Unedited……

  Hong Kong

  Xuan Hui had been careful.

  Since he left Zhou Jingren’s office he had been sweet and loving towards his wife, hoping that she wouldn’t notice his plans. He had been busy with his finances too. He followed Zhou Jingren’s words and had been mindful about his actions. He also started preparing everything, selling his properties behind his wife’s back. He needed everything that he could to leave this place.

  He let out a sigh as he opened the main door of their house, letting himself in as silently as possible. Qin Fei already told him that she will sleep ahead of him as she was exhausted and to be honest, he would not want to wake her up. At least not when it was already one in the morning.

  He had been out with his lawyer, planning his clean exit from his company. He also set up some funds for Qin Fei, just enough for her to live comfortably until she becomes sixty. Granting that she is not that stupid to fight against Lily, he was sure that Qin Fei could live her life even if Xuan Hui and his son are no longer with her.

  Clearly, Qin Fei’s priority is her pride. They might still love each other but they have grown so much their goals are now different. He went inside his study, switching on the lights only to freeze at the sight of a man sitting on his leather chair.

  "Good Morning, Mr. Xuan." The man said enthusiastically.

  "Who are you?" He asked, his phone was immediately on his phone as he dialed the number of the police.

  "I wouldn’t do that if I were you." The man said, turning towards the crib inside the study. "He is asleep. We don’t want to disturb him…… right?"

  "You — " Xuan Hui paled. "Who are you?"

  "You talked to Mr. Zhou?" the man ignored his question. "Tell me…… what did you tell him?"

  "What — I don’t know what you are talking about."

  "Really?"

  "Just who are you?" he took a step towards his son.

  "One move and this place — this entire room will blow up."

  "What do you want?" he hissed, fear flashed in his eyes. He met the man’s light brown orbs as he silently put his phone back in his jacket pocket.

  "The truth. I want you to answer my question. That’s all."

  "What question?"

  "What did you tell Zhou Jingren?"

  "I told him about Qi Xia’s offer to work together. What — who are you? Are you Qi Xia’s subordinate? Are you Zhou Huifang’s?" He forced himself to look into the man’s eyes. Hoping that the person Zhou Jingren assigned to follow him around already answered his call.

  "That’s all?"

  "That’s all! What else would I tell him?" he furrowed his brows. "Where is my wife?"

  "Sleeping."

  "Is she— "

  "Of course. I would not hurt a woman." The man gave him a malicious smile. "Now…… why would you tell him such things? Knowing…… this will endanger your life?"

  "Why would it endanger my life? I already told Qi Xia, I will not work with him. I only told Zhou Jingren about this matter because I wanted to leave. I want to stay out of the — " Xuan Hui did not finish his words when he saw the man held a gun and gently put it on top of the table. His mind turned alert, eyes wary as his heart drummed against his chest. "Who are you?"

  "You don’t have the right to know my name." The man said, the same smile plastered on his face. "Now…… tell me. Did he promise you anything else?"

  "My safety. He promised to make me leave Hong Kong and give me a new identity — don’t point that to my child! Hey!"

  "Bang!" the man beamed. "Pressing the trigger is — so easy. I could do it with my eyes closed. Say, do you think…… I would be able to hit someone with my eyes closed?"

  "Are you crazy?" He gulped. He felt his body tremble, sweat dripped on his forehead. The air conditioner inside the room was useless as he felt his dampened back. "I already told you the truth! Now…… can you at least— " with a few long strides, he walked towards the crib only to discover that it was empty. "Where is my son?" He asked.

  "I don’t know." The man shrugged.

  "You— "

  A snort escaped the man’s lips. "Did you tell him anything else aside from Qi Xia’s offer?" Xuan Hui shook his head. He eyed the gun on the table as he wondered about the location of his son.

  "Good. Then you are useless to me." The man gave a sinister smile, so dark it sent shivers down Xuan Hui’s spine. "Now…… kill yourself."

  "Excuse me?"

  "I said…… kill yourself."

  "What do you — "

  "Either you pull the trigger or…… I kill your child." The man interrupted him. "Chose." He stood from the leather chair and poured himself some vodka. "You kill yourself now."

  For a few seconds, Xuan Hui turned silent.

  "Let me guess. You can’t do it?" the man turned towards him. "You can’t kill yourself for the sake of your child? How…… selfish."

  "You don’t know what you are talking about." In Xuan Hui’s mind, if he kills himself, no one would take care of his son. His wife is already not in her right mind to care for herself. There is no way that she would be able to take care of their child, alone.

  "Eh? Really?" the man smiled before his face turned serious. "Since you don’t want to — "

  The loud sound of glass interrupted their conversation.

  "Fuck." The man hissed before a gunshot followed, then another. Before Xuan Hui could even react, his consciousness already left him. His body fell into the floor, limp as his breathing turned sparse.

  What will happen to his child once he dies? The question seemed to echo inside him over and over as gunshots and the acrid smell of gun powder spread all throughout his office.

  After a few minutes, the gunshots stopped and the ominous silence took over the room. However, it was easily broken by a few footsteps.

  "This one is still alive. Call Mr. B." the man said as he held Xuan Hui’s neck. "Barely," he added……

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