Chapter 17#
Reunion#
The Qin family’s garden had been carefully tended by gardeners. In front of the magnificent gold and silver gate of the banquet hall, precious plants and trees were arranged, roses bloomed quietly, and small lights were dotted among the lush branches and leaves, flickering like fireflies in the wind.
After getting off the car, one would first pass through a quiet and elegant winding path, where the moonlight blended with the mountain scenery, as elegant as visiting a famous hermit in the mountains. However, at the end of the forest path, the scene changed dramatically to extreme worldly wealth.
Huang Yiyue could hardly conceal her nervousness and anxiety. She was afraid that Ye Sheng would make a mistake at the banquet and embarrass her. In the darkness, she whispered to Ye Sheng: “You follow your brother Wenci later, do you understand? Do whatever he does, don’t act rashly, and don’t talk nonsense.”
Ye Sheng glanced at her, took out the white earplugs he had prepared long ago, and put them on directly.
Huang Yiyue gritted her teeth in anger, forced a smile and said: “Sheng Sheng, isn’t Mom afraid that you won’t be used to it?”
Xie Wenci was dressed up today and was in a very good mood. Seeing Ye Sheng’s cold appearance, he sneered: “Pretentious.”
Ye Sheng came tonight, apart from the matter of the box key, another reason was to see what kind of fire pit Huang Yiyue had painstakingly acted for so long to push him into.
Of course, something like “warding off bad luck by marriage”.
Ye Sheng, a straight man, would probably never think of it even if he racked his brains for a lifetime.
The banquet had not yet begun, and the younger generation of Huaicheng were gathering in the garden.
The lights made this place as bright as day. Under a wisteria trellis, two white long tables of tens of meters were spread out.
The long tables were full of fruits, snacks, and champagne. Waiters in tailcoats came and went with drinks. Next to the flower trellis was a large artificial lake. The lake had no bridges or any decorative lights, looking like a quiet mirror under the night sky.
Opposite the lake was a small Western-style building that had been abandoned for a long time—the place where Old Master Qin lived before moving out, now covered with withered grass.
Ye Sheng didn’t know anyone here, nor did he have any intention of getting to know anyone. He found a quiet place to sit on the edge of the wisteria corridor. Yesterday he slept on the table in his grandmother’s room all night, and his mental state was not good now. After putting on earplugs to isolate all sounds, he leaned back with his eyes closed, thinking about the solution to the box key.
In a place he didn’t know, almost all the young people in the garden were secretly sizing him up.
The eyes of Liu Dao, Fatty, and Wang Gaoyang were particularly gloomy.
A rich second-generation young man in a burgundy shirt whistled and said: “My God, is this the son of the mistress of the Xie family? He looks so damn exciting, that old man got a bargain.”
Wang Gaoyang had the same thought three days ago, but after being scared to tears and pissing his pants in the haunted house, he lost all interest. He drank the wine in his glass in one gulp, put it down heavily, turned his head and whispered to Fatty: “Is the stuff ready?”
Fatty said viciously: “Ready! Tonight I must make him make a big fool of himself in front of everyone!”
Wang Gaoyang nodded: “What about Wenci?”
Fatty said: “Also ready. Huang Yiyue is trying every means to please him, getting a mobile phone is just a matter of minutes.”
“Good, tell him to use Huang Yiyue’s phone to send a message now, luring Ye Sheng to the small Western-style building opposite the lake.”
When receiving Fatty’s message, Xie Wenci was chatting happily with several young ladies and masters of the Qin family in the reception room. He tried his best to suppress the curiosity and excitement in his heart, did not ask directly about the mysterious visitor of the Qin family, but indirectly praised Mrs. Qin’s beauty and then led to Mrs. Qin’s sister.
However, the young masters of the Qin family had obviously been warned by their family. No matter how hard Xie Wenci tried, he couldn’t pry a word out of them. Even Xie Wenci’s performance was too immature. The Qin family members discovered his purpose, said excuse me coldly, and left.
