Chapter 10#
No One Can Remain Indifferent#
For several days, Jian Yunchen did not appear again.
Qin Mu had also been very busy during this time; although he had saved that string of numbers into his phone, he hadn’t taken the initiative to make contact.
He wanted to see what Jian Yunchen intended to do, and how he would use Qin Mu’s leverage to jump onto the Jiang family’s ship.
Qin Mu was well aware that Jian Yunchen’s goal was never as simple as just returning to the Jiang family. From start to finish, he had a very clear objective: he wanted to replace Jiang Yunhan.
He was quite looking forward to seeing what moves Jian Yunchen would make to replace the protagonist of this world, the one who possessed the “protagonist halo.”
At this moment, he had actually tossed his own mission aside.
Qin Mu’s curiosity toward Jian Yunchen had temporarily surpassed his thoughts of completing the mission.
But what he hadn’t expected was that the one who arrived before Jian Yunchen was Jiang Yunhan.
Ever since Qin Zheng was pushed into the swimming pool by Qin Qiaosen at the last banquet and made quite a fool of himself, Jiang Yunhan hadn’t said anything, but in his heart, he felt a certain degree of resentment toward Qin Mu as well.
He had heard about the entanglement between Qin Zheng and Qin Mu from other sources, but he felt that it was all a grudge from the previous generation. The person who had truly done wrong wasn’t Qin Zheng, so Qin Mu really shouldn’t have vented his anger on him.
To this end, he unilaterally engaged in a cold war with Qin Mu for several days, not even going to pick up the motorcycle he had asked for on his birthday.
Fortunately, Qin Mu didn’t know about Jiang Yunhan’s internal monologue; otherwise, he would have definitely laughed while giving Qin Zheng a severe beating in front of him, just to thoroughly solidify the charges placed on his head.
Today was the weekend, and Jiang Yunhan asked to meet him at a coffee shop near the school.
Qin Mu had been busy with other matters alongside Qin Qiaosen during this time. Receiving the call, he fell silent for two seconds before agreeing.
The identity of Jiang Yunhan’s “simp” was quite useful, and he didn’t want to break this persona too quickly. Besides, judging by the tone on the other end of the phone, what Jiang Yunhan wanted to say might be related to another person.
Half an hour later, Qin Mu parked his motorcycle in front of the coffee shop next to A-University.
He was wearing black riding gear, his leather jacket open to reveal a white T-shirt inside. Several silver chains hung from his collar. With a long stride, he landed steadily, his slender fingers removing the helmet from his head. He shook his head casually, a few rays of sunlight falling on him as his black hair shimmered with fine golden light.
Dressed like this, he looked youthful and flamboyant, and his bike was a fine one. Several men and women passing by covered their mouths and peeked back at him in secret. A faint, half-smile lingered on his lips; he always seemed to have a gentle and affectionate appearance.
Qin Mu stepped inside. Jiang Yunhan, sitting by the window, had seen him from a distance and waved impatiently as soon as he entered.
Qin Mu sat down across from him, his smile widening and appearing exceptionally sincere.
“Brother Qin Mu…” Jiang Yunhan, who had invited him out, was a bit bashful, feeling somewhat embarrassed because of the petty temper he had displayed over the past few days.
“Hmm?”
Qin Mu was flipping through the menu, his eyes not on the other person as he responded casually.
“Brother, what have you been busy with these past few days?”
Qin Mu’s fingers paused slightly. He looked up at him, and seeing that almost identical face again, there was almost no fluctuation in Qin Mu’s heart.
He smiled. “Why do you ask?”
The sunlight spilled over Qin Mu. The warm, fuzzy light weakened the layer of coldness on his body, and his eyes seemed to overflow with tender affection.
Fiddling with the glass in his hand, Jiang Yunhan’s cheeks flushed slightly.
Being watched by such a gaze filled with lingering affection, no one could remain indifferent.
