Chapter 73: Brother Is in a Bad Mood

Inside the Lin family villa.

When Lin Jiancheng came downstairs again, he witnessed a most peculiar scene: in the living room, Lin Wanyu and Fu Tingxiu stood motionless, as if their souls had left their bodies.

“Wanyu, are you alright?”
“What’s going on with you two?”
“And where’s Chuan?”

Lin Jiancheng’s three rapid-fire questions snapped the two of them back to reality.

Lin Wanyu blinked as if waking from a dream but didn’t answer immediately, her mind replaying what Qin Chuan had said earlier.

“He actually implied twice in a row that I’m a foolish girl. How infuriating!”

Lin Wanyu fumed silently, even more upset by the realization that she had been completely taken in by the story Fu Tingxiu made up. She had listened so intently, even feeling a surge of admiration for his fabricated exploits.

Fu Tingxiu, catching the anger in Lin Wanyu’s eyes, was mortified after being so thoroughly exposed by Qin Chuan. Unable to bear the embarrassment, he bid Lin Jiancheng a hasty farewell and left in a fluster.

Watching Fu Tingxiu’s retreating, rather sorry figure, Lin Jiancheng couldn’t help but press, “Wanyu, what exactly happened?”

“Dad, you always keep up with current affairs. Do you know who the biggest drug cartel on the southeastern border was two years ago?” Lin Wanyu responded with a question of her own.

Even though she was now convinced Fu Tingxiu had been lying, Lin Wanyu still felt a bit unwilling to let it go—especially since Qin Chuan had called her a foolish girl, which gnawed at her pride.

“Why are you suddenly interested in that?” Lin Jiancheng looked puzzled.

Stamping her foot, Lin Wanyu urged, “Dad, never mind that. Just answer me!”

Unable to resist his precious daughter, Lin Jiancheng replied, “Strictly speaking, from three years ago to now, it’s been the Mongchai cartel. They rose quickly after the Sakun group was wiped out.”

At his words, the last shred of hope Lin Wanyu clung to was dashed. She let out a gentle sigh and explained the gist of what had happened to Lin Jiancheng.

After hearing her account, Lin Jiancheng’s heart surged with shock. He was almost certain now that Qin Chuan had survived some truly brutal battlefields; clearly, Qin Chuan’s past was far more extraordinary than he had imagined.

After a long, thoughtful pause, Lin Jiancheng finally spoke: “Wanyu, there’s something you don’t know. When that handshake happened, it was Fu Tingxiu who exerted force first.”

“What?” Lin Wanyu’s beautiful eyes were wide with astonishment.

Lin Jiancheng nodded. “I saw it clearly from where I stood—there’s no mistake. But you blamed Qin Chuan for being rude without reason. In the end, your own bias clouded your judgment. Wanyu, as the saying goes, from a single glimpse you can see the whole picture—Fu Tingxiu is by no means a good match.

What’s more, even if you don’t want to get closer to Qin Chuan, for the sake of his willingness to help connect us with the Long family, you shouldn’t have treated him that way. Especially after today’s events, you know what you ought to do, don’t you?”

“But why didn’t he explain himself at the time?”

A strange sense of grievance welled up in Lin Wanyu. She knew she had wronged Qin Chuan, and regret gnawed at her heart.

Lin Jiancheng, half exasperated and half amused, countered, “Even if Chuan had explained himself, are you sure you would have listened? A mistake is a mistake—it’s not the end of the world. The truly frightening thing isn’t making mistakes, but failing to make amends, failing to repent, or even being afraid to face what you’ve done.”

After speaking, Lin Jiancheng patted Lin Wanyu’s shoulder, then turned and went back upstairs, leaving her to stand there alone, lost in thought.

“It’s just an apology, isn’t it? What’s so hard about that?”

Only after a long while did Lin Wanyu shake off her daze, inspired by her father’s words, and dial Qin Chuan’s number.

Elsewhere—

In the minivan.

