RITAAB 74. 1

Chapter 74 【o(￣︶￣)o】Part 1

Of course, what he hadn’t anticipated was the drastic change in Qin Jiulin’s attitude toward him, and how he was directly cast aside, left to watch Qin Jiulin with someone else.

And this “someone else” wasn’t someone he could easily defeat or kill. Liu Zhongyuan… his beast form was so powerful, and even in human form, his combat ability seemed quite strong. There was no way he could kill him.

Now, all that filled Xia Liansheng’s heart was regret—endless regret. Why hadn’t he gone to check the villa outside the city back then? If he had, Qin Jiulin would still belong to him.

But since he hadn’t done that, Xia Liansheng could only keep trying to find chances to get close to Qin Jiulin, hoping to somehow persuade him. However, it seemed like those efforts were yielding very little result.

“Jiulin? Could it be that because of the unfair treatment in the past, you’re truly this cold and indifferent to your own family? Watching them die without a shred of emotion?”

Naturally, Qin Jiulin felt nothing. His emotions toward his family had long been exhausted over the years, day after day, year after year. The last sliver of attachment had been severed in his previous life, during his final moments, when his eyes closed for the last time, and he learned the truth. Now, he held no feelings at all toward his so-called family.

The fact that he hadn’t directly killed them, and was merely watching from the sidelines, was already quite generous. Did they actually expect him to treat them well?

Give them food, take care of their housing, and satisfy all their needs? His mind was sound—he wasn’t a fool, nor was he a saint.

“Are you done talking?”

Qin Jiulin’s voice was like shards of ice, and Xia Liansheng shivered as if chilled to the bone by a cold wind.

Only then did Xia Liansheng realize what he had just said in front of Qin Jiulin. He hadn’t known Qin Jiulin’s hatred for his family ran so deep.

So deep that, even knowing they were about to die, even though he had the power to save them, he would remain indifferent. Was that really necessary?

Was Qin Jiulin really so heartless? Or was there something else going on that Xia Liansheng didn’t know about? From what he understood, the Qin family merely neglected or ignored Qin Jiulin, maybe with some cold violence, but they hadn’t been physically abusive, right?

Besides, the Qin family had at least raised Qin Jiulin to adulthood, providing him with food, clothing, and shelter. If Qin Jiulin could hate even that, weren’t there people in the world who had it far worse?

And didn’t those people still take care of their parents? Or had Xia Liansheng misunderstood Qin Jiulin’s character? Was that why he was now completely in the dark about why Qin Jiulin had turned out this way? Based on what he knew…

The relationship between Qin Jiulin and Xia Liansheng had always been stable, and Xia Liansheng had worked hard to mediate between Qin Jiulin and the Qin family, making their interactions more harmonious over time.

Could it be that his choice to stay with the Qin family to protect them, instead of staying by Qin Jiulin’s side, had broken the original sequence of events and disrupted the rules, creating a butterfly effect?

But this butterfly effect was way too powerful, wasn’t it? It was like a tornado had swept him up and destroyed him. If he could do it all over again, he would definitely have gone to Qin Jiulin instead of staying with the Qin family.

Of course, it was too late to say anything now, and judging by the current situation, there was no room for reconciliation. All he could do was wait for the opportunity to get his hands on the Beast Core and then kill Qin Jiulin.

But with Liu Zhongyuan sticking to Qin Jiulin like glue, unless something unexpected happened, the two of them were practically inseparable. The chance to strike seemed extremely slim.

Qin Jiulin stared blankly at Xia Liansheng, who seemed frightened by his gaze and his attitude, remaining silent.

It wasn’t until Qin Jiulin withdrew his gaze and began to leave that Xia Liansheng snapped back to reality. He quickly walked up to Qin Jiulin and softly apologized, “I’m sorry, Jiulin. I didn’t know your relationship with the Qin family was this extreme. That’s my fault. I shouldn’t have meddled and tried to force a reconciliation between you and them. That was my mistake.”

Qin Jiulin said nothing and continued walking forward, as if there was no one beside him.

Xia Liansheng continued, “I didn’t understand everything you went through with the Qin family. I oversimplified things. You were the one who suffered, yet I chose to work on behalf of the Qin family and never really communicated with you about it.”

