âItâs almost the new year. When are you coming home?â
Qin Hao looked at him and sneered, âMy mother has passed away 20 years. This is the first time youâre asking me when Iâm coming home. Itâs rare.â
Qin Chongwen looked ashamed.
âI-It was Dadâs fault in the past. I neglected you and Jianjia. Youâre the eldest son of the Qin Family. The Qin Family still needs your support. Itâs almost the new year. If youâre not very busy with work, come home.â
âWhatâs the point of saying all this now?â
âSister and I donât care if you ignore us or not. As for being the eldest son of the Qin Family, am I not the eldest son of the Qin Family in the past? I didnât see you say that the Qin Family still needs me to support them in the past. You only seem to dislike me every time we meet.â
âWhy? Do you regret it when you realize that the woman you doted on has been cheating on you and that your daughter is actually not your biological daughter?â
âNo, Iâm not⦠I-Iâ¦â I couldnât say a complete sentence for a long time. Qin Chongwen suddenly didnât know what to say.
Everything he said was wrong.
âIn the past, when we needed Father, Father didnât care about us. Now that Sister and I are already past the age where we need Father, Father doesnât have to say these things to us anymore. How we interacted in the past, weâll still get along in that manner in the future. Iâm the eldest son of the Qin Family after all. I wonât abandon the Qin Family. Father can completely rest assured about this.â
âAs for returning to the Qin Family, thereâs no need for that for now. Iâm used to living outside. I still have work for a few days during the new year, so I probably wonât go back. Father doesnât have to wait for us for the new yearâs reunion dinner.â
Qin Chongwen moved his lips, wanting to say something, but he didnât say anything in the end.
âIf thereâs nothing else, Iâll make a move first.â
âH-Haoâer!â
âAnything else?â
âY-you seem to have changed a lot.â
Qin Hao smiled coldly, âChanged a lot? Iâve always been like this. Itâs just that I was young in the early years, I would have died at Bai Shuangshuangâs hands long ago if I didnât pretend to be silly. I was only pretending, but Iâve been used to it all these years. I almost forgot what I was like originally.â
Qin Chongwenâs body swayed.
âFather, why are you so shocked? Isnât this normal? When my mother passed away, Sister was less than 10 years old and I was only a few years old. Without anyone to protect me, I naturally had to think of a way to protect myself.â
âCould it be that even now, Father still feels that Bai Shuangshuang is a kind person?â
âFather, donât say anything about why we didnât tell you. Back then, you were charmed by Bai Shuangshuang. You married her even before my mother passed away for a year. Would you listen to us? And you scolded us at every turn whenever Bai Shuangshuang complained to you.â
âFortunately, I became capable after I joined the army and Sister moved out of the Qin Family. Otherwise, how could we still stand here safely?â
âWhy didnât you return it to her after you grew up and became capable?â
âReturn it to her?â Qin Hao sneered, âIs Bai Shuangshuang worthy for us to deal with her?â
âLook, Sister and I didnât do anything. Didnât she also not have a good ending?â
âHowever, thereâs another reason why we didnât deal with her.âi
âBefore my mother passed away, she asked Sister and I to be filial to you. If Sister and I deal with Bai Shuangshuang, with your protection of Bai Shuangshuang, the little bit of relationship we have left will probably be worn away. If thatâs the case, how sad would my mother be in the ground?â
âOh right, actually I already knew about Bai Shuangshuang and Min Guili, and I also knew that Qin Bailu isnât your daughter. I just couldnât be bothered to tell you.â
After saying that, he got into the car without looking back, started the engine and drove away.
Qin Chongwen stood rooted to the ground in a daze.
He was filled with regret.
He seemed to have aged a few years instantly.
Huo Siyu, who was sitting in Qin Haoâs car, naturally heard their conversation.
Along the way, Qin Hao was silent. Huo Siyu looked at him. There were a few times when she wanted to say something to comfort him, but she didnât know what to say.
Hence, the two of them remained silent the entire way.
Till they reached their apartment.
After they went upstairs, Qin Hao entered the passcode and went in first, followed by Huo Siyu.
âA-are you okay?â
Qin Hao stopped in his tracks and turned to hug her.
He didnât say anything and just hugged her.
He was hugging her too tightly and Huo Siyu felt a little uncomfortable. She wanted to push him away, but she put her hands down halfway.
âQin Hao, are you alright?â
âNot very well.â
These wordsâ¦
Huo Siyu was a little speechless. She was not good at comforting people, especially a tough man like Qin Hao.
She didnât know what to do, so she hugged him and patted his back gently.
However, Qin Hao let go of her and held her shoulders as he looked down at her. âArenât you angry?â
â?â Huo Siyu was stunned.
She shook her head. âIâm not angry. Why should I be angry?â
âIâm not what you think I am. Donât you think Iâve lied to you?â
âDuh. I thought you were saying something. So itâs this. Donât think too much about it. I know you didnât mean it. After all, thatâs your protective shell when youâre youngâ¦â
As she spoke, Huo Siyu paused. She was afraid that Qin Hao would remember something sad if she mentioned it.
âAnyway, Iâm not angry. Donât worry. Youâre not only like that in front of me. Everyone probably sees you the same way.â
Qin Hao wanted to say that it wasnât.
His subordinates and Second Yin knew very well what kind of person he was.
Of course, he wasnât stupid enough to say it out loud.
