He was dumbfounded hearing my answer. But it was the fact. No one and I meant no one in this world would have the heart to accuse their own sister, a girl, even when he knew what would happen to Li Fei afterwards.
Directly or indirectly, by the end of the day, Huang Qian was the reason why Li Fei ended up starving and drinking from the tap for two whole days. It landed her in the hospital on the next day.
It was too easy for anyone to lose all there was that made them human. But, anyone would find it challenging to keep their humanity intact.
Humility itself, the fear of falling down, was one of the reasons why people lost the will to be good. Greed, selfishness, and everything that deprived us of our compassion.
I understood that we were born imperfect. All those negative emotions were also what made us human because even angels were divided into two sides.
But what I expected of Huang Qian was to make the right choice. To have it in him to fight in order to remain humane, because despite everything else, were they not siblings? Were they not bounded by blood?
"You're a coward," I mocked him.
I could see it in him then, the overwhelming humiliation that had been buried deep within him. It had finally come to the surface now.
As a drop of tears slid down his face, he yelled at me, "Do you think I had a choice?! I knew I was wrong! But, I had to do it because-"
He stopped, gradually lowering down his head. More and more tears streaming down his face. "Because..."
"Someone once told me," I said.
He raised his head. I smiled. "Everyone always has a choice. But, they chose to run away from it."
He chuckled. "So, I'm a coward from choosing what I did? You would do the same if you were me, sister."
"But I'm not you," I stated apathetically, "And we're not here to reminisce about the past. Tell me, what are you here for?"
Silence was what answered me. I knew he was hesitating. But, I was patient in waiting to hear what he had to say.
"You know dad," he suddenly spoke up.
I raised an eyebrow.
"If he can't release his anger on you, he would resolve to something else."
My heart dropped in that moment. Yes, the old man did the same to Li Fei in the past. He couldn't hit her because he was afraid it would leave a mark and thus, he couldn't use her in the future. That was why he resolved to that horrific punishment for Li Fei.
"What is it?" I asked. My voice was already cracking, holding back the fear that was about to rush out. I felt a lump stuck inside my throat.
As Huang Qian turned his head to look at me with his dark eyes, I could already guess what he was going to say next. But there was a splinter of hope in me that he wouldn't do that.
"He decided to imprison you here, sis."
Thump!
My breathing stopped instantly. It was as if I lost the ability to breathe all of the sudden. I felt cold to the tip of my toes and my ten fingers. My brain went numb.
I stared blankly into space. I had probably guessed it from the start when Huang Qian said he had snuck in the water bottle. But something within me refused to believe the reality that was served coldly in front of me. I wasn't ready to face it.
"It would be like-" Huang Qian hesitated. But, in the end, he finished it, "It would be like in the past."
My mind was already blank at this moment and I relied solely on reflex as I asked, "Why?"
He bit his lower lip. I stared intensely at him. I knew that gesture of his. He only did that whenever he was nervous.
"Why?!" I raised my voice despite my weaken state.
He turned away from me. "I'm sorry, Sis."
My chest was already heaving heavily at this moment. I could feel it, the rising anger within me, boiling madly like scorching lava. "Look at me," I ordered him coldly.
When I saw him refusing to move his head, the patience I had left vanished into thin air.
"Look at me!!" I shouted violently at him.
Huang Qian jolted at the sudden scream. He whipped his head to my direction almost immediately. His eyes widened in shock but more so in fear.
Unbeknownst to myself, currently the air around me had tensed and a dark chilling aura had shrouded my entire being. It felt almost pressuring like a heavy mountain sitting on both of Huang Qian's shoulders. My eyes watched menacingly as if I would murder him in any second.
"What are you sorry for?" I asked grimly.
"I-I'm," he stuttered, "I'm just..sorry..I can't help you."
I inhaled sharply to push down the anger within me. "Huang Qian," I said, "You should know by now, I'm not stupid. So, I'm going to ask for the last time. What are you sorry for?"
Like I said, I wasn't dumb. From the very beginning when Huang Qian had appeared in the parking lot, I was already suspicious of their purpose in forcing me to go home.
Logically speaking, they had no use for me anymore. Li Fei was a girl and for a father like Huang Lijie, she would only amount to an offering for his business partner. But, I was a divorcee now. I had no value so to say. In addition, for all those scenes that Li Fei had made in the public, she was basically the family's stain. It would only be logical if they wanted her away from the family.
Secondly, considering how powerful the Lu family, was Huang Lijie not worry of offending them? For a man like him, he would readily suck up to the powerful ones, so he wouldn't risk letting me come back for his consideration towards Lu family. It would not even be surprising if Huang Lijie scratched me from the family genealogy.
But presently, they were so eager to make me stayed to the point that Huang Lijie would imprison me to my room. It wasn't just simply because I angered him. In addition, how Huang Qian behaved in the living room this morning. He was so eager to jump in front of me and took a hit.
So, the thing that had been bugging me 'till now was, what was their game?
Or better yet, what was this little brother's game?