Silent Era - Chapter 19

Chapter 19

After this incident, Bai Sihuan locked himself in his room and didn’t come out for the entire day.

Lin Siying sent the servants to knock on the door to see what was going on, but he wouldn’t open it or answer. Finally, after Lin Heng knocked for a long time, he reluctantly opened the door.

“Why are you hiding in your room, refusing to eat or drink?” Lin Heng walked into his room and pushed the door shut.

“How dare you ask me?” Bai Sihuan glared at him. His voice was hoarse, his eyes looked red, and he walked with a slight limp. To the uninitiated, one might have thought he’d been beaten again.

Lin Heng showed no remorse and smiled, “It’s not my fault. It was my brother who said he liked me.”

Bai Sihuan was furious: “You’re so shameless!”

He was always gentle and had never lost his temper so violently with anyone. Seeing his angry, agitated expression was actually quite novel to Lin Heng.

His mood brightened, and he even apologized proactively: “Okay, it’s my fault. I won’t be so impulsive next time. Isn’t it enough for me to apologize?”

Bai Sihuan was flattered, but seeing that Lin Heng’s face was only slightly smiling, as if he had no intention of sincerely apologizing, his initial desire to forgive him temporarily faded.

Lin Heng slowly walked over to him, put his arm around his shoulders, and suddenly his tone turned cold and deep: “But I want to tell you that from now on, no one but me can touch you like this.”

With the last few words, Lin Heng squeezed Bai Sihuan’s shoulder hard, causing it to ache.

Lin Xianyan returned once more.

That afternoon, he quietly took his key and entered the house.

Lin Heng was once again dragged by Lin Siying to buy peanuts, leaving Bai Sihuan alone at home.

Having learned his lesson from the previous time, Bai Sihuan was more cautious this time when hosting Lin Xianyan.

Lin Xianyan’s appearance had changed significantly, his hair cut short and his clothes casually dressed, giving him a bit of a wandering artist vibe.

Upon returning to the Lin residence, the first person he saw was Bai Sihuan, and Lin Xianyan was relieved. She had come back with a purpose: “I went to see my eldest sister once to get her room key, but she said she accidentally dropped it at the Lins’ house, so I came to you.”

Bai Sihuan remembered the key ring his eldest sister had dropped in the cellar that day. He had intended to return it, but he hadn’t encountered Liu Sheng, and the key ring was never returned to Lin Musheng.

Bai Sihuan took Lin Xianyan back to his room and retrieved the key ring. As he was about to hand it to Lin Xianyan, he suddenly remembered the cellar incident and paused, clutching the key tightly in his palm, not giving it to him.

Lin Xianyan happened to be there the day the Lin family sent money to Lin Musheng to get the painting back, so she had a rough idea of ​​what had happened. Noticing Bai Sihuan’s worry, she sighed and advised, “Don’t worry, I’m different from my eldest sister. There are some things I won’t do, and even if I do, I won’t implicate others. Even if I do, I won’t implicate you.”

Bai Sihuan still trusted Lin Xianyan. After two minutes of hesitation, he finally handed her the key.

Concerned, Bai Sihuan followed Lin Xianyan to his eldest sister’s room. It was on the third floor, in the far corner overlooking the balcony.

Since Lin Musheng moved out of the Lin family, this room had been unused.

Lin Xianyan opened the door, and a thick smell of dust filled his nostrils.

The room looked like a girl’s room from a bygone era. The walls were covered with yellowed posters of Jimmy Lin, Vivian Chow, David Tao, and Beyond, some even with music notation scrawled in colored ballpoint pen.

Lin Xianyan seemed to be searching for something, searching everywhere but finding nothing. Finally, she found a diary.

She opened it, and Bai Sihuan, standing beside her, began reading along.

Lin Musheng’s diary, for the first few years, consisted of girlish memoirs, with the occasional page of lyrics tucked in. Like most girls of that era, nothing special.

But suddenly, starting one day eighteen years ago, she began writing constantly, “I’m in pain,” “What should I do?” Then, for about a dozen pages, she filled them with such painful phrases, without specifying what had happened. Several pages had been torn from the middle of the diary, and the last page read, “Should I give it to my mother? Is she reliable? But if I don’t give it to her, what can I do? But I can’t bear to give it to her…”

Lin Xianyan closed the diary and put it back in the drawer. Then, she discovered a Beyond album there.

