Chapter 165
Zhou Yun Sheng didn’t let Xue Yan dress his wound, anyway, forensic would have to open up the bandage to take photos for evidence, so it was a waste of effort. Moreover, the more pitiful he looked, the more the photos could win the judge’s sympathy in court. The police found Xue Jing Yi unconscious in the garage and thought the Xue Zi Xuan at her side was the murderer. They immediately handcuffed him, and had the medical personnel carry Xue Jing Yi out, speaking softly in comfort. When they walked out Xue house’s main entrance and found another ‘Xue Jing Yi’ covered in blood, their eyeballs almost popped out.
“Police officers, she’s the murderer, she wanted to kill me.” Zhou Yun Sheng was hiding in Xue Yan’s embrace, pointing to Xue Jing Yi on the stretcher.
Xue Zi Xuan was being held up by two police officers, catching sight of the boy, his expression turned elated, and he immediately wanted to break away from the police and run to him. But then he met the hatred in the boy’s eyes and froze, as if a spell was cast, his whole body unable to move. He realized that the worst case had happened, and everything was irreversible.
The detectives in charge of the case found that it wasn’t going to be so simple. They sent the wounded to the hospital for treatment first, and after making sure their conditions were stable, they separated and interrogated them. Who were the perpetrators who were the victims, they were still confused, but of course, they most wanted to know why the famous child piano prodigy suddenly had a twin brother. There must be tons of layers to this story.
Xue Rui and Xue Li Dani received a phone call while still at the banquet, because the police didn’t know the whole story, they were very vague, only asking them to quickly come to the police station. At the police station, they learned that one twin wanted to dig out the other’s heart, and immediately guessed the situation. If they weren’t holding each other up, they would’ve both fainted.
Because Zhou Yun Sheng’s performances were too high profile, he could currently be considered the most popular person in the country, so the police attached great importance to this case. And because it involved the 10th National Summit’s performance, even the Ministry of Foreign Affairs got involved, repeatedly urging for this case to be quickly solved. Even worse, the paparazzi that squatted around Longquan Mountain daily to try and get shots of the famous child piano prodigy had reacted instantly, posting the news all over the Internet.
“Child piano prodigy Xue Jing Yi has been arrested by the police as a murder suspect!”
“Xue Jing Yi is suspected of being involved in a murder case, and is now being investigated by the police.”
“Is she the victim or the murderer, was it a grudge between the rich and powerful, or an emotional dispute? The famous child piano prodigy Xue Jing Yi has been suspected of sinking into bloody madness.”
Various sensational headlines grabbed the public’s attention. Zhou Yun Sheng had attracted attention from hundreds of millions of people worldwide, and most of them were highly educated socialites and music industry heavyweights who were all concerned about this matter. It was too late for the police to suppress the news, the case was too widespread, so the only thing they could do was speed up the investigation and give the anxious public a reasonable explanation. The police and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs staff all broke out in cold sweat, desperately wishing for Xue Jing Yi to not be involved in any scandals.
Now, Xue Jing Yi was definitely the most famous figure in China, it wasn’t exaggerated to say that she was the flag that represented the country’s image, if this flag fell, it would certainly receive worldwide attention. Plus China was hosting the 10th National Summit where Xue Jing Yi was scheduled to perform, this matter would definitely impact China’s international image.
If national leadership wasn’t currently undergoing a change, this kind of thing could be quietly erased from above, but the new leadership attached great importance to public opinion, not daring to deceive the people under them. The investigation was too public, so they had to bite the bullet and investigate it thoroughly, or the masses would make a fuss, and everyone’s official cap would be blown off.
While handling the case, the police officers’ moods were on a roller coaster, completely chaotic. Because Xue Jing Yi had received too much stimulus, she voluntarily told them her plans to kill Huang Yi for his heart in full detail, but she also repeatedly insisted that she was the real piano prodigy. Her expression twisted and crazy, her hands still stained with blood, she tapped the interrogation room’s table like she was playing a piano, her head swaying in intoxication. Afterwards, she asked the investigator, “Isn’t my ‘My Empire’ excellent? It’s certainly not inferior to Huang Yi and Ivanov’s.”
The detective’s heart chilled, realizing that this piano prodigy had been ruined. In the end, what kind of stimulus did she receive to drive her to murder? Who was that boy? Why did he refer to himself as Xue Jing Yi when he called the police? Why did he look identical to Xue Jing Yi? What was their relationship?
