The "Honest" Beta Deceived Day and Night by a Twisted Obsessive - Chapter 18

“My family.”

Duan Huaijing couldn’t afford to overthink. He scrambled to pull himself together, terrified that if “The Eyes” video-called even a second later, his secret would be blown wide open.

He cracked the door open and poked his head out, using the frame to shield most of his body. His eyes were either wide from the scare or hazy from the long shower, giving him a look that was both pitiful and dazed.

He reached a hand out toward Xie Yun. “Big Brother, could I have my phone back?”

Xie Yun’s gaze had been fixed on the screen, but at the sound of Duan’s voice, he looked up slowly. His eyes traveled upward, seemingly brushing over every inch of Duan’s exposed skin before finally meeting his gaze.

Duan Huaijing shuddered instinctively. Maybe he was just being paranoid, but that look made him uneasy, as if Xie Yun’s eyes could see straight through the wooden door.

Xie Yun lowered his eyes, masking his emotions, and handed the phone over. His voice was thick and raspy when he spoke. “Here.”

Relieved, Duan Huaijing took the phone and shut the door, immediately diving into a flurry of replies to appease “The Eyes.”

Just as he managed to smooth things over and was about to lock the screen, a new notification popped up. It was from Auntie Lin: Your grandmother’s been rushed to the ER. Come back as soon as you can; it’s quite serious.

Duan Huaijing felt the blood drain from his face. His ears rang with a sharp buzz, and he staggered to keep his footing.

“Okay, I understand. Thanks, Auntie Lin,” he typed back, his fingers trembling so hard he could barely hit the keys. His mind was a total fog.

Consumed by worry, he didn’t even notice how he left the bathroom or when Xie Yun departed. He collapsed onto the sofa, his body limp, suddenly losing his sense of purpose.

What was I supposed to do? I can’t remember.

Oh, right. Pack. Go to the hospital. Like a programmed machine, he stood up and began going through the motions.

He grabbed a few changes of clothes and ran to the safe. He thought he had calmed down after all, he’d been dealing with crises for years, but when he tried to punch in the code, his fingers shook so much he couldn’t hit a single correct digit.

“Don’t shake, don’t shake,” he muttered, gripping one hand with the other to force his fingers down one by one. Once the safe clicked open, he snatched a card from inside, clutching it like a literal lifeline.

There was 300,000 yuan on that card. It was enough for the surgery, but it was his entire life savings. This was the money he had intended to use to escape the Xie family forever.

Now that it was going toward the medical bills, he would be stuck in this suffocating place again, waiting until he could scrape the money together all over again.

He hesitated for a single heartbeat, then gripped the card and bolted out the door.

His grandmother mattered more.

Getting a taxi in this area was a nightmare. He had planned to grab a shared bike, but as he reached the main gates of the Xie estate, he saw a car idling right in front of him.

Desperate enough to try anything, he nearly knocked on the window to beg for a ride. But the words died in his throat. He wasn’t delusional enough to think anyone in the Xie family would drop their business to help him.

Just as he turned to leave, the window rolled down.

Duan Huaijing looked over, and as the glass lowered, the man inside was revealed.

Xie Yun sat there in a bespoke suit and gold-rimmed glasses, looking every bit the sophisticated, mature gentleman. His eyes flicked down to the card in Duan’s hand.

Duan followed his gaze, awkwardly stuffing the card into his pocket and covering it with his hand to make sure it didn’t fall out.

“Big Brother,” Duan greeted him.

“Going out? Get in,” Xie Yun offered.

“No, that’s it’s okay,” Duan started to refuse, but thinking of his grandmother, he quickly changed his mind. He walked to the car. “Thank you, Big Brother.”

Xie Yun was in the back. There was an empty seat in the front, and Duan’s hand hovered over the rear door handle for a second before he pulled open the passenger door instead.

He didn’t want to sit next to Xie Yun.

His phone had been in Xie Yun’s hands just an hour ago; he had no idea if the man had seen the messages from “The Eyes.” If he had, it was all over.

Duan Huaijing numbly gave the driver the hospital’s address. His mind was a mess, trying to recall if the phone had been locked or unlocked when Xie Yun handed it back.

The driver was steady, and the ride was silent except for the sound of Xie Yun turning pages of a book. So, when a phone call suddenly blared, it felt incredibly loud.

Duan scrambled to turn down the volume, but he noticed Xie Yun’s hand pause over his book. He had clearly been disturbed.

Thinking it was Auntie Lin, Duan answered immediately without checking the caller ID.

“Duan Huaijing, you heard about that old woman in the ER, right? Transfer 500,000 to me now, or I can’t guarantee she’ll make it out of there next time.” His mother’s voice was shrill, cutting through his ears like a blade.