She took out the album and opened the disc case. After removing the disc, she found a piece of paper folded two or three times underneath. Lin Xianyan’s eyes lit up, as if he had finally found what he was looking for. He immediately pulled out the list.

It was a hospital list. Lin Xianyan’s excitement grew as he read, while Bai Sihuan’s face paled instantly.

Just a few words on the list had a profound impact on Bai Sihuan’s mind.

Instantly, a myriad of images flashed through his mind. He remembered the laughter-filled conversation when Mr. Zhu had come to eat here; he remembered the smiles that slowly faltered when Cheng Sutang mentioned Lin Heng on the way to Deer Park; he remembered the words Liu Sheng had said when he hit Lin Musheng.

So many things that had previously seemed awkward and strange to him were now explained.

Bai Sihuan silently muttered to himself, “Impossible! This is impossible. It’s simply impossible!”

Lin Xianyan clutched the list in his hand, tightening his grip on this bargaining chip for revenge, and burst into laughter, his laughter growing more and more frantic.

She truly looked like a desperate, mad woman, determined to destroy everything. Bai Sihuan had only seen this kind of madness in Lin Musheng before.

She laughed until tears suddenly welled up in her eyes, and with a strange expression, she said to Bai Sihuan, “Sihuan, if I ever let my family down, it will be because I have no other choice. Don’t hate me, please don’t hate me!”

Bai Sihuan took a long time to accept the truth he had witnessed. He felt no fear at Lin Xianyan’s strange expression and laughter, only regret and heartache. He calmed himself down and whispered, “Yan, I don’t hate you. I just hope you won’t be impulsive. That will only hurt you…”

“Don’t be impulsive?” Lin Xianyan pondered for a moment, then said, “Okay, I’ll listen to you. I won’t be impulsive. It’s not the right time yet. I’ll wait until that b1tch is at her most triumphant, then I’ll come and slap her hypocritical and disgusting face!”

With these words, Lin Xianyan took the hospital bill and left.

The day after Lin Xianyan left, Cheng Sutang and Lin Huan gathered everyone in the main living room again.

Bai Sihuan cursed inwardly, “Oh no!” again, thinking they’d discovered Lin Xianyan had taken the hospital slip.

He entered the living room and saw Lin Heng standing nearby. He wanted to ask what happened, but his face was pale, his lips tightly pursed, and his eyes dull, as if he’d lost his soul. No matter how he called, he seemed oblivious.

Bai Sihuan was even more certain that it was about the hospital slip, and his heart was pounding.

Old Pei stepped forward and announced to the group, “Several items are missing from the cellar. The red coral Buddha statue that was meant for Mrs. Chen is also missing. Karen’s body is also inside. Whoever did this, come forward.”

Bai Sihuan was startled and looked at Lin Heng again. This time, he finally understood why Lin Heng had such an expression.

Someone had broken into the cellar to steal something, and Karen had probably tried to stop them, ruining the thief’s plan, and so she was beaten to death.

It went without saying that the thief must be a family member.

Ukiyo-e paintings might not be considered valuable to the Lin family, but this red coral Bodhisattva statue was different. It was nominally intended for Mrs. Chen, but in reality, it was a gift to her to smooth things over.

If a painting is lost, another can easily be found to replace it. But this Bodhisattva statue, crafted from thousand-year-old red coral and taking the better part of six months to create, is far from easy to find.

This time, Cheng Sutang was completely furious. She was determined to find the thief and get the statue back, no matter what.

Since the previous incident was closely linked to Bai Sihuan, everyone naturally targeted him as the prime suspect this time.

They asked Bai Sihuan where he was and what he was doing yesterday afternoon. Did Lin Musheng come back?

Besides saying, “Big Sister didn’t come,” Bai Sihuan couldn’t say anything. Yesterday afternoon, he and Lin Xianyan were in Big Sister’s room, and he had discovered the Lin family’s great secret.

This secret was far more shocking than the theft of a Bodhisattva statue. Choosing between the two, he preferred suspicion to revealing his alibi. He couldn’t lie, so he chose silence.

