CH 12

Ten minutes later, Lin Zhinian came out. He had just finished his tetanus shot and had to be observed for another half an hour.

His face was somewhat pale as he sat down in a nearby chair and wearily closed his eyes.

Ye Xingzhou went aside to answer a phone call, and Qi Xing sat beside Lin Zhinian and asked, “Are you okay?”

Lin Zhinian thanked him again, saying, “Thanks for your help tonight, Qi Xing.”

“No problem,” Qi Xing smiled ‘How’s your hand? Will it affect your ability to paint?”

“No ,” Lin Zhinian sighed with relief, “It didn’t damage any nerves. As long as the wound heals, it’ll be fine.”

Qi Xing leaned in to look at his hand, and Lin Zhinian’s gaze followed his movements. His thoughts were somewhat scattered as he recalled Ye Xingzhou’s strange reactions earlier, and he felt somewhat uneasy.

“You…”

Lin Zhinian began to speak, but Qi Xing raised his head and asked, “What?”

Lin Zhinian hesitated for a moment and said, “Why were you with Xingzhou tonight?”

He had already asked that question once before, and Ye Xingzhou said they ran into each other outside. Qi Xing didn’t find it strange and casually replied, “I went racing with someone outside the city. I crashed my car, and coincidentally, Ye Xingzhao passed by and gave me a ride. It was his family’s fourth young master who intentionally crashed into my car. He’ll have to compensate me for the repair costs.”

With that, Qi Xing sneered, sir Lin, do you also know Ye Xingzhao is crazy? He inexplicably set his own car on fire. I think he’s mentally ill.”

As for the fight they had, Qi Xing intentionally ignored it since he was the one who lost. It would have been too embarrassing to mention it.

Lin Zhinian furrowed his brows and said, “Xingzhou is not like that…”

“Not like what?” Qi Xing disdainfully replied, taking the opportunity to fabricate a love rival in front of Lin Zhinian. “You are close to him, so you should know more about his family. How he climbed his way up to the top, don’t tell me you haven’t heard any rumors. People outside say he killed his own father and sent his stepmother to a mental hospital. Who knows if it’s true? After all, there’s no smoke without fire.”

Qi Xing had asked his own father about that matter and Qi Ronghua had heard some rumors as well. Although they weren’t as specific, they all mentioned that Ye Xingzhou’s methods of climbing to the top were unethical. He was an illegitimate child and had a difficult relationship with his family.

As for whether he was capable of killing or starting fires, well, he dared to threaten his uncle with a model gun, so who knew what he was capable of?

Upon hearing Qi Xing’s words, Lin Zhinian’s expression changed slightly, and his brows furrowed even tighter. “Those are baseless rumors spread by outsiders, don’t blindly believe them. Xingzhou is not that kind of person.”

Qi Xing dismissed it, saying, “What kind of person is he according to you? Sir Lin , you graduated from high school and went abroad for over ten years ago. How do you know what kind of person he became? People can change, don’t judge him based on the past. Be careful of him”

Lin Zhinian felt uneasy and said, “Qi Xing, let’s not talk about it. You helped me just now, and when Xingzhou came in, he even took a blow for you. He’s not as bad as you think.”

Qi Xing asked with confusion, “?”

Did that really happen?

He wanted to say something, but Ye Xingzhou’s voice came from behind, “Let’s go.”

Ye Xingzhou had finished his phone call and glanced at Qi Xing. Qi Xing pretended not to notice and didn’t care if Ye Xingzhou had heard what he had just said.

Ye Xingzhou looked at Lin Zhinian and said, “I’ve instructed the driver to take you home. It’s too late now, so go home first. We’ll record the statement tomorrow, and I’ll have someone handle the other matters.”

Lin Zhinian nodded, “Okay.”

Ye Xingzhou’s driver had already arrived, and the car was parked at the hospital entrance.

As Lin Zhinian got into the car, Qi Xing called out to him, “sir Lin I forgot to ask earlier, did you receive the flowers I had someone send to the art exhibition?”

Lin Zhinian seemed confused, “What flowers?”

Qi Xing was surprised, “You didn’t receive my flowers?”

Lin Zhinian genuinely didn’t know what he was talking about, “I’m sorry.”

“This doesn’t make sense. It clearly showed that someone signed for them,” Qi Xing muttered to himself, unable to understand.

Lin Zhinian didn’t want to dwell on that and looked at Ye Xingzhou standing next to Qi Xing. He had something to say but hesitated for a moment and ultimately didn’t say it.

After bidding farewell to the two of them, he sat in the car and left first.

After Lin Zhinian left, Qi Xing waved his hand and said, “I’m leaving too,” and went to hail a taxi on the side of the road.

Just as he walked out and remembered something, he patted his body and realized his phone was missing…

It probably fell when he was fighting at Lin Zhinian’s studio. He could only retrieve it the next day. Qi Xing turned around, coughed lightly, and forced a smile at Ye Xingzhou. “Thank you, Young Master Ye, Can you please take me home?”

Ye Xingzhou observed the comical expression on his face, said nothing, and walked towards the parking lot. Five minutes later, he drove the car over.

Qi Xing opened the car door and got in. “Take a left up ahead.”

Ye Xingzhou stepped on the accelerator and casually said, “Are you not afraid of being harmed by me when you get in my car?”

“So, you did hear it,” Qi Xing sneered, “eavesdropping on other people’s conversations is rude.”

