Chapter 181: Ascending to the throne

It took Xie Qingcheng nearly a month to locate the old Wei Rong file, as it was a voluminous archive, and all the pre-millennium files were paper-based, with no electronic entry, and had been transferred several times.

Wei Rong was a post-graduate surgical student at the University of Medicine, and she excelled in her studies. She has her transcripts on file, with perfect scores in almost all her major courses, but she did not participate in any club activities, and she barely passed all her elective courses such as sports and art.

She seems to be a person who has no interest in knowledge outside her field.

Xie Qingcheng scrolled down to the last page and found a two-inch photograph of Wei Rong taken at the time of his graduation.

So twenty years later, Xie Qingcheng finally saw the true face of the missing earring from Yan Zhou's clubhouse.

It was a schoolgirl with a round face and double eyelids, but her eyelids were slightly puffy, so her gaze was dull and her face looked like a pencil drawing that had been smeared with an eraser, flat and bland. In this picture she is wearing dark hair and looking proudly out of the camera, it is clear that although she is not a sought-after beauty, she is still quite calm and confident because of her family's wealth and her excellent professional results.

When Xie Qingcheng saw this photo, a chill ran down his spine.

He had a similar feeling when he first saw Jin Xiuhe's photo, and later, when the case was solved, Xie Qingcheng knew that Jin Xiuhe was Jiang Lanpei, so the chill should have been his brain picking up the image and feeding it an eerie sense of familiarity that didn't match up with anyone else.

Did he see her picture at Qin Ciyan's house? In one of those student photo booklets?

Xie Qingcheng could not recall whether he had seen Wei Rong's photograph in Qin Ciyan's possession or not, as all of Qin Ciyan's belongings had been disposed of and buried with him.

He went back and forth again, carefully reading this old file from cover to cover.

This time, he made an even more unexpected discovery -

During her internship, Wei Rong visited a pharmaceutical company's laboratory where she achieved such excellent results that she was given a very high rating by the head of the company on her social practice sheet, whose name was clearly written as.

He Jiwei!

This girl, like him, had worked for He Jiwei's company through Old Qin's connections!

While he did not stay in He Jiwei's lab for long, Wei Rong chose to remain there after graduation, until she died in a car accident.

When Xie Qingcheng made this discovery, he was so upset that he wanted to meet He Jiwei right away, so he dialed his number.

"Doodle doo ......"

During the wait, his hands were trembling slightly.

The truth is really getting closer ...... as long as He Jiwei is willing to help ......

However, I don't know if it was because He Jiwei knew about his affair with He Yu, but he called four or five times in a row, but there was no response.

By late that night, Xie Qingcheng thought that He Jiwei would never call back and he was in a state of endless agitation and boredom, smoking one cigarette after another.

But just as he was about to bury himself in the ashes, his mobile phone suddenly rang and Xie Qingcheng looked at his contacts with a jolt.

He Jiwei!

His pupils fluttered suddenly, blood flowing upwards, and he immediately picked up the phone.

" Mr. He ."

"......"

There was a long silence on the other end, and only the faint hiss of a signal could be heard.

Outside the window, the moonlight pours in, and Xie Qingcheng sits on the edge of the bed, his heart pounding, suppressing the rush in his breathing as he waits for He Jiwei to open his mouth.

I don't know how long it took, maybe a few minutes, maybe a few dozen seconds, or actually just a few seconds. A voice finally came over the loudspeaker.

That voice, however, did not belong to He Jiwei, but to someone else he knew better.

He Yu Dao: " Xie Qingcheng ......"

"......" Xie Qingcheng was stunned, "How come it's you? Where's your dad?"

"......"

There was another long silence.

Xie Qingcheng had a tendon jutting at the back of his neck, and he raised his hand to rub his neck, trying to soothe the uneasy feeling in his heart. This is so strange ...... Why is He Jiwei's phone being used by He Yu?

And He Yu's voice doesn't sound right either, as if he's trying too hard to suppress some emotion that's trying to break out of his throat in defiance, and his voice is so muffled by the two contradictions.

