The day just turned gloomier for the two of them when Celine received a call from her sister-wife, Lin Meiyin, informing her about the news that was now circulating in the media.
For the members of the Lin Family, everyone was hoping that the DNA test of Mrs Feng's son would not match with Houtian, but the truth was harsh. Lin Houtian was now a father of three in the eyes of people and the law, and he would be called into the court for a trial, which will force him to accept the child by giving him his family name.
Meiyin was distraught, much more than Celine and Qingyue, and it was because her child was no longer going to be the sole heir to the Lin Group of Industries. The bastard was a few months older than her son, and what troubled her more was that he was also his good friend. She was extremely worried about the well-being of her child. What was more troubling was that Lin Houtian had always favored her son's good friend over him, always asking him to follow his lead.
"How's Haoran doing?" Keith asked as soon as Celine ended the call.
"He's devastated." She said and let the tears pool out of her eyes. "Meiyin said that he has shut himself in his room, and the servants heard him breaking everything inside."
Even though she was not his biological mother, Celine had always been good to her step-son. She considered him her child, and now finding him in such a state had hurt her.
"And Mrs Lin?" He sighed and asked.
"Father has been keeping her calm, and promised her that he would not let Haoran suffer. But..." She did not know what to say and coverd her face in her hands, sobbing quietly.
Qingyue clenched her fists when she saw her Mama crying, and then she pulled her mother in her arms, soothing her back.
Keith sighed and stayed quiet, eventually sinking back into the couch, watching the mother and daughter try to get a grip over their sorrow and rage.
A while later, Venessa arrived in the drawing room to greet Celine and Qingyue, and only then did the pair of mother and daughter manage to distract themselves.
"You are not returning to that despicable man, Celine!" His mother did not hold back and harshly said as soon as she hugged her friend. "He does not deserve you!"
She pretended to be angry, and both Celine and Qingyue fell for it.
"Good Afternoon, Venessa!" Celine tried to divert the topic by cheerfully smiling at her friend, but the lady of the Demiliore Family narrowed her eyes at her, squashing all her attempts to change the topic .
"Qingyue." Keith called out to her, and gestured her to go out of the room with him.
The two of them then excused themselves and left their mothers alone to talk freely.
"Would you ever sleep with another man's wife, Keith?" She suddenly asked out of nowhere when they were walking aimlessly down the hallways.
Keith frowned at her question and looked back in her eyes.
"No." He truthfully told her.
"Why not?"
"What kind of question is this?" He raised his brow and asked.
"Tell me, why would you not sleep with a woman who's married to another man?" She pressed.
He stopped walking and looked her right into her gorgeous eyes.
"I just won't. It's a matter of principles." He lightly, but firmly said.
"Even if you love that woman? And she loves you too?"
"A woman who's not faithful to her husband?" He smirked at her. "I can tell you that I don't think well of such people."
"Even if the man she is married to is a scum?" She asked another question, still not satisfied with his answer.
"Why is she still with him then?" He shrugged. "And even if she is forced to stay with him due to some reason, I would still never sleep with her. Like I said, it's a matter of principles."
"And if she is a victim of circumstances, and you love her?"
"Qingyue." He called her by her name and smiled. "I think our definitions of love is different. For me, I choose whom I fall in love with. And for you, I think it is something that just happens."
She frowned at his words and averted her eyes away.
"So, your love can be turned off whenever you want..."
He chuckled when he heard her words and shook his head.
"For someone to make me turn off my love for them, they would have to do something unforgiveable in my eyes."
His words caught her off-guard and then she raised her head to look at him again.
"What's is Love to you?" She seriously asked.
"It's a question that no one has a clear answer to, but for me, I think it is a feeling of utmost trust, sincerity, and care. But it comes with some negative traits too, such as obsession, possessiveness, and madness."
"Obessession and possessiveness are not love." She shook her head.
"They are when there is utmost trust, sincerity, and care."
"Trust is developed, and one is never sure about someone's sincerity." She argued, keeping in mind her mother's example.
