0098 098 A myriad of lives unfolding before our eyes
After daybreak, Qi Yu carried the sleeping Qi Shuyao back and carried her directly into the bedroom, covering her with a blanket.
After Xiaolan opened the door for them, she turned and went to the kitchen. He lowered his head and kissed her forehead for a while before getting up to take a shower.
She kept the water running all night, soaking him completely. He was enveloped in her scent and didn't even want to rinse off.
After rambling on in the bathroom for a long time, Qi Yu changed into clean clothes and placed breakfast on the table. Qi Yu waved his hand, indicating that he didn't plan to eat at home.
He fastened his cufflinks, his fingertips still tracing the bite marks, then turned and went upstairs again. He took off the suit jacket that Qi Shuyao had wrapped around her and put it on exactly as it was.
After going downstairs, Xiaolan leaned against the pillar by the door, hugging her shoulders. Seeing him, she called out softly,
"boss……"
"It's okay, everything is normal. Just keep an eye on Yao Yao and make sure she doesn't go looking for Xu Mei."
"Sister Mei... she wouldn't really..."
"At this point, all we can do is watch how they finish this charade; there's nothing we can do about it."
Qi Yu went out, and the room instantly fell silent. Xiao Lan slid down, hugging her arms, and curled herself into a small ball. Two tears fell silently onto the floor. Unlike mud, they weren't absorbed and carried away; the two teardrops just lay there on the floor, motionless.
She didn't know how much time had passed, but her legs were numb from squatting. Finally, she heard a clattering sound from upstairs. Xiao Lan stood up, supporting herself against the wall, and started walking upstairs, rubbing her legs.
Qi Shuyao was dreaming, focused on something, when the sudden ringtone startled her so much that she threw a punch before she even woke up, knocking down the ornaments on the cabinet and sending the phone flying as well.
She grabbed the blanket and rushed over to pick it up, answering the phone with half her body hanging off the bed.
It was Tu Mi, with her signature husky voice and the noisy environment in the background.
"My goodness, why are you up so early?"
"Good morning, Miss. Please look up and check the time. I'm still awake."
"Stayed up all night again... What happened?"
"Didn't you go to a wedding yesterday? Why do you sound like someone has died?"
"You really know me. Yesterday's scene was worse than someone dying."
"That's too complicated, but none of that matters. What matters is that I found a clue about that man and made a very scary discovery."
Nighttime at the Xuan Sha Hall.
The shop's business was getting better and better, but the owner, Tu Mi, was becoming more and more idle. She spent all day sitting behind the bar, flipping through books and using the computer, with tea specially brewed for her by the bartender. She really lived like a young lady.
Aside from the environment being a bit noisy.
Ever since Pei Youwen mentioned surrogacy to her, he has stopped hiding it and comes here every day, begging and coaxing her to have a child with her.
Tu Mi had no such thoughts and kept making excuses to avoid it. She said that society was very chaotic now and having a child would only bring suffering. He asked her in return, "Where is the chaos? My father is already dead, it's perfectly safe."
She was so overwhelmed by the retort that she almost couldn't catch her breath, so she simply stopped making excuses and refused outright.
But it must be said that the young master is the young master; he doesn't know how to read the room at all. Even though she was already so impatient, he was still excitedly planning his own scheme.
Mrs. Pei was hospitalized a while ago, and she finally had some peace and quiet. Today, she was staring blankly at the computer when Pei Youwen suddenly popped out from the side.
"What are you looking at so intently?"
"My God, why do you walk so quietly? No, how did you get here?"
Tu Mi was so startled that she bounced on her chair, her heart pounding twice in protest. Even under the colorful lights of the hall, she could be seen to be pale with fright.
"It's so noisy here, you can't even hear me coming over. Besides, why can't I come here?"
He stood up, affectionately put his arm around Tu Mi's shoulder, buried his face in her neck, and gave her a big kiss on the cheek. He turned to look at her staring blankly at the computer screen, only to find her staring at a man.
"Oh, so that's why you've been so cold to me lately. You've found someone new. This man is so ugly, what do you see in him?"
"What nonsense!"
