The Vanishing Lover

The pain on his father-in-law's face seeped into every wrinkle.

Agony and agitation made his father-in-law's lips tremble.

Intense rage, the soul-crushing pain of losing his beloved, years of cherished affection slowly rotting away, mixed with the torment of disbelief and suspicion—all were etched onto his thin, pale cheeks and brows.

"Tell me! Qin Guan! That day... was she... was she killed by your actions? Driven to a brain hemorrhage by rage? Driven to the point where rescue efforts failed! Failed!"

His fists pounded violently on the wheelchair, making dull thuds.

"She was only fifty-seven... fifty-seven... and she left me forever..."

"Do you have any idea? Do you have any idea how I've lived these three years, six months, and three days? Do you know? My heart... how much my heart hurts..."

Tears streamed uncontrollably from his father-in-law's eyes. He fought to contain himself, but his teeth chattered violently. His whole body seemed to shrink like an insect thrown into boiling oil.

"Not a single day has passed without me missing her..." He finally let out a mournful cry, lowered his head, and wept silently.

The pain sealed away for three years, six months, and three days, pain he had suppressed fiercely, flooded over him at this moment like a broken dam, completely engulfing him.

"Dad, Dad, Dad,"

Qin Guan crouched before the wheelchair. He no longer cared about the strange looks from the two or three passersby nearby—he truly never dreamed things would unfold like this!

His father-in-law had actually pieced together the truth about his mother-in-law's death!

It was Qi Min who gave him the clue!

He saw Qin Guan and Qi Min sharing a cup, suspected they had an illicit affair—this suspicion made him re-examine his perfect son-in-law, looking back further, and further still...

Who would have thought the old man, sitting motionless all day, was actually tracing back through time?

Who would have thought he could connect these two things and then go to Xu Ruyi for confirmation?

Had he just asked her?

What could Xu Ruyi tell him? Naturally, she would say Qi Min often came to the house, Qi Min was nice, and she and Qin Guan seemed to have a normal relationship...

And, she would definitely mention the things her mother had warned her about before her death: "After all, he's an outsider. You need to be more vigilant"...

What else?

The day her mother passed? Ah, yes, it was a weekday. He had explained to Xu Ruyi later why he was near her mother's house—he said he was passing by for work, that a client lived near Jiayuan Community. He had even prepared that file and genuinely contacted that client.

He had covered his tracks perfectly!

Where was the flaw that let his father-in-law guess?

Qin Guan's mind was a mess.

He couldn't figure it out, couldn't penetrate it—and he didn't have time to think! Time was short!

He had to quickly defuse this situation and win his father-in-law's forgiveness before Xu Ruyi returned.

Moreover, he couldn't let his father-in-law call Xu Ruyi over—facing both of them, he would be completely helpless!

One person, his father-in-law alone, was still manageable—the incident was so long ago. His father-in-law relied entirely on inference, conjecture, suspicion. He had no proof. None! Absolutely none!

Without proof, Qin Guan would never admit it!

"Tell me! Was it? Was it?"

His father-in-law's clenched fists trembled. He gritted his teeth, glaring furiously at Qin Guan.

Yes, he was still only suspicious. He was desperately seeking confirmation.

He couldn't admit it.

The death of his mother-in-law—absolutely could not be admitted.

Qin Guan stared at the thin face before him and felt a little calmer—his father-in-law had aged so much these past few years. Only sixty-two, yet half his hair was white.

He and his mother-in-law had been deeply in love.

If Qin Guan admitted his mother-in-law had caught him cheating before she died, it would be tantamount to admitting she died because of him. In that case, his father-in-law would never forgive him, and Xu Ruyi certainly wouldn't either.

Xu Ruyi had been extremely close to her mother.

Then, this hurdle would be utterly impossible to overcome.

"Dad, Dad, I was wrong, I was wrong,"

Having settled his thoughts, Qin Guan finally spoke. He apologized profusely with "humble" "sincerity," dropping the issue of the three and a half years—he wouldn't explain that anymore. Over three and a half years ago, he had had a fleeting affair with a woman named Junjun.

This couldn't be mentioned. Absolutely could not be mentioned—because mentioning Junjun would bring up Shi Jie, and the Shi Jie case—his mother-in-law had surely told his father-in-law about it while she was alive.

This matter couldn't be reopened. The more you dug, the more trouble surfaced.

He couldn't let his father-in-law know more. Absolutely not.

"Dad, Dad, please don't be angry first. It was my fault, I was wrong..."

Qin Guan crouched before the wheelchair, his voice earnest. His knees almost touched the ground in humility—if not for the few people in the distance, he would have knelt without hesitation.

But they were outside, in the park. Not like last time in his mother-in-law's house, nor like the time before that, long ago in childhood, in his own dilapidated home.

For some reason, at that moment, crouching terrified and obsequiously before his father-in-law's wheelchair, his mind reeling and words tumbling incoherently, his thoughts dragged him relentlessly back.

After snatching the diary from his crazy mother, Qin Guan avoided her for three whole days.

He stopped feeding her or giving her medicine. He placed the cooked food in the kitchen, letting her hobble over to get it herself.

He even avoided her gaze and any attempt she made to speak. If she came near, before she could open her mouth, Qin Guan would immediately dart away.

That night, after finishing his homework and just crawling into bed, his crazy mother groped her way to sit on the edge of his bed—his drunkard father wasn't home. Having earned a little money, he had gone out to gamble. Every time he gambled, he wouldn't return the whole night.

"Guan'er, we need to talk..."

She looked at her son, who had turned his back to her. Her voice was still somewhat slurred, but her tone was grave. "We must, Guan'er. You cannot keep doing this. That dog... the dog was... you did it, didn't you? You're a child. No matter the reason, you can't do such a thing..."

Qin Guan didn't move.

"My life... chaotic like this... ending up like this... it's my own fault. My heart was not right. I thought my former life was a cage, a prison that restricted my freedom... I thought the freedom I longed for was somewhere far away... I was wrong. Look at my life! Look at the price I paid!"

"I cannot watch you go down the wrong path. I cannot, Guan'er. You must face the mistakes you've made. Face them! Only then can you correct them! Only then can you stop yourself from straying further and further down this wrong road..."

She reached out to pull him.

Face it?

Qin Guan, furious, jumped out of the quilt. "What do you want? What do you mean 'face it'? Do you want to tell someone? Who do you want to tell?"