Chapter 160

Chapter 160

◎ The Real Villain! ◎

Lost in their own thoughts, the group walked until they reached the river and stopped.

At this moment, the river's surface was like a mirror, reflecting the distant mountains and white clouds, still as beautiful as a flawless ink painting, completely unaffected by the bad moods of these young people.

Yang Yiming had been quiet the whole time. He stared at the calm river for a moment, probably couldn't hold it in anymore, and hesitantly asked Qu Liang about the cause of the argument. Kuang Hui, always quick to get in on the fun, hurried over to Yang Yiming, and the two of them took turns explaining what had happened to Yang Yiming.

Meng Qi found a dry spot not too far from Kuang Hui and the others and pulled Wang Boyuan to sit down.

Meng Qi wasn't too discouraged because he trusted Ren Suiyi. While sitting in a daze with Wang Boyuan, he was actually waiting to hear from Ren Suiyi.

Moreover, more than disappointment, he felt sadness, but this sadness wasn't because of Ren Suiwu... Meng Qi cupped Wang Boyuan's right hand in both of his, staring at the calm water while quietly feeling Wang Boyuan's body temperature.

The water's surface was like a mirror, but underneath it was not calm; there was another incredibly vibrant underwater world.

Meng Qi roughly understood why Wang Boyuan had said those words to Ren Suiwu. Wang Boyuan's desire to leave this place was even more urgent than his own. Although Wang Boyuan appeared calm and composed on the surface, Meng Qi knew that at this moment, Wang Boyuan's heart was a turbulent storm.

"Distracted" perfectly captured what was going on in Wang Boyuan's head.

Even before finding him, Meng Qi guessed that Wang Boyuan might have already tried many ways to "return to his hometown." The seemingly unreliable methods Wang Boyuan suggested to Ren Suiwu might not have been angry words or offhand remarks—they might be what he actually planned to try next.

His Brother Boyuan had a relentless drive—or rather, the firm belief that he could do anything he set his mind to.

After explaining the reasons, Kuang Hui and the others didn't delve deeper. They were now fully focused on playing the game of skipping stones, laughing and messing around, comparing who picked the roundest stone, who threw the farthest, and who created the biggest ripples. It was even more childish than the kids at Sunflower Elementary. It seemed Ren Suiwu's angry outburst hadn't bothered them at all.

Meng Qi still held Wang Boyuan's right hand tightly with his left, wrapping his right arm around his knees. He propped his chin on his knees, watched for a bit, then turned to Wang Boyuan and asked quietly, "Brother, are you afraid?"

Wang Boyuan seemed to have his answer ready; he replied without any hesitation, "No."

"'Everyone must die,' right? Brother, you used to say that often," Meng Qi asked.

Wang Boyuan shook his head at Meng Qi. "It's not just that saying. It's also that some things you only find answers to by acting. I don't want to just wait around."

"But the answers aren't necessarily good," Meng Qi hurriedly reminded Wang Boyuan, unconsciously gripping Wang Boyuan's hand tighter and tighter.

Wang Boyuan turned his toes toward Meng Qi, placed his left hand over Meng Qi's hand, gently soothing him, and smiled, "What's there to fear? Everyone must die."

Meng Qi instantly felt warmth in his hand, but coldness in his heart, feeling once again like he was caught between ice and fire.

At this point, the conversation had entered a loop. He knew that continuing to talk was meaningless and wouldn't change anything, so he stopped speaking, lowered his head, and let his tears quietly fall onto the grass without disturbing anyone.

He thought that if he had half of Wang Boyuan's confidence and his attitude of living in the face of death, then he wouldn't be so mentally drained and torn up inside, nor would he feel sad about who left and who stayed. But since he had planned to include Ren Suiyi as part of his family, his internal conflict had already lessened significantly. He thought the days ahead should be a bit easier.

Even if Wang Boyuan left someday, he should be able to live well.

Of course, that only mattered if he got to live.

He was afraid of death; he wanted to live.

"Oh man, what incredible luck! I actually hit a fish!" A big silver carp floated to the surface belly-up, and Kuang Hui's voice rang out loud and clear.

Meng Qi interrupted his wandering thoughts, stood up, and walked a few steps toward Kuang Hui, smiling as he watched them frantically trying to scoop the unlucky fish out of the water.

No matter how much he hated to see it, he wouldn't stop Wang Boyuan from doing what he wanted. No matter where they were, as long as everyone could be happy, that was the most important thing.

"Oh no, it got away!"

Because the fish wasn't caught intentionally, the force of the hit wasn't strong, so it was only stunned for a moment. Before they could catch it, it woke up, flicked its tail, and swam back to the bottom of the river triumphantly.

Kuang Hui was very annoyed, constantly blaming himself for hesitating. He should have taken off his shoes and gone into the river to catch it firmly before it woke up.

Qu Liang patted Kuang Hui on the shoulder to comfort him. "There are plenty of fish in this river. If that one got away, just catch another. It's not worth getting so angry over."

Kuang Hui was still angry; Qu Liang's words didn't console him. "This is the first time in my life I've hit a fish! I wanted to take a picture and show off on my Moments. It got away, it's gone. I'm so mad."

"Then hit another one. This time, film the whole process," Qu Liang continued to comfort Kuang Hui while looking for small stones in the grass.

Zhao Zheyuan and Yang Yiming also joined in the search for small stones.

Meng Qi walked over to Kuang Hui and told him, "The two fish I brought back at noon were also hit with stones. It's not difficult."

"Did you hit them? Tell me your trick. I just did it by pure luck; I don't even know how I hit it." Kuang Hui's fighting spirit was rekindled by Meng Qi's words.