Xie Qingcheng's heart suddenly hung in the air: "Where are you now?"

"...... I'm on your doorstep."

"......"

"Just open the door." He Yu said, "I want to see you."

It was so surprising that Xie Qingcheng had forgotten that he was not supposed to pay any more attention to He Yu. He got up quickly and got out of bed. The moment he opened the door, he saw He Yu standing under the rose vine in the alcove, all in black, his skin whiter and whiter, holding the phone that was still on the line, looking at Xie Qingcheng quietly, without a trace of expression on his face.

Xie Qingcheng subconsciously looked at his bracelet, wondering what his emotions were at the moment -

He Yu has removed his bracelet.

His wrist is empty and he wears nothing.

He Yu straightened up, hung up the phone and took a few steps forward through the moonlight. It was clear that he had said nothing and showed no expression, yet his aura seemed completely different from the last time we met over a month ago.

"Invite me in, Xie Qingcheng."

"......"

He turned his face slightly sideways and lowered his eyelids, his lashes gilded with a silvery moonlight.

"You're the only place I can come."

Because He Yu was so perverse, Xie Qingcheng did not kick him out, but let him inside and closed the door behind him.

"Did something happen to you?"

"......"

Seeing that He Yu was not answering but his lips were pale, Xie Qingcheng decided not to ask and went to the tea table to pour him a pot of hot tea. But while he was taking care of the tea set, He Yu got up and came behind him, suddenly raising his hand and embracing him around the waist.

Xie Qingcheng: "......"

"Don't move." He Yu opened hoarsely before he could break away from himself, "...... Let me hold it for a while. Okay? I'm having a hard time inside, and I don't know anyone else who can give me a little peace right now but you."

" He Yu ...... What's wrong with you?"

He Yu held him tightly, stopping Xie Qingcheng's attempt to turn around, "Don't you turn around."

"I'm too wretched to look good now. I'm afraid you'll dislike me even more if you see me."

Xie Qingcheng felt the material on his shoulders soaked with warm tears, He Yu wouldn't let him look, He Yu was crying.

He was held in this way for some time, and although He Yu had said almost nothing, Xie Qingcheng had a vague feeling in his mind that there was a fog in front of him, and that in its depths an unseen beast showed itself as a vague, huge figure.

He Yu, who almost never cries in front of others, can often cry uncontrollably in front of him, but this time seems to be different from every other time.

He Yu is fragile, he seems to be trapped in a contradictory emotion that makes him very fragile.

The room was so quiet that the sound of a heartbeat could be heard.

Boom pass.

Boom pass.

"You know what ......"

The giant beast comes closer and closer out of the fog -

"He's dead." Finally, He Yu spoke softly.

BOOM--

One second, two seconds ...... heart seemed to stand still, or was it the slight ringing in the ears that prevented one from hearing the subtle sounds in the chest?

He Yu did not say who it was, only that it was him.

But Xie Qingcheng realised who he was almost instantly.

The monster hissed and leapt out of the fog, green-faced and fanged, bearing the face of a bull's head and a horse's face, with the black and white streamers stuck behind its body.

"He's dead." He Yu murmured again, repeating to no one in particular, "He's dead ......"

It was some time before Xie Qingcheng's hand slowly put the half-poured tea back on the tea table. He had been friends with He Jiwei for some time, but his reaction to the news of his friend's death was more intense than normal, and he knew it was because of He Yu - He Jiwei was, after all, He Yu's father.

Xie Qingcheng lets He Yu hug him even tighter.

Ryoga asked, containing the tremble in his voice: "...... When was this?"

"...... It's actually been almost a month since the branch went public in the U.S. because of the risk of the listing and no word got out to the public. I also ...... I've never told anyone else about it either ...... Mom and I have been dealing with it ...... and now it's finally all ready to go and everyone will know tomorrow. "

"How did ...... it happen so suddenly? What's happening?!"

He Yu embraced him and whispered, "...... my dad he's been in a bad state for a long time, I could feel it before ...... he seemed to have a heavy heart for a long time, he was depressed and his health was not good ...... but I didn't think ...... he would ......"

