Chapter 141

The car drove towards the city center, turning a few corners away from the bustling traffic. Suddenly, the surroundings became densely green with sparse traffic, creating a remarkably peaceful environment where the noise of the city seemed to vanish.

The shadows of trees outside the car window fell into Mo Yin’s eyes, his gaze calm. Zhang Jiaming glanced at him occasionally.

“Are you okay?” Zhang Jiaming asked.

Mo Yin nodded slightly, continuing to look out the window.

Zhang Jiaming said, “Don’t worry, all the procedures will be simplified, arrangements will be made quickly, and you’ll be able to leave early tomorrow morning.”

Mo Yin responded with a quiet “Hmm.”

Zhang Jiaming thought Mo Yin should feel increasingly satisfied with his proposal.

Once he was abroad, completely cut off from China, Zhang Jiaming could manipulate him however he wanted.

If Zhang Jiaming could handle matters for the Li family here, it meant their relationship was extraordinary. Perhaps Li Xiu’s family viewed them as sharing common interests, worthy of trust.

Leaving early tomorrow morning.

Had Li Xiu received his message? Could Li Xiu convince his family to follow the advice of two high school students by early morning?

He had done what he could. He believed Li Xiu could do the same.

Anyone who could challenge him couldn’t be too bad.

Zhang Jiaming noticed Mo Yin’s lips curling slightly, as if he had smiled for a moment, but the smile quickly disappeared, unsure if Zhang had imagined it.

*

“I must contact him immediately,” Li Xiu reached out, “My phone.”

Li Qing chuckled at Li Xiu’s sudden stubbornness. “I’ve told you, until this matter is resolved, you can’t contact him. In fact, it’s best if you never do. I’m busy now. Stay in your room and don’t cause any more trouble for me.”

“For your sake, I have to go… forget it—”

Li Qing raised his hand, took a deep breath, and made a stop gesture. “You don’t understand any of this. I won’t explain it to you. Go back to your room.”

Perhaps Li Qing felt he had misjudged Li Xiu’s understanding of his father, which was accurate.

Trying to convince or resist would result in a bad outcome.

Li Xiu was surprisingly calm. “Who arranged for him to go abroad?”

“You don’t need to know that,” Li Qing said firmly. “Go back to your room. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve told you, Li Xiu. Enough. If you still see me as your father, go back.”

“He won’t go abroad. He’ll continue to compete. He works hard, studying every day until lights out. Going abroad now would mean giving up his final competition. He won’t do it.”

“He said he would win against me in exams and competitions. He will definitely do it.”

“Enough, enough…”

Li Qing pushed Li Xiu’s arm away, his face tense. “I don’t want to hear any more of this.”

Li Xiu stood still, continuing, “His request is unreasonable. He must want to tell me something is wrong…”

“Enough—”

His roar was almost hoarse.

Li Qing’s eyes were red. “It seems my protection only makes you more stubborn. Listen to me, do you know what kind of person you’ve provoked? You have no idea. I’ve protected you too well, you spoiled young master who knows nothing of the real world!”

“Who just called you?” Li Xiu faced the storm, stubbornly, persistently, only saying what he wanted to say. “You said he had to go abroad to leave me alone. What does that mean? Who told you he wants to accuse me?”

“Fine, you can’t listen to anything now, can you?”

Li Qing took two steps back and forth. “Come, come listen.”

“Listen to me!”

Li Qing directly opened the recording on his phone.

Zhou Ren’s voice was stuttering, a bit trembling, straightforward, absolutely not embellished or false.

Li Xiu heard it, paused, and said, “I understand.”

“Oh?” Li Qing nodded with raised eyebrows, sneering coldly. “Now you understand.”

“Someone is deceiving you.”

Li Xiu said, “He used this recording to mislead you, making you think he would use this to extort money from you.”

Li Qing was speechless. He shook his head, turned off the recording, turned around, and felt completely disappointed in Li Xiu.