“You should be more cautious yourself. Next time you want to badmouth someone, make sure they won’t hear it first,” Ye Xingzhou coolly reminded him.

Qi Xing replied, “If you’re afraid of others talking about things you’ve done, it means you feel guilty.”

Ye Xingzhou no longer paid attention to him.

However, Qi Xing deliberately provoked him, “So, is what your uncle said true? Did you really kill your biological father and send your stepmother to the mental hospital?”

Ye Xingzhou turned his head and looked at him meaningfully. “Curious?”

Qi Xing admitted frankly, “is curiosity not allowed?”

“Curiosity not only kills the cat but also kills people,” Ye Xingzhou’s gaze returned to the front, his voice becoming calm.

“If you don’t want to talk about it, forget it…” Qi Xing said vaguely.

“It’s true,” Ye Xingzhou suddenly added in a calm tone, as if he was talking about someone else’s business, “One died, and one ended up in a mental hospital. They each have their own fate. It’s fine.”

Hearing the coldness in his tone, Qi Xing felt goosebumps rise on his body. He muttered, “You truly are a beast and a madman”

The person beside him suddenly laughed.

It was not the ambiguous fake smile he had seen at the hospital earlier. Ye Xingzhou’s laughter at that moment was very light but particularly pleasant, as if Qi Xing’s evaluation had pleased him.

Qi Xing frowned, “What are you laughing at?”

The car stopped at a traffic light, and Ye Xingzhou turned to Qi Xing again, asking, “Are you really not afraid of me?”

With the lingering smile at the corner of his mouth, along with his glasses removed, his cold and profound facial features seemed even more sinister.

Qi Xing tried to ignore the slight discomfort in his heart. “What should I be afraid of? You wouldn’t have a chance to harm me”

With his father’s current status in Huai City, combined with the fact that Ye xingzhou knew about his relationship with Old Chen, Qi Xing didn’t believe that he would dare to have any ulterior motives against him.

“Hmm,” the traffic light turned green, and the car continued moving forward. Ye Xingzhou’s voice remained calm and unhurried, “alright if you say so.”

Qi Xing hated it when people spoke in riddles. Although Ye Xingzhou’s strange tone made alarm bells ring in his mind for no reason, he couldn’t figure it out and didn’t bother to think about it.

Qi Xing’s gaze turned to the flower shop still in business on the street. He remembered that Lin Zhinian said he didn’t receive the flowers he sent last time and gestured to Ye Xingzhou, “Park the car.”

Ye Xingzhou glanced at him, and Qi Xing changed his mind again, “Forget it. When I head over to sir  Lin’s studio tomorrow to get my phone. I’ll personally deliver the flowers to him in person.”

Ye Xingzhou also saw the flower shop on the side of the street and smirked, “Champagne roses, not bad.”

“How did you know I sent champagne roses?” Qi Xing immediately realized what he said, “Oh, so you’re the flower thief, i’m not the least bit surprised. the flowers? What did you do to them?”

“I threw them away,” Ye Xingzhou said bluntly.

“… ” Qi Xing endured and asked, “Since you don’t care about sir Lin, what does it matter to you if I give him flowers?”

“He’s allergic to flowers,” Ye Xingzhou replied.

Qi Xing didn’t quite believe it, “are you lying to me?”

Ye Xingzhou couldn’t be bothered to explain further, “Believe it or not, it’s up to you.”

After giving it some thought, Qi Xing decided not to send flowers tomorrow, just in case.

However…

“I thought you really didn’t care about sir Lin, but it turns out you know he’s allergic to flowers? So, do you have feelings for him or not?” Qi Xing asked directly, while Ye Xingzhou simply responded, “It’s none of your business.”

Qi Xing scoffed and let it go.

Indeed, it had nothing to do with him. Regardless of whether Ye Xingzhou had any feelings, he would pursue still Lin Zhinian.

Twenty minutes later, the car stopped outside Qi Xing’s residential compound.

Before getting out of the car, Qi Xing reminded Ye Xingzhou, “Fix my car and bring it back within three days. Also, I haven’t settled the score between your fourth brother and I.”

“Do as you please,” Ye Xingzhou replied.

Seeing that he didn’t care at all about his little brother, Qi Xing simply sneered and got out of the car

As he opened the car door, he remembered something, cleared his throat, and turned back to say, “Thanks.”

Ye Xingzhou raised an eyebrow.

Qi Xing continued, “Although I didn’t need help, sir. Lin said you helped me block the stick and I’ll compensate you for the tie in a few days.”

With that, he got out of the car.

Ye Xingzhou didn’t immediately start the car. He lit a cigarette and his gaze followed Qi Xing’s figure, somewhat absent-minded.

Qi Xing stopped at the entrance of the residential compound, bent down, and playfully teased a stray cat that suddenly appeared from somewhere, making the cat bristle before it ran off. Qi Xing entered the residential compound and shut the gate behind him.

Ye Xingzhou took a deep drag of his cigarette, then slowly exhaled. The eyes behind the smoke seemed a bit blurred.

Finding someone attractive was quite a new experience for him, but he wasn’t against it either.

“This kid” ,Ye Xingzhou remarked to himself with a smile . Qi Xing, was as playful as that stray cat, unpredictable, but indeed interesting.

Finding him interesting, he was definitely up for the challenge.

After finishing his cigarette, Ye Xingzhou casually flicked the cigarette butt into the ashtray, started the car, and drove into the night.