APCF – Chapter 132 Reunion

Staring at her brother’s body as it slowly lost its warmth, Tao Tao remained silent for a long time.

It wasn’t until the cold bite of handcuffs wrapped around her wrists that she finally snapped out of it, her mind drifting back to that long-ago summer.

That summer, their parents died in a car accident. None of the relatives were willing to take in both children. After some discussion, they agreed each family would chip in a few dozen yuan per month and send it to the siblings—just enough to keep them from starving.

There were quite a few Tao family relatives, so Tao Tao received over 500 yuan a month. It was enough not to starve, yes—but both she and her brother were in school, and tuition alone was a major expense. People needed clothes, didn’t they? They needed to pay for water, electricity, and gas, didn’t they? She, as a girl, could get by on a vegetarian diet, but Tao Xuan was still growing. His body shot up like a willow in spring—he needed proper nutrition.

Although Tao Xuan was very mature for his age and never asked for anything, children couldn’t really hide their feelings. Every time the smell of braised meat wafted over from the neighbors, he would instinctively clutch his nose and stomach.

Tao Tao saw it—and it hurt more than going hungry herself.

With their parents gone, Tao Xuan was her only remaining family. She believed it was her duty and responsibility to raise him well. She began sneaking out to work without telling him. Because she was underage, she couldn’t get a proper job, so she ended up working in shady places like restaurants, KTV lounges, and nightclubs.

Anyone could guess what kind of dangers a delicate, pretty young girl would face in such places. She constantly felt greasy, leering eyes trailing her every move—and those were the better customers.

If they were drunk, they would openly harass her. Some, relying on their power and influence, demanded that she drink with them, threatening to kick her out of the KTV if she refused.

In the end, she gave in—she needed that job too much. That night she came home tipsy, her bag stuffed with tips from the KTV boss. She put the money in the drawer where she kept their pocket funds and smiled brightly, genuinely: “Xiao Xuan, we can eat meat every day for a whole month now!”

And from that day on, whenever she went out to work, she always felt like a shadow was following her.

Twelve or thirteen-year-old Tao Xuan didn’t understand much—but he found his own way to protect her.

Until one day, when another customer tried to harass her again, Tao Xuan burst out and fought them fiercely. That was also the time they discovered his illness—during the hospital visit for his injuries.

Faced with the enormous medical costs, the siblings sat across from each other all night. As dawn broke, Tao Xuan told her: “Sister, I don’t want to go to the hospital. It’s cold and boring there. I’d rather use the time I have left to take care of you.”

Tao Tao didn’t respond, but secretly made up her mind—she would earn enough money to cure her brother’s illness.

Maybe heaven hadn’t abandoned them after all. Not long after, she was discovered by a talent scout, signed to a company, and entered the entertainment industry. Since artists had managers following them, Tao Xuan could no longer be her shadow bodyguard. Instead, he took on the job of doing housework and cooking after school, waiting for her to come home.

When she wrapped up work at 9 p.m., there would be a hot meal waiting for her.

When she wrapped up at 11 p.m., there would still be a hot meal waiting for her.

Even in the middle of the night—there was always a hot meal.

No matter the time, whenever she stepped into that run-down apartment complex, she could see the light shining from their window.

Someone was waiting for her to come home.

Later, as her fame rose and she became busier, she often didn’t come home at all. But she always called Tao Xuan at night to let him know she was safe—so he wouldn’t worry and lose sleep.

As the money rolled in, she finally had the means to get Tao Xuan proper treatment. After handling the hospital admission, she promised him: “As long as I have time, I will come see you.”

The exhaustion on Tao Tao’s face was plain to see. Tao Xuan nodded absentmindedly.

In the end, he had still become a burden to his sister.

Later on…

Later on, she fell in love with a man—but that man didn’t love her. She became obsessive, using every possible means to try and win him over.

In the end, she failed—and lost her own life in the process.

Then, she was reborn. She realized she had actually been the heroine of a novel all along, and that the man was meant to fall in love with her.

It was someone else who had stolen everything that should have belonged to her.

She hated that.

Fortunately, heaven granted her a second chance at life.

With the advantage of memory, she carefully laid out her plans from the very beginning, advancing step by step, calculating each move. But no matter what she did, Bo Ye still fell in love with Qi Xingchen, and didn’t even spare her a glance.

Her hatred deepened. She grew more ruthless, pouring all her energy into scheming—naturally, she began to neglect Tao Xuan.

On the first day of the lunar new year, prompted by her agent, she went to the hospital. That day, Tao Xuan asked her one question: “Sister, are you happy now?”

By then, her eyes had been clouded by hatred, her mind consumed with thoughts of destroying Qi Xingchen and reclaiming Bo Ye. She said she was happy.

Only now did she finally realize—

That across both lives, her happiest days had been the most modest ones. Just seeing her little brother’s satisfied smile could bring her joy that lasted for days.

The person she missed most wasn’t the one she couldn’t have, but the shadow that protected her in a dark alley, the pot of warm food always waiting for her, and the beam of warm light she saw after a long, exhausting day.

That was what home meant.

Now, she had personally destroyed the only one who ever protected her, and torn apart her own home with her own hands.

She knelt on the ground, held her brother’s hand like she used to at the amusement park when they were kids, smiled silently, then handed the voice recorder back to Qi Xingchen and said to the police, “I plead guilty. Take me away.”

After all, she was a public figure. When the news of Tao Tao’s arrest broke, Weibo exploded instantly:

[Holy crap, is it the Tao Tao I know? The one who acted in Heart of the Ocean? This has to be fake, right? She always seemed so gentle and harmless!]