“Is it Zhang Zeyong?”

Li Qing’s footsteps suddenly stopped.

“It’s him,” Li Xiu said calmly. “Dad, is there something wrong internally among you?”

Li Qing turned abruptly.

“The call just now was from Zhang Zeyong, wasn’t it? Besides him, you wouldn’t trust anyone else so much to handle this matter. Zhang Zeyong informed you that Mo Yin proposed to leave the country immediately. Dad, if Mo Yin didn’t propose this, it means Zhang Zeyong has betrayed you. If Mo Yin did propose it, he did so to remind us that Zhang Zeyong has betrayed us.”

“You’ve been so busy lately, it’s definitely not just because of my matter. This shouldn’t take you so long to resolve. My issue is just troublesome for you personally.”

“Think about it. If this matter, I mean the most important thing you’re dealing with now, is resolved, and then this matter explodes in another form, the media— you understand, then you’ll have to pay the price. Zhang Zeyong has been your colleague for many years. I think he might not want to miss an opportunity to climb up using me.”

Li Qing remained silent for a long time.

His relationship with Zhang Zeyong was extraordinary. When they were young, they experienced a terrorist attack together abroad, a bond that could be said to be a matter of life and death.

Through these turbulent years, the relationship between the two families had always been good, mutually advancing and retreating in various aspects.

This time, he wanted to take it further, actively entering the vortex. Zhang Zeyong agreed. At their age, standing still was falling behind. Their children were all grown up; it was time to make a move.

But he didn’t expect such an incident at this critical juncture.

Li Qing fell into contemplation.

Suddenly, an idea popped into his mind.

If Li Xiu didn’t create this diversion, would trouble surface elsewhere?

Those who could cause him trouble were likely close to him.

The deeper the relationship, the more likely it was to backfire.

Once his thinking was on track, Li Qing’s reaction was like a sudden jolt in the cold night. All his emotions instantly converged. His earlier wild anger at his suddenly out-of-control son vanished. Now he looked calmly at his son and gestured, “Come to my study.”

*

Mo Yin met Zhang Zeyong in his study.

Zhang Zeyong appeared relaxed and gentle.

“Jiaming said you want to go abroad first.”

“Yes.”

Zhang Zeyong nodded. “You are indeed a thoughtful child.”

“Where do you want to go? Do you have any preferences? If not, I have a few options here.”

Zhang Zeyong handed Mo Yin a folder from the side.

Mo Yin took it, opened it, and saw a beautiful picture of a red-tipped building and an endless lawn.

“The transfer procedures can be handled separately. You can rest assured about that. I will arrange it as soon as possible. A steward will be assigned to assist you, and of course, help you with the fees.”

“As for your father, you don’t need to worry. He will continue to stay at the Stone Institute.”

“I value talent. Jiaming says you’re very smart. Study well abroad. I travel abroad frequently and will visit you when I have the chance. If you want, there’s great potential for you abroad, and I can sponsor you all the way.”

Mo Yin flipped through the folder and looked up. “It sounds like you’re going to adopt me.”

Zhang Zeyong smiled. “You could see it that way.”

Mo Yin lowered his head and continued flipping through the folder. Suddenly, a strange phrase popped into his mind.

He wanted to say, “Be careful not to lose your life if you’re going to be my foster father.”

The oddly cold and mocking tone seemed just right in his mind.

Mo Yin suppressed the sudden urge to laugh, finished flipping through the folder, and said to Zhang Zeyong, “The last one.”

“Sure, no problem.”

Zhang Zeyong took back the folder. “Stay here today. Your passport and visa will arrive tomorrow. You can go straight to the plane then. Someone will be there to pick you up and handle your luggage.”

Mo Yin said, “I’ll send you the video after I’ve completed the enrollment procedures upon landing.”

Zhang Zeyong smiled. “Okay.”

