Chapter 12 Since the older twin sister isn't around, let's start with the younger one...
Jin Yu giggled and went downstairs. You Zhen closed the door, put away the dried umbrella, and seemed to hear melodious piano music coming from next door.
Youzhen had specially made the guesthouse very soundproof, so when she got to the door she realized that Qin Lingchuan was just adjusting the sound.
Qin Lingchuan was clearly pleasantly surprised to see her.
Youzhen greeted us with a smile: "I've come to return the umbrella. Your coat got wet yesterday, I hope you don't catch a cold. Also, we have a dryer available in our store."
Qin Lingchuan fiddled with Shang Yin's fingers: "I think the weather is still not good today, so there's no need to rush to return it to me."
Seeing that his eyes were a little dark, Youzhen asked with concern, "Did you sleep well last night?"
"I couldn't sleep for a long time last night." Qin Lingchuan looked directly at her. "I kept thinking about when you would come to return the umbrella."
Youzhen was amused. She put the umbrella aside and stood by the seven-stringed zither: "You can actually play the guqin?"
Qin Lingchuan also changed the subject, turning to another topic: "It is indeed rare, isn't it? I'm also very curious. My parents didn't send anyone to teach me Western musical instruments, but rather traditional folk music."
This was the first time he had brought up his family to her on his own initiative.
Why?
He kept his head down, not looking at her, his thick eyelashes casting shadows, and the off-key piano music sounded both comical and heartless.
He didn't answer immediately, and Youzhen realized she had asked too many questions.
“Sorry. Well… but folk music is a perfect match for our small town, isn’t it? It’s hard to imagine playing guitar or saxophone on an old stage.”
Qin Lingchuan said wistfully, "Perhaps they had foresight." He knew that one day he would return to this small town.
From the first day he stepped into this town, he had a feeling that he would live here with his future wife.
If he were to tell people that he had had this dream more than once, they would probably jokingly say it was a pregnancy dream.
What musical instruments does Youzhen play?
"I learned the xiao (vertical bamboo flute) when I was a child, but I never really improved. I just treated it as a hobby," Youzhen said with some regret.
Her expression was familiar, and Qin Lingchuan wanted to comfort her: "It's fine to cultivate yourself, but if you become too obsessed, it's not good to become addicted."
Youzhen nodded. Qin Lingchuan noticed that she was standing to the side with her hands behind her back, looking like a student being punished by the teacher.
"The most famous duet of qin and xiao is 'Spring River Flower Moon Night'. We can play it together sometime."
Youzhen nodded politely.
He chuckled deeply, his voice calm and even: "Does your senior brother play any musical instruments?"
"Him? He spends all his time buried in the kiln and knows nothing about musical instruments or anything like that."
Qin Lingchuan smirked and asked again, "Did you receive the teddy bear?"
Youzhen tapped her toes on the floor: "Received it. I was just about to say that too..."
Qin Lingchuan asked first, "Do you like it?" and stopped what he was doing, waiting for her to answer.
Youzhen replied politely, "I like it. But it must be very expensive, such a big one. And my colleagues all saw it, it's a little embarrassing, haha."
When she's nervous, she'll let out a couple of "haha" sounds; Qin Lingchuan has figured out this little habit of hers all too well.
"Okay, I'll deliver it to you next time when no one's around."
Once the strings were tuned, he swept them up in one smooth motion, the resonant notes spreading out with the sound waves.
Youzhen thought the string was about to break and hit her face.
"Feel sorry……"
Qin Lingchuan chuckled: "Why are you apologizing again?"
Youzhen pursed her lips and frowned in distress, and she could detect a sense of helplessness and resentment in his tone.
"What I meant to say is that birthday gifts and such can easily lead to misunderstandings."
Qin Lingchuan casually plucked the strings: "Is it a misunderstanding?"
"Huh?" Youzhen panicked.
"Who says you can only accept birthday gifts from Zhou Yuanli? If he doesn't give one, you can't allow anyone else to give one?"
That's not what I meant.
"What does that mean?"
"I...I can't explain it either."
Normally, everyone praises someone for being quick-witted, but here, they're at a loss for words.
Qin Lingchuan pressed on: "You don't mean to misunderstand that I stayed up all night because I was upset about the cost of that umbrella; or that I came all this way without booking accommodation in advance; or... that I'm not pursuing you?"
Polite refusals were all turned away, and playing dumb was not allowed.
Youzhen took a deep breath and brought her hands, which had been behind her back, to face her. "I'm sorry, I really don't know. I have to go now. Sorry to bother you."
“Miss Xia Youzhen.” He wouldn’t let her go, standing up: “You never need to feel sorry for me, it was all my own choice. Your dependence on Zhou Yuanli is just a habit. Your abilities are no less than his, you should give yourself a chance and look at other men.”
His eyes burned with an unwavering determination, like a raging fire. The room was so hot and stuffy; Youzhen couldn't stand it any longer. She opened the door and ran out.
A light rain began to fall again, and Youzhen paced back and forth in front of the door, facing the raindrops.