The detective responsible for questioning Xue Jing Yi was confused and uneasy, on the other hand, the detective responsible for questioning Zhou Yun Sheng was full of righteous indignation, and deep relief. This boy was the real piano prodigy, and he was purely innocent. He was brought to Longquan Mountain by Xue family and placed under house arrest, but Xue Jing Yi discovered his extraordinary musical talent and wanted to exploit him, she had him substitute for her in the competition, and after it ended, when he was no longer useful, she tried to dig out his heart.
The boy still couldn’t accept the reality of it, his face was frightened and pale, constantly trembling, and if someone got too close to him, he would fearfully escape and curl up into a ball, showing what kind of life he lived in Xue house. They didn’t see him as a human, not only did they plan to dig out his heart, they thoroughly used him in the meantime. He thought he was helping his twin sister fulfill her last wish, so he’d handed over all the glory and achievements he’d achieved. Little did he know, the family he treated so sincerely were all evil spirits, they were outwardly gentle and loving to him, but secretly, they planned to drain his life, in every sense of the word.
The butler was still in a coma, so he couldn’t be interrogated, but Xue Zi Xuan was unexpectedly very cooperative, explaining the matter clearly in its entirety. The investigators got three confessions, spread them out on the table and gave them a comprehensive look over, immediately, the boy’s experience gripped their hearts. A naive boy carted from a remote village to this bustling metropolis, did he embrace the future with hope filled eyes? But it was just a murderous trap, the familial love he longed for had never existed.
In the interrogation room, Zhou Yun Sheng was hugging both his knees and shrinking into his chair, his cheeks, hands, coat and jeans all stained with blood, his complexion deathly pale, looking very pitiful. He mumbled, frightened, “I killed someone, I killed Fu Bo, sorry, I-I didn’t mean to.” As he talked, he buried his head deeper into his knees and cried.
The police had already extracted enough evidence from the garage, including the surveillance video, so they knew the whole story of what went on in the garage. Seeing the boy so frightened and self-blaming, they were both distressed for his naive kindness, and indignant at Xue family’s cold-blooded ruthlessness.
“Don’t cry, Fu Bo is not dead, his situation is no longer critical, and he will probably wake up tonight. And even if he did die, you are not a murderer, you were just defending yourself. Don’t feel scared, no one here will hurt you.” A female police officer attempted to pat the boy’s back, but seeing him escape in fright, she almost broke out in tears. God damn that Xue Jing Yi, such a pitiful child, how could she try to kill him? He was her brother, willing to give up anything for her, does she even have a heart?
Yes, she didn’t have a heart. How else could she dig out someone else’s heart just so she could live? She was not a human, she was a beast.
The police officers took turns to comfort the boy without success, after investigating, they found out that he had no living relatives and felt even more pity for him, each scraping together some money to help him find a place to live. Xue Rui and Xue Li Dani were being detained and interrogated, but he couldn’t go back to that devil den, it would be too psychologically disturbing.
Zhou Yun Sheng’s ears reddened when he received the police officers’ donations, one uncle even volunteered to take him home and look after him.
“Thank you for looking after Xiao Yi, you can rest assured, I will take care of him.” Xue Yan pushed his wheelchair over. He had been patiently waiting in the sitting room, from 9 am to 6 pm, not leaving or moving.
“Mr. Xue, you are his…?” The police chief was hesitant. He was now very vigilant of anyone surnamed Xue.
“Uncle.” Zhou Yun Sheng walked over to stand at his side, explaining to the crowd, “He is my uncle, and has always taken very good care of me. I want to go back with my uncle, thank you for your kindness.” He gave the donations back, and looked at the other man with eyes full of attachment.
The police officers were helpless, and had no choice but to send him off, telling him to call them for help if something happened.
“Finally done, let’s go back and get some sleep.” Getting into the car, Zhou Yun Sheng sunk into his seat and sighed.
“Does the wound still hurt? Let me see.” Xue Yan unbuttoned his shirt and looked at his gauze wrapped chest, very clean and neat, and his tight frown finally loosened.
“I doesn’t hurt. It’ll scab over in a few days and it won’t even leave a scar. I want to sue Xue Jia for premeditated murder, help me contact the best lawyer in the country.”
“Good, leave the rest to me, you just have to relax.” Xue Yan pulled him onto his lap, and lovingly kissed his pale lips.
———–
Because society was highly concerned about this case, the police handled the case very quickly, and the evidence and confessions were presented to the higher ups that evening, the higher ups then reported it to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The murderer was indeed Xue Jing Yi, but it was not the Xue Jing Yi they were looking for. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs breathed a sigh of relief and immediately let the police hold a press conference to clarify the truth. The boy had amazing musical talent, was handsome, good natured, and his life experience was very rough, all this together made his life seem a bit legendary. After the case was exposed, his good reputation would not only be unaffected, the public would feel more pity and love for him.
