51 Missing

◎"Never stop him from putting his wife to sleep"◎

After hanging up the phone, Song Chiyu sat in a chair, holding her phone, lost in thought.

Other colleagues came in, discussing the latest progress on the tomb raider's tunnel. Preliminary investigations indicated it was also a Shang Dynasty site, belonging to the same period as the site Xie Yunjin was currently excavating. Everyone was saying that Xie Yunjin, based solely on these two discoveries, could secure a place for himself in the academic world, and his future was limitless.

Some people, who just wanted to stir up trouble, subtly inquired whether she regretted her decision.

However, Song Chiyu had no mind to care about Xie Yunjin at all; her mind was filled with the image of Old Li, who was on the verge of death and huddled in the corner.

I wonder what happened to him.

She wanted to ask but didn't dare. Unexpectedly, just before she was about to go to work, Qi Yanzhou sent her a WeChat message: "The person has been taken to the hospital. They're fine, don't worry."

He then attached a photo of Old Li lying in a hospital bed.

Song Chiyu immediately breathed a sigh of relief: "Are you there now?"

"kindness"

Song Chiyu's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, unconsciously settled down: "Then he's alright, you should leave quickly. Don't get involved."

"Okay, I'll be leaving in a bit, don't worry."

He's definitely more sensible than she is.

Perhaps knowing that he was reliable, she was no longer worried. Master Qi was indeed Master Qi; no wonder he was the head of the Qi family, out of so many people.

**

In the hospital ward.

Qi Yanzhou put down his phone and looked at the old man who was awake but pretending to be asleep: "Stop pretending, I know you're awake."

Li Guiyan remained lying in bed, pretending to be dead.

Qi Yanzhou didn't speak, but glanced at Zhou Yue beside him. Zhou Yue understood immediately, stood up, grabbed a pillow, and shoved it directly at Li Guiyan's face. The man, who had been barely breathing, suddenly seemed to regain his strength and struggled violently, crying, "Master Qi, Master Qi, I was wrong—"

Qi Yanzhou then raised his hand to stop him.

The moment Li Gui saw him clearly, he began to regret it. Compared to those people, this was the person he should never have provoked. Bringing him into the fray was like releasing a tiger into a fight between jackals. Now, not only is Old Li, the sheep, in a worse situation, but the other two forces are likely to suffer greatly as well.

Li Guiyan originally thought that Song Chiyu would consider their master-disciple relationship and say a few good words for him in front of Qi Yanzhou, but to his surprise, Song Chiyu did not play by the rules at all and directly dragged Qi Yanzhou into it.

Just as he was at his wit's end, he heard Qi Yanzhou say calmly, "Since you're going to scheme against me, you must have already thought of your bargaining chips. Tell me, let me hear your terms."

"Master Qi, how could I dare to scheme against you, um..."

"Stop pretending, I know that thing is still in your hands." Qi Yanzhou gave him no chance to bargain. "The group that set you up and the group that you set up are both looking for you. On the surface, you want to use my wife's favor to get me to save your life, but in reality, you want to use me to help you get out of trouble so that you can fly high and leap freely in the sea."

A faint sneer appeared on his lips: "Dream on."

Li Guiyan was completely dumbfounded. He hadn't expected that Li Guiyan had seen through his thoughts so clearly, and he fell silent for a moment.

"I'll ask you one last time, what are your bargaining chips if you dare to use me?" He still had that gentle and refined gentlemanly demeanor, showing no trace of ruthlessness. But Li Guiyan knew that this person was completely unaware of the seemingly harmless person he appeared to be.

Fine beads of sweat appeared on Li Guiyan's forehead as he made a final struggle.

Qi Yanzhou didn't give him much time to think, and calmly reminded him: "The two groups looking for you are already on their way. If you offer your bargaining chips now, I can save your life, but once they arrive, it won't matter what chips you offer."

Li Guiyan stared at him.

The youngest head of the Qi family suddenly realized that what they were fighting tooth and nail for was nothing more than a drop in the ocean in his eyes. The only reason he was willing to spare his own life was because he still needed to give his wife an explanation.

Li Guiyan finally understood what his so-called bargaining chip was—

No matter how much pretense he had shown Song Chiyu in the past, he had to show his true heart as a master now, so as not to disappoint his gentle and kind wife.

Clearly, he was more disgusted by the fact that his wife was using him than by her.

Li Guiyan knew this was the last bit of goodwill Qi Yanzhou was showing him, and to try to bargain further would be foolish of him.

He took a deep breath: "Master Qi, the item is indeed still here with me, but this matter can't be resolved simply by me getting it back."

Both groups asked him for things.

Giving it to anyone else would be a dead end for him, but by refusing to admit his mistake, he might have a glimmer of hope. Qi Yanzhou didn't care about his predicament at all. "Whether it ends or not is not up to you. You just need to hand over what you have, and I'll handle the rest."

...

As they left the hospital room, Zhou Yue couldn't help but ask, "Master Qi, are we really going to get involved in this mess?"

