At 10 PM, Xu Yanhuan ascended the outdoor stairs and went to the neighbor’s house on the second floor to check on Bai Wei’s condition.

When he entered the house earlier, Bai Wei was being dragged up from the ground by Xu Zhen, her head being banged against the wall. If Xu Yanhuan hadn’t arrived in time, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

Seeing Xu Yanhuan, Bai Wei struggled to sit up from the sofa. “Stay calm and don’t lay a hand on him. Last time it was so close… If you hurt him this time…”

Xu Yanhuan approached, and Auntie sat on a small stool, using a towel to wipe the wounds on Bai Wei’s face. Thankfully, they were only superficial injuries, and she was fine.

“The situation is similar to last time. We can’t convict him even if we report to the police. At most, he’ll be detained for a few days,” Auntie sighed. “Maybe it’s better to listen to your mother. Let him go. It’s only half a year until the college entrance exam. It’s not worth ruining your future for that scumbag. Besides, you’ve already filed for divorce. If needed, I can testify then…”

“Yes, we’ve already filed for divorce. The result will come soon. We’ve submitted the evidence,” Xu Yanhuan’s hand was grabbed by Bai Wei. She pulled open her bleeding lips, tears welling up in her eyes. “Listen to your mother, endure a little longer, don’t fight with him. You’re already eighteen. If you involve the police, you’ll end up in jail… You’ll end up in jail…”

Returning to the top floor in front of his own door, Xu Yanhuan still had an expressionless face, his eyes devoid of any emotions.

There was only a vague and helpless suffocating feeling in the air.

After rescuing his mother earlier, Xu Yanhuan kicked Xu Zhen back into the room and locked him inside, preparing to deal with him later. At the moment, that person still had strength and was banging on the door, smashing the windows, creating a large hole with broken glass scattered all over the floor.

Xu Yanhuan took out his keys, twisted them a few times, and forcefully pushed open the door. Xu Zhen stumbled back from the push and ended up sitting on the ground.

“What the fuck…” Xu Zhen held onto the table to stand up but was tripped by a fallen pickled vegetable jar, cursing, “Your son dares to hit his father. Is there no law anymore?”

Xu Yanhuan remained silent and took out the fruit knife he had in his pocket before leaving. He threw the knife, still in its sheath, into the sink.

With a loud clang, Xu Zhen’s eyes widened instantly. “Are you fucking… Are you planning to kill your father?”

The room was in a mess, and even during this short time of being locked inside, Xu Zhen hadn’t been idle. Besides the wardrobe and cupboard, he had turned everything upside down, including the pillows and bedding.

With a glance, Xu Yanhuan saw that the books he had piled up on the windowsill had been swept to the ground, and a thick dictionary was open, revealing a corner of a black-and-white piano key pattern.

He walked over, squatted down, picked up two expired concert tickets from the ground, dusted them off, and placed them inside the dictionary.

His series of actions were slow and calm, completely different from before when his eyes were bloodshot, and he charged forward as if insane. If it weren’t for Bai Wei desperately pulling him back, Xu Zhen would probably be on the ambulance by now.

Seemingly aware that Xu Yanhuan had calmed down, Xu Zhen, who was originally somewhat apprehensive, regained his spirit. “What’s the matter? Scared now? Afraid of going to jail, afraid of losing your chance to study?”

Years of running from debt had made Xu Zhen look like a desperate outlaw, with sunken eye sockets and prominent cheekbones, further highlighting his shifty eyes and villainous appearance. Xu Yanhuan put the dictionary back, looked at him, and suddenly remembered what Yu Xinqiao had said about him. Half of his face resembled Bai Wei.

There was no doubt about who the other half resembled. Sometimes when he looked in the mirror, Xu Yanhuan would stare at his own lip shape and jawline, daydreaming with a restless desire to destroy it.

He hated Xu Zhen as much as he hated the parts of himself that resembled Xu Zhen.

Including those dark, dirty, and unknown urges of decadence.