Lin Heng’s face was completely pale. Bai Sihuan knew what Karen meant to him: she was his most cherished child, his beloved dog, his family.

No matter what happened this time, Lin Heng would remain silent. He wanted to find Karen’s murderer more than anyone else.

Bai Sihuan was interrogated repeatedly, and the servants were interrogated. Finally, Aunt Liu came down from upstairs, clutching a red Bodhisattva statue, and exclaimed, “We found it! We found it!”

Old Pei asked, “We found everything?”

Aunt Liu said, “We didn’t find anything else, but we did find the statue! It’s… in Young Master Sihuan’s room. There’s bl00d on it…”

Bai Sihuan was stunned, staring at the kind-looking statue taken from his own room. All words vanished in his mind. He once again chose silence, but once again, he made the wrong choice.

At this moment, Bai Yuancheng, huddled in the corner, suddenly jumped out. “Brother, don’t hide it. Admit it! Even though you’ve been threatening me not to tell, I can’t bear it this time. I must tell the truth!” This time, without waiting for Cheng Sutang to question him, Bai Yuancheng spoke without hesitation. “Yesterday afternoon, you went to the cellar to steal something, and that dog tried to stop you. You took the Buddha statue… hit it with the Buddha statue! If one hit wasn’t enough, hit it twice. If two hits weren’t enough, hit it three times. Keep hitting it until it can’t move!”

Bai Sihuan stared into Bai Yuancheng’s eyes, the color gradually draining from his face.

Bai Yuancheng avoided his gaze, lowered his head, sighed, and admitted his fault. “Actually, I was at fault, too. I wanted to stop my brother, but I saw him beating the dog so hard, leaving it bloody and mangled… I was so scared… I actually backed off! Ugh!”

Bai Sihuan wasn’t stupid. Just from listening to Bai Yuancheng’s description, he knew what had happened.

If Bai Yuancheng hadn’t been there, if he hadn’t done it himself, how could he have known so much? He might have sold the other valuables long ago. Perhaps he didn’t dare to sell the Bodhisattva statue, or perhaps he couldn’t sell it, or perhaps he had placed it in his brother’s room to frame him.

Well, now that the truth is out, this brother should take the blame for his younger brother.

Bai Sihuan could have spoken out, argued with Bai Yuancheng, and let the Lin family investigate.

But he chose not to.

Who in the Lin family would listen to him? Hadn’t he been ridiculed enough?

Having such a corrupt brother, being framed by such a brother, and arguing with this brother on Lin family territory—how embarrassing that must be.

Cheng Sutang wasn’t angry this time. She sneered and said to Lin Huan, “You see it clearly, don’t you? Do you still want to protect your son? I still remember clearly what you said to me back then, and you probably haven’t forgotten it either. I hope you can keep your promise.”

Lin Huan sighed deeply and slowly closed his eyes.

Cheng Sutang and Lin Huan had no intention of investigating the truth. The Bodhisattva statue had been found, and they didn’t care about the lost items or the dead dog.

They seemed to be certain of only one thing: Bai Sihuan was not suitable to stay in the Lin family, and the Lin family was not suitable for Bai Sihuan. Whether he had truly made a mistake or was betrayed and framed by his own brother, it was because of his presence in the Lin family that so many problems continued to arise.

No one said anything, and Lin Siying fell silent too.

Cheng Sutang raised his chin slightly, looking at Bai Sihuan with the look of a triumphant winner. “Bai Sihuan, we won’t pursue the other lost items or the matter of Karen. Now, please leave the Lin family immediately and never set foot there again.”

The outcome was as expected, but Bai Sihuan froze, not moving immediately. He seemed to be waiting for something.

Lin Huan opened his eyes, as if feeling he should say something, and gritted his teeth as he said, “Sihuan, go back to your mother.”

After a moment of hesitation, Bai Sihuan slowly turned around. He shifted his gaze to Lin Heng and called softly, “Lin Heng…”

Nothing else mattered, not even the misunderstandings. He just wanted Lin Heng to know that he hadn’t killed Karen.

However, upon hearing this call, Lin Heng ignored it. He turned, his steps light and slow, and slowly ascended the stairs, not even sparing him a glance.