Awei’s face was as pale as paper, his shirt soaked in cold sweat, his expression haunted.

“Was it really just driving a bit fast? Did it scare you that much?” Qin Chuan teased.

Awei swallowed hard, his voice trembling. “Mr. Qin, you weren’t just driving fast. That was practically hugging the ground in flight!”

After leaving the Lin villa, Qin Chuan, put off by the cost, had decided not to go to Fairyland to soothe his temper. Awei, for his part, hadn’t dared to play the generous host either.

He was genuinely worried that Qin Chuan, so used to being surrounded by stunning beauties, would insist on picking out girls in Fairyland to the same high standards as Lin Wanyu, Liu Qingcheng, and Miss Lan. His meager salary simply couldn’t handle that.

So, just to be on the safe side, Awei had suggested another method to calm Qin Chuan’s nerves—driving fast.

Qin Chuan readily agreed, even insisting on a stretch of road with some difficulty. That was no problem for Awei; he picked a winding mountain road where people sometimes raced motorcycles in secret.

It was thus that Awei experienced a death-defying ride—“the car flying ahead, my soul chasing behind.” He had seen, with his own eyes, three wheels hanging off the edge of a cliff during several turns.

Anyone else would surely have ended up wrecked and dead, but somehow, Qin Chuan brought the minivan safely back on track every time. Who knew what technique he used?

As a top bodyguard, Awei prided himself on his driving skills. Last time, when he drove Qin Chuan to rescue Lin Wanyu, he’d gone fast enough. But this “suicidal driving” was a whole new world. To think he’d once imagined suggesting a fast drive was the safer option!

“If I’d known, I’d have rather splurged and taken him to Fairyland. At least there, I’d only lose money—having Mr. Qin drive almost cost me my life!”

Regretting bitterly, Awei slapped himself several times, leaving Qin Chuan staring in astonishment.

“What’s gotten into you?” Qin Chuan asked.

“I’m fine, Mr. Qin,” Awei replied, sulking. “Just trying to cure my habit of running my mouth.”

“Want me to help?” Qin Chuan rolled his arms, clearly eager to assist.

Awei’s mouth twitched. “Mr. Qin, I just want to fix my mouth, not end up dead. Better not trouble you.”

Qin Chuan chuckled awkwardly. Even honest, reliable Awei was learning to be crafty. Clearly, it was getting harder to take advantage of people.

Ring ring!

Just then, Awei’s phone rang abruptly.

“Miss Lan, what can I do for you?” Seeing the caller ID was Lan Jin, Awei answered immediately.

Lan Jin’s sweet voice sounded from the other end. “Awei, is Qin Chuan with you?”

“Yes, Miss Lan. I’ll put him on now.” As he spoke, Awei handed the phone to Qin Chuan.

Qin Chuan took the phone and heard Lan Jin ask, “Why couldn’t I get through to your phone?”

He blinked, pulling out his phone to find it had died at some point. On reflection, he realized it was last charged when they left the mountain—he was lucky it had lasted this long.

“My phone died. What’s the hurry? Don’t tell me you’re feeling lonely on this long night?” Qin Chuan teased, grinning.

“Pffft!”

Lan Jin scoffed, then got straight to the point. “I do have something for you. A little sister of mine has run into trouble, and even the bodyguards my family sent were detained. Could you come with me to help?”

“She’s your ‘little sister’ but not your real sister—why should I help?”

“Please, big brother, just help me out!”

“Brother’s in a bad mood today.”

“Daddy, are you feeling better now?”

“Good girl. So, where are we going?”

“Night’s End Bar.”

After their quick exchange, the call ended.

Qin Chuan ordered, “To Night’s End Bar!”

“You got it!” Awei responded at once, then after a moment, rubbed his hands awkwardly. “Um, Mr. Qin, maybe you should get out of the driver’s seat. I’d hate for us to end up dead before we even get to the rescue.”

“…”