TLSOTMTKOGAYWHTDI Chapter 97

Chapter 96: Is Being Proactive a Side Effect?

Rainy night.

Zhuo Huaimo sat in the back seat, head down, reviewing the final cut of “Dawn.”

Outside the car window, raindrops splattered against the glass, blurring the halos of the streetlights.

“Zhuo, sir,”

The driver, Old Chen, glanced in the rearview mirror, “That black Mercedes behind us has been following us for three blocks.”

Zhuo Huaimo didn’t even look up: “Probably paparazzi.”

Old Chen frowned: “Doesn’t seem like it…”

Before he finished speaking, the black Mercedes suddenly accelerated and slammed into them!

“Bang—”

The huge impact sent Zhuo Huaimo lunging forward, his forehead hitting the back of the front seat hard.

“Zhuo, sir!”

Old Chen gripped the steering wheel tightly, “Hold on tight!”

The car skidded on the wet road, and Old Chen slammed on the brakes, only to discover—

“The brakes are out!”

Zhuo Huaimo jerked his head up and saw through the rear window that the Mercedes was accelerating again.

This wasn’t an accident.

“Turn!” he snapped.

Old Chen swerved sharply, the car narrowly avoiding the second impact, but then spun out of control and headed towards the roadside guardrail.

“Bang—”

In the instant the airbag deployed, Zhuo Huaimo’s vision went black.

In his last moments of consciousness, he heard Old Chen shout hoarsely, “Zhuo, sir! Hold on!”

……

In the hospital hallway, Qi Yanwang paced back and forth like a trapped beast.

“Brother, sit down and wait,” Qi Xiaoman urged, her eyes red.

Qi Yanwang ignored her, his fists clenched so tightly that his nails dug deep into his palms.

Three hours.

From the moment he received the call until now, three hours and seventeen minutes.

His Huaimo was still in the emergency room.

“I found something.”

Yu Fengran rushed over, his face grim. “The Mercedes was using fake plates, and the driver fled. But surveillance footage shows that someone tampered with Zhuo’s car before the accident.”

Qi Yanwang’s eyes instantly turned cold: “Who?”

“Still investigating, but…”

Yu Fengran lowered his voice, “They were very thorough, didn’t leave any evidence!”

Qi Xiaoman tugged at Qi Yanwang’s sleeve, lowering her voice, “Brother… could it be Dad?”

Qi Yanwang said firmly, “Impossible.”

“How can you be sure?”

“If the old man really wanted to deal with him,” Qi Yanwang sneered, “he wouldn’t use such underhanded methods.”

He knew his father too well—that man, who had been proud his entire life, even if he wanted to suppress Zhuo Huaimo, would only use business tactics to crush him openly, never resorting to such dirty tricks.

Just then, the door to the emergency room opened.

The doctor wheeled out a hospital bed, Zhuo Huaimo lying quietly, his face almost transparently pale.

“The patient is temporarily out of danger,” the doctor said, removing his mask, “but he has a severe concussion and needs to rest.”

Qi Yanwang rushed to the bedside in two strides, carefully taking Zhuo Huaimo’s hand. That hand, which was always warm, was now so cold it made him tremble.

“Huaimo…”

Zhuo Huaimo’s eyelashes fluttered, and he slowly opened his eyes.

“Yan…wang…” His voice was so weak it was almost inaudible.

Qi Yanwang leaned in immediately: “I’m here.”

Zhuo Huaimo struggled to move his fingers: “Don’t… blame yourself…”

He knew what Qi Yanwang was thinking—this man, who always took responsibility on himself, must be blaming himself for not protecting him.

Qi Yanwang’s eyes reddened, and he gently kissed his fingertips: “Does it hurt?”

Zhuo Huaimo shook his head slightly and then fell back into a coma.

……

In the VIP ward, Qi Yanwang stayed by his side, not leaving for a moment.

Outside the window, the rain gradually subsided, and moonlight filtered through the curtains, casting mottled shadows on Zhuo Huaimo’s face.

