GBT Chapter 96

Chapter 85 (1)

Zhang Zhen saw his Third Brother carrying Bai Bai into the house. He coughed twice, picked up the wheelchair, and followed behind, keeping a bit of distance.

On the day Bai Bai was discharged from the hospital, he had a phone call with Yu Ling. Zhang Zhen was right there and heard Bai Bai reject Yu Ling, even rejecting him a second time with a clear and emphatic reminder.

It was obvious that Bai Bai’s views on love were very clear-cut and unsullied.

If you don’t like someone, you should make your attitude clear. That’s the greatest respect you can give them.

As for ambiguity,

That is built on a foundation of liking.

That hazy line must be tied to the fingers of two people who are mutually interested.

Otherwise, it can’t be tied at all.

Zhang Zhen and Bai Bai, who was leaning on his Third Brother’s shoulder, made eye contact. He didn’t stare, but rather pretended it was a casual glance. After a brief look, he raised his eyelids and looked upwards, so his brother wouldn’t be embarrassed.

But clearly, he was overthinking it.

His brother also looked up at the sky with him. Seeing there was nothing there, he leaned back down. The head wrapped in a woolen hat tilted, and the large pompom on the hat brushed against Third Brother’s ear.

Zhang Zhen remembered that on the question of how to get along with Bai Bai, Third Brother had told him that whatever Bai Bai wants, just give it to him.

Third Brother knows what things Bai Bai is pursuing.

Although Zhang Zhen sometimes doesn’t even understand Bai Bai’s thoughts and can’t reach his world, sometimes near, sometimes far, regardless, this can be considered keeping the good stuff in the family, right?

Zhang Zhen asks for nothing.

He only hopes that Third Brother takes good care of his health and that they can watch Bai Bai finish his studies and achieve his dreams together.

“Smart people’s love, ah, is a high-stakes gamble, but also a tango, you come, I go, evenly matched, sparks flying, utterly delightful.” Qi Second Older Brother grabbed the shovel stuck in the snow, putting on an act with a slightly bashful expression.

Zhang Zhen took two steps back and stood next to him: “Where did you hear that?”

“The chicken soup literature that WeChat pushed to me.” Qi Second Older Brother rubbed his rough palms on the shovel twice and chuckled.

Zhang Zhen: “…”

“Brother Zhen, I think you don’t need to worry too much about this matter. As for fate, if someone’s meant to leave, no one can keep them, and if someone’s meant to stay, no one can drive them away. They’re not in a hurry, so let’s not worry for them.” Qi Second Older Brother sighed. His boss is a great beauty who’s not even thirty years old. He’s famous for his good looks in West City, and there are people who spend a fortune just to get punched by him. But now, he’s like an old man, frowning all day long. The “frown lines” between his eyebrows look like they’ve been engraved, so bitter and depressing.

Zhang Zhen snorted: “He’s not your brother.”

“Then you want to break up the happy couple?” Qi Second Older Brother bumped his shoulder.

Zhang Zhen thought, I’m building a nest for the lovebirds.

“I’m going to shovel snow.” Qi Second Older Brother swung the shovel twice, shaking off the remaining snow. He saw his boss carrying the wheelchair and walking towards Qi Old Master, taking big steps, and quickly shouted, “Brother Zhen, isn’t it a little inappropriate for you to go over there right now…?”

Before the word “appropriate” could drift into the wind, his boss had already stopped Qi Yi Liao.

Good heavens, Qi Second Older Brother took a breath. The brother-in-law certainly has confidence.

“Third Brother, Bai Bai is wearing a lot and the down jacket is puffy, so it’s not good to carry him. Let’s put him down.” Zhang, the Old Father, Zhen put the wheelchair on the ground.

Like a traditional parent who thinks hugging before marriage is inappropriate, demanding, “The certificate! Take out the certificate! Then you can do whatever you want.”

Qi Yi Liao met Zhang Zhen’s gaze. He twitched his brow: “Xiao Bai.”

