The Night I Confessed… His Father Died

More than half of the original plot had now run its course.

Ning Shixue suddenly remembered a serious problem.
This was a baby-having story.
The main couple ended up having a child.

Actually, he knew Yan Ting had also given birth to Tang Haohao.
In this world, it was perfectly normal.

So he should also be able to have children.

But until tonight, Ning Shixue hadn’t thought it had anything to do with him.

Ning Shixue’s lips were bitten red and swollen.
Xie Zhaozhou had been gently leaning down to kiss him.
But he clumsily pushed against Xie Zhaozhou’s teeth and lips, biting his tongue.

He rubbed until the man completely lost patience, and he rudely pushed his teeth apart again.

His long, dark lashes were wet with tears.
His whole body was so weak he couldn’t lift his arms.
He could only let Xie Zhaozhou hold him tightly from behind.
His burning palm rubbed against his lower abdomen.
Ning Shixue trembled and bit down on his own index finger.

Xie Zhaozhou’s palm cradled his soft, burning cheek.
He looked down and asked him,
“Do you want one?”

He really didn’t want children.
Just him and Ning Shixue was enough.
For this lifetime, only the two of them.
But if Ning Shixue wanted one, he was willing to take care of it.

“…No!”
Ning Shixue’s ears burned as he quickly refused.

He couldn’t help glancing down.
He couldn’t understand at all how this was supposed to produce a child.

Xie Zhaozhou chuckled softly.
He pinched the soft flesh of his cheek.
He licked and bit his wet, red, swollen lips.
The bones in the back of Ning Shixue’s neck went soft.
Xie Zhaozhou’s voice was low as he called him,
“Baby.”

Ning Shixue was stunned for a moment.
Held in Xie Zhaozhou’s arms, his face red, his legs trembling unconsciously.

It was the first time Xie Zhaozhou had seriously called him that.
He hadn’t even called him that just now.
He had deliberately used his full name.
Ning Shixue’s already tense shoulders and back broke out in a thin sweat.
His pale back was wet under the light.
He was so nervous, like he was doing something bad.

He couldn’t take it anymore and kicked Xie Zhaozhou.
Only then did Xie Zhaozhou chuckle and stop calling him that.

“Second Brother, when did you book the hotel?”
Ning Shixue didn’t want to think about what just happened.
He held Xie Zhaozhou’s hand, turned his head, and buried his face in it, red-faced, kissing his palm.

Xie Zhaozhou’s breath hitched.
His palm felt like it had been scratched by a little hook.
He pinched Ning Shixue’s cheek again, not letting him kiss.
He didn’t pinch hard, but his dark eyes were heavy, looking a bit fierce.

Ning Shixue didn’t move away.
His eyes were still moist with undried tears.
He obediently stayed under Xie Zhaozhou’s palm.

Xie Zhaozhou’s heart softened completely.
He hugged him tight and kissed his hair.
His voice held a lazy smile as he said hoarsely,
“When I went to pick up Teacher Xiao Ning tonight.”

Actually, after their last date, he had been looking for a suitable hotel.
He never felt any of them were good enough.

He finally found this one.
From the floor-to-ceiling windows late at night, you could overlook most of Yan City.
Neon lights everywhere.
You could even see the winding, continuous lights along the river bridge.

He hadn’t planned on tonight.
But he suddenly lost his head.
In the end, the preparations were still hasty.

Ning Shixue mumbled,
“I thought you would do it at home…”

His voice was so hoarse he could barely speak.
He forced himself to keep talking to Xie Zhaozhou.
Now he finally couldn’t help coughing.
His already wet, red eye corners took on a sickly flush.

A glass of warm water had been poured by the bedside.
Ning Shixue’s tongue was numb from sucking, his throat also a bit swollen.
He couldn’t swallow it down.
Xie Zhaozhou fed him a few mouthfuls, lip to lip.

Ning Shixue’s arms were weak.
He forced himself to lift them and hug Xie Zhaozhou’s neck, eager to swallow.
Xie Zhaozhou chuckled softly.
He suddenly realized.
His ears reddened to the point of bleeding.

