When Yun Pei arrived at Qin's head office, the department manager was reporting on his work. Qin Mingyuan asked Zhou Yang to go down and pick him up.
Fortunately, he sent someone back because the last time Yun Haowei made trouble in his office, the security department was ordered not to let anyone from the Yun family in from then on.
In order to avoid losing his job, the security chief specifically asked Zhou Yang for photos of the Yun family and told his subordinates to remember every face and resolutely not let anyone enter the Qin Building again.
When Zhou Yang went downstairs, Yun Pei, who was caught in the crossfire, was blocked at the gate. He was so scared that he quickly ran over and brought the person in from outside. He muttered to himself that he would have to talk to the security chief later, as this person could not be stopped.
Mr. Qin's assistant came down to pick up the person in person, which attracted a lot of attention. However, as a working person, he did not dare to be too curious and just took a few glances.
Sitting in the elevator, Zhou Yang glanced at the silent man with his head down, wondering whether he should say something to ease the overly quiet atmosphere.
The other party just nodded when he saw him and hasn't spoken a word until now.
Having stayed around expressionless people like his boss for a long time, he has become much more sensitive to emotions than others. He can tell that the other person is not in a very good mood, or even in a very bad mood.
The more you talk, the more mistakes you make. In order to avoid flattering the horse, Zhou Yang decided to remain silent.
He stood there with his eyes on his nose and his nose on his heart, becoming a perfect background board.
The elevator quickly reached the top floor in a quiet atmosphere. He led people to the office and said when they reached the door: "Boss Qin is discussing work matters with someone right now. Mr. Yun Pei may have to wait a little while after he goes in."
As soon as he finished speaking, the wheelchair next to him stopped, and he stopped too, "What's wrong?"
"I'll wait outside and go in after he's done with his work." Yun Pei looked up at him. His face didn't look very good and his voice was a little hoarse.
His condition was even worse than he had thought. Zhou Yang took another look at his face and said with a smile, "It's okay. Boss Qin told me to take you in directly after you arrive and not to disturb him."
Yun Pei was very persistent. He shook his head and said, "I'll wait outside."
Zhou Yang was a little embarrassed, hesitating whether to go in and ask the boss. Just at this moment, the office door was opened and the manager came out. He was stunned when he saw someone at the door.
His expression relaxed, he said hello, lowered his head and said, "Look, Boss Qin has finished his work, please go in."
After he finished speaking, seeing that the other party had no objection, he raised his hand and knocked on the door. When he heard a response from inside, he opened the door and welcomed the person in.
After closing the door and turning around, Zhou Yang met the department manager's eyes that were flickering with curiosity. He raised his hand and said, "Don't ask. If you ask, it means you are not clear, you don't know, and you don't understand. If you have any questions, you can go to Mr. Qin in person."
The department manager swallowed the words he was about to say and thought to himself that he was really tight-lipped.
He was actually just a little curious. He was sent away halfway through his work report and thought something was wrong. He almost thought that his career was over.
It turns out that there is someone else he wants to see.
He raised his hand to rub his chin. His face was quite unfamiliar, and he was sitting in a wheelchair. He didn't look like a businessman. Assistant Zhou was so respectful to others...
It’s not easy. For the sake of his career, he’d better not ask too much for now.
People in the office have no idea what people outside are gossiping about.
Qin Mingyuan saw Yun Pei being sent in. He stood up from his desk, walked up to him with his long legs, stared at his whorl of hair for a while, bent his knees, squatted down, and looked up at him.
The young man's face did not look very good. It was obvious that he did not sleep well last night. There was a blue tinge under his eyes and he looked a little haggard. He looked down and did not look at him. Qin Mingyuan frowned.
"Yun Pei."
He called his name and put his hand on the armrest of his wheelchair.
The familiar breath approaching enveloped Yun Pei. He raised his face and finally met the man's gaze. His eyelashes trembled, his lips quivered, and he uttered three words, "Qin Mingyuan..."
"Yes, I'm here." Qin Mingyuan responded quickly, squatting in front of him and looking at him from bottom to top, "I will listen to whatever you want to say."
As if comforted by his gentleness, Yun Pei, who had been in a trance, finally regained focus. His eyelashes trembled again, and his eyes began to turn red. "My mother's death... may not be an accident..."
Qin Mingyuan didn't say anything for a while. He stood up, walked around the wheelchair, held the handle, and pushed the other person to the sofa.
The sunlight poured in from the floor-to-ceiling windows, covering the area. Yun Pei was pushed into the warmth, but his heart still felt cold because of some words he heard yesterday.
The coldness seemed to come out of his bones and spread throughout his body. He couldn't stop shivering. He didn't even dare to guess or verify it more deeply.
Qin Mingyuan sat down beside him, without urging him, and just looked at him quietly.
Seeing him raise his hands and put them around her arms, trembling slightly, she unbuttoned her suit, took off her coat and put it on him.
Yun Pei was wrapped in the clothes with the remaining warmth of the man, and the familiar scent suddenly filled his nostrils, and the feeling of insecurity was dispelled.
Yun Pei looked up at him, whispered a thank you, and grasped the edge of his coat with his fingers, wrapping himself tighter, as if he was trapped in the territory of a wild beast and no one dared to approach.
He pursed his lips, organized his words, and said, "Yesterday, I accidentally heard Huo Lijuan talking on the phone..."
Yun Pei went out to the gallery yesterday and returned to the villa after having dinner outside. It was already very late at that time.
Recently, Yun Haowei has been busy at work most of the time and has little time to come back for meals.
Because of the movie, Yun Yuexian had more and more announcements and was flying everywhere every day, but she had never been seen by anyone.
