Seize the Throne

Chapter 2: Enemies And Lovers.

Going home? Such exciting words.

Bian Yi’s heartbeat was so strong that there seemed to be an echo in the voice inside his head, telling him to go back home. But he didn’t dare to move.

He was afraid.

Afraid that this would be another part of his imagination. That he suddenly went mad, and once he finally came back to his senses, he would find himself still trapped inside that room.

That kind of despair had been building up for 16 years.

If it happened again, he may not be able to keep going.

Suddenly, a short electric current sounded inside his head, like an old-fashioned phone being picked up, but no one answered.

Bian Yi wasn’t sure if the Revenge-System was affected by that hellhole, or if it had something to say to him.

If all this was true, then it should be the latter. After all, there’s no such thing as free food in this world. Since the Revenge-System was able to send him back 16 years ago, with so much effort, then it must be in order to get something from him.

Bian Yi put away his hand and sat on the ground, waiting quietly for a while.

Unlike what he expected, there was no notice from the System. This should have been the most suitable situation for the System to negotiate with him and explain his conditions, threatening him to complete some tasks or give him any reward by saying: ‘I’ll send you back to that space if you don’t agree’.

“Um… Do you need help?” A girl hesitantly took a few steps and approached Bian Yi. 

Bian Yi didn’t reply at first. After all, for more than 10 years in captivity, the only sound he heard was coming from the screen. So as a habit, he thought that the girl’s voice was actually Guan Xi’s.

But then, the girl asked him a second time and handed him a packet of tissues.

When the corner of the tissue packet appeared in Bian Yi’s field of vision, he froze. But then, he raised his head very slowly.

“Is he alright?”

“I think something’s wrong with him. He doesn’t look fine, and the expression on his face is also quite bad.”

“He’s not wearing any shoes. His hands and feet are bloody, his mental state also doesn’t seem right. Did he escape from somewhere?

“Ah? If that’s the case, then we should call the police as soon as possible!”

“Oh, young man, don’t be afraid. Have you met someone bad? Are you hungry? Do you want to drink water? Auntie will give you something to eat….”

The voices were coming from all directions. It was so different from what he experienced through the screen, where the sound came from a fixed position.

Bian Yi finally raised his head, and his eyes were already red.

The girl, who was facing him, became stunned once she saw his face. Then, she hurriedly handed over the tissue paper again. Her eyes were even redder than his, and her voice sounded as if she was about to cry: “Gege, wipe the blood quickly! Wait for me, I’ll go buy medicine right now!”

Bian Yi’s hands trembled badly as he took the tissue, and thanked her with a hoarse voice.

When the girl saw this, she covered her mouth and burst into tears as she ran towards the nearest pharmacy.

Bian Yi looked at her back and realized, as an afterthought, that she was probably his fan.

It’s extremely rare to meet him in a situation like this and not shout his name out loud.

Bian Yi lowered his head to wipe the blood on his hands, and he felt like there was a lump in his throat.

The people around him were noisy but kind-hearted. As he watched the crowd, those who looked at his face began to doubt his identity.

The noise was very loud, and it felt quite real.

Bian Yi bit his lower lip tightly as he tried to restrain himself. As he briefly wiped his wounds, he answered the most repeatedly asked question from the people around him: “I was kidnapped. I just escaped.”

Kidnapped?!

The crowd, who were secretly taking pictures, were so excited that they couldn’t hide their emotions. In addition to the loud comments from the passers-by, the sound of ‘click’ was also pretty obvious.

“Hurry to XX road! I have big news! Bian Yi has been kidnapped!”

“The top idol of the Entertainment Industry is covered in blood, claiming that he has been kidnapped. Come to take pictures, hurry!!”

“Shit! Is it true? If he’s the real Bian Yi, then who’s participating as ‘Bian Yi’ in the variety show in Y City right now? This news is going to explode!”

Seeing how some people were carrying cameras and running towards this side of the intersection, the original passers-by who were watching at Bian Yi, confirmed their suspicions that he must be the real Bian Yi!

But, how could Bian Yi be here? Even saying that he was kidnapped? If this was true, then who was that ‘Bian Yi’ that was active in front of the public right now?

People were becoming more and more curious. Since some reporters wanted to come forward, people were letting them pass, because they also wanted to hear the gossip first hand.

By this time, the intersection was quite crowded. When the girl named Xiaotao, who ran to buy medicine, came back only to see such a situation occurring, she anxiously quickened her pace.

Xiaotao was Bian Yi’s fan. Not only was she a loyal fan, but she was also a relatively old fan of his. In the past year, Bian Yi’s performance looked somewhat different from the past, and many of the loyal fans she knew decided to stop being loyal to him; some of them even turned into anti-fans1. But she was reluctant to leave. Today, she even bought a ticket to go to Y City to support him, and on the way, she met this Gege who seemed in need of help. Unexpectedly, when she handed over a packet of tissues, she realized that she had actually met another ‘Bian Yi’.

Xiaotao was very sure that this was the real Bian Yi, her idol. When she thought of the hardships the real Bian Yi might have suffered for a year, she wanted to cry. But she managed to hold back her tears, as she raised her voice to ask the people in front of her to let her pass.

Some people still remembered her, and when they saw that she brought in the manager of the pharmacy, they made way for her one after the other.

When the tweezers removed the glass fragments from the back of Bian Yi’s foot, the onlookers couldn’t help but gasp in unison. However, there wasn’t a single reaction on Bian Yi’s face. He looked as if he had been used to it for a long time, which was both shocking and distressing in itself; making it inevitable for everyone to try and guess what he went through.

