Chapter 56: The Secret

Chapter 56: The Secret

Night.

Qin Yan lay on a wooden bed that smelled of mildew, and with a single glance, he could see the moonlight streaming in through the window.

The countryside room had no particular decor—the bedroom didn't even have curtains, furnished only with a bed and a table.

Though simple, it was clean and tidy.

Outside, the night was pristine, flooding the room with light.

Qin Yan lay with his hands clasped behind his head. Even though he was dead tired from the day, sleep just wouldn't come.

He wondered what Su Zhiyu was up to.

Once the thought crossed his mind, he couldn't shake it. Qin Yan fished out his phone anyway, the screen's light illuminating his face, showcasing his sharp, handsome features.

When it came to texting or calling, Qin Yan went straight for the call.

Though Su Zhiyu probably wouldn't answer, right...

"Hello?"

When the cool, clear voice came through the phone, Qin Yan was briefly stunned, hardly believing it.

Su Zhiyu actually picked up?

When there was no response for a few seconds, Su Zhiyu glanced at the phone, confirmed it was connected, and put it back to his ear.

"Qin Yan?"

"I'm here." Qin Yan also brought the phone to his ear. The breathing on the other end was so faint he could barely hear it.

A brief silence fell again.

Su Zhiyu asked first, "How's your grandmother doing?"

When she came up, Qin Yan thought back on everything that happened today, pushing aside those strange feelings, and smiled. "She's fine. She got hurt, but it's nothing serious. I brought her back home today."

"That's good."

"Yeah. Once I get Grandma settled, I should be able to come back."

Su Zhiyu didn't respond to that, but instead asked a bit of a nosy question: "Qin Yan, have you ever thought about... having your grandmother come live with you?"

Qin Yan's eyes brightened immediately, and he bolted upright, exclaiming, "Right, why didn't I think of that? She can't take care of herself out there in the countryside all alone."

Su Zhiyu secretly sighed in relief. "Mm."

"I'll talk to her tomorrow and have her come stay with me."

Qin Yan's voice perked up, sounding like he was genuinely happy. Su Zhiyu's eyes crinkled slightly at the corners. "Good."

He remembered overhearing Qin Yan on the phone once—he clearly wanted to go see his grandma, but for some reason, he wouldn't.

Missing someone but too afraid to face it.

That must be tough too.

The next day.

Qin Yan was up bright and early and had just told his grandmother about the idea when the old lady shook her head with a firm expression. "No, I'm not going. I can't leave here."

"Why? Grandma, you're not getting any younger. If anything happened, I might not even find out."

"No, I can't, I can't leave."

"If you want to come back and visit, I can come with you anytime. We're just moving somewhere else—this is still our home."

Qin Yan tried to talk her into it, but no matter what he said, the old lady kept shaking her head, a flicker of fear in her eyes.

"Grand—"

"A-Yan." Qin Mo had appeared in the doorway at some point, standing there with a blank face, his tone indifferent. "Grandma doesn't want to leave. Don't push her."

Qin Yan frowned. "But Grandma is all alone here—"

"She's not alone."

"?"

"There are plenty of folks in the village." Qin Mo's gaze shifted to the old lady. "They're all Grandma's friends, right?"

The old lady nodded in agreement. "Yes, Xiao Yan. I've lived here my whole life. I just can't bear to leave."

"A-Yan, come with me to pay our respects to Mom and Dad."

Qin Yan wanted to keep pushing, but after Qin Mo turned away, he saw the old lady give him a tiny shake of her head, signaling for him to drop it.

What exactly was off here?

Qin Yan had to shelve the idea for now and follow Qin Mo to pay respects to the original owner's parents.

The graves of the original owner's parents were in the village, just a few dozen meters from the old house.

The weeds around the two graves had been cleared away neatly, and a small yard had been built next to them.

Several paper money trees were stuck into the ground on top.

The graves were well taken care of. Qin Yan stood solemnly in front of them, paying respects to the parents on behalf of the original owner.

"A-Yan."

A hand suddenly fell on his shoulder. A cold wind swept by, and Qin Yan flinched with a shiver.

"Mom and Dad really missed you. You haven't been to see them in years. I won't do that again this time—you should go see them more often. Don't make them wait, or they'll be upset."

"?"

No matter how he heard it, there was something weird about those words.

But before Qin Yan could think it over, they had to go back. Qin Mo was busy, though with what, Qin Yan had no idea.

Bored with nothing to do, Qin Yan turned his attention to the other villagers in the area.

Maybe he could get some answers about the Qin family from other people.

"Isn't this the Qin family's second boy?"

An old man carrying a hoe stopped and stared at Qin Yan, who didn't recognize him and could only go with his gut and greet the old man.

"You still remember me? I haven't been back in a while."

The old man laughed heartily: "A handsome young guy like you, how could I forget? You haven't been back for years, and your grandmother's been pining for you."

Qin Yan swallowed the bitter lump in his throat and casually fished for information: "I wanted to take my grandmother to live with me in the city, but she's unwilling."

"That's for sure. Your older brother has a weird temper. If it hadn't been for him back then... your family wouldn't have ended up like this. The old lady's still got a grudge against him."

Qin Yan caught a thread and quickly pressed for more, but unfortunately, the old man took off after just a few words.

It looked like these villagers really knew something.

And it was related to Qin Mo.

While Qin Mo was busy, Qin Yan had an excuse ready and strolled around, chatting with different villagers.

He hadn't been back for years, so it was normal for his personality to have changed a bit; no one suspected anything.

The villagers weren't sly, but what they said made Qin Yan more and more uneasy, to the point he couldn't bring himself to think about it.

...

"Your grandmother doesn't want to come with you?" Su Zhiyu was somewhat surprised.

Qin Yan switched the phone to his other hand: "Yeah, but I don't think she's truly unwilling—she's trapped by something and has to stay there."

"Trapped by what, exactly?"

"Qin Mo."

It must have something to do with him. He had to get to the bottom of this mystery before he could have any shot at taking down Qin Mo.

Just as Qin Yan finished speaking, someone knocked on his door.