BPDSB Chapter 18: “Continue.”

After returning to the villa, Qin Li didn’t rest. Instead, he immediately began reviewing the materials sent by his subordinates.

He and his people had stayed at the banquet for quite some time. Given how closely Qin Zhangyuan monitored and controlled him, he should have already received word and taken countermeasures by now.

Sure enough, the people Qin Li had planted in the old mansion reported back. His dear uncle, upon suddenly hearing that he had appeared at the charity banquet on behalf of the Qin family, alive and well, was so enraged that he smashed half the porcelain and glassware in the room. The other half remained intact only because he also heard that Qin Li had looked pale and unsteady on his feet, accompanied by a doctor, appearing as if he were on the verge of death. That sight gave him some slight relief and helped him regain a bit of rationality.

Qin Li let out a cold, mocking laugh.

And that was enough to rattle him?

It seemed his dear uncle didn’t have much mental fortitude after all.

The main reason Qin Zhangyuan was so furious wasn’t just because Qin Li had appeared before him. More importantly, it was because he had represented the Qin Corporation.

Ever since Qin Li fell ill and was forced to retreat to the villa, losing his authority over the public affairs of the Qin Corporation and allowing the other party to seize control, Qin Zhangyuan had become particularly sensitive about anyone mentioning Qin Li within the company. After all, Qin Li was the rightful heir of the Qin family. As long as he remained alive, even if Qin Zhangyuan controlled the company, he was at most a temporary steward, not a legitimate representative of the Qin Corporation. For someone like Qin Zhangyuan, who was fixated on power and influence, this was intolerable. It only deepened his hatred for Qin Li, to the point where he wished him dead.

Qin Li figured that his dear uncle had probably already taken action by now.

And it was no doubt one of those underhanded, disgraceful tricks that had long since been overused.

Sure enough, not long after, one of his subordinates informed him that footage of his appearance at the banquet that evening, including his interview with reporters, had already made it onto Weibo’s trending list. The headline was particularly provocative: “Qin Heir Makes First Appearance in Months, Denies Illness Rumors but Insider Claims Say Otherwise.”

Alongside it were several trending topics aimed at smearing him, directly accusing him of having a mental illness. Even some of his private matters had been dug up and exposed—it was obvious who was behind it.

Gossip about wealthy families always attracted natural attention, and with the help of hired internet trolls and clueless onlookers fueling the fire, the topic quickly climbed the charts.

Expressionless, Qin Li scrolled through the chaotic comments:

【Such a handsome face, what a shame he’s got something wrong in the head】

【Hey, that’s too much. No one even knows if the gossip accounts are telling the truth, and you just jump to calling someone mentally ill? Have some decency. Even if President Qin really does have a mental illness, you can’t say it like that. There are so many people in the world with mental health issues—where’s the basic respect?】

【How is it not true? If he wasn’t guilty, why would he go out with a doctor in tow? He’s clearly afraid of collapsing at any moment… People from these elite families, they value their lives more than anything】

【By the way, it’s been so long—has no one dug up who that doctor beside President Qin is? With a face like that, I’d gladly visit the hospital every day!】

【Qin Li has always had mental issues. Didn’t you read that exposé? It said he’s been strange since childhood. Because of him, his father died instantly in a car crash. It was tragic—a major traffic accident over twenty years ago. Even if the Qin family tried to cover it up, there should still be some traces. And his mother—she was driven insane by him. Her death was painful… Tsk, I’ll stop here. If you’re curious, go look it up yourself.】

【Don’t stop halfway—keep going. What happened to Qin Li’s mom?】

【This is terrifying. With all that, how is he still walking around outside? Shouldn’t he be in a psychiatric hospital?】

…

Even though Qin Li had expected it, he had still underestimated just how vile Qin Zhangyuan could be.

He stared fixedly at that particular comment, his eyes locked on words like “parents,” “car accident,” and “driven insane.” The longer he looked, the worse the pain in his head became. It felt as though those words were warping into a vortex, pulling at his gaze, threatening to devour him whole. His eyes reddened, and his breathing grew heavier and more ragged.

How dare Qin Zhangyuan!!

With a loud bang, his phone was hurled against the study wall, shattering into pieces.

But even as the screen cracked and the device broke apart, that twisted vortex didn’t disappear. It only grew larger and more distorted, seeming as if it wanted to swallow everything in its path.

Qin Li’s head throbbed with searing pain. Propping himself up on the desk, he stared fixedly at the shattered phone lying by the wall, his chest heaving violently.

