BL - One Night In Pingjing 47 The Truth And Nothing But The Truth

Both Xuan Tianmei and Su Yang had resumed their old positions on the bed; with both of their backs leaning against the headrest. While Su Yang read her novel with indubitable disinterest to her surroundings, Xuan Tianmei's head was c.o.c.ked to the right, with her eyes fixated on her new lover; an unrelenting smile on her face. The smell of freshly shampooed hair whiffed to her nostrils, engaging her senses and causing a feeling of light-headedness.

Xuan Tianmei imagined she was in a dream. She knew no care nor worry. All she felt was overwhelming happiness and the need to lean her head on Su Yang's shoulder while running her hands through the latter's hair. Although she didn't have the effrontery to go through with it.

"Do you want to watch a movie together?" Xuan Tianmei asked.

"I don't watch movies."

Xuan Tianmei pouted but Su Yang didn't even spare her a glance. "I'm bored."

"Read your novel then."

"But I want us to do something together."

"Why?"

"Because we're dating now and that's what couples do. They do everything together."

"G.o.d, you're going to bother me a lot more than you did before, right?"

"Then..." Xuan Tianmei's mood had taken a downturn and the tone of her voice was a dead giveaway. "We don't have to do anything together."

"d.a.m.n it." Su Yang cursed. "Are you upset?"

"No, I'm not." Xuan Tianmei's reply was unconvincing.

"But you are, aren't you?" Su Yang persisted for the sake of certainty.

"See? I'm smiling, I'm not upset." Xuan Tianmei forced a smile.

Su Yang sighed. She didn't want to be the reason Xuan Tianmei was upset. "Fine, what movie do you want to see?"

Xuan Tianmei's smile returned in a flash. "Something romantic."

"No!"

"But..."

"No. If you want to be upset, be upset."

"Fine. Whatever." Xuan Tianmei crossed her arms under her bosom in discontent.

"I'm not watching a two-hours long movie just to see two people kiss." Su Yang said firmly.

"Whatever!" Xuan Tianmei picked up her book and flipped through it angrily.

Su Yang rolled her eyes and continued reading her thriller.

Soon, Hua Zhendan entered the room. He immediately found the atmosphere in the room strange, but couldn't figure out what was different.

"Good morning, Boss." Su Yang greeted him.

He lifted his chin at her in reply.

"Good morning," Xuan Tianmei greeted with a smile.

"Good morning. How are you today, Xuan Tianmei?"

"I'm fine. Yourself?"

"I'm great."

Hua Zhendan turned his attention to Su Yang. "What's different about you?"

"It's her hair. She let me put some products on it and comb it. It's actually very beautiful hair." Xuan Tianmei replied with a big smile plastered on her face.

"It is." Hua Zhendan nodded in agreement. Hesitantly, he asked. "Xuan Tianmei... Say... Have you heard from your brother recently?"

"Yes, I have. Why?"

"He hasn't been talking to me. He won't even pick up my call. I know he's mad at me, but if I heard from him, I wouldn't worry about him so much."

"Should I call him on my phone then?"

"Isn't he just going to get mad at you if you do that?"

"No! Not really... As long as I'm still on this hospital bed, I can do whatever I like and he won't get upset at me."

"Well, thanks. But it's enough for me to know he's fine." Hua Zhendan replied. Turning his attention to Su Yang, he asked. "You said you have a lead on the arson?"

Su Yang glanced at Xuan Tianmei skeptically. She wasn't sure Xuan Tianmei should be made aware of her discovery. Hua Zhendan immediately understood her hesitation.

"I want both of the twins to know whatever it is you have to tell me."

"Okay. The arsonist..."

Accompanied by Shen Rui, Xuan Tianyi strolled into the hospital room. Effectively derailing Su Yang.

Su Yang pointed at the duo with a broad smile on her face. "Oh! Look who's here. It's your brother and my mentor."

All three of the people previously in the room watched Xuan Tianyi and Shen Rui keenly as they walked towards them in silence.

Xuan Tianyi strode past Hua Zhendan wordlessly. He stopped only when he got to the free side of Xuan Tianmei's bed. He leaned in, kiss his sister on the forehead then ran his hand through her hair. Softly, he said. "Xuan Tianmei, Shen Rui was worried about you and wanted to see how you were doing. So, I brought her over here to see you."

Xuan Tianmei forced a polite smile at Shen Rui.

Shen Rui returned her smile. "Hopefully, you weren't hurt very badly."

"No, I wasn't. Thank you."

Hua Zhendan pulled Xuan Tianyi by his arm; away from his sister's bedside.

Xuan Tianyi yanked his hand from Hua Zhendan's. "What do you want?"

"Xuan Tianyi... Shen Rui is your buddy now?" Hua Zhendan asked in the calmest tone he could maintain.

