Yao Chengho dropped a bombshell the moment he started speaking.
“Are you saying Xinchang isn’t your biological sister?”
“Well, how should I put this… she’s actually the child of my father and my aunt.”
‘Your aunt? That means… incest?!’
I couldn’t help but exclaim, then quickly clapped a hand over my mouth.
“That’s precisely right,” he confirmed with a nod.
“So, you can probably understand why, because of this, her very existence in our family is practically taboo.”
“If that’s the case, are you sure it’s wise to tell me all this?” I questioned.
“Oh? Well, it’s because I saw you,” he began, a shy smile gracing his lips.
“I saw how angry you were on her behalf… so I thought if anyone, you deserved to know.”
“……And what happened next?” I asked, feeling a touch awkward.
“To be honest, many of these details I only learned by chance, overheard from one of my father’s friends,” Yao Chengho explained.
“Apparently, my father and my aunt had an exceptionally close relationship from childhood, far exceeding that of typical siblings. Though I harbored some suspicions, they were dispelled after my father married my mother.”
“However, unbeknownst to anyone, they continued their clandestine relationship… until Xinchang’s birth. My grandfather was absolutely furious upon discovering this, even going so far as to want Xinchang dead.”
“Ultimately, my aunt was banished from the family, while Xinchang remained. Yet, her existence was kept secret, and she was raised almost like a pet from a young age.”
“……She never once spoke of it,” I murmured, lowering my gaze.
A dull ache resonated deep within my heart.
“She was always the kind of child who buried things deep within her heart,” Yao Chengho said, taking a bitter sip of coffee.
“While I bore no prejudice against her, seeing her simply as my sister, both my mother and grandfather harbored a profound hatred for her.”
“My hope was always that she would grow up, and once she was old enough, she could leave this house and find her own happiness.”
“But she died.”
“……Yes, she died. She never lived long enough to leave this home.”
A heavy silence fell between us.
Finally, I broke it. “Could you tell me anything about her childhood?”
“Her childhood, you say…” His gaze grew distant, as if lost in the mists of a faraway past.
“Honestly, I don’t know much. Perhaps it was due to the repercussions of my father’s actions, but I wasn’t allowed to interact with her. I could only observe her from a distance, occasionally.”
“Perhaps because of her early experiences, she never displayed her emotions to anyone, like a doll. Yet, I knew that was merely a facade.”
“Consequently, she never had any friends and was always the most inconspicuous student at school.”
“Oh? She wasn’t popular as a child?” I asked, surprised.
I had always assumed that Yao Xinchang, being one of the school idols, would have been the center of attention even in her youth.
“No one wants to befriend a ‘wooden doll,’ after all,” he replied.
“This situation persisted until she entered high school. ‘Though she’s as unresponsive as a wooden doll, she’s undeniably pretty. Perhaps she could attract other prestigious family heirs, and when the time is right, we can marry her off as a bargaining chip.’”
“With this cynical thought, my grandfather arranged for her transfer to Xingjiang High School.”
‘What kind of treatment is this? To regard a person as mere merchandise…’
I clenched my jaw, my fingernails digging deeply into my flesh, consumed by fury over Yao Xinchang’s fate.
“Initially, she continued her days expressionless, just as before. But one day, when she returned home, I noticed something remarkable: she smiled.”
“It was only for a fleeting moment, but I’m absolutely certain I wasn’t mistaken. Looking back now, so many subsequent events seem to have stemmed from that precise moment.”
My spirits lifted, realizing we had finally reached the crux of the matter.
“Could you describe what happened around that time in more detail?” I asked, my breath quickening.
Yao Chengho cast a curious glance my way, though without suspicion.
“Well, how to put it… she started acting like a normal girl, paying attention to her appearance and looks…”
‘…Huh?’
‘What was with this overwhelmingly lovesick girl reaction?’
As if he’d anticipated my thoughts, Yao Chengho continued.
“Anyone who saw her like that would have assumed she was in love. So, I investigated the names of the males who had interacted with her during that period, and indeed, I found someone…”
“Who was it? Can you tell me his name?” I asked, suppressing my burgeoning excitement.
“Hmm, I recall his name was… Luo Tianchen, I believe.”
“Pfft!”
I promptly spat out a mouthful of coffee.
“Whoa! Are you alright?” he exclaimed, scrambling to his feet to wipe the stains off me.
