Chapter 27 (Revised)

When he returned home, the sun had already set. Song Zhiyi threw himself into the soft sofa and sighed comfortably.

Auntie Lin, who had taken care of them since they were young, heard the noise and came out of the kitchen. She whispered and ran over at the speed of a 100-meter sprint: "Master, what happened to your foot? Is it injured? Do you want a doctor to come and take a look?"

"..." Song Zhiyu paused for a moment in a strange way, and waved at Aunt Lin, trying to refuse her help. "I just sprained my ankle, but I didn't hurt any bones. I'll be fine after a few days of rest."

"How can you be so careless?" Aunt Lin cried "Ouch!" and grabbed him without saying a word.

Song Zhiyi lay flat on the sofa, only tilting his head to one side to reveal his eyes, and opened his eyes a little to see the two people tugging at each other. In the end, Song Zhiyu was defeated and was supported by the petite Aunt Lin, walking forward unsteadily.

Finally, she helped him sit on the sofa. Aunt Lin asked with concern, "Young Master, you have suffered a lot. Please wait, I will make you some bone soup to nourish you. What would you like to eat tonight?"

Song Zhiyi rolled over with the pillow in his arms, and thought for a while before saying, "Seafood porridge, I ate too much at noon and don't have much of an appetite."

"Hey, seafood porridge is good, it's good for your stomach. Wait a minute, I'll make it right away."

When Aunt Lin entered the kitchen, Song Zhiyu finally breathed a sigh of relief, wiped the non-existent sweat from his forehead, rubbed his arms, and said with a little fear: "Why did Aunt Lin start calling me 'Young Master' and 'Miss' again?"

"Who knows, maybe she's just rewatching that domineering TV series again."

Although Aunt Lin is a mother, she still has a girlish heart. She chooses a time every year to rewatch classic idol dramas about domineering CEOs. The Song Zhiyi siblings are the biggest victims of her rewatching.

For example, one time when they were in elementary school, they came back with their friends. Aunt Lin had just finished rewatching an idol drama at that time, and she immediately said to each of their friends, "This is the first time that the master/lady cares so much about a girl/boy."

From then on, the brother and sister never dared to bring friends back again.

Song Zhiyi shook her head secretly and decided to stay at home less often recently. She sat up, looked around, and shouted: "Qiuqiu?"

"Meow~" The beautiful and elegant white long-haired lion cat came out from somewhere, nimbly jumped over the "obstacle" and jumped onto the sofa, rubbing affectionately against Song Zhiyi's palm.

Song Zhiyu, who didn't even get a glance from the cat, was so upset that he almost bubbled. He gritted his teeth and patted the cat on the back, saying bitterly, "Get it straight, ok? I was the one who brought you back!"

Qiuqiu was hit but refused to turn around, just wagging his tail in annoyance. Song Zhiyi scratched his chin, then reached down to his abdomen and pinched his pouch, and said uncertainly: "Has Qiuqiu gained weight in the past few days at home?"

Song Zhiyu was still gritting his teeth. Hearing this, he snorted angrily: "I see it has always been this fat, a big fat cat!"

Unexpectedly, Qiuqiu seemed to understand. He turned around and gave a short "meow", while stretching out his paw to exhale the air.

"Go, go aside." Song Zhiyi waved his hand to push his brother away, stopping his cat-like attack. "Nanfeng is back too. When will he take Qiuqiu away?"

"Maybe in a few days," Song Zhiyu had asked this question long ago, and answered without thinking, "Didn't he just move in? Even though he lives alone, it will probably take some time to clean up, and I'm afraid that something like last time will happen again, so I might as well just leave Qiuqiu with me for a few more days."

Song Zhiyi paused from petting the cat, then pinched the cat's soft ears nonchalantly and asked, "Does he live alone?"

"Yes, his parents are both abroad." Song Zhiyu answered, and suddenly got stuck for a moment. His eyes rolled around and he asked vigilantly, "Why are you asking about this? No way, sister, you are not that superficial, are you?

"That boy is good-looking, but we can't just look at his face, we have to look at his inner self..."

"Stop, stop, stop!" Song Zhiyi made a stop gesture and rolled her eyes, saying, "What are you thinking about? Nanfeng is one year younger than us, right? I have to bear it enough just to have a brother like you."

