Flames shot up into the sky. Qin Hanyue felt waves of scalding heat blowing against his back, as if trying to melt him into a puddle. Even the air carried sparks.
A burning piece of the cruise ship debris smashed down nearby, stirring up a cloud of dust. Qin Hanyue held the girl in his arms even tighter.
He heard the girl in his arms speak lightly, as if she didn't care at all. Her tone even carried a hint of excitement after the thrilling events. She told him, "There's more than one bomb."
Qin Hanyue looked at her and their eyes met.
Qiao Ying jumped out of his arms and grabbed his wrist, running toward a car not far away.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Explosions erupted one after another behind the two, the deafening sounds echoing as the night sky lit up in flames, silhouetting the two people running hand in hand.
"Damn!" Qin Yan stood by the car, too shocked by the scene unfolding to get any words out.
He came to his senses and quickly slipped back into the car to pick up the other two.
In the rearview mirror,
the largest, most beautiful billion-dollar cruise ship on the moat was blown to smithereens in an instant. The surviving bodyguards on board desperately jumped into the river to escape.
The scene drew cries of astonishment and onlookers from afar.
Qin Yan kept glancing in the rearview mirror as he drove. "Holy shit, just how many bombs did they set? It's still going off."
After the explosions, thick smoke billowed up into the air. The cruise ship was gone. All that remained on the surface of the river were some broken hulls still burning as the panicked crowds already escaped, looking back in shock at the wreckage on the river, unsure of what had transpired.
In the villa,
Qiao Ying came out of the bathroom after a shower.
Qin Hanyue stood silently in the room, his expression somber as he watched her wordlessly, his gaze shifting over the girl's two slender, fair arms. There were several bruises and wounds from the earlier fight. Seeing them made Qin Hanyue frown unconsciously.
Qiao Ying busied herself with drying her long damp hair. "Haven't asked what Mr. Qin is doing here?"
The corner of the man's tight lips moved slightly. "Wei Qingyuan is dead?"
Qiao Ying shared it like an amusing tale. "I burned him alive into a dried corpse." Clearly she was in a good mood.
Qin Hanyue: "Why didn't you let me know?"
Qiao Ying: "Let you know what?"
Qin Hanyue: "......"
Seeing him not speaking, only staring at her as if enduring something, Qiao Ying was completely unfazed.
"You look quite angry. Should I prick you with a few needles to calm you down, Mr. Qin?" Her tone was even more vexing.
Even knowing her temperament had always been this way, Qin Hanyue's emotions were still easily affected by her casual words.
Qiao Ying had only been joking, but Qin Hanyue actually started taking off his clothes directly. In a few quick motions, he took off his suit and held it in his hand, revealing the high-quality white shirt underneath.
"Where should I prick?" he asked.
He seemed to want to vent his emotions.
Qiao Ying's gaze shifted up at his taut expression as she slowed her movements drying her hair. Then she took two steps forward, raising her arm toward Qin Hanyue's face.
Qin Hanyue was filled with pent-up anger, but suddenly saw the girl stretch out her arm and press her soft thumb pad against the spot between his eyebrows, gently massaging.
He stared blankly.
Qiao Ying explained, "When you're angry or in a bad mood, stimulating the Yintang acupoint can secrete dopamine to make you happy."
Qin Hanyue looked at her.
Her thumb was a little cool against his skin.
Whether it was due to the dopamine secretion or simply her action itself, in any case, he was easily soothed by her.
Calming down, he realized he had been too anxious and lost his composure toward her earlier.
Qin Hanyue apologized, "I wasn't angry about anything. I was just worried about you."
Qiao Ying: "Oh."
Qin Hanyue: "If this had only been your personal business, I have no right to interfere, but my Qin Family was also involved. I only wanted to help."
Qiao Ying: "Did you find out anything?"
Qin Hanyue: "The poison used on my father was from Wei Qingyuan."
Qiao Ying: "How did you suddenly trace it to him?"
Qin Hanyue looked into her eyes as he lifted his hand and grabbed her slender wrist, pulling it down and holding it in his palm, "You told me."
Qiao Ying: "I did?"
Qin Hanyue: "Yes."
