There’re Always Paranoid Thoughts to Monopolize Me - Chapter 66.2

Dreaming of Whole Life (3.2)

Tear stains still marked her exquisite oval face, making her beauty beyond compare.

It was as if a barrel of explosives had been thrown into the oil fire in Huo Zhonglou’s eyes.

All emotions suddenly exploded, filling his gaze with terror, his reason completely gone—a few drops of paint had splattered on that white long dress, very eye-catching, like a few strokes of heavy ink on a canvas.

But Huo Zhonglou had a “canvas” he wanted to paint even more.

He no longer suppressed the evil thoughts in his heart, letting them surge forth with the poisonous snake of jealousy, accompanied by those demons and beasts.

The drawing paper was unveiled, and on the pure white canvas, blooming and closed red plum blossoms were traced and imprinted. The bright red petals were stained with droplets of rain, the plum branches trembling in the sudden wind and heavy rain, yet pressed down by the brush with heavy ink, unable to struggle free. Only the weak, hoarse low tones of the plum branches could be heard in the unceasing fierce wind and rain.

——

After that day, Huo Zhonglou never let Qin Ke see even a glimpse of Huo Jingyan in the Huo family again.

In fact, Qin Ke couldn’t face him either.

The glass in the sunroom was all shattered by Huo Zhonglou. He had people rebuild walls to seal off the sunroom, and the last bit of sunlight in the west side building was finally taken away from Qin Ke by him.

However, as if in rebellion, the girl would still sit idly in that room every day, ignoring him and not speaking, growing quieter day by day.

And after that time, no matter what Huo Zhonglou did, he could no longer provoke her. Whenever she was in front of him, she seemed to have completely turned herself into a toy, not needing to speak or have emotions, much less communicate or respond to him.

Huo Zhonglou was driven to extremes, countless nights fruitlessly pressing her and questioning. “Do you like Huo Jingyan?”

The girl never answered, at most giving him a cold glance—to this person who had deprived her of everything and made her completely lose hope, since she was destined to not escape, there was nothing worse than the current situation, so she couldn’t even be bothered to explain.

Huo Zhonglou had always thought they would continue torturing each other like this until he went mad or died first.

He had even prepared a will. In the will, it stated that everything he owned would belong to Qin Ke, and once he died, the west side building would no longer be a place to confine her.

He would set her free, but only after his death. Huo Zhonglou even thought crazily and self-destructively about whether he should quietly reveal the existence of this will to Qin Ke. That way, in the end, he might die silently at the hands of the person he loved most.

After all, she must hate him the most.

But Huo Zhonglou never thought for a moment… that she would go first.

It happened on a stormy night when Huo Zhonglou was not at the Huo family home.

A fire was started by lightning.

The west side building, which had been completely locked up into a cage, became an inescapable hell.

When Huo Zhonglou returned, everything was gone.

Qin Ke, without knowing it, had returned the life he had saved, in its entirety, back to him.

Everyone in the Huo family trembled inwardly, thinking Huo Zhonglou would completely lose his mind and go berserk.

However, he didn’t. He was very calm.

Calm to a frightening degree.

As if the person who died in the fire was someone completely unrelated to him, he silently walked through the finally opened main door of the west side building, past everything burned to charred blackness, and finally reached her room.

They said she died in the bathroom, without any struggle for survival before her death, as if she calmly welcomed the end of everything.

The only thing she left behind was a notebook.

It wasn’t a diary, just something hastily flipped through. On the notebook, which had been submerged in water in an attempt to preserve it, were only a few sentences blurred by water.

It was left for him.

[You asked many times. Now I’ll tell you, I don’t like him, I just owed him a thank you. He wouldn’t say why, only that you went mad because of me. If that’s the case, then it’s good—because I can finally let you let me go, and let yourself go too.

Huo Zhonglou.

In the next life, let’s not meet again… okay?]

In the deathly silent ashes, Huo Zhonglou tightly hugged the only thing left of her, curling his body.

Outside the west side building, the servants could hear that desperate, hoarse cry.

One wonders how much pain it must have been soaked in, to make everyone who heard it shudder in their hearts.

——

After the fire, people heard the news.

Many came to pay their respects, but to no avail—Huo Zhonglou had disappeared.

The entire Huo household was in chaos, no one could find him.

Even the usually calm Huo Jingyan became anxious. Only he knew that in the medicine cabinet of the main building’s study, an entire bottle of sedatives was missing.

Unable to find him anywhere in Sijiu City, Huo Jingyan suddenly thought of a place—he rushed to Qian City overnight.

On the way to Qiande High School, Huo Jingyan unexpectedly received a call from Huo Zhonglou.

Seeing the number, Huo Jingyan’s heart sank.

He answered.

The low, hoarse voice on the other end of the phone was very calm.

“I sent you my location.”

“Huo Zhonglou…”

“So as not to dirty her place.”

“Huo Zhonglou—!”

“Shh… don’t say anything.” That hoarse voice was initially laughing, but as he laughed, his voice began to tremble, until it was suppressed into a sob stuck in his chest. “It was my fault… but it’s too late now.”

“Are there people around you!? Can anyone hear you?!”

“……”

The phone slid from his palm, falling onto the soft grass and soil. It rolled half a turn, hit an empty medicine bottle, and stopped.

The man leaning against the tree trunk slowly raised his head, looking towards the corner opposite him.

The sunlight was gentle, a light breeze caressing his face.

Tears rolled down, and the man closed his eyes, smiling silently.

“Qin Qin.”

He murmured softly, his voice fading.

“You’ve finally come to take me away.”