Jiao Bai was covered in sweat, and his clothes were damp. When Qi Yi Liao held him, the moment he was lifted, his pores felt like they had been swept by an electric arc, and his limbs were a little numb.

After a brief ringing in his ears, Jiao Bai wanted to get down, but he was exhausted and had no strength. The force and extent of his struggle seemed like tickling, or like fucking flirting.

The key was that his legs weren’t wrapped around, but hanging down. As Qi Yi Liao walked, his knees bumped against the metal railing.

The small key on the keychain in his pocket seemed to be heating up automatically, burning him.

Qi Yi Liao’s footsteps were steady, and his breathing didn’t change.

The cat meowed at Jiao Bai.

Jiao Bai simply leaned on Qi Yi Liao’s shoulder, opened his legs a little, lifted them, hung them on him, and stopped moving.

In winter, clothes are thick, and Jiao Bai was wearing even thicker clothes, wrapped from head to toe, so his limbs couldn’t rub against each other. He withdrew from the state of being self-steamed and slowly relaxed.

At this moment, Jiao Bai was thinking about Qi Shuang’s death and Liang Dong’s revenge. He was immersed in his own world and didn’t hear Zhang Zhen and Qi Yi Liao’s words.

“You can still be distracted in my arms.” Qi Yi Liao’s tiger’s mouth of one hand was pressed against the young man’s waist. The other hand pressed against his down jacket, moving up along the vague lines of his spine, his fingertips picking open the layers of scarves wrapped around the back of his head, and probing inward. His finger pads touched his warm back of his neck.

The skin that Jiao Bai was touching developed goosebumps. He leaned back, his head leaving Qi Yi Liao’s shoulder, and his question emerged from his mask: “What are you doing?”

“Do you want Uncle to carry you, or sit in the wheelchair?” Qi Yi Liao lowered his head to look at the young man, his forehead touching his wool hat.

Jiao Bai looked back at the cold wheelchair, and then at the hall not far away, where the warm air was beckoning to him. So, he made the wisest and most comfortable choice: “I’m too lazy to get down. I’ll sit in the wheelchair when I get inside.”

Small snowflakes fluttered down, flying and flying, flying onto Jiao Bai’s dark purple hat.

It was going to snow again.

Zhang Zhen pulled the wheelchair open, and Qi Yi Liao carried Jiao Bai forward.

Last year on the Little New Year’s Eve, Jiao Bai was in the cargo hold of a ship. It was pitch black all around, his feet were rocking and bumpy, and the air was filled with the smell of the sea and his vomit.

Qi Zi Zhi took off his down jacket, cut through his sweater with a knife, pressed the blade against his neck, and pinned him to the cargo box like a madman.

Li Jue woke up at the essence of the dog blood, and cried and shouted, helpless, confused, and taking three pictures in a row.

This year on this day, Jiao Bai was served by a rehabilitation therapist and soaked in a medicinal bath for an hour, then he was given a full-body massage, kneaded and tapped all over. He lay on the massage bed, his comfortable toes curled up.

Jiao Bai put on his bathrobe and lay down to browse the medical university forum. He couldn’t leave messages, and he could only see a little bit of the comments.

Because you have to register and authenticate.

If he registered, the account would be a student account, but he had suspended his studies and hadn’t reported to school.

Jiao Bai felt the daily lives of the medical students on the forum, which was basically six words: memorize, memorize, memorize, cry, cry, cry.

The posts were dripping wet.

Jiao Bai was fearless. He regarded being a doctor as his dream. It wasn’t that he had any goals of helping the world, but he just liked white coats and was interested in clinical practice.

To make it sound nicer, he liked to witness the struggle between tiny lives and fate.

“Bai Bai!” Zhang Zhen came in with his phone. He was on a video call with the dean of the Changning Orphanage.

The dean thanked Zhang Zhen for donating another batch of supplies and wanted to meet his childhood playmate.

Jiao Bai showed his face and wished the dean a happy New Year in advance.

“Happy New Year, Happy New Year.” The dean was wearing reading glasses and holding a group photo that had been turned up a few days ago because of building a house.

