QT: Against My Will-Chapter 610 - 10.22 - Evil Laugh - Rebirth Of The Heart
"Are you intentionally making things worse?" a parent asked, threatening to call their lawyers inside to handle the situation, which Edward responded with calling his own.
Another parent confronted him, her voice tinged with anger. "Mr. Ashtor, this is not a joke. These are our children, and your behavior is setting a terrible example for them."
Edward chuckled, a mirthless sound that only added fuel to the fire, "XiaoPu, if you even think about apologizing to anyone in this room, I’ll have to come up with a punishment that will make you wish you hadn’t."
The people in the room quickly shifted their focus towards Xiao Pu’s well-being. Whispers of concern and sympathy for the young boy began to circulate as they recognized that he had become an unintended victim of Edward Ashtor.
Edward followed this with a pat on Xiao Pu’s back before turning and leaving the room, Seraphine trailing behind him silently, waving at XiaoPu as they departed.
Her silent presence beside Edward, while seemingly fitting the role of a trophy wife, hinted at an underlying support and loyalty she had for her husband.
Their departure left a lingering sense of unease. Edward’s ability to make others feel insignificant made people afraid of confronting him.
What was truly frightening was the thought that he might be a complete lunatic, capable of unpredictable and extreme actions on a whim.
"..." XiaoPu ended up returning home with his parents. The legal process was so complicated and rumors spread so far that even students and teachers from other schools would talk about it. It would take a while before someone dared to target him again.
· · ───────── · ⊱❈⊰· ───────── · ·
It was widely known that Edward’s parents had willingly given his position as an heir to William Ashtor.
This decision had initially puzzled many, but it ultimately proved to be a strategic move that elevated the Ashtor family to new heights and served as a significant countermeasure against Daniel’s influence.
Xiao Pu’s parents lamented on their way home, discussing how it might affect XiaoPu’s future prospects.
They blamed Edward for the situation, believing that he was turning their son into a rebel who wouldn’t fit into society.
His mother spoke with concern when her son put a deaf ear to them, "XiaoPu, you need to stop letting yourself be influenced by Edward and Seraphine. We’ve already paid our debt to them."
His father chimed in, "Yes, they helped us when we needed it, but that doesn’t mean you should follow their lead blindly. You have to think about your own future and reputation."
XiaoPu remained silent as he asked them to drop him off at the nearby internet cafe, his sharp tongue always subdued near his birth parents.
Uncle William had told him that Edward was a one man army, who existed on his own terms, unswayed by familial pressures or obligations.
· · ─────── · ⊱❈⊰· ─────── · ·
In the dimly lit interior of the sleek hover car, Edward sat in silence next to Seraphine as the city lights passed by.
"Did you see the look on XiaoPu’s face? He must have felt really embarrassed having me there," Xuan Mu supported his chin with his palm, gazing out of the window, "I want him to have a bright future ahead of him, but I’m starting to think that I have a really bad influence on XiaoPu."
"Maybe I should take a page out of William’s book and become a father like him. He seems to have a better grasp of these things," He sighed deeply, his voice tinged with a hint of frustration. "Why were you so quiet the whole time? You’re usually so skilled at taming me down...or portraying me in a better light, or something..."
Bing Shi kissed his cheek, "You are not his life coach," she reminded him gently. "Be the father you want to be, not a father others think you should be."
She subtly ran her fingers through his hair, an affectionate gesture, but there was a hint of possessiveness in her touch, "I remember how you used to be so obsessed with me only... and now you’re worried about being a bad influence. Ever thought about being a bad influence on me before?"
She shifted in her seat, moving to sit on his lap, her legs straddling his. She leaned in, her lips brushing against his ear as she whispered, "I can feel that your love for me is not the same as it used to be. But that’s okay."
Xuan Mu was taken aback by Bing Shi’s display of jealousy. His fingers lightly traced the curves of her waist, and he held her securely, "Do you love the old me more?"
His hands on her waist tightened ever so slightly as she kissed him on the lip and ran her tongue along his. He had never seen her show that kind of emotion before, and it surprised him.
She then abruptly pulled away from the kiss and took a moment before speaking, "I think you should give XiaoPu a call and ask him how he is feeling."