Leaving Xie Wenci standing alone in place, stomping his feet in exasperation.
When he received Fatty’s message, he was in a bad mood, so the message he sent to Ye Sheng using Huang Yiyue’s phone was also cold and hard.
[Ye Sheng, come to the small Western-style building opposite the lake, Mom has something to discuss with you]
“Buzz”
The phone vibrated upon receiving the message.
Ye Sheng opened his eyes impatiently, turned on the phone and saw a message with a tone clearly not belonging to Huang Yiyue.
“…”
Does this person take him for a fool?
He tapped his finger on the screen, almost without thinking, and looked directly towards the end of the wisteria trellis. Unsurprisingly, he met the secretive gazes of Wang Gaoyang and the other two.
The three of them noticed his gaze, froze suddenly, and looked away uncomfortably, pretending nothing happened.
Ye Sheng lowered his eyes, swiped the screen casually twice with his fingers, and pursed his lips full of hostility.
Because of the fish scale necklace, he was very irritable now. If someone rushed over to seek death.
He didn’t need to retreat again and again.
Ye Sheng turned off his phone, got up from his seat, and walked directly towards the Western-style building shrouded in darkness opposite the lake.
Wang Gaoyang was so excited that he couldn’t hold his cup steadily: “Damn damn damn! He took the bait, he took the bait!”
Liu Dao was considered the brain of the trio, and whispered: “This kid is very strong, be careful.”
“Don’t worry, I have already sent bodyguards to guard there. When the time comes, knock this kid out and throw him in directly, then call the Qin family over. Breaking into the forbidden area, he will lose a layer of skin even if he doesn’t die!”
This lake of the Qin family was like a barrier, separating two worlds.
One side was the upper-class society with fragrant clothes and shadows on the temples.
The other side was the old attic and desolate weeds.
There wasn’t even a street lamp here. Ye Sheng walked around the lake to this side and needed to turn on the flashlight of his mobile phone to illuminate the road. In fact, with his night vision ability, he could see clearly without light, but he needed to put on a show for Wang Gaoyang and the others.
His indifferent and irritable heart slowly sank again as he approached this attic.
He looked up and quietly looked at this dusty Western-style building.
Under the turbid yellow bright moon, this red building seemed to emit a faint evil light around it.
Night crows flew up in alarm, breaking the calm of the night.
*
Behind the banquet hall, on the top floor of the main house where the Qin family prohibited foreign guests from entering. Ning Weichen was also on the terrace, looking at the Western-style building opposite the lake.
He had only met his own biological mother a few times, and had no feelings for this strange aunt far away in Huaicheng. Attending the banquet was just going through the motions.
Butler Li said behind him: “Young Master, Luo Xingyan seems to have arrived in Huaicheng. For this banquet, he also received an invitation as a person from the Unnatural Bureau.”
Ning Weichen was interested: “The Qin family actually dares to let people from the Unnatural Bureau come here?”
Butler Li said: “They don’t dare. It’s just that the higher-ups made a request, and they had to accept it.”
Ning Weichen chuckled lightly, withdrew his gaze casually, turned around and walked into the house.
Butler Li took a last look at the Western-style building and chose to follow.
The Unnatural Bureau is mysterious and unpredictable, and all dispatch tasks are based on the detection of supernatural values by “Tianshu”. When a high-level heresy appears, the supernatural value will suddenly become stronger and issue an alarm, and the local area will quickly dispatch executors to deal with the heresy. But the Unnatural Bureau will not take action for all heresies.
With D-level heresy as the watershed.
Below D-level heresies are generally lonely souls and wild ghosts invisible to ordinary people, or low-end evil spirits without any killing power.
There are many dirty things in wealthy families. The Western-style building opposite the Qin family is full of evil spirits, obviously carrying the aura of demons and evil spirits. It’s just that once this kind of thing is investigated in detail, it will involve the hidden secrets of the wealthy families that cannot be seen by others.
