Chapter 77 Someone's Backing Me Up
Lin Yao, his mouth pinched, mumbled his defense: "What poisoning? I'm not, I'm perfectly sober."
"Everyone who's been poisoned thinks they're perfectly fine." Xie Xingchen lowered his eyes and gestured a number to him: "What's this?"
Who am I humiliating? Never mind, calm down, take a deep breath, and don't get angry.
Lin Yao's tone was gentle: "...Two."
Xie Xingchen raised an extra finger: "And now?"
Lin Yao suppressed his temper: "...Three."
Xie Xingchen held up his whole hand and waved it in front of him again: "One more time? That way we can confirm that my common sense is probably not a problem."
Unable to bear it any longer, Lin Yao bit his finger hard, showing no mercy, and coldly insulted, "Xie Xingchen, are you sick in the head? Do you think I'm an idiot?"
Xie Xingchen laughed uncontrollably, rubbing his full lower lip with his fingers, feeling very comfortable.
It's just right, that's great!
"That's more like you. You look like you've just been possessed by a ghost. It's kind of scary."
Lin Yao: "......."
Some people are just born to take a beating and need to be disciplined; they only feel happy when they're scolded.
He suddenly began to doubt his own judgment.
Are you tempted? You might just be having a heart attack.
Xie Xingchen pinched his chin and shook it, teasingly saying, "Don't actually eat the fruit and become stupid. There won't be any doctors then, and you'll just be running around the island like a little fool."
"Will you say another word?" Lin Yao glanced at the pink crystal on the table, his heartstrings twitching slightly. "Even the wishing crystal can't save you."
Xie Xingchen lowered his head and said regretfully, "I thought at least I could get away with it once."
Because of this action, the distance between them suddenly closed, and Lin Yao stopped talking, just holding his breath and looking at him, looking into his dark eyes.
The door to the cabin was suddenly flung open, and the two turned around to see a large group of guards standing at the entrance, followed by Pei Yizhong.
A dozen pairs of eyes looked over, and there was a deathly silence.
The people inside were standing and sitting in rather ambiguous positions, as if they had just finished kissing. Xie Xingchen was completely naked except for his underwear, making it look like they had just taken their clothes off halfway through a passionate encounter, which was quite exciting.
Lin Yao: ".........."
She quickly reached out and slapped Xie Xingchen's hand away from her chin.
"Did I interrupt your business?"
Pei Yizhong looked rather embarrassed; he was anxious to find someone, but he hadn't expected to run into this.
He raised his hand to signal the people next to him to evacuate, and explained, "Academician Huo said that your spacecraft malfunctioned and the positioning failed. Rose Star is vast and sparsely populated, and the Alliance Leader's people alone may not be enough, so I brought people here."
To find this place in just one day without any location tracking is indeed a very fast action.
Xie Xingchen released Lin Yao and stood up straight without any embarrassment at being caught: "It didn't delay us. We were just playing around after swimming in the sea. I didn't expect General Pei to find us before the old man. That's quite impressive."
"He probably doesn't care that much about his own son either," Pei Yizhong said casually, glancing at Lin Yao. "Are you alright? Shall I take you back?"
Meeting again under such awkward circumstances, Lin Yao quickly stood up: "No, then I'll trouble you."
Just as Xie Xingchen was putting his trousers back on, Xie Hengzhi arrived a step later with his men. He watched Xie Xingchen's movements and narrowed his eyes slightly.
Such a dissolute fellow, even at a time like this, he still doesn't forget to have some fun, making a fool of himself in outer space.
"General Pei, it's been many years." Xie Hengzhi turned around and greeted him. "I am truly grateful for your sudden enthusiasm towards the two juniors."
"After all, you came back from my place, so it's necessary to escort you home. I still have that much conscience. Now that you're here, I don't need to take care of Xie Xingchen any further."
Pei Yizhong turned around, too lazy to say another word, "Lin Yao, come with me."
Upon hearing this, Lin Yao felt a surge of confidence for the first time, as if someone had his back. He glanced calmly at Xie Hengzhi and casually picked up the pink crystal on the table.
Xie Daisuo hid in Lin Yao's coat pocket, covering his head, afraid of being seen and taken back.
But why didn't these two take the same aircraft back?
After just one sweet and happy day, I felt a sense of panic, like a couple getting divorced and not knowing who the child would live with.
Lin Yao made the choice for him, pressing his palm down and stuffing it completely into his pocket. He then turned to Xie Xingchen and said, "Then I'll go with General Pei."
After all, I really didn't want to see Xie Hengzhi's deadpan face; I didn't know what other nasty things he would say.
Seeing that the person was about to leave, Xie Xingchen grabbed his coat, which he hadn't had time to put on yet, and followed after him, saying, "I'll go with you."
Xie Hengzhi coughed lightly, his expression displeased: "Do you think your dad is invisible?"
"General Pei is a guest, so I must keep him company and fulfill my duty as a host." Xie Xingchen spoke tactfully, without embarrassing his father in front of others. However, he followed too quickly, making it seem as if the father and son were not close.
Pei Yizhong's aircraft was large enough to comfortably carry dozens of people. The police officers he brought sat neatly in the front row, while the three of them sat at the back, creating a tense atmosphere.
With nearly ten hours until they returned, Pei Yizhong noticed his embarrassment and didn't press the issue: "There are sleeper berths in the back. If you haven't rested well, go and get some sleep."
Lin Yaoxin said he had just woken up after sleeping for a long time and wasn't sleepy at all, so he had to pretend to be asleep.
But now that there was a way out, he quickly took it, deliberately yawning: "I'm sleepy, I'll go then."
