Imperfect Desires

It had to be said that Xin Kuan's intuition was spot on! Xiu indeed had planned to drop a bomb but she wasn't in a hurry either. She was being surprisingly patient or it seemed like she was patient.

Xiu stood up and went inside her room to get her laptop and some documents, she came back and sat down on the armchair placed near the glass wall. She hooked a finger and beckoned Xin Kuan to come over.

"Don't be shy, Uncle Kuan!" she smiled at him. "Just sit down and relax."

Xin Kuan did as she told him to and came to sit opposite her. All this while, his eyes didn't leave her face. He was a cautious person but he was being quite laid back around her. Even he couldn't tell why he was so relaxed right now. 

"Why are you looking at me like that?" inquired Xiu as she lifted her eyes from the laptop screen.

"I'm wondering why you asked me to stay," answered Xin Kuan honestly. "You and I have nothing to do with each other and yet you specially asked me to stay behind. It's quite suspicious."

"Suspicious?" repeated Xiu with a frown. "Uncle Kuan, I have no hidden agenda here. I'm a simple person."

Xin Kuan couldn't help snorting, "You and a simple person? If that's true, I would even agree to jump down from this floor."

Xiu pursed her lips, "Then it's a good thing I value your life so much."

Xin Kuan rubbed his forehead. She clearly just accepted the fact that she was not a simple person. Not like there was ever a doubt. But he was still surprised to hear it straight from her and that too in such a cheeky way. He had to say, she was indeed amusing.

"I have a reason for asking you to stay behind," began Xiu as the smile vanished from her face. Even the little mischief in her eyes was no longer seen. "You're someone trusted by Ah-Xin. Ah-Si said, if there is anyone I can trust apart from family then it has to be you. Also, let's not forget that you're known to be a really capable man."

"Then please do tell me what I can help you with," said Xin Kuan.

Xiu tapped her finger on the tabletop before she turned the screen of her laptop towards him. "Do you recognize him?"

Xin Kuan's brows furrowed up before he looked up at her, "Don't you know who he is?" Xiu didn't reply to that. "That's your grandfather, Xin Yuyang."

Xiu pressed a button and the photo changed, "What about this one?"

Xin Kuan's frown deepened, "That's your grandfather's elder brother, Xin Zhao."

"Where is he?" she questioned.

"He is dead," came the obvious reply. "You should already know this story. Your grandfather was the one behind the accident that took the life of Xin Zhao and his wife."

"What else do you know about this accident?" 

Xin Kuan shook his head, "Not much. I was really young at that time. Also, back then I had nothing to do with the Xin family. I grew up in the Wen Clan and as a matter of fact, Wen Clan didn't have really friendly connections with other families. I only learned about the details of the Xin Family after I started following Xiao Zi." He took a pause before asking, "Why are you curious about an accident that happened even long before your birth?"

"Because I'm a naturally curious person," replied Xiu offhandedly. Obviously, Xin Kuan didn't buy that answer at all. Xiu fell into deep thought, "Can you describe the details of this accident? You said you learned about it after coming to the Xin Family. I believe you learned it in detail."

Xin Kuan took a pause to think about it before telling her, "There wasn't much to know. Xin Zhao and his wife burned to death is something everyone knows."

"Burned?" Xiu's brows quirked up. "That means no one really saw his dead body? Right?"

"Well, it was burned beyond recognition," answered Xin Kuan. "What are you getting at?"

"What if I say that he didn't die in that accident?"

Xin Kuan straightened up, "How is that possible? And even if that's true, he wouldn't be quiet about it? If the whole world knew that his own brother orchestrated the accident, how would he not know? And I don't believe he was kindhearted enough to just the bygones be bygones. Just suppose he did it, then how come he left his own daughter with that same brother? It doesn't make sense."

"But I think it quite makes sense," muttered Xiu to herself. "Can you recall anything else odd about this accident? Anything related to this Xin Zhao? Any small detail would do."

Xin Kuan took a long time to think about it. After all, this incident happened when he was very young and he only learned about it when he first started following Xin Zimen. He wasn't that familiar with the Xin family before that. But he did dig up a lot of information for his Mistress so he certainly knew more than Xin Zimen himself.

"Oh, there is something I recall," he suddenly spoke up. 

"What is it?"

"I never really paid attention to it before but a week after this accident, Xin Zhao's personal butler was found dead in his house. He had no family so no one knew what really happened. Some people speculated that he was killed by Xin Yuyang but I did look into it, after killing his brother, Xin Yuyang had no reason whatsoever to silence a mere butler just because he was known to be loyal to Xin Zhao."

"That's it!" Xiu stood up. "We have to find that butler."

"I just told you, he is dead," reminded Xin Kuan.

"He must have a relative," replied Xiu.

"He was an orphan."

"You're also an orphan, don't you still have friends?"

Xin Kuan stared at Xiu in silence, "Why do you want to do this?"

"Don't you want to know who killed your Mistress?"

Xin Kuan's face darkened, "You know?"

"If we are on the right track then I can give you an answer soon," replied Xiu.

"What do you want me to do?"

Xiu instructed him some things, "How long do you need?"

"At least 24 hours," replied Xin Kuan.

"That's too long," said Xiu. "What if I ran out of patience and did something I'm not supposed to do?"

"I'll try to give you the details as soon as possible. But you're not allowed to leave this room until I come back. Without me, don't even think about taking a step out of this room."

Xiu looked at him sullenly, "You don't have to repeat that. I already told Ah-Xin, I'll take you everywhere with me. I won't go back on my words. You just focus on what I said."

Xin Kuan nodded at her before stepping out of the room. And only after his departure, Bo Jiu came inside. 

"Xiuxiu, do you think it'll work?"

"There is only so much you can do, Jiu. This accident happened when the internet wasn't really a thing. That's why we need some external help and he is the best candidate. Trust me, he is quite resourceful."

"I trust you," answered Bo Jiu. "However, as you can see, if our assumptions are true. This conspiracy is far bigger than we originally thought it to be."

Xiu sighed out, "If it was a simple matter, so many people wouldn't have fallen victims to this conspiracy. I just can't understand the motive. Is it really for just power?"

"I don't so," said Bo Jiu. "Whoever is working behind the scene is already powerful enough. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to lay out this plan for decades. It's more like that person's dark twisted desires that became the drive behind these actions."

Xiu patted her shoulder saying, "You can take a rest now. Leave the rest to me. I don't think there is anything else you'd need to do. So, sit back and relax."

Bo Jiu looked at Xiu's face and nodded her head before walking over to the room where she was staying. Xiu also entered her bedroom and dialed Darren's number, "Regan, it seems like..."

"It'll take you longer," Darren completed her sentence for her.

"Huh? How do you know?"

"It wasn't hard to tell," replied Darren and didn't go into details of how he already that she asked Xin Kuan to stay with her. As much as he knew his wife, he was certain there was a big change in her plans. "It's okay. I can wait for a few more days. I waited for you for years, I certainly can wait a few more days. As long as you promise to come back to me."

Xiu smiled at that, "Where else can I go? I can only come back home to you."