This was like asking for a kiss.

“We would have been heard at home.”
Xie Zhaozhou parted their lips, his thumb rubbing against his reddened lips.
His dark phoenix eyes looked down at him.
His voice was low and suggestive.

He thought Ning Shixue, with his thin skin, would definitely be unwilling to make a sound.
Unexpectedly, he had been obedient the whole night.
Saying whatever he was told.
Doing whatever he was asked.

The wickedness in Xie Zhaozhou’s heart couldn’t be suppressed.

The things he whispered in Ning Shixue’s ear, he himself thought were too much.
At the time, Ning Shixue was so embarrassed tears came to his eyes.
He almost choked up.
His pale cheeks were flushed red, with finger marks from where he had been pinched.
He hadn’t pinched hard.
But Ning Shixue’s skin was too fair.
Even now, it was still red.
When he turned his head, it was covered in tear tracks.

But even so, he didn’t resist.

Xie Zhaozhou just needed him to say no.
If Ning Shixue said he didn’t want to, he could stop.

But Ning Shixue hadn’t refused all night.

“Want to sleep?”
Xie Zhaozhou propped himself up slightly and asked him.

Ning Shixue was still lying on his stomach.
His messy, shoulder-length black hair was stuck to his pale neck.
He looked a mess.

The tips of his ears were bright red.
It was hard to speak.
But he still whispered,
“What about you?”

Xie Zhaozhou had just told him they were out.
Obviously, if they weren’t out, he didn’t plan to stop there.

“I’ll be fine in a bit,”
Xie Zhaozhou said, his voice low and lazy, a wicked smile on his face as he leaned closer to ask,
“Teacher Xiao Ning, are you worried about me?”

“Get lost,”
Ning Shixue said weakly.
His eyelids were swollen from crying.
But he rubbed his face against Xie Zhaozhou’s shoulder and, suppressing his embarrassment, admitted,
“I was afraid it wouldn’t be enough for you.”

He didn’t want Xie Zhaozhou to hold back.

Xie Zhaozhou’s palm pressed against his chest.
He had always been concerned about his heartbeat.
It was beating heavily and uncomfortably.
His throat even tasted of blood.
He was dizzy.

He didn’t dare let go.

And the force of Xie Zhaozhou pressing down on him was too gentle.
He would rather Xie Zhaozhou had broken his ribs.
If his heart was crushed, if his ribs were broken, it wouldn’t matter.

He wouldn’t resist.
When he saw this person, he was knocked down.
He only felt like he was melting.

He didn’t care if Xie Zhaozhou was the original story’s antagonist.
He would fly into the fire.

Xie Zhaozhou couldn’t bear to torment him anymore.
He carried him by the thighs to the bathroom for a shower.

Ning Shixue’s legs were too weak to stand.
His eyelashes were wet.
Water droplets traced down his pale, thin back.
He braced himself against the cold mirror.
Behind him was Xie Zhaozhou’s burning chest.

Afraid he would catch cold, Xie Zhaozhou pulled him closer.
Ning Shixue could only hang on him.
He was too lazy to move and let Xie Zhaozhou rinse him off.

The steam grew thicker.
Ning Shixue’s cold peach blossom eyes were made bright and hot.

Xie Zhaozhou wrapped him in a towel and put him on the bed to apply medicine.
Ning Shixue’s lips trembled, but he made no sound.

Xie Zhaozhou couldn’t help it.
With that annoying suggestiveness, he lowered his voice and said,

“So obedient.”

“…I’m not being obedient,”
Ning Shixue argued weakly, almost unable to open his eyes.

He raised his hand, wanting to touch Xie Zhaozhou’s dark eyebrows.
But he couldn’t lift it.
It fell, curling its fingers to grab a few of Xie Zhaozhou’s.
He breathed weakly and said,
“I like you.”

Xie Zhaozhou was suddenly stunned.

After saying it, Ning Shixue felt embarrassed.
He turned his head away and urged Xie Zhaozhou to come to sleep.
When Xie Zhaozhou lay down beside him, he burrowed under the covers.