With a mischievous glint in his eyes, Xuan Mu leaned in to give her a few teasing kisses on the lips, punctuating each kiss with a light chuckle, "Was that what I think it was?"
"Don’t you dare make fun of me because of it, ever," Bing Shi snapped her fangs at him and quickly dialed XiaoPu’s number through the hover car.
XiaoPu answered the call, "Hey, what’s up?"
Xuan Mu pinned his wife to the seat and buried his face in her chest, "Just checking in on you, my boy. How are you feeling after today’s... eventful gathering?"
"Did you really end a teacher’s career because she doubted Seraphine’s music skills?" XiaoPu asked.
"I did."
"Why?"
"Because I wanted to...ouch, ouch, ouch, Sweetie! Not my ears, do you want me to end up looking like a monkey?! Ouch!"
"Yun Pu," Bing Shi began, "I understand that you might look up to Edward, but please don’t learn such tricks from him unless you can afford to provoke the whole world."
Xuan Mu, his ears still playfully trapped under his wife’s hold, chimed in, "That’s a good choice, buddy. Listen to my wife. She’s the wise one in this family."
"..." XiaoPu couldn’t help but comment on the power dynamics within their family. "You know everyone thinks of Seraphine as nothing more than your trophy wife, right? I think this is a more pressing issue than someone doubting her music skills. If you wanted to prove how amazing she is, maybe you should have cleared that rumor first. It’s quite stupid that you didn’t."
If XiaoPu ever needed help dealing with people or difficult situations without consequences, Seraphine would always pop up to guide him. So he knew that she wasn’t just a trophy wife.
Xuan Mu couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow at XiaoPu’s comment. He exchanged a knowing glance with Bing Shi, who squealed in delight.
"Oh, my god! That’s my son right there," she cheered into the hover car’s microphone like a little fangirl, "Sending you thousands of kisses! Stay awesome like you always are. I love you, XiaoPu!"
"You are grounded," came Edward’s voice as he ended the call.
"What the heck?!" XiaoPu stared at the screen in disbelief, "Who is grounded? Save those words for your real son, you old geezer!"
· · ─────── · ⊱❈⊰· ─────── · ·
Back at the hover car, Edward and Seraphine sat together, their faces pale and fatigued.
Edward coughed, and a mouthful of blood filled his palm, "It’s time?"
Seraphine, with a slight wince, dabbed at her bloody nose with a handful of napkins, "It’s time."
They exchanged a humorous glance, their smiles filled with exhaustion.
They had been spending time with Stinky Bun with barely any breaks in between, helping him control and suppress his powers. Various diseases have been taking a toll on their bodies, leaving them weakened and drained.
Stinky Bun had matured so much in the meantime though, and they couldn’t wait to continue with his progress.
However, they knew that they needed time to recover from their recent exertions before they could fully reunite with their son again.
As the hover car approached their villa, the vehicle started to shudder, and strange noises emanated from its engine.
It veered dangerously close to the villa, and despite the Ai’s efforts to steer it away, it couldn’t prevent the inevitable collision.
The car crashed into the side of their villa with a deafening impact, causing structural damage and sending debris flying.
To make matters worse, the collision ignited a sudden fire, and flames began to engulf their home.
Xuan Mu chuckled at their sitiatuon, |"I still had a lot planned, like bringing beautiful stones to Seraphine’s tomb every day, attending XiaoPu’s wedding with your framed picture and such. But how unfortunate, I somehow caught the same disease as you. Tsk, tsk, tsk. Must have been those deadly kisses of yours again. They are very contagious."|
|"I quite like this outcome. If I’m going to die again, you’ll have to follow me like now too,"| she said, holding his hand, |"That way, it will be less sad for both of us. Being a widow sucks."|
|"Eh, you want me to die with you? What about my happiness, Sweetie?"|
|"No happiness for a badie like you. You die with me, muehehehe."|
|"What kind of evil laugh was that?"|
|"That’s how they laugh in hell. Dai An taught me that."|
The couple still had lots of things they wanted to do in this world but it seemed like they didn’t have a choice but to resign themselves to what seemed like an inevitable fate.
They had accumulated too much misfortune. Any more, and it would affect their soul too.
The flames encroached on the hover car, and the intense heat filled the interior with a fiery inferno.
