“Ren Jue, what do you mean by that?” Qi Xiaolin asked.
Ren Jue managed to force a smile. “I momentarily forgot. Ever since Brother Ming joined the Yan family, I have always followed him. I assumed he had been there the longest. A lot of time has passed, so I do not remember things very clearly.”
He tried to gloss over it, but he knew that after Yan Qingming’s words, Qi Xiaolin would surely become suspicious.
Qi Xiaolin stood up and said, “Let us go. I want to examine the remains.”
Relieved to finally move past that topic, Ren Jue replied, “All right.”
Before leaving, Qi Xiaolin stopped at the door, turned to look at Yan Qingming, and said sternly, “You are not to go anywhere today!”
Yan Qingming said nothing, and Qi Xiaolin did not wait for a reply, turning around and walking out with a cold huff.
Once they were in the car, as soon as Ren Jue gripped the steering wheel, Qi Xiaolin spoke from the backseat. “Do you dislike Qingming? Back at the Yan family, he treated the people under him quite well.”
Ren Jue had, after all, been one of Yan Qingming’s long-time subordinates.
Ren Jue’s hands tightened on the steering wheel, and his smile became strained. “I do not hate Brother Ming. I just do not understand how, after the Yan family committed so many atrocities, Brother Ming could still live in such comfort.”
He did not finish his sentence, but his meaning was clear. He lowered his head, masking the flash of malice in his eyes. They were both children picked up by the family, and he had even arrived at the Yan household before Yan Qingming. Yet, Yan Qingming had transformed from an orphan into the young master and a core member of the family, while he, who was in no way inferior, remained a servant. He had been a servant then, and he remained one now.
The two men who should have been at odds were now intimate; how could he not hate that? Yan Qingming should have ended up just like the rest of the Yan family, living a life worse than death in prison alongside that deceitful Yan Feng.
Qi Xiaolin said nothing, his mind replaying everything that had happened since he brought Yan Qingming back. Had he been too good to him?
Glancing through the rearview mirror, he spotted a black Volkswagen following them. The license plate looked familiar. This car had been tailing them for several days. He had initially thought it was a coincidence, but now that he thought about it, something felt wrong.
Ren Jue, noticing Qi Xiaolin’s silence, turned to look and his gaze landed on the same car.
Qi Xiaolin looked away and said casually, “Forget the remains for now. Drive further away, call Jiang Ling and the others, and have them intercept that car.”
“Understood.”
The moment Qi Xiaolin left, Yan Qingming headed out of the villa as well. A man walked ahead of him, leading the way. They did not take the front entrance, choosing instead a quiet path along the back mountain. The man looked young, in his early twenties.
Jiang Ling had naturally slightly curly hair that looked soft to the touch. Yan Qingming walked behind him, staring at his back in a trance. When did this little brat grow so tall? He is an entire head taller than me now.
When they reached the perimeter wall, Jiang Ling stopped and turned to look at Yan Qingming, hesitating to speak. Although Jiang Ling was in his twenties, his face remained boyish; without knowing his age, one would assume he was a fresh high school graduate. The corners of his eyes turned downward, giving him an innocent and pure look when he remained silent.
Jiang Ling pressed his lips together, the corners of his eyes reddening. He stared directly at Yan Qingming. Despite his size, he looked as though Yan Qingming had wronged him.
As Yan Qingming raised his hand to climb the wall, Jiang Ling grabbed his wrist, refusing to let him leave. He held onto Yan Qingming’s wrist for a long time before hesitantly whispering, “Qingming, please do not hate me.”