Tu Mi pushed his arm away, straightened her disheveled clothes, and clicked on the man's face with the mouse.
"Can you help me see if you recognize this man? He looks very familiar, but I just can't remember where I've seen him before."
Pei Youwen leaned closer to the screen and stared at it intently for a long time before finally shaking his head.
"I've never seen him before, but judging from his appearance, he's not from Jingyang. What's wrong with him?"
"Nothing much, I've been here a few times, it just looks familiar."
“I’ll come and see him next time. My mom went on vacation after she was discharged from the hospital, and I’ve been here with you these past few days.”
"Going on vacation right after being discharged from the hospital?"
"I don't know why. It wasn't even time for her to be discharged from the hospital yet. She packed her bags and went to Changgang. I don't know what attracted her there."
"Changgang, why do so many people like to go to Changgang?"
“A haven for lawbreakers and criminals. My dad used to go there when he was alive.”
After chatting for a few minutes, someone else came to order at the bar. Pei Youwen volunteered to do the work, while Tu Mi sat in the chair without moving, staring at his profile—smooth lines, big ears, and a bit of bluish stubble.
She suddenly straightened up, grabbed her hair on both sides with her hands, curled herself into a ball, and desperately tried to remember.
She had known Pei Youwen for a long time. It was the first time he came to the underground dance hall. The man generously and without any sarcasm showed her the world outside on his phone. Tu Mi seemed to have obtained the key to enter a new world. She stared intently at the small screen, watching every detail.
He, his school, his family, his friends... family, friends...
She remembered; it was the photo Pei Youwen had shown her, a travel photo of him, and the man in that corner was the one she had been thinking about for so many days.
But why did Pei Youwen have no recollection of the people she could remember?
And then there's Changgang. Why did he speak of Changgang with such disdain, when he first mentioned it to her, yet with a sense of display and longing?
She could never misunderstand the tone of voice that was subconsciously reflected in his words, but what had happened to the same person to cause such a big change in him?
Lost in thought, she was completely absorbed in her thoughts. Even when Pei Youwen pressed his face against hers, he didn't snap her out of it. The man held her hand, feigning sadness.
"It's over, it's over. I'm not attractive to you at all anymore. Even when you look at me, your eyes aren't focused on me."
His words drew Tu Mi's attention back, and she raised her hand, her fingers running through his hair.
"I suddenly remembered the day we first met. It's amazing how many years have passed."
"The day we first met, I can't believe you were willing to come. You were so full of blood and energy, I don't even want to think about it myself."
The fingers that were stroking his hair stopped, then immediately resumed stroking it. Tu Mi let him lean against her, looking at him from behind, her smile completely gone.
"So, you think the Pei Youwen you know now is not the same person as the man you met on the first day?"
“If that’s not the case, then he must have forgotten something. But when I asked him something later, what he said was exactly the same as what I remembered. If there really was a problem, it would be the time between the first and second meetings. But the time between those two meetings was very short. What could have happened?”
After hearing so much, Qi Shuyao sat up a long time ago. She rubbed her head and recalled the scene when she first met Pei Youwen and the occasion when she mentioned him again.
"Oh... I didn't know him before, and I don't know anything about his family. But what kind of person do you think Pei Youwen is?"
"He's actually quite strange. Before I went to the surface, he seemed like a madman. He didn't like to talk much underground, and his eyes were colder than underground. When he found out I was pregnant, he didn't react much. He just said he would handle it, and then all those things happened. But after I broke my leg, he called me, but he sounded different from when I was down there. I can't quite put my finger on it, but it was probably the tone of his voice and the way he used his words. I don't know how to describe it, but I could feel it. However, I wasn't in the mood to think about it too much at the time."
"And then what happened after you got in touch again?"
"It was Qi... your dad who asked me to contact him. I think I'm more of an actor, but he was really excited. He was like a sunny little puppy, a completely different person from before."
"Their family is really... wait a minute."
As Qi Shuyao was talking, her phone beeped, another call came in, so she hung up on Tu Mi first.
"A classmate called me earlier, I'll call you back later."
"Don't reply, I'm going to sleep."
