Chapter 8

He got up and turned on the projection screen for Lan Luo, his voice tinged with amusement. "If you're hungry, go to the kitchen. I left some food for you. Be good and stay home."

After spending a few days together, Qi Chao knew the little doll was very smart and didn't need much worrying over. He had always been easygoing, so after a few reminders, he said no more.

There was nothing else to say anyway. He would be back soon. Qi Chao had decided that once he arrived at the old residence, he would avoid interacting with the original owner's family, head straight for the library, find the information, and return home immediately. It shouldn't take long.

But no matter how well he planned, reality dealt him a crushing blow. Qi Chao stepped off the aircraft, and the moment he entered the old residence's living room, he ran into the original owner's father, whom he had not seen in nearly a year.

Father Qi, whose stern face was marked by deep nasolabial folds, sat on the sofa drinking black tea. Not far away, the original owner's two younger brothers were kneeling.

The two brothers had bruised and swollen faces, yet their expressions remained unruly. Broken porcelain and glass lay scattered beside the coffee table.

This was clearly not a scene for outsiders to witness.

Qi Chao silently withdrew one foot, only to hear the original owner's father call his name the next second.

Well then.

I'm really unlucky.

Chapter 8

Qi Chao had not expected that his first time returning home would actually bring him face-to-face with a big boss one rarely saw in a century.

The gazes of all three people in the living room fell on him. Qi Chao braced himself, smiled, and walked in.

"Dad, you're back?" As he spoke, he walked over to the original owner's two younger brothers and joked, "Did these two little brats make you angry again?"

Qi Chao was somewhat relieved that although the original owner had been a pervert in private, he had still appeared to his family as a good son and a good older brother. Otherwise, Qi Chao really would not have known how to start.

Father Qi hummed, his tone somewhat cold. He looked at the two unfilial sons kneeling before him. "Didn't you think you did the right thing? Go on, keep talking."

Qi Feng and Qi Ye were twins. They looked alike, and at sixteen or seventeen, they were at the age when their sharpness was on full display. One had dyed his hair red, while the other had dyed his white. Their eyes held the exact same defiance.

"What did we do wrong?" Qi Feng demanded irritably. "That woman liked both of us. We only agreed to it. Was that wrong?"

Qi Ye, with his white-dyed hair, was quieter by nature, but he seemed to agree with his brother as well. "She wanted us to take her to a hotel. We went there, but before we even did anything, the vice squad showed up."

Qi Chao: ...

Ah, this.

Those few short sentences contained an astonishing amount of information. Qi Chao could only marvel at it, but before he had recovered, Father Qi smashed the teacup in his hand onto the floor and berated the two of them, ordering them back to their rooms to write self-criticisms.

The two younger brothers got up and left, their eyes filled with resentful hostility. Clearly, they still believed they had done nothing wrong.

With a dark expression, Father Qi instructed the young butler beside him to lock the two of them in the house. They were not to leave until they admitted their mistakes.

"And you, why haven't you gone to the company?"

Qi Chao, who had been watching the spectacle, was suddenly called out. His heart skipped a beat, but he forced a smile and calmly replied, "I haven't been feeling well lately."

That was naturally a lie. The truth was that he had forgotten the original owner had a job.

The original owner was twenty-eight this year. After graduating from Blue Star's top-ranked university, he had gone straight to work at a subsidiary under his father's conglomerate. Because he was quite capable, he commanded considerable prestige in the company and was practically the confirmed heir.

The original owner had also regarded the company as his personal property. He worked diligently and actively sought to perform well. He even refused a salary, worked overtime every day, and looked like someone who cared for nothing but work. His daily expenses were entirely covered by the allowance his old father gave him.

After buying the doll and the regulator, the original owner's savings had been wiped out. He had been waiting for his father to give him money, but Qi Chao, wearing the original owner's identity, truly had no face to take someone else's money.

Besides, he knew nothing about finance and had no intention of continuing the job. Once he got back, he planned to write a resignation letter.

Qi Chenming nodded slightly, seeming unconcerned about what exactly was wrong with his son. His brows were tightly furrowed, deepening the lines on his face, and his eyes fixed on Qi Chao like a hawk's. "Why did you meet with the Li family's youngest son before?"

The Li family's youngest son was the V-necked man from the private room back then.

"The Li family has connections in the black market. I wanted to buy a little something at the time." Qi Chao did not panic. From the original owner's memories, he already knew Father Qi was extremely controlling. This could be found out with a simple investigation, so there was no need to lie.

Qi Chenming glanced at him and warned, "Do not get involved with the black market again."

"Okay." Qi Chao nodded.

Qi Chenming pursed his lips, seeming as though he wanted to say something else. But he was not good with words to begin with, and the father-son relationship was distant. Words of concern caught in his throat, impossible to speak.

Sitting at the other end of the sofa, Qi Chao watched Father Qi remain motionless. After thinking for a moment, he asked, "What happened to Qi Feng and Qi Ye's faces?"

Father Qi's previously calm face immediately darkened. "During the vice raid, they refused to go to the station and got into a fight with them."

Seeing that Father Qi was getting angry again, Qi Chao quickly comforted him. "They're still young and don't know better. Dad, don't be angry. I'll talk to them later."

If it had been the original owner, he would definitely have fanned the flames in secret at a time like this. He would have wanted Father Qi to get even angrier. The worse his illegitimate brothers were, the more secure his position as heir would be.

Qi Chao was different. He had never intended to inherit the company. He simply said what was on his mind, and when he comforted Father Qi, he did so sincerely.

Seeing the look in his eldest son's eyes, Qi Chenming's ever-tense expression also

relaxed

slightly. He nodded with meticulous seriousness. "Your brothers listen to you. Your values are sound, so teach them properly. If they do that filthy sort of thing again, chop off their hands."

Qi Chao thought, Give me a break. The original owner had sound values? That would be an insult to the very word values.

It was also a coincidence that Qi Chenming had come home today. He still had a client to meet an hour later, so he did not stay any longer. He patted his eldest son on the shoulder, then got up and left.

Before leaving, Qi Chao heard Father Qi emphasize to the butler once again not to let the two brothers upstairs out.

The living room returned to silence as the cleaning robot cleared away the shattered teacup from the floor.