Moth Chasing the Sun 9

The compartment fell into a long silence.

Yan Xianchuan was right—he had been courting death. Before, his life had no goal, no meaning. He drifted through it aimlessly, not knowing what he wanted to do.

Then he met Gu Shuang. She was like a beam of light illuminating the dark, weed-choked recesses of Tan Yiyuan's heart, pushing aside the poisonous mushrooms. A flame, not dazzling but enduring, slowly let him savor life's many beauties.

With Gu Shuang, to take care of her, Tan Yiyuan began to strive, to work hard. He took on more jobs, actively built his reputation, and earned plenty of money.

They moved into a new house, no longer cramped in a shabby rental.

Gu Shuang had been pampered before and had never done much housework, but she didn't just sit back and enjoy. She started learning from scratch.

The first time she fried an egg, it was burnt to a crisp, but Tan Yiyuan ate it all anyway, praising it as delicious and fragrant. Slowly, her cooking improved, and she no longer accidentally cut her fingers while chopping vegetables.

She began tidying the house and even learned knitting, crafting a cushion for the sofa. It took her half a year to finish. By the time it was done, winter had arrived, and she was pregnant.

The two didn't register their marriage—changing identities required a lot of money, and Gu Shuang's status was sensitive. She said she didn't mind; a legal label didn't matter. The bond between two people couldn't be reduced to a simple "married" stamp.

Better to save that money for the child in her belly.

The next autumn, their child was born—a skinny little thing, like a red little monkey, so ugly, the new father who made that comment got a smack.

Tan Xiaoxiao was adorable and well-behaved. Maybe she knew her family wasn't well-off; she never fussed and was remarkably sensible from a young age.

With a child, expenses grew. Tan Yiyuan couldn't bear to let his wife and daughter suffer, so he bought the most expensive daily necessities. Gu Shuang scolded him for wasting money and bought him a new jacket to replace the worn-out, peeling one. Tan Yiyuan happily stored the new clothes in the closet, reluctant to wear them, and instead bought new dresses for the two of them.

Later, he left the Black Claw Gang, shattering their peaceful life. The three of them fled their cozy little home they had built together, starting a life of hiding.

Then, a benefactor helped him wipe out the Black Claw Gang. He thought they could finally live a smooth life again. Who would have thought...

Tan Yiyuan closed his eyes, not wanting to relive what happened afterward.

Even so, his wife and daughter's cold, blood-drained bodies, their tangled, bloodstained hair, kept flashing in his mind.

He didn't understand. Why was it so hard for a person to simply live a decent life?

What had he done wrong? Who had he inconvenienced? Was this fate—capricious, mocking fools?

His whole life, he had never done anything against his conscience. He firmly believed in good karma and bad karma. And this was his reward—a life like a stray dog.

A drop of murky tear seeped into his grimy sideburns.

The car drove all the way to Yunmengtai, the entire building a property of the Yan Family.

Yan Xianchuan led Tan Yiyuan to the first floor and casually pushed open a door. "Rest here for now."

Tan Yiyuan walked in without a word.

"I hope you'll think this over calmly," Yan Xianchuan said. "If you truly want revenge, then act like it—don't fool yourself."

With that, she turned and left, hearing a barely audible "thank you" behind her.

Her steps didn't pause. She took the elevator to the top floor.

Lu Mingqiu was waiting for her in the living room.

"I ran into someone I know," Yan Xianchuan told her, recounting Tan Yiyuan's story.

"A pitiful man," Lu Mingqiu said.

"Should we help him?" Yan Xianchuan asked. "Like, recruit him into the organization?"

"We can help," the other shook her head, "but he's not who the organization wants. Our target is the true rulers of this society—the conglomerates. He's not one of them."

"He doesn't have the heart of a rebel; he has the heart of revenge. Those are fundamentally different."

Her tone shifted. "But I'm glad you took the initiative to bring him back and offered to help."