Calm down, she's going crazy. Quickly, throw a bucket of water over her face.
Youzhen, you need to understand that he's only staying here for two months. Don't think that just because you saved him once in London, you can covet his good looks. Maybe he's just lonely here and wants to find someone to play with.
Yes, he's a model, he's surrounded by beauties like Miss World winners, why would he be interested in me?
Although he seems aloof, he might be a playboy with girlfriends all over the world. How could someone as outstanding as him be single?
You need to control yourself!
Youzhen was screaming inside, but her body was slumped against the door frame, looking like a living person on the verge of death.
Her aunt appeared out of nowhere: "This child, why are you standing here in the rain?" and pulled her into the house.
"Your senior brother is back?"
Youzhen was quite grateful that someone would interrupt at this moment: "Yes, I came back last night."
"I saw you. You two walked one after the other, but you seemed a bit distant to me?"
"How could that be? Senior brother is probably just tired." For some reason, she felt a little guilty.
Auntie looked completely unsurprised: "Oh, that's true. Absence makes the heart grow fonder. We've watched you two grow up, and you've always been a perfect match. I've been looking forward to your wedding this year."
Youzhen interrupted, "Auntie, you set me up on a blind date last week, and now you're teasing my senior brother again."
"Hey, he wasn't here right now. We shouldn't let such a good girl like ours go to outsiders.
Jin Yu's voice sounded from behind: "Auntie, I can just take this model card to you, why did you have to come all the way here?"
"It's nothing, it's nothing. I just came out for a walk. I'll bring it to you this afternoon."
"OK."
Her meddling only made Youzhen more agitated.
She rushed into the office and started contacting clients. She needed to talk to people, she had to keep talking nonstop so that she wouldn't keep thinking about what had just happened.
She needs to see someone!
next door--
Tao Bei handed over a document: "The DNA matching results are in."
Qin Lingchuan did not take it immediately, but wiped the instrument carefully from head to tail again before slowly accepting it.
He flipped directly to the last page, and the result was as he expected.
Looking at his increasingly somber expression, Tao Bei asked, "What's the next step?"
"I'd like to visit the cemetery first."
Tao Bei also agreed: "It's in the south of the city, I'm driving."
When Youzhen asked him about his parents, he couldn't answer because he had never met them.
He was an illegitimate child born overseas. His birth mother jumped off a building when he was only twenty days old.
After becoming pregnant, she went to London and began a period of self-exile.
He was raised by a woman surnamed Xia, who was a director of the orphanage. Everyone called her Aunt Xia. When he was eighteen, this woman left him.
He graduated from a top university through hard work and study, but he never forgot this hatred.
He doesn't want to go back to China, and he certainly won't acknowledge any biological father.
Separated by mountains and seas, we can never meet.
Three months ago, his biological father sent someone to kill him.
Having such a son is a stain on his reputation. While he was enjoying family bliss with his mistress and illegitimate child, Qin Lingchuan's existence was a major worry for him.
In his youth, he climbed the social ladder by associating with his mother; after achieving success, he conspired with the Xia family to steal his mother's porcelain recipe; in his old age, he suddenly remembered his son, Qin Lingchuan.
However, he also died after the assassination attempt failed.
Qin Lingchuan despised his biological father even more. He was afraid, he dared not face it, he had never taken responsibility in his entire life.
This also deprived Qin Lingchuan of the opportunity to question him face-to-face.
That day, when Xia Youzhen proudly introduced the origin of their family's secret recipe, he found it truly laughable.
They stole other people's intellectual achievements, attributed them to Grandpa Xia, a man who had long since passed away, and then claimed them as their own.
Zhou Yuanli, whom she called "senior brother" so affectionately, was one of the people who knew the truth of the matter from beginning to end.
He can pretend that he knows nothing.
So, since the secret recipe is his life's work, wouldn't it be satisfying to destroy it?
Xia Ruozhen, the eldest daughter of the Xia family, is currently the true power holder of the Xia Group. However, she has been in poor health since childhood, and the other directors are eyeing her covetously, each pursuing their own agendas.
His original plan was to marry Xia Ruozhen, so that after the marriage and subsequent divorce, he could legitimately acquire a portion of the Xia family's business. As for the secret formula, he was confident he could obtain it during the process.
He started planning this three years ago.
He had thoroughly investigated Xia Ruozhen's preferences, including her preferences for men.
However, the young lady doesn't have a good eye for men; she always prefers simple-minded, physically strong but mentally challenged fools.
This has caused quite a few scandals in the past.
The fact that he was a male model was enough to pique her interest.
She also has a younger sister, Xia Youzhen, whose background is similar to his; she also grew up in an orphanage.
Although she is now recognized as the second young lady of the Xia family, as he saw it, she could only do odd jobs in a small workshop.
She doesn't get any shares in the Xia family; otherwise, she wouldn't need to run a bed and breakfast to make a living.
The young lady often goes abroad for medical treatment, and it's rare to see her for a while.
So, let's start with the younger sister.
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