Meng Qi was a bit embarrassed and smiled sheepishly as he explained to Kuang Hui, "Brother Sui hit them. But I was cheering him on from the side. When you hit one later, I'll cheer for you too."

"...Thanks." Kuang Hui was speechless.

Yang Yiming handed two moderately sized, round, and cute stones to Kuang Hui, then put his arm around Meng Qi's shoulder and pulled him aside. Meng Qi looked at Yang Yiming in confusion. Yang Yiming got straight to the point: "Those two Mr. Rens, they're both from the Ren family in the capital, right?"

What did he mean? Meng Qi's mental alarm bells rang loudly, and his body stiffened for a moment. He couldn't figure out why Yang Yiming was asking him this, so he stood still and didn't respond.

Afraid that Meng Qi might misunderstand his motives, Yang Yiming immediately expressed his stance: "Don't worry, I'm not interested in you or their affairs. The reason I'm asking is that my university is only one street away from where the second young master Ren studied. He was a prominent figure at his school, and because our schools were so close, he was also very famous at my school. I saw him a few times back then, but only from a distance, so I'm not entirely sure if your friend is him."

"So what? What difference does it make whether he is or not?" Meng Qi asked calmly.

He didn't understand Yang Yiming's logic. He said he wasn't interested in Ren Suiyi's affairs, so why was he asking if he was from the Ren family? Was it really just out of curiosity?

Seeing that Meng Qi had become wary, Yang Yiming stopped beating around the bush and directly explained his reason: "I want to go back to playing matches. Right now, only the young master Ren can help me."

Meng Qi remembered that Qu Liang had investigated Yang Yiming and said that he had offended his team leader, which led to his expulsion from the league and even threats to his personal safety, forcing him to come here. Although Meng Qi had never directly verified the truth of this reason with Yang Yiming, given the strength of "Tianshu Zhong'an," he didn't doubt it.

It wasn't that he couldn't help, but...

"How do you want Brother Sui and Brother Wu to help you? How dangerous is it?"

As for risky favors, to be honest, Meng Qi didn't want Ren Suiyi and Ren Suiwu to get involved. Although he sympathized with Yang Yiming's plight, compared to the personal safety of Ren Suiyi and Ren Suiwu, the latter was clearly more important.

Yang Yiming immediately raised three fingers of his right hand to assure Meng Qi, "For the Ren family, the risk is almost zero. They just need to say one word to my boss, and I can return to the league team. Really, I'm not lying to you."

To increase his credibility, he also explained to Meng Qi why he was so eager to do this: "As I get older, I can clearly feel my hand dexterity starting to decline. If I don't seize this opportunity to go back, even if I have a chance later, I won't be able to prove myself on the court. I really need this opportunity, and it really won't cause any harm to the young master Ren."

"First, tell me who your boss is." Meng Qi didn't dare to agree to Yang Yiming easily. He wanted to find out who his boss was first, then have Qu Liang and Zhao Zheyuan investigate. If the person was engaged in legitimate business, fine. But if he was involved in anything shady, that would be a different matter.

Yang Yiming said, "My boss is Li Jinqiu. He..."

"Wait!"

Li Jinqiu, Li Jintong, Jinqiu, Jintong, Qiu, Tong...

Before Yang Yiming could finish, Meng Qi interrupted him directly, "Does Li Jinqiu have an older or younger sister named Li Jintong?"

"He has an older sister named Li Jintong," Yang Yiming replied.

Meng Qi: ...

This really was a case of family falling out with family. It seemed this favor wasn't hard to help with—he could even handle it himself.

But the problem is that Yang Yiming is also a "fugitive" and can't show his face. If he wants to help, he has to go about it indirectly and ask the Ren brothers for help.

Wait, no—he seemed to have missed a crucial link. Since Yang Yiming knew that Li Jinqiu's sister was Li Jintong, wouldn't he also know that Li Jintong was Meng Zhenchao's wife and the "stepmother" of "Meng Qi" in the book?

He goes by the surname Meng and has the Ren brothers by his side—any sharp-eyed person can see they're close. So his identity was basically an open book to Yang Yiming! Under those circumstances, there was no reason for Yang Yiming to bypass him and go to the Ren brothers instead.

What kind of move was this?

Was it because Yang Yiming knew that Meng Qi had escaped and wasn't in a position to reveal his identity, so he settled for the next best option?

Or was there another reason?

Thinking this over, Meng Qi gave Yang Yiming a long, serious look and then asked, "Do you know where your boss's sister, Li Jintong, is now?"

"I do," Yang Yiming replied frankly.

"Then why didn't you ask me for help?" Meng Qi felt he had added another person he couldn't understand.

This time, Yang Yiming hesitated for a few seconds before answering, "Since you've chosen to stay here, you must want to keep your whereabouts hidden. That's one reason. The other reason might upset you..."

"Just say it straight. There aren't many things that can actually upset me now." Meng Qi tried to act indifferent, since he wasn't the "Meng Qi" from the book—there was no need to take things to heart.

Yang Yiming paused for another few seconds, apparently weighing the pros and cons of speaking or not. In the end, he decided to tell Meng Qi everything he knew. "For some reason, my boss holds a strong prejudice against the Meng family. He often says nasty things about them in private and has even done things to harm the Meng family's reputation. So if I asked you to help me, I'm afraid it might backfire."

Meng Qi: ...

It would definitely backfire.

But after hearing Yang Yiming's explanation, Meng Qi was genuinely excited. He had finally found a villainous character! He had a hunch that this Li Jinqiu was the key to his survival.