After hanging up, Qi Shuyao answered Xiang Zhiyu's call; his loud voice was also shouting on the other end.
"Wake up! Get up and come to the address I sent you. I've made a mind-blowing discovery!"
He hung up the phone after shouting. Qi Shuyao stared at the black screen of her phone for five seconds before pushing off the covers and getting up. Feeling sticky all over, her legs went weak, and she collapsed to the floor with a thud.
Xiao Lan, who was outside, heard the noise and ran in, then picked her up and pulled her up.
"My ancestors, what are you doing?"
"I'm going to take a shower and then I'll go out."
Where to?
"Xiang Zhiyu asked me to go out, but he didn't say what he wanted to do. What's wrong? Your hand is cramping up, it's stuck in my flesh."
"Oh, it's nothing. I just got numb from chopping bones. Why don't you eat something before you go?"
"I'm not eating anymore. It's been so long since I've seen Xiang Zhiyu. I'm going to go and give him a good beating."
Qi Shuyao ran out to take a shower, leaving Xiaolan sitting by her bedside. She had made a table full of breakfast early in the morning, but no one ate it.
Qi Shuyao was taking a shower when Su Changce was going to work. He walked to his office with a deathly pale face, fidgeting restlessly at his desk. He even sent his secretary to Lao He to inquire about his situation. The secretary said that Lao He was normal, calm, and even seemed to be in a good mood.
The knife hanging over his head seemed to have retracted slightly, but the thread holding it was even thinner.
When Qi Shuyao arrived at the agreed location, Xiang Zhiyu had already ordered food for her. She ran over and pounced on the table, eating while listening to him talk beside her.
"What happened at their banquet last night? My groups have been buzzing with activity ever since."
"Didn't you go?"
“I went there, but it was just a formality. My dad was going to their church for a meeting and he was taking me with him. I didn’t see anything.”
"Don't even mention it, it's a complete mess. I'll tell you after I finish eating."
"Let me tell you first. I went to that party yesterday, and I made a lot of preparations on the way there, afraid of violating any of their rules. But when I got there, it turned out to be nothing like religion. It was just a bunch of rich people using religion as a pretext for socializing."
"Isn't that normal? Who doesn't form cliques these days?"
"No, no, the previous ones were done privately by individuals, but this one is clearly organized by someone, with a lot of people who have no connection to it. Wait a minute, I secretly took a few pictures and you can see them."
"You're so bold, you'd better delete it right away, or people will come after you if they find out."
She put down her spoon, took the phone, and almost threw it into the soup when she saw the first picture.
The man who appeared in the Tumi Guild Hall, the one in Pei Youwen's phone, was standing in the church, wearing the robes of their religious leader, with his hands clasped together.
Qi Shuyao continued scrolling down, and found many wealthy people from all walks of life whose names she had heard of and whom she had met. Among them was the mother of the woman from that banquet, and in the last picture, in the corner, was a deputy who often appeared next to Shen Yan.
"Don't delete them. Send me all these pictures, and don't tell anyone."
"What happened? Do you know this person?"
“I don’t know his identity, but he’s definitely up to something. Can you talk to your dad and get him out of here?”
"He never listens to what I say."
"Then you should be more clever and become an undercover agent here, how about that?"
A surge of excitement, reminiscent of childhood, filled Xiang Zhiyu's body. He nodded solemnly and shook hands with Qi Shuyao under the table.
At the same time, Song Yusheng had already arrived at Huanye. She had come by boat the night before, and when the cruise ship docked, a tall man was waiting there to pick her up.
The man spotted her almost instantly, walked over and took her small suitcase. She put her arm around his, and the driver, who was already nearby, opened the car door and invited them to get in.
The man turned his head slightly and put his mouth close to her ear.
"Little girl, if I don't give you a role to film here, you won't come, will you?"
"No way, I already said I'll come over as soon as I've taken care of things at home, to keep you company, it's not for filming."
"Is everything taken care of at home?"
"It's all taken care of, and I don't plan to go back. I'm settling down here. Mr. Li, would you like to welcome me?"
“You’re not settling here, you’re settling in my house.”
Li Yi picked up the woman who was clinging to him and they both got into the car.
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