Chapter 12

Getting in the Car

On Sunday, the day of Ye Shuwan’s funeral, Lin Qianyou finally remembered to set her alarm and woke up early to get ready.

She absentmindedly applied makeup in front of the mirror, her mind still on the questions the reporters had asked her the previous day.

She hadn’t been able to respond to them yesterday, and now she wondered what those reporters would write about her. Would they say she was guilty and didn’t dare to admit it? Or would they outright call her a murderer?

Last night, Ke Siyu suggested that Lin Qianyou might want to skip the funeral tomorrow, as there would definitely be a group of reporters surrounding her again. Lin Qianyou had been shaken by this idea and didn’t have the courage to face the barrage of questions, but after some thought, she decided to go anyway.

Lin Qianyou wore a black professional outfit— a fitted waist jacket that accentuated her curves, paired with black flats and a thin heel that revealed her pale ankles. Her hair was tied in a low ponytail, with her bangs naturally framing her face.

At the time Ke Siyu had arranged to meet, she grabbed her sunglasses and mask and went downstairs. The two of them took a taxi to the funeral home.

True to expectations, the funeral home was surrounded by reporters, kept out by security.

The driver stopped at the entrance, and Lin Qianyou and Ke Siyu, hoping to avoid the reporters, secretly slipped into the underground parking lot of the funeral home.

In the parking lot, a black BMW 740 was parked neatly in a space. The driver, a young man in a tracksuit, had just finished parking.

Qi Shanglan was dressed the same as yesterday— black athletic shorts and a plain white T-shirt. After parking, he said to Zou Ying, who was in the backseat, “Mom, I’ll just wait in the car for you guys.”

Zou Ying immediately smiled and said, “Okay, okay, you can wait here. You’re so busy, yet you still made time to drive me and your dad. You should let your dad drive. It’s rare for you to have a break and rest at home, and you still had to come with us.”

“I’m not doing anything anyway.” He said casually.

Qi Dongjun, sitting in the backseat, didn’t say anything. The breakfast yesterday had been unpleasant, and father and son were still in a tiff. It was only thanks to Zou Ying’s mediation that the situation hadn’t gotten too awkward.

Qi Dongjun didn’t understand why Qi Shanglan had suddenly taken the time to drive them today. In the past, he wouldn’t even bother with him.

After a long silence, Qi Dongjun finally spoke as he was about to get out of the car. “The driving’s smooth. You’ve improved.”

Zou Ying: “…” After holding it in for so long, that’s all he could say? Didn’t he believe he was stubborn?

Qi Shanglan let out a light chuckle and said, “What improvement? This is probably the first time you’ve ridden in a car I drove, right?”

“…”

After the couple left, Qi Shanglan felt the car was stuffy, so he rolled down the window. The moment the window lowered, the sound of high heels became clear.

In the rearview mirror, two women in black were walking towards the car. One of them was familiar to him— it was Lin Qianyou, though she was wearing sunglasses and a mask, likely to avoid being recognized.

As the two passed by the car, they didn’t notice anyone inside. However, Lin Qianyou caught a faint fragrance in the air, which felt somewhat familiar. Only then did she vaguely look back.

Lin Qianyou’s eyes met Qi Shanglan’s through the tinted car window and her sunglasses. She could only vaguely make out a silhouette but didn’t clearly see who it was. Ke Siyu, pulling her along, urged her to hurry, so Lin Qianyou just glanced once and turned her attention back to walking ahead.

“What were you looking at just now?” Ke Siyu asked as they entered the stairs, glancing back as well, but she saw nothing.

“Oh, it’s nothing. I just smelled a fragrance.”

“Fragrance?” Ke Siyu sniffed the air seriously and only smelled the faint scent of perfume from both herself and Lin Qianyou. “It must be our perfume, right?”

Lin Qianyou didn’t want to dwell on this question and figured that Qi Shanglan wouldn’t be around, so she casually replied, “It should be, yes.”

Ke Siyu didn’t think much of it and dragged Lin Qianyou upstairs.

The funeral home was solemn and quiet, and everyone’s expression was heavy and restrained. The atmosphere inside was eerily still.

Lin Qianyou and Ke Siyu placed the white lilies in front of the altar, then politely said a few words of condolence to Ye Shuwan’s father before silently stepping aside to stand with colleagues from their company.

Ye Shuwan’s mother had passed away early, and her father, Ye Feng, had raised her on his own. Now, with both his wife and daughter gone, the bitterness of it all was something only he could truly understand.

After the funeral service was over, Ye Feng talked with a few old friends for a while. Lin Qianyou quietly watched from the side, feeling a deep sense of discomfort.

To just casually commit suicide— how could she face the parents who gave her life?

But now, the incident had already happened, and all she could feel was regret.

After Ye Feng finished speaking with his friends and relatives, he came over to their side and hoarsely asked, “Who is Lin Qianyou?”

No one dared to speak, and Lin Qianyou froze for a moment. Did Ye Shuwan’s father think her daughter’s death was her fault, too?

Lin Qianyou hesitated and said, “I—I’m Lin Qianyou, Ye Shu… Uncle Ye.”

“Come with me.” Ye Feng’s voice was hoarse from crying as he waved for her to follow him.

Ke Siyu thought to herself, This is bad, is he going to confront her? She didn’t dare stop Lin Qianyou, so she just patted her shoulder and whispered, “Don’t worry, Ye Shuwan’s father is a reasonable person. He won’t make things difficult for you.”

Lin Qianyou nodded and silently followed Ye Feng.

Ye Feng led her to a corner, wiped his tear-streaked hands, and sighed deeply before saying to Lin Qianyou, “Qianyou, don’t pay attention to the malicious rumors online. I know your and Shuwan’s deaths are not connected… she… she’s the one I’ve hurt, it’s all my fault…” He started to sob quietly as he spoke.