She looked at Jiao Bai for a while, and then at the chubby boy holding Zhang Zhen’s leg in the photo for a while. After a long time, she said with kindness and affability: “His eyes haven’t changed, puppy eyes, so cute.”

Jiao Bai: “…”

The playmate in the dean’s mouth, whom Zhang Zhen had lost and regained and therefore cherished especially, was the original Wang Chuqiu, not Jiao Bai. He didn’t have that memory. Regarding their childhood years, they couldn’t share them.

Jiao Bai’s emotional recognition of Zhang Zhen was due to his own situation.

Of course, after Zhang Zhen recovered his lost memories, his care and protection were all due to that “life-and-death” dependence in childhood.

According to Zhang Zhen, at that time, he was a young and ignorant teenager in his teens who wanted to escape the orphanage and fly to the big world. As a result, he was injured and a hole was broken in his stomach. The little partner didn’t run away in fright, but stayed with him, guarded him, and covered his wound.

Jiao Bai benefited from the original owner, but couldn’t tell the truth.

A lonely soul from another world possessed a body. This was going to enter a research institute.

Zhang Zhen squatted by the bed and had a video chat with the dean. At this time, he was like a big boy, his smiles and movements hiding the neurotic anxiety. He said that he would go to the orphanage to get photos and asked about the number of children, so he could bring New Year’s gifts when he went.

Jiao Bai would smile at him when Zhang Zhen looked over.

Old brother, your brother is gone. I’m continuing his life. Let’s make do with each other, okay?

It has to be okay even if it’s not.

I’m tied to him.

Jiao Bai leaned on Zhang Zhen’s back, was carried up by him, carried out, carried through the long, winding corridor, passed through the warm air currents, and placed on the bed in the bedroom.

“You sleep for a while. I’ll call you when that kid from the Liang family arrives.” Zhang Zhen covered Jiao Bai with the quilt.

Jiao Bai yawned, thinking to himself that he didn’t even know how to eat the New Year’s Eve dinner. It was bound to be a mess at home, so how could he sleep?

But he soon fell asleep and slept soundly.

Every family was either eating New Year’s Eve dinner or preparing to eat it when Liang Dong was brought to Lan Mo Mansion.

At that time, Jiao Bai was watching the Qi family bodyguards carry fireworks. They were excited and huddled together, counting the number of fireworks, each of them looking like a three-year-old child.

Lan Mo Mansion didn’t set off this stuff in previous years. This was the first time.

Not only fireworks, Lan Mo Mansion also prepared Spring Festival couplets! They’ll be posted on the thirtieth!

How festive this is.

The New Year should be so festive. Thanks to Bai Shao for letting them look forward to a decent New Year’s atmosphere.

The good mood that Jiao Bai felt from everyone was driven away by Liang Dong’s appearance. He got up a little from the lounge chair and said, “You’re here.”

Liang Dong had just been discharged from the hospital. He was wearing a cotton coat and jeans, and sneakers on his feet. There was a scar on his nose, he was very thin, and his sunken cheeks were yellow.

At this time, he was different from the time in Xi Garden last year. At that time, he had lost all his loved ones, and the whole person was dirty, disheveled, haggard, and neurasthenia. His eyes were dull and lifeless, and his world was a white blank. Now, he was like a fire, and his soul was burning.

That spark was hatred.

“Sit down. Let’s talk while we eat.” Jiao Bai called Liang Dong.

Liang Dong didn’t move.

Last year, his hair was only streaked with white, but this year it was almost all white. He was not even twenty years old. He had already crossed the mountains of knives and seas of fire that many people would never encounter in their lives.

“Didn’t you say last year that if I helped you reopen the case and waited for you to come out, you would repay me? You can’t even eat a meal?” Jiao Bai pressed the armrest of the lounge chair and stood up little by little.

Liang Dong’s Adam’s apple slid, and he went over to help him.

Jiao Bai proposed eating, and he also brought up the promise that Liang Dong made last year. He felt that Liang Dong was like a wicked sword that had been enlightened and wouldn’t stop until it was stained with blood. Jiao Bai wanted him to eat some food and be infected with some of the atmosphere of life.