Qi Yanwang gently smoothed his furrowed brow, when his phone suddenly vibrated.

It was a message from Yu Fengran: [Found the Mercedes, it was last seen at an abandoned factory in the west of the city, but the people are gone.]

Qi Yanwang’s eyes turned cold: [Keep investigating.]

Just as he put down his phone, a faint voice came from the bed: “Water…”

Qi Yanwang immediately poured a glass of warm water and carefully helped Zhuo Huaimo up: “Slowly.”

The warm water soothed his throat, and Zhuo Huaimo’s complexion improved a bit: “What did you find?”

“The Mercedes was using fake plates, and the driver fled.”

Qi Yanwang squeezed his hand, “Who do you think it could be?”

Zhuo Huaimo pondered for a moment: “Not the old man.”

Qi Yanwang raised an eyebrow: “How do you know?”

“Too obvious.”

Zhuo Huaimo smiled weakly, “If it was really the old man, he wouldn’t have chosen this sensitive time, right after I went public with you.”

Qi Yanwang’s heart warmed—his Huaimo, even lying in a hospital bed, was still so clear-headed.

“I think so too,” he said softly, “So…”

“So it’s likely related to that matter,” Zhuo Huaimo’s eyes gradually turned cold, “My parents’ and uncle’s case.”

Qi Yanwang’s breath hitched.

—

In a suburban villa, Lin Jianhe slammed a wine glass against the wall.

“Failed again?”

His voice was terrifyingly cold, “Three times! Three whole times!”

The man standing in the shadows lowered his head: “President Lin, this time it really was an accident. Who could have guessed that the driver would lose his nerve at the last minute…”

“Useless!”

Lin Jianhe kicked over a coffee table, “Gu Chen Zhou failed, Xiao Zhu failed, and now even a professional hitman has failed! Is Zhuo Huaimo a cat with nine lives?!”

He paced back and forth, his expensive leather shoes making a jarring sound as they crunched over broken glass.

“President Lin,”

The secretary carefully handed him a tablet, “Just received news that Zhuo Huaimo is awake, and Qi Yanwang is staying by his side, not leaving for a moment.”

Lin Jianhe stared at the bodyguards outside the hospital room on the surveillance footage, his eyes sinister: “Find out exactly how much they know.”

“The technology department confirmed that they recovered some of the recordings.”

The secretary swallowed, “But the key parts are still blurry.”

“What about the ledgers?”

“For now… nothing has been found.”

Lin Jianhe breathed a slight sigh of relief, but then clenched his fists again: “More than the money, I’m worried about him finding out about what happened back then.”

That meticulously planned “accident” twenty years ago was supposed to bury all the secrets forever.

Who could have guessed that Zhuo Huaimo would relentlessly pursue the investigation to this day, and even latch onto the Qi family tree.

“President Lin,”

The secretary hesitated, “Actually, even if that money is found…”

“What do you know!”

Lin Jianhe interrupted sharply, “It’s not the whereabouts of the money that matters, it’s the people who handled it back then!”

He walked to the window, looking at the outline of the Lin Group’s building in the distance.

That was the foundation his family built with that “windfall,” now long since laundered into a multinational corporation.

But some stains can never be cleaned.

“What’s the Qi family’s reaction?”

“The old man’s been suppressing him pretty hard lately, he hasn’t agreed!”

“Qi Yanwang hasn’t completely taken control of the Qi family yet, we have to deal with this before that happens!”

Lin Jianhe picked up a satellite phone and dialed a number he rarely contacted:

“Second Uncle Qi, I heard you’ve been having some trouble on the board lately?”

He gently stroked the Qi family’s ownership structure chart on the table, “I have some interesting information about Qi Yanwang here that might help you regain the old man’s favor.”

The person on the other end of the phone was silent for a moment: “What does President Lin want to say?”

“I heard the old man hates family scandals the most.”

