Late at night, at the old Qin family residence.
Qin Rui was practically tearing his hair out.
The people he sent out returned empty-handed.
If he tried again, Qin Shou would surely be prepared, but if Qin Shou didn’t die, he would definitely not let Qin Rui off.
It was only then that Qin Rui felt a sense of dread.
This wolf cub, Qin Shou, who knew how long he had been planning?
Now that Song Qing was in his hands, what happened back then was bound to come out.
This “good nephew” of his had really put on quite an act.
Qin Rui sneered, Let the reckoning come then.
I don’t believe that after living for decades more, I can’t defeat this untamable wolf cub!
Besides, if worst came to worst, he still had a backup plan.
Thinking of the trump card in his hand, Qin Rui’s mind settled slightly.
After some deliberation, he still went to Old Master Qin’s room.
The next day, news spread that Old Master Qin was gravely ill.
As the eldest legitimate grandson of the Qin family, Qin Shou’s own grandfather was ill, so he naturally had to rush back to the old Qin family residence immediately.
Qin Shou pouted unwillingly, childishly complaining to Su Yu, “That old man is pulling some trick again. His illness is ninety-nine percent faked.”
During the time he spent with Qin Shou, Su Yu had learned a bit about the Qin family.
It was no secret that Qin Shou and the Qin family didn’t get along.
Hearing this, he comforted him, “Just go back, put on a show, and that’s it.”
“Okay, I’m going now, sweetheart. I’ll video call you when I get back.”
Su Yu coldly ended the video call, grumbling internally, How can this person seriously utter such a sickeningly sweet word like ‘sweetheart’?!
***
Qin Shou went to the hospital with a fruit basket.
The ward was full of people, various relatives from the Qin family.
Hearing that the Old Master was ill, they eagerly came to check on the situation.
Seeing Qin Shou arrive, a few observant ones quickly found excuses and left first.
The less perceptive ones lingered in the ward, still trying to curry favor with Qin Shou.
Qin Shou, with a cold face, unceremoniously dismissed them, “Those of you who are busy, please go back first.”
Those who wanted to strike up a conversation awkwardly shut their mouths, belatedly realizing that CEO Qin was not in a pleasant mood today.
They quietly left.
After clearing the room, Qin Shou placed the fruit basket on the table, pulled up a chair, and sat beside the bed, looking at Old Master Qin, whose face was pale, with a half-smile.
Old Master Qin closed his eyes.
From his grandson’s attitude, he knew this time would likely not end well.
But both his palms were flesh; he couldn’t just stand by and watch his youngest son die.
A moment of deadlock hung in the ward.
Old Master Qin seemed to have finally made up his mind and slowly spoke, “A-Shou, I’m old now. Your father… The Qin Corporation will eventually be in your hands. Grandpa asks for nothing else, only that you spare your uncle this once.”
“Heh.”
Qin Shou scoffed.
Although he had always known the old man was protective of his own, he never imagined he would resort to such a foolish move as trading the Qin Corporation for his youngest son’s life.
“Spare him? Then why didn’t you spare my mother back then? She was so young when she died, and she even had a child in her belly!”
For all these years, he had wanted to question them, to ask why they couldn’t have left his mother a way out.
Qin Shou’s thoughts churned, and the anger he had bitterly suppressed finally erupted.
“You knew all along?”
The matter he had deliberately ignored was now being directly questioned.
Knowing he could no longer avoid it, Old Master Qin frankly laid everything bare.
“I knew when it was already too late. Your mother, she…”
“My mother is dead, so you naturally protected your youngest son?”
Qin Shou looked at the old man on the bed with scorn.
“My mother died, and you naturally ignored her injustice?”
Qin Shou’s face turned cold.
“You Qin family members are always so disgusting.”
“You!”
Old Master Qin clenched his hands tightly, veins bulging on his forehead, his murky eyes fixed on Qin Shou.
“You knew all along! You’ve put on quite an act all these years, not letting a single hint slip.”
“Do you all think that what happened back then was told to me by my cowardly father?”
Qin Shou suddenly revealed a strange smile.
He leaned slightly closer to Old Master Qin, his voice soft, like a ghost.
“Actually, eighteen years ago, I already knew. All these years, I’ve remembered it all.”
He straightened up, looking at Old Master Qin’s ever-changing expression, the smile on his face growing wider.
He had waited too long for this moment.
Eighteen years ago, Qin Shou was only ten years old.
Old Master Qin looked at Qin Shou in disbelief.