New Year’s Eve dinner was in the main hall. The dining table was very large, and the Chinese meal was eaten with the ritualistic feeling of a Western meal.

Liang Dong was very energetic. He called Qi Yi Liao “Chairman Qi” and Zhang Zhen “Brother Zhen.” He had all the necessary manners.

“Xiao Liang, just be casual. You don’t need to be restrained.” Qi Yi Liao said amiably.

Liang Dong suddenly got up with the glass of red wine in front of him and toasted the Qi family master and servant and Qi family’s new master: “Thank you.”

Zhang Zhen was able to help with reopening the case because of Jiao Bai and also because he had definitely reported it to his master, and only with permission did he have the follow-up.

Liang Dong knew this in his heart, and he drank the red wine in one gulp.

Zhang Zhen drank that glass of wine. Qi Yi Liao was serving small glutinous rice balls, showing no sign of responding. Jiao Bai glanced at him from the corner of his eye before he picked up his own glass and took a sip.

“It was my idea to lock you up. I asked Third Brother to send someone to stop you from going to the banquet.” Jiao Bai looked at Liang Dong across the table full of aroma. “That night’s banquet was fully commercialized, and all the domestic business celebrities were going to congratulate the Shen family on overcoming the difficulties and welcoming the new master. It wasn’t suitable to make an ugly scene.”

Liang Dong sat under the lamp, his expression stiff: “I understand.”

Jiao Bai sneered silently. He could guess the reason Liang Dong wanted to take revenge at the banquet.

The behind-the-scenes instigator of the borrowed knife assassination had already been found, but the law couldn’t sanction him, so he could only do it himself.

So, timing was very important.

Liang Dong was a fallen rich young master, without power or influence, carrying the title of a murderer’s younger brother, and without even a high school diploma, was an unemployed vagrant. How could he come into contact with the upper class and successfully strike? Too difficult.

The larger the scale of the banquet, the more staff there would be. The kitchen and cleaners were all good ways to break in. As a lower-class person, the easiest people to contact were the lower-class people.

It might not be successful, but it wasn’t impossible.

If Liang Dong did that, he wouldn’t have thought about the way out. He didn’t need it. He just wanted to kill his enemy with his own hands.

Jiao Bai’s interference disrupted his plan, so how could he not blame him in his heart?

“How are your legs…”

Jiao Bai heard Liang Dong’s voice and raised his eyes to say, “I was locked in a small dark room and beaten up. I’m recovering.”

Liang Dong’s breathing became heavy: “Who did it?”

“A stray dog.” Jiao Bai was too lazy to continue. “Eat the glutinous rice balls.”

“What kind of filling do you want?” he said with a smile. “Put your bowl on the turntable, and I’ll get you some.”

Liang Dong “ah”-ed and put the bowl on the turntable: “Whatever, I’m fine with anything.”

Jiao Bai turned the turntable and turned Liang Dong’s bowl to him. He leaned forward, his chest pressed against the edge of the table, and reached out his arm to take a spoon and put glutinous rice balls in Liang Dong’s bowl.

They were all white-skinned, so you couldn’t tell what kind of filling they had.

Jiao Bai filled Liang Dong’s bowl with glutinous rice balls, and then he helped Zhang Zhen. He thought that was it, but he didn’t expect Qi Yi Liao to put the empty bowl over. That person didn’t even know when he had finished his own glutinous rice balls.

So, Jiao Bai filled them for Qi Yi Liao again. Thinking that he was a half-disabled person, he was really virtuous.

What a load of crap.

Jiao Bai threw the serving spoon away. He picked up his own small spoon and dug glutinous rice balls to eat. It was so hot that his tears were flowing straight.

A tissue appeared in front of him, accompanied by a voice: “Spit it out.”

Jiao Bai swallowed it.

Before Qi Yi Liao could teach him a lesson, Jiao Bai took the tissue and wiped his eyes, proactively expressing: “It was too hot. The correct thing to do is to spit the food in your mouth onto the tissue.” He pointed to Zhang Zhen and Liang Dong who were looking over and said, “Don’t you dare learn from me.”