Lin Qianyou had no idea what was going on and stood frozen for a long time before softly asking him, “Uncle Ye, what do you mean?”

Ye Feng sighed, saying, “She was just angry at me, holding a grudge. But I never regretted it. I did it to save her. I couldn’t let her go further down the wrong path. I couldn’t let her fall under someone else’s influence!”

Lin Qianyou still didn’t understand, and Ye Feng continued, “Qianyou, don’t blame me for not warning you. That director Li Zheng is no good. Now that you’ve joined his team, you need to be careful about everything.”

With Ye Feng’s words being so clear, Lin Qianyou, no matter how slow she was, could sense the implication: Ye Shuwan’s death was related to Li Zheng?

“Qianyou, that’s all I have to say. You’re a smart girl, I’m sure you understand. I still have to go back and entertain the relatives. I’ll leave you now.” After saying this, Ye Feng turned and slowly walked back to the main hall.

Lin Qianyou stood frozen, still trying to process what had just happened.

So, Ye Shuwan’s death had another hidden story?

At some point, the security guard had let the reporters inside, and soon the area outside the altar was filled with people.

Ke Siyu knew that the reporters were after Lin Qianyou, so after saying goodbye to Ye Feng, she hurriedly pulled Lin Qianyou toward the underground parking lot.

The reporters recognized her, and someone shouted that Lin Qianyou was heading to the parking lot. The crowd immediately rushed toward the parking garage.

The two of them hurried down the stairs, and while running, Ke Siyu quickly tied her hair into a low ponytail and said to Lin Qianyou, “Youyou, give me your sunglasses. I’ll impersonate you to fool those reporters, and you take this chance to sneak away.”

Lin Qianyou hesitated for a moment before handing over the sunglasses. After they reached the bottom, they ran in opposite directions. Ke Siyu deliberately slowed down to let the reporters catch up to her, while Lin Qianyou anxiously searched for a place to hide.

The footsteps on the stairs grew louder, and Lin Qianyou’s panic increased as she still hadn’t found anywhere to hide.

She was aimlessly running when suddenly, two sharp honks of a car horn broke the silence. Instinctively, she turned around.

Not far away, a black BMW had the window halfway down, revealing only the upper part of Qi Shanglan’s figure. He tilted his head slightly, with his sharply defined nose and a slight smile on his lips. He then said calmly, “Get in.”

“Huh? Oh.” Lin Qianyou was momentarily stunned but quickly jogged over to open the back door and got into the car.

As soon as she closed the door, the reporters rushed out from the stairwell. Lin Qianyou quickly crouched down.

Qi Shanglan glanced at the rearview mirror, and an involuntary smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. Then, he said, “No need to crouch, the windows have anti-peep film.”

“Huh?” Lin Qianyou was surprised. Why didn’t you say that earlier?

She slowly sat up and, feeling a little awkward, said to Qi Shanglan in the front seat, “Thank you.”

“It’s nothing. Hiding from the reporters?” he asked.

Lin Qianyou nodded. “Yeah, they’re too persistent. I can’t shake them off.” She looked back at the group of reporters chasing Ke Siyu and silently thanked her a thousand times, vowing to treat her to a meal later.

Once the group had completely disappeared from sight, Lin Qianyou turned her head and, by chance, met Qi Shanglan’s gaze in the rearview mirror. However, he quickly shifted his gaze away.

Her eyes lingered on his broad shoulders, and she noticed that his shoulders were quite wide. Her gaze trailed down his arm to his hand resting on the steering wheel. Wow, his hands were surprisingly good-looking, and she silently sighed in her mind.

“Um…”

They both spoke at the same time.

“You go ahead.”

“…”

“Then I’ll go first.” Lin Qianyou leaned forward slightly, and once again, the pleasant fragrance filled her nose. From her angle, she could see Qi Shanglan’s smooth and defined profile.

“Alright, you go ahead.” Qi Shanglan turned his head, and their eyes met again.

The car became quiet once more, and after a few seconds, Lin Qianyou spoke, “I wanted to ask, how did you end up here? Also, thanks for giving me a ride that night and even buying me honey. I’ll treat you to a meal some other time.”

The fragrance inside the car slowly mingled with the faint scent of her own perfume, lingering in the air around him. Qi Shanglan’s Adam’s apple moved slightly as he spoke, “I came to drop my parents off for the funeral. As for that night, no need to thank me. The police are just serving the people, right?”

“Oh, I see. But still, thank you. I’ll treat you to a meal, so whenever you have time, let’s plan something.”

Qi Shanglan raised an eyebrow slightly and said, “As for treating, forget it. It’s our duty after all.”

Lin Qianyou was a bit embarrassed after being rejected twice. She leaned back and muttered softly, “Oh… okay then…” He really didn’t take a single thing from the crowd.

“Oh, right, what did you want to say?” Lin Qianyou asked him.

“It’s nothing, just wanted to ask how you’re feeling. Xiao He told me that you seemed to have cried when you came to the police station that day?” His voice was very soft.

“I’m fine,” Lin Qianyou waved her hand. “I have a strong ability to handle pressure. You know, young people need pressure to stay motivated.”

“Really?” He raised an eyebrow.

Then why did you go to the bar to drown your sorrows? And even order a male model?

“Of course! Anyway, I’m not talking to you anymore. I need to hurry and leave. Thanks for today, I’ll treat you to a meal sometime. Bye, Uncle Officer!” She opened the car door and got out, waving at him without looking back as she ran off.

“…” Uncle? I’m only five months and six days older than you.