After Qi Han escaped to Africa, he immediately fell into a self-imposed state of shame and isolation. But he didn’t stay isolated for long. In a matter of days, he received a call from the person he feared seeing the most at that moment.
When Qi Han saw the caller’s name, he instinctively didn’t want to answer. He tried to pretend he was offline, but his hand moved faster than his brain. By the time he realized it, he had already answered the call.
And it was a video call.
On the other end of the video call, his elder brother’s eyes were as cold as the stars, his expression as aloof as the moon in the sky.
“Elder Brother,” Qi Han stammered, immediately losing his composure.
Qi Heng noticed Qi Han’s momentary unease and asked, “You remembered, didn’t you?”
Qi Han, holding back his shame, nodded.
Qi Heng’s eyes flickered slightly. It was no wonder Qi Han had rushed to Africa in such a hurry. He probably thought Africa was far enough to avoid facing him, and he wouldn’t remember all the immature things he had done in the past few days.
Qi Heng found Qi Han’s foolishness endearing. He couldn’t just let him run wild like this – Qi Han was such a dedicated and willing worker. Qi Heng couldn’t simply allow him to make his own choices.
“So, are you coming back, or should I open a branch in Africa?” Qi Heng offered him a fair choice. “You decide.”
Qi Han: “…”
However, under the threat of having to dig coal in Africa, Qi Han lowered his head.
“I’ll be back soon,” he said.
Qi Heng showed a hint of satisfaction in his smile. “Be good, and don’t run around.”
Qi Han glanced at him, and his ears turned a bit red. “I didn’t run around; I just couldn’t accept the person I became after losing my memory. I needed some time to find myself.”
After saying this, Qi Han immediately realized that his thinking had fallen back into the pattern he had during his amnesia. He quickly composed his face, attempting to return to the reserved and quiet demeanor he had before losing his memory.
However, Qi Heng had achieved his purpose and didn’t pay much attention to whether Qi Han’s behavior was normal or not.
…
Two days after returning to school, Qi Rui heard that An Ruoxi and Zhao Ting had transferred out.
With those two annoying troublemakers gone, Qi Rui’s mood, which had been soured by having to go to school, suddenly improved.
His uncle really cared about him. He even knew about the annoyance caused by An Ruoxi and took action to get rid of that troublesome person.
Qi Rui returned to his seat, and Yu Fan immediately approached, pretending to be flattering. “Bro, I never would have guessed you were a rich kid. You really hid it well.”
Qi Rui gave him a cold, aristocratic look. “I told you before, it’s your fault for not believing me.”
Yu Fan felt like an innocent party in this conversation. “It was our buddy who collects trash to make money who said your family is a billion-dollar empire. What do you expect me to believe?”
Qi Rui replied, “I already told you I was forced to collect trash.”
Back when he first met Yu Fan, he had spent his monthly allowance within two weeks, and then he gave away the pocket money that Steward Sun had given him because he found it insufficient.
When his meal card ran out of money and his uncle insisted he learn his lesson, Steward Sun, despite his affection for Qi Rui, couldn’t go against his uncle’s orders. Qi Rui was left with no money, starving, and had to figure out ways to earn money, including collecting trash.
But Yu Fan was unaware of the hardships Qi Rui had gone through. He playfully put his arm around Qi Rui’s shoulder and said, “With your rich family, you still had the nerve to mooch off me!”
Qi Rui couldn’t help but chuckle at Yu Fan’s statement. He used to think that Qi Rui was a poverty-stricken student from a rural area who had a strong sense of pride and didn’t apply for national subsidies. Seeing Qi Rui working so hard collecting trash and taking care of his sensitive, cash-strapped brother, Yu Fan often found excuses to spend his weekly allowance on buying food for Qi Rui.
Now, after finding out that Qi Rui had been enjoying his generosity without ever mentioning his wealthy background, Yu Fan felt a bit disoriented. He suddenly pressed Qi Rui against him, pretending to hold a knife to his throat with one hand, and said, “If you don’t give back all the food you’ve mooched off me today, I’ll take your life.”
Qi Rui raised an eyebrow and asked in mock surprise, “So, our classmate relationship isn’t worth that little food?”
“I’m a heartless lemon now!” Yu Fan replied coldly.
Qi Rui rolled his eyes and extended his neck, saying with a nonchalant expression, “Alright then, if you want money, you’re out of luck, but you can have my life.”
This playful banter was a reflection of their friendship, and it was clear they had a close and comfortable relationship.
“Qi Rui! You think I won’t dare to hit you just because I’m your brother,” Yu Fan grumbled and clenched his teeth. He released his grip on Qi Rui and stood up. “No, you’ve won a prize, so today you must treat me to compensate for all the years you’ve hurt my fragile heart.”
Qi Rui made a disgusted expression. “Don’t gross me out. I’ll treat you to skewers tonight.”
He loved barbecue, but he didn’t dare to eat it at the Qi family’s home; it would be thrown away. Every time Sun Yi saw him holding a barbecue, he looked as if he were witnessing Qi Rui feed himself poison.