After finishing, he smiled at Qi Yi Liao: “Third Brother, glutinous rice balls can’t be eaten while they’re hot. You have to let them cool.”

“But you can’t leave them for too long, or they’ll get mushy.” Jiao Bai smacked his lips, and his tongue, red from the heat, licked his palate. “This requires attention to propriety. You can’t be impulsive about even the smallest things.”

Liang Dong, who was across from him, lowered his head and ate the glutinous rice balls, as if he couldn’t feel the heat. One after another, blisters formed in his mouth and his throat burned with pain.

Jiao Bai wasn’t the kind of person who would retaliate for every little thing. If someone glared at him once or twice, he wouldn’t necessarily take revenge. But he was also far from being the kind of person who was a soft touch and would help everyone. His first contact with Liang Dong was at Di Ye. At that time, Liang Dong was a typical spoiled brat.

At Three Middle School, Liang Dong didn’t say a few words to humiliate him, and he also made trouble for him and laughed at him. Their relationship was just like that. He wouldn’t stand up for the other party and fight for justice.

At the Xi Garden that time, Liang Dong begged him and bowed to him. He bowed long enough that Jiao Bai felt that the unpleasantness of the past could be wiped away, and he asked Zhang Zhen for help.

There was another reason why Jiao Bai would give Liang Dong a hand. He saw in Liang Dong… the former self who had lost his parents.

It wasn’t compassion or pity, but a somewhat abnormal sense of empathy.

As for a few months ago, when Jiao Bai had just woken up and was in very bad condition, he insisted on writing in Qi Yi Liao’s palm, trying to stop Liang Dong from going to the banquet. He wanted to see if he could prevent that dog blood from descending.

Jiao Bai finished eating the glutinous rice balls and picked up a Su shortbread to eat. He didn’t really want to eat the main course, because he was afraid of indigestion tonight.

The four of them were sitting very far apart, and they had to raise their voices to speak, and their words couldn’t be sticky and sloppy, otherwise it would be easy to not hear them clearly. The atmosphere wasn’t even close to being lively and festive.

A plate of beef was turned to Jiao Bai. He glanced at Qi Yi Liao who was looking at him.

All right, I’ll have some.

While Jiao Bai was eating the beef, Liang Dong had already started talking to himself. He said that he had been investigating for several months and finally found Old Pan’s hiding place in the drug dealer’s nest.

Liang Dong mixed in to get close to Old Pan.

Jiao Bai slowed down the action of biting the beef. How did he mix in? He raised his head and his gaze fell on Liang Dong’s very heavy eye bags.

Just as Jiao Bai was about to interrupt Liang Dong, Qi Second Older Brother hurried in to report: “Chairman Qi, Little Shen Chairman is here.”

Liang Dong’s self-talk stopped instantly.

Shen Er An didn’t come alone. He was accompanied by his military advisor, Tan Jun.

If the Shen family was a country, then Shen Er An was the new emperor.

And Tan Jun was a founding hero, with extremely high merits and prestige in this newly opened dynasty, and he was also an absolutely loyal minister.

In the comic, Tan Jun never betrayed Shen Er An. He was doing things for Shen Er An until he died.

The “Broken Wings” fans even regarded him as Shen Er An’s father.

Jiao Bai observed the reactions of the three people at the table. Qi Yi Liao was in a consistent elder’s posture. He didn’t stand up to greet him, but sat in his chair and nodded. Zhang Zhen was full of surprise, and Liang Dong was extremely stiff, and an strange blush appeared on his face.

Obviously, Shen Er An came without calling.

How did Shen Er An know that Liang Dong was in Lan Mo Mansion? And why did he come so quickly and so coincidentally? Had the Shen family’s spies planted in the Qi family not been completely cleared?

Jiao Bai could think in this way, not because he didn’t believe in Qi Yi Liao’s ability, but because the protagonist’s aura was even more awesome, the most awesome.