Apart from the servants, there were only Yun Pei and Huo Lijuan in the villa. He usually stayed in his room most of the time, and he didn't know what the other party was busy with recently. She often went out. It seemed that they hadn't seen each other for several days.
He was quite happy not to see them.
When he went upstairs and passed the terrace, he heard the other party making a phone call. At first he didn't pay attention and planned to leave directly, but he heard his mother's name.
The corridor on the second floor was covered with carpet, and the wheelchair rolled over it without making any sound. He adjusted his position and stopped at the place closest to the other person.
"Don't push your luck..."
"Our deal was settled that year... Greedy..."
"Don't forget, if we really investigate the car accident... we can't escape it..."
"… I have done my best… I will get what I deserve…"
"Don't threaten me... At worst... That's it..."
"Luo Yuqing's death... you... are not innocent..."
When Huo Lijuan was talking on the phone, she would occasionally raise her voice because of her emotions being out of control, but most of the time she kept her voice very low, so Yun Pei couldn't hear everything clearly.
But just the information he captured was enough for him to associate some things.
He didn't remember what emotions he had when he returned to the room, nor did he know who was talking to Huo Lijuan on the phone, but he understood one thing.
The car accident that caused his mother's death and the loss of his legs was probably not an accident. It was premeditated from the beginning.
He sat in the dark room recalling all the details of that year.
That day was his twelfth birthday, and Yun Haowei had originally said that he would take time to celebrate for him and take him to the amusement park with his mother.
But he didn't come back. Yun Pei heard his mother talking to him on the phone in the room. Her voice was a little excited, as if they were arguing.
When she came out, her eyes were a little red. Yun Pei remembered that he asked her if she had cried. At that time, her mother just said that she was blinded and did not cry.
During that time, he often saw his mother unhappy, staring blankly by herself, not knowing what she was thinking. Sometimes she hugged him and said that he was the most important person to her in the world.
At that time, he didn't understand what this emotion meant. He just quietly accompanied her when she was sad, hoping that she would be happier.
By the time he understood, it was too late. He could no longer see her and had no way to tell her that his mother was the most important person to him, only her.
On his twelfth birthday, Yun Haowei did not come back after all. He later found out that he was celebrating his birthday with Yun Yuexian.
That day, his mother drove him out by herself. On the way, she seemed to have forgotten the previous unpleasantness and even sang birthday song to him with a smile.
He was sitting in the back seat and could see his mother's smiling eyes in the rearview mirror, and he felt happy too.
and after…
Yun Pei thought about it carefully. He remembered that his mother suddenly became a little flustered and kept reminding him to fasten his seat belt and not to move.
The car was going a bit fast at the time, and the scenery outside the window passed by quickly. He sat down as his mother instructed, holding the seat belt tightly in front of his chest with both hands.
What happened next was a scene that seemed like a nightmare every time he thought of it. He lost consciousness in a violent shaking, and the last image in his sight was his mother's bloody face in the rearview mirror.
"At that time... there must have been something wrong with the car..." Yun Pei's eyes were red, and his hands were tugging at his coat, his knuckles turning white, "Why didn't I think about it carefully when I woke up that year..."
If he had realized at that time that it was not just a simple car accident, but that someone had tampered with the car, perhaps the police would have conducted a more careful investigation and would have discovered the problem.
"It's not your fault." Qin Mingyuan put his hand on his shoulder and patted him gently. "You were just a child at that time. It's normal that you didn't think of these things."
Yun Pei shook his head, bent down slightly, raised his hand to his forehead, and closed his eyes. "I always thought that Huo Lijuan was just a third party who interfered with other people's relationships. I hated her and despised her over the years, but they were just some minor things. If my mother's death was really related to her..."
He tightened the hand against his forehead, his fingertips digging into his palm, but he seemed to feel no pain.
Qin Mingyuan took a look, reached out and held his hand, pulled it in front of him, flattened his fingers one by one, and rubbed his thumb across the crescent mark left on his palm. "If Auntie's death is really related to Huo Lijuan, even if many years have passed, she will definitely pay the price for her actions."
The warm palm wrapped around his cold hand, and the pain in his palm was soothed bit by bit. The feeling that there was someone standing with him made Yun Pei's vision a little blurry. He blinked and a tear rolled down his cheeks, "Qin Mingyuan..."
Raising his hand to wipe away the hot and wet tears, and brushing across the red corners of his eyes, Qin Mingyuan's eyes fell on his face, "I'm here."
He is here, he is here... I don’t know since when, this man has been standing by my side. Yun Pei, who has been isolated and helpless for a long time, feels as if he has someone to rely on.
After thinking for a long time, he finally made up his mind to ask the other party for help. He was hesitant at first. He was afraid that the man's consideration during this period gave him a false impression. Perhaps it was not special, but the other party was just like that.
The man did not let his hopes down and told him over and over again that he was here, right beside him.
Yun Pei's tense nerves relaxed and he began to feel tired. He leaned over and rested his forehead on the man's shoulder, and gently called his name again, "Qin Mingyuan..."
When he came closer, Qin Mingyuan was stunned for a moment, and his cheek was brushed by the other's upturned hair. He came back to his senses, raised his hand and put it around the young man's shoulder, and said patiently, "I'm here."
Yun Pei let out a long sigh, snuggled into his neck, and let her tears fall, one by one, hitting the man's expensive shirt.
Feeling the wetness, Qin Mingyuan lowered his head and saw the other person's tear-stained eyelashes trembling slightly, like butterfly wings wet in the rain.
He didn't know what he was thinking, perhaps he felt that the young man was too pitiful, or perhaps he was driven by some unknown thoughts in his heart. He slowly leaned over and his lips lightly touched the butterfly wings.
(End of this chapter)