The Unnatural Bureau belongs to a world organization, but it is not without any connection with state institutions. Some past events affect the whole body, and maybe it will harm the entire family.
Not to mention that with the Qin family’s current ability, they can’t invite the Unnatural Bureau to handle such trivial matters. Even if they could, they probably wouldn’t dare to.
Ning Weichen walked into the house and first met the eldest young master of the Qin family, Qin Shengyan, and the third young master, Qin Heyu.
Qin Shengyan said: “Young Master Ning, Auntie has been waiting for you in the room for a long time. I’ll take you there.”
Ning Weichen has no blood relationship with the Qin family, and has had no human interaction for more than ten years. Qin Shengyan didn’t dare to recognize relatives presumptuously, so he still called him Young Master Ning respectfully.
Ning Weichen said: “Thank you, sorry to trouble you.”
Qin Heyu followed behind his brother, secretly sizing up this crown prince. In fact, from Qin Liushuang’s appearance, one could know that Ning Weichen looked extraordinary, but after the amazement of the first meeting, what touched him deeper was the fatal sense of distance on Ning Weichen.
Before seeing Ning Weichen, he thought that the indifference of such a favored son of heaven was arrogance and looking down on others.
But after seeing Ning Weichen, he discovered that there was a kind of rejection that could be hidden behind a盈盈 smile.
Although Ning Weichen’s smile only appeared when he first met Qin Liushuang, when dealing with other Qin family members later, his expression was usually lazy and casual.
Qin Heyu had several sisters who were eager to hook up with this crown prince of the Ning family, but he sternly stopped them.
Because he knew that this crown prince, whose every move was elegant and noble and could not be faulted, actually had no feelings for the Qin family, or even for Qin Liushuang.
In the room.
Qin Liushuang had already changed into her dress and put on makeup, waiting for him in the room for a long time. Seeing Ning Weichen, she immediately stood up from the dressing mirror, her eyes red with excitement, and shouted: “Weichen.”
Ning Weichen blinked, and instantly showed a smile that elders liked very much: “Auntie.”
Qin Liushuang looked lovingly and scolded: “Why didn’t you come to find me first when you arrived at the Qin family.” Her eyes were filled with tears, looking at the excellent young man in front of her, then choked with red eyes and said: “Seventeen years passed so fast. I only saw you when you were one year old. I didn’t expect you to grow so big in a blink of an eye.”
Ning Weichen was puzzled: “Have I changed a lot?”
Qin Liushuang said: “Yes, a lot. Weichen is getting more and more excellent.”
Ning Weichen hooked the corner of his lips: “Auntie hasn’t changed at all in seventeen years, as young and beautiful as in my memory.”
Qin Liushuang burst into laughter through tears.
Ning Weichen had long been familiar with various social interactions. Although his heart was full of dull indifference, the corners of his lips could easily hook up a sincere smile. He said: “I’ll ask Butler Li to bring the gift over later. Happy birthday, wish you eternal youth.”
Although Qin Liushuang knew that he would not stay here for too long, she still couldn’t hide her regret and sighed: “Are you leaving soon?”
Ning Weichen smiled and said: “Yes, I have something to do tonight.”
Qin Liushuang said: “Okay, do you want me to send someone to send you off?”
Ning Weichen blinked and smiled: “No need, the birthday star only needs to enjoy flowers and cakes tonight, no need to worry about these things.”
“Okay.”
Qin Liushuang looked at the elegant young man in front of her, her heart filled with uncontrollable relief and pride. She hadn’t seen Ning Weichen for seventeen years. While waiting, she was nervous and anxious, looking in the mirror for a long time, afraid that her condition was not good. No one would have thought that this cold and frail first beauty of the Qin family would also have times when she cared about her appearance.
