Chapter 84.1 - Connection
When Fei Sihao returned from buying clothes for Qiu Yanzhi, he initially wanted to ring the doorbell.
But when his finger touched the doorbell, a secret, unsightly thought welled up in his mind.
He hesitated for a moment, but took out his room card and opened the door with red ears in the end.
He originally thought he might be able to see Qiu Yanzhi in his full glory on the bed.
But he never expected Qiu Yanzhi on the bed in the arms of another man.
The moment Fei Sihao saw Qiu Yanzhi being held and kissed by his cousin, he froze. It was only when He Zhou wrapped the blanket securely around Qiu Yanzhi up tightly that he reacted--
Qiu Yanzhi didn't even have his pants on.
Fei Sihao felt blood rushing to his head. He threw down what he was holding and rushed towards He Zhou with a twisted expression.
"You fucking animal! He’s your cousin!!!"
Unexpectedly, He Zhou dodged his punch.
Fei Sihao grabbed He Zhou's collar and looked at Qiu Yanzhi on the bed. The veins on his forehead were visible. “Don’t worry, Zhizhi. I’ll beat this opportunistic bastard to death for you.”
With that, he tried to punch He Zhou again.
He Zhou caught Fei Sihao’s wrist and aimed a kick towards Fei Sihao’s knee. Fei Sihao lost his balance and knelt on the floor.
He Zhou was actually struggling. This body of his was in subpar condition to begin with. Even walking a few steps more usually left him winded. Now that he was fighting with Fei Sihao, a thin sheen of sweat emerged on his face after just two blows.
Qin He’s body is utter rubbish.
He Zhou thought disdainfully.
However, it was fortunate that Fei Sihao was overcome with rage. He fought blindly with no coordination whatsoever.
He Zhou pressed Fei Sihao down on the ground as quickly as he could. Then he opened the drawer and got the kinky little handcuffs, securing both of Fei Sihao’s hands behind his head.
Only after doing all this did he wipe the sweat from his forehead. The weakness of his body was evident in the ashen colour of his face.
Qiu Yanzhi noticed this and frowned. He asked with some worry, “Why are you so pale? Are you okay?”
"Perhaps I’m out of shape.” He Zhou frowned as he continued, “But it could also be because I was recently discharged and I haven’t fully healed yet.”
"Why were you hospitalized, ah?" Qiu Yanzhi asked.
He Zhou shook his head. He wanted to say that he didn’t know, but a certain third wheel in the room made him say ambiguously that he forgot.
When Fei Sihao saw these two people chatting like they were the only ones here, even someone as stupid as him noticed something wasn’t right. He looked up at Qiu Yanzhi with disbelief in his eyes. “Zhizhi, you...weren’t you being forced? So you… What were you going to do with him just now?”
At this point, Qiu Yanzhi was tired of leading Fei Sihao around. He shot the man a look before unhappily saying, “We would’ve been able to do something if you came in a bit later.”
Fei Sihao blanched. “Don’t you two realize how disgusting this is? You’re cousins! This is incest!!”
Qiu Yanzhi almost laughed out loud. "Fei Sihao, you really believed he’s my cousin? I didn’t realize you were so simpleminded.”
Qiu Yanzhi suddenly got a text. It was from Qiu Hongsheng, asking him to return to the old manor to discuss something.
Qiu Yanzhi remembered what Fei Sihao had just said to him. He speculated that Qiu Hongsheng wanted to deal with the matter of Qiu Xicheng.
Fei Sihao’s forehead veins were already bulging. “How long? How long have you cheated on me?! Was it from the day that he moved in--”
"Much earlier than that." Qiu Yanzhi set the phone down.
Fei Sihao stared dead straight at Qiu Yanzhi, his lips quivering, about to blurt out all sorts of colourful language.
Qiu Yanzhi didn't want to hear it, so he spoke first: “You’re one to talk, Fei Sihao. Xu Wei, Duoduo…and some other women I can’t remember the names of. In any case, have I ever cockblocked you or ripped you a new one while you had so many girlfriends? So why have you become so unreasonable when it comes to me?”
Fei Sihao's pupils trembled slightly. His face drained of colour.
He looked up at Qiu Yanzhi with shining eyes. “Zhizhi...I don’t love those women, not one bit. When did you find out about that…? Did you do this because...I broke your heart--”
Qiu Yanzhi gave Fei Sihao a puzzled look. He wondered if the man’s head was filled entirely with water. “What does it matter to me if you love him or not. No wait, why are you so narcissistic? You couldn’t possibly believe that I fell in love just to spite you.”