“In your heart, am I the kind of person who can be bought with skewers?” Yu Fan raised an eyebrow.
Qi Rui raised an eyebrow and said, “Opportunities to pluck the feathers from an iron rooster are rare. Do you want to eat or not?”
“Eat.” Yu Fan’s voice was firm, showing his ability to compromise when needed.
Qi Rui was taken aback. The feathers of an iron rooster were plucked one by one.
“Qi Rui, the class teacher wants to see you in the office,” someone called from the doorway.
“I’m coming,” Qi Rui replied. He found it strange and left his seat to go to the class teacher’s office.
In the office, there were a man and a woman.
Qi Rui’s face immediately turned sour.
Seeing him standing at the door, the class teacher waved him in. “Qi Rui, your parents are here to see you.”
“Xiao Rui,” the woman quickly approached him, knelt down, and reached out to hold Qi Rui’s shoulders. Her beautiful face was filled with excitement. “You’ve grown so much.”
“Xiao Rui, I’m your stepfather,” the slightly overweight man added, trying to appear amiable.
Qi Rui swatted the woman’s hand away and looked sharply at the class teacher. “Teacher, have you made a mistake? My biological father died over a decade ago, so where do these ‘parents’ come from?”
The class teacher’s expression stiffened under the questioning. “I thought that a stepfather is also a father.”
“I don’t know any stepfather,” Qi Rui said with anger in his voice. “Teacher, have you ever considered the harm they might cause me when you let anyone in to see me? Did my great-uncle donate several buildings to the school just to allow you to let anyone harass me?”
“Xiao Rui!” the woman’s expression changed. “Why are you speaking to your teacher like this? What has the Qi family taught you? They’ve turned you into this!”
“You shut up,” Qi Rui’s tone was extremely unfriendly. “When did my great-uncle need your evaluation?”
“Xiao Rui!” the woman yelled, “This time, Mom came back to help you. Do you know what your great-uncle…?”
“Shut up,” Qi Rui interrupted her, and he looked extremely unkindly at the middle-aged, chubby man beside her. “You ran off with this man back then, didn’t care about me for so many years, and now you jump out and claim to be my mother? Is it that this man can’t support you again, so he sent you to the Qi family to ask for money?”
The man’s face turned pale, and he subtly signaled the class teacher beside him.
“Qi Rui, calm down,” the class teacher received the signal and awkwardly tried to mediate. “No matter what, she is your mother, who carried you for nine months before giving birth to you. How can you be so disrespectful to her?”
“Hah,” Qi Rui sneered, and the woman forcefully grabbed his arm. She then turned to the class teacher and said, “Teacher, I’ll take the child outside and have a private conversation with him.”
“You can continue your discussion here,” the class teacher said, picking up his thermos. “I’ll go downstairs to get some hot water.”
“Let go of me,” Qi Rui, filled with anger, broke free from the woman’s control, took out his phone, and tried to make a call.
“Xiao Rui,” the man with a protruding belly took Qi Rui’s phone and faced Qi Rui’s angry glare. However, he still spoke with an appearance of kindness. “I know you don’t like me as your stepfather, but your mother genuinely cares for you. I’ll give you your phone back, but can you please listen to your mother first?”
Qi Rui raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms. “Sure, go ahead. Let’s hear what you both have to say today.”
“Xiao Rui,” the woman sighed, “I understand that you have many misconceptions about me, but you must believe me in what I’m about to say.”
“Be careful with your big uncle,” she continued, “He has ulterior motives towards you. Mom is genuinely concerned for your well-being, which is why she had to reappear.”
Qi Rui felt like he was listening to a far-fetched fairy tale. He gazed at the two of them as if they were completely out of touch with reality. “So, you want to sow discord between me and my big uncle, is that it? Perhaps you should have gathered some information before coming here.”
“Your big uncle has those dirty thoughts about you!” the woman gritted her teeth. “Do you really think he sees you as his nephew? Xiao Rui, do you know what pedophilia is? Your big uncle is one, he’s nothing more than a despicable human trash—”
“Shut up!” Qi Rui picked up a nearby pen holder and slammed it on the table in front of her, furious. “You’re not allowed to insult my big uncle.”
“What Mom said is true, I know you might not be able to accept it for now, but you need to think—”
“Get out!”
Several books hit her, and she was stunned by the hatred in Qi Rui’s eyes.
“Xiao Rui, try to calm down,” the man spoke gently, returning the phone to Qi Rui. However, seeing that Qi Rui didn’t accept it, he gently placed the phone on the nearby desk.
Then, he put his arm around the woman’s shoulder, consoling her in a low voice, “A Yun, Qi Rui might not be able to accept the truth at the moment. Let him calm down, and we’ll come back another day.”
After all, they had already planted a seed of doubt in Qi Rui’s heart. With that grudge in place, the seed would eventually sprout and take root. By that time, Qi Rui could be of use to them.
The woman nodded and looked at Qi Rui with a mixture of reluctance, “Xiao Rui, no matter how you misunderstand Mom, Mom loves you.”