The sharp crack of the phone hitting the wall hadn’t faded—it kept echoing in his ears, warping and stretching into a series of maddening hums. The noise gradually morphed into a voice—gentle, fragmented, like a soft murmur wrapped in laughter—a woman’s voice calling “Lili” tenderly.

Qin Li’s eyes were beginning to glaze over. At the sound, he instinctively whispered, “Mom.”

But the moment he spoke, that warm, gentle voice suddenly turned hysterical, growing sharper and sharper until it erupted into a shrill scream:

“Qin Li!”

“Why won’t you listen? Why did you have to go out!”

“This is all your fault, all of it! Why wasn’t it you who died?! Die! Just die!”

As those words rang out, it felt as though a pair of hands had wrapped around his neck. The hands were small and pale, but covered in countless scars from the backs down to the wrists and arms. The scars split open in her frenzy, fresh blood dripping from them, like a ghost from the depths of a nightmare.

Qin Li’s eyes instantly turned bloodshot. He clenched his teeth hard, cold sweat already sliding down his forehead.

He gasped like a fish out of water, his heavy breathing making his temples throb violently.

And slowly—he was being dragged into the darkness by those hands…

“Mister? Sir!”

Hearing the loud crash from the study, Uncle Zhong rushed over. The moment he arrived, he saw Qin Li in a disheveled state, barely supporting himself, one hand clutching his head with eyes shut, his condition unknown. Uncle Zhong was instantly frightened pale, his heart in chaos. While helping to steady Qin Li, he shakily pulled out his phone to make a call.

Meanwhile, Xu Xiliu had just finished a hot pot dinner and was enjoying a refreshing shower.

“Dr. Xu, come to the villa quickly! The sir’s condition is acting up again!”

The moment the call connected, those words hit like a hammer. Xu Xiliu, halfway into bed in his pajamas, froze on the spot, feeling a surreal sense of dreaming.

“…What?”

The butler was frantic, but forced himself to explain, speaking at a rapid pace: “The sir came home tonight and seemed fine at first. He was alone in the study for a while, then suddenly there was a loud crash from inside. When I rushed over, I found him unresponsive, and calling out to him didn’t help…”

Xu Xiliu immediately realized the protagonist gong was having another episode.

But wasn’t he perfectly fine earlier today?

He lamented the loss of his early night, yet still answered the call while quickly changing out of his pajamas, throwing on some casual clothes. He gathered his things, grabbed his car keys, and headed for the door.

He reassured calmly, “Don’t panic. It’ll take me at least half an hour to get there. Tell me about Mr. Qin’s current condition—is it serious? Has he become violent like last time?”

Uncle Zhong replied, “No violence. He just looks like he’s in a lot of pain, holding his head as if it hurts. He’s muttering something, but I can’t make out what…”

Xu Xiliu had a rough idea—this wasn’t too serious yet. “Alright. In the meantime, try to keep him calm and away from anything that might trigger him.”

He wasn’t a professional psychiatrist, so he could only make judgments based on general knowledge. The protagonist gong usually behaved normally and wouldn’t have an episode without cause, so he figured something must have triggered him.

Since he hadn’t arrived yet, he could only hope the butler would manage to identify the source of the trigger and keep it away, helping to calm the man’s emotions.

Half an hour later.

Xu Xiliu arrived in a rush at the third-floor study, carrying his medical kit and his usual bag. As soon as he entered, he saw the shattered phone by the wall not far away, its fragments scattered everywhere, and the man slumped by the desk, his gaze dazed and unfocused.

The man sat on the floor, clutching his head tightly. His face had gone pale again from the pain, and the healthy color he’d just regained seemed to have vanished overnight—it was heart-wrenching to witness. His breathing was irregular, his chest rising and falling erratically. Soon, his hand moved to his collar, gripping it tightly. He didn’t look like he was suffocating from lack of air, but rather like something was strangling him and he was struggling with all his might to resist…

Xu Xiliu glanced toward the fragments of the phone nearby. His instincts told him the phone had something to do with the man’s condition.

But the priority now was to soothe the man’s emotions—only then could he proceed with further treatment, like getting him to take medication or checking for physical injuries.

Fortunately, unlike the night he had first entered the book, Qin Li wasn’t showing violent tendencies this time. He wasn’t lashing out at others or himself, and there was no need for a sedative.

Compared to that, the Qin Li before him now seemed to be caught in a hallucination of his own making.