"What's there to it," Yan Xianchuan feigned indifference. "I'm an adult now; I should take responsibility for helping the weak."

Lu Mingqiu brought over a strawberry mille-feuille and led her to the sofa. "Here. Did the communication with Qian Hu go well?"

"I don't like him," Yan Xianchuan said, forking a piece of cake into her mouth. "He's self-centered, selfish, and hypocritical."

"The word 'respect' isn't in his dictionary."

The bona fide psychopath complained sincerely, "Honestly, I feel like I'm more emotional than them most of the time."

A cute remark. Lu Mingqiu's eyes and lips curved simultaneously. "You certainly are emotional."

"It's not that they lack it entirely, but their hearts are full of desire, their eyes only on power. Ambition can turn people into demons, stripping away their humanity."

"They're just beasts in human skin," she said coolly. "Don't compare yourself to them. They're not worthy."

So that's how highly you think of me?

Yan Xianchuan briefly considered asking, but the words died in her throat—she felt timid. How strange, that she could feel timid.

But indeed, she was a little hopeful, and a little afraid—afraid her expectations were too high, and the answer wouldn't meet them.

Maybe it was better this way.

To judge a person, you don't listen to what they say, but watch what they do.

That was a lesson her mother had taught her.

So perhaps it was better not to ask.

Yet before sleep, she kept mulling over that sentence, over and over, unable to stop.

The next morning, Yan Xianchuan called Tan Yiyuan upstairs for breakfast.

Lately, he couldn't remember if he'd eaten a single proper meal.

Hunger had become so prolonged it was a norm; he'd even grown accustomed to the cramping in his stomach.

After all, physical pain—how intense could it be? It was nothing compared to even a fraction of the heartache.

Breakfast was light, per Lu Mingqiu's special instruction.

Tan Yiyuan looked much cleaner—he'd bathed, shaved off his hair, and the generic clothes hung loose on him. Though his physical state was still poor, his spirit had improved considerably.

The most obvious change was that he no longer harbored thoughts of death.

After the meal, he said, "I've thought it over. You were right. Even if I die, I shouldn't go out so dejectedly."

"I can help you," Yan Xianchuan said.

But Tan Yiyuan refused. "You're a member of the Yan family. I can't put you in a difficult position."

Negotiating business with the Black Tiger Gang while simultaneously stirring up trouble and making enemies—wasn't that just putting his benefactor over a fire?

He wasn't an ungrateful man.

"If you must help me," Tan Yiyuan said, "then give me some weapons."

Qian Hu had taken all his gear, and he had no money to buy new ones. And even if he had money, with a word from Qian Hu, no one would sell to him.

Whether the Yan Family or the Resistance, weapons were the one thing they never lacked.

Yan Xianchuan led him to the cloakroom, where an entire wall displayed various guns, daggers, laser weapons, and small bombs.

Tan Yiyuan only took a handgun and a few grenades.

"Take more," Yan Xianchuan said, pulling a large leather pouch from a drawer and starting to fill it.

Tan Yiyuan was almost stunned; he quickly pressed down on the pouch's opening. "No, no, I can't use that many."

Lu Mingqiu walked over with a resigned look, pulling Yan Xianchuan aside. "You're giving him so much—it's heavy. Can he even carry it?"

Besides, he was alone. Don't flaunt your wealth.

She helped pick out two handguns with ammo, grabbed a few lipstick tasers, micro electromagnetic bombs, and so on—all easy to carry.

Yan Xianchuan also transferred a sum of money into his account.

Tan Yiyuan wanted to refuse. If he'd wanted money, he would have said so, but he didn't. He wanted to earn it himself, to save up for travel expenses.

"Why make it so complicated?" Yan Xianchuan said, but since he insisted, she changed her approach. "This money isn't for you. It's for Gu Shuang and Xiaoxiao."

Tan Yiyuan fell silent and accepted it in quiet.

