Deviant: No Longer Human

"Bye-bye..."

The car finally departed, carrying Qian Ruixin's entire family away, and Wang Xiao released a sigh of relief. He watched as they drove off, feeling a weight lift from his shoulders, before making his way back to his room.

He couldn't help but be grateful that Qian Ruixin's family's visit had been limited to just two days. It had been a close call, and Wang Xiao knew he had narrowly escaped potential junivele prison.

'Bold of you to think your existing actions aren't enough to send you to juvenile prison,' his inner voice chimed in, casting a shadow of doubt.

Wang Xiao frowned, bewildered. 'What have I done?' He had always considered himself a good citizen, law-abiding and responsible. Why were his own inner demons now accusing him?

'Fu Yuxin, do we need to remind you of that?' the voice persisted.

Wang Xiao fell into silence, accepting that perhaps he hadn't been as law-abiding as he had liked to believe, but in his eyes, he was still a good citizen.

The night proved to be rather pleasant as he held Wang Xueying close, molesti—spending time with his sister and temporarily pushing aside the nagging doubts. Wang Jiarong had even suggested that he could sleep with her if he was scared, but he ignored her words just as he ignored his own crimes.

As for Wang Mei, a cold war seemed to be brewing between her and Wang Xiao, both deliberately avoiding contact.

On the whole, it had been a relatively uneventful day for Wang Xiao. Little did he know that this calm was merely the prelude to an impending storm.

_______

January 10, 2024.

Tap...

Tap...

The monotonous sound of tapping feet echoed through the quiet morning as Wang Xiao, half-asleep, descended the stairs. Yawning, he noticed the clock on the wall; it was already 10 o'clock, and he had no plans for the day. His sole intention was to grab a bite to eat and then return to the comforting embrace of sleep.

However, in an instant, his drowsy existence was violently disrupted as a firm hand seized his own, shaking him awake, his vision momentarily blurred.

"+_+_(2(;"!*)£))"

Wang Xiao was greeted by a string of incomprehensible curses. He tried to hear what was being said, but his ears refused to cooperate. As his gaze sharpened, he realized it was his father, Wang Zhihao, who was the source of this disturbance.

Wang Xiao's eyes narrowed, his confusion growing. 'What the hell is going on?'

He watched as Wang Zhihao's mouth moved, but the words remained inaudible.

"What are you doing, Zhihao!?" Xinyue Zhilan and Wang Jiarong, who were in the living area, noticed the commotion and quickly approached.

Wang Zhihao fumed, "This bastard stole the money again!" His accusing eyes remained fixed on Wang Xiao.

"Huh?" Wang Xiao finally heard the words and couldn't help but sneer inwardly, 'Steal again? Really?'

Did they consider him an idiot?

He was not cut from the same cloth as his father. Besides, stealing again would make him the prime suspect, given his past history.

However, the next turn of events surprised him. Xinyue Zhilan stepped forward, her voice firm and authoritative. "Leave him be. I will talk to him." Her decisive tone silenced Wang Zhihao, who grumbled angrily, "You've spoiled him too much!"

"Shut up for now," Xinyue Zhilan snapped back.

"Bitch..." Wang Zhihao muttered, unable to contain his frustration.

!!

"What did you say?" Xinyue Zhilan turned back, her expression a mix of astonishment and bewilderment.

Wang Jiarong quietly retreated to the couch, pretending to be engrossed in her phone.

Wang Zhihao, slightly embarrassed, frowned but ultimately backed down. He returned to the dining table, taking a seat, eager to see how Xinyue Zhilan would extract the truth from their stubborn son.

Wang Xiao yawned, growing increasingly weary of the drama unfolding around him.

He couldn't help but wonder, 'Is someone intentionally framing me? Is this all a deliberate setup?' His suspicious gaze fixated on Wang Zhihao, searching for answers amid the chaos.

Xinyue Zhilan, her expression softening, put her hands over his shoulder, making him focus on her.

She spoke in a calm and gentle tone, "Xiao, sweetheart, your father and I are worried about these accusations. Can you please tell us the truth? Did you take the money?"

Wang Xiao, "..."

Wang Xiao's silence spoke volumes, and Xinyue Zhilan continued, "It's alright if you did, but you could have just asked...how about—huh?"

"..."

Wang Xiao had stopped listening midway. He extricated himself from her grasp, walking nonchalantly toward the couch where Wang Jiarong sat. He settled down as if the situation didn't concern him in the least.