This kind of behavior—being clearly tricked yet still jumping in—is really unlike his usual style.

"We're already involved, what can we do?" Qi Yanzhou didn't seem to have been dragged into this at all; he exuded a calm and accepting attitude: "No matter what's in this mess, even if it's just mud and sand, we'll still grab a share."

Zhou Yue had never heard Qi Yanzhou say those words before, and his eyes immediately lit up: "Master, you've finally figured it out? I told you before..."

Qi Yanzhou slapped him on the back of the head: "What did I figure out?"

He simply didn't want to disappoint his kind, gentle, and trusting wife. And incidentally, he wanted to show others the price of using his wife to scheme against him.

Otherwise, if someone comes along, they'll be thinking about how to use his wife to scheme against him.

**

Song Chiyu took out her phone and saw the message that Qi Yanzhou had returned to Anxi. He had already told Ms. Li that he would be away for a few days and asked her to go straight home after get off work.

Song Chiyu didn't expect that at this time, he would still be thinking about her dinner and sleep that night.

I couldn't help but call him. "Hello."

Her voice was soft, tinged with a hint of guilt.

He remained calm: "What's wrong?"

Why are you suddenly going back to Anxi?

"Because of a trivial matter."

"Is it because of Lao Li?"

He did not deny it.

Song Chiyu felt even more guilty. He had told her so many times not to get involved, but in the end she still dragged him into it. "I'm sorry."

"Huh?" Qi Yanzhou was taken aback. "Why are you apologizing to me?"

"I dragged you into this."

"How could it be you?" Qi Yanzhou heard her self-reproachful voice, and his gaze toward Li Guiyan turned even colder, but he didn't reveal anything to her: "It was clearly me who dragged you into this. You should go home and stay with your mother for the next couple of days, and I'll be back in a couple of days."

Song Chiyu knew that continuing the conversation would be pointless, so she silently hung up the phone to avoid distracting him.

Qi Yanzhou noticed that she was still worried, so he sent her another WeChat message, explaining the whole story to her. In short, both groups were looking for what Li Guiyan had, and he was going to act as a peacemaker to save Li Guiyan's life.

There is no risk.

She breathed a sigh of relief, then asked with some skepticism, "So, was your role as a peacemaker even useful?"

"it works"

His nonchalant tone put Song Chiyu at ease, and she began to believe that this was a trivial matter for him. She immediately began to accuse Li Guiyan: "I really didn't know he was such a bad person. Stealing other people's things is one thing, but he even used me to scheme against you. I actually considered him my mentor—anyway, just do your best in this matter, help as much as you can, but don't get yourself involved."

Qi Yanzhou even sent a head-patting emoji, clearly wanting to comfort her.

Song Chiyu was immediately amused, and her bitterness disappeared. She gave him a few more instructions before putting down her phone.

After getting off work, Song Chiyu did not go directly to He Lili's home, but went back to He Qiyanzhou's apartment first.

She sat on the sofa, gazing at the empty and quiet living room, letting the evening breeze blow through the open French windows.

In early spring, it gets dark later, but the wind already carries a chill.

Only after the sunset had completely faded, leaving behind a tapestry of orange and blue hues, did I close the doors and windows and head home.

He was only gone for two days.

When she was dating Xie Yunjin before, there were times when they separated. But with Xie Yunjin, she was the type who knew he was busy and still wanted to see him, but if he wasn't there, it didn't seem to affect her much.

She doesn't see it that way about Qi Yanzhou.

I started to feel reluctant to part from the moment I knew I wouldn't see him again.

I started missing it after just a few hours.

She knew she was just used to his presence, and that this feeling would pass in a couple of days, but she still couldn't quite adjust her emotions. Even Li Li noticed her unusual behavior.

Song Chiyu was washing her face in front of the mirror, but she squeezed hand sanitizer onto her toothbrush.

Startled, she snatched it away, exclaiming, "Baby, what are you doing?"

Song Chiyu belatedly realized what was happening.

He suddenly realized, "I squeezed into the wrong place."

Li Li didn't believe it. Seeing that she looked absent-minded, she took the initiative to squeeze the toothpaste out for her again, filled the mouthwash cup with water, and put it in her hand.

She took it habitually, and after a while, she suddenly said, "He's like that too."

"What?" Li Li didn't hear clearly.

Song Chiyu also snapped out of her daze: "It's nothing."

Li Li gradually realized what was going on, "Are you missing Xiao Qi?"

"No."

"Then why are you so absent-minded?" Li Li saw through her words but still said it out loud, "I think your body is here, but your soul has already flown to Anxi, hasn't it?"

“That’s my husband, shouldn’t I think about him?” Song Chiyu replied matter-of-factly.

“Yes, you don’t want things to get really bad.” Li Li said with a smile, “But don’t think too much about it. With Xiao Qi not around, you need to take better care of yourself.”

“I know,” Song Chiyu retorted, “I’m just not used to it.”