Qiao Ying showing up at the auction was too out of the ordinary. Once confirming she was targeting Wei Qingyuan, Qin Hanyue naturally became suspicious of Wei Qingyuan's identity.
At the time, he already had guesses in mind but wasn't certain.
Before he could think further, news came of his father's critical condition.
Qiao Ying had been making poison in the lab then. Qin Hanyue guessed she was about to take action. For her to use poison, either her target was very powerful or had many people. She was ensuring absolute safety.
So when his father's poison was cured, he immediately investigated Wei Qingyuan. Sure enough, he discovered Wei Qingyuan's identity was not simple. Unexpectedly, he discovered his father had run into Wei Qingyuan at a charity gala around the time he was poisoned.
Over this past year, Qin Hanyue had secretly investigated everyone he could, but he and Wei Qingyuan had always just nodded in greeting. With his father's incident, Qin Hanyue couldn't trace anything back to Wei Qingyuan at first.
The deeper his investigation went, the more suspicious Wei Qingyuan's identity and whereabouts appeared, including his adopted son's background.
He was in a rush and hadn't confirmed Wei Qingyuan's true identity yet when he learned Wei Qingyuan would show up on the cruise ship tonight.
He immediately guessed Qiao Ying would likely take action.
So he rushed over.
After hearing Qin Hanyue's account, Qiao Ying didn't say much, only looked at him approvingly and thought to herself — Smart.
Qin Hanyue: "Was Wei Qingyuan one of Dark Shadow's people?"
Qiao Ying: "Yes."
She went over to the sofa, opened up her laptop, and played a surveillance video for him.
It showed the conversation between Wei Qingyuan and Teng Yan discussing continuing to poison Qin Hanyue, as well as pulling Dark Shadow to their side tonight.
Qin Hanyue didn't care that they wanted to poison him again. He looked to her, his tone tense once more, "Everyone on board was from Dark Shadow?"
He still felt lingering fear.
Qiao Ying casually replied, "Just one who could fight."
Aside from Yuying and Feiying, there were only seven or eight managerial level people on the third floor. What a pity not eliminating the strongest Dark Shadow branch completely.
Qin Hanyue was at a loss for words. He calmed himself before asking the other burning question, "Were you in such a rush to act because you didn't want to miss this rare opportunity? Or were you worried about me and the poisoning?"
Seeing the expectant look in the man's eyes that he didn't completely show but genuinely had, after thinking for a moment, Qiao Ying responded with a nasal hum, "Hm... Mr. Qin helped me a lot. I'll just treat it as owing you another favor tonight."
He was so eager to owe her favors. Qiao Ying just casually helped him incur more debt. After all, owing Godfather Qin favors wasn't something that could happen anytime.
It would also improve his emotional well-being. Why not just go along with it? Naturally, Qiao Ying played along.
Qin Hanyue smiled, "And taking out people trying to poison me in the process? Avenging my father incidentally as well?"
Qiao Ying learned a term from Huo Chengdong recently.
Self-deception, though she didn't listen closely to Huo Chengdong's explanation. But it probably wasn't too different from deceiving yourself.
Qin Hanyue's current behavior seemed quite fitting.
Qiao Ying snorted in laughter through her nose in response. In her heart she thought: "As long as you're happy."
Qin Hanyue: "Wei Qingyuan was our common enemy, yet you took revenge alone. Next time there's this kind of action, let me know ahead of time. I can help out. At the very least, give me a chance to repay your favor."
Qiao Ying realized Qin Hanyue was so eager to owe her favors as lead-up to this moment waiting for her.
So she had fallen into his trap and pulled him aboard her ship?
Qiao Ying: "Fine."
In any case, she called the shots on operations. As long as she personally felt an action wasn't dangerous, there was no reason to bring him along.
Satisfied with the answer, Qin Hanyue felt relieved. He gently said, "I know you're capable, but if possible, don't take risks by yourself next time."
Seeing the sincere emotion in the man's eyes,
Qiao Ying's expression was a little awkward as she responded, "....Got it."
She turned her gaze away and continued drying her hair.
"Miss Qiao just said stimulating the Yintang acupoint can secrete dopamine to make people happy. Doctor Qiao, could you press it for me again?" he suddenly said.