It wasn't that he hadn't heard her; rather, he had heard her all too well. What she had assumed about him had left him feeling frustrated and alienated. At this point, he had grown weary of the entire situation.

If Wang Zhihao's accusations had been frustrating, now even Xinyue Zhilan's judgment was starting to wear on him. He felt a deep sense of disappointment in her.

However, his actions were perceived quite differently by those observing him. They saw it as not only an admission of guilt but also as an act of arrogance and stubbornness, further complicating the already tangled web of family dynamics.

Wang Zhihao, his patience exhausted, approached Wang Xiao with an accusatory tone. "Where do you think you are going, huh? you need to tell us the truth right now!"

Xinyue Zhilan stepped in, her voice tinged with resignation. "Let's not jump to conclusions, Zhihao. We should talk calmly and figure out what happened."

Their voices clashed, escalating into a heated argument. Wang Zhihao's frustration boiled over as he accused Wang Xiao, "You've been nothing but trouble lately!"

Xinyue Zhilan retorted, her voice strained but determined. "Yelling at him won't solve anything, Zhihao! We need to get to the bottom of this calmly."

Wang Jiarong, sitting on the couch, observed the escalating dispute between her parents with growing discomfort. She nervously chewed her lower lip, her gaze darting between her mother and father, unsure of how to bring an end to this.

Amid the chaotic scene, Wang Xiao, now thoroughly fed up with the situation, remained seated on the couch.

His expression conveyed not only his frustration but also his deep disillusionment with his parents' inability to handle the issue effectively.

He felt like a spectator in his own family's breakdown, silently disheartened by their inability to understand their childish brain.

The argument between Wang Zhihao and Xinyue Zhilan continued to escalate, their voices raised in a bitter exchange of words.

Wang Zhihao, his frustration reaching its peak, shouted, "We can't just ignore this anymore! It's clear that he's the one responsible!"

Wang Zhihao, "Xiao, if you won't confess, I don't know what I'll do!"

Xinyue Zhilan, equally infuriated, shot back, "You're making hasty judgments, Zhihao! We need to think this through rationally."

Amid the chaos, Wang Jiarong, unable to bear the intensity of the argument any longer, stood up abruptly. She closed her eyes tightly, taking a deep breath, and then confessed in a trembling voice, "I'm the one who took the money."

"What!?"

"Huh?"

"..."

The new revelation hung in the air, silencing the room.

The abrupt turn of events left Wang Xiao, Xinyue Zhilan and Wang Zhihao in a momentary state of shock, their emotions swinging from anger to disbelief.

Xinyue Zhilan was the first to react, her eyes wide with astonishment. She turned to Wang Jiarong, her voice shaky as she asked, "What? Jiarong, are you serious?"

Wang Zhihao, still seething with anger, struggled to process this new revelation. He looked at Jiarong with a mix of confusion and bewilderment. "Why would you do that, Jiarong?"

Wang Xiao, equally stunned by the turn of events, found himself at a loss for words. He observed the unfolding scene, pondering how Wang Jiarong had managed to pull off this deception.

He restrained his urge to whistle on the spot, and regardless of the method, he couldn't help but sneer at Wang Zhihao's hypocrisy; even an outsider could see his partiality toward Wang Jiarong, his dear daughter, despite the fact that she had committed the crime.

He wondered what Wang Zhihao's next move would be. The family drama had piqued his interest, and he awaited the outcome with a mix of curiosity and cynicism.

However, the suspense didn't last long. Wang Jiarong nodded with a trembling body, and Wang Zhihao's face darkened as he chastised her, "I didn't expect this from you." He then turned and left.

Before his exit, he couldn't resist one last barb, saying to Xinyue Zhilan, "All of your kids are like this; it's your fault." Xinyue Zhilan, inwardly furious, seethed with anger, muttering curses at him under her breath.

Now, her attention was focused on Wang Jiarong, who was on the verge of tears, and she rushed to console her daughter.

Xinyue Zhilan reached out to Wang Jiarong, enveloping her in a comforting embrace. "It's okay, Jiarong," she murmured, her voice filled with both reassurance and concern. "We'll sort this out."

Wang Jiarong, still trembling and on the verge of tears, clung to her mother, her guilt and distress overwhelming her. "I'm sorry, Mom. I-I didn't know what else to do."