He only replaced Xue Jing Yi and participated in the competition because Xue Jing Yi had tricked him, saying it was to complete her last wish. If it was someone else, this replacement would be a stain on their reputation, but he’d been held under house arrest with no personal freedom, he had no choice but to follow Xue Jing Yi’s instructions. Plus his motive was virtuous, no one could find fault.
So there was no need to hide this matter, on the contrary, it was better to let the public understand the truth as soon as possible, so the sensational rumors could stop.
The police publicized the results of the investigation the following day, and the news caused a worldwide uproar. Too shocking, the world unexpectedly had such a black hearted family, wantonly killing whoever they wanted, wantonly digging others’ hearts. Fake adopting an innocent boy and putting him under house arrest, treating him like livestock to be slaughtered, were they even human? Did they care about the laws? Did they have no morals?
Previously, Xue Li Dani and Xue Zi Xuan had a good reputation in the country, but now, they were drowning in abuse. Because of the special orders from above, the process of collecting evidence, sending it in and examining it went very quickly, half a month later, Xue family was brought to court for premeditated murder. In order to clearly display justice, and at the request of the general public, the trial was public, four cameras were positioned to shoot Xue family’s expressions from all directions, especially the clean and neatly dressed Xue Jing Yi. She looked so much like her brilliant brother, especially when she wasn’t speaking, they simply couldn’t tell who was who. But as long as they looked into her eyes, they could quickly distinguish them.
The boy was sitting in the plaintiff’s seat, his black eyes were as clear as a spring, and as dazzling as the stars in the sky, drawing people in, and making them feel calm. He was magnanimous where Xue Jing Yi was ruthless.
As the defendants, Xue family was sitting in a row of four, when Xue Rui saw Xue Jing Yi being brought in, he wished he could rush over and strangle her. If she hadn’t suddenly gone mad, would Xue Jia be in this situation? His company had been swallowed up by Xue Yan, his reputation was now ruined, and soon he would be reduced to a prisoner. He didn’t doubt that Xue Yan was determined to destroy Xue Jia, and even more, he didn’t doubt the national leaders’ value of Huang Yi. The boy was the chosen performer for the 10th National Summit, washing his reputation white meant washing the country’s image white, in order to achieve their purpose, they would naturally beat to death the blackened Xue Jia.
Even if Xue family hired the world’s most powerful lawyer, it would be to no avail, because the charges were true, and the evidence was conclusive.
Xue Li Dani stared at her son’s bandaged hands and deathly pale face. She knew that his hands were more important to him than his life. Now they were destroyed, which was equal to his life being destroyed, he would never be able to play his beloved music again. She couldn’t imagine how he would survive. If she knew that things would lead up to today, she wouldn’t have adopted Xue Jing Yi. Xue family gave her the best of everything, although they were unable to give her a healthy heart, they did their best to raise her well, why did she insist on clinging to this willful course? Didn’t she know that it would consign the rest of her family to a hopeless end?
In the end, they were the ones who’d given her a light view of murder, and they’d let her think that Huang Yi was just her heart container, his death meant nothing. Of course she never hesitated to lift the scalpel, weren’t they the ones who gave her the confidence? In fact, they’d destroyed her, and in turn, she’d destroyed them.
Xue Li Dani had never been so clear headed, she looked back on everything she’d done, and couldn’t help but cover her face and weep bitterly, repeating her repentance. She was sorry for her son, sorry for her daughter, and sorry for Huang Yi. But everything was too late, the once glorious Xue family was now the most notorious family in the nation.
Xue Zi Xuan was staring at the boy in the plaintiff seat, his expression tormented, his lips slightly trembling, as if there were a lot of words he wished he could say. Xue Jing Yi leaned closer to him and asked him about his injuries, but he pushed her away in disgust. If the prosecutor hadn’t arranged them to sit in the same area, he would never want to see her again.
“Don’t touch me, you make me sick!” He hissed.
Xue Jing Yi froze like she was struck by lightning, no longer able to maintain her calm appearance, her expression became distorted.
In order to clarify the context, the plaintiff’s defense lawyer first elaborated the relationship between the two, and laid out the boy’s life experience. When he said that Huang Yi substituted in the competition for her, Xue Jing Yi slapped the table and roared, “Nonsense! I was the one in the competition, I was the one who won! Huang Yi’s just a mix breed from the countryside, he’s never even seen a piano, how can he enter an international competition? He’s lying! I’m Xue Jing Yi! I’m the piano prodigy, I won all those honors myself!” She constantly fantasized and wished this was true, and over time, she convinced herself it was.