Just as Jiao Bai was looking towards Shen Er An, Zhang Zhen received a phone call. He first whispered something to Qi Yi Liao, and then quickly went around to Jiao Bai’s side and leaned in to say: “Bai Bai, Liang Dong’s whereabouts were leaked by a friend who reopened the case for me.”

Zhang Zhen turned his body to block Liang Dong and said solemnly: “My friend was injured and is now safe. The suspect, Old Pan, died unexpectedly.”

Jiao Bai put down the chopsticks in his hand. How was it an accident? This was killing people to silence them.

Liang Dong knew and would go crazy.

That was a key person that Liang Dong had found at an unknown cost. It was one thing to not be able to rely on that person to send the mastermind to prison, but it was another thing to be silenced like this.

Noticing Shen Er An’s gaze, Jiao Bai tilted his head and made eye contact with him.

Their last phone call was in June or July, when Jiao Bai was accompanying Qi Yi Liao on a business trip to North City, and Shen Er An was in a temple praying for his mother.

After that, Jiao Bai looked for Shen Er An on WeChat. The chat box was full of information that he had sent himself. If it weren’t for the lack of red exclamation marks, he would have thought that the other party had blocked him.

Shen Er An didn’t reply to his WeChat messages, and he didn’t answer his calls.

Until that dusk, on the roof of the unfinished building, Shen Er An arrived with people.

Jiao Bai hadn’t seen Shen Er An since waking up. He received the paper dragonfly he sent two months ago.

The frequency of contact was almost non-existent, and Jiao Bai had already detached himself from Shen Er An’s social circle. He looked for the changes in the past six months through Shen Er An standing in the main hall.

His hands and feet, which were injured on the last night of the college entrance examination, were all healed, and the gauze wrapped around his head at the unfinished building was also removed.

Other changes…

Shen Er An was no longer the teenager who took a car from the exam center to West City after finishing the college entrance examination and replied to Jiao Bai’s WeChat messages all the way.

He had an additional layer of identity, like a giant mountain standing in his world, and he was destined to not be able to do whatever he wanted.

The promised university meeting hadn’t arrived.

Jiao Bai suspended his studies, and Shen Er An was both a student and a new wealthy man in South City. It was obvious that he was very busy, and he definitely didn’t have enough time every day. He couldn’t wait to prepay his time for the next life.

In “Broken Wings”, Li Jue successfully drugged Shen Er An, which was the beginning of the love scene.

And Shen Er An’s rise to power was the plot cut-off point of this comic.

Jiao Bai looked at the list on his account. The avatars were reflections of the inner world of his friends, not fixedly pointing to a certain thing, but their true selves.

The real, most pure self under various masks.

A series of changes in the true self were things that the person involved didn’t realize, wanted to escape, or possibly silently accepted.

Now, Cheng Mountain didn’t have snow, and there was no greenery, only a smog, and he didn’t know what was behind the smog.

This kind of gray and heavy color made people feel depressed.

Jiao Bai was still looking at Shen Er An, and Shen Er An was also looking at him, looking all the time.

Shen Er An seemed to want to talk about the changes in his life, but he didn’t want to.

“Thump”

Liang Dong “sprang” to his feet, and the black and gray armchair fell to the ground, making a harsh sound.

Eating and chatting at the same time wouldn’t work. Jiao Bai chose to shut up.

Two forces were gathered in the restaurant, or rather three forces. Liang Dong was alone.

Before long, Qi Yi Liao, the owner of Lan Mo Mansion, spoke: “Qi Second Older Brother, take the guest to the reception room.”

Qi Second Older Brother asked: “Which one?”

“The one on the west side of the first floor.” Qi Yi Liao looked at the dishes on the table and turned a plate of sweet and sour fish to Jiao Bai. “Take the one with the yard. If you get bored chatting, you can look at the snow scene.”

Qi Second Older Brother respectfully said to the person in charge of the Shen family: “Little Shen Chairman, please come with me.”

Shen Er An turned his gaze to Liang Dong.

Liang Dong glared at Tan Jun beside him, his teeth clenched tightly together, panting, and blue veins popping out on his neck.

