"Ting Ge, do you remember what we were doing on the day Third Master was murdered?" Yu He asked, her cheek pressed against his chest, listening to the steady beat of his heart.
Qin Bei Ting's eyebrows furrowed slightly. "Why the sudden question?"
"I realized I can't recall what we were doing then," Yu He said.
"You were only six years old then, it's normal not to remember," Qin Bei Ting comforted her.
"Then do you remember?" Yu He looked up at him.
Qin Bei Ting tried to recall. "We were probably playing hide-and-seek. Later, when we got back, you had a fever and stayed in bed to rest."
This was similar to what Qin Xin Yao had said. They both remembered playing hide-and-seek, but she didn't.
"Do you remember where you hid then? And where I hid?" Yu He asked again.
Qin Bei Ting realized something. "Are you trying to recall that day's events?"
"Mm," she replied.
Qin Bei Ting fell silent, his long, narrow phoenix eyes half-closed, as if deep in thought.
Yu He assumed he was reminiscing and rested her head on his chest again, waiting quietly.
After a long while, Qin Bei Ting seemed to have made a decision. He parted his thin lips and finally spoke the words that had been stuck in his throat, unable to be uttered: "Baby, once the murderer of Sister Yun'er is found, can you stop investigating Sixth Brother's affairs?"
The room was silent.
Qin Bei Ting thought she was angry. He looked up and saw the girl, who had fallen asleep on his chest at some point.
"........."
Qin Bei Ting held her, then gently placed her on the pillow, so she wouldn't wake up with a stiff neck from sleeping in that position.
He turned the air conditioner up to 28 degrees and looked at the girl's exhausted face as she slept, his heart filled with a pang of guilt.
What had Qin Xin Yao said to the little girl that day?
Otherwise, why would she be so eager to recall what happened on the day of the incident?
The thought of Qin Xin Yao's files lying in his inbox cast a grim shadow in Qin Bei Ting's eyes.
He turned, got out of bed, turned off the camera recording, then went to the wardrobe, changed his clothes, grabbed his phone, left the room, made a call, and summoned a female subordinate to guard the room.
He himself, with his car keys, drove out.
Forty minutes later.
A silver-gray Maserati sped into the Qin family's old mansion and finally stopped in front of Qin Xin Yao's residential compound.
It was two in the morning. The night was deep and silent, and the roar of the car's engine seemed exceptionally loud, startling the night watchman who was sitting in the courtyard, enjoying the cool air and dozing.
He opened his eyes and saw Qin Bei Ting descend from the car like a king of hell, exuding a chilling aura. He thought he was hallucinating.
This was because Qin Bei Ting rarely returned to the Qin family, and even when he did, he wouldn't come here.
He immediately rubbed his eyes, then pinched his thigh, and finding it was not an illusion, he quickly got up. "Sev... Seventh Master?"
Qin Bei Ting strode into the courtyard and stopped at the front door of the house, coldly uttering two words: "Open the door."
The servant felt that his intentions were hostile. Fearing that he might displease him and be buried alive without anyone knowing, he fearfully opened the door and then hurried to wake up Aunt Yao.
Qin Bei Ting stepped into the house and headed straight for Qin Xin Yao's room.
"Bang—" He kicked the door open.
Qin Xin Yao was startled awake. Before he could react, the room light suddenly turned on, and he was yanked from the bed by a large hand.
"Un... Uncle?" Qin Xin Yao, still adjusting to the harsh light, was somewhat bewildered as he recognized the person before him.
Why had Qin Bei Ting suddenly arrived?
"Seventh Master, what are you doing to Young Master San? Let him go!" Aunt Yao, wearing her pajamas and with her hair disheveled, rushed over and grabbed Qin Bei Ting's sleeve. "Young Master San has had a cold for the past two days. He finally fell asleep after taking his medicine. Don't scare him!"
"This doesn't concern you. Get out!" Qin Bei Ting glanced at her dismissively. He hated it when people touched his clothes.
Aunt Yao trembled. Like the other servants, she also feared Qin Bei Ting, but she was more concerned about Qin Xin Yao and refused to let go.
Qin Bei Ting shook Qin Xin Yao loose and pulled his hand back. Aunt Yao, unable to maintain her balance, fell to the ground.
"Take her out!" Qin Bei Ting's gaze shifted to the servant standing at the door, afraid to enter, and commanded.
The servant dared not resist. After all, he was the master, and his seniority was even greater than Qin Xin Yao's. He answered with a "Yes" and immediately came in to help Aunt Yao up and escort her out.
"Ah Qiang, let me go! Go protect Young Master San, do you hear me!" Aunt Yao, worried that Qin Bei Ting might do something to Qin Xin Yao, struggled desperately.
However, she was already advanced in age, and coupled with the difference in strength between men and women, she was eventually dragged out of the room.
Qin Bei Ting kicked the door shut and locked it from the inside.
Seeing this, Qin Xin Yao hugged his quilt and quickly tried to hide in the wardrobe.
He had only managed to get halfway in when his pajama collar was grabbed by a large hand.
Qin Bei Ting yanked him out with force, throwing him to the floor. He then stared down at him. "What did you say to Yu He that day?"
Qin Xin Yao rolled to his feet, continuing to play dumb. "Uncle, we were playing hide-and-seek. I haven't even hidden properly yet. You should go outside. No peeking!"
As he said this, he tried to push Qin Bei Ting out, but he couldn't budge him. "..."
Qin Bei Ting looked at his foolish, innocent act, which was flawless. He had to admit, his acting skills were superb!
If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he truly wouldn't have believed that someone could feign madness and idiocy for so many years.
Qin Bei Ting opened his phone and displayed a video, showing it to him. "What did you say to Yu He that day? Don't make me ask a third time! Otherwise, these videos will be sent to everyone's phone in the Qin family."
Qin Xin Yao glanced at it and was instantly stunned.
The video was of him meeting Yu He at Shi Jing Park previously. From the moment he entered the park gate, to depositing items in the locker, to finally leaving and returning to the Qin family, the entire process had been retrieved, with details magnified and circled.
He looked at Qin Bei Ting in terror. He had been so cautious that day; how had he still been discovered?
Qin Bei Ting: "Speak!"
Qin Xin Yao swallowed. He knew Qin Bei Ting would keep his word. If these videos reached the Patriarch and the others, all his suffering in the Qin family over the years would have been in vain.
Before Yu He could remember who the murderer was, he couldn't afford to be exposed.
He could only truthfully confess: "I gave her... Sixth Uncle's case files and photos."
Upon hearing this, Qin Bei Ting's expression turned colder. "Where are the items?"
Qin Xin Yao hesitated for a moment, then finally crawled under the bed. He opened a small hidden compartment and took out a mobile phone, turning it on.
It was the same phone he had used to give Yu He the photos before.
Qin Bei Ting looked at the case file photos on his phone, his face growing colder. "You asked Yu He to continue investigating with you?"
Qin Xin Yao sensed his anger. He was still as he had been before, possessing an excessive desire for control and possessiveness over Yu He's affairs.
"She herself is also investigating. I merely shared clues with her, and besides, she might have been a witness to the incident that year," Qin Xin Yao said.