Chapter 74

Chapter 74

Xie Yunshen looked up and exhaled, watching the mist gradually dissipate. "Old Five, tell me, now that the Third Young Master's boyfriend has returned alive, what are you going to do?"

Early this morning, Qin Donghai invited Yan Shiqi to the Qin family villa.

The two men had been talking in the study for quite a while. Xie Yunshen and Yi Wuyi had been standing in the corridor outside for half an hour.

Yi Wuyi lowered his head. "I think the Third Young Master was lying to me."

Xie Yunshen was taken aback. "What?"

"Last night, when I returned, I gave that necklace back to the Third Young Master. I told him there was indeed nothing wrong with it and promised I wouldn't touch his things again."

"And then?"

"From his reaction, he seemed to have forgotten all about it—forgotten the necklace entirely. He was just eager to... be with me."

"Be with you?" Xie Yunshen's brain short-circuited for a moment.

"Have sex."

Xie Yunshen felt awkward. "...Oh."

Old Five came off as cold and aloof, but he didn't mince words when talking about such things.

"Then what?"

"I said, 'Your boyfriend has returned. We should stop this relationship.'"

Xie Yunshen thought he might die laughing. Old Five seemed so honest and straightforward, yet his words could leave someone like the Third Young Master speechless.

"So, what did the Third Young Master say?"

"The Third Young Master didn't say anything, so I left."

"Could it be... even after all this, the Third Young Master and that gold-digger Han Yuqiu could still be together?"

Speaking of this, Xie Yunshen found it strange. Yesterday, when he saw Han Yuqiu come back from the dead, Yan Shizhou was eerily calm, completely devoid of the desperate, life-or-death attitude he'd had before.

"Of course not. Having offended both the Yan and Qin families, Han Yuqiu is definitely done for. But the Third Young Master isn't the least bit anxious. He was still in the mood to have sex with me?" Yi Wuyi said.

"...Well, that." Xie Yunshen indicated that as a lifelong singleton, he found such questions hard to answer.

Yi Wuyi continued, "I'm uncomfortable. If this continues, it will only get worse."

Xie Yunshen patted Yi Wuyi's shoulder. He felt Yi Wuyi had a point.

"Old Five, I still hope you can be happier."

Regardless of whether Old Five was straight or not, if there was no emotional foundation and one kept forcing themselves into an intimate relationship, problems would arise sooner or later.

At that moment, the study door opened, and Qin Donghai's voice gradually became clear. "Mr. Yan, regarding the incident the other day, you saw it too..."

Xie Yunshen saw Yan Shiqi come out of the room.

"How do you plan to deal with Han Yuqiu?"

"I've already filed a report. Officers will be here soon to arrest him. I want him to spend the rest of his life inside." Speaking of this person, a look of deep, cold fury appeared on Qin Donghai's face.

"Didn't he try to run?"

Qin Donghai sneered. "Of course he wanted to run. Last night, that little bastard tried to escape with two of my Qin family heirlooms. He was caught just outside the door. I've already had my lawyer draft the documents."

He was caught the moment he tried to flee.

Xie Yunshen thought to himself, Qin Donghai must have done this on purpose. Finding the fraud charge insufficient, he deliberately used two heirlooms to lure Han Yuqiu.

Now, with both fraud and theft charges, Han Yuqiu was in for a world of trouble.

"My wife was the most hurt by this. These past days, she truly treated that little beast as her own son."

Just then, the sound of a police car came from outside, followed by two officers entering the villa's front courtyard.

Immediately after, Han Yuqiu's agonized wails and sobs came from the east. "Mom! Mom! Please forgive me just this once!"

Xie Yunshen looked down from the second floor and saw Han Yuqiu being dragged out by two bodyguards.

It was clear Han Yuqiu was truly reluctant to part with this immense wealth and luxury. His hands clung desperately to an ornamental pine tree, his eyes red from crying. "Mom, I really didn't mean to..."

The two bodyguards yanked forcefully at Han Yuqiu's body.

Seeing this scene, Qin Donghai stormed downstairs angrily. Xie Yunshen also tugged at Mr. Yan's sleeve. "Come on, Mr. Yan, let's go."