[You can paint a tiger’s skin, but not its bones. You can know a face, but not a heart. Tch.]

[My god, is this sick woman mentally deranged? How can she sleep at night? Isn’t she afraid of ghosts coming for revenge?]

[Ugh, I feel sick. Never thought there’d be someone so vile in this world. Hope she dies a miserable death, gets torn to shreds by dogs—no wait, that would dirty the dogs’ mouths. Let her rot into sludge instead. Don’t let her harm any animals.]

[Why can’t we use torture these days? She deserves to be dismembered inch by inch, only then can the souls she wronged rest in peace.]

[Torture alone isn’t enough. I hope she’s reincarnated as a beast, never a human again, and spends eternity as a slave to the people she killed. She’s not fit to be human!!!]

…

But Qi Xingchen didn’t have time to read all the raging comments. After the police arrived last night, they went back to the station to give their statements and submitted the voice recorder and camcorder as evidence. Then they were taken to the hospital for medical checks. Fortunately, Nie Dawei’s head injury, though severe, wasn’t fatal. After emergency treatment, his vital signs were stable. Once he woke up, judgment could be passed.

Tao Xuan’s body was taken away by the police. At Qi Xingchen’s request, the handling was done with great dignity. According to the beautician who applied makeup for him, there was a smile on his face the whole time—he must have gone to heaven.

Yes. Angels belong in heaven.

After Tao Tao was arrested, it naturally fell to Qi Xingchen and Qi Jiaze to sort through her belongings. It was the first time Qi Jiaze had visited Tao Xuan’s residence—the first time he saw where Tao Xuan had grown up.

After they had cleaned up the place, Qi Jiaze said, “Brother, can you leave first? I’d like to spend some time alone with him.”

Qi Xingchen ruffled his hair and left as requested.

At the same time, due to conclusive evidence and Tao Tao’s full confession, the mysterious man who had bribed a former Qi Corporation employee on her behalf was quickly apprehended.

Seeing that the mastermind had already been brought to justice, the mysterious man soon admitted to anonymously reporting the Qi Corporation using falsified invoices and tickets. The truth behind the Qi Corporation’s tax evasion scandal was finally revealed. Financial tabloids, business news outlets, and all the shareholders who had believed “Qi Corp is finished” were left crying in frustration, watching helplessly as the company’s stock price hit the upper trading limit at lightning speed.

Qi Yunxiao, who had been detained for nearly a week, finally saw the light of day again.

The Qi family had at last weathered the storm and was reunited in peace.

That evening, to celebrate, Dad Qi opened several bottles of red wine and ordered, “No one’s allowed to refuse a drink—consider it driving out the bad luck. Xiao Bo, you drink with Dad too.”

Bo Ye didn’t dare say no. He thought to himself: when it comes to claiming a son, Qi Dad is no less intense than his own parents.

The family chatted as they ate. When the topic turned to the Liang family’s generous support, Dad Qi couldn’t help reminiscing about the hard days of building a business alongside Uncle Liang. When they mentioned Ji Yuedong and his so-called “bet-on agreement,” where he gave the money first and decided the terms later, Qi Yunxiao frowned and spat out, “Shrewd bastard.”

“Brother,” Qi Xingchen asked curiously, “Brother Ji seems like a good guy—why do you say that?”

Qi Yunxiao replied, “You’ve only dealt with him a few times—you don’t really know him. He’s the type who never takes a loss. Sure, he helped us this time, but once Qi Corp bounces back, he’ll make sure to slowly reclaim that 800 million from you and me. Just wait until the end of the year—you’ll see how he handles the Nightstar stocks.”

Qi Xingchen could hear it—though his brother complained, his tone was filled with gratitude. He gave a noncommittal “Oh.”

“Don’t doubt me. Back in school, he and Bochi Group’s Bo Qian were known as two of the ‘Three Killers.’”

The Three Killers…

Qi Xingchen tilted his head. He wasn’t even drunk. “But aren’t there supposed to be three people in the Three Killers? Who was the last one?”

Qi Yunxiao was silent for a moment, then said with a straight face, “Me.”

Qi Xingchen: “……”

“Hahahahahahaha!”

When they talked about Tao Xuan, everyone’s eyes turned red. Dad Qi raised his glass and said, “He was a good kid. Let’s raise a glass to the good kid.”

Everyone downed their drinks in one go, and silently sent their blessings to him in their hearts.

“Oh, right,” Qi Yunxiao suddenly remembered something. “Xingxing, before all this happened, you said you’d grown up because something unexpected happened. What exactly was that?”

Qi Xingchen froze for a second.

If his brother hadn’t brought it up, he would’ve forgotten all about it.

Back then, he didn’t expect the Qi family would face such a huge crisis. He’d been planning to wait for the right moment to tell them he was a transmigrator.

Looking back now, with everything settled, it was probably the best time to come clean. But Qi Xingchen simply smiled and said, “You still remember that, huh… What I meant was, while filming in the mountains, I had a little accident—almost slipped off a cliff. It made me suddenly realize how precious life is. I didn’t want to keep drifting through life, so I started learning how to grow up and be a better person.”

The Qi family always trusted what Qi Xingchen said. They immediately flew into righteous outrage about the crew’s poor safety measures and launched into their usual campaign to get him to retire from acting. They said filming was too dangerous and exhausting—why not just come home and inherit the family business? After all, he already owned a company. He could live freely and be a cool boss.

Qi Xingchen didn’t say yes or no to their advice.

Maybe… his first movie would also be his last.