But contrary to her expectations, Weichen did not make her feel strange or distant.
Although she still didn’t dare to step forward and make overly intimate gestures with this nephew, just looking at him from a distance was full of warmth.
Ning Weichen raised his wrist to check the time, his peach blossom eyes lowered and quickly passed a cool coldness. When he looked up again, the corners of his lips hooked up, and he said with a smile: “Then I’ll go first, wish you again…”
Ning Weichen’s smile suddenly paused.
Mrs. Qin’s room was adjacent to the terrace. An open bay window faced the lake, reflecting the other side of the abandoned small Western-style building. Just now he saw the back of the Western-style building, and now he saw the front of the Western-style building.
Among the forest paths with overgrown branches, a teenager was turning on the flashlight of his mobile phone and walking towards the end of the darkness. His pace was slow and calm, as if he belonged to the darkness.
Ning Weichen didn’t speak again.
The farewell on his lips finally dissipated in a meaningful laugh.
Qin Liushuang noticed something was wrong with him, her beautiful eyes surprised: “Weichen?”
Ning Weichen withdrew his gaze, met Qin Liushuang’s puzzled expression, the tip of his tongue secretly swept his teeth, and after a long time he smiled and said: “Sorry, Auntie. I was rash just now. Today is your birthday, and we haven’t seen each other for seventeen years.” His peach blossom eyes curved, the corners of his lips hooked up, and he said softly: “Of course I… want to accompany you through this dinner party.”
*
Ye Sheng felt that this Western-style building revealed evil everywhere, but he was not a very curious person, nor did he intend to investigate the truth clearly.
He just hated those secret scrutinizing eyes in the garden and the whispered discussions against him from time to time, plus three people came to his door to let him vent the hostility in his heart, so he just played along and left the seat.
The flashlight illuminated the weeds on the ground that had not been taken care of for a long time. Ye Sheng aimed the light at the Western-style building and found that the windows here were locked tightly and painted black with black paint.
At first glance, it was pure black, like the kind of ghost building for storing ashes.
Ye Sheng raised his eyebrows. Before he could react, two people suddenly stood up from the grass. From the shadows, one could see that they were burly and tall—reaching out from behind to capture him.
Ye Sheng twitched the corner of his mouth, grabbed one person’s wrist and threw him to the ground without looking back.
“Ahhh!” The sound of a broken arm was clear and horrifying in the darkness.
Seeing that the situation was wrong, the other person quickly tried to grab Ye Sheng’s neck. Ye Sheng turned the phone, the strong light directly hit the person’s eyes, forcing the person to scream, slam into a tree, and kneel down.
Ye Sheng bent down and picked up a wooden branch from the ground, calmly pointed the wooden branch at the person’s eyes, and said coldly: “Say what you planned to do to me today, say it once, say it clearly.”
Half a day later.
Ye Sheng played with a blue pill like a glass bead in his hand, standing in place waiting for someone.
He sometimes really admired these rich second generations. Don’t know where they got these strange things.
Whether it is a syringe that makes people weak all over, or this pill with aphrodisiac effect. Any one of them is enough for both buyer and seller to go to the police station for tea. The price on the black market is probably not low. Stupid people with lots of money and bad hearts.
Ye Sheng wanted to wait for Wang Gaoyang to come over and eat his own fruit, but he waited for a long time and didn’t wait. What he waited for first was a call from Huang Yiyue, with a hurried tone.
“Ye Sheng, where are you, the banquet is about to start!”
It seems that Wang Gaoyang and the other two were delayed by something.
Ye Sheng put away the pill, ignored the two people groaning in pain on the ground, and lifted his legs to walk towards the magnificent banquet hall on the other side of the lake.
Ye Sheng’s identity was not worth mentioning in this celebrity feast, and no one would care if he came late. After entering, Huang Yiyue winked at him anxiously and asked him to go over and sit with the Xie family group. Ye Sheng looked around the whole venue and there were no empty seats, so he walked over and sat down.