Shen Er An lowered his eyes and said to Tan Jun: “Uncle Tan, you come too.”

Jiao Bai finally heard Shen Er An’s voice, and he no longer stuttered.

After those three people left, the air pressure in the restaurant improved. Jiao Bai rolled up the sleeves of his long-sleeved shirt, revealing two pale and thin sections of his forearm.

Zhang Zhen said in Jiao Bai’s ear: “That Zhiyi is Tan Jun’s person.”

Jiao Bai wasn’t surprised. As early as when that old Shen family geezer was angered to death by Zhiyi, he suspected that Zhiyi wasn’t Cen Jingmo’s person.

At that time, Jiao Bai became suspicious and asked Qi Yi Liao to find out that Zhiyi wasn’t being used by Qi Yi Liao.

Using the exclusion method, Zhiyi’s real master was locked.

At that time, Jiao Bai was still sighing that the plot of this comic had already begun.

“Cen Jingmo is Tan Jun’s cover.”

Zhang Zhen told Jiao Bai about Zhiyi’s background. This was the information he had found earlier and reported to Third Brother. Now that he saw Tan Jun, he remembered it.

When Old Master Cen was alive, the Cen family’s guard team was at its peak, all first-class elites, and Zhiyi’s father was one of them.

His father was a traitor and was personally dealt with by Old Master Cen, and his mother died with him.

Zhiyi didn’t know his own background. Because he looked like Jiao Bai, he was found by Cen Jingmo’s people and sent to South City to get close to Shen Ji.

So, Zhiyi was Cen Jingmo’s person from the beginning.

Cen Jingmo’s plan was well laid out. It was just that he didn’t expect to be tricked. The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. He was the mantis.

Zhiyi disguised himself as Jiao Bai to serve Shen Ji. Later, Tan Jun, who was acquainted with his father, found him and revealed the truth of what happened that year.

The so-called traitor was just a step for Old Master Cen to cover up his own mistakes.

There were so many people on the guard team, and his father was chosen for no other reason than bad luck.

Jiao Bai listened to Zhang Zhen’s introduction, and the rest was all his own reasoning and speculation.

Zhiyi’s sacrifice was easy to understand. He knew that whether he was Cen Jingmo’s person or took the risk of becoming Tan Jun’s person, he would offend Shen Ji, the tyrant, and it was impossible to escape.

So, Zhiyi didn’t hesitate to choose the latter. He wanted to use his life more valuably.

He wanted to become a stepping stone for Shen Er An to defeat the Cen family, even if it was small.

Tan Jun’s chess move in Zhiyi was to use the entanglements between Qi Yi Liao and Shen Ji with Jiao Bai as a traction, use the Old Lady’s death to cause Shen Ji to break with Qi Yi Liao and confront the Cen family, causing Shen Ji to take enemies on both sides.

“Tan Jun…” Jiao Bai silently recited the name of this awesome person in his heart, unconsciously chanting out loud.

“Bai Bai, you don’t seem surprised that the person Liang Dong is looking for is Tan Jun.” Zhang Zhen lay on the back of his brother’s chair, bringing his head forward.

Jiao Bai squinted: “You were hesitant before, how could I not guess?”

Zhang Zhen scratched the tip of his nose twice: “Then what do you plan to do?”

“Do nothing.” Jiao Bai picked up the chopsticks and picked sweet and sour fish to eat.

Seeing this, Zhang Zhen immediately stopped talking to Jiao Bai, so he wouldn’t get a fish bone stuck in his throat.

“Third Brother, you and Bai Bai eat first. I’m going out to have a meeting with everyone.” Zhang Zhen said as he walked away. The Cen family had already received the news about Shen Er An’s arrival here.

If Cen Jingmo knew that Tan Jun had used Miss Liang’s jealousy last year to guide her to kidnap Qi Shuang, using a borrowed knife to kill and disrupt the situation in South City, he would definitely make a fuss about this matter and rely on public opinion to create a storm for the Shen family. Shen Er An and Tan Jun wouldn’t stand still and be beaten.