"I'm leaving," he said.

A person whose mind is made up can't be persuaded otherwise. Yan Xianchuan respected his decision.

He took two steps, then stopped and turned around. "They're buried in Songhe Cemetery. If I don't make it back..."

"I'll send flowers for you," Yan Xianchuan said.

"Thank you," he said. "Thank you."

The chill morning fog hadn't fully dispersed; it clung around this middle-aged man whose family was gone, while the morning sun had already leapt above the high-rises, casting pale golden light onto his shoulders.

"I feel..." Yan Xianchuan hesitated, speaking slowly, "...regret?"

"Is this regret?" Unsure of the unfamiliar melancholy rising in her chest, she looked to the person beside her for confirmation.

"Yes," Lu Mingqiu said, also standing by the window, watching his retreating figure. "A truly good man shouldn't come to such an end."

"Isn't this society's fault?" she countered. "An ordinary family, murdered by another gang of thugs for no reason, and afterwards, no judicial body comes to seek justice for them. The victims have to fight for themselves."

"Isn't that absurd, laughable?" Lu Mingqiu said coldly. "Our law is just a scrap of paper, a toy for those in power to satisfy their selfish desires and solidify their positions."

"One Tan Yiyuan is like this—how many more of him are there in this society? We can help one, a hundred, a thousand, but we can't help everyone."

"...So you want to overthrow it," Yan Xianchuan realized, her voice soft. "This is wrong."

"I'm glad you understand."

The sunlight fell into her eyes, dyeing the blue an inorganic gold, and her tone became like a merciless judge delivering its final verdict.

— "Exactly what I intend to do."

…………

Qi Ziyang left the banquet and returned home. The Qi Family head—his father—flew into a rage, summoning him to the study and shouting, "You unfilial son! You've disgraced the Qi family!"

"What omega acts like you, so shameless, carrying on with someone in public, and so many people saw! Don't you feel any shame?"

"If I were you, I wouldn't have the face to live. How dare you come back?"

Qi Ziyang, spattered with saliva, remained expressionless. "Father, is this my fault? Yue Yongjian set me up. In the two years I've been married to him, I've never once wronged him."

"But the fact remains that you were seen naked!" the Qi Family head roared.

Qi Ziyang seemed to have expected this. Facing his biological father's rebuke, he neither grieved nor felt hurt, only stated flatly, "I want to divorce Yue Yongjian."

"What nonsense! What married omega gets a divorce? If you leave the Yue family, how will you ever marry again?" The Qi Family head refused without a second thought.

Qi Ziyang sneered inwardly but showed nothing; instead, he put on a look of concern for the family. "The Yue family is foolish, shielding Yue Yongjian. They haven't even come to apologize, clearly not treating the Qi family with respect. My personal reputation is nothing, but their actions are surely diminishing the Qi family's standing."

"Besides, Yue Yongjian did this at the Newman family head's seventieth birthday banquet, trampling the Newmans' dignity underfoot. If we don't sever ties now, when would be better? Don't wait until the Newmans retaliate against the Yue family and we, as in-laws, get dragged into it together. Then it'll be too late for regrets."

He spoke earnestly: "Father, cutting ties with the Yue family now, as the victim, is the most correct and fitting move."

The Qi Family head, initially furious, gradually cooled down as he listened, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "What you say does have some merit."

"Didn't think you had a bit of cunning. You're worthy of being a son of the Qi family."

Qi Ziyang said respectfully, "All thanks to my father's guidance."

"Only, after this scandal, I truly have no face to stay at home. I returned only to see you." He squeezed out a few tears, looking reluctant. "You've given me a generous dowry, enough to live on. Once the divorce is done, I'll leave Dingyang City." Qi Ziyang said mournfully. "With me gone, this matter will slowly fade and won't affect the Qi family."

The Qi Family head was deeply gratified. "You've thought it all out well. Then go."

Qi Ziyang bowed respectfully and withdrew.

