Before Qi Huan could say anything about the sanatorium director’s words, Uncle Ya behind him let out a cold snort.
Zhou Zerui immediately gritted his teeth and said sarcastically, with clear displeasure, “Mr. Qi, Qi Tianxiang is your biological father. If you couldn’t bring yourself to punish him, you could have just told us. Why go to all this trouble to put on such a show?”
Qi Huan’s gaze darkened. He gripped the armrest of his wheelchair and turned around, then glanced sideways at Zhou Zerui. “What exactly do you mean?”
Zhou Zerui said angrily, “You were the one who had Qi Tianxiang taken away, weren’t you? Why go so far as to have the director put on an act, pretending you knew nothing about it?”
“Huh?” The sanatorium director broke into a cold sweat when he heard Zhou Zerui’s accusation. “What act?”
Qi Huan did not get angry. Instead, he laughed. “Why would I be unwilling to punish Qi Tianxiang, and secretly have him taken away?”
“Because he’s your biological father,” Zhou Zerui replied.
“He’s your biological father too,” Qi Huan said calmly. “You had no intention of letting him off either.”
Zhou Zerui was rendered speechless for a moment. After a while, he argued, “That’s different. I never saw him growing up, and I have no feelings for him whatsoever. All I have is hatred for the fact that he gave me away when I was little, so I won’t feel sorry for him just because he’s my father.”
Qi Huan nodded thoughtfully. “I understand now. So you and Uncle Ya have been troubled by this all day?”
Zhou Zerui froze. Clearly, he had not expected Qi Huan to see through his thoughts so quickly, and he did not know how to respond.
Jiang Youli had understood as well. “So you and Uncle Ya knew first thing this morning that Qi Tianxiang had disappeared, and you assumed Huanhuan couldn’t bear to take revenge on him, so you deliberately got the director to help deceive you?”
“Wasn’t that exactly what happened?” Zhou Zerui countered.
The sanatorium director understood as well and hurriedly clarified, “Of course not! I really wasn’t in on any act! I had an important meeting this morning and wasn’t at the sanatorium. When I came back, I heard from the nurse responsible for looking after Mr. Qi Tianxiang that he was missing. I specifically checked the surveillance footage, only to find that all the cameras around Mr. Qi Tianxiang’s room had malfunctioned that morning.”
Zhou Zerui looked at Qi Huan. “The surveillance footage was clearly tampered with, and you’re the one who did it, Mr. Qi.”
He placed particular emphasis on the words “Mr. Qi,” as though he wanted to make it clear that he had no intention of calling him “Big Brother.”
Though under suspicion, Qi Huan’s expression remained unchanged. He said unhurriedly, “Why do you think I wouldn’t have the heart to do it? Before bringing you here to the sanatorium, I actually had Cheng Jing sever the tendons in Qi Tianxiang’s hands and feet.”
Zhou Zerui was visibly shocked when Qi Huan so casually mentioned severing his father’s tendons.
Jiang Youli crossed her arms and nodded in agreement. “That’s right. Huanhuan went that far because he wanted to force Qi Tianxiang to reveal who he sold Qi Yue to all those years ago. If you still think Huanhuan can’t be trusted, then I honestly don’t know what else to say to you.”
Zhou Zerui fell silent for a while before looking at Uncle Ya. “Uncle Ya… You should tell Mr. Qi about the same-city delivery we received this morning.”
Uncle Ya remained silent, making no response.
Zhou Zerui knew that his silence meant consent.
He glanced at the director.
Qi Huan then told the director to continue searching for Qi Tianxiang.
Only after the director had left did Zhou Zerui tell Qi Huan that the same-city delivery they had received contained photographs of their mother, Cheng Xiran.
“…That person told us that our mother’s death wasn’t an accident, but something Qi Tianxiang had orchestrated. He also said that you never truly intended to avenge our mother and had already secretly sent Qi Tianxiang away.”
At this point, guilt filled his voice. “If what you said is true—if you severed Qi Tianxiang’s tendons just to find me—then there’s no way you were unwilling to take revenge on him. That person lied to us.”
Uncle Ya also signed: “I’m sorry, but when it comes to my benefactor, I can’t afford not to be cautious. Even though you’re her son and Little Rui’s biological brother, I can’t immediately place my complete trust in you.”
Qi Huan smiled indifferently. “It’s fine. Now that we’ve cleared up the misunderstanding, everything makes sense. Since it’s clear that I wasn’t the one who took Qi Tianxiang away, it was probably someone else from the Qi family. They must have learned your identity and deliberately tried to drive a wedge between us brothers. As for our mother’s death, Grandpa already sent people to investigate it back then. It really was an accidental car crash. Qi Tianxiang didn’t orchestrate it.”
Zhou Zerui said, “Regardless of whether Qi Tianxiang planned it, our mother’s accidental death was still caused by him sending me away. She got into that crash while trying to find me, so I will never forgive him.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll have people find Qi Tianxiang,” Qi Huan said calmly. “You and Uncle Ya only need to wait. Don’t take matters into your own hands and let yourselves be used by someone with ulterior motives again.”
Zhou Zerui nodded. “All right. I understand.”
Jiang Youli also reminded him, “Zhou Zerui, instead of suspecting your brother here, you’d be better off spending your time figuring out how to play the main villain, Mo Jingzhi, in The Ambition of Qingyun. Don’t disappoint me when the time comes and make me regret choosing you. You should know that the entire internet is watching the casting for The Ambition of Qingyun right now.”
Zhou Zerui’s expression turned serious, and he nodded solemnly. “President Jiang, don’t worry. I definitely won’t disappoint you.”
Qi Huan gave his instructions. “All right. Since Qi Tianxiang hasn’t been punished today, have someone take the two of you back for now. I’ll come get you once I find him.”
Zhou Zerui and Uncle Ya had no objections.
After arranging for Zhou Zerui and Uncle Ya to be escorted back, Jiang Youli stood in the sanatorium room where Qi Tianxiang had previously been confined and watched the vehicle disappear down the road.
“Zhou Zerui and Uncle Ya are clearly still hiding something from you. Huanhuan, you’re a smart man, so you must have noticed. Why did you let them get away with it so easily?”
Qi Huan smiled. “It’s good for him to be cautious. Even though I’m his biological brother, he still keeps his guard up. For someone from the Qi family, that may well be a good thing. If I had been sufficiently wary of Qi Tianxiang, the fake Qi Yue, and Qi Yu back then, how could they have manipulated me?”
So he did not mind in the slightest that his own younger brother, Zhou Zerui, was wary of him.
Seeing how open-minded he was, Jiang Youli smiled too. “That’s true. Now that his identity has changed, it’s always better for him to be a little cautious.”
After a pause, she continued, “So what are you planning to do next, Huanhuan?”
Qi Huan smiled. “Turn their scheme against them.”
“Just as you analyzed, Little Li’er, whether the mastermind behind this is Qi Shaoxiong or Qi Feifan, they’re most likely trying to lead my younger brother and Uncle Ya into believing that Grandpa was responsible for our mother’s death, and then use me to give them an opportunity to take revenge on Grandpa.”
“In that case, I’ll simply let them believe that everything is proceeding according to plan.”
“The plan they think can deal me a fatal blow may just as easily become fatal to them. Once their plan fails this time, they’ll never have any chance of making a comeback.”
