Ch. 11.1 Found clues
Shi Qingning never expected it to be so coincidental that the moment they hurriedly let go of each other’s hands, they would be seen by his mother.
“N-No!”
Afraid that Bai Yexi might get angry, Shi Qingning hurriedly denied it.
After all, those few people in the novel who wanted to pursue Bai Yexi had already caused him irreparable harm. The word ‘love’ was not a good thing for Bai Yexi.
“He’s a friend I invited to practice the piano together with,” Shi Qingning explained, “He’s the Bai Yexi I mentioned to you before.”
“Oh…”
Mother Shi blinked her eyes, her tone slightly exaggerated.
Seeing her visibly flustered younger son, she considerately didn’t ask anything further and just smiled at Bai Yexi.
“Welcome, Xiao Bai.”
“Hello, Auntie.”
Bai Yexi politely replied.
Looking at the calm Bai Yexi, and then at his smiling mother, Shi Qingning couldn’t help but feel that something seemed off.
Why did it feel like… he was the only one nervous?
Fortunately, the piano was moved in timely, interrupting the conversation.
After the new piano was assembled and placed, Mother Shi and the movers went downstairs to confirm everything, leaving only the two of them in the piano room. Shi Qingning found the opportunity to explain to Bai Yexi.
“Sorry,” he apologized, “My mother misunderstood. I hope you don’t mind.”
But looking at him, Bai Yexi didn’t seem to mind much.
He was usually taciturn, so Shi Qingning had expected at most a “It’s okay,” but he didn’t expect to hear the other person say,
“You asked about love before?”
Shi Qingning was stunned. They were his mother’s words, and he didn’t expect Bai Yexi to bring them up.
He couldn’t say that it was a test he had bravely undertaken. Shi Qingning touched his nose and could only say,
“Nothing much… just asking casually.”
Bai Yexi pursed his slightly dry lips.
But he didn’t look like he was just casually asking him.
After Shi Qingning finished speaking, he thought of the plot of the novel and felt that he couldn’t just let it pass by.
“But I still think that being in love is a very serious matter.”
Young Master Shi said seriously.
“It must be voluntary, and both parties must not hurt each other, both physically or mentally.”
Those pursuers who approached Bai Yexi with ulterior motives were not good people at all.
Shi Qingning had a serious expression of ‘You’re still young, so be careful to not be taken advantage of,’ which, coupled with his still-childish and beautiful face, made the scene even more contrasting.
It was a scene that could make one involuntarily smile and feel soft.
But Bai Yexi, who heard these words, slowly lowered his gaze.
At sunset, the sky outside the window had already dimmed.
In the slightly obscure piano room, Bai Yexi remained silent for a long time before responding.
“En.”
*
As Bai Yexi had come to the Shi Family house for the first time, Mother Shi had originally wanted Bai Yexi to stay for dinner, but he politely declined.
Shi Qingning knew that Bai Yexi might have other arrangements, so he helped persuade his mother and saw Bai Yexi off.
“Are you going to work somewhere else?”
Shi Qingning asked.
“I don’t want to take up too much of your time, but a place like the bar last time is not a very good place. Take care.”
Bai Yexi said, “Okay.”
Looking at the boy’s serious expression, Bai Yexi paused and added,
“See you the day after tomorrow.”
“See you!”
Shi Qingning nodded and smiled, causing his eyes to become curved.
But then he remembered something and said, “Wait a minute!”
The boy ran to the flower room and quickly ran back, holding a bit of mint between his slender fingers.
“I grew this myself in the flower room,” he touched his nose and said, “These flowers are too difficult to grow, so I only managed to grow a little of this… but it smells really good.”
Shi Qingning raised his hand and pinned those mint leaves on Bai Yexi’s button on his chest.
After carefully adjusting the leaves, he was satisfied and smiled, forming a small dimple at the corner of his lips.
“This is for you.”
Bai Yexi lowered his gaze and looked at those mint leaves.
The gentle evening breeze wafted the clear fragrance along with it.
“Remember, two o’clock the day after tomorrow.”
Shi Qingning waved his hand towards him. He was always obedient, making this small action look cute and serious.
“I’ll wait for you.”
The boy’s low and cold voice slowly softened.
“Okay.”
After seeing off Bai Yexi, Shi Qingning went to check on his mint leaves, which had been cut back to half of their original lushness and only had a few lonely leaves left.
After dinner, Mother Shi went out for a meeting, leaving only Shi Qingning at home.
He received a report from Sun Ming.
“The person you were looking for, Tian Wenlong, has been detained by the Lishan District Public Security Bureau.” Sun Ming said.
“Tian Wenlong is suspected of multiple fraud cases and is involved in a fraud organization that operates in multiple places. Joint investigation teams have been established by police in various regions. He will be detained in custody, and if sentenced, it is estimated that it will be for at least five years.”
Shi Qingning was a little surprised, “He was caught so quickly?”
While searching for information about the An family, Shi Qingning did not neglect Tian Wenlong, who had directly harmed Bai Yexi.
At that time, the protagonist thought he had found his real family, but he did not expect his life to become even more hopeless than before after meeting him. Tian Wenlong insisted that the protagonist was a bastard born of his mother and his younger brother, not only cursing the protagonist but also spreading rumors.
