HR Chapter 10

A fair-skinned, delicate-featured young man walked over, also sporting black-rimmed glasses. The eyes behind the lenses often squinted slightly when looking at people, but were full of smiles. He greeted everyone individually, and finally looked at Xiao Qi, offering a simple comment: “Not bad looking at all!” Then he sat down in the empty seat.

Zhu Yan had gone to the mountains early to gather pine and cypress branches and hadn’t returned yet. Xiao Qi kept looking outside. Just as the feast was about to begin, Zhu Yan finally came back. Xiao Qi immediately jumped up to greet him, “Uncle, you’re back! Come and eat.”

“Coming, coming,” Zhu Yan replied, handing the pine and cypress branches to the other servants. He washed his hands before coming over. Xiao Qi had saved a seat for him, and as soon as he sat down, a pair of chopsticks were thrust into his hand.

Xiao Qi smiled and said, “Uncle, eat quickly.”

Zhu Yan glanced sideways at Lu Qinyuan, who was sitting next to Xiao Qi. He couldn’t help but feel that his gaze was a bit frightening, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on what was so scary about it. His thickheadedness allowed him to immerse himself in the joy of eating with Xiao Qi, forgetting Bai Ze’s instructions to stay away from Xiao Qi completely.

As a result, as soon as they finished eating, Lu Qinyuan dispatched him to the yard to play rollerblades with Xiao Qi.

Knowing they had things to discuss, Min Jia also got up to leave, but Qi Yue grabbed his wrist. Min Jia smiled faintly, “I don’t like getting involved in your affairs.”

Qi Yue called out, “Jia Jia.”

“You should get involved less too!” Min Jia didn’t give him any face at all, shaking off Qi Yue’s hand and walking out, leaving the others with only a straight back view.

“Lu-ge,” Qi Yue looked helplessly at Lu Qinyuan. Lu Qinyuan waved his hand dismissively, saying with great emotion, “He’s still got the same temper, hasn’t changed at all.”

Mo Qiu laughed and said, “If he changed, he wouldn’t be Jia Jia, and Qi Yue wouldn’t like him, right?”

He hit the nail on the head. Qi Yue glared at him, reminding him of his sore spot.

Sha Tang brought over a fruit platter, and with everyone present, they began to listen to Mo Qiu’s report on the information he had gathered.

“The name Jian Qilu is unregistered, so I couldn’t find much. I started with Cheng Ruoyu. The Doll House has corresponding information on every doll, but not for this Jian Qilu. Not only that, from the time he entered the Doll House to when he was sent out, it was less than three days, and he didn’t go through any procedures. He was also sent out of the Doll House secretly. No one in the Doll House knows Jian Qilu…”

“Based on my investigation, my guess is that Cheng Ruoyu deliberately sent Jian Qilu to you, Lu-ye, perhaps because your power or ability can meet certain conditions. Suitable for sending Xiao Qi to you, Lu-ye, to evade debts, avoid danger, or hide from someone?” Mo Qiu wasn’t sure if his guess was correct. “But one thing is certain, although Cheng Ruoyu didn’t send Jian Qilu here with malicious intent, he also has his own considerations.”

“Just call him here and ask him face to face,” Lu Qinyuan said, dialing a number. The call was quickly answered. Lu Qinyuan only said four words, “Ruoyu, come over,” and hung up.

Now, carefully recalling Cheng Ruoyu’s behavior at the time, he seemed a little different from usual. He suddenly felt emotional. Based on Lu Qinyuan’s understanding of Cheng Ruoyu, Cheng Ruoyu’s name, while meaningful, didn’t make him the artistic type. Furthermore, given his passion for beauty, what reason would he have for not only choosing to give up but also pushing it away?

Naturally, Lu Qinyuan also believed that Cheng Ruoyu had no malicious intent towards him. That meant that sending Xiao Qi to him was a win-win situation. One win, as Cheng Ruoyu said, was to have a doll to relieve his boredom. The other win should refer to Xiao Qi, what could he gain? Was it really, as Mo Qiu said, to evade debts or hide from someone?