The gallery burst into murmurs, the public was very curious about which of the two was the real piano prodigy, even more concerned about it than the case itself. They were told that Huang Yi was only in Xue house for a few months, in other words, his access to a piano was limited to a few months, yet he was more skilled and musically expressive that many of the great masters. Could there be such a genius in the world? It sounded too good to be true.
However, the plaintiff’s lawyer quickly produced convincing evidence. He first announced the results of the boy’s IQ test, a shocking 180, then he had him show off his memorization ability in front of the court, showing that he could master a high-precision skill in a short time, and finally, he played a video clip.
“This video was seized from the phone of defendant Xue Zi Xuan, the source is in line with the standard legal channels, and can be used as evidence in court.” After a little explanation, the lawyer clicked the play button. Xue Jing Yi was sitting in front of the piano and trying to play ‘My Empire’, her twisted expression and the grating noise blended together, nauseating like reeking sewage. When she reached the second section, she found that she didn’t have the ability to continue, and had to stop for some self-hypnosis, “You can do anything Huang Yi can do, Xue Jing Yi, don’t be intimidated by him. You can do it!”
There were many professional musicians in the gallery, after learning that the boy was a talented genius, they were very excited and full of expectations for his future. At this time, they were listening to Xue Jing Yi’s unsightly music, and watching her self-deceiving, disgraceful performance, the strong contrast inspired more hatred. Obviously, they had the same blood, even the same face, why was one brilliant like a diamond, while the other was foul as stool? In the final analysis, Xue family’s education was the deciding factor. Cruelly taking someone else’s child and putting him under house arrest to be their daughter’s heart donor, their hearts were clearly rotten, so naturally, the Xue Jing Yi they raised was no different.
As soon as Xue Jing Yi heard her own music, she broke down, no longer able to deceive herself. She clutched her face and wailed, spasming, incessantly screaming that that wasn’t her in the video. Then her eyes rolled to the back of her head and she fainted. The medical staff immediately carried her out for treatment. Since the court still had three more defendants, the judge hammered to continue with the trial.
Xue Rui absolutely didn’t care about Xue Jing Yi’s life and death, he pushed all the charges onto her head. He said that he brought Huang Yi back to adopt him, not to take his heart, and also said that Xue Jing Yi traveled down the path of tragedy by her own will. But Dr. Zhang’s confession quickly exposed his lies, and after Xue Zi Xuan’s statement, he fell into complete despair.
His son unexpectedly stood on the prosecution’s side and accused him, explaining clearly how they discussed how to find Huang Yi, and fabricated the lies to bring him to their house. He confessed how they dressed him as Xue Jing Yi’s shadow, limited his freedom, and had him replace Xue Jing Yi in the competition.
“I’m guilty.” Xue Zi Xuan’s voice was hoarse, when he admitted his guilt, he stared at the plaintiff seat.
“I’m also guilty.” Following her son, Xue Li Dani also detailed her crimes. Her life revolved around her son and daughter, now that the two were destroyed, she didn’t have the courage to go on.
Xue Rui looked at his son, then looked at his wife, then immediately slumped into his seat. They were finished, everything was ruined, Xue Jing Yi, look at what you’ve done!
The plaintiff quickly presented a few more photos, it was Xue house’s underground garage transformed into an operating room. Do ordinary people need this kind of stuff? If it was a doctor’s family, it might be explainable, but Xue family had no doctors. It was obvious that Xue Rui had thoroughly prepared for his daughter’s heart transplant surgery. Who would believe that he was ignorant?
The defense lawyer had already lost his will to fight under the weight of all the irrefutable proof, plus two of the four parties had already pleaded guilty, so whatever he said would be meaningless. He gave up his original defense program, and started seeking reduced sentences.
Unsurprisingly, this was also a vain attempt. The case had caused extreme social impact and attracted wide-spread attention from all walks of life. In order to comply with public opinion, the judge must rule strictly. Xue family treated the boy as livestock to be slaughtered as they wished, disregarding human rights, the law, and morality. If he lightened the sentence, controversy was inevitable.
Finally, the judge announced that Xue family was convicted of premediated murder. Xue Jing Yi was sentenced to ten years in prison, and Xue Rui was sentenced to eight years imprisonment. Xue Li Dani had surrendered, it was appropriate to reduce her penalty, so she was sentenced to five years imprisonment. Xue Zi Xuan had tried to rescue the boy and had surrendered, plus he actively cooperated with the police investigation, so he was sentenced to three years imprisonment, and two years’ probation.
