Chapter 33: Soul (3)

It is said that spouses should avoid mentioning divorce in arguments, and couples should not bring up breaking up, unless they truly intend to end things.

Tan Zhao’s expression went blank for a few seconds. "Do you want to break up?"

"…I don't." Wen Mingwei pulled his hair away from Tan Zhao’s unconsciously loosened fingers and turned his gaze away. "I was afraid you wanted to."

He actually said he was "afraid." Was he truly afraid?

Tan Zhao started the car and slammed on the accelerator, surging onto the highway. The immense inertia threw Wen Mingwei hard against his seat; he almost suspected that Tan Zhao wanted to cause a car accident and perish together with him.

The stagnant scenery outside the window began to blur as they sped by. Tan Zhao overtook cars frequently, far exceeding the speed limit for this road.

For a long time, he remained silent. The lines of his profile were taut, and his jawbone trembled slightly, suppressing some extreme emotion—much like the crust of the earth shifting before a volcanic eruption, signaling an imminent landslide.

Suddenly, Tan Zhao spoke: "Why?"

Wen Mingwei looked up at him.

"If I suggest breaking up, would that be a relief for you? You commit a misdeed, feel no responsibility, and then just want to walk away scot-free? On what grounds?"

"…I didn't want to leave."

Wen Mingwei murmured, "If I could, I wouldn't want to lie to you either."

"Actually, the day you received that anonymous package, I had a premonition that I wouldn't be able to keep hiding it for much longer."

Even if Wen Mingwei tried his best to patch up his lies, the person behind the events—Wen Mingzhe—would find ways to reveal the truth to Tan Zhao.

If the opposition between the Marshal and Wen Mingwei was a matter of necessity and standpoint, the conflict between Wen Mingzhe and him went far beyond mere positions.

Wen Mingzhe wanted nothing more than to ruin everything he had, to see him trampled upon, abandoned, and even miserable in death, just as he had been in his childhood; otherwise, his blood feud could not be settled.

"I still want to be with you, Tan Zhao," Wen Mingwei said in a low voice. "That’s why I thought perhaps it was time for us to be open and honest."

"Open and honest?"

Tan Zhao let out a mocking laugh. "So you realize it too—that I knew nothing, being played like a fool by all of you."

"..."

"I asked so many times, and you wouldn't even tell me what Jian Qingzheng’s name was. A habitual liar like you would only try to gloss over the truth with half-truths if you had to explain yourself anyway."

Wen Mingwei fell silent for a moment. "Because he is dead."

"What?"

"Jian Qingzheng died a long time ago."

It had been so long that Wen Mingwei no longer felt any obvious emotional fluctuation when mentioning it, as if he were telling someone else’s story. He said with restraint, "That’s why I knew the sender wasn't him. Wen Mingzhe wanted to use an android to impersonate him, so—"

"So you had to find a substitute," Tan Zhao realized with a start. "You had no other choice. If he were still around, how would it ever have been my turn?"

"..."

The speeding car continued to accelerate. Tan Zhao suddenly turned off the highway and drove onto a branching dirt road.

The road signs pointed to an unfamiliar location, deviating from the direction of home. The further they went, the more desolate it became; the traffic vanished, and the area was deserted.

The sunset glow faded as the red-tinted clouds were swallowed by the encroaching blackness of night. Wild grasses in the countryside drooped, and birds cried out mournfully. Under the illumination of the headlights, a river suddenly appeared, cutting off their path.

Wen Mingwei was slightly stunned, feeling an inexplicable sense of familiarity; it looked very much like the river from his memories.

—The river where he had nowhere to hide as a child, the one he treated as his secret base to lick his wounds.

Of course, it was not the same one.

But the unprovoked similarity seemed to imply some hidden connection, just as no one could explain why Tan Zhao resembled Jian Qingzheng so much.

Whether it was causality, fate, destiny, or the so-called "eternal recurrence"—the idea that "everything that happens in your life will happen again"—it pushed him forward, leading him here once more.

The car engine died by the riverside, and the lights were left off.

In the darkness, Wen Mingwei said, "Actually, I really didn't want to lie to you."

Tan Zhao watched him with cold eyes.

"Do you know why Wen Mingzhe called me a fake just now?"

"Why?"

"Because I am not 'Wen Mingwei'."

"…What?"

—Few knew that Wen Mingwei’s life was actually a complete and total fraud.

In January of the distant year 2124, Wen Mingwei was born in an orphanage on a small island.

It was said that his mother was a temporary volunteer at the orphanage, his father was unknown, and the two had him out of wedlock before disappearing. He was discarded at the orphanage as a burden.

Growing up in the orphanage, Wen Mingwei had never left that island.

He had no name, only a nickname like the other children.

The nickname was given to him by the director: "Little Question," because as a child, he rarely cried, and his face was always full of curiosity; he would ask "why" about everything he saw.

The director found him clever and endearing, showing him special favor and telling him more stories than the other children. He thought of himself as the director's son and called her "Mom."

If he could have grown up smoothly in the orphanage, he might not have become wealthy or powerful, but his life would certainly have been much easier than it was now.

The turning point came when he was eight.

One day, a team of men in black suits burst into the orphanage, looking for a child who was said to be the illegitimate son of the Wen family.

Based on the information provided, the director understood whom they were looking for. However, due to the poor medical conditions on the remote island, that boy was frail and had passed away early the previous year, so the orphanage had no one to hand over. The men were truly vicious; assuming the director was trying to haggle, they gave her some money and threatened her with guns, insisting on taking the child away no matter what.

It was only much later that Wen Mingwei learned that the team of men looking for the illegitimate son had not been sent by "Wen Mingwei’s" biological father, but by his second uncle.

