Volume 1, Chapter 138: Big Brother Will Never Find You a Burden

As soon as Ye Zhun got into the car, he called Yin Se.

Yin Se was still asleep. She had a terrible temper when woken up and high standards for sleep quality; sometimes, if Ye Zhun snored too loudly, she would kick him straight out of bed.

However, Ye Zhun did not dare not call her right now. Committing the offense of failing to report that he was safe was far worse than disturbing her sleep, and Ye Zhun could not afford to provoke her.

"Go back to sleep then."

Ye Zhun was about to hang up when Yin Se said, "Wait."

So Ye Zhun waited.

"I wanted to come back this time, but you wouldn't let me, saying you could handle things and keep your temper in check. You made a promise to me, and you have to keep it."

Her tone was stern. Ye Zhun knew that the moment anything happened on his end, Wan Sandao would definitely report it to Yin Se—what a traitor!

"Got it."

Ye Zhun replied reluctantly, "I'm mainly watching Huo Lindong's attitude. If he provokes me, I certainly won't hold back."

Yin Se let out a soft hum. "I don't care how you brothers beat each other up, just as long as you don't hurt Ye Sheng. If you dare to scold Ye Sheng, I won't let you off!"

With that, Yin Se hung up the phone.

Ye Zhun: "..."

Such a fiery temper. She was nice to everyone else, but always fierce with him.

The phone's audio leaked, and Wan Sandao heard every word of Yin Se's threat, planning to repeat it to Ye Sheng later.

This was practically a get-out-of-jail-free card.

On the way back, Wan Sandao filled Ye Zhun in on everything he had learned since returning to the country.

Ye Zhun's expression grew increasingly dark as he listened.

"What kind of operation does the Qin family have going on? That guy Chen Ping, you didn't catch him?"

"He's as slippery as an eel. He gave us the slip several times."

Wan Sandao's expression also turned grim. "Still, he won't be able to run forever. He has several murder charges on his hands. For now, we just need to keep a close eye on the Qin family and make sure they don't stir up any more trouble. With Lin Ge protecting her tightly, Ye Sheng will be fine."

Ye Zhun stared straight ahead in silence. After a moment, he called his assistant and instructed them to prepare for him to work remotely for the foreseeable future.

Wan Sandao looked at Ye Zhun in considerable surprise.

"I'm staying in the country to help you guys catch Chen Ping."

Ye Zhun said coldly, "Until we catch him, I won't have peace of mind."

Knowing that he was worried about Ye Sheng, Wan Sandao smiled to himself, thinking that this brother of his was always the same—all bark and no bite, with a soft heart beneath a hard exterior.

"Catching Chen Ping alone isn't enough. There's also the Qin family."

Wan Sandao said, "Anyone who needs to be dealt with will be dealt with. Not a single one of them will escape."

—

In the attic of the Qin Mansion.

Ever since returning from the hotel that night, Qin Minshu had been locked in the attic. She was slightly better off than her second sister—at least she hadn't been locked in a cage.

This was a tiny mercy granted only after her mother had knelt on the floor and bitterly begged her father.

Lying on the cold bed in the attic, Qin Minshu thought to herself in silence: Is this really the twenty-first century? Why does it feel so much like the feudal era?

She suddenly recalled her second sister's half-lifeless sigh back when she was in the cage: "Do you know what we look like? We're like the 'slender horses' raised by wealthy households in ancient times, raised with pampering and spoiling, only to be sold off to powerful and noble figures for a good price. So-called familial affection, so-called parents—they're all fabricated lies. A father is not a father, a mother is not a mother. They are merely sellers looking for suitable buyers, using this to buy and sell our entire lives."

Qin Minshu shivered violently.

She curled up around herself in the freezing bedding, trembling as tears streamed from the corners of her eyes.

She wanted to make a scene, but she didn't dare.

She had seen her second sister make a scene, and the consequence of doing so was a beating, a spell in confinement, and ultimately, still being sold off.

Even the buyer would be heavily discounted, dropping down a tier.

