Transmigrated as My Best Friend's Ex

75. They Abandoned You

Translator: Guy Gone Bad

“Because they abandoned you.”

Frise’s cold, hard voice rang in Keqi’s ear.

No!

Keqi woke suddenly with a start. He gasped for air, his forehead glistening with sweat but he didn’t bother to wipe it away. He fell asleep in his study just now.

He was an abandoned child? A cold, cruel smile appeared on his lips.

He was no longer the child who had been at the mercy of others. He wanted to fly higher and farther. Keqi stood up, walked over to the window and drew back the curtain. It was completely dark outside.

He needed to calm down and think carefully about what to do next. The most important thing to do was to find out what Li Qinghao was playing at. Keqi crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the window.

‘It seems that you have been trying to sound me out from the first time we met. What should I do with you, Qinghao?’ Keqi thought to himself.

His home tutor had said to him, “People like you shouldn’t develop an affection for others. If you do so, the one you love will become your weakness and you will die for him in the end.” From small to large, Keqi had kept these words in his mind. But now he finally knew how happy it made him to be with people he liked.

“When you find your weakness, you should eliminate it in time.” His home tutor’s words rang in his mind again.

No! Keqi shook his head. He couldn’t do it! He had tried to nip his affection for Li Qinghao in the bud. At that moment, he had a strong sense of heartache. For the first time Keqi felt that he was still alive because a spasm of pain welled up in his heart.

“Your Highness.” Jimmy’s voice came from outside the door. “Do you want something to eat? The food is still hot.”

Keqi opened the door and looked at his steward. Jimmy was a sober and steady type. Since Keqi was made the crown prince two years ago, Jimmy had been Keqi’s steward.

“No, I’m not hungry.” After a pause Keqi asked, “How’s he doing?”

Jimmy knew who Keqi was talking about. “He hasn’t come out since dinner.”

“Give him around-the-clock protection. Don’t let anyone get close to him, including my aunt.”

Jimmy hesitated for a moment and asked boldly, “Does the so-called protection mean that we need to restrict his freedom? In other word, do we need to place him under surveillance?”

There was silence for a moment, then Keqi replied, “Yes.”

Li Qinghao knew that he was held in captivity. He also knew what he had said made Keqi feel uneasy. Li Qinghao felt it was ridiculous. ‘When I first got here, Keqi joked, ‘I will allow you to shoot a video for me when I succeed to the throne.’ But now I’m imprisoned and it’s hard for me to go out,’ he thought to himself.

In fact, Li Qinghao had no intention of going out, because he knew his being imprisoned was a good thing for Nancheng Lie’s investigation.

At the airport.

In May, everything was comfortable. A gentle breeze was blowing, and the sun was shining brightly. Everyone who was bathed in sunlight felt a sense of happiness, as if their lovers were gently caressing them.

Nancheng Lie leaned on the side of his car. He was wearing black slacks, a black V-neck T-shirt, a black windbreaker and black leather shoes. He looked very handsome in black. With a cigarette in his mouth, he had an air of arrogance.

“Lie.” A tall gentleman with glasses came out of the airport and waved at Nancheng Lie.

Nancheng Lie greeted the man with a smile, “Elen.” The unlit cigarette in his mouth dropped on the ground and rolled under the car. “Sorry, I know you’re busy, but I need you to come and help.”

Elen punched Nancheng Lie in the chest and said, “Don’t stand on ceremony. We are brothers.” Elen was the same age as Nancheng Lie’s second brother. They were both 35 years old. Elen always regarded Nancheng Lie as his young brother.

“So I asked you to come.” Nancheng Lie picked up Elen’s suitcase and put it into the trunk of his car. Then they got into the car and drove away. A few minutes later, Elen’s face changed. “Someone is following us.”

Nancheng Lie snorted in a cold tone, “Son of a bitch!”

“Who are they?” Elen took off his glasses, rubbed carefully at the lens with a tissue and put on them again. “You asked me to come here because of them? Do you want me to kill them?”

“Don’t you think killing people with your scalpel can make all your senses vibrate?” Nancheng Lie twisted his lips into an evil smile.

“No, my scalpel is a tool for saving lives.” Elen cast a glance at the driving mirror and asked, “Tell me, what’s going on?”

“Elen, I want you to hypnotize a person.”

Elen was universally recognized as an authority in neurosurgery, but in fact, he was more adept at hypnotizing. He had once said, “What is useful and popular must have been widely used. What is rare and unusual is worth learning and will be useful one day.”

“Poof, do you want me to hypnotize Xu? You can’t stand any more?” Elen was familiar with Nancheng Lie and Li Qinghao. To be exact, he knew Han Mingxu better. There were two reasons: first, Han Mingxu was Elen’s junior male schoolmate at university; second, during winter and summer vacations Han Mingxu always did his internship at Nancheng Hospital and Elen was his tutor.

