Chapter 17

I didn’t press charges against Lin Ruijie for illegal imprisonment, agreeing to settle privately, and I reported my father to the police for bribing, framing, and murdering his biological parents back then.

Although many years had passed and some evidence might no longer exist, I hoped it would at least be a comfort to him.

I felt terrible inside, but a person who commits crimes should be punished. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to sleep soundly at night.

“Actually, you didn’t have to do that.”

When I walked out of the police station, Lin Ruijie said to me.

The sun was shining perfectly outside. Streaks of light filtered through the leaves, dappling the ground like starlight. We shouldn’t have to live under a haze forever.

“You called the police, didn’t you? Wasn’t your goal to get me to expose my father’s crimes, while the young master of the Lin family walks away completely unscathed?”

I didn’t mention that he was that child from back then.

“The best way to destroy someone is to get close to them, understand them, earn their trust, and then…”

“Killing me was never your goal.”

I cut him off. “I’m going to continue my studies abroad. Thank you for this period of time. I hope you can quickly adapt to living as Lin Ruijie, or Lin Zijie.”

“I can’t go back.”

His smile was bittersweet. This shouldn’t be what a twenty-year-old looks like. The hardships life handed him had forced him to grow up too fast. As for me, I felt nothing but sympathy and pity.

The police told me he had bipolar disorder, which explained his manic episodes.

My dad tried to contact me and my mom multiple times through his lawyer, but my mom firmly rejected him. As for his so-called illegitimate daughter, she had long lost touch. After tying up loose ends domestically, I embarked on my journey to study in the US.

And on the first day of classes here, Lin Ruijie walked into the classroom dressed in a tracksuit.

“Hi everyone, my name is Lin Zijie.”

“Whoa, look at his hand, so cool!”

The classmates enthusiastically discussed his metallic prosthetic limb.

He stood in the crowd, smiling at me, just like the first time we met.