Chapter 111: Learned Some Dirty Tricks for Eliciting Sympathy 

—

Tianxi Club.

Qin Mohuai invited a few people for drinks. His face was cold, and it seemed like he was thinking of his late wife.

Pei Jinchen: “Everyone has their own hurdles they can’t get over. No need to say anything. Tonight, I’ll drink with you till we drop!”

Only Yang Yi knew that Xia Yuan was back.

Zhou Xuan: “Count me in!”

Yang Yi adjusted his glasses. “I have surgery tomorrow, so I can’t drink. Xia Yuan helped me win back my scalpel. My surgery success rate has been super high these past few years. If I didn’t have surgery tomorrow, I’d toast to her.”

The atmosphere was deathly silent.

Pei Jinchen shot him a glare, muttering, “You’re usually so composed. How could you bring up Xia Yuan in front of Qin Mohuai? If you make him mad, he’ll drag us into sparring with him again. That man’s energy never runs out—he’s a total maniac!”

Yang Yi didn’t care at all and didn’t bother to apologize. It was like he suddenly got a burst of courage.

Qin Mohuai gripped his whiskey glass, his deep and narrow eyes distant, as he downed it in one go.

“Don’t mention her.”

Yang Yi was surprised. Xia Yuan had just come back, and this was Qin Mohuai’s reaction? Did they have a fight?

That’s rare. Qin Mohuai had always treated Xia Yuan like a precious gem. What could’ve possibly made them argue?

Zhou Xuan, lost in his thoughts, had already downed several glasses of whiskey, getting himself half-drunk.

“Let’s not bring up old, painful memories anymore. Speaking of which, that prodigy pianist from the Wei family had a solo concert at the Golden Hall. He specially thanked Xia Yuan. His name is Wei Yunzhou. I remember now, he used to suffer from depression. He thanked Xia Yuan for helping him get through it. Without her, he wouldn’t be where he is today.”

Pei Jinchen quickly clamped his hand over Zhou Xuan’s mouth, “Man! We agreed not to talk about it, and you just keep going!”

He didn’t dare look at Qin Mohuai’s expression. When Qin got angry, it took at least a dozen bodyguards to restrain him. Handling the three of them would be as easy as plucking a few vegetables.

Qin Mohuai ripped off his worn Paisley tie, the one that wasn’t exactly new.

Every move he made stirred up a stormy tension.

Yang Yi raised an eyebrow, “Oh, that’s the tie Xia Yuan bought you. You’ve been wearing it for over three years. It’s practically soaked with memories by now.”

Pei Jinchen poked Yang Yi in the waist, narrowing his fox-like eyes, “You’re usually the one reminding me not to bring her up in front of him. And now you’re going crazy mentioning her non-stop? Has studying medicine finally made you lose it?”

Yang Yi: “I’m not the crazy one. Qin Mohuai is.”

Pei Jinchen distanced himself from him, saying, “No wonder you’re the guy who snatches people from the hands of death. You’ve got guts, but if Qin Mohuai loses it today, you’ll be the first to die!”

Yang Yi fell silent.

Zhou Xuan, hugging a bottle of alcohol, wailed, “Without Xia Yuan around, Ning Kou is back in power, beating everyone in our circle again. Who can take her down? Probably only Xia Yuan, if she’s still alive.”

Argh! Will this ever end?

Pei Jinchen was on edge, cold sweat trickling down as he glanced at Zhou Xuan with a look of impending doom.

Suddenly, Qin Mohuai stood up.

Pei Jinchen and Zhou Xuan instantly went on high alert, clinging to each other.

“Qin Mohuai, hit anywhere but the face!”

“Hitting the face hurts our pride!”

“The world’s going downhill! Brotherhood is dying!”

Qin Mohuai was annoyed, “Shut up already!”

He headed to the bathroom.

Yang Yi followed him.

“Are you really going to do this?”

Qin Mohuai snorted coldly.

“Why fake a terminal illness to fool Xia Yuan? What’s the point?” Yang Yi was puzzled.

“She keeps lying to me, always hiding something. I had no choice but to trick her into telling the truth,” Qin Mohuai explained curtly, turning off the faucet. The black silk scarf tied around his left wrist silently made its presence known.

Yang Yi glanced at it and said earnestly, “Now that Xia Yuan’s back, it’s time to treat your wrist. I can connect you with a specialist. They can help you recover most of the function.”

“No. These little scratches are like thorns, and the cigarette burns are blue roses. I’m getting a tattoo soon. That’ll be enough to make Xia Yuan worry about me for life.”

“…”

Fine, go ahead and be dramatic!

Back in the private room, Pei Jinchen and Zhou Xuan had already slipped out. Qin Mohuai didn’t mind—it conveniently removed the uncontrollable elements from his plan.

Yang Yi dialed Xia Yuan’s phone, keeping a calm face but using a panicked voice: “Xia Yuan, come to Tianxi Club right away! Qin Mohuai invited us to drink, and he’s been drinking until he coughed up blood!”

Xia Yuan hung up in a panic, urging Qin Qi to drive faster.

“Qin Mohuai is coughing up blood again, he’s doing it again…”

Qin Qi: “Any faster and it won’t be safe. With Dr. Yang there, Mr. Qin won’t be in serious danger.”

It was late into the night, and given how much Mr. Qin cared for his wife, he wouldn’t push her to rush over like this. What was he really up to?

Xia Yuan, overwhelmed with worry, couldn’t think straight. She wiped her tears, her breathing shallow from anxiety. “Has he been coughing up blood a lot over the past three years I’ve been gone?”

Qin Qi: “At first, yes. But then…”

Xia Yuan wasn’t listening anymore.

—

When she finally arrived at the Tianxi Club’s private room, Xia Yuan saw Qin Mohuai, his face pale. She burst into tears and touched the bloodstains on his white shirt, her voice cracking, “Let’s go to the hospital. We’re going to the hospital!”

Yang Yi noticed the Paisley tie hanging on the sofa and his eyelid twitched.

Good grief. Even while putting on this act, he wouldn’t let anything Xia Yuan gave him get dirty.

Looks like I’ve learned some dirty tricks for playing the sympathy card.

Yang Yi sighed in mock grief: “No need for the hospital. Mohuai… he’s in the late stages of lung cancer. There’s no cure.”

Xia Yuan’s heart skipped a beat.

“What did you say?”