Xie Wenci ignored him, looking nervous and expectant, while Xie Yan and Xie Ji next to him also had abnormal expressions and were a bit serious.
After Huang Yiyue pulled him over, her tone was solemn, and she specifically explained: “Don’t talk later, and don’t make any noise! The Qin family has an important guest, do you know!”
None of his business.
Ye Sheng had already put on earplugs.
As soon as the lights dimmed and the voice of the birthday banquet emcee sounded, the whole venue fell into silence.
“Good evening, distinguished guests. Thank you for coming to attend the 40th birthday dinner of Ms. Qin Liushuang, the third miss of the Qin family.”
“On behalf of all the family members of the Qin family, I would like to express my sincere welcome and gratitude to all the guests, and also send birthday wishes to Ms. Qin Liushuang on behalf of all the guests, wishing her peace, health, and eternal youth.”
…
After a speech, the well-dressed emcee showed a smile: “Originally, the next segment should be the birthday star coming on stage to speak and give thanks, but it is inconvenient for Mrs. Qin, so Mrs. Qin’s nephew, Young Master Qin Heyu, will take the stage instead for the time being.”
Before Qin Heyu went on stage, the head of the Qin family, Qin Siyuan, reached out to stop him and shook his head. Next to him was Old Master Qin sitting in a wheelchair, and all the Qin family members stood still.
Qin Heyu was stunned: “Father?”
Qin Siyuan went on stage, took the microphone, and said in a deep voice: “Everyone is a family friend of the Qin family, so let’s dispense with these polite remarks. I believe Liushuang is not a person limited to etiquette.”
No matter what everyone thought in their hearts, they all showed smiles of goodwill and understanding on their faces.
Qin Siyuan smiled and said: “This banquet is the most precious one for Liushuang, because we welcomed a special guest. Although the guest was busy and did not stay for the banquet. But the gift has been delivered, the friendship is cherished, and he wishes Liushuang a happy birthday with us.”
Everyone was stunned.
Hearing “that guest was busy and did not stay for the banquet”, those who knew a little bit about the rumors changed their faces, exchanged glances, and the ambition and expectation in their hearts were instantly extinguished by a basin of cold water.
But it seems that this was also expected.
As the heir of the Ning family, how could he have time to waste in such a place.
Qin Siyuan said: “Wait a little longer, our birthday star should be coming down soon.”
As soon as the voice fell, a young lady from the Qin family looked up and suddenly exclaimed softly.
“Auntie is coming down.”
But soon her voice was stuck in her throat, staring at the person next to Mrs. Qin in disbelief.
The emcee was also stunned: “Mrs. Qin is here.”
The slightly dim lights in the banquet hall were instantly turned on, brightly illuminating the entire room.
Gorgeous and brilliant chandeliers hung from the ceiling, and complex glass arrays scattered light and shadow. Thousands of diamond cut surfaces reflected brilliant bright light, spreading like moonlight and flowing frost in every corner of the banquet hall.
The woman walking down the crystal spiral staircase was cold and otherworldly. The first beauty of Huaicheng who made countless people dream back then, although there were wrinkles at the corners of her eyes, her grace remained the same.
The woman was slender and slim, with a sickly and slightly cold look. The light coated her seaweed-like long hair with a layer of silver brilliance, and the white fishtail skirt made her temperament unattainable.
And the young man next to her, holding her hand down the stairs with a smile on his lips, was equally eye-catching.
The young man’s eyebrows were picturesque, elegant and noble, and the smiling peach blossom eyes diluted that coldness that could not be profaned.
He held the stairs with one hand and Mrs. Qin with the other, his posture lazy and casual. The well-tailored suit set off his broad shoulders and narrow waist, and his legs were straight.
As if he had long been accustomed to being in the spotlight, he even had the mind to lower his head and smile to say something to Mrs. Qin.
