Half an hour later, the car arrived at Starlight Entertainment.
Qi Huan took out his phone and called Jiang Youli.
“Little Li’er, I’m here. I’ll wait for you downstairs.”
“Okay~ I’ll be right there!”
Her playful voice seemed to soothe Qi Huan’s ears, and his mood inexplicably brightened.
Before long, Jiang Youli appeared at the company’s main entrance.
She moved with a light, springy step, like a dancing musical note, and came running toward Qi Huan.
Qi Huan felt that Jiang Youli was like the first ray of sunlight at dawn—warm and bright, lifting one’s spirits.
Jiang Youli opened the door and got into the car. Seeing the lunch boxes and fresh fruit drinks on the back seat, she praised him, “You prepared lunch again.”
Qi Huan gazed at her tenderly and indulgently. “Mm. Besides treating me today, you also have to treat Uncle Ya. I was worried you might get hungry, so I had everything prepared in advance. That way, you can eat in the car first.”
The car was spacious enough, and the backs of the seats were fitted with dining tables that could retract automatically, so eating in the car was hardly inconvenient at all.
Since it would take more than half an hour to reach Zhou Zerui’s apartment complex, Jiang Youli said without hesitation, “All right. You eat with me, too~”
Qi Huan smiled happily. “Sure.”
From the rearview mirror, Cheng Jing watched his young master and Jiang Youli eating with obvious enjoyment in the back seat. For some reason, a thought suddenly occurred to him.
Young Master Qi was becoming more and more down-to-earth.
He had a luxury car worth ten million yuan, yet he used it to share a meal with the person he loved.
“Has Long Yuan taken any action since they guessed that Zhou Zerui is your biological younger brother?” Jiang Youli asked.
Qi Huan told her about the same-city delivery.
Without even thinking, Jiang Youli said, “If it isn’t a timed bomb, then it must be something meant to deal with you.”
“And for something that could make Zhou Zerui and Uncle Ya distrust you and work against you, there’s a high probability it has something to do with your mother.”
Qi Huan said, “That’s what I think, too.”
Then he admitted frankly, “I was still young twenty-two years ago, but when I learned that my mother had died in a car accident, I couldn’t help noticing how the accident had happened to take place on the very day my younger brother was sent away by Qi Tianxiang. The coincidence was simply too suspicious. I didn’t remain immersed in grief for long. Instead, I planned to investigate in secret. Back then, I even considered the possibility that my father, Qi Tianxiang, had caused the accident that killed my mother.”
“But I had the bodyguard my mother left behind investigate it. No one had tampered with her car.”
“Because Qi Tianxiang’s involvement in my mother’s death had been ruled out, I never guarded against him. I had never even imagined that Qi Yue could be a fake.”
Jiang Youli thought for a moment. “Your father, Qi Tianxiang, may have been one of the pawns. But there may also be another pawn who poses an even greater threat to you.”
Qi Huan quickly understood what she was implying. “You mean… my grandfather?”
Talking to an intelligent person was so much easier. She had understood his meaning immediately.
Jiang Youli nodded. “At present, the only people who can be used against you are your father, Qi Tianxiang, and Grandpa Qi, who has the power to decide whether you can become the heir to the Qi family.”
“Qi Tianxiang is basically a spent pawn as far as you’re concerned. If someone wanted to defeat you, Grandpa Qi would be the more useful piece.”
A smile spread across Qi Huan’s face. “If they really are making a move through my grandfather, then this wouldn’t be Long Yuan’s doing alone. It sounds more like something Qi Feifan would do.”
“In any case, this is only our guess. We’ll know whether it’s true once we see Zhou Zerui and Uncle Ya later.” As she spoke, Jiang Youli placed a boneless piece of braised fish into her mouth with her chopsticks.
Delicious!
Every day since coming to the capital’s elite circles had been both eventful and fraught with danger.
…
By the time Qi Huan and Jiang Youli arrived at the high-end residential complex he had arranged for Zhou Zerui and Uncle Ya, they had just finished their meal.