What a great show this was, and free of charge too.

Qin Donghai barked sharply at the two bodyguards, "Let go immediately!"

The two bodyguards immediately released their grip!

Xie Yunshen was stunned. Hey, Qin Donghai wasn't actually feeling sorry for this fake son, was he?

Han Yuqiu looked at Qin Donghai with hope. "Dad... I was wrong!"

Qin Donghai gave him a resounding slap across the face. "Who's your dad?!"

After hitting him, he pointed at his ornamental pine tree. "You almost ruined my pine! Do you know how many years I've been caring for it?!"

It was clear Qin Donghai hadn't held back at all. Han Yuqiu's face swelled up high, and he was stunned on the spot.

Xie Yunshen wanted to laugh but felt it inappropriate.

Han Yuqiu suddenly saw something, as if spotting a new hope. He ran to the set of Song-style sofas in the hall. "Young Master Shizhou! Young Master Shizhou... You've come to save me, right?"

Yan Shizhou was sitting on the sofa, his eyes fixed intently on Yi Wuyi standing behind Yan Shiqi. His expression was grim, and he had been completely ignoring the commotion.

Already in an extremely dark mood, seeing Han Yuqiu, he just let out a cold sneer, staring coldly at him. "It would have been better if you had just died back then..."

Such a vicious remark didn't make Han Yuqiu shed his thick skin. He smiled. "Young Master Shizhou, I did help you before. Please save me. I didn't mean to target the Yan family that day either..."

Qin Donghai gave a signal. The two police officers handcuffed Han Yuqiu and led him away.

After Han Yuqiu was taken away, Mrs. Qin finally emerged from inside. Seeing Xie Yunshen, she immediately walked up, her expression concerned. "Mr. Xie, about that child you mentioned last time who looks very much like me, could you tell me more?"

Xie Yunshen said, "Mrs. Qin, I understand what you mean. But I only met him once. I'm actually not clear about these matters either..."

Mrs. Qin's eyes filled with disappointment and heartache. Xie Yunshen had no choice but to point to Yan Shiying beside him. "Perhaps you could ask our Second Young Master. Back then, when the Arena people wanted to capture that child, it was our Second Young Master who took him in."

Hearing this, Mr. and Mrs. Qin immediately looked towards Yan Shiying.

Yan Shiying, who had been brought into the conversation, could only stand up from the sofa.

"Second Young Master, what does that child you mentioned look like?"

Yan Shiying thought for a moment, then scrolled to two photos on his phone—pictures he had taken of Xiao Lan on the cruise ship earlier.

Mrs. Qin took the phone, and upon seeing the person in the photo, her eyes immediately lit up with surprise and joy: "Donghai, look, it's our child!"

Qin Donghai examined it carefully and indeed, the resemblance to Mrs. Qin was striking.

He then took out a baby photo from the antique cabinet and compared the two.

"Indeed, they're practically identical. It must be Xiao Lan."

Mrs. Qin touched the phone screen gently, her eyes unconsciously softening with maternal affection: "...My child has grown so big..."

Qin Donghai's expression turned serious: "Don't worry. I don't believe that even with these photos, we won't find our child this time!"

Yan Shiying sent all the photos from his phone to Qin Donghai.

Mrs. Qin continued to ask Yan Shiying about the child, and Yan Shiying was able to answer most of her questions. Qin Donghai listened quietly on the side.

Seeing that matters were nearly settled, Yan Shiqi said, "Mr. Qin, we will be returning tonight. If you get the chance, please visit the Yan family in South Province so we can show you some hospitality."

"Mr. Yan, please stay at least two more days. Once we find the child, we can have him thank you in person," Qin Donghai said.

"We'll have chances in the future."

Qin Donghai added, "Mr. Yan, regarding the matter of the Mo family..."

Xie Yunshen rarely saw him hesitate. The Mo family—was that the same "Mo" from the jade pendant?

Yan Shiqi replied, "As I mentioned earlier, I will inform you if there are any developments."