Xu Xiliu let out a small sigh of relief, stepped forward in large strides, and asked the butler, “Has Mr. Qin taken his medication tonight?”

“Not yet—it’s not time for it,” Uncle Zhong answered quickly, his eyes full of worry as he looked at Qin Li.

Xu Xiliu gave a small nod, then explained to the butler that there was no need for a sedative this time. The man’s condition wasn’t that severe—he just needed to calm down, come out of the hallucination on his own, take some medication to stabilize his emotions and relieve the pain, and get a good night’s sleep.

He was just about to tell the butler to go over and comfort their master when he turned his head—only to be met with a gaze full of hope directed straight at him.

Xu Xiliu: “…”

…No way, it couldn’t be what he was thinking, right?

“Then I’ll leave it to you, Dr. Xu!” Uncle Zhong said delightedly, his eyes seemingly sparkling. For a moment, Xu Xiliu even suspected he saw stars in them. “I’ll go get water and Mr. Qin’s medicine!”

“Wait, no, hold on—”

Xu Xiliu reached out in protest, almost in desperation.

But all he saw was the butler’s figure briskly walking away.

He was left speechless.

What kind of situation was this? They called him over, but he wasn’t a therapist. He’d never done this kind of thing before! Wasn’t this usually something the patient’s family was supposed to handle…?

Frustrated, Xu Xiliu turned toward the man, who had, at some point, raised his head to gaze in his direction with a dazed expression. The sight made Xu Xiliu’s head ache.

Yet despite all his internal protests, he still walked over.

With a heavy heart, he crouched down in front of Qin Li.

He squatted there for quite a while, not knowing what to say, just staring at the man in an awkward face-off. After a long moment, he finally reached out a hand and waved it gently in front of the man, testing the waters: “…Mr. Qin, do you still remember who I am?”

Silence.

Xu Xiliu looked into the man’s bloodshot, increasingly menacing black eyes.

Although those eyes seemed a bit unfocused at the moment, the sense of pressure they gave off was still intense. In fact, the lack of clarity only allowed the hostility within them to leak out unchecked. At a glance, he looked like a beast lurking in the jungle.

Instinctively, Xu Xiliu leaned back a little—only to freeze again under the man’s unwavering stare. With a sigh, he gave up resisting.

Forget it. He’d just wait. Judging by Qin Li’s current state, aside from being a little dazed, he seemed pretty docile.

He’d just wait for the butler to bring the medicine.

So Xu Xiliu looked around, pulled over a chair, and sat down.

For some reason, ever since he entered the room, the man’s gaze had been following him nonstop. There was no way to describe the feeling—it was that slightly blank, fixed stare that made Xu Xiliu’s back tingle.

To distract himself, Xu Xiliu decided to check his phone.

He rummaged through his bag, but instead of finding his phone, he pulled out a strange, round disk-like object.

Xu Xiliu: “??”

What the heck is this?

He looked more closely and realized it was a dog frisbee—a small one, the kind given out at supermarket promotions. He must have stuffed it into his bag on a whim and forgotten about it. When he got the butler’s urgent call, he rushed over without checking what he’d packed, and by sheer coincidence, he’d brought the thing with him.

Xu Xiliu toyed with it for a bit but quickly lost interest and was about to stuff it back into his bag.

But just before putting it away, he caught an idle glimpse and noticed something strange—the man’s gaze had, at some point, shifted away from him and was now fixed… on the frisbee in his hand?

Interested in this?

Xu Xiliu raised an eyebrow.

He looked at the object in his hand, then back at the man cloaked in a suffocatingly dark and violent aura. For some reason, something short-circuited in Xu Xiliu’s brain. With a flick of his wrist, he tossed the frisbee.

He hadn’t used much strength, so the frisbee only traveled a short distance before flopping weakly to the ground.

Staring at the frisbee lying on the floor, Xu Xiliu slapped his forehead. Reality hit him—he had to be insane.

Why on earth did he throw that thing?

Was this some weird human instinct—like an itch to throw things when holding them?

Quickly, he stood up, planning to retrieve the frisbee and destroy the evidence so no one would know he’d done something so idiotic.

But someone beat him to it.

Qin Li, who had been sitting quietly in place without making a sound, picked up the frisbee lying nearby and handed it to Xu Xiliu, his pitch-black eyes fixed intently on him.

“Continue,” he said.

Xu Xiliu: ??

T/N: Hahaha, Qin Li, I pray you never remember this scene