Mo Yin continued, “Studying abroad requires a lot of money. I don’t have money. Besides tuition, how will I support myself?”

“The steward will take care of that.”

Mo Yin took a deep breath and fell silent, appearing deep in thought.

He knew that the more seriously he asked, the more it would reassure Zhang Zeyong. Though a high school student himself, Mo Yin could lower the guard of an adult, which might be unnecessary, but he wanted to try his best, to do his best.

“What if I give you the video, and you cut off my tuition and living expenses? What will I do?”

Mo Yin did a greedy, shortsighted look, and Zhang Zeyong’s face always had a calm and soothing smile. “Don’t worry, I will take responsibility for you until you complete your studies.”

“But I have no guarantee.”

Mo Yin urgently said, “You have to give me some guarantee.”

Zhang Zeyong pondered for a moment and said, “What kind of guarantee do you want from me?” He smiled and looked at Mo Yin. Mo Yin realized that if he asked for too much, it might arouse Zhang Zeyong’s suspicion. Mo Yin said, “Just give me money directly, give me some money first.”

Zhang Zeyong leaned back and smiled gently, “Okay, I will.”

“Anything else you want?”

Mo Yin kept his head down. He looked hesitant, as if he was afraid he would get too little. Finally, he said, “That’s it for now.”

Mo Yin was led by a servant to a room to rest. He sat in a window seat and rested. Before long, Zhang Jiaming came. He sat on the sofa opposite Mo Yin. “Dad said you want to study abroad in the UK.”

Mo Yin said with his head down, “I don’t understand those things. I just picked randomly.”

“The UK is good,” Zhang Jiaming smiled, “and your English is so good.”

Mo Yin remained silent.

Zhang Jiaming didn’t speak either.

A strange silence filled the room.

Zhang Jiaming said, “You haven’t answered my question from last time.”

“What?”

“Do you like Li Xiu?”

Mo Yin glanced lightly at Zhang Jiaming. “I told you before, I dislike him.”

“Disliking doesn’t mean not liking,” Zhang Jiaming smiled faintly. “Mo Yin, deep down, you actually like Li Xiu.”

Mo Yin didn’t answer.

“Do you know what will happen to Li Xiu if you record that video?”

Zhang Jiaming didn’t know if he was persuading Mo Yin not to do it or deliberately bringing forward future misfortunes. “From childhood to adulthood, I haven’t seen Li Xiu fail. This should be a big blow to him.”

“He should like you very much. In fact, the two of you are quite similar. Both are a bit antisocial. Li Xiu is a bit better. He knows how to fake it. But I think you’re better. You don’t pretend. Actually, that’s a good thing.”

Mo Yin looked out of the window at the lush green lawn, where black-suited bodyguards stood, and four cars were neatly parked. Everything here was unfamiliar to him, but he didn’t feel much fear inside.

Zhang Jiaming’s words passed through his ears, leaving no impression.

Li Xiu.

He was thinking.

Li Xiu.

—

“If it’s really like this, things have become complicated.”

Li Qing pinched the table. He whispered, “The video is likely not from that source itself, do you understand what I mean?”

“I understand.”

“Good, it’s good that you understand,” Li Qing glanced at Li Xiu sideways. His full of anger and disappointment had gradually been replaced by another emotion, “So now I need you to cooperate with me, on the premise of protecting yourself, to resolve this matter.”

Li Xiu quietly looked at his father. He slowly said, “Protect me, sacrifice someone else?”

“I used to think you didn’t understand these things, but after our conversation just now, I think you should understand.”

He understood.

Not only did he understand, but he also understood his father.

Protecting him was also to protect himself.

They didn’t care. Li Qing didn’t care about Mo Yin, and Zhang Zeyong didn’t care either.

Him, Mo Yin, their relationship, they actually didn’t care.

He received Mo Yin’s message. Now, it’s his turn.

“Okay,” Li Xiu said, “I agree.”