Transmigrated as My Best Friend's Ex

81. To Catch Bandits, First Catch the Ringleader

Translator: Guy Gone Bad

Li Qinghao answered the phone, but at the other line, Nancheng Lie kept silent. Li Qinghao knew that Nancheng Lie was in a bad mood. Many years ago they were teenagers, and one night Nancheng Lie called him but said nothing. At that time, he didn’t hang up the phone. They could hear the constant rhythm of each other’s breathing. They were immersed in each other’s company.

He didn’t know that night Nancheng Lie found himself in love with him.

He didn’t know that night Nancheng Lie decided to love him as long as he lived.

But today things were different. Compared with the past, Nancheng Lie’s breathing was heavy. Li Qinghao knew that Nancheng Lie must have heard some bad news from Frise.

“Nancheng Lie.” He broke the silence.

“Tell me, Xu is still alive, isn’t he?” Nancheng Lie wanted to believe that Han Mingxu was still alive, but all the clues showed that Han Mingxu was dead. If Xu were still alive, there would be no need for Keqi to impersonate Han Mingxu.

“Yes, he is.” Li Qinghao knew that he shouldn’t make such a promise before Yingli could develop an antidote. But he couldn’t bear to let Nancheng down. His heart ached when Nancheng asked him in such a sad voice./’

Nancheng Lie’s soft laughter came through the line. His happiness infected Li Qinghao. ‘He took my word for it so easily. Maybe at this moment, he only wants someone to tell him that Han Mingxu is still alive,’ Li Qinghao thought.

“We successfully hypnotized Frise. Although I don’t know why you insist on investigating the antecedents of Xu, I believe that Xu is still alive, because if Xu were dead, it would be meaningless to investigate what happened 22 years ago. Am I right?” Only the living cared about the truth.

Nancheng Lie was very intelligent and brainy when he was calm. Li Qinghao admired Nancheng for having a nimble mind.

Only Han Mingxu could make Nancheng lose his mind. He had once said, “I will let the whole world know how painful it is to lose a loved one.” Li Qinghao had no doubt that Nancheng Lie was able to do so.

“Yes, you are right.”

“Haha, that’s great!” Nancheng Lie laughed like a child. “Frise said that 22 years ago she collected Xu’s parents from Mr. Ao and lodged them in a mysterious villa until Xu’s mother gave birth to her twin sons. They never went to hospital for a thorough check-up because of their special identities. Frise asked her family doctor to examine Xu’s mother. The doctor found that Xu’s mother was expecting twins, and reported it to Frise, but Frise hid it from Xu’s parents. When she took over the couple, she had no evil intention. She just wanted to help them settle down. She thought the king would spare the couple when he cooled down, and by then the crown prince’s child must have been born.

But as she knew Xu’s mother was expecting twins, she suddenly changed her plan. After Xu’s mother gave birth to Xu, Frise had a nanny carry the baby out for the crown prince to see. In the room the second baby was waiting to be born. At that time Xu’s mother was in a coma, so she didn’t know she gave birth to her second son Keqi.

As soon as Keqi was born, Frise had someone carry him away. Even the crown prince was unaware of Keqi’s existence. Later, Frise had her friend send Xu and Xue’s parents away from Leiluo Kingdom by his private plane. Two years ago the king was seriously ill. He decided to find Xu back because he wanted Xu to inherit the throne.

Frise plotted all this. Even if the king hadn’t intended to have Xu inherit the throne, Frise would have offered the idea and taken action. Two years ago she had killers shoot Xu for two reasons. First of all, she really wanted to kill Xu. Second, she wanted us to grow anxious and mistakenly think the imperial clan of Leiluo Kingdom was the brains behind the shooting.

… It was all my fault. I was muddled, so I didn’t do the right thing at the right time.” Nancheng Lie blamed himself for not discovering the truth earlier. He should have been more cautious, but he had been stunned by the sudden news. He could hardly believe Xu was the prince of Leiluo Kingdom. Besides, he had been immersed in the sadness of separating from Xu.

More than once, he wanted to come to Leiluo Kingdom to see Xu in the past two years, but was afraid that he would be loath to leave if he came here. Every time Nancheng Lie called Keqi, Keqi always acted as if he was very busy. He had not spoken a few words when he hung up the phone. So, Nancheng Lie was afraid that Keqi would think of him as a trouble maker if he came to Leiluo Kingdom.

Nancheng Lie loved Xu with exquisite care.

He always hid his love from Xu.

Compared with love, self-esteem was nothing.

“It wasn’t your fault.”

‘Lie, it was not your fault. I’ve been ignoring you; I selfishly keep you by my side but never respond to your love,’ Li Qinghao thought to himself.

“Ha… You seem to know everything.” Nancheng Lie, for some unknown reason, had a strong desire to speak his mind to Li Qinghao every time he talked with him. In front of Li Qinghao, he felt relaxed and always had a lot to say.

In the past, he felt this way only when he was with Xu.

“Do you believe I can tell fortune?”

