It was all a fabricated lie. The police statements he dug up – it now explained why there were three photocopies of three different versions and only one in handwriting that matched Meilei’s.
Qian’s hand shook as he looked down at his cell and checked if he had the video, saving it to his cloud for backup and simmering with unveiled anger.
She would praise him at every opportunity, whether in appearance, skills, or something mundane. Always reminding him how much she admired and cherished him, yet Kai blanked it. He never seemed to take her small compliments as anything.
“That’s a lifestyle choice,” Tian smirked, always with the clapbacks no matter the topic. Amused with his own humor sometimes.
Anna spotted the door opening and sat up in juvenile excitement for food.
The simmering veiled aggression and how tight he was clenching his jaw muscles were not a good sign given his ability to poker face most things in life. He had bubbling rage boiling up internally like he wanted to beat someone down, and Kai wondered who he needed to go tear down for riling his cousin up. Kai’s instinct was piqued at the thought of anyone messing with him.
“We’ll pick this up later. You can go.” Kai leaned in, dumping his file on top of hers, motioning with a nod for her to leave, and Anna pouted. Tian studied Qian, picking up on the same angry aura, and laid his down too. They had been going over some of the major planning for the next month, but whatever this was would be prioritized. Qian rarely made a fuss and never interrupted work for no reason.
“Why can’t I stay?” Anna petted her lip, moving into princess mode, trying for puppy eyes, and even Tian could sense Qian needed her gone.
“It’s personal and not business. It doesn’t concern you.” Qian was being unusually tetchy.
“We’ll call you when we are done.” Tian softened the vibe between them with a smooth interjection and smiled at Anna with a raised brow and gesture to go.
The three men frowned in slight guilt at upsetting her and watched her leave in a tense silence but brushed it away as soon as she stormed out and slammed the door behind her. Leaving a moment of pause.
“So you gonna tell us what’s up?” Kai broke the quiet first, and Qian’s mask slipped. His brow furrowed, and a snarl was spreading. He turned and walked off to Tian’s desk and pulled his keys to unlock the bottom drawer, swiping the file he put there and came marching back before tossing it onto the coffee table and bending to flip it open and spread out the three sheets of paper. They were copied documents of written sheets.
Tian shifted uneasily in his seat, seeing the familiar documents, and eyed Qian, wondering what he was doing. They had agreed to keep this quiet, and Tian knew Kai wasn’t ready for this yet. There wasn’t enough yet Tian knew that for Qian to barge in like this, he must have dug something up himself to sway his thinking. Qian was staunchly Team Kai, and nothing had changed over the years.
“What are these.” Kai leaned in as Qian stabbed the first sheet with his pointer finger so hard it made a dull thud on the wooden surface.
His brain was stuck on slow-mo, knowing what these were, but he was blank on why there were three versions when his family had only ever seen one.
Tian could sense that he should let Qian be and remained watching.
Qian tossed his cell phone on top of the sheet Kai moved to take and halted him in his tracks. Standing stiff and towering over him like a foreboding grim reaper here to escort him to the other side. And Kai hesitantly glanced up at him.
“Press play.” Qian could barely talk with the amount of anger that fuelled the adrenaline coursing through his veins. So beyond livid, he was struggling with words. Tian and Kai glanced at one another before Kai picked up the cell and activated the screen. Seeing a video was sat ready. He eyed Qian up again, unsure if he should just be obeying his cousin or asking him what the fuck was going on.
“What is this?” Kai was somewhat puzzled. His tone strained as impatience and irritation set in with the sight of Meilei’s police statements. His mind was still on them, urging him to read them even though his heart said not to. He didn’t want to see her admission again. Once had been enough. Some wounds never healed, and that was one of his.
Kai’s hand shook, unsure why he suddenly felt sick to his stomach, and he stared down at the cell, swallowing hard before pressing the play button. Unsure what his hesitation was. He swallowed hard, unusually tense, as cold sweats ran through him.
He laid it back on the table so Tian could see it too, and they sat silently as Qian’s recording started to play.
At first sight of San, Kai sat up straighter. His own hostility triggered
The story unfolded, and the images pressed on as Tian and Kai grew steadily stiffer. The blood pulsing in their veins became a roaring typhoon of fury, and Kai listened intently to every word. Eyes glued to the screen, unable to tear away, and the silence between the three grew louder.
Qian watched as Kai’s face paled, his brows narrowed, and he sat staring at her face in the video without blinking once. The view had been mostly of San from the back, but Meilei could be seen in all her terror and devastation. It was obvious how afraid of San she had been. Even Qian had seen it from the second he had called her name. It only added to the shameful regret of never believing this girl.
Tian exhaled with relief as the words poured from the device. The evidence he had been struggling to find. The answers Kai needed made him oddly calmer despite his concern for his friend. Ling flashed through his mind, somehow making him even more so that he could give her something worthy to show her he could be trusted. He had time to process this version for some time now, so none of this came as a shock, and yet hearing her say it, seeing the obvious distress on her face, Tian felt like utter shit.
They had all misunderstood her.
Years of watching Kai rip himself to shreds, brokenhearted and loathing the girl he had once worshipped. Tian had built up resentment toward her in the past and pictured her as some cruel, heartless monster. Not the small, delicate thing he had been faced with the first day in OTS.