Chapter 15

Yan Tingshen took in her movements and turned his dark, unfathomable gaze back to Qin You.

He watched Qin You's hand as he opened and closed the car door, then looked at the smile that had faded from his lips. Finally, his gaze settled on those eyes, which were indeed full of feeling—

He looked at him, his expression unchanged, as cold and unruffled as ever.

Chapter 15

What a coincidence!

Yan Tingshen was here too?

Seeing this, Cui Ling, who was waiting by the car, went rigid and repeatedly glanced at Qin You's face.

When he saw that the second-generation heir was still as steady as a mountain, without a trace of panic, he couldn't help admiring him.

The man he secretly loved was right in front of him.

His blind date was at his side.

To remain so calm in a situation like this, Qin You really had some skills.

"Is that someone you know, Mr. Qin?" Miss Liu asked, having sensed the slightly strange atmosphere herself.

She had only recently returned from studying abroad and, aside from attending a few banquets, knew very little about this social circle.

Qin You looked away and smiled at her. "Yes. Let me introduce you—"

But halfway through his sentence,

he caught sight of Yan Tingshen turning to leave.

Miss Liu thought they were on bad terms and felt awkward. She hurriedly smoothed things over. "It's all right. Why don't we eat first?"

Qin You didn't seem to mind. "All right."

Nearby,

Pei Sheng had just gotten out of the car and seen his friend waiting at the entrance, waving to him. But before he could say hello, Yan Tingshen had turned and gone inside.

He froze, then looked over and saw Qin You a short distance away on the other side, also walking toward the hotel's main entrance, with a quiet, elegant young lady beside him.

"Hey... wait..."

Qi Yan's raised hand was still in the air as he watched Yan Tingshen brush past him. After a second of confusion, he turned to Pei Sheng and asked in a low voice, "What's going on?"

Seeing Qin You and his companion walk away as well, Pei Sheng's expression turned complicated. "It's... a long story. Let's go inside first."

It concerned Tingshen and Qin You's privacy. He had acted as though he hadn't heard what was said that day, and naturally wouldn't tell anyone else.

But acting as though he hadn't heard it didn't mean he really hadn't.

He had heard Qin You's confession to Tingshen loud and clear.

Qin You seemed to have been drinking that night.

But a drunk man spoke the truth, and he believed Qin You's words reflected his true feelings.

Now he was somewhat confused himself.

Qin You liked Tingshen, so what was going on with this young lady?

Qi Yan was completely baffled. He shrugged. "All right."

The two went inside and headed upstairs to the lounge.

Before they had even sat down, Qi Yan saw Yan Tingshen glance to the side and hold his gaze there for two seconds before looking away. Qi Yan couldn't help looking over too.

It was the two people they had encountered at the entrance. An attendant was leading them to their seats.

As luck would have it, they were seated directly across from Yan Tingshen.

Qi Yan discreetly studied Yan Tingshen's expression. Seeing that he was as indifferent as ever, he rubbed his nose, itching with curiosity.

He turned to Pei Sheng and asked, pretending not to care, "Aren't you going to introduce those two? The woman looks a little familiar. Who's the man?"

Having followed Yan Tingshen around since they were children, he was intensely curious about this person who seemed to have caught Yan Tingshen's attention.

Pei Sheng instinctively looked at Yan Tingshen.

Seeing that he didn't seem to mind, he said, "That's Qin You, the general manager of Qin Group."

"Qin You?"

Qi Yan repeated the name, then suddenly realized who he was. "Oh, Qin You, the heir the Qin Household just announced, right? I've heard of him. They say he's a good-for-nothing playboy who's all looks and no substance. He's kept a pretty low profile since coming back, but he really lived it up abroad. I—"

At that, Pei Sheng coughed. "Qi Yan, Young Mr. Qin is Tingshen's friend."

It was also the first time he and Yan Tingshen had met in person since that night.

He knew that Yan Tingshen had moved out of Zeshui Bay the following day, apparently intending to avoid any appearance of impropriety.

But that night, before Qin You's confession, was the first time in over twenty years that he had heard Yan Tingshen repeatedly take the initiative to show concern for someone else.

It was so unusual, so unlike Yan Tingshen, and so precious. So precious that it was the only exception Yan Tingshen had ever made.

Having made an exception and let someone into his heart for the first time, would Yan Tingshen want that relationship to end just like that?

He didn't think so.

Qi Yan choked for a second, then laughed. "—I've wanted to meet him for ages! Great, now I have the perfect chance."

Yan Tingshen glanced at him.

Qi Yan coughed too and changed the subject. "Now that I think about it, I remember Young Mr. Qin's companion. I've met her. She's President Liu of Kaiqiang Technology's daughter."

Then he speculated curiously, "Qin Group just acquired Kaiqiang. What's this, are they planning a marriage alliance? Then—"

Pei Sheng looked at him and coughed again.

"..." Qi Yan didn't understand, but changed what he was about to say. "Then it has nothing to do with me..."