Xie Qingcheng's blood was gone: "Could he be--"

"It was a suicide ...... he committed suicide." He Yu looked sleepy and distorted, his voice hoarse, "drank paraquat ...... He Li found it and resuscitated it ...... but the man who was temporarily saved by paraquat couldn't live long ...... His lungs were rapidly becoming fibrotic and each breath became more and more difficult ...... He lasted a few days and then ......"

He Yu did not say anything further.

Lv Zhishu and He Jiwei, though not as kind to him, were his father and mother. He Jiwei, in particular, was not as good as He Li, and could even be described as a very bad father who barely gave He Yu much love, but as long as He Jiwei was alive, He Yu at least had someone to call his father.

Now this person is suddenly gone.

And in such a cruel way that it deprived itself of life.

Xie Qingcheng, no matter how hard-hearted he was, could not drive such a He Yu away from him. He tried to smooth out the frightening lines on his heart and calm himself down as he said in a shaky voice, " He Yu ......"

"I'm fine ......" He Yu mumbled, but his green and white lips kept twitching, "I'm fine with nothing ...... "

"It's okay ...... I'm okay ......"

Xie Qingcheng holds him.

"I'll be fine ......"

He Yu closed his eyes as if he was trying to hypnotize himself as much as possible.

Xie Qingcheng didn't know what to say, he could still maintain his composure but his eardrums were buzzing inside and he could barely shake off the buzzing fuzz and said, "Why don't you go sit at the desk first, okay? I'll heat up a glass of water for you."

Hot ginger tea was served, with lots of iced sugar, and he walked over to the table and handed it to He Yu .

He Yu's teeth chattered slightly and even his fingertips were cold, as if he was afraid of the cold on such a hot day.

As he sipped his hot ginger tea bit by bit, Xie Qingcheng looked at his beautiful face and felt that his heart was a thousand pounds heavier - perhaps because he had been suffering for some time with the news of his father's sudden death by suicide, and it was only today that he was finally able to speak to someone.

"My dad has never really bothered me much." He Yu held his cup of tea and sat in his chair with his head bowed, his face reflected in the amber ginger tea as he said to himself, "He's always busy, it's hard enough for me to see him fifteen days out of three hundred and sixty-five a year."

"It's only logical that I shouldn't feel anything when he's dead, across the board it's just a guy I can only see in my phone contacts."

The calm waters of the ginger tea suddenly rippled away.

He Yu's hair was hanging low, Xie Qingcheng couldn't see his face at the moment, he could only hear his muffled voice like sandpaper: "But yesterday I opened my phone and I went to his messages to look for the files he had sent me that I hadn't finished with. I clicked on a voice ...... message that he had sent me a long time ago but I hadn't bothered to read, and it was the last voice message he sent me, asking me about the old injury on my arm and if it was getting better."

"I actually thought it was quite strange that day, I didn't know why he would suddenly ask me something like that headlessly. I later found out that it was a message he had sent me the day before he committed suicide."

"He never loved me much in his life, Xie Qingcheng." He Yu's fingers turned jade white as he held his teacup, "Except maybe before he died."

Xie Qingcheng: "......"

From his perspective as a personal physician, the relationship between He Jiwei and He Yu was indeed a delicate one.

He Jiwei was very unconcerned with He Yu, and his attitude was very unfriendly. I was told that when he was young he loved his wife very much, and that she did not love her eldest son, and that his mother seemed to be angry with him for some reason, so his husband went along with his wife, who had gone through a lot of suffering, and tried not to touch her scars.

Later on, the relationship between the couple faded and He Yu grew up, and the father and son became accustomed to this unsavoury pattern of dealing with each other, without anyone thinking of changing it.

But it would be unfair to say that He Jiwei did not care about his eldest son at all. For one thing, Xie Qingcheng came to be the personal doctor of the He family at the request of He Jiwei several times, and for another, over the years that Xie Qingcheng has been treating He Yu, He Jiwei has not given him much company, but he has never forgotten to ask Xie Qingcheng about his eldest son's condition.