She just thought that if Qi Nanfeng was the only one in the family, there would be plenty of opportunities for Qiuqiu to be fostered in the future, and it would also be convenient for her to go over and pet the cat in the future. As for Qi Nanfeng, he could also serve as a vase to please the eyes.

Of course, there is no need to explain the second half of the sentence to my brother.

Song Zhiyu seemed relieved after hearing this. He looked around and asked in a low voice, "Do you have any idea about the damage to my brakes?"

Song Zhiyi blinked, turned his head to look at the notebook at the entrance, and said thoughtfully: "I guess so. There are only two reasons for harming you, for career or for love.

"In terms of career, the biggest suspect is Li Jinshan. But Guan Juan is in jail, and Li Jinshan is being softly banned. He is very busy right now, so he probably doesn't have time to cause trouble for you."

"The other reason is love," Song Zhiyi glanced at him with the corner of her eye and said in the same tone, "I originally suspected Liu Qifan. After all, in that dream, he was the one who competed with you for Lin Xiaofeng. But now it seems that there may be someone else who wants to harm you."

"Why don't you suspect him anymore?" Song Zhiyu asked subconsciously.

Song Zhiyi said calmly: "Of course it's because although you are in contact with Lin Xiaofeng now, you are just an ordinary friend. Liu Qifan should not take you as a 'competitor' seriously, right?"

"Hmm..." Song Zhiyu hung his head, not knowing what he was thinking. After two seconds, he raised his head as if waking up from a dream and denied it again and again, "What connection? There is no connection. Lin Xiaofeng and I are not even ordinary friends!"

"We're not even ordinary friends, how can we keep in touch behind the scenes?" Song Zhiyi picked up the cat with one hand and threw it at his face. While he was busy using the cat to protect his face, she reached out and grabbed the phone and quickly unlocked it.

Her goal was clear, and she slid her thumb quickly. In just three seconds, she found the familiar avatar in the WeChat contact list - a fiery red maple leaf.

She held the phone, pointed the screen at Song Zhiyu, and said in a voice as calm as ice: "Song Zhiyu, come on, explain it."

*

At the same time, Qiao's family.

Qiao Nianwen walked into the living room with slow steps, his eyes showing deep fatigue.

It was dinner time, and the table was filled with exquisite dishes, but there was no sign of them being moved. The cold light from the chandelier made the large living room seem devoid of warmth.

"Master, you are back," the butler appeared quietly, standing respectfully with his head bowed, "Master asked you to go to the study."

"Well," Qiao Nianwen seemed to be almost out of breath, and raised his hand and pulled hard on his tie, "Where's my mother?"

"Madam and the old man had a little conflict, so she should go out and relax."

"...I understand." Qiao Nianwen didn't ask any more questions. He just pinched his eyebrows and walked towards the elevator that the housekeeper had already pressed for him.

On the way back, he sent people to check the information of the owner of the strange voice and Wan Bohong. There was no clue about the former, but all the information about the latter had been sent over.

The data shows that Wan Bohong's biological mother had passed away two years ago. Perhaps because of her poor family background, or perhaps because she was deliberately hiding from people, there are very few audio and video materials left by Wan Bohong's biological mother, and even the photos left were cropped from a photo of the couple.

Qiao Nianwen put his hands in his pockets, took a quick look at the newly printed photo through the gap, and then ruthlessly crumpled it in his palms.

After walking out of the elevator, the door of the study was half-open, letting in a warm orange light. Qiao Nianwen grasped the cold handle, paused for a few seconds, and then pushed the door open and walked in.

"Dad, you're looking for me..."

Snap——

As soon as I opened my mouth, a stack of photos came towards me like flying pieces of paper. The thin edges cut my face, causing numbness and pain.

Qiao Nianwen stroked his face slightly and saw a red mark, not surprisingly. He didn't look at it, but just lowered his eyes and stared at the photos scattered on the ground.

Each picture shows him and Ou Lingling arguing this afternoon.

"You sent someone to follow me?"

"Do we still need to follow her?" Qiao Liangze sneered, and his eyes were extremely cold when he looked at his biological son. "Nianwen, do you remember what I said to your grandfather? You are a child of the Qiao family. Your every move represents the Qiao family. It would be fine if you were just playing around with this actress, but you were clearly bewitched by her! You couldn't wait to find her as soon as you were freed. If this matter gets out, where will you let the Qiao family save face?!"