Noticing Xu Yanhuan’s almost sinister gaze, Xu Zhen laughed. “You’ve been pretending to be a good child in front of your mother for more than ten years. Aren’t you tired? I know how much you want to indulge in self-destruction. After all, we are the lowest kind of people, the kind who can easily ruin ourselves.”

“Don’t act like there’s a world of difference between us. You still want to draw a clear boundary between us? Haha, don’t forget, my blood runs through your veins.”

Xu Yanhuan took a deep breath as if he hadn’t heard him. He pulled out a folded document from

 the stack of books.

Then he took out a pen and handed them both over. “Sign this divorce agreement. I’ll have my mother drop the charges.”

The agreement had been prepared long ago, but due to Xu Zhen’s absence, the divorce lawsuit had been filed first out of helplessness.

Xu Zhen was still laughing and glanced at the agreement. “Why isn’t it written how much money you’ll give me? Want a divorce without money?”

“You’ve already taken away a lot of money,” Xu Yanhuan said.

At this moment, Xu Zhen was certain that Xu Yanhuan wouldn’t do anything to him, so he laughed even more wildly. “Then I won’t leave, I won’t leave. If you have the guts, stab me to death! Weren’t you holding a knife wanting to kill me?”

With a swift motion, Xu Zhen tore the documents into pieces and threw them on the ground, stomping on them a few times. “You don’t dare, so neither you nor your mother will ever be able to get rid of me!”

An expected result.

He could even foresee that even if the divorce lawsuit succeeded and Bai Wei and Xu Zhen ended their marriage, they wouldn’t be able to completely get rid of him.

Many years ago, when Xu Yanhuan was still in primary school, there was a time when Xu Zhen came back asking for money and made a mess of the house just like this. Xu Yanhuan was beaten by Xu Zhen to the point where he couldn’t stand, and Bai Wei rushed over to protect him in her embrace. From the gap between his mother’s arms, he looked at the deranged man in front of him and suddenly had a thought — to kill him.

Only by killing him, letting him lie in a coffin, nailing it shut, and then pushing it into the crematorium, could he and his mother truly be liberated.

Just now, he had been willing to put that thought into action regardless of the consequences. Even if he knew that once he acted, his life would plunge into the abyss with no possibility of returning to the light.

It was Yu Xinqiao, that brilliant young man who was like the sun, who stopped him. With a warm and passionate embrace, he trapped the evil soul that was about to break free from his body, causing him to loosen his grip on the blade and pulling him back from the edge of the cliff.

Xu Yanhuan remembered the promise he made to himself in secret. Even if his heart was being pulled by a heavy and icy emotion, he clenched his teeth and desperately tried to restrain himself.

Seeing that he had nothing more to say, Xu Zhen picked up a stack of RMB bills he had found while rummaging through boxes and cabinets and counted them. He spoke while counting, “It would have been better if it had been like this earlier. Why bother causing a scene every time?”

He sneered, “As your father, let me remind you, don’t struggle anymore, don’t delude yourself into thinking that you can become someone superior by studying. People like us have inferior genes, fundamentally rotten. Even if we climb up, we’ll fall down even harder. What’s the point?”

After counting the money and putting it in his pocket, Xu Zhen walked to the door and turned back as if he remembered something. “That classmate of yours with the surname Yu, is he rich?”

Xu Yanhuan trembled all over.

“Last month, when you went to see him, I followed you to his doorstep. He lives in such a big house all by himself, with neither his parents here?” Xu Zhen clicked his tongue. “Next time, when you’re out of money, I’ll make an appointment with your classmate. If you can’t bring yourself to do it, I’ll…”

“He doesn’t have money, and that house isn’t his,” Xu Yanhuan said, “I’m not close to him, so don’t go looking for him.”

Xu Zhen raised an eyebrow. “Not close, but holding hands? I think you two are practically inseparable.”

It was on Yu X

inqiao’s birthday night that Xu Yanhuan gave him a gift and lingered at his doorstep for a few minutes.

