original

The Author Must Die

Bab 1: The 'Force'

The pitter-patter of raindrops was loud against the window.

On the top floor of the building, Ye Qing Xin was staying alone in her office while looking at the documents on her table for a long time.

All she needed to do was to put her signature at the end of the documents.

However, Ye Qing Xin knew that once she put down her signature on the documents, she was going to ruin a few lives. But she was not willing to do it.

Sweats beaded on her forehead before they streamed down on her temple. It was a cold room, but Ye Qing Xin's body was burning.

She held the pen in her hand tightly, trying to fight the force that was making her do something she did not want to do.

Lightning strikes and the sound of thunder startled her.

The tip of the pen finally touched the paper. As if it has a mind of its own, her hand glided smoothly on the paper. Just like that, her signature appeared on the paper and the unknown force disappeared.

Ye Qing Xin took a step back and threw the pen on the ground.

She stared at the pen as her chest was heaving heavily. After a while, Ye Qing Xin shifted her gaze to the documents again.

Seeing her signature made her whimper. Ye Qing Xin rushed over to grab the documents, wanting to tear them up.

Knock! Knock!

Just in time, someone came to knock on her door. Without waiting for her to say a word, a man with salt and pepper hair entered her office. Behind him was a tall woman in a black pencil skirt and white blouse.

The older man was no other than Ye Sen, Ye Qing Xin's father, while the woman was his secretary, Zhao Yuan. The moment the two entered, they gave Ye Qing Xin a scrutinizing look.

Ye Qing Xin pursed her lips as she looked at her father. "Dad." Her voice sounded tired. She did not expect that her father would come over very quickly. Ye Qing Xin was still hoping that she would have the time to destroy the document. Then, she can come up with various reasons and delay the things that her father wanted her to do.

The longer that she can delay, the better.

Ye Sen did not answer. He walked over to Ye Qing Xin and grabbed the document from her hand. His gaze fell on the signature at the bottom of the page. Then, the look on his face eased up.

"You signed the document. Good."

He looked at his daughter and smiled at her for the first time since he came in.

Ye Sen stretched his hand and patted Ye Qing Xin on her shoulder twice. The smile on his face was especially bright. "Xin Xin, I know that I can count on you. You would not betray me."

Her heart was aching, knowing that she was now betraying a few people who had an ounce of trust in her. "Dad, must we do this? You know very well that—"

"Shut up!" His roaring voice startled Ye Qing Xin.

Swiftly, Ye Qing Xin pursed her lips tightly. She knew well that she continued to say something that her father did not want to hear, the one who would get into trouble was her.

Ye Qing Xin could still remember how painful it was to be slapped by her father.

On that day, she questioned her father why do they have to steal the company that her uncle had worked so hard to build.

Just because she was questioning her father, she was slapped in the face.

That slap left a bright red mark on her cheek for two weeks. It could be seen just how much strength her father had put to hit her. That was also the first time the man had hit her.

Ye Sen clenched the document in his hand tightly. Then, he recalled how important the document was and quickly loosened his grip. Seeing the frightened look on Ye Qing Xin's face made him smile again.

"Xin Xin, you know very well that this company belonged to me," Ye Sen said. "In the beginning, it was your mother and I who had worked hard to build it. I don't know how your uncle suddenly had the power to manage the company. You have to remember, it was them who steal the company from me. Now, I was merely getting back what once belonged to me. How is that wrong?"

Her lips were trembling. Ye Qing Xin had to bite the inside of her cheek to let the pain stop her from shedding a tear.

If it was in the past, Ye Qing Xin might have believed the words that her father had said.

However, she already knew the truth when she hired a private investigator to look into the family's conflict.

Ye Qing Xin knew that the company belonged to her mother and her uncle. Later, her mother caught her father cheating and filed for a divorce.

Initially, her father did not have much power in the company. He only rose to his ranks because he happened to be her mother's husband. Therefore, it did not take too long for her mother to kick her father from the company.

Her father was unhappy with the result and has been fighting with her mother ever since.

Later, her mother passed away in an accident. She was enjoying her favorite cake at her favorite cafe when a car suddenly lose control. The car rammed into the shop, killing several people including her mother.

Ye Qing Xin heard that the driver passed away at the scene.

Unfortunately, when everything happened, Ye Qing Xin was studying overseas. She did not know much about the family's conflict or the news that her mother was divorcing her father.

At that time, she was in her final year and her mother wished for her to concentrate on her study.

Ye Qing Xin only returned home after her mother had passed away. She was surprised to see that her uncle's family did not come to her mother's funeral.

Her father then lied to her and said that her mother had fallen out with her uncle. Later, she was prevented from meeting her uncle's family. Her father had also spun a lot of lies until she no longer trust her uncle's family.

But, not too long ago, Ye Qing Xin found a document in her mother's study that made her start to doubt everything that her father had said. Thus, she began to hire a private investigator.

Ye Qing Xin already knew the truth, but her father was unaware that she knew everything.

"Xin Xin" Ye Sen called when his daughter stayed quiet for a long time.

Ye Qing Xin opened her mouth, wanting to say something. But in the end, the word that came out of her mouth was different than what she wanted to say. "Yes, Dad."