BXBX NOVEL Chapter 626 He Was
Mr and Mrs Li went with Bai Renxiang to the study room. They sat down and for a moment, there was silence and a little tension in the air.
Bai Renxiang looked at both of them and she saw they had their undivided attention on her. She sighed and rubbed both of her palms on her thighs.
"Okay here it goes then," she started. "Well, you both know I went out yesterday. So, something happened. Or I should rather say, I bumped into someone."
"Oh, is it an old acquaintance of yours?"
"Or is it that dumb ex of yours?" Mrs and Mr Li asked simultaneously.
"Honestly, it would have been better if it was any of those. But it is not. Instead the person I saw, class to be... Family," She said the last word with a sharp sigh.
"Family?" Mrs Li tilted her head to the side bit. There was obvious confusion in her voice.
"Yes. And not just any family, he claimed to be from the Li family," Bai Renxiang nodded.
"Ohmo! Is it Fengjin? Did he finally come back?" Mrs Li gasped.
"No, momma. No, it is not him," Bai Renxiang shook her head.
"Then who?"
"Dad, momma..."
*drum rolls*
Taking deep and long breaths, Bai Renxiang asked the question that had her doubts. "Who is Li Zhixin?"
Both Mr and Mrs Li felt as if millions of lightning bolts struck behind them. They gulped and exchanged glances yet again.
All the while they were doing that, Bai Renxiang was carefully watching their expression. And she began to really believe that guy from the mall.
"So, is he really your son? Why has no one heard about it? I mean if it is a family secret, I get it but... His words clearly told me that his relationship with Jin is not on a brotherly level at all," she spoke.
"Honey, please tell me something," Mr Li adjusted in his chair. "This person, did he hurt you?"
"No. But I got some pretty bad vibes from him. And I have to admit that he creeped me out," Bai Renxiang admitted.
"Oh, thank goodness," Mrs Li sighed in relief.
"Okay, so I am guessing that he is not so much good news for any of you," Bai Renxiang\'s brows furrowed.
"Actually, he is not. Especially all that he did to my wife and son," Mr Li confirmed.
"What do you mean? Wait, is he really a Li?" She asked.
"He was but not anymore. We adopted him before my wife and I gave birth to Fengjin. Actually, we took him in when he was abandoned and two years later we had our son," Mr Li began to explain.
"As time went on, we decided to adopt him but no one knew about it. It was just us as a family. But when Zhixin was in his teens, he started acting strange. I\'m different ways and even dangerous at some point," he added.
"My wife and I thought it was ingst the normal rebellious stage of teenagers of that generation. But it got pretty concerning when he would either hurt the maids or himself.
"Then we started seeing a therapist to help him mentally. And it was kind of attributed to his life before we picked him up from the street. But things went downhill when he literally, like almost killed my wife and Fengjin."
Bai Renxiang let out a loud gasp and her hand flew to her lips. Her eyes averted to Mrs Li.
"No way. He did do that? But why?" She inquired.
\'Why would he want to murder someone who took him in when no one wanted him? Guest be really mad,\' she thought.
"The reason was that he overheard us talking about who will handle the family business when the time comes. And we could obviously not give it to Zhixin," Mr Li explained.
"Definitely not. With his behaviour, no one in their right senses would do that.," Bai Renxiang edited.
"Yeah. And the fact that the company\'s board will not accept him since he was adopted. But Zhixin got furious. He suddenly started saying that everything was supposed to be his and not with Fengjin.
And that if my wife had not given birth to him, it would have been so. Then, Fengjin turned violent in retaliation. He dealt seriously with Zhixin to the point of hospitalisation. No matter how we begged for him to stop.
Zhixin was taken to the hospital unconscious with lots of injuries. When he regained consciousness, I went to meet him alone because my wife was too terrified to be anywhere near him.
But as I got there, Zhixin was not there. And later that same day, Fengjin never returned from school that day and other days. Almost a month.
When he came back, he promised that we won\'t see Zhixin anymore," Mr Li sighed as his mind took him down memory lane.
"He won\'t be troubling us anymore and mum will not have to be afraid as well."
"Those were Fengjin\'s exact words," Mrs Li finally said something.
"So Jin was the one who took Zhixin away from the hospital without any notice. Then, what did he do to him?" Bai Renxiang asked, eyes going back and forth from Mr Li to Mrs Li.
"That is one thing we never got to know," Mr Li shook his head.
Another silence fell over the room. The three were all in their thoughts. Until Bai Renxia g gasped again.
"What\'s wrong, honey?" Mrs Li asked with concern.
"Jin took care of Zhixin before, without telling anyone. And you all never saw or heard from Zhixin since then. Then all of a sudden, Jin leaves again. After a month Zhixin is back here," Bai Renxiang processed her thoughts.
"Yeah. I do not understand," Mrs Li shook her head.
"Does that not make you think that Jin only left because of Zhixin? What if he heard about Zhixin\'s disappearance from wherever he(Jin) sent him and that\'s why he left? Do you understand now?"
"I think I do. But how are we sure that is the case?" Mr Li asked.
"But how are we sure that that is not the case?" Bai Renxiang countered.
"But if Zhixin is here, Fengjin would have known and come rushing home. But it has already been hours since you encountered Zhixin," Mr Li pointed out.
"Yes. But then again, what if he does not have people who know of Zhixin that could report to him."
*ring ring*
Bai Renxiang\'s phone rang. She brought it out of her purse and found that it is an unknown number that is calling her. A frown worked its appearance on her face.
"Who is it, honey?" Mrs Li with curiosity laced in her voice.
"I don\'t know. It is an unknown number," she replied.
"What if it is Zhixin? Don\'t answer," Mrs Li panicked.
"I am not sure. But my gut feeling is telling me to answer it."
As soon as Bai Renxiang said so, she swiped on the green call icon on the screen and placed the phone beside her right ear.
She did not say anything as she wanted the person that called to speak first. And then she heard it. That voice she can never mistake for someone else\'s.
"Renxiang."
"Jin? Fengjin where are you?" Bai Rnxiang quickly asked.
Hearing their som\'s name, both Mr and Mrs Li\'s eyes shone. They both shifted on their seats and stared intently at Bai Renxiang as she spoke to him.
"I can\'t tell you where I am because you will send people to come here looking for me and it is dangerous. I can\'t let you reduce the security around you all," he quickly answers.
"But you are in a dangerous place, not us," Bai Renxiang was got pissed by his words.
"I am not alone. Did Zhixin hurt you?" He quickly asked. This is the result of a son he called.
"Who is he?" Bai Renxiang pretends not to know.
"The man with red hair that spoke with you yesterday. I just want to know if you are okay."
"I am fine. Please tell me what is going on. Who is he and why did you leave the house without saying anything?" Bai Renxiang still asked.
"Listen to me, my love. I will tell you everything when I get back home. But before then, please be careful and stay safe. Always have your guards with you wherever you go, please, okay?" Li Fengjin pleaded.
"They always follow me everywhere," Bai Renxiang said.
"But not yesterday," he countered.
"Look, if you want to scold me, come home and do it. Don\'t lecture me about protection when you are the one who went to a dangerous place without one," Bai Renxiang hissed and put the phone in Mr Li\'s outstretched hand.
"Hello, son. Listen to me. Tell–" before Me Li could finish his sentence, Li Fengjin cut him off.
"Take care of her."