âOn the other hand, are you alright? Your fatherâ¦â
âAre you really not angry?â
Seeing that he was obsessed with this, Huo Siyu could only shake her head. âIâm not angry. Really. Not at all.â
âThen, do you think you wonât be used to interacting with me like this?â As he spoke, the honest look on Qin Haoâs face completely disappeared. His eyes were so abstruse that they seemed to suck people in. His outstanding facial features were also emphasized, making him look mysterious and noble.
Huo Siyu was stunned.
Then, she realized that she was actually staring at him in a daze. Huo Siyu was a little embarrassed.
She coughed dryly and looked away slightly.
She was indeed not used to facing Qin Hao.
âI wonât. No matter what, youâre still Qin Hao, right?â
âBesides, if you can accept me as a killer, canât I accept you, whoâs a little different from usual?â This was the truth.
She didnât expect Qin Hao to accept her so easily. It would be a lie to say that she wasnât touched.
After all, Qin Haoâs identity was there.
Wasnât it just that there was a different him hidden under his honest and protective shell? Couldnât she accept that?
To be honest, not only could she accept it, but she also felt sorry for Qin Hao.
Although she had led a wandering life on Ghost Slaughter Island and experienced so much hardship, her parents had treated her very well when she was still living in the Huo Family.
However, Qin Haoâ¦
âRainy, Iâm very happy.â
âHappy about what?â
âIâm glad youâre not angry and still willing to accept me like this.â With his personality, he wouldnât have said those words to his father. He would instead turn and leave.
He thought since his little fiancée was present.
Min Rufeng had told him to be careful about letting the truth come out one day. He had always taken it to heart, but there had been no opportunity for him to talk about it until just nowâ¦
Yes, he had schemed back then to let his little fiancée hear that.
Although he had wanted to say those words for many years, he wouldnât have said them if it wasnât to play that trick.
âBut for some reason, even though Iâm very happy, I still feel uncomfortable.â
It was normal to feel uncomfortable.
Huo Siyu thought.
If it were her, she would probably not even want to say anything when her biological father, who had ignored her for many years, finally noticed her one day and apologized and regretted it.
It was still good that Qin Hao was like this.
She stepped forward and hugged him. âThe past has become the past. We still have a long way ahead. Everything will be fine.â
âWill you always be with me then?â
Huo Siyu was stunned. She looked up at him and saw him staring at her with his dark eyes that were so deep that he wanted to suck her in.
Her heart skipped a beat.
He had asked so seriously.
And so suddenlyâ¦
âI-I think so.â
Qin Hao tightened his grip on her. âThen Rainy will accompany me tonight?â
âAm I not accompanying you here? Iâm staying here tonight. I donât intend to leave.â
âI mean, youâll stay in my room tonight to accompany me.â
âYouâ¦â Huo Siyu blushed.
âRainy, donât be nervous. Itâs not what you think. I remembered a lot of things from the past and I feel very uncomfortable. I want you to accompany me.â
âJust keep me company. I wonât do anything.â
âPlease?â
There was no way to reject such a pleading tone!
âJust to keep you company? Without doing anything?â
Qin Hao blushed âembarrassedlyâ. âI-If Rainy wants to do something, itâs okay too.â
ââ¦â Huo Siyu.
In the end, the two of them really covered themselves with the blanket and chatted.
They didnât even kiss like they usually did.
Of course, purely chatting was just an excuse. Huo Siyu felt very uncomfortable. They did not say a word, what were they chatting about?
She maintained her posture with her back facing Qin Hao and didnât dare to move.
Qin Hao knew that he shouldnât overdo it.
However, later on, he âsubconsciouslyâ pulled her into his arms when he was âasleepâ.
Huo Siyu was already tense and Qin Hao trapping her in his arms made her even more nervous. She tried to remove his arms, but Qin Hao simply hugged her too tight for her to remove them. She could only compromise.
She didnât know when she fell asleep.
However, she did not know that as soon as her even breathing sounded, the sleeping Qin Hao opened his eyes.
He smiled and kissed the top of her head before hugging her and closing his eyes.
He slept exceptionally soundly that night.
***
The next day.
Yan Jinyu booked a restaurant and asked Min Rufeng, Xi Fengling, and Huo Siyu out. Of course, she also sent Feng Yun a message.
Yin Jiujin didnât accompany Yan Jinyu. After sending her to the restaurant, he turned and went to the Mount West Villa. He said that he had some work to do.
Huo Siyu didnât bring Qin Hao and Huo Xuan along either.
It was just the four of them.
Half an hour before the agreed time, the four of them arrived.
They didnât order anything and were all waiting for Feng Yun.
Yan Jinyu was playing games on her phone while the other three were chatting. It wasnât very lively, but the atmosphere was exceptionally harmonious.
Huo Siyu glanced at her phone. There were still two minutes to the agreed time. âBeauty Yu, Iâm afraid Bai Ye wonât come.â
Yan Jinyu moved her gaze away from the phone. âItâs fine if he doesnât come. Weâre just taking a gamble. If he doesnât come, weâll treat it as a small gathering with only the four of us.â
Her words stunned the three of them.
This sentence sounded fine at first, but it was said by Yan Jinyu, so it gave them a huge impact.
Yan Jinyu always had a smile on her face. She looked very warm, but she was actually the coldest and most steady of the four of them. She rarely said such emotional words.
âBeauty Yuâ¦â
Huo Siyuâs eyes were teary. She was about to speak when the door of the private room was pushed open and she was interrupted.
The four of them retracted their emotions and looked over.
Then, their expressions changed.