Internal strife was a tradition in the Wen family. The elder Mr. Wen had two sons; the older one used his father-in-law’s influence to keep his younger brother suppressed, so the latter wanted to bring the illegitimate son home to drive a wedge between his brother and his wife.

This was merely a casual move by someone in power; it didn't matter if the goal wasn't achieved. No one cared about an insignificant illegitimate child; he was just a tool.

But Wen Mingwei’s life was turned upside down because of it. He went from "Little Question" to "Wen Mingwei," clutching a forged paternity test, and walked through the gates of the Wen family.

As they parted, the director wept and urged him repeatedly: never expose yourself, don't let them know you are fake, otherwise you will die, and we will all die.

Wen Mingwei was naive and ignorant, thinking himself a little hero in a story: "Don't worry, Mom, I will protect you all!"

...

"Back then, I had no idea what was waiting for me."

Wen Mingwei watched the dusk deepening outside the car window. "A child who didn't even know what fear was, walked through the doors of the Wen family, and on the very first day, was whipped for no reason."

"..."

"I was beaten until I was trembling and filled with bewilderment. I kept repeating to myself, 'Don't expose it,' not even daring to make a sound while crying, terrified that someone would drag me up, say I didn't look the part, and kill me."

Fortunately, no one cared what he looked like. This earth-shattering secret tortured Wen Mingwei day and night, while others were too lazy to even guess.

"Jian Qingzheng was the first person to help me... To help me get beaten less, he tried everything, practically living at the Wen house every day, volunteering to protect me."

Wen Mingwei spoke without sadness or a smile, his voice held to a flat, steady tone. "He was the only friend I had, and I couldn't help but tell him my secret."

In truth, Wen Mingwei regretted it the moment he said it.

By then, he had already learned that human nature was treacherous and not to be trusted lightly, but the pain of bearing such a heavy secret alone had almost crushed him. He couldn't eat or sleep, constantly suspicious, and he had to find someone to share the burden.

Jian Qingzheng did not betray his trust.

But as with all secrets, there comes a day when the paper can no longer contain the fire. Later, Wen Mingzhe somehow became suspicious, believing his records were problematic, and wanted to investigate him.

By that time, Wen Mingwei had already gained significant power. Together with Zheng He, who was around at the time, he had wiped out other gangs and expanded the Wen family’s territory. He had achieved merit repeatedly, his status within the family rose steadily, and he was able to stand on equal footing with Wen Mingzhe; if not for his father’s support, he would have firmly held the upper hand over the latter.

But his power was rooted in the Wen family. In other words, he had to be "Wen Mingwei," a blood descendant of the Wens; his identity could never be leaked, or he would be doomed beyond salvation.

Wen Mingwei’s anxiety reached its peak during this period.

—The last ten miles of a hundred-mile journey are the hardest. The darkness before success is the blackest; he was surrounded by murderous intent, and he could trust no one except Jian Qingzheng.

But even with Jian Qingzheng, Wen Mingwei was not entirely at ease.

In the past, he often lost his temper with Jian Qingzheng, but during that time, he restrained himself. Even during arguments, he could exercise control; beneath the peaceful facade lay suppressed suspicion. He maintained their relationship with kind words, even intentionally appeasing Jian Qingzheng, promising that once he rose to the top, he would give Jian Qingzheng many rewards so that his years of hard work would not be in vain.

Wen Mingwei’s mind was too heavy. Jian Qingzheng knew what he was worried about, and despite the bitterness, he accepted it all, repeatedly pledging his loyalty and promising to remain his most faithful "bodyguard," never to betray him.

The civil war broke out shortly thereafter.

Zheng He caught wind of the rumors from Wen Mingzhe’s side and learned that internal undercurrents were surging within the Wen family. It was the perfect time for him to discard the horse after crossing the river and eliminate the Wen family.

Therefore, under Zheng He’s intentional maneuvering, Wen Mingwei had no way to avoid it; he either had to kill his father and brother to protect himself, or have his true identity exposed, fall from the high pedestal, and be shattered into pieces.

"Jian Qingzheng died on the day of the civil war."

A trace of fluctuation finally appeared in Wen Mingwei’s voice. "Before he died, he told me not to worry—that he would take my secret to the grave with him, and from then on, no one would be able to threaten me."

He used this story to clarify the main relationships of his past, telling them to Tan Zhao, and sighed, "If I had a choice, I wouldn't want to deceive anyone. But everything I have obtained from start to finish, including you, is built upon deception."

Tan Zhao listened in silence. The initial anger was replaced by a more complex emotion. "Do you want me to pity you, or to understand you?"

"…Wen Mingwei, if I’m not mistaken, I am the one who is the victim here."

Tan Zhao’s throat tightened. He loosened his collar and glanced out the window. "You had a very difficult past, and perhaps many people caused you pain, but that does not include me."

"You and Jian Qingzheng didn't have it easy either, like a pair of tragic lovers who couldn't be together," Tan Zhao mocked. "If I don't sympathize with you and willingly serve as his replacement, would I appear cold-hearted and ungrateful?"

"That’s not what I meant."

Wen Mingwei grabbed Tan Zhao’s wrist. "I told you all this to explain what happened in the past, to let you understand me, and then decide whether you want to stay by my side."

"…On what grounds?"

"I need you." Wen Mingwei leaned toward his side, resting his forehead on Tan Zhao’s shoulder. "I want to be with you."

Tan Zhao let out a cold laugh. "You want to be with someone who looks like him."

"…Actually, you don't look that much like him."

Wen Mingwei remained bowed on Tan Zhao’s shoulder, his warm breath soaking through the fabric, scorching the skin beneath as if it could penetrate to the bone. "It is you who embraces me, you who kisses me, and you who sleeps with me. I am not that self-deceptive. You are you, Tan Zhao."