Then, wrapped in the blanket, he burrowed into Xie Zhaozhou’s arms, naturally letting him hold him.

The neon lights in the dead of night stopped flickering.

Ning Shixue was only now starting to regret it.
He shouldn’t have been scared before.
It wasn’t that scary.
And for some reason, there was an intimacy different from anything with anyone else.

Xie Zhaozhou, with him squirming in his arms, had veins standing out on his neck.
He held him down, but gently patted his back.
His voice hoarse, he said,
“Sleep.”

Ning Shixue was exhausted.
But he really couldn’t sleep.
Only when he was held tightly by Xie Zhaozhou did he finally start to feel sleepy.

Xie Zhaozhou, however, was tortured until all sleepiness was gone.
He could only hold him like this.
In the overly quiet night, listening to his weak heartbeat.
Until his phone suddenly vibrated.

It was a call from the hospital.

Xie Zhaozhou’s expression darkened slightly.
He gently picked Ning Shixue up, making him let go.
Seeing that Ning Shixue was still fast asleep, he tucked the covers in for him, got up, and went out to answer the phone.

The news came suddenly.
But they were all urgent matters.

Old Master Xie’s heart rate had suddenly become irregular in the middle of the night.
They were about to send him for emergency treatment.
Unexpectedly, he recovered.
Now he was actually awake.
But he hadn’t fully regained consciousness yet.

Then Xie’s father died.
Half an hour after Old Master Xie barely opened his eyes, rescue failed.

Xie Zhaozhou had to go to the hospital.

When he left the bedroom, Ning Shixue was already awake.
Xie Zhaozhou came back to put on his clothes.
Ning Shixue, lying by the bedside, handed him his coat.

Xie Zhaozhou’s thin lips moved.
Before he could apologize, Ning Shixue shook his head.
Xie Zhaozhou lowered his head and kissed his cheek.
“I’ll have Song Li come over later. If you feel unwell, tell him, or call me.”

He touched Ning Shixue’s forehead.
It wasn’t hot now.
But he was still very worried.

Ning Shixue’s health was poor.
Even a slight breeze could give him a fever.
Let alone being tormented for most of the night.

“No, don’t send anyone,”
Ning Shixue said, his face red.
“I’ll be fine alone.”

The sheets were a mess.
The floor was a mess.
His body was also marked.
There wasn’t a patch of unblemished skin.
He couldn’t face anyone seeing it.
Anyone who saw it would know what had happened.

Xie Zhaozhou looked up at him.
His attitude was somewhat firm.
“Then I’ll take you home first.”

He was afraid that if Ning Shixue fell asleep later and got sick, he wouldn’t even know.
At least at home, the old butler was there.

Ning Shixue couldn’t argue with him.
But he didn’t let Xie Zhaozhou take him either.
He just had the driver pick him up.

Xie Zhaozhou stayed with him for another half hour.
The driver drove to the city center, not far from the hotel.
Only then did he leave.

When the driver arrived, Ning Shixue got the call and went to the parking lot.
He opened the car door and said,
“To the hospital.”

“But President Xie said…”
the driver was stunned for a moment.

Ning Shixue’s eyes were cold.
The driver inexplicably shivered.
Xie Zhaozhou had also instructed him before to listen to Ning Shixue’s arrangements.
So he didn’t say anything else and immediately turned the car around.

* * * *

When Xie Zhaozhou arrived at the hospital, several of the company’s senior directors, who were also Old Master Xie’s trusted men, were there.
Xie Mengyuan was also there.
He had hardly left the hospital in the past few days.

“Zhaozhou,”
Xie Mengyuan said, his expression complex, standing up.

The old Xie residence had just been through a fire.
The police hadn’t even finished investigating.
In one night, his elder brother had died, and then his father had woken up.
He didn’t know whether to grieve or be grateful.

Xie Zhaozhou went to see Old Master Xie first.

Old Master Xie couldn’t speak yet.
He was already over seventy and had been in a hospital bed for three years.
His muscles were slack.
His eyelids drooped heavily.