He never expected Xu Zhen to follow him.

“You’re mistaken.” Suppressing the irregular beating of his heart, Xu Yanhuan tried to make his expression appear normal. “He’s a transfer student and will be returning to his hometown soon.”

Xu Zhen raised his eyebrows. “That’s convenient. I have a buddy who kidnapped a wealthy family’s child and extorted a large sum of money from the child’s parents. Before he goes back, the two of us can plan it out. You provide the whereabouts, and I’ll…”

Xu Yanhuan quickly walked to the door, blocking Xu Zhen’s path. “Don’t touch him.”

Xu Zhen laughed again, thinking that he was still a young man who couldn’t control his temper, wearing his emotions on his face.

“If you hadn’t kicked me just now, maybe I would have given you face considering we’re father and son. You also know that I don’t respond to softness, only to force.” Xu Zhen deliberately teased while rubbing his sore shoulder. “Now that I’m full of anger, why don’t you tell me, how can you appease your old man?”

Xu Zhen’s demand was nothing more than money.

Xu Yanhuan hurriedly walked back into the house and rummaged through a pile of miscellaneous items, pulling out a book. He opened the cover and took out a bank card hidden inside.

He mentioned the amount and the password together. Xu Zhen took the card and furrowed his brows. “Just this little?”

“It’s all I have.”

This was the tuition money Xu Yanhuan had saved from working.

“It’s not enough to last a few days. Let’s plan it out. We can kidnap your wealthy classmate. If something goes wrong, we can push all the blame onto me. By that time, I’ll have obtained a fake passport and can run away with the money…”

The more desperate someone is, the less they fear heaven and earth. In their eyes, human life is as insignificant as a speck of dust. Xu Yanhuan had heard from Xu Zhen’s mouth about his “buddy” in the underground gambling den. That person had kidnapped a child and demanded a ransom of tens of millions. He escaped abroad, leaving the child’s parents with only a lifeless body.

That was a pain and fear that was a million times worse than falling into the abyss.

Suddenly, there was a muffled sound as Xu Yanhuan’s knees hit the ground.

“Dad, don’t touch him.”

Xu Yanhuan couldn’t remember how many years it had been since he last called him “Dad,” let alone when was the last time he showed weakness.

He only knew that in this world, there was never a way to have it all. When he put down the knife, gave up the idea of a joint suicide, he had already surrendered the initiative and exposed his vulnerability.

In reality, the one who was at a dead end was himself.

“You came at me with anger, but as long as you don’t touch him, I can do anything.” Xu Yanhuan looked up at Xu Zhen, his voice trembling with fear, “Dad, I beg you.”

He wasn’t afraid of destroying himself with his own hands. What he was afraid of was his own feeble strength failing to protect the person he cared about.

He was even more afraid of losing everything from now on.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Yu Xinqiao was walking home when a sudden chill came over his head.

He lifted his face and saw, in the dark night, white goose feathers falling silently.

It was the first snowfall of the year in Xuncheng.

——————–

It’s too long, so I’ll split it into two parts. It’s like having a double update.

The next chapter will return to the present timeline.

For those wondering why they don’t report to the police, you can read it again. It’s written clearly that they are already in the process of a divorce lawsuit.

In reality, divorce is often a long and protracted battle. It’s not as simple as wanting to get divorced and being able to do so. I have real-life cases around me. One of my aunts endured long-term domestic violence from her ex-husband, even with police and women’s organizations involved, but in the end, nothing came of it because there was no life-threatening harm and they didn’t even go to the hospital. Later, getting a divorce also required a great deal of effort and was mentally draining. Now, my aunt has remarried, and her current husband is much better than her ex-husband. I hope that girls who read this will be more cautious when facing marriage. Once certain people and certain situations entangle with you, it becomes incredibly difficult to break free. Don’t hold too many expectations and fantasies about real-life marriage and real-life men. Protect yourself and be good to yourself.