The car had been on the road for not long when, in roughly the same stretch as last time, Qin Hanyue's car ahead unexpectedly stopped.
Lin Cheng rolled down his window and smiled perfunctorily at Qin Hanyue who had come to his car. He said, "Miss Qiao and I haven't finished our chat yet, so no swapping."
Qin Hanyue took a look at the gloating Lin Cheng, then bent down to look inside at Qiao Ying, who had her eyes closed and was ignoring him despite his attempt to swap cars. It was evidently her intention.
Qiao Ying's childish behavior of not letting him swap seats with Lin Cheng surprised Qin Hanyue a little and also made him somewhat uneasy. Of course, he also found this immature behavior rather adorable.
Lin Cheng said, "It's cold outside, don't catch a chill. Hurry back into your car, Mr. Qin."
Qin Hanyue looked at him for a moment but did not leave.
Lin Cheng feigned innocence, "It's not that I don't want to swap, but I really dare not offend Miss Qiao. I'm afraid I might accidentally get sold off again." Having been duped by the two of them together, Lin Cheng spoke sarcastically and a little vengefully.
Qin Hanyue's tone was slightly cold, "Doesn't the Duke fear that I would sell him off too?"
Lin Cheng said, "From my observation, it seems Miss Qiao has the final say between you two." Qin Hanyue just obediently does as he is told.
Seeing that he could not swap seats, Qin Hanyue compromised, "Could I hitch a ride in the front passenger seat? You don't mind, do you?" He also dared not pour oil on the fire and upset Qiao Ying further.
Lin Cheng heaved a slight sigh and went to open the car door.
As he did so, he said, "I'd better not squeeze between you two. You're a married couple, fight at the head of the bed and make up at the foot of it. Bickering one second, all lovey-dovey the next. In the end, I'm the one with low EQ who doesn't understand anything."
Qin Hanyue said, "What is the Duke saying... Thank you."
Qin Hanyue succeeded in getting into the car.
Three minutes later,
he glanced at Qiao Ying beside him, who still had her eyes closed, not knowing if she was resting or awake but ignoring him. He wanted to say something several times but stopped himself.
Qiao Ying had already been unhappy with him. That woman who appeared just now had poured oil on the fire. Qin Hanyue was feeling apprehensive.
Finally,
"Ahem,"
he tentatively gave a soft cough, breaking the silence himself, then leaned over and softly asked, "Still angry?"
"......" Silence followed.
Just when he had finally spoken up, Qiao Ying had shut him up again.
Fortunately, Qin Hanyue soon found an opportunity when Qiao Ying suddenly shifted her position a little to adjust her sitting posture.
"Are you uncomfortable? Let me massage you."
Qin Hanyue immediately sprang into action, reaching into her coat to knead her waist over her clothes inside.
Seeing that Qiao Ying did not reject him, Qin Hanyue heaved a sigh of relief.
She suddenly spoke, "Any news from Yue Ying's side?"
Her tone betrayed no emotion.
But at least she was willing to talk to him now.
Qin Hanyue said, "The day before yesterday, at night, they looked for me. They are also rather anxious, so they wanted to discuss with us about selling off Lin Cheng."
Yue Ying and Liu Ying were also of the opinion that sacrificing Lin Cheng and making use of his title was the fastest and most convenient method to lure out the Jack of Diamonds.
Qin Hanyue observed Qiao Ying's facial expressions and reactions closely, because she had still been delirious with fever the night before yesterday when this happened.
He was afraid these words would "agitate" her and evoke bad memories.
However, Qiao Ying did not react at all, nor did she pay him any mind.
Seeing that she did not seem angry at him, Qin Hanyue asked again, "You're not mad anymore?" He was diligent with his hands.
Unexpectedly, Qiao Ying gave a cold snort. Her tone was hard as she said, "What do I have to be angry about? I agreed willingly, so if I get angry afterwards, wouldn't I be silly?"
Qin Hanyue's head exploded in an instant - he had been too impatient. It was obvious that it wasn't yet time to be asking this. He should have been more careful to appease her, pretend nothing had happened, avoid bringing up this topic, and then try again after at least ten days to half a month.
