The investigation of Xing Bi's death, at first, really didn't bring anything new to light. It was a simple drunk and drive accident.
"But Ai told me once that Xing Bi hated drinking," Xie Nuying said. "Her mother was an alcoholic and it has been a difficult life for her. She was strictly against drinking. That's why it's hard to imagine that Xing Bi would drink and drive."
Zhou Yichen furrowed his brows. "True. The Xing Bi I knew too was never so irresponsible."
Which begged a question of how Xing Bi got drunk? And which kept on digging out more such questions about what exactly had she been doing before her death?
Where all the answers led to the private investigator who Xing Bi was working with.
Yunru cocked his brow. "That's strange. Why would she need the help of a private investigator? What was she trying to find out?"
But it proved to be difficult to find him. Yunru sent out a notice for his son Yijun and the cops to keep searching for the investigator, but his current house was empty. There were no signs of him being anywhere. He wasn't among the deceased, so he was definitely out there but where?
Zhou Yichen grew more and more restless and frustrated as time passed by because he felt it in his gut that the investigator knew something. Maybe even about Ai. Reaching him was extremely important.
But where had he disappeared?
The police were having a hard time tracking him so Yunru thought it would be beneficial if another kind of a search party would also be behind the investigator
And so he reached out to Jinhai, giving him all the details. But Jinhai was in no state to help him. The loss of Nana, Jun and Jin had left him paralyzed and blank. He didn't know what to think. He didn't know what to do. He would simply stare out of the window with an empty gaze.
"Dad, look Uncle Yunru has come to meet you," Nuo smiled and gently held his hand, trying to break his trance.
The twins stood behind Nuo with a somber expression. Jinhai didn't give any reaction for a long, long time.
"Dad."
Nuo patiently kept him company, trying very hard not to choke in her voice. Jinhai finally turned his head, his black eyes meeting Nuo's. At first, his gaze felt soulless but it shone and his eyelashes trembled as tears pooled in them. "Nana…"
Jinhai shook as he held her face in his palms with his tears rolling on his cheeks. "Nana, wh-where did you go…? I missed you so much," he tightly hugged her in his embrace, breaking into quiet sobs. His body trembled as he felt the warmth.
Nuo bit her lower lip, her eyes reddening. She resembled Nana a lot which illusioned Jinhai into thinking that Nana was alive. Not just her but as he looked at the twins, he brightened with joy even more. "Jun! Jin! Y-You three are all back…I knew it was ridiculous for you to leave the family like this…Where have you been!"
Jian's expression hardened and he broke his sweet fantasy. "I am Jian, Dad. He is Nian and she is Nuo. We are not Jun, Jin and Mom."
"That's ridiculous. Look, she is Nana! Who else can look like Nana other than Nana herself!? Stop speaking nonsense, Jun," he coldly retorted.
"Nuo always looked like Mom, Dad," Nian sadly smiled. "You might forget your sons for once but not your daughter, right?"
Jinhai stiffened.
"N-Nuo must be outside somewhere…That's why the woman before me right now i-is my wife! Enough nonsense, Jin!"
"We are not them!" Jian screamed and shouted with fury ablaze in his gaze.
"Jian…" Yunru tried to stop him, but he didn't listen.
"I AM JIAN, HE IS NIAN AND SHE IS NUO! Please don't confuse us as the dead members of our family!"
Jinhai stared at him with a defeated gaze, his shoulders slumping sorrowfully.
"Bro!" Nuo exclaimed. "Please…don't talk to Dad like that…" her voice quivered. "I don't care if Dad thinks that I am Mom. If it makes him ha-happy…" she broke down.
Jian let out a helpless and crazy laughter. "And then what? The next thing you will do is sleep with your 'husband?'"
"Oh shut it Jian!" Nian lashed out with a raging voice. "Can you say anything sensible rather than spouting garbage out of your mouth!?"
"Oh now you two realize how messed up this is? I will keep on spouting on garbage until he snaps out of it! You two are not understanding what is happening. Dad is refusing to accept their deaths and that is making him confuse US as THEM. Do you understand what he is doing? He is replacing our existence - Liu Jian, Liu Nian and Liu Nuo's existences with Liu Jun, Liu Jin and Liu Nana's!"
Nian closed his eyes and released a sigh. He gently placed his hand on Jian's shoulder but he shook it away harshly. "Jian…"
"Fuck off Nian! Don't you dare lecture me on anything or I will seriously punch the shit out of you. Mom, Jun and Jin are dead and I am not going to let Dad replace us as them and live happily as if nothing is wrong. He is…not the only one suffering, Nian!"
Tears brimmed his eyes as he trembled. "I miss Mom too. I miss my brothers too. I want them back so badly! But we cannot bring them back. And now Dad is being like this. I don't…I don't have the strength of losing our father too, Nian! I cannot watch him forgetting us in order to reminisce about dead people in us! He cannot forget that we three exist because he wants to remember Mom, Jun and Jin!"
Expressing what he had to, Jian stormed out of the room.
"B-Bro…!"
Nuo wanted to chase after him but Nian held her back. "Let it be, Nuo. Let him be alone for sometime."
He looked back at Yunru and said, "I am sorry for his outburst, Uncle. You were talking about some investigator, right? The one a woman named…Xing Bi, was it? She was in contact with him and you want to find him?"
"Yes."
Nian nodded. "Don't worry, Uncle. I will track him down by any means and find out why exactly Xing Bi needed him."
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