Chapter 118: Must Dig Out the Secret

Chapter 118: We Have to Uncover the Secret

Just then, there was a faint sound at the door.

"Who's there?!" Jian Zhengqing's eyes flashed with menace as he snapped.

Jian Zhenghua also tensed up, his face stern. He immediately strode to the door and pulled it open, only to find his daughter standing outside, her hand raised as if she had just been about to knock.

Jian Shishi looked startled. "What's wrong, Dad? Is... is there something on my face?"

Jian Zhenghua demanded, "What are you doing here?"

"Mom asked me to check if you're coming back to the villa tonight. She said she doesn’t want to stay here. Did something happen? Dad, you look like you’re about to bite someone... I'm scared..." Jian Shishi took two steps back, managing an awkward smile.

At that moment, Jian Zhengqing walked over, reverting to his usual authoritative tone as the elder. "Shishi, was anyone else out there just now besides you?"

Jian Shishi shook her head. "No one else. Uncle, were you and Dad discussing something?"

"Mm... nothing important." Jian Zhengqing cleared his throat. "Your grandfather hasn’t woken up yet, so your father and I will definitely be staying here tonight. If you’re bored waiting around, you and your mother can go back ahead of us."

Jian Zhenghua added, "Yeah, you and your mom go ahead. Your uncle and I still have some things to talk about."

"Oh, okay then..." Jian Shishi didn’t enter the room. After responding, she turned to leave.

But after taking two steps, Jian Zhenghua called out to her again. "Shishi."

"Hmm?"

"Just now, outside... could you hear what your uncle and I were talking about?"

"No? The soundproofing in Grandpa’s house is so good—how could I hear anything? Are you worried someone was eavesdropping? No way! The butler and Jian Ye are all in Grandpa’s room."

Jian Shishi seemed to understand what her father was thinking and said dismissively.

Her father didn’t press further and let her leave.

Once the door closed, Jian Zhengqing chided, "That last question was too obvious. You might as well have told her outright that we were discussing something no one else should hear."

"Relax, big brother. That’s my daughter—don’t I know her? She’s straightforward, no ulterior motives. When I talk to her, I don’t need to tread carefully. Just a casual question—she won’t overthink it." Jian Zhenghua said confidently in his understanding of Jian Shishi.

"Maybe we’re just being paranoid. From now on... let’s not discuss this topic at home." Jian Zhengqing let out a relieved sigh.

This matter—aside from his brother—he hadn’t even told his wife.

That narrow-minded woman had been acting like a harpy lately. He had considered divorce, but she threw such a fit at home that he could only resort to giving her the cold shoulder. The two of them were now at a standoff. Ever since their son was imprisoned, they’d grown even more resentful of each other.

If not for the incident with the old man, they would still be in the middle of their cold war.

...

After navigating multiple corridors, Jian Shishi found an empty corner and crouched down.

Her legs were still shaky the entire time.

She had barely held it together earlier.

She had heard everything her father and uncle said—every single word.

She hadn’t meant to eavesdrop. Just as she was about to knock, the tone of their conversation inside the room had suddenly turned dark and threatening. She had taken a step back, about to leave immediately, but accidentally rustled.

Her father swung the door open.

She could only keep telling herself in her heart: I didn't hear anything. Stay calm.

She put on an act like she'd just gotten there, but the hand behind her back wouldn't stop shaking.

Fortunately, neither her father nor her uncle noticed anything unusual about her.

Hiding in this corner, she finally began recalling what the two had just said. The realization hit her late, making her clap a hand over her mouth, her eyes widening.

Her father and uncle actually said...

They'd planned Third Uncle's death all along?!

Wasn't Third Uncle’s death just some random accident?

For so long, Jian Shishi had believed exactly that.

Her impression of Third Uncle was actually pretty decent—unlike Jian Song’s hatred toward Jian Ye’s family. When she was little, Third Uncle often brought her delicious snacks and fun toys.

She hadn’t played with Jian Ye before simply because she found him such a dumb, spineless loser. She felt embarrassed to be seen with him.

When Third Uncle and his wife died, Jian Shishi felt kinda bad.

The couple had been good folks—they just had a foolish son.

But the current Jian Ye wasn't the same pathetic kid anymore.

Jian Ye’s popularity was blowing up now, and marrying into the Yi family, an ultra-rich family, had further elevated his status.

He even looked much more easy on the eyes now. If it weren’t for her friends wouldn't shut up about him, Jian Shishi wouldn’t have known how captivating Jian Ye’s dancing was.

Her parents wanted her, a girl, to compete with the family’s male heirs for the inheritance, but Jian Shishi couldn't care less about that.

As a member of the Jian family, she already had more cash than she knew what to do with. Managing a company or anything of the sort was totally not her thing.

All she wanted was to live peacefully as a wealthy young lady, occasionally going out with her girlfriends to parties and showing off her latest luxury purchases and pretty dresses. That was her simplest joy.

But now that she knew this bombshell of a secret, Jian Shishi couldn't even look at Jian Ye the same way as before.

Her father was one of the masterminds behind the deaths of Jian Ye’s parents. She couldn’t fathom why her father and uncle would commit such a cold-blooded, messed-up thing.