And the always cold Qin Liushuang also showed a smile because of his words.
“But, it’s your first time in Huaicheng, Auntie is worried that you won’t be used to attending this kind of dinner party.”
“No. If there are people I want to know, I won’t be unaccustomed.”
Seeing that person.
Not only all the guests present, but even the Qin family members were stunned.
The young man’s appearance and temperament were too outstanding, and his identity could not be simple.
The head of the Qin family was the first to react. He took a step forward in surprise: “Liushuang, Weichen?!”
Qin Liushuang was not good at words, and her attitude towards the Qin family members except Qin Heyu was neither cold nor hot. She stood quietly, like the most precious vase, and nodded coldly to Qin Siyuan.
Ning Weichen raised his hand, and in the flowing light and shadow, smiled and said: “Long time no see, Uncle.”
Uncle. Qin Sinian was stunned. He never thought he would hear this address from Ning Weichen’s mouth.
Uncle.
When Ning Weichen’s address landed, the whole audience was silent.
His identity was self-evident.
Followed by restlessness, madness, and surging undercurrents.
Ye Sheng wore earplugs the whole time, but unfortunately the sound insulation effect was not good. He couldn’t completely ignore either the emcee’s voice or Qin Siyuan’s speech.
Not to mention that the last voice was really too familiar. With his good hearing, it was impossible to ignore.
The blue pill Ye Sheng was playing with in his hand, just because of Ning Weichen’s voice.
“Thud”, he didn’t hold it steady, and it fell from his hand.
He was expressionless, lowering his eyes.
The room was too quiet now, even the sound of a needle falling could probably be heard, let alone this glass bead-like blue pill.
Thud.
The crisp sound of the pill landing broke the silence, instantly attracting everyone’s attention, all looking over. Huang Yiyue received these gazes, and her face lost all color. The Xie family group next to her also turned slightly green for this sudden situation.
Only Ye Sheng kept his head down and didn’t speak.
The floor of the banquet hall was smooth marble.
That bead rolled and rolled, rolled to the edge of the stairs, and rolled to Ning Weichen’s feet.
“This…”
Now even the expression of the head of the Qin family froze, shocked and angry in his heart—didn’t know which family was so impolite to make such a mistake at this time.
Qin Liushuang frowned her willow eyebrows.
Instead, Ning Weichen made a move that no one present expected.
His thin red lips curved, he squatted halfway, picked up the blue bead with his cold white slender hand, and stood up slowly.
Then crossing everyone’s line of sight, he walked step by step towards the place where the Xie family was seated.
Ning Weichen was born with the ability to attract everyone’s attention, let alone at this time.
He walked to Ye Sheng’s side, holding the blue pill, his smile clear and gentle: “Is this something you dropped?”
Just like the feeling he gave when walking down the crystal spiral staircase, elegant and noble, with a brilliant smile. A well-educated favored son of heaven.
Ye Sheng raised his hand to take out the earplugs in his ears. But before his action, Ning Weichen had already reached out to help him brush away the broken hair by his ear, and easily took out the thing in his ear. His fingertips were cold, like melting frost.
Ye Sheng raised his eyes and looked at him coldly.
Ning Weichen still maintained a flawless smile.
While gently placing the blue pill into Ye Sheng’s palm with one hand, he leaned over, making a gesture of kindness to help, and approached his ear.
The moment the earplugs were taken out, the chaotic and blurred hearing instantly became clear. At this moment, he heard Ning Weichen’s chuckle.
Different from the clean and polite disguise easily put on in front of everyone, the tone was playful and dangerous.
“Remember what I said when we parted last time.”
Ning Weichen’s fingertips gently scraped his palm, black hair lightly scraped Ye Sheng’s face, and the breath when leaning down was as cool and thin as the first snow.
Using a voice that only they could hear, he laughed softly with indistinguishable emotions.
“Trust you have been well since we last met, my ex-boyfriend.”