How pitiful that was.

In truth... Qin Minshu thought, everything she had done was simply to find herself a better buyer and secure her own future wealth and status.

She didn't mind being a canary in a gilded cage; she only hoped her new master would be reliable and wouldn't casually sell her off to someone else.

She didn't want to end up like her mother, who was also born a young lady of a wealthy family, yet was forced to pass through the hands of one buyer after another, losing her humanity and becoming nothing more than a puppet, manipulated by others at will.

It was too tragic. That kind of life was far too tragic...

"Minshu, Minshu."

Someone seemed to be calling her name in her ear, and someone was holding her. Qin Minshu turned her head with a shiver, only to meet Chen Ping's pair of anxious, hawk-like eyes.

"Brother!"

Qin Minshu grabbed onto Chen Ping fiercely, throwing herself into his arms as if he were her last straw.

"Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, Big Brother is here." Chen Ping held his sister tightly, lifting her up into his arms just like he used to when she was a child. He pulled the quilt over her body and even took off his own outer jacket to put on her.

Qin Minshu finally absorbed a trace of warmth. Her tears broke like a dam, and her feverish, flushed face kept rubbing against Chen Ping's cheek and neck.

As she rubbed against him, Chen Ping began to grow warm, his body reacting unnaturally.

"Minshu, stop, don't rub..."

Qin Minshu's body stiffened. She looked up at him, her face flushed red and her makeup ruined by tears, a sight that caused a sharp ache in Chen Ping's chest.

"Brother, do you find me dirty too?" Qin Minshu asked, choking back a sob.

"No!" Chen Ping's rough, calloused hand cupped the back of her head, offering her a pale, strained smile. "You don't find your big brother dirty, so how could I ever find you dirty? In my heart, you are the cleanest, most adorable person in the world."

Qin Minshu cried out "Brother" and hugged him tight.

"I don't want to marry Feng Yuhai," she said, trembling. "Father said I ruined his reputation, and now none of the young gentlemen in the capital are willing to have me. He says his only option is to marry me off to Feng Yuhai as his third wife. But I know about Feng Yuhai... he has violent tendencies. His first two wives divorced him precisely because they couldn't endure the domestic abuse. I'm not tough, and I don't have my mother's endurance. Feng Yuhai will definitely beat me to death."

Chen Ping sat there without moving. By the time Qin Minshu finished speaking, his eyes had turned completely bloodshot.

"He won't," Chen Ping said calmly. "Brother won't let you marry Feng Yuhai, and you won't die."

The one who deserved to die would be someone else entirely.

—

Huo Lindong stepped out of the laboratory, walked into the cafeteria, and saw Ye Zhun and Wan Sandao sitting by the window slurping rice noodles.

Wan Sandao waved at him, while Ye Zhun didn't even raise his head.

Huo Lindong ordered a bowl of beef rice noodles as well, walked over to them, and sat down right next to Ye Zhun.

"Sit across from me."

Ye Zhun waved a hand. "I'm here to interrogate you."

Huo Lindong and Wan Sandao exchanged a glance, and Wan Sandao tactfully yielded his seat to Huo Lindong, even making a move to pick up his bowl and leave.

"Old Third, don't move."

Ye Zhun called Wan Sandao back, shooting Huo Lindong a side-long glare. "Just in case I lose control and beat someone half to death or maim them, you need to be here to rush them to the hospital."

"..." Wan Sandao swallowed hard and turned to look at Huo Lindong.

Faced with the threat sitting across from him, not only did Huo Lindong show no fear, but he even asked, "Is one bowl of noodles enough? Do you want another? You need to be full to have the energy to fight."

Ye Zhun stared at him without a word.

Huo Lindong directly ordered another bowl for Ye Zhun, adding, "Put a fried egg on it too, runny yolk."

Ye Zhun raised his eyelids.

"Thinking a runny egg can buy me off?"

"You're overthinking it."

Huo Lindong pulled out his phone and slid a picture of a new model racing car across the table in front of him.

He smiled faintly. "This is just step one of the buyout."