“Can you tell me when I will meet Xu again?”

“No, I can’t. God’s design must not be revealed to mortal ears.”

Suddenly, Nancheng Lie called his name in a soft voice, “Li… Qinghao.”

This gave Li Qinghao an illusion that Nancheng Lie was his lover. He couldn’t tell whether Nancheng Lie was calling him Li Qinghao or Qinghao. Obviously, the latter was a very affectionate form of address.

“Huh?”

“I’m happy you woke up from the coma.”

Li Qinghao smiled without speaking. He knew what Nancheng meant. Nancheng Lie was happy that Li Qinghao woke up from the two-year coma and told him Xu was still alive. “Lie…”

At the other end of the line, Nancheng Lie was stunned, his heart pounding fiercely in his chest. The way Li Qinghao called his name gave him a sense of familiarity. Nancheng Lie got nervous. Only Xu used to speak to him in such a casual tone…

Nancheng Lie’s silence brought Li Qinghao back to his senses. His heart skipped a beat. He almost leaked out his own secret. “Nancheng Lie.”

“Huh?” Nancheng Lie came back to his senses. His heart still beat fast.

Li Qinghao said, “Don’t take revenge on Keqi.” He didn’t hate Keqi anymore. Li Qinghao had hated Keqi and wavered over whether to take revenge on him, but now his hatred for him disappeared. Neither Keqi nor anyone else should be blamed for Han Mingxu’s death. It was a plot brewed by Frise. She nursed a grievance because women always took a back seat in Leiluo Kingdom.

Nancheng Lie sank into silence. Although he believed Li Qinghao and felt sympathy for Keqi, he could never ever forgive Keqi… There was a flash of cruelty in Nancheng Lie’s eyes. He didn’t care who should be responsible for all this. Since they had hurt his beloved Xu, he would surely make them pay a price.

“Nancheng Lie.”

“I’m sorry but I can’t promise you the moon.” Keqi’s enthronement would take place tomorrow. Nancheng Lie wanted not only to stop Keqi from taking the throne, but also to destroy the whole Leiluo Kingdom.

“What are you going to do?”

“I have recorded what Frise said when she was in a state of hypnosis. Li Qinghao, I only promised to give you the right to say no in the four months. But I never promised to spare Keqi and his Leiluo Kingdom.”

“Nancheng Lie, don’t inflict damage on Keqi.”

Li Qinghao’s words inflamed Nancheng Lie’s anger. He asked in a sarcastic tone, “Have you really fallen in love with him?” For some unknown reason, Nancheng Lie was a little jealous.

“No, of course not.”

“Then why are you trying to stop me from taking revenge on him? He killed my beloved! Do I have to play a saint and pardon him for his sins? Damn it! Why am I discussing this with you? I don’t need to report to you. Damn it!”

Nancheng Lie’s response was understandable. Li Qinghao didn’t think of himself as a saint. No one could forgive those who hurt him. But when he thought of Keqi’s unhappy childhood, his hatred for Keqi disappeared. Hatred had its roots in love. Although he didn’t hate Keqi now, he couldn’t act as if nothing had happened.

“If Keqi fail to ascend the throne tomorrow, I can’t get the antidote from Frise.”

“So what?”

“If I can’t get the antidote, I will die in four months and you will never know where Han Mingxu is.”

“You… Are you threatening me?” Nancheng Lie snapped.

Nancheng’s harsh voice came through the line. Li Qinghao gave a chuckle and said, “Yes, I’m threatening you.” He was in a good mood because he sensed something important from Nancheng’s voice, something that Nancheng Lie hadn’t discovered yet. “Don’t be angry. You can deal with Keqi when I get the antidote. There’s a saying in China: every debt has its debtor. Frise is the initiator of evil. To catch bandits, first catch the ringleader. So we’d better deal with Frise first, don’t you think?”

“Humph! Don’t imagine that I’m afraid of you. I’m just afraid that I will never know Xu’s whereabouts if you die. Damn it! Why did Xu ask you to deliver the message? Are you sure that Frise will give you the antidote after Keqi’s enthronement? Even if she fulfills her promise, how can you be sure that the antidote is real? You are the key witness of Keqi’s love affairs. Do you think Frise will allow you to live on after she achieves her goal?” The more he talked, the more upset he became. Finally, he couldn’t help roaring, “You are a real fool! Why didn’t you tell me earlier that you had the virus?” Damn it! His thoughts were in a whirl. Maybe it was because he had lived a life of leisure in the past 22 years that his mind stagnated. “Listen to me, don’t take the antidote given by Frise until you really have to. Since the virus was developed by T organization, its members must have an antidote. I think we can buy the antidote from T organization.”

“Nancheng Lie.” For the first time, Li Qinghao called Nancheng Lie in such an excited voice. “You are so smart! Why didn’t I think of that?”

Nancheng Lie was infected by the happiness in Li Qinghao’s voice. A dull flush suffused his handsome face. “I will have a try. Don’t worry. I… I’m not going to deal with Keqi before we get the antidote.”