Qin Jiulin still ignored him and kept walking.

Xia Liansheng persisted, “If you hate the Qin family so much, I won’t help them anymore. Is that okay with you?”

“The things I’ve given them in the past, I can’t take back, and I have no way to force them to return them. They don’t have anything left, after all.”

At this, Qin Jiulin finally reacted. “You’re really not going to help the Qin family anymore? Are you sure you can let go?”

Though Qin Jiulin responded, he didn’t slow down or engage in conversation, continuing to walk forward. However, Xia Liansheng felt like he had hit the right note.

Qin Jiulin was evidently holding a grudge over Xia Liansheng’s aid to the Qin family. Now that Xia Liansheng was correcting his behavior, Qin Jiulin’s attitude toward him would surely soften.

“As long as it makes you happy, I’ll do it. From now on, I won’t have anything to do with them.”

Qin Jiulin replied, “I’m asking if you’ll feel bad about it. You’ve taken care of them for so long.”

Xia Liansheng knew who Qin Jiulin was referring to—Qin Jiuzhen. Of course, he would feel bad. Qin Jiuzhen was the person he cared about most. But for the sake of resolving things with Qin Jiulin, he would have to temporarily set aside his feelings for Qin Jiuzhen. Qin Jiuzhen would understand and support him, right?

“From now on, they’ll have nothing to do with me. I’ve already said… I only took care of them because they’re your parents and brother, hoping to ease things between you. But now…”

“Since you’re so resistant, I’ll support your decision. I’ll always stand by your side.”

At this, Qin Jiulin stopped, turned around, and looked at him. “I’m with Liu Zhongyuan now. How do you feel about that? Are you planning to ruin my new relationship, or are we going to be friends?”

Xia Liansheng opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but nothing came out. After thinking for a moment, he finally spoke. “You’re really with Liu Zhongyuan? Why? What’s so good about being with him?”

“We’ve been together for so many years, and you’ve only known him for less than half a year, right? Just a few months, and you’re already with him?”

After saying this, Xia Liansheng realized he was being too hasty and softened his tone. “I’m not questioning you. I’m just surprised. I’ve always wanted to ask, but you… never wanted to talk about it.”

Qin Jiulin replied, “There’s no reason. I just met him, and it was like I was possessed—suddenly, I liked him. Do you know what love at first sight is?”

“I never believed in love at first sight. But sometimes the truth hits you when you least expect it. It wasn’t until I met him that I realized I could fall for someone at first sight.”

“As for our relationship… I’m sorry. We only ever had an ambiguous connection; we never defined it. So… please stop saying ambiguous things to Liu Zhongyuan. He treats me well, and I like him a lot. In the future, I hope you can bless us.”

With that, Qin Jiulin forcibly suppressed the urge to kill and turned around to head back. Talking to Xia Liansheng on the road had already delayed him quite a bit, and now he needed to hurry back and take a shower.

Xia Liansheng stood there in a daze, even after Qin Jiulin had walked far away. He didn’t know whether to believe what Qin Jiulin had said.

But he didn’t chase after him. It wasn’t until Qin Jiulin’s figure disappeared from view that Xia Liansheng sighed softly and muttered to himself, “Love at first sight?”

From what he knew, Qin Jiulin wasn’t the type to fall for someone at first sight. And Liu Zhongyuan, with his carefree personality, even if he was strong, didn’t seem like the type of person Qin Jiulin, who was so reserved and cold, would fall for at first sight, right?

Could Qin Jiulin have been cursed? Was there such a thing as curses in this world? Or had Liu Zhongyuan cast some kind of spell on Qin Jiulin? Or was there something else he didn’t know?

Strange. Too strange!

But right now, the most pressing issue was… Should Xia Liansheng really sever ties with Qin Jiuzhen and the others? If he didn’t, Qin Jiulin would surely find out later and think he was being two-faced, saying one thing to his face and doing something else behind his back. He’d lose Qin Jiulin’s trust completely.

But if he followed through with his words, Qin Jiuzhen and his family would undoubtedly face many difficulties. How could he not help them when they needed it?