While waiting for him to arrive, Qi Yue brought the medical kit to change Lu Qinyuan’s dressing. The wound had already scabbed over, but it wasn’t advisable to take a bath yet. Qi Yue gave a few instructions, applied some medicine to the wound, and covered it with a large medical bandage. While packing up the medical kit, he asked, “If we guess right, and someone comes to take him back…” Qi Yue didn’t finish his sentence, but Lu Qinyuan understood, smiling faintly, “That would still require my consent.”

Qi Yue also secretly despised himself. To say nothing else, Lu Qinyuan would never let go of something he was interested in until he had had his fill, let alone now that he had taken it a little seriously. Letting go was even more impossible.

Upon receiving Lu Qinyuan’s call, Cheng Ruoyu couldn’t help but rub his forehead. For some time recently, he had been on edge every day, unable to eat or sleep well. Now, it was finally here. But this medicine wasn’t some good medicine, it could also turn into poison, but Cheng Ruoyu couldn’t refuse. Knowing it was death, he had to bite the bullet.

Passing through the courtyard, Cheng Ruoyu saw the mermaid he had dressed up so beautifully transformed into an ordinary person, laughing and playing. The radiance he had never seen before made him take a few more glances, before forcing himself to turn his gaze away.

He couldn’t bear to look anymore. No matter how much he looked, in the future it would only be memories and mourning.

Entering the living room, he saw that it was like a five-way interrogation. Cheng Ruoyu felt a little guilty, but on the surface, he feigned surprise, “Everyone’s here today, huh? Oh, Bird of Paradise is here too.”

Mo Qiu greeted with a smile, “Long time no see, Cheng-shaoye.”

“Yes, it’s been about a year. You’re getting prettier and prettier,” Cheng Ruoyu looked at people’s faces and praised them based on beauty. Being praised as pretty by him meant that the person was indeed good-looking.

Meeting Bai Ze’s gaze, Cheng Ruoyu dodged unnaturally, sitting down next to Bai Ze, “Brother, come home when you have time. Mom and Dad are always thinking about you.” Bai Ze petted his head like he was petting a big dog, making him feel cold in his heart.

After the brothers finished their small talk, Lu Qinyuan opened his mouth, “Ruoyu, talk about Xiao Qi’s matter. How much do you know?”

“Ah? Xiao Qi?” Cheng Ruoyu frowned, muttering, “Got into trouble? That can’t be, Xiao Qi is very well-behaved.”

Cheng Ruoyu was obviously pretending to be stupid. Qi Yue sneered, “Cheng Ruoyu, don’t play dumb. You understand the purpose of calling you here today. You’ve already prepared your speech on the way here, haven’t you?”

Cheng Ruoyu was just about to retort when a sharp blade was placed on his neck. The cold edge made Cheng Ruoyu shiver, and he turned to give Shu Xiu, who was holding the blade, a dry laugh. “Shu Xiu, don’t be impulsive. What kind of person am I? Don’t you understand?” He pushed the blade away slightly, “Be careful, don’t hurt your brother.”

“Don’t understand.” Shu Xiu moved closer and bumped his forehead hard against Cheng Ruoyu’s forehead. “Confess honestly, or I’ll stain this knife with your blood!” After saying his harsh words, Shu Xiu raised the short, sharp dagger in his hand, put it away, and sat down next to Bai Ze.

Qi Yue gave Shu Xiu a thumbs up and commented on Cheng Ruoyu’s encounter today with one word: “Deserved!”

Cheng Ruoyu rubbed his forehead and looked at Lu Qinyuan, throwing out the emotional card first. He asked, “A Yuan, can’t you trust our friendship?”

Unfortunately, the emotional card was ineffective. Lu Qinyuan smiled and said, “What use is it if only I trust you? You have to make them all believe you. Since I called you here, I must know something. Don’t just think about how to hide it, or I can’t guarantee you’ll leave here safely.”

“Lu-ge is threatening me!” Cheng Ruoyu swept away his earlier easygoing demeanor, suddenly becoming serious. He had also been raised as a young master since he was a child and had his own pride. Such a blunt suspicion made Cheng Ruoyu very unhappy. He said, “Since Lu-ge can find out something, I’m sure you’ll be able to find out something sooner or later, so why bother asking me?”