Although this care was not much, and could even be considered to be minimal, there was still a trace of warmth between the father and son.

He Yu finished all the cup of ginger tea and when the teapot was empty, he put the cup down and whispered again, "You know ...... he left me all the assets he had on hand that he could handle on his own."

He Yu was numb, as if this move by He Jiwei had made him even more unaware: "All of it."

"......"

" He Li thought it was a fake and he had Yan Zhou's people come and do the identification ...... A few days after his father left, he made a scene for a few days and he didn't believe it was his final decision." He Yu said.

"But the result of the appraisal, that will is the real thing. It was notarized."

He Yu looked down and smiled a little, there was no laughter in that smile, it seemed ironic and absurd.

" He Li said he would not attend his funeral ...... He said He Jiwei must have been mentally deranged at the end to make such a decision. He didn't get a penny ...... He had thought I was the one who wouldn't get a penny." He Yu said, "I was prepared for that, I've hardly used my parents' money in my adult life, I earned it all myself, I didn't care if he gave me anything or not. He Li was different."

Xie Qingcheng: "...... Maybe he was thinking that by leaving the family business in your hands, you could run it much better than He Li."

After a pause, he asked again, "What did Lui say?"

"...... She didn't expect this outcome either." He Yu For some reason, the light in his eyes seemed to change slightly.

"Her relationship with my dad has faded a lot over the years, but she still likes him a lot. After she knew it was my dad's arrangement, she didn't say anything more ...... She'd been sick for days, and after my dad failed, she teared up and eased up a little yesterday. She seems to have aged many years at once, and all that thunder and lightning has gone with my dad."

"......"

"She called out to me as I was leaving the house this morning and I didn't know what she was going to say to me. I was standing in the entranceway looking at her." He Yu said, "She just kept looking at me so blankly and then all of a sudden, just said sorry to me."

He Yu looks numb as he recounts these events.

His heart was as if wrapped in a thick cocoon, no one could see the true face of this organ at this moment.

A while ago they were fretting over the events at Xie Xue's wedding reception, and from death to death, many things that had seemed so serious before suddenly became so irrelevant.

Vague as if it had happened in a previous life.

He Yu tilted his head and looked at Xie Qingcheng who was standing in front of him: "Brother, I'm going to take my father's place after that, I've heard before that there are chairs that eat people, once you sit on them, people change, it's involuntary."

"People say that before He Jiwei got to such a high position, he was really good to my mother and obedient to her. Then they slowly drifted apart, each minding their own business, and often they couldn't even talk to each other. I actually heard my dad ask once, he asked her, "Do you remember what we used to be like."

He Yu lowered his eyelashes, "She didn't answer him for half a day."

The sky was overcast when He Yu arrived, and now lightning suddenly flashed outside, a blinding white light that easily split the dome in two, and a few seconds later thunderclaps like drums, rumbling the sky, and thunderstorms poured down, turning the colours of the world into a dazed white.

Xie Qingcheng said, "...... I'll go and get you another cup of tea."

Instead, He Yu snapped his wrist.

The young man sitting in the chair pulls Xie Qingcheng back and he embraces him once more, like a child who does not want to part with his naked childhood and clutches his worn-out teddy bear.

He buries his face in Xie Qingcheng's waist and belly, cradling his rag doll in front of the window of his desk where the dark wind is blowing rain.

A young man who was obviously so crazy and paranoid and strong, but at this moment he looked so helpless and sad.

Xie Qingcheng heard his voice choke: " Xie Qingcheng ...... There are things I have to do, things he left behind that I need to finish, and there is no one else but me to take over.... do you understand what I mean ......?"

"...... I understand."

How could he not understand? It was a feeling he felt more deeply than anyone else.

He raised his hand to touch He Yu's hair, and before his fingertips touched the top of He Yu's hair, he heard his voice so sad that it was hoarse: "...... I'm sorry, brother, I've been ...... alone for the past month. I've been suffering and enduring ...... I'm going crazy with this reality ...... I can't take it anymore ...... You let me be so capricious one more time... ...you spoil me for one more day ...... because after today ...... I might ......"

"I might not be He Yu anymore."

