The next morning, Xue Guangli woke up hungry; her stomach rumbled uncomfortably. She shuffled out her blankets, heading down the stairs sleepily.
She heard the sound of a familiar voice and froze at the spot.
She descended the stairs slowly when she saw the tall silhouette of a man wearing a long black coat, his hands kept in his pockets, his back facing her.
Why was Long Huojin here? Why was he talking to her sister?
She peeked over at the pillar when she saw them talking lowly before he waved good-bye, walking out the front door, disappearing entirely. When he left, she finished walking down the stairs.
Xue Guangli approached her sister swiftly. "Teegan. What did he want?" she asked in a hostile tone.
Xue Teegan frowned before she said, "He came to make sure we were doing all right. He asked about you," she told her.
Xue Guangli puffed up her chest, clenching her fingers. "He has no business with the Xue family. The next time he is here, I will personally ask him to leave."
Xue Teegan shot her a grim smile with slight pity. "Long Huojin was concerned," she began. "I understand why you don"t like him, but don"t forget that he was good to mom…" she trailed off.
Xue Guangli frowned. She knew what she meant. When they were younger, Long Huojin would come over, and he would speak to their mother, patiently and genuinely. Even when she always went off-topic, blabbing about something that even she found boring. But, he never stopped her. Instead, he would proceed with questions, which made her happy.
She then nodded, and Xue Teegan shot her a knowing smile walking towards the kitchen.
Xue Guangli exhaled deeply. Xue Teegan always considered Long Huojin as family. He always referred to her as "Older sister" growing up. Therefore, she had a soft spot for him naturally. Long Huojin still had a way with people, compelling people to fall for his charm, his allure. And though it worked on her before, she never fell for it. He was someone with pride, and she saw it.
Only she knew what he was like.
Instead of going to work, Xue Guangli decided to visit the city"s prison block.
It was her third time visiting her father since the police arrested him. She had meant to visit him, but she never had the strength. Xue Teegan visits him twice a month, but Xue Guangli hadn"t bothered. She didn"t believe him.
But now that it had been three years, she felt like visiting him once a year would do something for her: Perhaps to remember what he"s done, to hate him instead of missing him, and everything else in between.
When she arrived, the correctional officer escorted her to visit him, face to face, at a lunch table. He was escorted to her, wearing a jumpsuit with his hands chained together. Her heart raced, but her face remained strained and tight, unwavering.
He sat in front of her; his red-brown hair had begun to pepper with streaks of silver. He rested his dark brown eyes on her; his laugh lines had drooped with wariness. Xue Guangli clenched her teeth.
She hated how she looked like him. She resembled him more than her mother, the most good-hearted and beautiful person she ever knew, and the man in front of her stole her away, cutting her life short.
Her father looked at her with his eye-wide. His eyes sparkled with gentleness and fatherly love. She clenched her fingers into fists.
"I thought when they said my daughter came to visit me. I thought it was Teegan..." He said unbelievingly, trailing off.
He then smiled gently, "Thank you for coming" His eyes began to well up with tears.
"I am glad you"re here, Guangli," he said that with a heavy heart. It"s true; her father was never sure if she was going to visit him; she only popped in by surprise.
Xue Guangli"s throat began to close up. She thought she could face him, hard and taut. But once he began to speak, the feelings, the memories overwashed her. He was kind to her all her life; she couldn"t imagine him being a monster that he is.
"I came to remind myself," she said with a defiant tone.
Her father hung her head low, defeated. But he then said hoa.r.s.ely. "I didn"t do it."
Xue Guangli turned her head, facing him with pursed lips.
"You keep saying that and yet you were there that night. The way she—" she couldn"t finish speaking.
Xue Gao glanced up at her with a determined expression. "Guangli. You can prove my innocence," he began. "I have been thinking about it for a long time. I couldn"t ask Teegan to do it because whoever is behind it, already knows she believes me, but you..."
He looked at her, hard. "You don"t believe me at all. Therefore, they won"t know you"re searching."
Xue Guangli furrowed her brows. Who were they? Searching what?
"Give me one good reason as to why I should believe you," she asked him.
Xue Gao, her father, looked away, not giving her an answer. She then stood, starting to walk away ahead when he yelled, "Ask Long Huojin for help!"
Xue Guangli froze. Her father knew she wasn"t in good terms with him. Why would he make such a bold request? She then swiftly approached him with knitted eyebrows.
She looked down at her father. "Why would I ever ask Long Huojin for help?" she asked him.
Xue Gao faced her with an equally consistent look. "Long Huojin is the only one you can trust," he responded.
Xue Guangli gritted her teeth, slamming her palm onto the table. "He"s the last person I would ever ask for help," she responded. She then turned her heel and left the prison, frustrated.
She understood why his father would be that desperate. Long Huojin was an engineer of science and technology; he was an intellectual; she couldn"t deny it. With his ties and status, he could probably find out more information. But like h.e.l.l, she would ask him!