As soon as the Qi Family head's pleased expression dropped, he began pondering: should he curry favor with the Newman family and kick the Yue family while they're down?

Their two families' businesses overlapped somewhat. If the Yue family fell, wouldn't he naturally expand his own business empire?

Lost in thought, he started calling his trusted shareholders.

Meanwhile, Qi Ziyang walked out of the family's main gate, got into a sedan, and his deferential expression gradually shifted to one of contempt.

He didn't state a destination, yet the driver seemed to know already, driving all the way to Yunmengtai and stopping before a building next to a rockery.

He got out, walked inside, entered his own home, took a long, satisfying shower, then stretched and sank into the sofa.

Picking up the remote, he turned on the TV to watch a comedy variety show.

When the clock passed one in the morning, a noise came from the door, and someone pushed it open—none other than Teresa.

Seeing her, a hint of a smile finally appeared on Qi Ziyang's face. He clapped his hands. "Daju, come here, let me pet you."

A golden tiger emerged from behind Teresa, trotting over eagerly and butting its head into his chest.

"Ouch! My precious." Qi Ziyang planted several kisses on the tiger's big forehead, then raised a hand and skillfully scratched its chin.

The golden tiger squinted contentedly, resting its big head on his lap.

"Calling it first, not me, huh," Teresa said in a plaintive tone. "Indeed, out with the old, in with the new. I'm useless now, no longer favored."

Qi Ziyang rolled his eyes. "Cut that out."

"How did it go?"

"What else? With me on the job, of course it was a cinch." Teresa threw herself into the sofa, snatched a pear from the table, and munched on it nonchalantly. "Zhao Yi's probably been scattered all over by now."

"You should've seen the look on his face, hahaha." The pampered young lady laughed so hard she doubled over. "He probably never imagined he'd die here."

"That hypocrite, that piece of trash. Acting all aloof, pretending to be heartbroken for that idiot Wang Yao—it's laughable."

"The poison hadn't even taken effect, and he was already all over me. What was he playing at with that 'deep love' act?" Teresa snorted. "His mistresses could fill a truck."

"Don't say that," Qi Ziyang said softly, rubbing the golden tiger's ear. "Young Master Zhao's skills weren't bad."

"Lucky for that dead man," Teresa grumbled.

"Alright, stop being angry. I don't care anyway." He nudged her with his elbow.

"Did Old Man Qi agree to the divorce?" Teresa asked about another matter she cared about.

"He didn't at first, but after I laid it out for him, he agreed," Qi Ziyang said with a snicker. "He's probably scheming how to hit the Yue family while they're down right now."

"And you—"

"Me? I'll bide my time and kill the Yue family members one by one," he said, a faint murderous air leaking from his words. "Then I'll kill my own family, one by one as well."

"Grandma will definitely deal with the Yue family; they're bound to fall soon," Teresa said, a slight frown furrowing her brow. "This is dangerous for you."

"I have to do it with my own hands," Qi Ziyang said. "You know me."

"Yeah, yeah." Teresa made a face and mimicked his words. "I have to do it with my own hands."

"I must have been cursed in my past life to be friends with you."

"Nonsense, you clearly hit the jackpot," Qi Ziyang said with a grin.

Teresa snorted but didn't retort.

"Yue Yongjian's at Central Hospital. He got his leg broken and a few teeth knocked out, I think. Anyway, his injuries are pretty serious—even a night in the medical pod won't heal him completely."

"I've already cleaned up the loose ends, so don't worry. Even if Grandma sends someone to investigate, they'll just think I was deliberately causing trouble for him. Though that's not wrong—I do want his dog of a life."

"That idiot Yue Yongjian, I really don't get it," she said, more confused the more she thought. "What, did the Yue family all lose their minds? They let him run wild like that, and they want to pass the family head position to him? Are they insane?"