It turned out that what happened back then had already caught his eye.
Perhaps to save his life, perhaps for revenge, this child had endured until now before revealing his claws.
What goes around comes around. It just wasn’t time yet.
He slumped back onto the bed. Old Master Qin’s spirit seemed to be drained in an instant; he looked as if he had aged more than ten years.
His cloudy eyes slowly turned to Qin Shou, his voice hoarse and unpleasant, “What do you want to do?”
“What do I want to do?”
Qin Shou savored the phrase playfully, without a trace of warmth in his gaze.
“I want Qin Rui to pay a blood debt with blood.”
The old man’s hand twitched involuntarily, his tone already carrying a hint of pleading, “He is your uncle, after all. Besides, your mother, she…”
“My mother is already dead! Along with the child in her belly!”
***
Qin Shou’s suddenly raised voice drowned out the old man’s protests.
“So what?”
Qin Shou laughed hysterically, a crazed look on his face.
“I have to make Qin Rui go down there and apologize to her. Do you know how much pain she suffered? You don’t know.”
“You think a person’s death means you can just move on?”
“Impossible,” Qin Shou’s face darkened again, looking mockingly at the person in front of him.
“Her revenge, I remember it all. Not only Qin Rui will die, but you, Qin Feng, and the Qin Corporation—none of you will escape.”
Old Master Qin looked at Qin Shou, who resembled a vengeful ghost, with horror.
His lips trembled, his face was ashen, and his finger shook as he pointed at Qin Shou, wanting to say something but failing.
His eyes rolled back, and he completely fainted.
Qin Shou sat quietly by the bed for a while, then went forward to pull the blanket over the old man.
Looking at the deep lines on the old man’s face, his voice grew even softer, “Just watch, this is the bitter fruit you yourselves sowed back then.”
Without another glance, he turned and left the room.
***
One story ends, another begins.
While dark currents surged on that side, Su Yu’s situation was no better.
He was facing a “three-person interrogation.”
Su Yu was surrounded by his mother and maternal uncles, six eyes intently fixed on him.
He felt like an innocent woman being bullied.
“Mom, Uncles, you’ve really misunderstood!”
Su Yu wanted to cry but had no tears.
He had just brought Qin Shou back for a quick visit, and not long after he left, Su Yu found himself being interrogated by three people.
They insisted he and Qin Shou had some indescribable… “thing” going on.
He felt utterly wronged, alright?
Even though he did feel something, that didn’t mean Qin Shou did too.
So exasperating.
At times like these, Luo Jianyang always loved to join in the fun.
Looking at his nephew’s flushed face, Luo Jianyang chuckled, adding fuel to the fire, “Didn’t you used to say you didn’t like girls? I think Qin Shou is quite good, just a bit old.”
Su Yu’s face flushed as he anxiously retorted, “Uncle, what nonsense are you talking about? Qin Shou and I are just friends, really.”
Luo Jianyang, “Oh. Too bad I don’t believe it.”
Luo Jianyuan subtly glared at his silly younger brother, making him shut up, then turned to educate his naive nephew.
“Qin Shou is a cunning and resourceful man in the business world. When you interact with him, you need to be very careful, lest you suffer a loss without even knowing it.”
He said, looking at his poor nephew with worried eyes.
He was practically heartbroken.
“Yes, and he’s so old too.”
Luo Jianyang, unwilling to be left out, quickly chimed in.
I really am not dating him, believe me!
“Alright, alright, that’s enough,” Luo Xiaoman finally took pity on her son and stepped in to rescue him, seeing him looking so dejected.
“Son, don’t mind what they say. If Qin Shou bullies you, come home and tell Mom. Our Luo family isn’t so easy to bully.”
Su Yu’s face was impassive, Oh.
***
Finally escaping their clutches, Su Yu calmly returned to his room and locked himself in.
He refused to go out again.
Lying on the bed, Su Yu rolled around a few times with his tablet.
The dim screen lit up, revealing the handsome profile of a man on the screensaver.
Su Yu hugged the tablet and pecked it.
The photo on the screensaver was secretly taken a few days ago during a video call with a certain someone.
The video’s resolution was a bit blurry, but it didn’t stop the man’s incredibly handsome face from emitting pink love waves towards Su Yu.
After mooning over the photo for a while, Su Yu dialed a certain person’s number.
The phone beeped twice and was quickly answered.
“Qin Shou?”
Su Yu’s soft little voice was especially cute.
“Hmm?”