"So you had her recall those past events?" Qin Beiting questioned coldly.
No wonder the young girl had been relentlessly pushing herself to adapt to the darkness these past few days, and even asking him about the past.
It turned out she was acting on his instructions!
The thought of Yu He trembling and ice-cold every time she was plunged into darkness, and her previous unconscious violent reactions, made Qin Beiting’s heart clench as if gripped by an unseen hand. He felt unbearable pain and intense anger.
He would not allow anyone to harm Yu He, not even Yu He herself!
"I, I didn't..."
Qin Xinyao had no idea what methods Yu He was using, but he trusted that she would find the killer because she had promised him.
He might not believe others' promises, but he believed Yu He.
He had investigated, and although Yu He was no longer the soft and sweet Xin Shu he remembered, she was genuinely investigating the murderer of his sixth aunt and seeking justice for his sixth uncle.
They were on the same side, which was why he had shared information with her.
"You are forbidden from involving her in this matter again!" Qin Beiting declared, clearing all the photos on Qin Xinyao's phone in front of him.
Qin Xinyao was too late to stop him and was furious. "What's wrong with her wanting to seek justice for my sixth uncle and uncover the truth?!"
"She did nothing wrong, the entire Qin family is wrong!" Qin Beiting stated coldly. "I promised my sixth brother that I would no longer investigate this case. If you still want to stay in the Qin family, then stop tempting Yu He to investigate!"
Qin Xinyao's lips trembled, and his entire body shook with anger. Years of feigning madness had rendered his mind too slow to formulate a rebuttal.
The patriarch had ordered that no one in the Qin family was to mention the death of the Third Master Qin again. That was why he had pretended to be mad, wanting only to survive in the Qin family and uncover the truth.
But why, at this point, was even Qin Beiting preventing him from investigating?
Shouldn't Qin Beiting be on the same side as Yu He?
If not, did Yu He know?
If she knew, then entrusting all his information to her would be like detonating himself!
Qin Xinyao suddenly felt as if he had fallen into an abyss of despair.
At that moment, the phone in Qin Beiting's pocket rang. It was an unlisted number. He answered it.
A female voice came from the other end: "Seventh Master, Miss Yu is awake."
Qin Beiting hung up the phone and left a warning, "Do not tell Yu He."
Then he turned and opened the door, leaving.
"Sev-, Seventh Master?" Aunt Yao, who had been knocking persistently outside, suddenly stopped. Seeing the chilling aura radiating from Qin Beiting, she instinctively moved aside.
Only after he had left did she react and immediately enter the room. She saw Qin Xinyao slumped on the floor as if he had lost his soul. She quickly helped him up and checked if he was injured. "Third Young Master, are you alright?"
Qin Xinyao regained his senses, hugged his quilt, and discreetly hid his phone before crawling into the wardrobe, continuing his act of foolishness. "Uncle is playing hide-and-seek, hide-and-seek! I need to hide well. Aunt Yao, you should hide too..."
Qin Beiting returned to the courtyard. His female subordinate had already left.
The lights in the west wing were all on. Yu He sat on the sofa in the living room, her gaze distant. A small pig was curled up on her lap, its belly exposed for her to stroke.
"Baby, why are you awake?" Qin Beiting entered, his icy demeanor gone.
When Yu He woke up, he was nowhere to be found. Seeing him in different clothes and returning from outside, she asked, "Where did you go?"
"I had some urgent business to attend to. I've already resolved it," Qin Beiting explained. Noticing her pale complexion, he sat beside her, his brow furrowing as he pulled her into his embrace.
It was the height of summer, yet she was ice-cold.
"What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?" he asked, touching Yu He's forehead, which was also cold.
Yu He felt weak and leaned into his embrace, her eyes hazy as if she hadn't fully recovered from the shock.
"I had a nightmare. I dreamt I was locked in a dark room by you, and I couldn't get out... Then I woke up in a panic..."
The feeling in the dream was too real. She felt as if she had returned to her childhood when she was locked in a dark room for a day and a night, suffering from hunger and hardship.
After a long time, her adoptive parents and nanny finally found her and were about to rescue her. But then a sinister little boy, holding a knife, stabbed them all to death one by one.
Her adoptive parents lay in a pool of blood, their faces contorted in grimaces. She hid in the corner of the dark room, watching in terror as the little boy approached step by step with the knife, finally stopping in front of her.
She looked up and was startled to realize that the little boy's face was Qin Beiting's as a child!
Yu He then woke up screaming. When she realized Qin Beiting was not there, she felt as if her soul had flown away, to the point where she didn't even notice people in the courtyard.
"You've been pushing yourself too hard lately, you're under too much pressure. Don't torture yourself like this anymore. Can you try a different method?" Qin Beiting gently stroked her hair, comforting her.
"Mmm," Yu He responded.
Her thoughts drifted, the lingering fear not yet dissipated. She suddenly asked, "Ting Ge, you won't lie to me again, will you?"
She had given him everything, been completely honest with him, so he wouldn't hide anything from her again, like before, would he?
Qin Beiting's hand paused, a flicker of doubt flashing in his eyes. "What are you thinking about?"
He then lifted the little pig from Yu He's lap onto the sofa, scooped her up, and carried her towards the room. "It's not dawn yet. Go back to sleep. I'll take a shower and join you."
Yu He didn't pay much attention, letting him carry her back to bed. She turned over and continued to sleep, but restlessly.
Fifteen minutes later, a corner of the air-conditioned duvet was lifted. Qin Beiting, carrying the fresh scent of shower gel, slipped in and embraced her from behind.
Yu He shifted, nestling into his arms, and finally slept soundly.
The next day.
After reviewing the video recordings from the past few nights, Yu He, combined with her own memories, still found no progress. It seemed this method wasn't working and she needed to try something else.
The clinic was closed today, so she contacted Qi Nan and arranged to meet him at two in the afternoon.
Just as she was about to leave, Qiao Wei screeched to a halt in his car at the entrance.
The car window rolled down, and he said urgently, "Yu He, it's bad! Grandma Yu has been arrested by the police at the Meili Hotel."
Yu He's brow furrowed slightly. "What happened?"
In the capital, the physician Yu's reputation was not insignificant. Who would dare to touch her grandmother?
"It's the Qi family!" Qiao Wei explained. "I drove Grandma Yu to the Meili Hotel this morning. She said Elder Master Qi had requested a meeting to discuss some documents, so Grandma Yu went. I didn't go up, I waited for her downstairs at the hotel.
"Not long after Grandma Yu went up, Madam Qi brought police and reporters upstairs, accusing Grandma Yu of prostitution. The police then took Grandma Yu away!"