Chapter 377 - I See a Boy

Lu Fang walked into an exclusive hospital in Shanxi where Kang Liang was admitted. He was given IV fluids due to mild dehydration and low blood pressure. 

"Sir, he was just placed under medical care. We let him bathe in a hotel as you instructed before coming here. He - He ate a - lot," said one of his men. 

Arriving at the room, Lu Fang held on to the doorknob for seconds. He closed his eyes before letting out a heavy sigh, finally opening the door. 

He immediately saw a shock on the man's face. He was sitting up on the bed while one of his men supervised him from inside the room. 

"I take it from your expression, you know me?" Lu Fang asked. 

He took a seat next to the hospital bed and got settled. He took a deep breath and looked Kang Liang in the eye. He quickly noticed the scars on his face. Even if the medical records suggested that it had been over ten years since the asylum had operated on his face. It was obvious that the surgery was not done properly. 

"Since there is no answer from you, that means you do know me," said Lu Fang. He crossed his leg and folded both hands on his knee, proceeding with his interrogation.

"You don't have to worry. I am not here to hurt you. If anything, you are only a victim of Rou Yanlin, but I would appreciate it if you can help me fill in all the missing pieces… Let's start with, why were you locked inside the asylum?"

The man looked down at his hands as he crossed his fingers together. He said, "I - I don't really know. I - I don't remember… all I know is I have lived there for many years."

LF: "Were you aware that you were kept there as a prisoner - against your will?" 

KL: "Yes, that - was explained to me by the military and... it was clear by the way they treated me."

LF: "Then you know... whoever put you in there had bad intentions."

KL: "I  - I supposed."

LF: "What do you recall? What were they doing to you there?"

KL: "I - I was told I had a mission to do - to tell the truth."

Lu Fang lifted his chin up before saying, "Go on."

KL: "To tell the truth about the death of Gao Chaoxiang. They - they kept repeating this to me that -"

He stopped himself, looking at Lu Fang with fear in his eyes. He asked, "Are you going to kill me?"

He was silent for seconds, and Lu Fang became impatient. He reminded him, "If I was here to kill you, don't you think I would have done it already? We are in a hospital with many witnesses outside this door. Why did I have to bother feeding you and getting you changed? Know this, Mr. Kang, the asylum has misled you for many years."

Suddenly a tear fell down his cheek. He said, "Even if I have been treated for two years. I - I can't help but still question the freedom that I was given. I sometimes - don't know the truth anymore."

Kang Liang took a deep breath. He wiped the wetness on his face and resumed his thoughts, "I was told that - that Lu Wei had ordered me to kill Gao Changxiang -  that I tampered with the car he had driven, leading to his death."

KL: "Maybe  - it did not involve your father at all - maybe it was just me  -"

LF: "This information was not part of the military records. How come?"

KL: "I was scared. I am a murderer. I was scared they would put me to prison - caged again!"

LF: "Do you remember doing it?"

KL: "No! No, I - walking freely in this city - I could not even hurt a fly! I don't know - "

He broke down completely, unable to continue his story. It did not take long for his breathing to become labored that Lu Fang had to ask one of his men to get him some water.

Lu Fang watched him sobbed, wetting his hospital gown. He kept saying, " I don't  - I don't even know myself. I - I came here to  - find out. Maybe I will still have relatives to - to tell me who I really am."

As he observed Kang Liang letting his heart out, he excused himself, saying, "take your time. Let me just take care of something else."

The man instructed one of his men to request a DNA test while giving Gao Rou's hair. Later he was told it would take three days for the results to come out. 

Lu Fang was torn, Anton would arrive the day after tomorrow, and he did not expect for them to find Kang Liang this quickly. Still, it was a blessing as they were closer to finding out the truth.

He called his father and Andrea to give an update, saying he would have to spend the night in the city. He hoped that Kang Liang would be ready by tomorrow. 

Lu Fang allowed Kang Liang to rest for the night, and he did so himself in a hotel in Shanxi. 

The next day, Lu Fang received a call. His men reported that Kang Liang wanted to speak with him. It was still six in the morning, but he abruptly got up.

When he arrived, Kang Liang had just had his breakfast. He smiled at him while taking his seat. "Did you have a good rest?"

He nodded and said, "Yes, better than the past few days."

LF: "The government gave you money to start-up, you lost that in just a span of a few months?" 

KL: "I - I saw in one magazine featuring your company and  - I saw Gao Rou's name and, of course, your father's name. It reminded me about the days back in the asylum and the things they fed me. I paid - I paid someone to get the information, including Gao Rou's number."

KL: "When I first contacted Gao Rou, my mind was revolving around the idea that maybe he could  - he could tell me about how much of a scumbag his father's killer was - maybe he could tell me about - me."

KL: "The truth was, I was not sure what I was doing but the more I find out about Gao Rou - I had flashes of another man. He seemed like he was me, but his face was different… It was as if I was him - and a boy. I see a boy. The same man playing with that boy... It would seem to me that contacting Gao Rou was triggering memories... at least I think they are."

Lu Fang felt his heart being crushed by a hand. He excused himself, calling his mother, asking for Gao Rou's picture as a child. It took almost thirty minutes for him to come back. Thankfully, Christina was fond of putting old pictures in a scrapbook. 

He opened the picture on his phone and asked, "Is it this boy? Is it this the boy you saw in your memory?"

Tears welled up in his eyes. He could not control it. Suddenly his emotions were out of place. He did not understand why, but seeing that the boy was not a figment of his imagination, he broke down again. He grabbed Lu Fang's phone by force, putting it in his chest. 

Curling up into a ball, he continued sobbing until his tears ran dry.