Qiao Nianwen lowered his head without answering, and the hands in his pockets couldn't help but tighten.

Qiao Liangze seemed to think that he had given in, and he sighed again, saying earnestly: "Nianwen, it's just an actor, don't get too involved. Your marriage, the marriage of the Qiao family, has never been that simple. Dad promised you that as long as you are obedient, after this financing is successful and the crisis of the Qiao family is over, I will not care if you want to raise a few actors, how about it?"

“…”

Qiao Nianwen finally raised his head and looked at the middle-aged man with white hair in front of him with a scrutinizing look, and said in a cold voice: "Did Grandpa tell you the same thing back then?"

"What?" Qiao Liangze frowned, as if he didn't understand.

"I said," Qiao Nianwen pulled out his left hand and slowly flattened the crumpled photo in his hand, "Did Grandpa say the same thing back then? So you gave up this woman."

In the photo, a gentle-looking woman was holding a two or three-year-old boy and smiling shyly at the camera. The color of the old photo was slightly yellowed and the pixels were blurry, but Qiao Liangze still recognized his identity at a glance.

He snatched the photo and examined it for a long time. When he spoke again, his voice was slightly hoarse: "Where did you get this photo?"

"You want to ask me where the person above is?" Qiao Nianwen raised his lips with a wicked smile, "I'm sorry, she died two years ago."

"You're talking nonsense!" Qiao Liangze was furious. He retracted his fingers that were pinching the edge of the photo, then quickly let go to smooth out the wrinkles.

"You know in your heart whether I am talking nonsense or not!" Qiao Nianwen yelled back in a louder voice, "I originally thought you were heartless, but it turns out that you can also be sad and regretful?

"That little boy in the photo looks familiar, doesn't he? He looks a lot like you.

"Are you happy? You finally have a child who looks like you. But unfortunately, he and his mother don't seem to want to recognize you, otherwise they wouldn't have disappeared for so many years."

"Qiao Nianwen, what on earth do you want to do?!" Qiao Liangze yelled, covered his heart with his left hand, took a few steps back as if he couldn't bear it, and put one hand on the table behind him.

"Master, are you okay?" The housekeeper heard the noise and ran in from outside. He quickly took the medicine and gave it to him. "Young Master, you are really something. Master is not in good health. Don't make him so angry."

"Don't make me angry?" Qiao Liangze sneered and swallowed the medicine. "I think he wants to make me angry to death."

"Whatever you think." Qiao Nianwen looked at the photo tightly held in his hand and laughed at himself. "My mother and I have been by your side for so many years, but we are still no match for this wild mother and son. Dad, you are really affectionate."

"Stop talking about this nonsense," Qiao Liangze said impatiently, "I'll ask you one last time, where are the mother and son?"

Qiao Nianwen knelt down and picked up a piece of paper from the scattered papers on the ground: "The woman is dead. As for the child, I will tell you as long as you stop interfering with Lingling and me."

Qiao Liangze took a deep breath, and his right hand, whose skin had already begun to sag, stroked the photo under his hand. There was a tenderness in his eyes that was unfamiliar even to him.

After a pause, he put away the photo, raised his head and looked at his son, his eyes even colder than before.

"Okay, I promise."

——

Back in the bedroom, Qiao Nianwen leaned against the cold door. There was no light on in the room, only the light from outside came through the window.

"Ha..." He couldn't help but let out a low laugh, and his shoulders shook uncontrollably.

"Hahahahahaha..." Laughter overflowed from his lips, becoming louder and louder, and the frequency of his shoulders shaking became higher and higher, but when it was about to reach its peak, it stopped abruptly.

He sat down on the ground dejectedly, the corners of his lips still raised, but his face was full of wet tears.

Qiao Nianwen fumbled and took out a photo. It was a candid photo of him and Ou Lingling that he picked up from the study.

With the dim light coming through the window, he reached out his hand over the photo and touched it slowly and cherishingly, just as he had stroked Ou Lingling's hair countless times before.

"Lingling." It doesn't matter who is his grandfather's illegitimate child, but why you?

He put the photo on his forehead, tears falling down, soaking his pants.

"But it doesn't matter. My dad has given up on me. This won't be an obstacle between us. There won't be any obstacles between us anymore."

"No more..."