He had known for a long time that Qin Mu had special feelings for him and was exceptionally good to him, but he only had the dependency and care of a brother for Qin Mu.
But now, he seemed unable to continue turning a blind eye to the other’s affection.
He swallowed hard, somewhat afraid to look directly into the other’s eyes, and lowered his head.
Qin Mu finished ordering and looked at the silent Jiang Yunhan with some confusion. However, his mood was quite good today, and he didn’t mind wasting a little time here.
“Xiao Han, what is it? Why did you call me out so suddenly today? Did you run into something?”
Hearing this nickname, the tips of Jiang Yunhan’s ears grew even hotter. He lowered his eyes, his fingertips twisting restlessly.
“Brother Qin, I… I met someone recently.”
“I didn’t know who to talk to. This kind of thing is just too bizarre…”
Jiang Yunhan fell into memory.
“These past few days, the school has been holding an orientation gala. As an outstanding representative, I went to share my learning experiences with the freshmen…”
“Originally, everything was going smoothly, and the gala ended successfully, but…”
Jiang Yunhan looked up, his amber eyes looking like melting honey in the sunlight. He tightened his grip on the glass, his knuckles turning slightly white. “Brother, you won’t believe it, but I actually met someone who looks exactly like me.”
“He always kept his head down, helping out backstage, looking very busy. I only looked at him twice from a distance and didn’t dare talk to him. I can’t be one hundred percent sure, but really, we are almost identical.”
As he said this, an air of collapse had already surfaced in Jiang Yunhan’s eyes.
He had never imagined such a thing would happen to him.
After this incident, he had kept it hidden in his heart, not daring to tell anyone, afraid he was overthinking it or that it was a misunderstanding. But doing nothing made him feel a faint sense of unease. Thus, Jiang Yunhan could only contact Qin Mu, hoping he could help him.
Qin Mu listened quietly to the whole process. The smile on his face remained unchanged, and the mirth in his eyes deepened by a few degrees.
“How do you want me to help you?”
Jiang Yunhan froze, seemingly not expecting the other to ask such a question. He shook his head with a pale face and whispered, “I don’t know either…”
“Brother, do you think he is…”
Jiang Yunhan couldn’t say the rest of the words—his father’s illegitimate child from outside? But how could they look so similar? Could it be a biological younger brother? He dared not speak this guess aloud.
“Maybe it’s just a resemblance.”
Jiang Yunhan shook his head even faster. “Brother, you haven’t seen him. He really looks alike, almost exactly the same…”
“Except…” He frowned, recalling, “it seems he doesn’t have a mole at the corner of his eye.”
The coffee on Qin Mu’s side had been served. He took a light sip, acting as if he didn’t see the anxiety on Jiang Yunhan’s face. After taking several sips, he spoke slowly: “Then, Xiao Han, since you care so much,”
“I’ll help you look into his identity.”
Jiang Yunhan’s eyes lit up. “Really? Brother, are you really willing to help me?”
Qin Mu laughed, looking gentle and affectionate: “Of course. Since it’s your trouble, I will help you solve it.”
Jiang Yunhan pursed his lips, the faint red on his cheeks becoming more obvious. He leaned forward, his eyes sparkling. Just as he was about to say something, the ringtone of a phone interrupted him.
He hurriedly answered the phone. Qin Mu only vaguely heard a few phrases like “where” and “find you.”
Holding his phone, Jiang Yunhan smiled somewhat shyly. After a few short lines, he hung up. When he looked up again, his previous appearance was gone.
“Brother, Qin Zheng is looking for me, so I’ll head out first. I’ll leave this matter to you. I’ll treat you to something delicious next time. Bye-bye.”
He didn’t even wait for Qin Mu to respond, grabbing his backpack and turning to leave.
The bell on the door rang hurriedly, then gradually fell silent, just like Jiang Yunhan himself.
Qin Mu withdrew his gaze, took out his phone, clicked on that string of numbers, and dialed.