Xuan Tianyi rolled his eyes before replying. Quite rudely, he said, "Can't I be seen with her? She's my boss. And my mother!"

Hua Zhendan shook his head at Xuan Tianyi. "I heard you were working with her on some new movie. Don't tell me that's true."

"Do I need your permission before I can act? Does it violate your stupid contract? Are you going to have me arrested again?"

"For G.o.d's sake, Xuan Tianyi." Hua Zhendan held Xuan Tianyi's hands and spoke softly. "Can you be a bit more reasonable and a lot less rude to me?"

Again, Xuan Tianyi yanked his hands from Hua Zhendan's. "No. Why don't you just leave me and my sister alone?"

"How long are you going to stay mad at me for, huh?"

"You think everything you've done isn't enough for me to be mad at you?"

"I didn't say that. Just stop trying to hurt me on purpose, will you?"

"Don't tell me what to do."

"Can you two stop fighting?" Shen Rui shouted at them from the top of her voice. Commanding immediate silence in the room.

The silence was broken only by Su Yang's applause which inexplicably drew everyone's attention to her. Su Yang spoke to Shen Rui with a smile on her face, a strange light in her eyes and admiration in her voice. "Wow! Shen Rui. You're my mentor, do you know that?"

Shen Rui gave Su Yang the once-over. "Who are you?"

"Who I am could never be important enough. What's important is that all of your plans are falling through and I find that so inspirational."

"What are you talking about, Su Yang?" Hua Zhendan pressed.

"Oh! I haven't had a chance to tell you yet. But of course, it was your mother who orchestrated the fire at the twin's apartment."

"What kind of an accusation is that?" Xuan Tianyi immediately shunned Su Yang.

"It's not an accusation. It's the truth. And I have enough evidence to back it up."

Xuan Tianyi glanced at Shen Rui whose mouth was wordlessly agape.

Xuan Tianmei sat up in her bed, obviously thrown off. "What are you saying, Su Yang?"

"I'm saying... She orchestrated the fire at your apartment."

"What's wrong with you?" Xuan Tianyi attacked Su Yang again but Su Yang said nothing to him.

Hua Zhendan held Shen Rui's hand to bring her back to reality. When she recovered, he asked in a soft voice, "Mother... Can you leave?"

Shen Rui glanced at Hua Zhendan. Then at Xuan Tianyi before turning to exit the room.

Xuan Tianyi stared at Shen Rui's retreating back, then at Hua Zhendan. "Zhendan, is this some kind of ruse to upset me?"

Hua Zhendan shook his head. "Of course not. Why would I do something like this just to upset you when I'm trying to win you back?"

Xuan Tianyi sneered, then with paced steps, walked out of the room.

"Xuan..." Hua Zhendan started calling out to him as he walked out. Realizing it was wasted effort, he stopped.

"Won't you go after him?" Su Yang who was now standing beside Hua Zhendan pointed towards the exit Xuan Tianyi had just used.

Hua Zhendan shook his head. "It's no use. He needs some time to calm down. And process everything he just heard."

"Oh! That makes sense." Su Yang nodded.

"Why did you do that?" Hua Zhendan snapped at Su Yang.

Su Yang shrugged in a carefree manner. "Firstly, for the drama. Which was satisfying, to say the least. Secondly, it was my one chance to get my mentor to notice me. Thirdly, you wanted both of the twins to know the truth. Everyone was here. I figured it was the best time to say it."

"Su Yang... You could've done it in a more subtle manner—"

"Why would Shen Rui want to hurt me?" Xuan Tianmei's soft voice interrupted Hua Zhendan. Drawing both Su Yang's and Hua Zhendan's attention to her. As she spoke, her tone was ragged; almost like she was on the verge of tears. "It doesn't make any sense."

Su Yang shook her head. "She never intended to hurt you. According to the arsonist, she had given specific instructions that no-one gets hurt. The arsonist had chosen that particular night because no-one was home. It was just really bad timing you returned home when you did."

"I don't understand any of this. What was her motive if not to hurt anyone?" Hua Zhendan asked.

"I... And my friends think her motive is the same as always. To win you over."

"How would she win me over by burning down an apartment?"

"Well, she knows that Xuan Tianyi is the most important person in your life at the moment. If he's homeless and she manages to get close to him, then she can manipulate him into living with her. If he moves in with her, you might move back in because you're trying to win over Xuan Tianyi. It's a long shot but she took the risk ."

"G.o.d. I always knew Shen Rui was a cold person. But how could she do that to them? They are her children, for G.o.d's sake." Hua Zhendan muttered in a voice filled with disgust.

"Actually... I dug a little into her history a little bit. And the twins aren't her children."