Elen was a person out of the ordinary. As a doctor, he was as gimlet-eyed as lawyers. Elen knew Nancheng Lie loved Han Mingxu because Nancheng always followed Mingxu like a shadow. The whole Nancheng family knew it, but since their young master didn’t openly show love to Han Mingxu, they had to pretend ignorance. After all, the Nancheng family had an awkward relationship with the Han family.

Nancheng Lie’s face turned cold at the mention of Han Mingxu. Elen caught a flash of pain and despair in Nancheng Lie’s eyes. “What happened?” Nancheng Lie, who was spoiled by the whole Nancheng family, shouldn’t wear such a woebegone look. He had impressed Elen as an arrogant and domineering man. Why did he look so sad now?

“Elen, you know, two years ago a group of gangsters was trying to shoot Xu. Recently I’ve discovered that the man whom I thought as Xu for the past two years is not the real Xu.”

“What?” Elen was very surprised. It really was quite a shock to get the news.

“That is to say, when I arrived at the crime scene two years ago, Xu had already been substituted.”

“Lie, what you said is horrible…”

“In order to solve this puzzle, we must start with Xu’s birth and background. Now all the clues indicate that Keqi is likely to be Xu’s twin brother. That’s why I asked you to come here.”

“So do you want me to hypnotize him?” Elen shook his head and continued, “Since he has a complete and thorough plan, he will be wary of me because I’m a stranger to him. It’s impossible for me to approach and hypnotize him. You know, even the most outstanding psychologist is unable to hypnotize a man who is on guard against him.”

“No, not him.” Nancheng Lie laughed, “Well actually, Elen, I want you to hypnotize another insider. She must know everything that happened that year. I have a way to disintegrate her psychological defense line.”

Who knew the truth best?

Of course, it was Frise.

But it was very difficult for Nancheng Lie to ask Frise out. Besides, he had to disintegrate her psychological defense line without letting her know that she was hypnotized. An aggressive reason was required. For this reason, Nancheng Lie phoned Li Qinghao.

Even though Keqi had his men keep an eye on Li Qinghao 24 hours a day, he didn’t set up a security camera in Li Qinghao’s bedroom. The reasons were as follows.

First, this was his own house. In the past, he had never thought that he would invite others to live with him. So, he didn’t think it was necessary to set up a security camera.

Second, if he set up a security camera in his house, there would be a risk that his every movement might be exposed. Keqi yearned for freedom, so he wouldn’t do that.

Therefore, the guards outside didn’t know that Li Qinghao received a call from Nancheng Lie.

As soon as Li Qinghao answered the phone, Nancheng Lie asked, “Is your dream a real reflection of what happened in real life?”

Li Qinghao didn’t know who the caller was, but he recognized Nancheng Lie’s voice at once. He hadn’t contacted Nancheng Lie since Keqi brought him back yesterday. He didn’t expect Nancheng Lie to call him and ask that question.

His heart seemed to be squeezed by a invisible hand. He didn’t dare answer the question, because he was afraid that his answer would hurt Nancheng Lie.

Nancheng Lie seemed to know what Li Qinghao was afraid of. “Nothing can sadden me more than Xu’s death. I believe that you know Xu’s whereabouts. I cherish a hope that one day I will see him again. So, even if you told me your dream was a real reflection of what happened in real life, I would still be hopeful. Li Qinghao, please answer me,” he said.

His voice was low and hoarse. Time made him into a mature man. Nancheng Lie used to be a childish boy, but Li Qinghao knew that what they were experiencing would mellow Nancheng. In the near future, Nancheng Lie would be a shining star like his brothers.

“One night has passed. Don’t you think it’s too late to ask this question?” Li Qinghao returned a vague answer.

On the other end of the line, Nancheng Lie gave a wry little laugh. “Yesterday you requested me to find out what happened when Xu’s mom gave birth to Xu 22 years ago. So I summoned Elen to Leiluo Kingdom. Elen is good at hypnotizing. As long as he has a chance to get close to Frise, he can hypnotize her and extract the truth from her.”

What?!

Li Qinghao’s hand trembled slightly as he held his cell phone. Elen was also in Leiluo Kingdom?!

‘Nancheng Lie, you wretch! Frise is a very dangerous woman. How can you involve innocent people in the affair?…’ Li Qinghao closed his eyes. ‘Nancheng Lie is also innocent, but I’ve already involved him in all this,’ he thought to himself.

“I see. I have a way to lure Alice out. Listen to me carefully…” Li Qinghao replied.

Nancheng Lie could hear Li Qinghao’s soft voice and gentle regular breathing.

But he didn’t know the man at the other end of the line was his beloved Xu.