Qi Rui lowered his head, clenched his fist, and wished he could smash the heads of the two people in front of him.
His mother abandoned him and ran away with another man while his father was still warm in his grave. For over a decade, he didn’t care, and yet they dared to claim they loved him!
“What Mom said earlier was all true. Be careful yourself,” the woman left this sentence before embracing the man and leaving.
As they departed, Qi Rui picked up his phone and was about to make a call when he saw his homeroom teacher entering with a thermos in hand.
She looked at the mess on the floor, somewhat shocked, “Qi Rui, you’re a bit too…”
“Uncle.” Qi Rui ignored her and spoke for himself, “Could you help me change my homeroom teacher? She allows unrelated people to come and harass me, affecting my studies.”
“What’s going on?” Qi Heng frowned, “Who came to see you?”
With that question, Qi Rui, who had been so fierce just a moment ago, suddenly teared up. He sniffled and said in a choked voice, “The one who doesn’t want me.”
“Give the phone to your homeroom teacher,” Qi Heng’s voice carried a hint of anger.
In a short while, a soft female voice came through the phone, “Chairman Qi… Please let me explain. I just wanted to help mend the relationship between the mother and son. I never expected Qi Rui would be so resistant to his mother.”
“I truly had good intentions…”
“When did it become your business to meddle in Qi family matters?” Qi Heng coldly questioned, “From now on, you’re fired.”
Qi Heng ended the call and then contacted the legal team under Qi Corporation to prepare a legal letter.
After a long period of inaction, they seemed to have genuinely believed that Qi Heng had mellowed. However, under the extensive network of the Qi family, it took less than half a day for Qi Heng’s people to locate the two individuals in a rental house.
Both were brought back to the Qi residence and forced to kneel before Qi Heng.
“In the past, the Qi family, out of consideration for Qi Rui, didn’t investigate your extramarital affair with this gentleman. Now, you have the audacity to return. Tell me, how should I deal with you?” Qi Heng’s icy gaze fixed upon the man and woman before him.
His overwhelming presence made them freeze in place, and the man’s eyes clearly displayed a hint of panic.
He had thought that these wealthy individuals cared about their reputation, and once he had them in his grip, they would succumb to his threats, and he could use money to silence them. Little did he anticipate that the older man they assumed to be a pedophile would turn out to be unyielding, and impervious to their threats.
No, it seemed that they were the ones being threatened now.
The man berated himself for his miscalculation, but he maintained a facade of composure. “Mr. Qi, don’t you want to know about the evidence we have? I’ve already handed the evidence over to a trustworthy person. If we don’t return tonight, they will immediately make the evidence public.”
“At that time, any intentions you might have toward your nephew will be exposed for all to see.”
The woman gripped the man’s arm tightly. In reality, there was no evidence; they were just strapped for cash, and the man had decided to exploit the situation after hearing her talk about Qi Heng’s strange behavior when looking at Qi Rui. He assumed that there must be something wrong with Qi Heng, and he wanted to make a quick profit from it.
Such shocking statements had seemingly little effect on the servants and bodyguards of the Qi family, who appeared unfazed by the extraordinary claims. They stood still as if this was just another ordinary day.
“Nonsense,” Qi Rui shouted as he stormed into the scene, his face red with anger. “I knew you two were up to no good. You couldn’t deceive me, so you came to my house with fabricated evidence to threaten my uncle.”
Upon hearing this, the man’s face contorted briefly. If it weren’t for the watchful bodyguards, he would have berated the young man, questioning whether he was blind or not. They were obviously brought here by someone else!
Qi Heng looked at him with emotionless eyes and a cold, icy tone, “Who allowed you to skip school and come back?”
Qi Rui replied, “I felt that I was harmed at school and needed to come back for some healing soup to calm my nerves.”
The expected response.
Qi Rui glanced at the two people kneeling before him and found the situation rather absurd. It was as if these two individuals had lost their minds to think that his uncle had such vile intentions toward him. Qi Heng had always shown nothing but a desire for Qi Rui to excel.
Looking at it now, he had merely skipped school and come home due to a shock, yet they were acting as if it were an unforgivable crime, as though they wanted to break his legs. Who would be willing to harm someone they cared about?
Thinking back to the injuries he had suffered during that one month of martial arts training, Qi Rui felt aches all over. Given his uncle’s authoritative and domineering attitude, even a hundred years from now, he couldn’t fathom any inappropriate intentions from him.
Qi Heng shifted his gaze and asked, “Qi Rui, she is your mother. How do you want to handle this situation?”
He still remembered a past argument when Qi Rui had mentioned wanting to leave home and find his mother. It seemed that deep down, Qi Rui had some expectations regarding this woman.
“No, she’s not my mother,” Qi Rui bit his lip. “I can’t believe I have a mother who’s willing to exploit her own son for personal gain, even if it means he’s harmed by a close relative.”
He looked at the woman. In the past, he had imagined what his mother might be like, but now, she appeared repulsive and revolting.
“I never want to see her and that man again.”
With that statement, Qi Rui sealed the fate of the two individuals before him.
