“Hello?”
A deep, clear voice came from the other end.
The moment Lin Yunchu heard it, her heart skipped a beat. Early in the morning, her luck was this bad—she had called the Si family, and the person who picked up was actually Si Zheyan.
Enemies on a narrow road indeed.
From the bottom of her heart, she resisted him, but now was not the time for personal grudges.
She needed to reach Old Master Si immediately.
“Hello. I am Lin Yunchu. I need to speak to Grandpa Si.”
She introduced herself politely, forcing herself to stay calm.
There was a two-second silence.
Then a cold sneer came through the line.
“Lin Yunchu, what exactly are you trying to do? I’ve already made my position very clear about our engagement! Do you think by constantly bothering my grandfather and pressuring him, I’ll marry you? I won’t. Give it up!”
“And don’t call our house again in the future!”
Click.
The call was hung up.
“…”
Lin Yunchu’s head buzzed, and she let out a string of very elegant curse words.
As expected of a male lead—so self-important it bordered on arrogance.
And his head was full of romantic garbage.
She dialed again immediately.
“Hello, you—”
“‘You’ what? Si Zheyan, are you f*cking insane? Do you really think you’re some rare treasure everyone wants? I don’t even like you. Let me say it again—I’m calling Old Master Si, your grandfather’s grandfather! If you hang up again, I’ll call his office directly!”
“…!”
The rapid-fire scolding on the other end left Si Zheyan dizzy.
This woman’s mouth—how could it be so sharp?
Every other word was profanity.
A woman with such poor manners—he definitely could not marry her!
“Zheyan, who’s calling so early in the morning?”
Old Master Si’s voice came from behind him.
Annoyed, Si Zheyan was about to hang up again, but inexplicably, he handed the phone over and said, “Lin Yunchu. She said she wants to talk to you.”
Old Master Si’s expression changed instantly.
“Give me the phone.”
“Yunchu…”
The old man’s voice came through.
Lin Yunchu finally relaxed slightly. Her breathing was still a little tense.
“Grandpa Si, I’m with him.”
“…him?” Old Master Si paused, gripping the phone line tighter. “You mean—”
“Yes. Your comrade.”
“Yunchu, where are you right now?”
His tone was calm, but there was unmistakable urgency and excitement underneath.
“Jinsha Town, Qiu Family Bay. A major murder case just happened here.”
Old Master Si’s brows instantly furrowed.
He knew this place—it was a remote, isolated, tightly sealed area like an iron bucket.
Black Eagle was here. Dangerous.
Now that they had finally found his whereabouts, nothing must go wrong again.
“Get the team leader on the line. I’ll speak to him directly.”
“Understood.”
Lin Yunchu quickly called over the team leader.
The leader had initially looked at her with suspicion, but after hearing Old Master Si’s voice, his expression turned serious and respectful.
Soon, the call ended and was handed back to her.
“The old commander has instructions for you,” the leader said.
“Yunchu, I’ve arranged for the team to escort you back immediately. Bear with us a little longer and return safely with our comrades.”
“Okay.”
“Is there anything else you need Grandpa Si to handle for you?” he asked.
“Just ensure our safety right now.”
Staying near that man meant constantly seeing bloody scenes. Thinking of the bodies she had seen in Old Doctor Qiu’s house made her uneasy again.
“Yunchu, when you return, Grandpa Si will talk to you properly—about you and Zheyan…”
At the mention of Si Zheyan, her anger flared again.
He disliked her?
Fine.
She’d add fuel to the fire.
She interrupted immediately.
“Grandpa Si, there’s no need to discuss that anymore. Please tell Comrade Si that I have no intention of chasing after him. I won’t marry him. I made this call purely because it was something I needed to do—it has nothing to do with him.”
“…”
“Goodbye, Grandpa Si.”
“…”
On the other end.
“Grandpa, why are you looking at me like that?” Si Zheyan sat on the sofa, uneasy under his grandfather’s sharp gaze.
“What did you say to Yunchu?” Old Master Si asked sternly.
“Did she complain to you?” Si Zheyan stood up, his handsome face full of dissatisfaction. “Her scandal is known all over the city, and she has no manners. Now she’s even complaining to you in front of me? I will never marry this kind of woman. You can’t force me!”
Old Master Si was furious.
So that’s why Yunchu suddenly said those things—before he even answered the phone, Zheyan had already been verbally attacking her.
If he was already speaking to her like this, the tone must have been even worse earlier.
“Si Zheyan! Shut your mouth!”
“Do you even understand the truth of what happened? Have you ever actually interacted with Lin Yunchu? You’re jumping to conclusions!”
“I wasted my effort teaching you how to behave and understand people!”
“Stay at home! Without my permission, you are not allowed to step outside! If I find out you sneaked out, I will break your legs!”
Housekeeper Li trembled in fear.
She had never seen the old master this angry before.
And she had never seen the usually outstanding, well-behaved Si Zheyan being scolded so harshly.
Si Zheyan stared back stubbornly, furious but silent.
He could accept being grounded.
But he would never marry Lin Yunchu.
Not her—or anyone from the Lin family.
Old Master Si glared at him one last time, grabbed his coat, and strode out the door.
“Zheyan, the old master is doing this for your own good. I think Miss Yunchu is quite decent…” Housekeeper Li cautiously tried to comfort him.
“Don’t mention it,” Si Zheyan interrupted coldly. “I’m not interested.”
But as he turned upstairs, he suddenly stopped halfway on the stairs.
“Li Ma.”
“Yes?” She looked up.
“Can I trust you?”
“…Huh?”