Chapter 267 - Gathering Pawns

Both Tian Ruyi and Bai Jingye were surprised upon hearing what the woman just said.

"What do you mean?" Tian Ruyi was the one who asked as she looked at the other woman in confusion.

"I mean what I mean. I am Bai Jingye's half-sister. We have the same father," Cecilia further explained. "Well, I came back from the US after hearing that our father was imprisoned."

"So… you are father's other child?" Bai Jingye already knew that his father must be keeping another woman but he didn't know that he had another child. It only meant that he had been keeping this for so long. Although Cecilia could be older than him, probably just as old as Bai Zichen. He sighed heavily. His mother will faint once she hears of this.

"Ruyi, I'm hungry, why don't we all head to the cafeteria?" He suggested.

"Oh! I brought some sandwiches I made!" The other woman happily exclaimed as she raised the plastic with a container inside.

"Then let's eat them in the cafeteria." 

Tian Ruyi was quick to understand the situation. Bai Jingye was eager to separate Cecilia from his mother. It was to avoid them from meeting knowing how Xu Chen was like. His mother was still clueless about his father's betrayal.

On their way to the cafeteria, Bai Jingye was quiet the whole time while Tian Ruyi was the one who inquired most about Cecilia's side of the family.

They soon learned that at such a young age, because of Bai Keran, Cecilia was taken to the US together with her twin brother. Bai Kai tried to hide them from his father. They were adopted by a foreign couple who happened to be Bai Kai's friends. Meanwhile, their mother stayed at the mainland since Bai Keran had his eyes on her. From time to time, Cecilia and her brother received video calls from their mother who would check on their situation.

"I'm not here to make trouble," Cecilia said as she reached out to hold Bai Jingye's hand. "We all have our shares of hardships because of Bai Keran."

They were now in the cafeteria. Cecilia was sitting opposite Bai Jingye while Tian Ruyi was sitting beside him. The sandwiches that Cecilia brought remained untouched.

Bai Jingye avoided her touch. "Huh, I can hardly believe that." He scoffed. "You'll be causing lots of trouble by coming here."

Cecilia sighed. She couldn't blame him if he was being so wary of her. "Don't worry, we have no interest in being a part of the Bai family. Also, my mom didn't want to have conflicts with your mother so she already decided to leave the country soon."

"Then why are you here?" Bai Jingye icily asked. He was just like how he treated Lu Mengjie at first. He was treating her so coldly and he was honest with his intention. He didn't have plans on becoming close with her.

"Dad wanted to know your condition," she replied.

A cold glint flickered in his eyes. He snickered. "My father is not a dumb man, Cecilia. He will not send you knowing that mother is with me."

Cecilia became quiet as she stared back into his eyes. Slowly, the side of her lips twitched up into a smirk. "Really? He looked like one to me."

Bai Jingye narrowed his eyes. He was right not to trust her. "What do you want?"

"I only want one thing." She chuckled. "Give me Yong Liwei's address."

Tian Ruyi frowned. She was not expecting her to ask for Yong Liwei. Did she know her?

"That's all I'm asking if you want me to avoid your mother." 

"What's your relationship with Yong Liwei?" Tian Ruyi curiously asked.

"I believe that's none of your business." She crossed her arms as she darted her gaze towards her half-brother.

"I'll give you his address as long as you keep your word."

She grinned. "I'm a woman of my word, don't worry."

Tian Ruyi nudged Bai Jingye's side as she shot him with her inquiring gaze. She leaned and whispered, "why are you going to give his address? What if she's his other woman?"

Bai Jingye knew that Yong Liwei had countless relationships from different places so it wouldn't be surprising if Cecilia ended up becoming one of the women he had a past with.

"If she is then he should come clean to Mengmeng," he replied in a whispering tone before he faced Cecilia again. "This is his address."

…

Ever since Little Peanut came, whenever Lu Mengjie went to work, she would pass by her parent's place just so they could watch her son. Lu Xian Yu happily took the job of taking care of his grandson every day. 

It was until one day, Lu Mengjie and her family received news that Shi Enxi was missing.

Lu Mello, her husband, refused to believe that she was dead so he asked for both Xia Liqin and Lu Mengjie's help to locate her in a place in Thailand, the last place she was seen alive.

"You should get some sleep now, Mengjie." He placed a mug of milk on her desk. 

His wife had been working nonstop in searching for Shi Enxi. She had hacked into one of the satellites just so she could look into another country's system. It was not an easy task even for someone like her.

"Mm, I will." She promised. Her fingers continued to type and clicking sounds were heard from her mouse.

Yong Liwei sighed. He couldn't distract her from her job so he decided to work on one of the files he had.

"Jiejie, what if she's not in Thailand?" Xia Liqin's voice was heard through the headset she was wearing.

"Then we would have been able to find her name in the list of passengers."

"What if she used a fake identity?"

Lu Mengjie became quiet. She had already thought of that possibility. It would only make it more complicated for them. Shi Enxi was a smart person, she probably knew that they would be searching for her so she found ways on how to avoid them. But… that was only if she was still alive.

Based on the reports she got, Shi Anhao, Shi Enxi's aunt, was claiming to have killed her and thrown her body away. The local authorities in that country had been searching for a body but found nothing.

Why would Shi Enxi want to hide from her husband? From everyone? Unless there was something more to it?

In the end, Lu Mengjie finally decided to take a break. It was already late at night and Yong Liwei refused to go to bed without her.

She took the mug and sipped into the hot milk. Her body finally relaxed and drowsiness fell into her as soon as she finished her drink. She got up from her seat and went to her husband.

Yong Liwei had put another desk in his study room. It was a workplace they shared so it was only proper to have her own side in the room. Lu Mengjie appreciated how her husband prepared everything for her.

"Liwei, let's go to bed," she said as she walked around his table and went behind him. She hugged him from her position. 

The man placed the file he was reading back on the desk. "How's your search for your aunt?"

She sighed heavily and shook her head. "No progress."

He unwrapped her arm from him and instead, he stood up from his seat and faced her. He gently placed his hand on her cheek, caressing with his thumb. "Come, you should get some rest."

She nodded a bit before she went out of the room with him.

"I'll be leaving for Azure soon," Yong Liwei informed by the time he entered the bedroom with his wife.

Yong Liwei wasn't able to have a proper chat with Han Qinshan. He didn't come to visit as well since he soon left the mainland because of a problem that occurred in the Azure Republic. 

"Are you going to accept the throne?" She asked upon sitting down at the side of the bed.

"Si Guanlin has been quiet lately." Aside from that, Yong Liwei knew that he was a step ahead of them ever since he killed Bai Keran. It was about time to turn the tables around.

Yong Liwei remembered what Lu Xingyan said. Even if he didn't have an interest in the throne, he could just pass it to his brother after he became king. His brother, Han Xukun could handle the problem in the Azure Republic while he could take care of the outside forces like Si Guanlin. 

He knew that Si Guanlin was not an impatient person. He could lay low for years, scheming for a plan on how to get what he wanted. This was what he did after Chen Yuyan died. He lay low and quietly gathered his forces for his future plans. Yong Liwei knew how good Si Guanlin was at playing chess. He had a few similarities with that man, especially when it came to gathering pawns.