Upon hearing her words, Qin Hanyue turned his head and met her smiling eyes. She said, "The effect of acupuncture will be better. Mr. Qin, would you like to give it a try?"
Her gaze was obviously mischievous, and the thought of her using slightly rough and forceful needle techniques on his father made Qin Hanyue involuntarily swallow his saliva. Nevertheless, he nodded and said, "Yes."
A few minutes later, Qin Hanyue descended the stairs, and Qin Yan, who was waiting on the first floor, hurriedly approached him. He immediately noticed the reddened spot on Qin Hanyue's forehead and couldn't help but point it out, saying, "Third Young Master, were you bitten by a mosquito?"
Qin Yan was about to ask if he should buy some mosquito repellent for Miss Qiao, but he was frightened into silence by Qin Hanyue's icy gaze.
Inside the car, Qin Yan's imagination ran wild, and he couldn't help but ask, "Third Young Master, is Wei Qingyuan Miss Qiao's enemy?"
Wasn't the corpse they dealt with last time sent by Wei Qingyuan? No wonder Miss Qiao went to the auction to "show her kindness."
He thought to himself, "How big of an enemy do they have to be to use so many explosives? I've always thought that the consequences of offending their boss would be dire, but now it seems that offending Miss Qiao would be just as bad, if not worse."
Tsk tsk, just a couple of days ago, they went to make friends at the auction, and in the blink of an eye, they blew someone up. It's truly terrifying.
Qin Hanyue replied, "Not only that."
Qin Yan asked, "What else?"
Qin Hanyue answered, "They intended to continue poisoning me, but she discovered it."
Qin Yan thought, Does that mean Miss Qiao blew them up partly because of you? Is that so?
Given Miss Qiao's temperament, he couldn't help but feel that it was highly unlikely...
Qin Yan said, "Miss Qiao still cares about you."
In truth, Qin Hanyue saw through the deception, but even though he knew Qiao Ying was telling him a comforting lie, he couldn't help but feel happy.
At this moment, a sudden realization struck Qin Yan, and his eyes widened. He restrained his excitement and said, "Third Young Master, at that village in Yi Saisi on M Continent..."
He seemed to have discovered something extraordinary.
Qin Hanyue edited a message on his phone without lifting his head and said, "I think you should try the method Miss Qiao mentioned."
Qin Yan was taken aback and asked, "Huh? What method?"
Qin Hanyue replied, "Snake tail stewed winter melon."
Develop intelligence.
Qin Yan: "..."
What does that mean? Did he guess wrong, or did he guess too late? Most likely the latter... So, the Third Young Master knew from the beginning?
No wonder they suddenly started talking about fireworks in the car. Thinking back to Qiao Ying's seemingly delicate appearance, Qin Yan couldn't help but feel embarrassed.
Qin Hanyue sent a message to Qiao Ying: [You just jumped down like that earlier. Weren't you afraid I wouldn't catch you?]
Qiao Ying quickly replied: [Mr. Qin is strong and muscular. Just by looking at your arms, it's obvious that my judgment was correct.]
The words sounded fake, but Qin Hanyue listened with delight.
A faint smile tugged at the corners of Qiao Ying's mouth as he gently touched his throbbing brow. His smile deepened with a hint of amusement.
Qiao Ying tossed his phone aside, thinking to himself, "If he can't handle this, he's truly useless."
The explosion on the cruise ship had caused a nationwide uproar.
It made headlines in major news outlets.
With Qin Hanyue's "helpful assistance," the police came forward the next morning to provide an explanation in order to maintain public stability.
They claimed it was an accidental incident caused by a fire in the cruise ship's fuel tank and improper handling by the driver, and not a terrorist attack.
The locals who witnessed the incident didn't believe it for a second. How could such a powerful explosion be caused by a fuel tank fire?
Moreover, they had clearly seen people on the cruise ship trying to escape, some even jumping into the water. Yet the police statement claimed, "No innocent casualties." What a joke! Did everyone miraculously make it out unharmed?
The incident became the topic of discussion at school.
"Yingjie, have you heard? The moat was blown up by a cruise ship last night, and it turned to ashes!" Huo Chengdong, engrossed in his game, couldn't help but comment, "Do you think the police's story about the fuel leak is nonsense?"
Qiao Ying replied, "It's normal for a fuel leak to cause a fire when the weather is dry."
Huo Chengdong tightened his thin jacket and said, "Damn, it's so dry these days. Yingjie, do you want to hear something I heard?"
Huo Chengdong continued, "Could there really be terrorists? What do these terrorists look like? I've never seen one in all my years."
On a private island,
JOKER asked, "Did Old K die?"
"Boss, it's not just Old K. Mu Ying and Fei Ying also died, and several managers of the Dark Shadow's branch in the capital are gone."
JOKER inquired, "Who did it?"