Aware of his company, Duan muffled the phone and spoke in a low, breathy whisper. “I gave you money last month. You said you’d leave her alone. Why are you going back on your word?”

His mother scoffed, but before she could speak, the whiny voice of Duan Zhuwen broke in. “Mom, look at him! You worked so hard to raise him, and now that he’s grown, he won’t even help the family. I’m so broke I can’t even afford a suit for the Xie family gala. Can you get the money or not?”

His mother began cooing and comforting Zhuwen.

Duan Huaijing closed his eyes, his heart turning to ice. His voice shook with a brewing rage. “You went to see my grandmother, didn’t you? That’s why she’s in the ER.”

Zhuwen didn’t sound remotely guilty. He sneered, “Who knew the old bat was so fragile? I just showed her that video of you acting like a dog, kneeling to compete with a stray for food. Next thing I know, she’s in the hospital.”

Duan remembered that video. He was kneeling on the ground like an animal, wearing rags he’d scavenged from a dumpster, looking like a total wreck. At the sound of Zhuwen’s whistling, he had crawled over to fight a dog for a scrap of food.

He had been starving for days back then, his mind hazy, his dignity long gone. He just wanted to survive.

“Hurry up and send the money. I have to go see Brother Xie Yun,” Zhuwen added triumphantly, as if putting on a nice suit would suddenly make Xie Yun fall in love with him.

Duan Huaijing tilted his head slightly but said nothing.

He didn’t mention that the “Brother Xie Yun” he spoke of was sitting right behind him.

The car arrived at the hospital. Duan hung up, and without even imagining the tantrum on the other end, he sent a WeChat message:

There is no money. If you harass me or my grandmother again, I’ll take you down with me.

I have nothing left to lose. You’re the ones who should be scared. If Grandma dies, you’ll have nothing left to threaten me with.

He would never have said something like that before. They were used to him being submissive, but perhaps after spending time with “The Eyes,” he had picked up some of that desperate, crazed energy.

It worked. They didn’t message back.

Duan paid the surgery fees and waited in the hallway for hours. Terrified of missing an update, he sat on a freezing metal bench, letting the cold wake him every time he drifted off.

The surgery was a success, but it left his grandmother with complications. Her memory was worse, and her temperament had become erratic. By the time she fell asleep again, it was past 9:00 PM.

Duan stared at the frail, gaunt woman in the hospital bed.

She had raised him. When he was little, he told her everything. As he got older, he learned to hide his pain, but after the call from his mother, he felt a crushing urge to just break down and cry to her.

He had thought about venting while she was asleep, but looking at the woman who had once been his whole world, the words wouldn’t come.

All he felt was guilt and powerlessness.

He wasn’t cunning enough to outplay others, and his talents were mediocre. Fighting back just felt like wasting his youth on people who would never truly feel sorry.

What’s the point? He had thought escaping was the answer.

If he saved enough to go abroad, he could take her anywhere. They would be safe. The plan had been perfect until the surgery drained his savings. He couldn’t sell the jewelry Xie Ming gave him yet, and money was tight again.

He didn’t blame his grandmother. He just hated himself for being the kind of person everyone felt they could trample on.

He wiped the tears from his face. When he looked up, his eyes held a new kind of resolve.

He thought of what Zhuwen had said about wanting to see Xie Yun.

A radical, extreme idea took root in Duan’s mind.

What if I stole Xie Yun away first? It would drive Zhuwen insane.

Coincidentally, he’d love to see Zhuwen fuming with rage, unable to do a thing about it.

As he refined the plan in his head, his blood began to hum with excitement. Having a fiancé, yet seducing the fiancé’s older brother.

But first, he needed a reason to get closer to Xie Yun.

He walked toward the hospital exit, plotting on his phone. A black car blocked his path. He stepped back to let it pass, but the car didn’t move.

Before he could see who was inside, another voice caught his attention.

“Claiming you have no money, yet you found enough for the surgery pretty fast. Give me the rest.” Duan Zhuwen walked up, chin high, hand outstretched.

Hearing that voice brought the “dog food” video crashing back. A physical shudder went through Duan’s body, but he stared Zhuwen down. It wasn’t a terrifying look, but compared to the old Duan, who couldn’t even make eye contact, it was a massive shift.

“That’s for my food,” Duan retorted.

Zhuwen laughed. “Who gave you permission to eat? Give it here.”

Duan stood his ground, frozen. He rarely fought back, and he didn’t quite know how to handle someone this shameless. When Zhuwen moved to search his pockets, Duan scrambled back.