Qin Hanyue was very self-aware, "It was your willing choice, but I was too thoughtless, so you should be angry at me."
Whether the willing Qiao Ying had any reason to be angry afterwards, Qin Hanyue was very clear about it. In the latter half of the night, after he had fully regained his senses, Qiao Ying could not take it anymore and wanted to give him an injection. But Qin Hanyue had grabbed hold of her, first playing deaf and dumb, and when he could no longer keep it up, started coaxing and tempting her, insisting on no injections but wanting her instead.
This led the usually civil-tongued Qiao Ying's first sentence upon waking to be cursing him. Because he did deserve to be cursed.
If Qiao Ying had the strength after waking up, even hitting him would not have been excessive.
Qiao Ying said flatly without opening her eyes, "At times like this, keep quiet and lower your presence to reduce the other party's anger value - that's the most effective method."
Qin Hanyue said, "Got it."
So Qin Hanyue did not speak again for the rest of the journey.
When Qiao Ying returned to the castle, she went straight to bed.
By the time she woke up again, it was already evening.
Uncle Lin returned at this time.
Qiao Ying went downstairs and happened to see Uncle Lin coming in from outside, holding a potted plant. He was dressed very fashionably and looked to be only in his forties, much younger than his actual age, the same as he appeared in the video.
His light-colored eyes were identical to Lin Cheng's, but had more warmth to them and looked more approachable.
Looking at him, Qiao Ying felt like she was directly looking at Lin Cheng twenty to thirty years later. They did not seem like uncle and nephew, but more like father and son.
When Lin Cheng grows old, this is probably what he would look like.
Lin Cheng had been waiting in the lobby. Seeing his uncle, he was very happy and strode forward to greet him, chatting with his uncle.
"Why did you suddenly come back? Did the news of Karina kidnapping Xiao Yin and seriously injuring her reach you?" Lin Cheng asked.
Uncle Lin put down the potted plant he was holding, reached out to stroke the cat in Lin Cheng's arms, and asked with concern, "Xiao Yin wasn't hurt, was she?"
Lin Cheng said, "No, she's fine. What about you? Did you have any trouble with the King?"
Uncle Lin said reassuringly, "Don't worry."
The noise from upstairs attracted their attention. They looked up to see Qiao Ying and Qin Hanyue coming down the stairs.
"Uncle, this is Xiao Yin, and this is Qin Hanyue, my friend." Lin Cheng introduced them to his uncle.
Uncle Lin looked at Qiao Ying with unconcealed delight. He warmly greeted the two of them, "Nice to meet you, I'm Lin Cheng's uncle, Lin Guli."
Lin Cheng had taken on his uncle's surname and grew up with him since he was little.
To Lin Cheng, his uncle was like his father.
Qin Hanyue reached out to shake Lin Guli's hand, "Qin Hanyue."
He discreetly sized up the man, but did not feel Lin Cheng's uncle resembled him at all, including what Qiao Ying had said about his way of speaking and tone.
He also did not know why Qiao Ying would think so.
"This is an orchid that I grew myself, a 'Ghost Orchid'. The name may not sound very nice, but it really is beautiful. It blooms very rarely. I had originally wanted to give you an orchid with a nicer sounding name, but when I heard that Karina was hospitalized with serious injuries, I knew this would be perfect for you."
Uncle Lin gave the orchid he had brought from far away to Qiao Ying as a gift.
"This is the plant in its best condition. I'm giving it to you as a little present and hope you'll like it," Uncle Lin said sincerely.
Qiao Ying took the flower and responded bluntly, "I only like expensive things."
Qin Hanyue looked at her.
Hearing this forthright reply, Uncle Lin paused briefly, as if reminded of something.
He came to his senses and smiled as he replied, "As long as you like it, that's good."
Lin Cheng said, "This is my uncle's favorite orchid variety."
He had heard that his aunt had liked it too. That was probably why his uncle had taken a liking to it and grown it.
Uncle Lin said, "This flower is delicate. If you find it troublesome or don't know how to care for it, I can teach Lin Cheng to help you take care of it."
Lin Cheng put down the cat and went to take the flower. "Leave it to me."