"It's not love then. If you are not sure about someone's sincerity, you are not in love with them." He simply said and shrugged before chuckling to himself. "Love has its positives and negatives, and for me, they are inseparable. For me, love without obessession is not love, just like how love without sincerity is not love."
Hearing his words, she turned silent, contemplating on them as they resumed walking.
"I still believe that it is not under our control." She lightly said after a while.
"Everyone is entitled to have their own opinions." He chuckled. "It's a fancy dream, isn't it? The novelty of something that is not under our control?"
"It isn't a dream, but a reality, Keith. I really don't think anyone is capable of having full control over their feelings. One can not simply choose whom to love and whom to not."
"Is that so?" He smiled lightly. "Then if a woman falls in love with a man who's not her husband, she is innocent?"
"She is." Qingyue nodded her head.
"And if she does not part with her husband and starts an affair with the man she loves?"
The grey-eyed girl frowned at his words and then shook her head.
"She was not sincere, so it wasn't love."
"Even if she is forced to stay with her husband?" He grinned and asked, trapping her in her own web that she had hurled at him at the beginning of their conversation.
"If she is forced... I think it can be excused." She hesitantly said.
"Really?" He chuckled. "Is that what you would do? If you are married, would you fall in love with another man and have an affair with him?"
"No." She shook her head, and there was no hesitation in her voice.
"Why not?"
"I would never marry someone whom I don't love."
"Really?" He chuckled and smirked. "If love is something that just happens, than it is something that can simply vanish too. And what if you fall in love with another man whilst you are already in love with someone?"
"That's not possible. We talked about sincerity, remember?" She reminded him.
"Sincerity that is not under our control?" He smiled lightly.
"No, sincerity is under..." She stopped what she was about to say and then turned silent.
"Everything is under your control, Qingyue." He devilishly whispered in her ear. "We choose whom we trust, whom we care about, and whom we are sincere to."
"But some bonds are naturally formed..." She still argued.
"Familial bonds?" He smiled. "Yes, there is a push by the nature in that, but in the end, we still have to decide what to do. History is witness to siblings killing each other, children killing their parents, and parents killing their children. Even today, some children simply leave their parents when they become independent, forgetting about their well-being, and some parents too abandon their children to pursue their desires. And let's just not talk about siblings..." He sighed and shook his head disappointedly.
The more she listened to him, the more she felt uncomfortable in her heart as she found it hard to refute his words with a sound argument.
"I am just messing with you." He laughed when he found her drowning in her thoughts. "I told you, didn't I? That no one really has an answer to what love really is?"
Qingyue looked him in the eyes, knowing well that whatever he had just said to her, he wholeheartedly believed in it.
"Would you ever give up on someone whom you love?" She asked.
"I think one must never give up on someone who is sincere to them." He said and smiled.
"What about you?"
"Of course, I wouldn't." He shook his head.
"Even if she is not sincere to you?"
He stayed silent for a good few seconds before he stopped walking and turned to look her in the eyes.
"I am not a good man, Qingyue." He gently smiled at her. "I always make sure I get everything I find a liking to, and you are talking about love."
"You would destroy her happiness just to possess her?" She asked, narrowing her eyes at him.
"Yes." He unhesitatingly said.
"That's cruel."
"I never said that it isn't." He smiled and nudged her nose with his finger, bringing an end to the seriousness that was looming over them. "But like I said, I control whom I love and whom I don't."
Qingyue smiled when she heard his words, understanding what he was implying.
"You know, I had a fight with my father, last friday." She revealed to him.
"I know. I asked Aunt Celine about it." He smiled and said.
"She told you what is was about?" She frowned and asked.
"You think she would have told me?"
"Yes."
"Well, she didn't. And I didn't ask either. It's your private matter."
"It was about you."
Her honest admission took him off-guard and he surpisedly looked at her.
"My father wants me to stay away from you. He thinks you are a playboy, and you have no good intentions towards me." She said and brightly smiled.