But his eyes were indeed open.

The attending doctor was still examining Old Master Xie.

“Uncle,”
Xie Zhaozhou said, leaving the ward.
His eyes were dark, his tone unreadable.
“What happened to my father?”

Xie Zhaozhou had guards watching Old Master Xie’s room, not allowing any extra people near.
But he hadn’t monitored Xie’s father.
Since Xie’s father had been hospitalized, Xie Mengyuan had been responsible for him.

Xie Mengyuan was filled with guilt.
“When I heard your grandfather had woken up last night, I rushed to the hospital anxiously. Afraid of any unexpected events, I had more people guarding outside his room. I didn’t pay enough attention to your father’s side. I didn’t expect Jiang Xin to take advantage of the chaos and go see him.”

Xie’s father had severe burns.
The skin and flesh on his face couldn’t even cover his teeth.
He couldn’t speak at all.
He had also developed sepsis.

But he had actually woken up last night.

When Xie’s father opened his eyes, he didn’t even realize what had happened.
He had been pushed by Liao Yanwan, hit his head on the ground, and passed out.
Before he could wake up, he had suffocated in the fire and lost consciousness again.

When he finally realized his whole body was wrapped in bandages, burned beyond recognition, he became very agitated immediately.
His throat kept making hoarse, hissing sounds.

The nurse had to give him a sedative.

When Xie’s father woke up again, he was lying in the hospital bed.
His heart was filled with an intense, unshakeable hatred.
He wished he could bite Liao Yanwan to death.
He was terrified to the extreme.
But the entire ward, besides the doctors and nurses, couldn’t see anyone.

Xie Mengyuan had come.
But Xie Mengyuan couldn’t understand what he meant.
His eyes red, he stared at Xie Mengyuan, wanting him to bring that poisonous woman Liao Yanwan to him.
But Xie Mengyuan just looked at him worriedly and asked,
“Are you in pain?”

Then he hurriedly pressed the bedside bell and asked the nurse,
“Can you give him another painkiller?”

Xie’s father was in pain all over.
He was physically and mentally exhausted.
He gave up trying to communicate with Xie Mengyuan.

Not until late at night did Jiang Xin suddenly push open the ward door.

Xie’s father’s eyes instantly welled up.
Xie Zhaozhou hadn’t come to see him.
Xie Hanzhou had come a few times, but probably didn’t want to see him disfigured.
He just paced outside the ward.

He never expected that, in the end, Jiang Xin would be willing to come and be with him.

“Dad,”
Jiang Xin said, sitting by his bedside.
Her hand was very soft as she took his.

Xie’s father’s tears flowed freely.
He made hoarse, wheezing sounds in his throat.
He wanted to hold Jiang Xin’s hand, but he had no strength.

Jiang Xin’s tone was gentle.
“Did you know? Li Yuan’s brother was our high school classmate.”

Jiang Xin told him their entire plan from beginning to end.

Li Yuan and his brother depended on each other.
Then his brother had an accident at a Xie Group construction site and died.

Actually, he hadn’t originally wanted to seek revenge.
Even though he was sad, it really was an accident.

No one was to blame.

But when he went to collect the compensation money, he happened to run into Xie’s father scolding the project manager.

Xie’s father, annoyed, scolded him,
“It’s just one person dead. Don’t construction sites have deaths? Why make such a big deal out of it and even cause trouble for the old man? Can’t you even handle this? Just give them some money and get rid of them?!”

Only then did Li Yuan start to think about revenge.

When he was arranging his brother’s funeral, Jiang Zhan and Jiang Xin were also arranging their mother’s funeral.
They met at the cemetery and recognized each other.
That’s how they became accomplices for over a decade.

Xie’s father’s mind was a blank chaos.
At first, he didn’t understand what Jiang Xin was saying.
Not until the end did he feel a chill run down his spine.
Like someone was strangling his throat.

Anyone who discovered that someone had spent over a decade meticulously plotting to kill them would be terrified.