In his heart, Yan Shiying wanted to wait until the "little cake" was found before leaving, but he knew this matter couldn't be resolved in a day or two. Moreover, Yan's Group also needed him, so he followed his elder brother's lead and departed.

Before they left P City, Xie Yunshen saw a political news report playing on a building's large screen.

"The election results for the next Region Chief of North Boundary will be announced in six months. The voting period, which has lasted a year, is now halfway through. Currently, our city's mayor, Mo Huaidou, is leading in votes. Residents of North Boundary can cast their valuable votes through real-name authentication on the official website or register to vote at administrative offices."

Xie Yunshen noticed Mr. Yan's gaze also fixed on the news.

Pale sunlight filtered through the car window, casting light on his profile, making his brows and eyes appear stern and cold.

He could just make out the outline of the jade pendant in the side pocket of Mr. Yan's coat.

Was Mo Huaidou the same "Mo" from the jade pendant?

In the car, Yan Shiying asked, "Big Brother, you talked with Qin Donghai in the study for so long. What did he say?"

Yan Shiqi's gaze sharpened slightly, his lead-gray eyelashes veiling the look in his eyes as he spoke calmly, "He asked me about Pi Jiu, his accomplices from back then, and whether there were any clues regarding the many children lost by prominent families in North Boundary over the years... I only have partial knowledge of these matters."

Yan Shiying nodded and didn't ask further.

After returning to A City, there had been no news from the Qin family, and Yan Shiying felt it inappropriate to disturb them.

Gradually, everyone began to forget about the matter.

The weather grew colder, and the Lunar New Year was approaching.

With the year-end approaching, company affairs became busier, and Mr. Yan also got busier, sometimes needing to inspect various branch offices.

Xie Yunshen and Yi Wuyi often had to accompany him on business trips.

As the year-end approached, the office frequently received various gifts from partner companies.

That day, a case of red wine appeared in Yan Shiqi's office, a gift from a wine company that collaborated with Yan's Hotel.

Xie Yunshen glanced at the vintage—it was indeed a precious red wine from a premier chateau.

"However, since Mr. Yan has lost his sense of taste, sending red wine seems like a bit of a wasted effort," Xie Yunshen remarked.

Of course, he only said this when Mr. Yan was away at a meeting.

Yi Wuyi replied, "Hmm."

To this day, Xie Yunshen was still in the dark.

It was impressive that Mr. Yan had managed to keep this secret airtight for so long.

In the afternoon, Yan Shiying came to Yan Shiqi's office, saw the case of wine, and said, "Big Brother, have you tasted the wine? It's a dry red wine at its peak. If it's suitable, we can renew the contract with this company next year."

"How do you find it?"

Yan Shiying poured a glass of wine and handed it to him, saying, "It's pretty good, but I haven't tasted last year's batch, so it's hard to compare."

Yan Shiqi took the glass, took a sip, and said calmly, "I can only say the wine body is barely balanced, the acidity is slightly weak, and both the style and flavor are inferior to last year's. Last year's batch was truly the best peak period."

Hearing this, Xie Yunshen was taken aback. So, Mr. Yan could still appreciate wine?

Yi Wuyi thought to himself, finally, Mr. Yan had finally slipped up.

"Should we renew the contract then?" Yan Shiying asked.

Yan Shiqi looked at him: "We can renew, but if they insist on last year's price, it's not quite reasonable."

As he spoke, his calm and composed expression suddenly froze, and he looked at Xie Yunshen.

For the first time, Yi Wuyi saw a flicker of panic in Mr. Yan's eyes, which usually held an otherworldly detachment.

Although he quickly regained his composure, he merely lowered his gaze, bracing for Xie Yunshen's questions.

Yan Shiying frowned at his elder brother. Was this the big brother he knew?

"Ah Shen..."

Just as Yan Shiqi began to speak, Xie Yunshen suddenly put a hand on his shoulder: "Mr. Yan, your sense of taste is intact?"

"Yes."

Xie Yunshen smiled: "That's great! In that case, we can go eat hot pot together again next time."

Yi Wuyi: "..."

Yan Shiqi gazed directly at him: "Yes, we can."