A Warm and Cute Strike (GL) - Chapter 15

Hearing Qin Xinlan’s voice behind him, Chen Yang’s heart skipped a beat, and his body froze on the spot.

Tap—tap—tap— Her slippers made a crisp sound against the wooden floorboards.

As the footsteps drew closer, cold sweat broke out on Chen Yang’s forehead. In a frantic mental scramble, his eyes darted to the bookshelf and landed on a small, white, rectangular object.

Acting on a sudden impulse, he snatched it up and turned around to face her.

“Ah Yang?” Qin Xinlan stopped in her tracks, looking at him with confusion.

“Heh, I thought you were making a phone call?” Chen Yang said, forcing himself to stay calm.

Images of Qin Xuening flashed through Xinlan’s mind, and she instinctively hid the truth. “I was, but I couldn’t get through to Mr. Xiang, so I came looking for you… What are you doing in my brother’s room?”

“I was looking for a power bank!” Chen Yang lied through his teeth, holding up the white device to show her. “I was going to look in your room, but I saw this door was open as I passed by. I happened to spot one on the shelf, so I stepped in.”

Hearing this, Qin Xinlan couldn’t help but feel a twinge of discomfort. Soft-hearted as she was, she wasn’t one to be careless when it came to her late brother’s things.

She furrowed her brow and said carefully, “Ah Yang, this is my brother and sister-in-law’s room after all. You… we shouldn’t just come in here as we please.”

Chen Yang kept a straight face, but he was annoyed deep down. Xinlan had always been obedient and submissive; since when did she start lecturing him?

“I know, I know. I’ll be careful next time,” he replied, putting an arm around her shoulder in a show of compliance. However, as he looked up, a dark glint flashed in his eyes.

Just as he looked up, he met Qin Xuening’s gaze. She was slowly turning her wheelchair, rolling into the room. Her eyes were fixed on his face, taking in every bit of his sinister expression.

Chen Yang quickly masked his emotions and flashed Xuening a bright, friendly smile. Xuening didn’t buy it; she simply watched him in silence with dark eyes that seemed to see through everything.

The smile froze on Chen Yang’s face. He actually loathed Qin Xuening; there was something about the child’s gaze that made his skin crawl. But for the sake of the Qin family fortune, he had to maintain his image until Xinlan was officially married into the Chen family.

Deciding to ignore the “mute” for now, he let go of Xinlan’s shoulder. “I have things to do, so I’ll be heading out.”

“Are you coming back for dinner tonight?” Xinlan called out as he turned to leave. Ever since Qin Mo’s accident, Chen Yang had moved into the Qin residence under the pretext of keeping her company so she wouldn’t dwell on her grief.

“No, I’ll just eat out.” Chen Yang waved a hand and hurried past Xuening, rushing downstairs.

Once he was gone, Xinlan saw that Xuening was still in the room and said apologetically, “Xiao Ning, I’m sorry… Auntie will watch him from now on and make sure he doesn’t barge into your parents’ room again.”

She assumed Xuening had brought her here simply because she was upset about Chen Yang’s intrusion.

Xuening ignored her. Instead, she turned her gaze toward the bookshelf. She didn’t believe for a second that Chen Yang was looking for a power bank; he was likely up to no good. But what could he possibly need from her parents’ room?

Xuening began to ponder.

Following her niece’s gaze, Qin Xinlan also noticed something amiss. Since the accident, she had cleaned the room daily but hadn’t moved anything. She was intimately familiar with every detail of this room filled with her brother’s memories.

Xinlan stood up and walked to the spot on the bookshelf where Chen Yang had been standing. Looking up, she saw one book was noticeably sticking out. Suspicious, she pulled it out and opened it, only to find it was a photo album.

The page she opened to happened to be a photo of Su Yuyan and Ye Feifei. Below that was a family portrait of Xiang Nan and Ye Feifei with their baby—likely taken at the child’s one-month celebration.

She felt the corner of the page; the reason it had opened so easily to this spot was that the corner had been folded over.

Seeing her aunt lost in thought, Xuening rolled over to look. When she saw the photo of the Xiang couple, her brow furrowed.

She remembered from her past life the reports of how Ye Feifei’s career plummeted after the scandal of her secret marriage and child was exposed, turning her from a top star into a second or third-tier actress.

She had been small when it happened; by the time she read about it in gossip columns, it was ancient history. It was also from those reports that she learned of Feifei’s daughter becoming a vegetable after drowning in a bathtub due to a nanny’s negligence.

