Qin Xinyao's body stiffened at the words. He turned his head and saw Yu He standing behind him, looking at him with eyes that seemed to see right through him.
His face immediately broke into a foolish grin. He clapped his hands and spun around Yu He a few times with delight, "Hide-and-seek, fun, fun! I found you, now it's your turn to catch me~"
"..."
Yu He glanced around. Seeing no surveillance cameras, she was momentarily unsure if Qin Xinyao was genuinely foolish or being overly cautious.
"Third Young Master, oh dear, we finally found you. Second Madam is looking for you to have dinner together." Just then, Aunt Yao ran over, panting. Upon seeing Yu He, she exclaimed with joy, "Miss Yu."
"I don't want to eat, I want to play hide-and-seek, it's fun, play with me!" Qin Xinyao grabbed Yu He's hand and pouted coquettishly.
"Miss Yu needs to go back for dinner." Aunt Yao coaxed, "After dinner, Aunt Yao will play hide-and-seek with you, okay? Second Madam is already waiting for you, and she's made your favorite roasted pigeon."
"I don't want to, I don't want to, I just want to play hide-and-seek." Qin Xinyao threw himself onto the ground and started to throw a tantrum.
"Third Young Master, the ground is dirty, get up quickly." Aunt Yao rushed to pull him up.
But Qin Xinyao refused. A man in his twenties, he acted like a child of a few years old, lying on the ground and rolling around, demanding to play hide-and-seek. Aunt Yao was so flustered she was sweating profusely.
Yu He stood by, watching him throw a tantrum on the ground for over ten minutes, feeling like she was watching a madman.
"Has he always been like this?" she asked Aunt Yao.
"Ever since Third Young Master's brain was damaged from the fever all those years ago, his intelligence regressed to that of a three-year-old. Whenever something displeases him, he'll lie down and throw a tantrum." Aunt Yao finished speaking, then, as if struck by a thought, looked at Yu He expectantly and asked,
"Miss Yu, you are a divine physician, can this illness be cured? Second Madam has found many world-class neurosurgeons for Third Young Master, but none have been effective."
Yu He gently shook her head and said, "Neurology is not my forte."
Besides, she harbored doubts whether Qin Xinyao was truly foolish or just pretending. If he was faking it, no doctor, however brilliant, could cure someone who intentionally feigned illness.
"Alas," Aunt Yao sighed. "Third Young Master is truly unfortunate. After Third Master died, Third Madam fell gravely ill and followed him not long after, leaving only Third Young Master alone. Due to a high fever, his brain was damaged, and he's been erratic ever since, sometimes even unable to take care of himself. It's truly heartbreaking.
"Fortunately, Second Madam is kind-hearted and pities Third Young Master. After Third Madam passed away, Second Madam brought Third Young Master to her residence and raised him like her own son, treating him so well that even Second Miss became jealous at times."
The Second Madam and Third Master she mentioned were the twins born to Mr. Qin's first wife, Qin Yonghui and Qin Yong'an.
This was the same Second Madam that Qin Xinhong had mentioned earlier: "Second Madam, having lost her twin brother, was already in enough pain, yet Sixth Aunt continued to harass Second Madam under the guise of seeking justice for Sixth Uncle, reopening her wounds."
Yu He looked at Qin Xinyao, her gaze dimming. She crouched down, about to coax him.
"You fool, how much longer do we have to wait? The food is getting cold!" At that moment, a petulant female voice came from behind.
The person who arrived was a woman in her twenties with narrow, distinctive eyes.
Aunt Yao: "Second Miss."
Qin Xinxuan, the Second Miss Aunt Yao mentioned.
Qin Yonghui had married into the family, hence Qin Xinxuan took her mother's surname and was included in the Qin family genealogy under the "Xin" generation.
The moment Qin Xinyao heard Qin Xinxuan's voice, his tantrum ceased abruptly. He even scrambled up nimbly, hiding behind Yu He, clutching her clothes, and looking fearfully at Qin Xinxuan.
Upon seeing Yu He, Qin Xinxuan's perfectly straight eyebrows furrowed. "Get out of the way, don't block me from taking this idiot back for dinner!"
Yu He stood up and glanced at Qin Xinyao behind her. "He doesn't seem eager to go back with you."
"I don't care if he wants to or not. If he doesn't go back, my mother won't start eating. Even if he doesn't eat, he will go back and sit there obediently."
As Qin Xinxuan spoke, completely disregarding appearances, she stepped forward, grabbed Qin Xinyao's collar from behind Yu He, and, like dragging a sack, forcefully dragged him away, ignoring his struggles.
Yu He: "..."
"Miss Yu, I'm very sorry for the disturbance. We'll be going now." Aunt Yao said, then quickly hurried after them.
-
Yu He returned to the clinic. Old Mrs. Yu and the others had already gone home. Just as she got out of the taxi, a black Maybach slowly stopped behind her.
"Baby, where have you been?" Qin Beiting rolled down the window and asked.
Yu He glanced at him and used her key to open the back door. "Asking about the landlord's whereabouts?"
Qin Beiting chuckled. "Then I'll trouble the landlord to open the door wider and let me in."
Yu He "tsk"-ed, but still opened the other door for him.
By the time Qin Beiting drove the car into the courtyard and closed the gate, Yu He had already gone back to the west wing.
He entered and found Yu He in the kitchen. Her long hair was casually clipped up at the back, and she wore an apron, cooking something.
"It smells so good. Landlord, you haven't had dinner yet. Is there anything I can help with?" Qin Beiting stepped forward.
"Who gave you permission to come in?" Yu He turned around, and a large bouquet of red roses appeared before her. She frowned. "What's this for?"
"A gift to pursue Miss Yu." Qin Beiting said.
Yu He gave him a disgusted look and turned back to continue cooking noodles. "Does Seventh Master Qin think I'm easily fooled? This might work on ordinary young girls, but it won't fly with me."
"Try putting your hand into the flowers." Qin Beiting prompted.
"What's so mysterious about it?" Yu He turned off the gas stove, wiped her hands, and reached into the roses.
Soon, she felt a palm-sized box.
She looked at Qin Beiting and warned, "If I pull out a box of adult products, you'll never step foot in here again."
"..."
Qin Beiting washed his hands, took the spatula from her, and continued cooking the noodles that hadn't finished. "Take it out and open it."
Yu He took it out. It was a black box. Upon opening it, she found a card engraved with the symbol of a Xing Que Ying Long. The front of the card had a serial number and a QR code.
Yu He recognized this type of serial number. It was a holder card from the Xing Que auction, used to retrieve auction items with the number on the card.
She scanned the QR code with her phone and immediately brought up the item information. It was a piece of top-grade ambergris.
Her heart stirred. No doctor or pharmacist could refuse such a rare and precious medicinal ingredient!
"Such an expensive gift? Aren't you afraid of wasting your money?" Yu He teased.
Qin Beiting: "I'm not afraid. I'm afraid you won't accept it."
Yu He "tsk"-ed, opened Alipay, and as Qin Beiting caught a glimpse of her about to transfer money again, he reached out and typed in the numbers 520.
"This is the price."
Yu He: "..."