As a result, the protagonist was completely isolated by everyone and became even more reclusive.
Shi Qingning, who had completely memorized the plot, naturally could not let Tian Wenlong go, but he did not expect the process of arresting him to have gone so smoothly.
“I thought it would take more time to collect enough evidences…”
Sun Ming paused and said, “Actually, he was not arrested for fraud.”
“Tian Wenlong was being harassed by several creditors and was beaten up. The commotion was a bit big, and someone nearby called the police, so the police took them all away.”
The young master was still young, so Sun Ming did not speak too bluntly.
For people like them who had special channels, they naturally had more methods when dealing with such matters than the little young master, who was still inexperienced.
“After entering the police station, they could naturally investigate him more easily.”
Without the Shi family appearing, this person was dealt with without a trace.
“When investigating Tian Wenlong’s fraud experiences, the police found various messages recorded by Tian Wenlong himself, including his target.”
Sun Ming said.
“Internal information is not so easy to get, so I went there to take a look myself.” He paused before saying, “There is no information about the An family that you are looking for.”
No information about the An family?
Shi Qingning was stunned.
Tian Wenlong targeted the protagonist because he saw that the An family was still relatively wealthy.
Is Tian Wenlong trying to deceive me again?
Now that Tian Wenlong has arrived in Hai Cheng, how could he not have thought about the An family?
Is it that he first deceived the protagonist and then targeted the An family? But isn’t it too early?
Shi Qingning bit his fingernail, causing the previously clean and smooth fingernails to now have shallow grooves.
Where is the An family?
Why can’t I find their information?
“…Second Young Master…Second Young Master?”
Shi Qingning was so focused that he missed hearing his name being called.
“Hmm?”
Sun Ming furrowed his brow, looking at him. Shi Qingning’s complexion was pale and ashen.
“Oh,” Shi Qingning came back to his senses and said, “I’m fine.”
“You…” Sun Ming couldn’t help but ask, “Why are you so interested in these matters?”
This question was not something a bodyguard should ask, but Shi Qingning’s state made Sun Ming a little worried.
“It’s because of my new friend,” Shi Qingning didn’t go into too much details, “I’m afraid he will be deceived, so I wanted to help him.”
He then said, “Thank you, Sun Ming.”
Looking at Shi Qingning’s still pale complexion, Sun Ming couldn’t help but sigh and say, “It’s time for post-dinner exercise Young Master. Let’s go to the exercise room downstairs.”
“Your body is very important.”
Shi Qingning nodded, “Okay.”
Having ensured that Tian Wenlong would not continue to harass Bai Yexi, a crucial issue had been resolved.
Shi Qingning came back to his senses and knew he didn’t need to rush.
If they couldn’t find the information, he could just wait and get acquainted with Mint a little more before directly asking about the An family.
Shi Qingning made a new plan.
These days, Shi Qingning gradually became more familiar with Bai Yexi.
He also didn’t want to see Bai Yexi stop playing the piano.
He only hopes that Mint will be fine.
That he will be able to live his life peacefully.
*
Hoping that Mint would do well and have a good life, Shi Qingning didn’t sleep well at night, and when he woke up, he still felt a little drowsy.
In the morning, Shi Qingning went to his study room to read books, but he hadn’t read for long when the door was suddenly knocked, and Mother Shi, who had gone out early to work, came in.
“Baby?”
Hearing that Shi Qingning jumped up in surprise.
He thought he had hidden the fact that he hadn’t finished half of his breakfast, and for a moment, his whole body felt like it was about to explode.
However, fortunately, Mother Shi seemed not to have noticed this, as she only asked,
“Are you studying baby?”
Shi Qingning secretly let out a sigh of relief, nodded, and showed her the textbook—
‘High School Physics Compulsory Course Two.’
He went from elementary school first grade to high school textbooks in just few days, this progress was not something that could be described as simple.
A typical parent would certainly feel very happy to see their child so diligent, but Mother Shi’s face showed a hidden concern.
“Baby, it seems like you have too much of a hectic schedule?”
Mother Shi said.
“Your teacher called and said that you have been studying a lot, and you have also learned a lot of things, which is very good, but can you not be so strict with yourself?”
She asked, “How about your body, are you eating well, do you feel tired?”
The teacher that Mother Shi was talking about was the Shi family’s family tutor, and even he was overwhelmed with surprise.
Particularly since he taught physics, learning physics itself requires a considerable amount of effort, and Shi Qingning’s learning speed was so fast that it made people speechless.
Shi Qingning also knew that his progress was faster than average.
He wanted to use this knowledge to stimulate his memory and obtain more information.
Moreover, being chronically ill, Shi Qingning was well aware of his own body condition.
“Don’t worry, Mom, I’ll make sure to pay attention to my health.”
After all, he couldn’t be reckless with this body, which still needed to be well-cared for.
Seeing him say this, Mother Shi relaxed a little, but she still reminded him.
“If you feel uncomfortable, please tell me.”
Shi Qingning nodded, “Okay.”
Mother Shi sighed lightly and stroked her son’s soft hair.
“I know you are eager to go to school, but learning is a gradual process. We don’t need to rush, right?”
Mother Shi thought that Shi Qingning was studying so much because he was worried about going to school, which saved him from explaining.
He nodded, “Yes.”