When the wound was bandaged, Xiaotao’s eyes were full of tears as she handed Bian Yi a pair of cloth towels, which were very light and thin.

Bian Yi remembered the girl’s face and asked her name, when suddenly, he saw a group of bodyguards coming his way.

The leader of the group, whom Bian Yi knew, was the Vice President of his father’s company. His surname seemed to be Liu, and Bian Yi suddenly remembered, while in a trance, that the company’s address was nearby, so of course they would arrive here so soon.

Vice President Liu separated the reporters away from him, and escorted Bian Yi to the car. However, there were people left behind, in case the police arrived and didn’t see the victim.

There were clothes prepared for Bian Yi inside the car, which had been bought in a hurry and didn’t fit him very well. But this didn’t matter much.

Vice President Liu came one step later, and looked at Bian Yi carefully. When he saw that he looked exactly like Bian Yi, he was internally amazed. He wasn’t sure whether it was true or not, but he still called him; “Young Master Yi”, and asked if he would like to go to the hospital first.

Bian Yi raised his head, and said: “No, I want to go home first.”

After saying that, he raised his dry, bloodless lips and added: “I want to go back to the home I share with my husband.”

Vice President Liu was startled by Bian Yi’s expression.

From the moment he saw Bian Yi in the crowd, Bian Yi had been silent for most of the time. As if he was still digesting the fact that he had escaped, and his reaction wasn’t very strong. Under normal circumstances, after just coming out of the tiger’s den, most people would yell, cry or laugh; venting their accumulated emotions like a madman.

So, Vice President Liu also had some doubts. After all, Bian Yi still looked quite cold and calm.

But, at this time, Bian Yi’s eyes were wrapped with intense hatred. Coupled with the fact that his beautiful but pale face wasn’t a normal shade of pale. Instead, he looked like a ghost that came right out of hell to take revenge.

Vice President Liu believed in him a little bit more now, that this ‘Bian Yi’ was the real son of his Boss.

The injuries on Bian Yi’s hands and feet weren’t serious, so there wasn’t a need for him to go to the hospital. It was much more important for him to see his family.

In that case, Vice President Liu followed Bian Yi’s wishes, asked for the address, and then instructed the driver to change the route.

On the way, they passed by a small supermarket, and Bian Yi asked the driver to stop. Then he borrowed 100 yuan2 from Vice President Liu, and went into the store alone to buy some things.

After waiting for Bian Yi to get back in the car, Vice President Liu saw that he had bought water and bread. Vice President Liu wanted to speak, tell Bian Yi that he didn’t need to go on his own for this trivial matter. After all, Bian Yi still had injuries on his feet. However, Vice President Liu then thought that it may be related to the experience of being tied up, so Bian Yi could only trust himself when getting food. In the end, Vice President Liu didn’t say anything.

For the last short section of the road, Bian Yi leaned back in the seat to restore energy, with his eyes wide open.

It wasn’t dark in front of his eyes, and this feeling was still very strange.

Bian Yi had just leaned back in the seat. As he looked at the scene inside and outside the car, he stroked the handle of the knife hidden inside the sleeve of the ill-fitting coat, not knowing what to think.

When the car stopped, Bian Yi got out of the car, thanked Vice President Liu, and walked towards the door of his own house.

Since Bian Yi hadn’t invited him in, Vice President Liu didn’t rush to claim credit. After watching Bian Yi enter his house, Vice President Liu went back to the car. At that moment, he found that the water and bread bought by Bian Yi while on the road was not only left behind, but they weren’t even opened.

Although he was a little confused, as to why Bian Yi wanted to go into the supermarket to buy food if he didn’t even want to eat or drink, in the end, he didn’t think too deeply about it. Since he had already sent Bian Yi back home, his task was completed. So he went back to the company to wait for his Boss and inform him the details of what happened.

The person who opened the door for Bian Yi was the Auntie who cooked their meals. She was already a bit surprised to see that it was Bian Yi on the other side of the door, but she became even more surprised when she saw that Bian Yi’s hands were bandaged.

Bian Yi didn’t notice her, because he was looking straight at the man who was standing at the top of the stairs.

That man seemed to be preparing himself to go downstairs, and after hearing the noise coming from the door, he also looked at Bian Yi.

Sensing that the two of them had something to say to each other, Auntie left them alone while winking at them.

After Auntie left, Bian Yi narrowed his eyes for a moment and walked towards Kou Li first.

Kou Li hasn’t moved yet. He simply frowned tightly and moved his gaze from Bian Yi’s face to his feet. It was like something dangerous was spreading inside those eyes hidden under his glasses. As Bian Yi approached him, Kou Li’s gaze became even more and more intense. Until finally, it exploded into an anger so intense that not even the glasses could cover it.

At that, Kou Li no longer stood where he was.

Both walked to the bottom of the stairs. As one pulled out the knife hidden inside his sleeve, the other grabbed the man in front of him by the neck, pressing him against the nearest wall.

The sharp knife was warm because it was hidden in the sleeve, so it was tainted from the body heat. It wouldn’t be difficult for Bian Yi to stab Kou Li through the clothes and into the flesh, if it weren’t for the hand grabbing his neck. The grip was extremely strong, and Bian Yi’s beautiful fragile neck could be easily snapped in less than ten seconds if the hand’s owner wanted.

Like this, they stared at each other. 

And in both pairs of eyes, there was a mixture of hatred and madness.