries. He fully knew what was going on and could not help but label Lixin as wicked. Suyin, even when she was not his mother, treated him as a son! For crying aloud, that wasn't the best thing to repay her with.
Yes, Suyin did have some misunderstandings and arguments with his mother earlier on, when the fire incident began. Still, she was innocent. He could testify to her innocence, but how could he? It was obvious from the onset that Lixin never liked them both, especially him, and bringing up issues like evidence would sour the worsening relationship between the both of them.
The argument from downstairs woke the sleeping beauty in her room. Mingxia stretched, and the yells from below piqued her interest. Standing up by the bed's support, she fell onto the wheelchair and hastened her steps. Her hair was a mess, and so was her body. Mingxia did not mind how she looked and only wanted to know what transpired down there. The same for Yesterday night also happened.
Her wheelchair's tires reached the last floor, and behold, Suyin was crying, the house cleaners were rolling her belongings out of the house, and then Haoru was consoling her and making some phone calls at the same time. The house was in chaos. Moreover, shockingly enough, Mingxia was the last to find out.
"What is going on?" Her voice was too hoarse to be heard until she screamed a little louder. Their attention was diverted to the woman in a wheelchair, and silence dawned on the room. No one wanted to speak. They were all mute. "What is going on?" Suyin glanced at Haoru and burst into tears.
She hugged Mingxia tightly and sobbed in her arms. She was her last choice for seeing Lixin. From the first day, Suyin had noticed the attention Lixin gave Mingxia, and she could not ignore her now. She had to prove her innocence one way or another.
"Mingxia, I want you to fight for me."
"What?" Her brows furrowed, and understanding what was going on now, she whispered back. "What do you mean by that? Is Lixin the one doing you like this?"
Yes, he is. Meet me tonight. I will email you my new address."
"Why can't you stay?"
"Because she is no longer invited to my house! She is not meeting you anywhere." The ear-splitting footsteps and cold, overbearing voice disrupted their whispers. Lixin threw one last portrait on the ground, allowing its glass to shatter. "I warned you, did I not?" He asked skeptically, wheeling Mingxia away from Suyin's sight. He took her some distance away and disgustingly glared at her. "Leave Suyin! You are not welcomed again."
"What if I do not leave? What if I want to stay, Lixin? This is pure heartlessness. You know I am not guilty; still, you treat me with so much resentment from your heart. I did not conspire to kill your mother! I never did such!"
'His Mother?'
Mingxia gripped his left hand firmly and stopped him from moving forward. She breathed in and looked into his eyes. Darkness… Darkness, emptiness, and iciness were in one person's eyes. She could tell this was not him. This was not Lixin! Her heart sang into an abyss, and she let go of him.
"Let her stay, please."
"Why should I?" Lixin's temperament turned a lot darker and more indifferent. He had a long glare at Mingxia and shook his head. He still had that mask on his face. It perfectly hid his emotions, yet she saw them right in his dark almond eyes. Fear and anxiety all at once...
Lixin was not sending her away for the reason everyone thought of, but for her safety. Mingxia looked away from his deep stares and kept silent. If she could see right through him, Suyin was in some kind of unexplainable danger. Her eyes lit up angrily. Mingxia held Suyin's hands and nodded.
"It is best you do not provoke him further than this. I will visit you." Her response shocked Suyin, but she kept calm. She nodded her head as well and glanced at Lixin. "Thank you, Lixin."
Suyin exhaled, kissed Haoru on the cheeks, and then shifted to Bai Yuming.
"Take care of both of them." Bai Yuming jiggled her head in acceptance and assisted Suyin in dragging her belongings into the van. Her eyes were swollen from the cries she made this morning. Suyin never thought a day like this would arise, so he sent her away.
She shuddered coldly, thinking of her child, who ran away from home and was found dead on the highway—mysteriously! Her life nowadays is pathetic! The car she was in drove off, and the living room was met with a cold atmosphere. Haoru turned around and yelled.
"You ungrateful little brat! What the fuck did you just do?"
His voice increased as his steps toward Lixin increased. He reached where he was standing and yelled more.
"I thought this case was closed! How come you bring it up anytime Suyin tries her best to fit in? Do you need to remind her every day that no matter how much she tries, she can never be as good as Nuying? For God's sake, Lixin! Suyin has tried her best. Do you know what she is going through? The guilt that swallows her every day?" Haoru took a dramatic pause, recalling how painful it was to see Suyin have some odd disorder. He married her a week after Lixin's Mother's death. It took months for her to recover after agreeing to strict therapy, and in guilt, she adopted him as her son.
"Am I to feel pitiful for her? If you were in my shoes. You would have done worse. For years, she treated me nicely and gave me everything I ever wanted, like her own child. I thought…." Lixin sighed and looked away. He felt the piercing glare of Mingxia and shoved it away. Taking to the stairs, Lixin sighed. "She did it only out of guilt! Because she knew how much my mother meant to me, she adopted me!"
"I would not have done any worse because why? I have a heart, and I am not like you! Do you know what it also feels like when your family discards you because you insist on marrying a girl from a family they hate so much? Lixin, how would you understand how I feel? You are like your father."
"Get him fucking out of here, Guards! I never want to see him here ever again!" He howled and made his way to the staircase, but soon he was nowhere to be found. The guards standing close to the door came to Haoru and nodded politely, showing him the way out. In the middle of the fiasco, Mingxia was confused! She was lost.
Some days before, everything was pretty much fine with the Mu's; however, the same could not be said for today. She signaled Bai Yuming to help her into the elevator and then to Lixin's room. Her soft knocks on the door were ignored for a few minutes before she decided to call him out.
"Lixin, I know you are hearing my knocks! The answer is, I am really..."
"Go away, Mingxia. Begging for Suyin won't work. She did something bad and has to face the consequences. You can take your leave and stay in your room. Tomorrow, Bai Yuming will take you for a checkup." His nonchalant tone caused Mingxia to frown, and when she was about to forcefully push open his door, she fell to the ground and hissed.
Her face scrunched as she yelped silently. The door opened up immediately, and a huge masculine silhouette leaned over her, grabbing her by the waist and lifting her. He pulled her body warmly over to his chest and supported the wheelchair into the room. His eyes were cold, and his two arms wrapped around her protectively. He softly helped her onto the bed and supported her back with a pillow.
"Stay here; I will get the ointment for you."
"I want to talk with you... Lixin, I know your intention to chase Suyin is not wicked. I saw panic and fear. Is Suyin in some kind of danger she is not aware of?"