There are positions that do eat people up.

He Yu walked into the house of gold and saw the magnificent and infinite throne, a high seat of cast gold, inlaid with emerald onyx and flowing with precious stones, and on top of the throne sat a withered bone, its crown deepened, its brocade garments entrusted to the ground, its skeletal hand still holding the heavy sceptre. On it sat the man whom he called his father.

Twenty years ago, before the skeleton sat in this position, there was flesh and blood.

"Will you hold me ...... Xie Qingcheng ......" He Yu pulled him down and looked at him with languid, disoriented eyes, sad and unhappy. And deep inside that sadness and disenchantment is another, more unknown emotion, which is hidden in the lowest part of the deep pupils, not for anyone to see.

" He Yu ......"

"I can't take it anymore ...... you hug me ......"

The skeleton scattered into green smoke, and a new life came to the seat and began to be sacrificed for it.

And before that, he took his unavailable lover to the chair and sat him in his arms, he hooked the back of his neck as if drawing some of the last hot breath of the living.

He rubbed the tip of his nose gently, tentatively touching Xie Qingcheng's chin, his cheek, the bridge of his nose, the arch of his brow, his forehead ...... and finally moving lovingly down again - he gazed into Xie Qingcheng's eyes, at such a close distance, silently exchanging emotions with it.

Then he tilted his head, his cold lips trembling, and kissed Xie Qingcheng between his lips.

Xie Qingcheng tried to comfort him and to find some truth in the nightmarish news, feeling He Yu's light kisses, kisses that felt like He Yu's pleas for help.

"I'm so messed up inside ...... Xie Qingcheng ......" he murmured in front of his lips between kisses, "I'm having a hard time ...... Do you know ...... I really feel bad ......"

He Yu's emotions were transmitted to Xie Qingcheng's chest cavity.

It was not just the pain of losing a father, but as if there was another secret too heavy to hide.

He Yu's hand gently brushed against Xie Qingcheng's ear, forehead to forehead: "Just for one night, okay? Don't drive me away again ...... stay with me ......"

Xie Qingcheng looked into He Yu's eyes at close range, in fact, because he was so close, he could not see anything, but he could hear He Yu's heartbeat, and in the darkness, he could also feel He Yu's slightly trembling fingertips.

" Xie Qingcheng, please ......"

"......" Xie Qingcheng finally didn't let He Yu finish the broken and unbearable plea, he raised his hand, clasped it around the back of He Yu's neck and pressed up, holding him tightly.

They are like medicine that pacifies each other.

It is not only He Yu who needs Xie Qingcheng, but also Xie Qingcheng, who is now in a state of distress and confusion.

If He Yu is about to become the head of the He Group, and if the young man He Yu will really disappear from now on until he eventually ceases to exist, then ......

"Good ......"

A near-sigh of agreement, husky and deep and incandescent, almost inaudible.

But He Yu heard it anyway.

He Yu froze for a moment, and then a wave of heat flooded his eyes as he murmured Xie Qingcheng's name, as if he wanted to bury the rest of his life in Xie Qingcheng's heart this night. Then he kissed Xie Qingcheng again as if he were venting his emotions, without hesitation.

" Xie Qingcheng ...... Xie Qingcheng ...... "

Breathing heavily, he kissed him hotly, like a moth embracing a flame at last.

Xie Qingcheng, Xie Qingcheng. I may never be He Yu again.

Will you let me hold the doll one last day, please?

After this, you will remember the strength of my hugs to you, as I will remember all the warmth you gave me.

Outside the window, a torrential downpour made the world a blur of desolation.

Where Xie Qingcheng cannot see, in the deepest pupils of He Yu's eyes, a certain determination, a certain purpose, a certain secret has sprung up - no one knows, no one can see.

He held him and pressed that secret hard into his heart. Tonight he did not want to think about anything else, he just wanted to feel Xie Qingcheng's slightly sighing indulgence ...... with all his heart in order to hide his heartbreak, he picked up his lover, who he might never be able to touch again in the future, and put him on the bed, leaning down and pressing him down.