Seeing him retreat, Zhuwen assumed Duan had just been having a momentary lapse in his usual spinelessness. He grew bolder. “Are you mad? What are you gonna do about it? There are no cameras here. No one will believe you.”

As Zhuwen reached for him, Duan broke free with a shove and swung his hand, landing a sharp slap right across Zhuwen’s face.

Zhuwen stumbled back, nearly hitting a luxury car behind him. Shocked, he felt the five stinging finger marks on his cheek. He snarled and rolled up his sleeves, ready to swing back.

But before he could touch Duan, he was yanked back by a massive force.

Duan opened his eyes to the sound of scuffling feet. Zhuwen was being pinned by several bodyguards.

As Zhuwen started cursing, Duan looked past him.

Xie Yun stepped out from the driver’s side, wearing a long black coat. He looked tall and imposing. He placed a cigarette between his lips, his gaze locked onto Zhuwen.

An assistant immediately stepped forward with a lighter. The red glow flared in the dark, highlighting the sharp, striking contours of Xie Yun’s face.

Zhuwen’s tirade died in his throat the moment he saw who it was.

“Brother Xie Yun?” Zhuwen’s tone shifted to a mix of delight and embarrassment. He usually made sure to look his best for Xie Yun; now he looked like a mess, and he blamed Duan for it. He mouthed another curse at Duan.

“Hold him still,” Xie Yun said, his voice casual.

Zhuwen was about to gloat, thinking Duan was about to be punished, but then the grip on his own arms tightened.

Wait.

“You’ve got the wrong person! He’s Duan Huaijing!” Zhuwen struggled.

“We have the right one,” a bodyguard replied coldly.

“Give him back the slap he gave you,” Xie Yun said to Duan, his tone like a teacher instructing a student.

Duan’s lashes fluttered. Xie Yun hadn’t said it out loud, but Duan’s mind filled in the blanks: Venting first. If you can’t beat him, I’ll do it for you.

Duan took a deep breath, braced himself, and as Zhuwen begged and recoiled in terror, he delivered a resounding slap.

“You hit me?! I’ll sue you!” Zhuwen shrieked.

Before Duan could respond, Xie Yun chimed in. “There are no cameras here.”

It was Zhuwen’s own words, thrown back at him. Xie Yun was making it clear: no cameras meant no evidence. And even if there were, Zhuwen had initiated the conflict.

The Duan family couldn’t afford to cross Xie Yun. Zhuwen had to swallow his anger, turning his head away in a silent rage.

“Feel better?” Xie Yun asked, remaining by the car.

Duan nodded and followed him into the vehicle. As he got in, the smell of smoke made him cough slightly. Xie Yun’s hand paused, and a second later, he stubbed the cigarette out.

The passenger seat was occupied by some items this time, so Duan had to sit in the back with Xie Yun. He pressed himself against the window, leaving a distance between them that felt like an ocean.

Duan didn’t dare ask if Xie Yun had been waiting all this time. He didn’t think he was that important; Xie Yun probably just happened to have business nearby.

The interior of the car was small and quiet.

Duan looked at his palm, which still tingled from the slap. He felt grateful, but he wasn’t good at flattery. He searched for the right words for a long time. “Thank you, Big Brother. If it weren’t for you, I would have been the one suffering today.”

Xie Yun stared straight ahead. “You’re not an outsider,” he said, whether intentionally or just in passing.

Duan’s hand tightened. He almost blurted out, “Then who am I to you?”

He caught himself just in time. He was his brother’s fiancé. Technically, he wasn’t an outsider.

Duan lowered his head and thanked him again.

In the ensuing silence, he realized how he could finally connect himself to Xie Yun.

Xie Yun had been in a hit-and-run recently, and the culprit hadn’t been found. If he told Xie Yun who it was now, it would be a way to repay him and the fastest way to earn his trust.

Most importantly, it would get rid of “The Eyes” once and for all. Three birds, one stone.

Duan Huaijing licked his dry lips.

****

They arrived back at the ancestral home late. Duan hadn’t eaten all day and had no appetite, but now that he finally felt a hunger pang, he sat down to eat.

Xie Yun mentioned he had left a coat in Duan’s room earlier that morning and needed to grab it.

Duan nodded. “I’ll go find it, Big Brother.”

Xie Yun stopped him. “Eat. I’ll go.”

Duan sat back down, watching Xie Yun head up to the second floor.

He had only taken two bites of food when his phone buzzed. A message from “The Eyes”: I’m in your room.

Duan bit the end of his chopstick and rolled his eyes. “Psycho.”

He was about to exit the chat when the realization hit him like a physical blow.

Oh, no!

He snapped his head up, looking at Xie Yun, whose hand was already turning the doorknob.

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