When Xue Zi Xuan was being taken away by the prosecution, he turned his head to stare at the boy, silently mouthing a sentence, his eyes full of deep despair and intense, scorching love.
“’I’m sorry, I love you’? Does he deserve to say that?” Xue Yan said with cold disdain after they boarded the car.
“I didn’t think he could hold a blade for me. To him, his hands are more important than his life.” Thinking of the same man who’d earnestly told him to stay away from all knives, unhesitatingly grabbing Xue Jing Yi’s scalpel to save him, Zhou Yun Sheng’s impression of him could only be expressed with a sigh.
“What, are you touched?” Xue Yan squeezed this sentence out through gritted teeth.
“You’re the only man in the world that can soften my heart, except for you, it doesn’t beat for anyone. Touch me if you don’t believe me.” Zhou Yun Sheng gave a brilliant smile as he leaned over to kiss his lover, drawing the man’s rough and warm palm into his collar.
The two immediately deepened the kiss, loath to part, the car soon echoing with the sounds of smacking lips and tongues, and occasional groans.
Xue Lao Si turned his head away with a helpless expression, spending every day with this husband and husband would definitely eventually blind him.
————–
Xue Jing Yi was not imprisoned, due to rapid heart failure, her life was coming to an end, so every day alive was earned. She kept asking about Xue Zi Xuan’s condition, wondering if his hands were okay, and wanting to see his face one last time. The doctors upheld their humanitarian principles and called Xue Zi Xuan. The man silently listened to them, then silently hung up the phone, but he never visited. However, on the day Xue Jing Yi was approaching death, he expressionlessly walked into the hospital ward.
Xue Jing Yi confessed her hidden love, and asked him for a first and last kiss.
“No, kissing a devil will contaminate my mouth. From now on, we will not meet each other again, not in this world or the underworld.” Xue Zi Xuan looked into her muddy eyes and enunciated, then he turned and left, his footsteps unwavering.
Not long after, Xue Jing Yi’s piercing cry rang out from the ward, she wailed ‘I was wrong’, her red and swollen eyes and emancipated cheeks made her look extremely pitiful. But no one sympathized with her, Xue Zi Xuan was right, she tried to dig out her twin brother’s heart so she could live longer, she really was a devil.
The butler, who was staying in the neighboring ward, heard her cries and tried to go see her, but he was stopped by the policeman at the door. He was Xue Jing Yi’s accomplice, once his injury was healed, he would sit eight years in prison. At his age, whether or not he would come out alive was the concern, and now he had the mind of a perpetrator, and was starting to grow senile.
Xue Jing Yi cried herself exhausted, then slowly sank into her pillow and slept. With the ‘hated by her sweetheart’ blow, she left the world with eternal regret.
Zhou Yun Sheng heard the news but didn’t even blink, he was currently suing the man who had killed his parents. The lawsuit was going smoothly, and undoubtedly soon, he would be able to put the verdict letter on his parents’ grave and burn it. Although they didn’t give him much personal care, every time money was sent back home, it was filled with their strong parental love, they deserved to have justice.
———–
Two months later, the boy who had officially changed his name back to Huang Yi was performing on the Congress Hall stage. On the same stage with him was one of the greatest musicians of the last century, Ivanov. The organizers had synthesized his image with the most advanced 3D technology, realistically restoring his brilliant performance on the eve of the Great War. This great performance intensified the soldiers’ fighting spirit, helping the Allied Army, who were far fewer numbered than the enemy, achieve the most critical victory, thus completely reversing the war’s outcome.
This performance had been recorded in history, and hailed as the classic that could never be surpassed, however, the boy currently sitting next to Ivanov smoothly entered the second bar after the first bar was finished, not the slightest mishap appearing in the switch, and his performance was not even a little bit inferior. His heroic sound poured over the audience like steel and lava, boiling their blood. When the second section finished, Ivanov, his smiling gaze on the boy, immediately entered the third bar. One was a colorful clever teenager, the other was a black and white, see through 3D image, the two met in such a bizarre way, crisscrossing space and time. The past people could foresee the future, the future people could recall the past, everyone could clearly see – – After the flames of war was the embers of rebirth.
The last note faded, and the audience stood up and applauded the great martyr and the outstanding youngster. Without a doubt, this performance went beyond the classic – war and peace, and former times and the new era intertwined to give it an inexplicable significance.
Zhou Yun Sheng stood up and walked to the front of the stage to bow. He noticed his lover in the front row, staring at him with a face full of tears. He couldn’t help but smile in amusement at the man’s extremely rare, sentimental look.