Pei Sheng glanced at Yan Tingshen again and added, "Maybe Young Mr. Qin had something important to discuss with Miss Liu, and that's why he met her. You know what he's like. Even if he wanted to start a new relationship, he wouldn't do it this way."

Although he hadn't met Qin You many times, he could tell that Qin You was definitely not the sort to choose a lifelong partner through a blind date.

If he chose a marriage alliance under pressure from the family business, he would never marry beneath himself. He would seek out a partner of equal standing, one who could bring mutual benefits and greater returns—

Pei Sheng pushed aside his stray thoughts and continued, "Qi Yan said Qin Group was just acquired. Maybe they have business matters to discuss."

Qi Yan: "..."

He looked at Pei Sheng strangely.

Something doesn't sound right.

What on earth is Pei Sheng talking about?

You know what he's like? Even if he wanted to start a new relationship?

If those words hadn't been directed at Yan Tingshen, he would have thought Young Mr. Qin was having an affair with someone.

Besides, business matters?

A man and a woman, alone together, not here for romance but to discuss business? No one would believe that—

"That's his business. It has nothing to do with anyone else."

Qi Yan: "..."

He studied Yan Tingshen's expression as he spoke.

Once again, he couldn't see anything.

Did he believe it or not?

Yan Tingshen merely said in a calm voice, "Let's get down to business."

Qi Yan secretly pursed his lips, then composed himself as instructed and got down to business. "I looked into all the leads you gave me. They do seem to have something to do with your father's accounts."

Pei Sheng frowned deeply.

What Qi Yan had been helping investigate was the aftermath of the last car accident.

The investigation had led to someone in Tingshen's own family, and digging deeper risked alerting them, so Tingshen had handed the leads over to Qi Yan. But Pei Sheng hadn't expected them to point to Yan Lihui!

Yan Lihui had no authority to take part in running the company and had no conflict with Tingshen. They were also father and son, so why would he want Tingshen dead?

From what Qi Yan was saying, had Tingshen known all along that Yan Lihui was involved?

Even in the Yan Family, where deaths were a frequent occurrence, a father killing his son seemed inconceivable.

Besides, apart from dividends, Tingshen was Yan Lihui's biggest source of income. Why would he cut off his own means of support?

Qi Yan had already been shocked when he first took over the leads. He continued, "I've sent the relevant information to your email. But how should I put it? Since I was following your line of thinking, these connections are a little pieced together. I don't know if they might be coincidences."

Pei Sheng was still frowning. "What about the rest? Did you find any other leads?"

Qi Yan shook his head. "If I'd found any other leads, I wouldn't have shown you this kind of information."

Pei Sheng said, "So you still can't be sure?"

"That's right."

Qi Yan nodded and looked at Yan Tingshen. "I asked you both here today partly to give you an update, but also to let you know something. Since this involves the Yan Family's accounts, which are highly confidential, they're a little troublesome to investigate. I probably won't be able to get to the bottom of it anytime soon. The details will have to wait a while."

Yan Tingshen said, "How long?"

Qi Yan looked troubled. "Well... I can't really say. Once I have something, I'll give you the results immediately. Is that all right?"

Yan Tingshen nodded. "Mm."

Only after he agreed did Qi Yan open the files and continue explaining.

When the food arrived, Yan Tingshen waved a hand, bringing the conversation to a natural halt. Qi Yan belatedly realized what had happened, his face falling.

Unbelievable.

I've turned into Yan Tingshen's underling again.

Qi Yan picked up his chopsticks irritably and was about to eat when he saw Yan Tingshen glance across the room again, whether deliberately or not.

He watched without betraying his thoughts and stepped on Pei Sheng's foot under the table.

Pei Sheng looked at him.

Keeping his gesture out of Yan Tingshen's sight, Qi Yan motioned to the side with his eyes.

Pei Sheng followed his gaze and saw Qin You not far away, but continued eating.

Qi Yan: "..."

He was curious!

Halfway through the meal, he couldn't resist probing. "Pei Sheng, come to think of it, our Runxi does business with Qin Group too. Since you're friends with Young Mr. Qin, why haven't you introduced us before?"

Pei Sheng paused. "Young Mr. Qin and I aren't friends."

If his guess was right, not only did Qin You not consider him a friend, he had also mistaken him for an "enemy."

"...Huh?"

Qi Yan didn't understand. Judging by the way Pei Sheng had mentioned Young Mr. Qin earlier, he had assumed that Pei Sheng was the crucial intermediary who had made a friendship between Qin You and Yan Tingshen possible. Otherwise, given Yan Tingshen's personality...

Make a friend? More like find a new subordinate, right?

But before he could ask for details, the hotel manager suddenly hurried over.

"President Yan, Mr. Pei." After respectfully greeting the other two, the manager hurriedly bent down to Qi Yan's ear. "President Qi..."

Qi Yan frowned at him. "You came to me over something this minor?"

"No, President Qi..." Looking troubled, the manager leaned close to his ear again and explained.