Chen Yang’s greedy face flashed through Xuening’s mind. She suddenly recalled that those reports vaguely mentioned the relationship was leaked by an “insider.”

Connecting that to Chen Yang’s suspicious behavior just now, Xuening couldn’t help but guess: was the whistleblower her future uncle-in-law?

Qin Xinlan closed the album and put it back on the shelf. She frowned, feeling a sense of unease she couldn’t quite put into words. She bent down, grabbed the handles of Xuening’s wheelchair, and pushed her out. “What does Xiao Ning want to eat tonight? Auntie can cook for you.”

The house was quiet, save for the sound of rolling wheels.

Receiving no answer from her niece, Xinlan sighed. If the doctor hadn’t told her that the girl’s language center was undamaged and her ability to speak was normal, she would truly fear the girl had become a mute.

She forced herself to stay cheerful. “I’ll make my specialty then! Xiao Ning used to love it.”

Listening to the chatter, Xuening thought of her suspicion and wanted to give a warning. But looking at her aunt’s face, she was reminded of the past life—the weak woman who could only indulge in self-pity, the one who had facilitated their shared tragedy.

She couldn’t trust her.

Xuening chose to remain silent and let Xinlan push her downstairs.

Elsewhere, Chen Yang left the Qin residence and ran to a mobile shop to buy a new SIM card. He then went home to dig out the business cards of the reporters he had met earlier.

To save time, he called them one by one. Because he refused to give his name and demanded a significant sum of money upfront, only two reporters showed interest.

Chen Yang scoffed at the others for lacking an eye for a good story. He then disguised himself and snuck out, planning to meet both reporters to see if he could sell the scoop twice.

A-City: Peak Entertainment Headquarters

Li Qianjin was in a foul mood lately. Several projects under Peak Entertainment had flopped, putting immense pressure on him as the General Manager.

Much of this was due to their arch-rival, Huashi Company. Huashi was on a roll, especially with their newly promoted actress, Ye Feifei. She had been playing minor roles and third-leads for years, only to suddenly land the lead in a major Huashi-funded xianxia drama and skyrocket to fame.

He had received word that several Chinese agents for international brands, who used to work with Peak, were now in talks with Huashi for Ye Feifei’s endorsement. This would be a heavy blow to Peak Entertainment.

As Li Qianjin moped, his assistant hurried in and whispered something into his ear.

“Is the source reliable?”

“We’ve sent someone to make contact. It looks real, but the price is high.”

“If it’s confirmed, buy it at all costs! Pay him off for his silence and put him under surveillance if necessary. Notify the operations and PR departments immediately—everyone is working overtime. I want this utilized to the maximum. I want Huashi to feel this in their bones…”

Li Qianjin’s face glowed with excitement as he barked out orders.

Hahaha, heaven is on my side! Ye Feifei hidden marriage and a child? Once this scandal breaks, I’ll see how Huashi handles the fallout!

Xiang Family Villa

Xiang Qingnuan had just finished her bath. She sat on the sofa, swinging her short legs, watching a cartoon while sipping warm milk.

Ring—ring—ring— The landline on the coffee table began to chime.

Under the same night sky, Qin Xuening was gripping a phone tightly against her face, her skin slick with a thin layer of sweat. Hearing the dial tone, her heart began to race.

After dinner, she had returned to her room. Thinking of how Ye Feifei and Xiang Nan had cared for her, she felt she had to give them a warning. But she didn’t know how to reach them. Finally, she remembered a handwritten phone book in the house that might contain the Xiang’s number. She had found it.

Though she had summoned the courage to dial, she grew nervous now that the moment was here. She repeatedly rehearsed her lines in her head, imagining how she would tell Xiang Nan or Ye Feifei.

Click. The call was finally answered.

Xuening pursed her lips, ready to speak, when a sweet, milky girl’s voice came through the receiver:

“Hello?”

Xuening froze; her rehearsed lines vanished.

“Hello? Who is this, please?” the voice continued.

Xuening opened her mouth, but no sound came out. Having been a mute for half her previous life, she was afraid—afraid that the moment she spoke, the sound would be those same ugly, meaningless noises.

“Hello?” The girl on the other end began to mumble to herself. “Why is there no sound? Is the phone broken? Is anyone there? This is Xiang Qingnuan. Please answer if you hear me.”

Xuening took a deep breath and finally spoke her first words since the accident in both this life and her previous one:

“Yes. I hear you.”