Let alone the fact that this person was his own child.

His face was flushed.
His eyes were wide with rage.
He desperately tried to shake off Jiang Xin’s hand.
But he had no strength.
Jiang Xin’s cold fingers were like sticky snake tongues, tightly coiling around his wrist.

No one came from outside the ward.
Not the guards.
Not Xie Hanzhou.
Not Xie Mengyuan.

No one came to save him.

Xie’s father was literally scared to death.

“I don’t know what Jiang Xin said,”
Xie Mengyuan said, wiping tears from the corner of his eye and sighing.
“By the time I got there, the doctor told me rescue had failed.”

Xie Zhaozhou’s eyes were dark and unreadable.
He picked up his phone.
It was a message just sent by Song Li.

Jiang Xin had already turned herself in.

“President Xie,”
the doctor said, coming out of Old Master Xie’s room.
“The old man’s condition has stabilized now. He still can’t speak, but you can go in and see him.”

Xie Mengyuan’s attitude was appropriate.

He proactively stepped back and said,
“Zhaozhou, you go first. I’m afraid too many people might be too much for your grandfather. I’ll come back to the hospital in a few days.”

Xie Zhaozhou nodded slightly.
Then he walked towards the ward.

When Old Master Xie saw him, his eyes, old but not cloudy, looked over.
Xie Zhaozhou knew he was asking about Xie Sui.
So he shook his head.
Old Master Xie closed his eyes for a moment.

When he opened them again, tears streamed down his aged face.

* * * *

Ning Shixue was worried.

Although he didn’t know how Xie Zhaozhou had changed the plot, Old Master Xie waking up was definitely a good thing.
This time, Old Master Xie couldn’t die.

Xie Zhaozhou definitely wouldn’t let him come.
So he just didn’t tell him.
He had the driver park outside the hospital.

Even though it was a private hospital, it was still a hospital.
It was already dawn now, and they were receiving patients.
Ning Shixue put on a baseball cap.
He didn’t stand out among the patients.

But his bones felt like they were coming apart.
After just a few steps, his legs went weak.
His thighs were sore and weak.

If he hadn’t endured all kinds of serious injuries and was good at bearing pain, Ning Shixue thought he probably wouldn’t have made it to the hospital.

Ning Shixue didn’t want Xie Zhaozhou to know he had come.
He didn’t go directly to find him.
He paced outside the senior ward area.
Then he saw Xie Hanzhou come out with a dark face.

Xie Hanzhou’s eyes were red and swollen.
He had clearly been crying.
But now his face held no sadness, only immense anger.

The night the old Xie residence burned, Xie Hanzhou had been abroad.
When he heard his parents were in trouble, he rushed back overnight.
For the past few days, he had mostly been with Liao Yanwan.

He had originally wanted to see Xie’s father.
But Xie’s father hadn’t woken up yet.
And he was indeed horrifically burned.
He felt that seeing it would give him nightmares.

Anyway, the doctors said he was temporarily out of danger.
So he decided to wait until Xie’s father recovered a bit and had skin graft surgery before going.

He never expected this to happen.

Xie Hanzhou was the child of Xie’s father’s old age.
Born into the wealthy Xie family, he had been pampered his whole life.
The biggest setback he had ever faced was that lunatic Ning Shixue suddenly dumping him, getting him smeared all over the internet.

But now, his mother was crazy and his father was critically injured.

He finally felt fear.

Even if Xie’s father was weak, he was still the eldest son of the Xie family and his father.
No matter what mistake he made, he instinctively felt Xie’s father would protect him.
His mother also doted on him.
Now the people who could protect him were suddenly gone.
He finally tasted the feeling of being isolated and helpless.

He couldn’t even be sad about his father’s death.
Old Master Xie had woken up.
He had to go see him immediately.

But he was refused entry by Xie Zhaozhou.

Xie Hanzhou sneered.
“Then if I can’t see Grandpa, can I see you? Second Brother, I have something to say to you.”

“Wait outside,”
Xie Zhaozhou’s tone was unyielding.

