Na Liu Ting Du sat in the living room, and waited for Hao Yan Che.

‘You have guts to come see me,’ Hao Yan Che said.

‘Why wouldn’t I dare to come here and see you?’ Na Liu Ting Du asked.

Hao Yan Che choked Na Liu Ting Du’s neck.

‘Na Liu Ting Du, I can kill you faster than swallowing saliva,’ Hao Yan Che said.

‘Go ahead and kill me,’ Na Liu Ting Du said.

Hao Yan Che didn’t hesitate to choke Na Liu Ting Du’s neck until Na Liu Ting Du’s face turned blue. A second before Na Liu Ting Du would have died, Hao Yan Che remembered a day from years ago Yuan Gun Gun begged him not to hurt her big brother Du and he let go of Na Liu Ting Du’s neck.

Na Liu Ting Du coughed a few times, and took deep breaths. But his calmness hid his thoughts.

‘Disappear,’ Hao Yan Che said. ‘Don’t let me see your face again.’

Hao Yan Che turned around, and walked to the stairs.

‘Two years ago, Gun Gun called me,’ Na Liu Ting Du said. ‘She was crying on the phone like she was in a lot of pain, and told me she landed in Paris. Before I could get to the airport, she was hit by a car. By the time I arrived at the airport, she was lying on the ground bleeding. I stayed with her in the ambulance, and at the hospital.’

Hao Yan Che stood at the foot of the stairs.

‘The doctor said Gun Gun and Hao Hao were healthy,’ Na Liu Ting Du said. ‘That was when I found out Gun Gun was three weeks pregnant with your son. After she woke up, she forgot me, you, her parents and herself. I thought it was a gift from the heavens. I accepted the gift. I gave her a false identity, Na Liu Ling Yan.’

Hao Yan Che turned around and glared at Na Liu Ting Du.

‘You asked me if I feel guilty,’ Na Liu Ting Du said. ‘At the start I felt guilty deceiving Gun Gun. Then dad called me and tested me if I heard news of Gun Gun’s disappearance. Dad told me that you didn’t want to look for Gun Gun. Dad told me to take good care of Gun Gun, and bring her to visit them when I’m free. I didn’t tell dad about the car accident, Gun Gun’s lost memory and Gun Gun being pregnant with your son. On that day I felt like the heavens were on my side. You didn’t want Gun Gun anymore. You gave me an opportunity to be with Gun Gun, and I stopped feeling guilty.’

Hao Yan Che’s face darkened.

‘After the car accident, Gun Gun slowly became skinner,’ Na Liu Ting Du said. ‘Every day she looked out the window like she was waiting for you to come find her. I knew she was depressed. But she acted like nothing was wrong. She ate everything I gave her because she was pregnant with your son. But she didn’t have an appetite, and her body frame slowly shrunk. She had a difficult labour.’

Hao Yan Che fisted his hands.

‘After she gave birth to Hao Hao, she acted a little brighter,’ Na Liu Ting Du said. ‘But every day not remembering her past made her anxious. One year ago, I took her and Hao Hao to the Yuan Mansion. Because I knew I couldn’t hide her from you and her parents for the rest of her life.’

Na Liu Ting Du smiled bitterly. He took out a photo from his pocket, and put it on the coffee table.

‘Two years ago, Gun Gun only carried one bag with her,’ Na Liu Ting Du said. ‘Inside her bag was her purse. She didn’t put any money in her purse, there was only this photo inside her purse. I don’t know what happened between you and her. But I hope you won’t make her cry anymore. I lived with her from when she was five to eighteen. It’s her habit to come to me when she’s hurting. I lied to myself if she forgot you, and if you don’t want her anymore then one day she’ll love me. The last two years was only a beautiful dream.’

Hao Yan Che walked to the coffee table. He picked up the photo. It was a photo of him sleeping on his and Yuan Gun Gun’s bed. When did Yuan Gun Gun secretly take a photo of him? Why did she carry a photo of him in her purse, and not carry money? What happened to make her runaway? Did she leave to escape him?

‘In the last two years, I lied to Gun Gun that I was her husband and Hao Hao’s dad,’ Na Liu Ting Du said. ‘Gun Gun and I shared the same bed, but nothing happened between us.’

Hao Yan Che looked suspiciously at Na Liu Ting Du.

‘I’ve told you everything that happened in the last two years,’ Na Liu Ting Du said. ‘If you don’t believe me, go find your wife and ask her to tell you what happened in the last two years. A lot happened each day in two years. You can slowly ask your wife to give you detailed recounts of her daily life in the last two years. If you don’t want to waste another day being apart from her, learn to be patient and stay with her. I hate you and I envy you because she loves you.’

Hao Yan Che watched Na Liu Ting Du walk alone to the front door.

‘Thank you,’ Hao Yan Che said.

Na Liu Ting Du stood rigid at the front door.

‘You don’t need to thank me,’ Na Liu Ting Du said. ‘If Gun Gun loved me a little, I wouldn’t have let her go. Hao Yan Che, you’re lucky MF.’

Suddenly Na Liu Ting Du appeared in front of Hao Yan Che and punched Hao Yan Che’s face.

‘I’m evening the score because you dared choke me,’ Na Liu Ting Du said.

Hao Yan Che stumbled a few steps back, and wiped blood off his face. He pitied Na Liu Ting Du instead of being angry.

Na Liu Ting Du walked away, and Hao Yan Che smiled at the photo in his hand.

***

End of Chapter 181