"I'm not sure. The bodies are all in the hands of the police, so we can't confirm whether they really died in the big explosion."
JOKER said, "Explosion? It's impossible for Old K and the others with their skills to be killed on a cruise ship. Find out for me!"
The weather turned cold,
Winter arrived quickly in the capital city,
And these days, it was rainy and gloomy.
Qiao Yi walked through the campus of Beijing University, dressed in a hoodie and layered with a long-sleeved shirt. His handsome appearance attracted many glances, and his outstanding looks made people completely overlook his uneven and unusual gait.
Everyone was curious about which department's top student he was, thinking of approaching him for his contact information. Then they saw the previously aloof and taciturn young man suddenly smile at someone.
Following their gaze, they noticed Qiao Ying responding to the young man.
"Who's that guy? Does he know Qiao, the campus beauty? What's their relationship? Qiao, the campus beauty, actually smiled at him."
"This guy looks a bit young. May there be a May-December romance going on?"
"I fell in love at first sight, even opened up my QR code... Hey, sis, that young man must be barely eighteen. If he falls into your hands, it'll be a sin."
"Such good looks, swoon-worthy. As expected, good-looking people hang out with other good-looking people. Hey, are they wearing couple outfits?"
"Sis." Qiao Yi walked over and looked at Qiao Ying's hoodie, which was almost identical to his own, and smiled.
Qiao Ying said, "Do you have enough money? If not, I can transfer some to you."
Qiao Yi replied, "I didn't buy this shirt. Mr. Qin bought it for me last time, and I asked you about it, and you told me to keep it."
Qiao Ying took another glance at the clothes on her younger brother. "Nice taste," she remarked. It seemed that she often bought clothes for her younger sibling.
Qiao Yi asked, "Sis, why did you call me here?"
Qiao Ying replied, "To introduce you to someone."
Fifteen minutes later,
Qiao Yi looked at Xu Zhiyi sitting across from her, stealing occasional glances at Qiao Ying beside her. Her lips sealed tightly, as if glued together.
None of the three seemed like skilled conversationalists.
"Hello, I'm Xu Zhiyi," Xu Zhiyi broke the silence, greeting Qiao Yi.
"...Hello," Qiao Yi replied, feeling somewhat nervous as she looked at him.
She leaned closer to Qiao Ying and whispered, "Sis, what's going on?"
Qiao Ying said, "Don't you really like him?"
Qiao Yi glanced at Xu Zhiyi opposite her. Was her sister trying to help him pursue his dreams? Could this distance between them truly be bridged?
Xu Zhiyi smiled faintly and said, "Don't be nervous. I'm not as exceptional as you think, especially when compared to your sister." He glanced at Qiao Ying and continued, "And we've chatted on the forum before, right? Your name is Qiao Yi?"
Qiao Yi nodded and replied, "Yes, I've watched all your competition videos."
Xu Zhiyi said, "Really? It's been many years since my elementary and middle school competition videos. I feel honored."
Finding a common topic, the two of them opened up and began to chat.
Of course, they didn't dare to discuss any math problems in front of Qiao Ying. That would be like carrying coals to Newcastle.
Qiao Yi had classes in the afternoon, so the three of them only sat in the café for an hour. Before leaving, Xu Zhiyi took the initiative to exchange contact information with Qiao Yi and suggested keeping in touch.
He also intended to accompany Qiao Yi and Qiao Ying to the school gate, but Qiao Yi politely declined.
Qiao Yi asked her sister, "Sis, is he... like Mr. Qin to you?"
It was too obvious, and Qiao Yi couldn't help but notice.
Qiao Ying understood and replied, "I understand."
Qiao Yi asked, "Hmm?"
Qiao Ying said honestly, "I'm so outstanding. It's normal for people to admire me, isn't it? Why are you laughing?" Isn't it true?
Qiao Yi shook her head and smiled, "No, I understand what you mean."
Qiao Ying spoke frankly once again, "I'm better at math than him, so you should admire me more than him."
As they chatted, Qiao Ying walked Qiao Yi to the school gate.
Not long after Qiao Yi got into a taxi,
she received a message from Qin Hanyue.
Since they exchanged WeChat contacts, Qin Hanyue would occasionally ask how she was doing. The usually reserved Qiao Yi found it somewhat challenging to respond.
But today, it wasn't a casual inquiry.
Qin Hanyue: [Did you go to Peking University?]
Qiao Yi was slightly stunned: [Yes, how did you know? Did my sister tell you?]
Qin Hanyue: [I forgot to mention, I also graduated from Peking University. I occasionally browse the forum, reminiscing about my student days.]
Forum? Qiao Yi only then realized that someone had taken a photo of the three of them chatting in the café and posted it on the Peking University forum.
How could she have received a message so quickly when she was still in the taxi? Was he really just an occasional forum browser?
Or did he live there?