Forced to leave, Xie Hanzhou was still unwilling.
His face full of irritation, he lowered his voice and made a phone call.
His eyes were dark.
“Bring people here now. Bring a few more.”

He didn’t believe he couldn’t force his way in.

Xie Hanzhou put down his phone.
When he looked up, he ran into Ning Shixue.
His already ugly face darkened another few shades.

“If you go in there now, you’ll probably give your grandfather a heart attack,”
Ning Shixue said, trying to be helpful.

Xie Zhaozhou wouldn’t let him in, probably because he didn’t want him to cause a scene.
Old Master Xie’s heart was bad.
He couldn’t take stimulation.
If Xie Hanzhou told him that Xie’s father was already dead, Old Master Xie might get emotional and really be scared to death.

“What business is it of yours?”
Xie Hanzhou’s face was cold as he sneered.
“Since when do Xie family affairs concern you?”

Ning Shixue didn’t want to argue with him.
Besides, the guy had just lost his dad.
It was understandable that he was a bit irritable.

He leaned against the wall.
From under the brim of his baseball cap, those peach blossom eyes appeared.
“Fine. It’s none of my business.”

“…”
Xie Hanzhou’s jaw tightened.
To this day, he still didn’t know why Ning Shixue had suddenly stopped liking him.
He had even fallen for Xie Zhaozhou.

He had never considered Xie Zhaozhou his brother.
In the Xie family, it had always been that what he didn’t want, he threw to Xie Zhaozhou.

Old Master Xie was busy with the Xie Group and couldn’t care for Xie Zhaozhou.
Xie’s father and mother also ignored him.
Only Xie Sui went to his parent-teacher conferences.
Xie Hanzhou couldn’t understand it.

Xie Zhaozhou was cold as a monster, ungrateful.
Why did his elder brother have to serve someone like that?

Without Xie Zhaozhou, his family could have been happy.
But as long as Xie Zhaozhou was at the old residence, the atmosphere was very tense.

He even suspected that Xie Zhaozhou was using others to kill.
He had deliberately let Jiang Xin go see Xie’s father.

And wasn’t Liao Yanwan in the sanatorium?
Hadn’t Xie Zhaozhou forbidden her to leave?

Why did he let her go home?

If Xie Zhaozhou really resented his parents so much, had he truly not known about Xie’s father’s illegitimate child?

Maybe Xie Zhaozhou had known all along.
But he said nothing.
That’s what killed Xie Sui.

It made him lose all his family.

“Anyway, it’s not the first time,”
Xie Hanzhou said, staring hard at Ning Shixue, sneering.
“It’s not like I’ve never fought him. Do you think I’m afraid of him?”

He had sent people to ambush Xie Zhaozhou.
At the time, Xie Zhaozhou was in high school.
They had trapped him in an alley outside the school at night.
He called over a dozen people.
Xie Zhaozhou fought them with a dark face.
But there were too many people.
In the end, Xie Zhaozhou was also badly hurt.

That night at the family dinner, Xie Zhaozhou arrived home with his arm still bleeding, his school uniform dirty.
He was scolded by Liao Yanwan.

Xie Hanzhou felt a vengeful satisfaction.
But after saying it, he felt bored.
What was Ning Shixue?
He didn’t need to waste words on him.

Xie Hanzhou turned to walk back towards the senior ward.

But Ning Shixue raised his hand to stop him.
Ning Shixue’s cold eyes were hidden in the darkness as he blocked him.
“No.”

“Get lost!”
Xie Hanzhou’s patience was completely gone.
He didn’t care that Ning Shixue had been sick in front of him since childhood and couldn’t withstand his force.
He swung his fist at Ning Shixue’s face.

But before the fist could land, his breath suddenly caught.
Ning Shixue’s fingers, pale and cold, gripped his throat tightly.
He pinned him in a blind spot of the surveillance cameras.
Xie Hanzhou, in intense suffocation, couldn’t make a sound.
He could only stare at Ning Shixue with red-rimmed eyes.

Ning Shixue’s tone was gentle.
“Didn’t I say no?”