Weren’t they brothers? Didn’t they share blood? How could they become so cold and ruthless?

What kind of serious bad blood could drive someone to kill their own kin...

After Jian Ye’s parents died, she and Jian Song had even bullied him.

Looking back now, she was just as bad as them.

Jian Ye must never get wind of this. And... neither should Grandpa.

But from the conversation she overheard between her father and uncle, it seemed they weren’t entirely sure whether Grandpa already knew.

Which meant... Grandpa’s sudden illness might have been from finding out the truth, unable to bear the shock?

That was why Uncle had been so eager earlier to barge into Grandpa’s room to check on him.

Jian Shishi suddenly found herself torn up inside.

Grandpa had always been kind to her. Although he could be strict at times, he always tried his best to indulge her small requests.

She didn’t want anything to happen to Grandpa, but… if he woke up and exposed what her father and uncle had done, they would be ruined!

What should she do…

"Second Sister? What are you muttering about here?" A clear, gentle voice sounded. "Auntie was looking for you earlier but couldn’t find you. So you’re here, next to my room."

Jian Ye suddenly appeared in front of Jian Shishi, scaring her half to death.

Her face turned ghostly pale, and she forgot to scream, her mind racing to recall whether she had accidentally muttered anything revealing.

"I—I’m tired, just resting here for a bit."

Jian Shishi stood up from her crouched position, but she felt dizzy from staying in that position for too long.

She stumbled to one side.

"Second Sister, are you okay?" Jian Ye quickly reached out to steady her, his voice full of concern.

Jian Shishi instantly jerked her hand away, then immediately regretted her overly intense reaction and awkwardly said, "I—I’m fine. Weren’t you taking care of Grandpa in his room? Why are you out here?"

"My husband arrived, so I stepped out to use the bathroom. He’s keeping an eye on things for me inside."

"What?" Jian Shishi gasped, her voice tense. "Third Young Master Yi… is here too?"

"Of course. He was worried about me, so he came over after finishing work. Second Sister, you’re sweating. Are you sure you’re alright?" Jian Ye fluttered his large, innocent eyes, his harmless appearance highly deceptive.

Jian Shishi had initially relaxed upon seeing that Jian Ye seemed oblivious, but the mention of the Yi family’s arrival made her heart leap into her throat again.

Jian Ye might be naive, but Yi Siyu was no fool. A man capable of managing such a massive corporation was bound to be sharp. If they showed even the slightest flaw, he would easily pick up on something.

"I might be a little hypoglycemic today. I’ll be fine after resting for a bit. I won’t keep you—I should go now."

Afraid that lingering too long would arouse suspicion, Jian Shishi quickly made her excuses and left.

Jian Ye, however, watched her retreating figure with a small smirk. The innocent expression vanished from his face, replaced by cold mockery.

Jian Ye: "She definitely knows something. I didn’t even ask anything, and she was already scared stiff."

System 748: "Would the host like to know what she’s thinking?"

Jian Ye: "Is that possible?"

System 748: "Uh… not at the moment. But in a couple of days, the system shop will offer a Mind-Reading Card. It only works for five minutes and costs 1,000 Green Tea Coins."

Jian Ye: "Why so expensive? Other item cards like the Surveillance Card are so cheap, but this one is 20 times the price!"

System 748: "As the system shop upgrades, item prices also increase. Even the tools you bought before have recently gone up in price. Take a look."

Jian Ye checked and found it was true—even previously used items were nearly in the four digits.

He had thought that after earning a huge amount of Green Tea Points, he could go on a shopping spree. Who knew the system shop would have such bad inflation…

Jian Ye: "Fine, get me one when it’s available."

System 748: "Got it, Host."

Jian Ye felt that without resorting to extreme measures, it would be difficult to uncover these people’s schemes.

The other party is a wily old fox who's been around for decades, while I'm just a young guy who's been in this world for less than a year.

Now that I've decided to get to the bottom of Old Mr. Jian's situation, Jian Ye must uncover what they've been hiding all along.

Something tells me whatever they're desperately concealing isn't simple.

Just now, after Yi Siyu arrived, he seized the opportunity to do some quick reconnaissance—and sure enough, he caught Jian Shishi acting suspiciously.

It seems the breakthrough can only come from his cousin.

Jian Shishi's panicked and flustered expression just now made one thing clear: she knows something.

He must dig out the secret.

Returning to the room, Jian Ye picked up the insulated food container nearby. "Brother Siyu, you came straight here without eating. Have some soup—I cooked it myself."

Originally, he had planned to deliver it to Yi Siyu's office, but halfway there, he got word that his grandfather had collapsed and immediately headed to the Jian family home with the lunchbox in hand.

The container really held up—despite the cold weather, the soup was still warm.

"Have you eaten?" Yi Siyu asked, concerned that Jian Ye might be hungry.

"I had a little at home."

"Eat some more with me. I'll stay here with you today. After we finish, you can rest—I'll keep an eye on Grandfather."

Author's Note

Jian Shishi: Jian Ye seems naive and easy to manage, but Yi Siyu is a bit scary.

Jian Xiaogou: Hubby, they say my eyes are clear and innocent—for real?

Yi Siyu: ...