I waved him off.
“I’m fine, just choked a little…” I said, pulling out some tissues to wipe my clothes.
‘To suddenly hear my own name mentioned like that was as thrilling and suspenseful as a horror movie.’
“I used my family’s influence to investigate that boy. I found he was just an ordinary student, possessing no special talents nor any notable family background.”
“I concluded that he must have charmed my sister with sweet talk. I was just about to beat… ah, no, I meant to have a serious talk with him, when a series of family events interrupted my plans.”
‘I heard you! You wanted to beat me up, didn’t you? Just admit it, you sis-con!’
‘It seems your grandfather’s worries were justified. If he hadn’t watched you two so closely from childhood, you might truly have followed in your father’s footsteps!’
Wiping a bead of cold sweat from my brow in my mind, I was grateful to have narrowly avoided an inexplicable beating.
“What happened then?” I asked aloud.
“My grandfather passed away,” Yao Chengho stated gravely.
“Since he was already in his sixties or seventies, no one thought much of it; we simply held a funeral for him. But just a few days later, another family member died, a man of only forty, from heart failure.”
“Then, as if a plague had erupted, relatives began to fall one after another. Everyone was gripped by an inexplicable panic; some even moved abroad, but it was utterly useless.”
“Only I noticed it: those who had collapsed…” He paused, his voice laced with terror.
“They were all people who had once bullied Yao Xinchang.”
I was utterly captivated by this bizarre tale, momentarily unsure how to react.
“At first, I dismissed it as mere coincidence. But as more and more people died, and then my mother also collapsed… I couldn’t bear it any longer.”
“I rushed to my sister’s room, intending to confront her, only to find my father already there, kneeling before her.”
“‘Enough, isn’t it? Please, end all of this,’ he pleaded.”
“‘No, not yet,’ my sister replied coldly. ‘My wish hasn’t been fully granted.’”
“‘I beg you, stop,’ my father implored. ‘No matter what, she is still your mother. From now on, I won’t interfere with anything you want to do.’”
“After that, I don’t remember anything clearly. However, my mother’s illness improved, though she no longer dared to order my sister around, her eyes now filled with fear instead of disdain.”
“My sister, too, acted as if nothing had happened, her personality becoming increasingly cheerful—the Yao Xinchang you know. This is my story. It’s bizarre, isn’t it? Frankly, if I hadn’t witnessed it myself, I wouldn’t believe it either.”
“No, I believe you,” I replied calmly.
“Really?” he exclaimed, instantly becoming agitated.
“You believe I’m not just telling a story?”
“Ahem.” I cleared my throat, needing to remind him that we were in a public place.
“I understand the gist of it now. After all that, what happened to your sister and that man—Luo Tianchen, was it?”
“I don’t know. I moved to America shortly after that, but I still occasionally received messages from my sister, things like ‘I saw him today,’ ‘I’ve decided to confess,’ ‘It seems the confession was successful,’ and so on…”
“But I never imagined… Please don’t blame my father, for he isn’t heartless. He is merely terrified of his own daughter, I think…”
I remained silent, pondering.
‘So, even in the shadows, unknown to me, someone had been watching me all along?’
“Then, do you mind if I ask one last question?” I softly inquired.
“Uh, please do. After all I’ve already told you, I’ll answer anything else you wish to know, if I can,” he said magnanimously.
“So, in the period before your grandfather’s death, besides her sudden interest in her appearance, were there any other unusual occurrences?”
Yao Chengho furrowed his brow, reflecting deeply.
“If you’re asking if there was… it seems there truly was one thing.”
“What was it?”
“One evening, a girl claiming to be her friend came to our house. The two of them then left together and didn’t return until early the next morning.”
“Why would they go out so late?” I paused, taken aback.
“I don’t know. But what struck me as odd wasn’t the late outing itself, but the word ‘friend’.”
“As I recall, she had absolutely no friends at that time. Yet, she chatted happily with this girl, and they even went out together in the middle of the night…”
“Can you describe that girl for me?” I asked, a vague premonition stirring within me that I had stumbled upon a crucial clue.
“Hmm… I remember she was wearing a Xingjiang High School uniform, had long hair, and her name was…”
“What was her name?” I pressed, urging him on.
“Her name was… I think it was… Li Qiqiao.”