Chen Guochao found her words strange, but couldn't pinpoint what was wrong, as Huo Rou often warned him too.
"Got it, got it," he replied casually as always.
Huo Rou looked at him deeply. "Say hi to Uncle Chen for me. I have to take An An back; he still has school."
As they said goodbye at the main gate, Chen Guochao asked, "You keep most of your affairs secret, and I don't want to make things difficult for you, so I'll just ask: is your current job safe?"
"I'm retired."
Huo Rou's tone was indifferent, her eyes devoid of emotion, merely stating a fact.
"How could that be?" Chen Guochao knew that with Huo Rou's abilities, she would definitely be a key figure nurtured by the country. How could she have retired at such a young age?
Huo Rou didn't answer his question, only stating her current situation: "I'm working at Old Xiao's company now, as an ordinary employee. It feels pretty good."
"Old Xiao pays me well, so you and Uncle don't need to worry about me."
Chen Guochao was still uneasy and disbelieving. "You wanted to join the military so badly, how could you retire so early? Did something happen? Tell me, and I'll help you get justice."
"Really, nothing," Huo Rou looked at An An. "I have a son now, and I don't want him to be like me."
Strangely, as she said this, a gust of wind suddenly arose, blowing gently across her cheek as if someone was softly caressing her.
The wind and sand stung her eyes slightly, her eyelashes trembled, and her eyes were tinged with the setting sun.
Chen Guochao stopped asking and didn't bring up the topic again. He bared his white teeth and smiled in a cheerful, sunny manner that could heal people's hearts. "No matter what, I'm here. If you get tired of Old Xiao's place someday, come back to your brother, and I'll take care of you both."
"It would be more proper for you to find a wife soon," Huo Rou broke the somewhat strange, warm atmosphere. She felt it was better not to go down this path of deep sibling affection with Chen Guochao.
Huo Rou led An An towards the driver, looking back as she walked and teasingly glancing at Chen Guochao's fingers. "Your grass ring must have turned to dust by now. Still waiting?"
Chen Guochao's eyes widened, and he turned around to leave without hesitation. He shouldn't have spoken so much to Huo Rou because of her strange state. That girl's gaze and mouth were still as venomous as ever.
He got back into his car and watched from afar as Huo Rou and An An got into a car. The car clearly looked expensive, and he knew without thinking that it must belong to that rich man, Qin Ningyi.
Huo Rou having a son wasn't inherently problematic, but if his father knew Huo Rou's son was Qin Ningyi's, things would become unusual.
Although his father never explicitly mentioned when their relationship with the Qin family soured, he remembered being beaten by his father when he wanted to go to the Qin family to say goodbye to them and their siblings before he left. He wasn't even able to bid farewell.
For so many years, if he wanted to see Qin Feiwu, he could only do so secretly behind his father's back.
If his father knew Huo Rou and Qin Ningyi already had such a grown child, he didn't know how furious he would become.
It was best to keep it a secret for now!
Chen Guochao drove away, heading in the opposite direction from Huo Rou and the others.
"Going to the Martyrs' Cemetery?" Qin Ningyi received a call from the driver on his way to the airport to meet up with Huo Rou and An An.
"Yes, they went with a bouquet of flowers. When Madam and Young Master came out, they were with a man."
The driver recounted everything he saw and then added thoughtfully, "They were talking and laughing."
"Got it."
Qin Ningyi replied calmly.
The driver tentatively asked, "Then Mr. Qin, if there's nothing else, may I hang up?"
"Stay with them and don't leave until I arrive," Qin Ningyi said. He couldn't explain it, but he felt a sense of insecurity now.
After the call ended, Qin Ningyi pondered for a moment and decided to have the Liu family investigate the Martyrs' Cemetery.
He knew too little about Huo Rou; everything about her was an enigma. He wanted to understand her better, and now he had to rely on himself.
The family finally returned to Yu Chang City.
The next day, Qin Ningyi also received a response from the Liu family. On that same day and time at the Martyrs' Cemetery, besides Huo Rou and An An, the only other person there was Chen Guochao.
The Liu family even had people check each one; ten tombstones had flowers placed before them that day.
"Young Master Qin, do you need us to further investigate the circumstances of these ten tombstones?" the Liu family representative asked respectfully.
Qin Ningyi listened to the names of the owners of the ten tombstones and indeed, three of them had the surname Huo, just like Huo Rou. This gave him a vague sense of suspicion.
He had always been reluctant to learn about Huo Rou through such means, but he had asked her on the way back, and she hadn't told him anything, which made him feel excluded. "Focus your investigation on those three with the surname Huo."
The Liu family received the order and quickly carried it out.
Qin Ningyi stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, looking down at the Yuda Security Company building, feeling somewhat uneasy.
Xiao Konglin knocked and entered, asking for instructions, "Mr. Qin, Jiang Rong is downstairs and wants to see you. Should I let her in?"
Qin Ningyi frowned and asked, "Who is she?"
Xiao Konglin's expression darkened. He had just spent a lot of money competing with her for a piece of land, and now he had forgotten her name?
Oh, right, he was the one who handled the acquisition of this land. Mr. Qin wouldn't know the other party's name, which was normal.
Xiao Konglin introduced dutifully, "The land you had me bid for, the Eleven Company was determined to get it. Jiang Rong is one of their partners."
"Jiang..." Qin Ningyi finally started to ponder the person. "Someone from the Jiang family?"
Xiao Konglin had done some investigation when he knew someone was looking for Mr. Qin. Although he didn't find much, he could answer Qin Ningyi's question: "She is the daughter of Old Master Jiang, but they had a severe falling out long ago."
This explained why Old Master Jiang wanted this piece of land. Qin Ningyi decisively said, "No."
He didn't have the leisure for such matters. The war drums were already beating, and he had many things to do.
Xiao Konglin had only mentioned it reluctantly because the Eleven Company had fought fiercely with him over that piece of land, and he had already expected the outcome.
No one took this matter to heart. Qin Ningyi refused to meet many people every day, let alone a newcomer like the Eleven Company.
Jiang Rong, upon learning in the lobby that Qin Ningyi refused to see her, her face contorted. "He won't see me?"
"I'm sorry, Miss. Mr. Qin has other scheduled appointments."
The receptionist spoke very politely to her, but Jiang Rong mistook this politeness as a sign of weakness.
They say one shouldn't hit a smiling person, yet she didn't hesitate to slap the smiling receptionist across the face. "Perhaps Mr. Qin isn't refusing to see me, but rather you didn't announce me properly?"