Lu Qinyuan replied, “Convenience, speed.”

Cheng Ruoyu threw caution to the wind and snorted with a smile, “Okay, you, all of you, want to know what? I guarantee I’ll tell you everything I know!”

Lu Qinyuan hummed and waited for Cheng Ruoyu to confess on his own.

Cheng Ruoyu rolled his eyes and said, “You’re asking me about Xiao Qi? You’re asking me, who should I ask? I’m just a businessman, I take business where there’s profit. Didn’t Bird of Paradise find out? Jian Qilu, a person without a past or a future, a piece of meat at everyone’s mercy, unable to resist. What’s there to investigate about him? What’s the point of investigating him? It’s superfluous!”

Lu Qinyuan said coldly, “Whether it’s superfluous isn’t up to you to decide. There’s a reward for finding out something, and there’s a penalty for not finding out something. Cheng Ruoyu, you’d better think clearly before you speak.”

Cheng Ruoyu looked gloomy and said in a nasty tone, “I originally thought it would be a waste to give such a rare thing to those idiots outside, so I gave it to you. I didn’t expect it would cause so much trouble! If I had known, I would have listened to my dad and not sent him to you!”

Bai Ze became interested and asked, “What does this have to do with Dad?”

Cheng Ruoyu originally wanted to curse back fiercely, but he swallowed the swear words that were already on his lips, and said, stifling his anger, “I’m just a trafficker, and most of my business is based on personal connections. Xiao Qi was personally given to me by my dad, and I also asked about Xiao Qi’s background. The old man said, ask any more questions and I’ll break your legs. I was worried that Xiao Qi wasn’t a decent person, so I specially sent someone to investigate, but I didn’t find anything and was caught by the old man. He didn’t beat me to death. Lu-ge, you’re still putting on this show to interrogate me, it’s disheartening!”

“Oh, I wronged you?” Lu Qinyuan said calmly, “If I wronged you, I apologize.”

“No, I can’t afford it,” Cheng Ruoyu refused immediately, as if he would suffer a great loss if he was even a little bit slow.

Qi Yue couldn’t help but ridicule him, “Don’t get cocky just because someone praised you. Have you no shame?”

Cheng Ruoyu immediately opened fire on Qi Yue, “You have no shame, no shame! Don’t pester Jia Jia, Jia Jia is wasted on you, being with you is simply a waste of talent!”

Shu Xiu nodded in agreement, feeling that this sentence was too right. He had always looked down on Qi Yue’s beastly appearance.

Qi Yue grabbed the pillow behind him and threw it at Shu Xiu’s head, but it was kicked into the air halfway by Cheng Ruoyu and landed not far away. Cheng Ruoyu, like a mother hen protecting her chicks, stood in front of Shu Xiu and glared angrily at Qi Yue. Qi Yue stubbornly stuck out his neck, unwilling to show weakness, and the two of them were deadlocked there.

Shu Xiu raised his fist behind Cheng Ruoyu, looking at the two little couples working together so well. Thinking of himself fighting alone, Qi Yue suddenly wilted, rubbed his nose, and gave in. Cheng Ruoyu and Shu Xiu looked at each other, seeing the smile in each other’s eyes. It was rare for them to be so taciturn.

Bai Ze looked at the interaction between the two and exclaimed, “They’re on the same wavelength. No more fighting?”

Shu Xiu immediately turned his head away, and Cheng Ruoyu looked at Bai Ze with some annoyance. Bai Ze said, “Confess honestly, you think you can still avoid it with me here?”

Mo Qiu also persuaded, “Cheng-shaoye, just confess. With your skills, Cheng-shaoye, hiding someone isn’t a problem, unless you can’t hide him or can’t hide him for long. But you don’t seem like someone who gives up so easily.” His words hit the nail on the head. Cheng Ruoyu’s pursuit of beautiful things was extremely crazy. It wasn’t like him to give up just because someone said no. There must still be an untold secret.