0033 033 Unrelated siblings
The rooftop building was a multi-functional leisure building built by Qi Yu's friend Shi Heyu a few years ago. He even reserved two rooms on the top floor for Qi Yu to entertain guests. Qi Shuyao didn't know what kind of relationship they had, but she had known him since they were in Xijin.
He said it sounded awful to be called Uncle Shi. When Qi Shuyao was little, she didn't know the character for "crane," so she called him Uncle Bird, and she still does. After she finally understood, she would deliberately call him that every time and then look at the man's speechless expression. However, she didn't notice Qi Yu's even more speechless expression behind her.
Today, Shi Heyu came to pick her up and lead them upstairs as usual, but neither of them seemed to be in the mood for joking anymore.
As we ascended the semi-transparent sightseeing elevator, the sky, which was not yet evening, suddenly darkened, emitting a dull yellow light. Every year as winter approaches, Jingyang experiences several sandstorms, which blow sand and dust all over the place, making it impossible to open one's eyes.
Upon arriving at the arranged room, Qin Zhuohan helped his mother sit down. Qi Shuyao felt the room was too oppressive and stood alone in the corridor.
A moment later, Qin Zhuohan also came out and stood beside her.
He wanted to say a lot, but couldn't say anything. He used to think that as long as he took care of himself, he could stay away from those disgusting disputes for the rest of his life.
Footsteps sounded again in the corridor. Qi Shuyao peeked out, only to see a man whose face was almost completely covered. Before she could recognize him, Qin Zhuohan behind her called out softly.
"Dad? What brings you here?"
Qin Jiangzhi took off his hat and mask, and reached out to tidy his messy hair. He patted his son's shoulder wearily, and when he turned to look at her, he was equally speechless.
Silence is better than crying and pleading or making exaggerated expressions of gratitude.
She took a step forward, leaned against the wall, and looked out the corner of the corridor. After waiting for a while, the elevator stopped there again. She went to greet it and grabbed Qi Yu's arm the moment she saw him, but then she immediately saw Xu Mei and Cao Mi standing next to him... no, now it's Deputy Minister Cao. She stood there, somewhat at a loss.
Xu Mei looked at her with a strange expression, but her mind was filled with Jiang Yu's tears in the temple, so she could only look away from her body.
Everyone had arrived, and the tea had been served. Minister Cao from the bureau became the center of attention. He crossed his legs, leaned back against the sofa, and glanced sideways at the Qin family of three.
"Dean Qin has been a miracle worker for so many years. People would think you hold a grudge against those you can't cure."
"Minister Cao is joking. Life and death are just a matter of a moment. There are too many patients who survive the difficult treatment period, but die in the recovery period for various reasons."
"So what about this? It's been so long and there's still no conclusion?"
"Death due to normal illness."
"Then why are they still bothering you?"
Qin Jiangzhi, who had been keeping his head down, straightened his back and looked directly at Minister Cao. His gaze was firm and his tone was steady.
“After his death, his family was making normal funeral arrangements, but on the morning of the third day, they all suddenly changed their minds. Everyone was acting arrogantly and unreasonably. There must have been some problem. They used the issue of nationality to make a big fuss about making a big deal out of it, but in reality, they kept hinting to me to meet with the people behind him.”
Who's behind that?
"The Gu family."
Everyone in the room was stunned. The room was eerily quiet. After a long while, Minister Cao continued to ask questions.
"The Gu family? Are there still members of the Gu family alive? What do they want with you?"
"The deceased patient's brother, Hopes, had a wife who was Chinese named Tang Ling, who was the niece of the old Mrs. Gu. Perhaps they weren't going to take me directly to meet the Gu family, but behind the scenes, they must be doing things for the Gu family."
"What do they want with you?"
“Minister Cao, things are clear now. Dean Qin only needs someone to help him prevent things from escalating, and you are the best choice. As for the reward after the matter is settled, we should have already agreed on it when we came here. We'll leave the rest to you.”
Qi Yu took over the conversation, and after reaching an agreement with Minister Cao, he arranged for someone to send him away.
"Thank you very much, Secretary Qi..."
Qin Jiangzhi's expression of gratitude was interrupted by Qi Yu, who leaned forward slightly and softened his tone.
"I'm still very curious, why didn't Dean Qin's brother make a move?"
Both Madam Qin and Qin Zhuohan looked at Qin Jiangzhi, and the outspoken Madam Qin even asked directly,
"You have brothers? What brothers?"
Qin Jiangzhi sighed heavily, slowly raised his hands, and bowed deeply to Qi Yu in a fist-and-palm gesture.
"In family matters, sometimes personal interests are more important than family members."
"Then I won't ask any more questions. When we leave today, everything we discussed before will stand still. I hope Dean Qin won't forget it."
"Of course not."
