Chapter 57: Goodnight. Qin Yan.

Chapter 57 Goodnight. Qin Yan.

"A Yan." It was Qin Mo's voice from outside the door. "I'm going to get a few things ready for Mom and Dad. If you trust your big bro, come help me out."

That also reached Su Zhiyu's ears on the other end of the line.

He couldn't help warning, "Don't go."

It was strange.

Qin Yan knew it was strange, but he was too eager to get to the bottom of it. He wanted to know why Grandma refused to come with him, why the original owner never came back for years, why the vibe between Qin Mo and Grandma was so weird...

And what those villagers said, too.

"Qin Yan..."

Su Zhiyu called his name but didn't continue to stop him. Still, his cool voice snapped Qin Yan back to reality.

Go or not?

"A Yan." Qin Mo knocked again from outside, his tone a little impatient. "Don't make Mom and Dad wait. Come with your brother."

There it was again!

A chill ran down Qin Yan's spine. There were still too many things he hadn't figured out.

How did the original owner's parents actually die? Grandma, Qin Mo, the original owner...

He needed to look into this first.

Qin Yan took a deep breath, making his voice sound groggy, like he'd just been woken up: "Bro, I'm already in bed. Some other time."

Qin Mo's voice went cold: "Three years. You're all grown up now, and you still won't go?"

Qin Yan pushed down the unease in his chest: "Bro, I'm just too tired."

"It won't take that long."

"But I don't want to do it in a hurry."

They were at a silent standoff for a bit. Qin Yan let out a few more yawns, and in the end, Qin Mo gave in first, softening his tone:

"Fine. Get some rest then. Next time, you have to come with me."

"Okay."

Once Qin Mo left, the suffocating pressure and fear finally started to ease.

It wasn't Qin Mo he was afraid of.

Then... where was that fear coming from?

Was the original owner scared of Qin Mo?

The room went quiet again, so silent Qin Yan thought the call had dropped. But when he pulled out his phone, the call was still going.

"Su Zhiyu."

Qin Yan said softly.

There was a rustling sound on the other end. "Mm."

Hearing Su Zhiyu's voice, Qin Yan relaxed a bit: "You sleepy?"

"No."

"You're usually asleep by now. Why are you still up?" Qin Yan teased him, trying to shake off the weird vibe from earlier.

Su Zhiyu hugged his pillow and blinked a few times: "I slept too much earlier today."

"You slept during the day?"

"Yeah."

"Your sleep schedule's all messed up. Sneaking naps while I'm gone—just wait till I get back, you're in trouble!" Qin Yan threatened fiercely.

Before, Su Zhiyu would've already started panicking.

But now he wasn't scared at all. In fact, he even dared to push back against Qin Yan: "When are you coming home?"

Qin Yan let out a helpless laugh: "Su Zhiyu, you're getting pretty bold. We've got a recording session tomorrow night. I'll be back tomorrow."

Tomorrow... That's soon.

Su Zhiyu's voice dropped: "Okay."

Qin Yan wanted to say something harsher, but Su Zhiyu's soft "okay" made him go quiet, his throat dry.

Forget it.

"Go to sleep. Don't stay up late."

"Okay."

Neither of them hung up first. It had been so long since they'd been apart, in two different places.

Su Zhiyu stared up at the ceiling.

Before, he'd wished to get out of Qin Yan's sight. Later, he slowly got used to living under his watch.

This villa had once been the place he hated most, then it became the place he had to depend on.

Just a house.

When its owner wasn't around, it felt completely different.

"Goodnight, Su Zhiyu."

A muffled voice came from near the pillow. Half-asleep, Su Zhiyu had a fleeting illusion that Qin Yan was lying right next to him.

Those hazy, intimate nights came flooding back.

Su Zhiyu blushed quietly, slid his phone under his pillow, and pulled the covers over his head.

Goodnight.

Qin Yan.

......

Qin Yan stayed in the countryside for two days, and with the recording schedule looming, he insisted on returning first for the shoot, and Qin Mo didn't stop him.

Only Qin Mo and the old lady were left in the old house.

"Xiao Yan is still young," she said. "Don't push him, and don't let him know about the things you've done. He's still—"

"A Yan has already grown up!" Qin Mo stared at the old lady icily.

The old lady beat her leg in anguish, shaking her head repeatedly. "What a sin, what a sin. Why don't you just let me die?"

"If you die, A Yan would be sad."

"And if he finds out what you've done, won't he be sad? You're out of your mind. Let the past be the past. What you're doing is illegal."

"What right do you have!" Qin Mo's voice suddenly rose, his usually calm, handsome face twisting as if he could grind his teeth to dust. "Don't think you can make decisions for A Yan just because you raised him for a few years!"

"You—"

"A Yan is my brother. We are the closest family in this world. You're just an outsider. What right do you have to talk nonsense in front of me?"

Under Qin Mo's sinister, icy gaze, the old lady's lips trembled, but in the end, she couldn't say a word.

Everyone in the past had their own faults.

"I'll send someone to take care of you. If you dare to kill yourself, don't blame me for being cold-hearted."

Qin Mo tossed out those words and strode off.

The old lady wiped her tears and shook her head. "What a sin, what a sin..."

Qin Yan knew nothing of what happened afterward.

He came back with a heavy heart, skipping the villa and going straight to the set. As soon as he arrived, he noticed an unusual stir among the crew.

Everyone was buzzing around.

"Why is Ji Yucheng here? Is he going to join our program?"

"Maybe—he went to see the director."

"Oh my god, I never thought I'd be on the same variety show as Ji Yucheng. I'm so excited! I hope I'm in his group."

"Dream on. He's got huge popularity—I heard he's already preparing for a film. Why would he bother with a variety show?"

"Hey, I heard Ji Yucheng is a rich second-gen or even a red third-gen. Is that true or not?"

Qin Yan's ears perked up at the name "Ji Yucheng" and he froze mid-step.

He quickly grabbed a staff member walking by and asked, "I heard Ji Yucheng is here?"

The staff member was startled and nodded, looking confused. "Yes."

Qin Yan's heart suddenly dropped.

Ji Yucheng—the Alpha male lead from the original comic.

According to the comic's storyline, Ji Yucheng shouldn't have shown up near Su Zhiyu this early.

Could his own presence have caused a butterfly effect, making the original Alpha male lead appear ahead of schedule?

So, were Su Zhiyu and Ji Yucheng about to meet early?

Before Qin Yan could even recover from the shock of the countryside, another bombshell hit him.

"Qin Yan."

Su Zhiyu happened to walk out from inside, spotted Qin Yan, and greeted him.

This was the first time they'd seen each other in days.