Xie Qingcheng was stunned for a moment. He had only wanted to embrace He Yu and give him some comfort on this night. He didn't think of it in any other way, but He Yu's gesture made him realise that He Yu wanted more and was crazier.

For a month, he lived in the darkness, the purgatory, the death and the confusion of the He family, which was blocked from news.

At this moment, when the dust has finally settled, He Yu, like a man who has climbed back from hell, wants to experience what it is like to be alive, to experience fresh blood and flesh, he wants Xie Qingcheng. He wanted Xie Qingcheng.

Such emotions are contagious, and in the presence of such strong feelings, Xie Qingcheng cannot retreat.

He Yu kisses him, from shallow to deep, to the depths of his soul, as if what he is asking from Xie Qingcheng is no longer a passionate kiss, but a salvation that only Xie Qingcheng can give him.

He saw Xie Qingcheng's hesitation and his hand clutched Xie Qingcheng's fingers as He Yu said hoarsely, "Don't let me go back to hell ...... just for this night ...... "

"Help me ...... Xie Qingcheng ......"

His forehead rests against Xie Qingcheng's, his fingers clasped in a soft murmur.

"You help me ......"

Xie Qingcheng's body, which had been slightly tense, slowly relaxed as much as it could under his complex, painful, confused and frantic eyes.

Despite the fact that he himself had endured too much, despite the fact that he too was in turmoil over He Jiwei's death and did not want to do it, despite the fact that he knew that all the clues had been broken and that he would have to start all over again, the He Yu before him was too wretched, too miserable. He understands that what He Yu wants is something to take his mind off reality for a while.

Only what he can give.

"You save me ......" He Yu whispered in his ear, softly, deeper than desire, was his desperation at the moment.

Xie Qingcheng finally stopped moving, he looked at him and after a few seconds, his clasped fingers moved slightly, as if in a kind of acquiescence, and He Yu kissed him once more with a frenzy of passion.

Maybe ...... He Yu the madman is the right one.

The air in the room heats up as the kisses reach their deepest emotions and the shelter molts away.

Xie Qingcheng seems to be able to feel it at last, too. This temperature ...... is the only one that can dispel the distress and pain in the hearts of both of them.

The chill of death and parting subsided for a moment, and for a moment it seemed as if the world was just this one hut, and all that remained in their eyes was each other.

He Yu looked at Xie Qingcheng lying beneath him, his eyes in a bit of a trance as he murmured softly, "Brother ...... I'm sorry ...... maybe this time, it's really... ...the last time ......"

This statement is completely unconscious; He Yu's current mental state is actually quite confused.

He thought it was just the voice of his own heart, but didn't notice that Xie Qingcheng had already heard it.

Xie Qingcheng and He Yu have said "last time" many times before, but on each occasion, it was Xie Qingcheng who said the words, but this time it was He Yu who said them.

Xie Qingcheng did not know much about business, nor did he understand the business world of the family. He did not know why He Yu had such a deep sense of worry about the future, but when He Yu said so, he understood that this time He Yu was really going to let go.

It is also true that the boss of a leading pharmaceutical company cannot be entangled with a man for the rest of his life.

Indeed it is ...... for the last time.

Xie Qingcheng closed his eyes and raised his hand to encircle the back of He Yu's neck as he approached him again.

Well, think no more ...... indeed think no more.

Tonight he, and he, didn't have to think so much about it.

Reality, like a flood of pursuing beasts, blocked the door of the cottage, and they knew that when they pushed out they would be faced with blood, and only this night, before they went out, could the two still embrace each other like this.

Perhaps Xie Qingcheng's "last time" will never be the last time, for Xie Qingcheng will always be soft on He Yu.

And He Yu's "last time" is really the last time, because even He Yu has chosen to give up.

The initiative between the two of them seems to be in Xie Qingcheng's hands, but in fact, it is the young man who makes the final decision, whether to break or not.

If the young man had stopped, it would have been over between them, literally.

" Xie Qingcheng ......" he kissed him, his breath hot ......

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Author's comment.

The blood is cut straight through, go for it! Pikachu! (?)