"Well, he may not be wrong about it."
"Ahan?" She smirked at him.
"Mhmm" He teasingly smiled back at her and then they both burst out laughing. "Up for a game of Chess?"
"Yes!" Qingyue happily nodded her head.
I really love the way you present Keith. He is not a villain to me, just a man honest with his desires. I am not a saint myself and reflect his way of thinking naturally.
Keep up with the good work
Right, that's how the perfect villain should be not like these third rates you see in superhero stories(i.e. Batman, Spiderman, etc...)
@Jmills1999 yeah!! that's why I encourage the author to keep writing... keith is so so good... his definition of what he wants and not clearly stood him out from all other Villain MC novels...
He’s not really a villain. He’s a classical anti-hero.
@BILLYREDNECK34 True(He's more like Venom or Morbius)
How TF is he not a villain. He literally said he would just abduct someone he loves if they don't love him back. Not to mention he literally destroyed her family just so they can't be a thread and he can get her. All while simultaneously holding a speak about monogamy while having a harem. He is literally the definition of villain. That is what makes this novel interesting.and that was just this chapter. Bevor he done a lot of shit. He most definitely is a very classical villain.
@Randomeusersarereal No, he falls pretty squarely into the classical anti-hero category. It’s an issue of definition.
@BILLYREDNECK34 ok I get what you mean. But for me he clearly falls into the villain Kategorie. Villains don't have to comit atrocities every 5 minutes. They are defined by there ideals being only self focused. Which he clearly is.
@Randomeusersarereal Nah if he were a true villain he wouldn't give a damn about what other people think and his plans would be far more devious
@Jmills1999 he doesn't thou. He only cares about himself and the people close to him.
The only thing he currently needs to do is prep for the coming of the protagonists and make sure they don't got to good of a starting position. If he does anything more or more evile than the protagonist hailo is gonna seriously attack him.
@Randomeusersarereal Not exactly, a real villain doesn't even care about the people around them ONLY themselves, and they usually just think of the people close to their self as pawns that they can use up, then exchange for something/one else as soon as they have no need for them anymore which is not at all like Keith
@Jmills1999 we have very different definitions of a villain. What you described is a symptom of a psychopath or sociopath. It doesn't really have anything to do with being a villian. Psychopath have a tendency to be villains but they don't have to be. Non psychopath can also be villains.
Villains aren't defined by there emotional capabilities but by there actions and morals.
@Randomeusersarereal It isn’t an issue of your subjective belief. Words have a specific meaning. How you choose to define terms just makes communication muddled.
Villain: "a bad person who harms other people or breaks the law, or a cruel or evil character in a book, play, or film."
That's the definition of a Villain. ^
And I think everyone here is confusing it with what they believe is a Villain. 🤣
@FateDevilAce The issue here, is the the main character doesn’t fit within that definition. He exceeds it’s bounds, which is what takes him into anti-hero. He isn’t _just_ those things, he also has heroic qualities.
@BILLYREDNECK34 Hmm... I am just showing his lighter side first before showing his darker side. And even so far, I think I have hinted at him being cruel and ready to do anything Evil.
I am not sure what Heroic Qualities he has shown. As far as I remember, he only did one selfless act so far, which was to treat a little girl's illness. Everything else had selfish motives behind it and some evil designs.
@BILLYREDNECK34
1. Words have context. In a novel villain is associate with a certain cliche (like I described) so the universal definition doesn't really apply here.
2. Even if you take the oxford dictionary definition:
Originally, a low-born base-minded rustic; a man of ignoble ideas or instincts; in later use, an unprincipled or depraved scoundrel; a man naturally disposed to base or criminal actions, or deeply involved in the commission of disgraceful crimes:
He literally fulfills almost all variants kostet here.
No mater of you use words the way they are normally used (based on context) or the rather stiff and not really actuary dictionary Methode thou, in both cases he clearly falls into this category.
@BILLYREDNECK34 PS: it is not that he isn't an Anti-Hero. Rather the destination between anti hero and villain is nonsensical.