The two drank a cup of tea, and then Qin Jiangzhi left with his wife and son. Before leaving, Qin Zhuohan glanced at Qi Shuyao and saw that she was sitting in the corner, staring blankly at the ground, her pupils unfocused.
Only three people remained in the room. Xu Mei, who had been almost invisible until now, moved closer to Qi Yu, her voice filled with anxiety.
"I've already brought the person here, so you should take me there now."
"Do you really want to go there? What will you say when you meet?"
"What do you mean? If you don't want us to meet, why are you telling me?"
Xu Mei clutched her hair in anguish, pacing frantically in the middle of the room. Suddenly, she stopped, her eyes red as she stared at Qi Shuyao in the corner, startling her and causing Qi Shuyao to shrink back even further.
At the same time, Qi Yu finally saw the phone screen flickering.
In the old town's underground area, the dance hall was closed tonight. Girls of all ages were tidying up the tables and chairs in the center of the dance floor. Loud noises continued to emanate from the manager's office, just a wall away, but they ignored it. After all, every few days, women wailing and screaming would be brought in.
Inside the office, a crazed woman removed the black cloth covering her head and began smashing things wildly. She overturned chairs and tables, then lunged at Manager Chen, snatched the items from his hands, tore them to pieces, and threw them aside.
"Where's Pei Youwen! Where's that bitch! Tell him to come out and see me! He promised to cooperate with my act and split the assets equally with me, but now he's not showing up and has sent me to a place like this. Did he think I couldn't run away? Did he think I couldn't find him?!"
The office was smashed to pieces, but Manager Chen remained sitting there calmly.
Every year, women are sent in for various reasons, and none of them have escaped his grasp. To his left is a tall stack of brochures, each one representing a life, and each life marked with a red X. He likes the top one the most; it had only been there for less than two weeks and had already been played to death. What a pity.
Smash it, smash it. If she has the energy, she can smash everything here. Anyway, we'll replace it with something new, and someone will pay for it.
He poured himself another cup of tea.
In the small room behind the wall, Pei Youwen was burying his face in Tu Mi's protruding belly, taking deep breaths. He hadn't hugged her in a long time, and he had been on tenterhooks these past few days. But thankfully, his mother finally gave in.
"What exactly were you planning? How did you get the money?"
"Don't worry, these are all things that can't be proven by the dead, and no one will mention them again."
He went all out with the act, even taking the woman to the hospital to fake an abortion and showing the fetus to his mother. However, what he received wasn't a portion of the inheritance, but rather compensation under various pretexts, but it was enough for the two of them to live on from then on.
The noise from next door gradually subsided, but then the girls started playing music outside again, making my head ache.
On the ground, Xiao Lan, who had faked her death in front of Manager Chen, was repeatedly calling Qi Yu. She had finally found out everything and was anxious to report but couldn't find him.
After making countless calls, the other end finally answered. She clearly articulated her thoughts and spoke almost in one breath.
"That illegitimate child is fake. It was a plant hired by Pei Youwen and has now been sent to an underground dance hall. The child is his and Miss Tu Mi's. He just wanted to swindle the inheritance."
Everything is connected, and it's just a very simple story: a son would ruin his deceased father's reputation for the sake of his own child, which is quite a strange tale.
Xu Mei, who had been standing next to Qi Yu, suddenly became quiet. She didn't react much, gathered her clothes and bag, and left alone.
"Is the woman you mentioned who abandoned her child Aunt Xu?"
"yes."
"Have they found her daughter?"
"Found it."
"Then why don't you take her to see her?"
“I thought that after so many years, she would be kinder to her children, but I was just overthinking it. She hasn’t changed at all.”
Qi Shuyao walked over from behind, leaned on Qi Yu's shoulder, and wrapped her arms around his neck.
"Don't think about anyone else, let's go back."
He practically carried her into the car, then held her in his arms as they sat together in the driver's seat. He buried his head in the girl's soft neck and gently kissed her collarbone that peeked out from her collar. Qi Shuyao really wanted to ask about the Qin family's affairs, but she couldn't understand why Qi Yu had gotten involved.
"Dad, why...why are you helping the Qin family with this? Don't you dislike meddling in other people's business?"
He chuckled softly in her arms, gently bouncing her up with the arm supporting her bottom. He looked up and saw her soft cheeks trembling slightly, a puzzled expression on her face, before he took her into his mouth and gave her a loud kiss.
"Because he is not just himself. Didn't you ask me why Zhu Jiangxu seems to be a complete businessman, yet people in the political world still value him so much? It's because he has a cousin, who is now the Minister of Finance, Liu Jiangyan. He takes his mother's surname and never interacts with the Zhu family on the surface. Very few people know about their relationship, but few doesn't mean none. A relationship that no one knows about will only be discovered if the person involved speaks out. Just like no one knows that they actually have another cousin in common, named Qin Jiangzhi."
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