"But that's not the reason why Ouyang Haitao ended up dead," Jinhai said, his voice turning quieter, "The biggest mistake he made was threatening my son's life. He kidnapped you to sell you off and when Jun caught him, he took him away too."
Zhan Yahui paled. "That's not true! He didn't kidnap anybody!"
"But you don't have much memory of that day, right? How did you find yourself in a situation like that? When you opened your eyes, why did you see a little boy in front of you and the dead body of your father? In the first place, how did you end up getting unconscious?"
Zhan Yahui stiffened. It was true that she didn't remember much of that day except for some bits and pieces of broken memories. But she remembered the time before she felt the world going black before her.
'Yahui, dear. I made your favorite chocolate cake. Tell me if you like it,' Ouyang Haitao said as she opened her room.
'Chocolate cake!' Zhan Yahui's eyes sparkled. 'I love chocolate! Thank you dad! You are the best!'
It was the time when Zhan Kai-Ming was out for work and Ouyang Haitao and she were alone at home. An eager Zhan Yahui hopped out of her room to dig into her favorite chocolate cake. But that was the last thing she remembered, finishing three fourths of the cake.
'Dad…I feel dizzy…' she said as she clutched her temple, feeling everything going blur.
'Oh dear, is that so? Don't worry. If you feel sick, you should go to sleep.'
She felt afraid with the sudden dizziness gripping her but listening to his soothing voice made her further drowsy, eventually falling unconscious.
Jinhai didn't miss even a tiny change in her expression as Zhan Yahui seemed to be trying to remember about that day. And as it turned out, Jinhai was sure that she did figure out something.
"Ouyang Haitao had fed you something after which you fell unconscious, right?"
Zhan Yahui wanted to lash out, but she couldn't find her voice to express her protest. Her body trembled as the reality and the misunderstanding she held all this time violently clashed against each other.
Jinhai leaned back, narrowing his eyes. "He not only kidnapped Jun but when he saw things becoming worse for him, he chose to kill him."
Ai detected the faint shiver in Jinhai's fingers with green veins appearing on the back of his hand. It was evident that even now, the incident of Jun's kidnapping affected him enough to make his blood boil in anger. His jet black eyes oozed viciousness and hostility.
"Since he chose to kill our little brother, we chose to kill him," It was Jian who broke the short silence with a voice that held no remorse.
As soon as Jun heard that, his head jerked towards them in disbelief. "What?"
The twins oddly remained silent, choosing not to face him.
"What are you talking about? You didn't kill Ouyang Haitao. I killed him by accident," his voice trembled.
A small smile formed on Jian's lips, but his gaze held a trace of sadness as he said, "He wasn't dead at that time, Jun. He was simply unconscious."
Zhan Yahui raised her head to look at him, completely appalled.
What the hell…it was Liu Jun who killed Dad. Then what are these twins blabbering about!?
Jian's revelation made Jun even more confused. "How is it possible? If he wasn't dead by that accident, then how did he die?"
There was a long period of silence to the point that the very air felt absolutely still. Ai shook her head, understanding the turmoil within the twins.
"You don't have to worry about Jun hating you. There is no way he will. So please tell him everything that happened."
Nian pursed his lips. "It's hard, sister-in-law."
"I know. But it's time now."
Silence.
Nian glanced at Jian, who had his head turned to the other side. Clearly, he didn't want to be the one doing the talking. He sighed and turned to face Jun, whose dark brown eyes were filled with questions.
"You know, little brother. You surely were a part of the Underworld just like Jian and I were. We were trained to handle this dark world without any pluses or minuses in our education of this business. But a difference remained between us nevertheless. Jian and I could truly become cold and ruthless. Even at a young age, we never shuddered in fear or hesitated to decide what was to be done even if it was merciless."
Jun blinked.
"But you were different. You used to hesitate because a tiny semblance of mercy always remained within you. That's the gentleness you inherited from Mom. You never used to visit the underworld bases as frequently as Jian and I did. You always unconsciously chose to steer clear from it."
Jun parted and closed his lips. "I don't hate the underworld."
"But you don't like it either."
He paused and wasn't sure if he could refute that statement.
"You remember that time in school when you got hurt by a bunch of jealous bullies? It was the day you came to know that Aunt Xinyi was pregnant with Shui and you coincidentally met her at the hospital after your treatment was done. That incident…you never wanted to report it to Dad because you knew that he would take the strictest against those boys. Might even throw them out of school. He actually did that and you got very upset with him. You didn't talk to him for days."
"The bullying never really bothered me that much. I just thought Dad was being excessive…"
"Even if you got hurt?"
"It was just some minor scratches."
"They weren't minor if you had to be taken to the hospital."
He said nothing.
Nian shook his head. "You are very much like Mom in that sense. You don't like the underworld that much but Jian and I do. It is a basic but very huge difference between us. But that difference also made us afraid, Jun. That if we resort to violence that you don't like, then you will eventually drift away from us. And since Jin began to grow more attached to you, he exhibited those similar mannerisms like you. Nuo was neutral, but you and Jin weren't."
He gazed into the melancholy in his irises that squeezed his heart with pain.
"...But what does all this have to do with Ouyang Haitao?"
"Because it was upon Jian and my orders that Uncle Xuan shot Ouyang Haitao to his death."
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