An antihero in official definition just means a protagonist who isn't a hero. He can be morally neutral or bad. It doesn't really describe a hero any further than not being a hero. A villain, by media definition, is just a antagonist that is evile. So technically a protagonist can't be a vilian. But as this type of story playes with the concept of cliches it makes a lot of sense to refer to him a villain.
He is an anti hero too thou. Not because he isn't evile but just because he isn't good.
But here's the thing: all these definitions are different and come from different contexts. And while this does make language mudy, that is just the realty off all communications.
It also isn't really relevant what category you sort him into. No Mather what it is very clear that he is evil thou.
@BILLYREDNECK34 "He's not really a villain. He's a classical anti-hero."
The comment is a year old but I'd just like to correct it.
An anti-hero is someone who saves the day for selfish reasons. Anything else is just not the definition of an anti-hero. People often write assholes as anti-hero's but completely miss the mark and just wrote a selfish prick.
No, an anti-hero would destroy the invading alien race because earth is where he keeps his stuff, not because it's the right thing to do.
Keith is not an anti-hero and not really a villain either (until this chapter at least). To be a villain, you'd have to be some megalomania going on or wanting to eradicate a species just because. In the previous iteration, Keith was set up as more of an antagonist too. Someone simply in the way of the protagonist and not necessarily a villain.
@ArtemSolis as I wrote previously, I don't understand where this idea comes from. But either way it is wrong. A anti hero means he is a main character that isn't a classical hero. He can be the most evile ever or just anoying. It doesn't really have anything to do with that term how evile or good he is. He can even be good but not in a way normal heroes are.
A villain is an antagonist (so the person standing against the protagonist) that is evile in some way.
How evile isn't defined again. A highschool bullie is just as much a villain as Thanos.
A villain protagonist technically doesn't exist. It is a oximoron.
The only exception is stories like this where there are in-universe protagonist that don't line up with the actuall protagonist.
He fights against the protagonists and he isn't good. That makes him a villain. As well as him being the mc and not being a classical hero making him a anti hero.
Both terms don't really relate in any way.
If you don't believe me look in a dictionary.
@Randomeusersarereal I won’t get into it about the definition of a villain, but I would like to clarify that being an Antagonist/Protagonist is completely separate from being a Villain/Hero.
A protagonist is the driving force of a stories plot. Good or evil, the existence of the story is on behalf of the protagonist. An antagonist at its most basic definition is an obstacle in the way of the protagonist. Whether this antagonist is a living being or merely an object, their purpose in the narrative is to impair or impede the protagonist(s).
Now, my reason for clarification is this: A hero can be an antagonist and a villain can be a protagonist. In fact, I’d say that fits this story to a T. Keith is the protagonist but he is also a villain. The future hero (Yi Tian?) was the protagonist in the story Keith read in his dream, but in this story the driving force is undeniably Keith.
Other examples of villain protagonist’s include Walter from ‘Breaking Bad’, Dexter from ‘Dexter’, and Al Pacino from ‘The Godfather’.
Villain, Antihero, or Otherwise, Keith is undeniably the protagonist, and that’s exactly what makes this interesting to read, because we are seeing the motivations of a character who is not self-sacrificially good as many heroes tend to be.
@bdcrisco98 yea sadly you are wrong. You confused something. Being good or evile has nothing to do with it. Villain and her however do. A hero is a good protagonist while a villaine is a evile antagonist. (At least when it comes to literature as these terms are used different in outer contexts)
@Randomeusersarereal no, I agree bdcrisco. A villain can be a protagonist of a story and the vice versa is also true. He also gave you examples of villain protagonist which you ignored.
@ArtemSolis Yes indeed. Just look up Redo Of Healer. The protagonist is very much full opposite of a hero despite having the said title/class. He’s very much enjoying being as villainy and vile as he can be towards his enemies and even towards other that weren’t his enemies. One glance at sh*t he’s done enough to call him a psychotic madman so yes. Protagonist can very be a villain.