Once the Cen and Shen families went to war, the Qi family, which had stood with Shen Er An, would inevitably be dragged in.

Only Jiao Bai and Qi Yi Liao were left in the restaurant.

Jiao Bai looked at the old pervert who was so far away from him: “Third Brother, do you want to come over here?”

Qi Yi Liao sat over there.

However,

Jiao Bai scratched his touched elbow. Aren’t you sitting a little too close?

Also, cat, your master’s body temperature is so high. When you rub against me, it’s like it’s going to burn, so why are you still a cold corpse?

“You haven’t touched the dishes.” Qi Yi Liao sighed. “Some things are no longer fresh overnight.”

“It’s okay,” Jiao Bai turned over the meat on the fish’s belly, dipped it in the seasoning, and ate it in one bite. “Isn’t this how it is every year during the New Year? You eat a New Year’s Eve dinner for many days.”

“Is that so.” Qi Yi Liao said with interest, “Then let Lan Mo Mansion try it too. Leave what you can’t finish tonight for tomorrow.”

Jiao Bai twitched his mouth. It wasn’t impossible for him to be so down-to-earth.

“Third Brother, have you ever thought about the future?” Jiao Bai ate braised chicken wings, his teeth biting on the tip of the wing, his lips sucking off the delicious braised juice. “I mean, when are you going to retire?”

For ordinary men, thirty-four years old is the prime of life, the golden period to work hard for their families and careers.

But the lifespan of the Qi family men…

The chicken wings in Jiao Bai’s mouth were no longer fragrant. He spat it into the bowl, leaving only the tip missing, and turned to look at Qi Yi Liao: “You used to say that you were old and your strength was failing. You were tired, so why don’t you switch to a less tiring way of life?”

Qi Yi Liao’s gaze was very deep, but his tone was nonchalant: “I’m choosing an heir.”

Jiao Bai was stunned: “So, have you chosen one?”

Qi Yi Liao shook his head: “They’re all three- to five-year-old children. I’m dazzled. Will you give me some advice later?”

“Okay.” Jiao Bai said.

Buddha said that there are five kinds of desires: wealth, sex, fame, food, and sleep.

But not mentioning the Buddha, mentioning people, there are far more than five kinds of desires. There are all kinds of greed in the body and mind, most of which have instinctive factors. Sex is just the most primitive desire, but at the same time, it is also the outlet for all desires.

What Qi Yi Liao locked was that outlet. He used “restraint” to bind his life.

Once the Qi family let themselves go, they might be eroded by desire. While human nature was changing, it would trigger the genetic disease dormant in the body, leading to a short lifespan and death. This was the conclusion that Jiao Bai had long ago deduced, which needed to be verified.

But…

If Qi Yi Liao cultivated an heir and abdicated early, staying away from most of the triggers for the disease, would there be a turning point in his illness? The figure of the spirit flashed in Jiao Bai’s mind. That was Qi Yi Liao’s turning point, but he didn’t know how he was doing at the research institute.

Jiao Bai pushed the bowl forward and stopped eating.

“Thinking about your two friends?” Qi Yi Liao rubbed his hair. “Guns are prohibited in Lan Mo Mansion. Don’t worry, no one will die.”

Jiao Bai’s lips curled up: “If you want to go crazy, you can do it without a gun. You can do anything.”

“So worried,” Qi Yi Liao reached out to him, “Go to my room, I’ll show you the surveillance.”

Jiao Bai: “…”

Although I know there’s surveillance everywhere here, why are you saying it so directly? Is your pervert mask about to come off?

Qi Yi Liao leaned down: “Not watching?”

“Watching, watching, watching!” Jiao Bai grabbed Qi Yi Liao’s arm and climbed up.

Jiao was carried by Qi Yi Liao to take the elevator. He looked up at the dazzling wall lamp.

This carry, second carry, is the third carry going to be…?

Jiao Bai looked at his activity and instantly cooled down. No egg, no, what a load of crap!

Aunt Liu appeared in the restaurant unpredictably, covering the dishes on the table and adjusting the multi-functional table to keep it warm. She looked at Jiao