Xie Xingchen was about to get up when Pei Yizhong stopped him, saying, "Stay here for a moment."
"Is there anything else, General?" Xie Xingchen raised an eyebrow, still feeling that he was paying far too much attention to Lin Yao.
Pei Yizhong watched Lin Yao's retreating figure as he entered the cubicle and asked directly, "Was the boyfriend he mentioned before you?"
Xie Xingchen was taken aback for a moment, thinking to himself that he also wanted to see himself in the picture, and laughed, "I don't know, maybe, General, you still pay attention to this kind of gossip."
“I…I treat Lin Yao like my own son, and I wanted to remind you. Your father will not approve of you two, absolutely not.” Pei Yizhong said calmly, “If you like him enough, please be prepared to sever your father-son relationship, otherwise don’t provoke Lin Yao.”
Xie Xingchen stared at him for a moment, and a series of strange actions in the past connected together, and suddenly a bold guess came to him: "Do you want to treat him as your son, or do you think he is your son?"
He had misunderstood before, thinking that he wanted to find a son-in-law to live with him.
Pei Xiang's enthusiasm, the coincidental birthday, and the inexplicable intimacy—are these signs of family ties the reason for their frequent appearances together?
Pei Yizhong remained silent.
His reaction says it all.
Xie Xingchen stared into his eyes and said, "Where were you when Lin Yao was bullied? Don't you think it's too late to make amends now? While Pei Xiang was living a life of luxury, he was handing out flyers, sleeping in a basement, and waiting for his parents for eighteen years. Don't you find it ironic that he only shows up now?"
“No, he was taken away right after he was born. I’ve been looking for him for ten years.” Pei Yizhong’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he relented and told him about his painful past.
“We finally found him after the laboratory exploded and burned eight years ago, only to be met with news of his death. We still have his tombstone in our home. At the time, his body was charred and carbonized, and it would crumble at the slightest touch, so we couldn’t extract his DNA. But he was with his bodyguard, his wristbands were marked with his code name, and he wore a necklace specially made for our family around his neck. He looked exactly like one of our children. We took him home and buried him that very day.”
"So, Lin Yao left the identification documents to another child and faked his own death?"
Xie Xingchen could hardly imagine that a ten-year-old child, in order to escape from there and avoid further investigation, would meticulously plan an escape route while panicking and fleeing from the fire.
But he didn't know that this action would inadvertently cause him to miss his father who came looking for him.
Xie Xingchen finally understood why Pei Yizhong dared not acknowledge him: it wasn't belated guilt, but fear that Lin Yao would suffer even more and regret his initial choice.
He also fell into a long silence.
Pei Yizhong raised his hand and wiped his face, a painful crack appearing on his usually calm expression: "I don't know who is behind the laboratory. After the fire, no evidence was left behind."
"Lin Yao has suffered too much, and I don't want him to suffer emotionally anymore. I'm being honest with you about this because I think you're a good kid and should know how to minimize the harm to him, right?"
"You want me to stop here with him?" Xie Xingchen asked back.
“No, I want you to make a decision. You can only choose one: Lin Yao or Xie Hengzhi,” Pei Yizhong said. “Until you’ve thought it through, I advise you not to give him any illusions.”
Xie Xingchen suddenly laughed, his tone very firm: "Then of course I'll choose Lin Yao, is that even a question?"
Pei Yizhong was somewhat stunned by his quick answer: "What?"
Xie Xingchen's expression was calm, but his voice was a little unsteady: "My dad has two sons. Even without me, he still has Xie Yunhuai. But Lin Yao only has me. Without me, he has nothing."
Pei Yizhong's eyes reddened, and after a long pause, he nodded with relief and said, "Okay, I understand. I didn't misjudge him. Keep what I told you today a secret from him for now. I hope to help him accept it gradually in a gentler way."
Xie Xingchen had initially thought it was a heartless father abandoning his child, but he never expected it to be like this. He raised his hand to wipe his face and said, "This is indeed a difficult matter. Lin Yao is used to being alone. It took me a lot of time to get closer to him. Please be prepared."
"Yes, I know." Pei Yizhong raised his chin. "Go keep him company."
Xie Xingchen stood at the door for a while, composing himself, before smiling and pushing the door open.
Lin Yao and Xie Dai were arguing about something, for reasons unknown.
"You don't even know such basic knowledge? Was the person who set up the program for you illiterate?" Lin Yao mocked coldly.
Xie Dai jumped up and down, crying out that he was wronged: "I'm a companion pet, not an intelligent encyclopedia. Your expectations are too high!"
"Idiot." Lin Yao cursed, then turned to the person standing at the door. "What did he say to you that took so long?"
"Guess?" Xie Xingchen lazily walked in, looking down at him, "You're bullying Xie Daidai in different ways every day, don't make it withdrawn."
Lin Yao ignored the latter part of the sentence and speculated about why Pei Yizhong had come to him. He hesitated and said, "He wouldn't want to introduce Pei Xiang to you, would he? How can this old man still be so greedy? He's such a young girl and he's always thinking about marrying her off."
Xie Xingchen stared at his furrowed brows, bent down slightly, and moved closer to him.
Lin Yao tensed up as the distance suddenly closed, feeling his breath on his face.
Xie Dai raised his hand to cover his eyes, his mouth forming an "O" shape: "Wow wow wow, we're going to kiss!"
Lin Yao's fingers tightened, wrinkling the sheets beneath him: "Isn't that right? What else can I say? I always felt that his enthusiasm didn't seem like that of a good person."
"Even if he wants to marry Pei Xiang to me, why are you so concerned?"
Xie Xingchen stared into his eyes, approaching him inch by inch, and slowly spoke.
"Yaoyao, you're jealous."
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