Lin Jianhe opened a folder filled with old photos of Zhuo Huaimo’s parents’ car accident, “If he knew that the car accident was linked to a Qi family overseas project…”

He paused deliberately, hearing the person on the other end of the phone audibly catch their breath.

“Tomorrow night at eight, same place.”

Second Uncle Qi finally spoke, his voice tinged with suppressed excitement, “Bring your ‘information.'”

The night was deep. In the study of the Qi family’s old mansion, Old Man Qi sat at his mahogany desk, holding a recently delivered document.

The document contained photos of Lin Jianhe’s secret meeting with Second Uncle Qi, as well as an old file from twenty years ago—regarding the flow of funds for a Qi Group overseas project.

“Old Master,”

The old butler stood to the side, saying in a low voice, “Second Master’s been making frequent moves lately, I’m afraid…”

Old Man Qi scoffed, “Does he think he can shake Yanwang’s position with Lin Jianhe’s little tricks?”

He closed the file, his eyes sharp: “Find out exactly what Lin Jianhe has in his hands.”

In the hospital room, Zhuo Huaimo’s injuries had improved significantly.

Qi Yanwang sat by the bed, holding a tablet, reviewing the investigation data that Yu Fengran had just sent.

Zhuo Huaimo leaned against the headboard, his face still pale, but his eyes had regained their usual sharpness:

“What are you looking at?”

Qi Yanwang turned the tablet towards Zhuo Huaimo: “Found something interesting.”

The screen displayed a scanned copy of a yellowed financial statement, dated twenty years ago, with the “Lin Group” logo prominently displayed at the top.

“This is…” Zhuo Huaimo’s pupils contracted.

“The project your parents last audited.”

Qi Yanwang zoomed in on one line of numbers, “This 320 million yuan shortfall appeared exactly one week before their accident.”

Zhuo Huaimo’s fingers unconsciously clenched the blanket: “Lin Jianhe was just the deputy financial director at the time.”

“But now he’s the head of the Lin Group.”

“Are you suspecting that my parents’ accident was related to the Lin family?”

Qi Yanwang looked at him seriously, “It’s very likely. After all, such a large sum of money is involved, and…”

He paused, “This may involve not only the Lin family’s scandal back then, but also some irregular operations by your parents. Are you sure you still want to investigate?”

Zhuo Huaimo thought for a moment, then looked up at him, “Investigate! No matter what my parents did back then, I think it’s the law that should sanction them, not arbitrarily take their lives!”

Qi Yanwang kissed his forehead, “Okay, whatever the result, I’ll be with you!”

Zhuo Huaimo suddenly thought of something and looked up at him,

“Ah? Does that mean that even if we find that money, it won’t belong to me?”

Qi Yanwang knew he was being playful and gently nipped his nose,

“Isn’t having me enough? What’s mine is yours, the Qi family will be yours in the future!”

Qi Yanwang leaned over and hugged Zhuo Huaimo, lightly rubbing his cool earlobes with his nose:

“Does it hurt?”

“It hurts,” Zhuo Huaimo deliberately frowned, “It’ll only get better with President Qi’s kisses.”

Qi Yanwang chuckled and gently sucked on his soft lips.

Zhuo Huaimo tilted his head in response, but hissed when it pulled on his wound.

“Don’t move.”

Qi Yanwang immediately pressed him down, his fingertips lightly stroking the bandage on his forehead, “After you get better…”

“After what?”

Zhuo Huaimo raised an eyebrow, his fingers restlessly sliding under the hem of his shirt, “Can’t we now?”

Qi Yanwang’s breath hitched, and he suddenly grabbed his rogue hand: “Zhuo Huaimo! This is a hospital!”

“Oh?”

Zhuo Huaimo blinked, “President Qi didn’t say that the last time in the car.”

Qi Yanwang’s ears turned red, and he gritted his teeth and kissed those vexing lips.

“So proactive, is this a side effect of the car accident?”

“Do you like it?”

Qi Yanwang held him in his arms, “Forget it, I don’t like it. I still hope you’re healthy. You don’t have to be proactive. Leave the proactive stuff to me!”