Li Li didn't expose her, and patted her shoulder: "Okay, you can sleep with your mother tonight, you'll get used to it slowly."

**

That night, Li Li was already asleep, but Song Chiyu still took out her phone, waiting for Qi Yanzhou's message.

It was almost 11 o'clock, and there was still no word, so she had no choice but to send a message: "I don't know how things are going on your end, I'm going to sleep now."

Less than two minutes later, Qi Yanzhou called.

She quickly got up and went outside to answer the call.

"Sorry, I didn't expect you to be waiting for my call. Aren't you asleep yet?"

"I didn't wait for your call, I was just... a little worried." Song Chiyu's cheeks flushed slightly at his bluntness: "How's things going on your end?"

"They're still talking." He glanced at the crowd still waiting for him in the hall not far away. "Go to sleep, don't wait anymore."

“I didn’t wait,” Song Chiyu’s cheeks burned even hotter. Hearing that it was quiet on his end, she didn’t say anything more. “You should go home early too. Good night.”

"Yes, I didn't go back. I'm at home." His gentle tone was unusually soft compared to the surrounding atmosphere. "Goodnight."

Hearing that he was still in the mood to coax people to sleep at this hour, everyone in the hall immediately stood up anxiously, realizing that it wasn't his stuff or his money. "Master Qi—"

"What's the rush?" Zhou Yue immediately pressed the person down: "Sit down."

"Brother Yue, although those bronze artifacts were legally and compliantly auctioned, you don't have the proper paperwork and can't complete the transaction. Why don't you just take some money and return it to me?"

"What do you mean 'return it to you'?" another group exclaimed impatiently. "The item you brought for authentication was fake in the first place. Now we just want you to return Old Li to us—"

"You're all looking for Old Li because of that Western Zhou bronze plate, aren't you? What the hell are you pretending to be a good guy for!"

"Wang Si, you're nothing but someone else's hired dog, so watch your mouth! What exactly did you guys do to Old Li?"

The two groups saw that someone was arguing.

Qi Yanzhou returned, and as soon as he entered, both groups immediately fell silent and sat down. No one knew how Li Guiyan had gotten him involved, and besides, they certainly couldn't afford to offend any of them.

Once the goods are in Qi Yanzhou's hands, it's like a mouse in a rice jar. He can always find legal procedures to sell them. Whether he's willing to return them or not depends entirely on his conscience.

They naturally became fish on the chopping block, with him setting the conditions as he pleased.

Qi Yanzhou pondered for a moment: "Let the real buyer of this bronze artifact come and talk to me."

Wang Si immediately became anxious again, "Master Qi, I've been working so hard with my men for so long, you can't expect me to not earn a single penny, can you?"

Bafangzhai was also anxious. "Master Qi, this item isn't his just because he claims it. A young man brought it in for appraisal, and the item we appraised is the same one we returned to him later. There was no switching. He's clearly trying to extort us. We just want to get Old Li back."

"That's why I asked you to bring the buyer here and ask what exactly happened." Qi Yanzhou rested his chin on his hand. "After all, I can also ignore this, right?"

He'll just throw Li Guiyan into the police station then.

That way you can clear yourself of all wrongdoing.

Everyone immediately realized that they were now fish on the chopping block and fell silent.

**

Two days passed like this.

Song Chiyu found that her longing for Qi Yanzhou was becoming more and more obvious. Even when she was listening to people talking at noon, she would unconsciously start to drift off into her own thoughts.

Every day after get off work, I would subconsciously drive my car towards his apartment building until I was about to park and realized something was wrong.

When she parked her car downstairs at the apartment building for the second time, Song Chiyu couldn't help but send him a WeChat message: "When are you finally coming back?"

His call came back immediately: "What's wrong?"

She remained seated on the steering wheel and did not answer.

"Did you have a fight with your mother?"

She remained silent.

"Is it that your dad's cooking doesn't suit your taste?"

Neither.

She shook her head, took a deep breath, and straightened up from the steering wheel: "They're all fine."

A hint of doubt arose in his eyes: "Hmm?"

"It's me," she mumbled shyly, "I've been missing you a little."

Just then, the car he was in suddenly jolted, and he didn't hear what was happening: "What?"

"I'm not talking to you anymore, bye-bye." She hung up the phone in a fit of embarrassment and anger.

Qi Yanzhou didn't hear it, but he guessed from her attitude and replied via WeChat: "Miss me?"

Song Chiyu did not reply.

He added, "Just bear with it a little longer, it should be in the next day or two."

What does "just bear with it a little longer" mean?

She clearly misses him as a person, yet she talks as if all she wants is to sleep with him. Although she does want to sleep with him, these are fundamentally two different things.

Song Chiyu ignored him.

But the longing was like a shadow, popping up every now and then to make its presence known. She had never felt this way even when she liked Xie Yunjin the most.

After a moment of thought, she finally came to an answer that even she found hard to believe.

She seems to have really fallen for Qi Yanzhou.