Carrying the food he had brought for Zhou Zerui and Uncle Ya, Qi Huan entered the complex with Jiang Youli.
They went up to the twenty-second floor and pressed the doorbell of Room 2203.
Before long, the door opened.
Standing inside, Zhou Zerui looked at Jiang Youli and Qi Huan with complicated emotions in his eyes before greeting them calmly. “President Jiang, President Qi.”
He then stepped aside to let them in.
“How is Uncle Ya doing today?” Jiang Youli asked Zhou Zerui directly after entering.
Zhou Zerui closed the door, hiding his emotions as he replied, “Uncle Ya is doing very well. After your treatment yesterday, he hasn’t lost consciousness again. But he’s gone to take a nap.”
“Good. I’ll continue treating him today. As for the emotional knot in his heart, you need to find out what it is and help him work through it properly,” Jiang Youli instructed.
Zhou Zerui’s eyes darkened slightly. “I will.”
Only today had he learned that the emotional knot in Uncle Ya’s heart might be connected to the death of his mother, Cheng Xiran.
Only after he truly and completely avenged his mother would Uncle Ya’s heart be set free.
Qi Huan noticed that something was off about Zhou Zerui. Instead of asking him directly, he merely smiled and said, “Zhou Zerui, the paternity test results are out. You’re my biological younger brother.”
Zhou Zerui felt no particular reaction. He merely responded, “Mm.”
“Have you eaten?” Qi Huan asked. “I brought you some food.”
“No need. I’ve already eaten.” Zhou Zerui refused.
Jiang Youli also noticed that Zhou Zerui was acting strangely. After exchanging a brief glance with Qi Huan, they tacitly agreed.
“In that case, I’ll go treat Uncle Ya first,” she said.
Qi Huan nodded. “All right.”
Once Jiang Youli had entered the room, Qi Huan set down the lunch box he had brought and looked at Zhou Zerui. “Aren’t you happy to know that you’re my biological younger brother?”
Zhou Zerui was startled. “…How could I not be happy? Being the younger brother of Young Master Qi means a life of wealth and luxury, with nothing to worry about for the rest of my life. Anyone would wake up laughing from a dream like that.”
“Is that so? Because you don’t look very happy to me.” Qi Huan asked, “If there’s something about being my biological younger brother that troubles you, you can tell me. I’ll do my best to make sure it no longer bothers you.”
At that, Zhou Zerui hesitated. He indeed still didn’t trust Qi Huan, but he trusted the person who had sent him information about his mother even less.
Qi Huan said gently, “Is it because of the package you received this morning?”
Zhou Zerui froze, disbelief filling his eyes. “You…”
He stopped there, unable to finish the question.
“Want to ask how I know?” Qi Huan smiled faintly. “Before you, I brought Qi Tianxiang’s illegitimate son home and treated him as my biological younger brother. For three years, I devoted myself to him, only to be betrayed and nearly killed by him, Qi Tianxiang, and Qi Tianxiang’s illegitimate daughter working together. I ended up with both legs crippled. After going through something like that, how could I not be more cautious?”
“Although I don’t know what’s inside that package, I imagine it must be something troubling you. Perhaps you don’t trust me yet, which is why you refuse to tell me. But I have to warn you: if you’re hiding something important from me, you and Uncle Ya will only put yourselves in danger.” Qi Huan stopped there, not elaborating. “Yesterday, I promised Uncle Ya that I would take you both to find Qi Tianxiang and make him face the punishment he deserves. Once Little Li’er finishes treating Uncle Ya, I’ll take you to him.”
Zhou Zerui hesitated, wanting to speak but holding back. In the end, he nodded. “All right.”
The video sent by the person who had mailed the package to him and Uncle Ya showed that Qi Tianxiang had already been secretly sent away by Qi Huan. Qi Huan had no intention of dealing with Qi Tianxiang at all.
If what that person had said was true, then Qi Huan was lying to him right now.
But if Qi Huan really took him and Uncle Ya to settle the score with Qi Tianxiang, Zhou Zerui would choose to trust Qi Huan and tell him what was inside the package!