Fei Sihao: "Is that not it? But you were so deeply in love with me..."
Qiu Yanzhi laughed. "What could I possibly love about you? How you schemed with Qiu Xicheng to harm me?”
Fei Sihao's expression changed. "You...you knew? Since when did you know?!"
Qiu Yanzhi shrugged. "Since the beginning."
"Then...why did you..."
Qiu Yanzhi sighed. "Because I want to find damning evidence before exposing what Qiu Xicheng had done to my dad.”
Fei Sihao paled even further. His mind was unable to deal with all these revelations.
Qiu Yanzhi paused for a moment and said, "Anyway, we've been playing with each other long enough. It’s time for the show to end.”
Fei Sihao was silent for a long time before he raised his head. He seemed a bit conflicted. “I wasn’t acting…I truly fell in love with you.”
"What a shame then." Qiu Yanzhi said, "I was playing a role the whole time.”
"Oh, right." Qiu Yanzhi suddenly remembered the text message he had just received. "Thanks for taking care of Qiu Xicheng for me. Unfortunately, I can’t afford to give you a multi-million West Mountain villa.”
After Fei Sihao left, utterly dejected, Qiu Yanzhi changed into the clothes he recently bought. Then he transferred the cost of the clothes based on the tags to Fei Sihao’s bank account.
He paused a beat before adding $20 for delivery.
Finally, he deleted Fei Sihao from his contacts.
The He family was also looking for He Zhou, so Qiu Yanzhi said goodbye to then man and prepared to go back to the Qiu manor.
But when Qiu Yanzhi walked out of the hotel, he found that Qiu Hongsheng had already sent his assistant to pick him up.
When Qiu Yanzhi got out of the car, he saw Qiu Xicheng kneeling at the front door in disheveled clothes with a despondent expression.
Qiu Yanzhi walked around him and stepped inside.
Qiu Hongsheng was sitting in the main hall drinking tea. He may seem calm and collected, but his hands trembled as he set the cup down.
Qiu Hongsheng gave him a look and said, "You can sit."
Qiu Yanzhi sat down opposite him.
Qiu Hongsheng seemed to be the same as before, but there was a sense that he had aged several years. He was silent for a while before slowly asking, “Do you know about what your second brother has been up to?"
Qiu Yanzhi nodded. "Assistant Lin gave me an overview on the ride over.”
Qiu Hongsheng: "Before that, how much did you know about what your second brother did?"
Qiu Yanzhi said honestly, "I don't know much else, but I knew about his plan to drug and film me a few months ago.
Qiu Hongsheng was taken aback. He looked up at Qiu Yanzhi. "Then why didn't you tell me earlier?"
Qiu Yanzhi looked into Qiu Hongsheng’s eyes and calmly spoke, “Sir, it was you who taught me that damning evidence was needed to accuse others. Especially if said person is my older brother.”
That spot Qiu Xicheng was currently occupying? Qiu Yanzhi’s knelt there before too for ‘slandering’ his second brother by claiming Qiu Xicheng smashed the red wine rack in the cellar and pushed him into the pile of broken bottles.
Qiu Hongsheng dismissed the topic after a beat. "When will you graduate?"
"In two months." Qiu Yanzhi said.
“Come to the company once you graduate." Qiu Hongsheng said, "You can gain some management experience first."
Qiu Yanzhi took out a card from his pocket and put it in front of Qiu Hongsheng.
"Dad, thank you for sending me money through this account every month. It’s helped me through a very difficult time. But I’ve already made up the difference. In addition, I’ve also put the hospital fees accrued during my coma, the caretaker fee, and all the money you spent on me from 14 to 18 in there.
Although Qiu Yanzhi had worked hard, he still didn't earn enough money.
However, He Zhou was able to make more money through the stock market with the huge principal sum in the card.
But even so, they were still a bit short.
That’s why Qiu Yanzhi called Chen Lesi on the way here and borrowed $2000 from him. With that sum transferred over, he finally had enough.
Qiu Hongsheng frowned at the card. "What are you trying to do?"
Qiu Yanzhi stood up and smiled at Qiu Hongsheng, “Something I’ve always wanted to do."
"After you verify the amount, please let me know by email if there is any other expense I have not accounted for as soon as possible. If there isn't anything…" Qiu Yanzhi paused before saying lightly, "If there isn't anything, then there's no need for us to meet again from now on."
Qiu Hongsheng's hand slowly tightened its grip into the arm of the sofa.
Qiu Yanzhi bowed to Qiu Hongsheng before turning around and leaving.