"Is there anything in his head besides the junk between his legs? Can that thing lead a family? What, all of them having an orgy?"

"So they're doomed," Qi Ziyang shrugged. "Why bother getting worked up over them? We're normal people. We can't reason with the mentally deficient."

"Let's sleep, sleep. It's almost two."

They washed up and climbed into the same bed, the golden tiger Daju sleeping in the middle, harmonious as a family of three.

Time passed slowly. Qi Ziyang lay in bed, but suddenly began to stir restlessly. His eyes remained shut, his pupils darting beneath the lids, his feet kicking wildly like a rabbit caught by its ears.

The commotion woke Teresa. The golden tiger in the middle had somehow gotten down to the floor, but she spared it no attention, immediately grabbing Qi Ziyang's flailing hands and pulling the blanket back over him, using a leg to pin his lower body.

"Wake up, hey!"

After a few moments, he finally escaped the nightmare's grip, like a drowning man gasping for air, drenched in sweat, mouth open in heavy breaths.

This wasn't the first time, and likely wouldn't be the last. Both were accustomed to it and exchanged no words.

After a while, Qi Ziyang recovered a bit, patted her arm, and said in a hoarse voice, "You're crushing me."

Teresa released him. "As if. I've got a great figure, okay?"

She got off the bed, walked around to the other side, picked up the kicked-off blanket, shook it out, and laid it back over Qi Ziyang, then yanked her own blanket back. "Alright, back to sleep."

The next afternoon, Qi Ziyang leisurely finished his breakfast and rode to Central Hospital. Yue Yongjian was lying in a hospital bed, and after a night of treatment, he'd mostly recovered, able to walk.

He found the medical pod cramped and uncomfortable, so as soon as he could walk, he insisted on getting out. The doctors naturally obeyed the patient and moved him to a VIP room.

Seeing Qi Ziyang, his expression turned ugly. "What are you doing here?"

Qi Ziyang: "Divorce."

Yue Yongjian's eyes widened like bells, doubting his ears. "Did I hear that right? You said divorce? Are you delusional?"

Qi Ziyang sent over the divorce application. "My father has already agreed. This marriage must end. You'd better agree quickly."

"I don't agree!" Yue Yongjian shouted furiously.

Being divorced by an omega—where would his dignity go?

That was all he could think, completely ignoring the fact that his antics from last night had already spread through high society, ruining any reputation he had left.

As long as he agreed, Qi Ziyang would be a free man.

Seeing the freedom he so desired within reach, Qi Ziyang didn't want to waste words. He directly walked over, seized Yue Yongjian's arm, and twisted it. "If you don't want it broken, confirm it right now."

"How dare you!" Yue Yongjian's face turned waxen. He tried to shake him off, pushing hard with his shoulder—but didn't break free.

In disbelief, he tried again, and this time dislocated his own shoulder.

"You—!"

He looked again at the person he'd married all these years, and found him strangely unfamiliar. Had he always been this strong?

"Confirm now," Qi Ziyang said coldly. "I don't want to repeat myself a fourth time."

"Or, we can wait until I break this arm, move to the other, and start counting again."

The pain in his shoulder grew worse. Yue Yongjian, never made of stern stuff, shouted repeatedly, "I agree, I agree! I'll agree now!"

With a ding, a new notification arrived—a message from the civil affairs bureau, expressing its deep regret over their separation, all boilerplate.

Qi Ziyang finally revealed his first smile since arriving. He released his grip on the other's shoulder, patted his face, and said meaningfully, "Enjoy your single life. Oh, and you can bring Wang Yao over—she'll absolutely love you."

Laughing heartily, he strode away.

…………

After seeing off Tan Yiyuan, the two returned to the living room. Lu Mingqiu received a message that made her face change drastically.

Yan Xianchuan had never seen her emotions fluctuate so violently, so she asked, puzzled, "What's wrong?"

"My father is dead." Lu Mingqiu looked up, her gaze heavy.