MAPF Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Eavesdropping, Wanting to See Through Those Beautiful Eyes

Xie Shiwei sorted through the original owner’s approximate interpersonal relationships but found no clues. After all, there were too many people with motives, but not many would be so bold.

Just as he was racking his brains without success, a fierce draft suddenly blew in. The narrow door that Xie Shiwei had secretly pushed open was suddenly flung open. Before he could stop it, he watched helplessly as the door panel slammed against the wall with a “bang.”

Bai An was reporting his studies abroad to He Qin. The two turned their heads at the sound, their eyes meeting Xie Shiwei’s.

Bai An was obviously flustered, hurriedly hiding behind He Qin.

He Qin’s expression was as cold as ever, his eyes passing over Xie Shiwei, landing reproachfully on Assistant Lin.

Lin Ying wanted to cry but had no tears.

Xie Shiwei coughed and walked into the room as if nothing had happened.

“When did you arrive?” He Qin asked preemptively.

Xie Shiwei smiled gently, “Just now, the door happened to be blown open by the wind, so I didn’t even have to push it myself.”

“You agree, right, Assistant Lin?” Xie Shiwei continued to smile, a smile that hid a knife.

Assistant Lin was successfully threatened and said dryly, “Yes, Mr. Xie just arrived. I wanted to ask him to wait outside, but I opened the window for ventilation earlier, and the winter wind is strong. Unfortunately, the door was blown open.”

He Qin’s expression didn’t reveal his emotions, and it was unknown whether he believed it or not. He only asked Xie Shiwei to come in and sit down.

Xie Shiwei entered calmly.

So what if he was caught eavesdropping?

He Qin was married and still meeting his “good younger brother” here. What was wrong with him, the legitimate husband, listening in?

“Oh, Bai An is here too.” Xie Shiwei entered the room, feigning surprise.

Bai An nervously grabbed He Qin’s sleeve, taking another step back.

He Qin: “I asked him to come, I have something to discuss with him.”

Xie Shiwei thoughtfully asked, “Am I disturbing you?”

“No.”

“That’s good,” Xie Shiwei smiled at Bai An, “When did you return to the country? How long do you plan to stay this time?”

Bai An was about to die of anger. Shouldn’t Xie Shiwei know best when he returned to the country? He didn’t answer, pursing his lips, waiting for Xie Shiwei’s next move.

Whenever Xie Shiwei saw him, he would scold him as a slut who only knew how to seduce people. Now he was caught alone with He Qin in the office, it would be good if he didn’t get a layer of skin peeled off. Such kindness must be a trick.

Suddenly, he thought of a possibility, and his face turned pale again. Could it be that Xie Shiwei had heard his conversation with He Qin, knew that he wanted to harm him but failed, and was actually furious, just the calm before the storm?

The more Bai An thought about it, the more frightened he became. The hand grabbing He Qin’s sleeve trembled, causing half of He Qin’s body to tremble along with it.

Xie Shiwei was helpless: “Are you afraid of me? Don’t be afraid, I’m just concerned about you, I don’t mean anything else.”

“However, I used to be so mean to you, it’s understandable that you’re afraid.” Xie Shiwei sighed, placed the lunchbox on the coffee table, and waved at the trembling Bai An, “This is a meal the chef made for He Qin for working overtime. They made too much, and He Qin can’t finish it all. Come over and eat together.”

Bai An looked up anxiously, asking He Qin for his opinion.

The implication was that the food was poisoned.

He Qin didn’t say anything, sitting directly on the sofa, opening the lunchbox, a fragrant aroma wafted out. It was indeed food, not something scary.

Xie Shiwei introduced the dishes: “Braised Crispy Bamboo Shoots with Prawns, Red Wine Clams with Braised Pig Liver, Black Pepper Cowboy Bone, Balsamic Vinegar Little Yellow Croaker, the porridge is on the bottom layer, Sweet Rice Wine Pumpkin Dumplings, you can choose what you like to eat.”

“But don’t eat too much, it’s hard to digest food at night.”

Xie Shiwei’s tone was considerate, his expression gentle, wearing a shiny casual winter outfit, with a baseball cap on his head, looking like a pure and harmless college student.

He Qin withdrew his gaze: “I’ll eat it myself. Bai An, you can go back first.”

Bai An nodded vigorously, squeezing out an ugly smile to Xie Shiwei: “Thank you for the treat, I have something else to do, I’ll leave first.”

Xie Shiwei knew at once that this was an excuse.

Based on the simple idea of creating opportunities for the protagonist gong and shou and reducing He Qin’s hatred value, he grabbed Bai An’s backpack strap: “Hey, don’t go!”

Bai An’s face turned pale.

He Qin spoke up: “Bai An has already had dinner.”

Xie Shiwei said enthusiastically, “You’ll get hungry even if you’ve eaten. The chef prepared all good things, it’s okay to eat a little more.”

He Qin: “He’s not hungry.”

Then Bai An’s stomach growled three times in a row.

Gulu, gulu, gulu.

Echoing in the large office, exceptionally clear.

Bai An wanted to cry. He had been angry with He Qin for many days and hadn’t eaten properly, so he was very hungry.

Xie Shiwei smiled and exclaimed, “Okay, Bai An, don’t be polite with me. You are He Qin’s valued younger brother, so now you are also my younger brother. There’s no reason for a younger brother to be polite with his older brother, right?”

He Qin couldn’t guess Xie Shiwei’s thoughts and nodded helplessly. Bai An had no choice but to sit down reluctantly.

Xie Shiwei looked at the two eating with a kind smile.

He Qin was sharp and stylish, Bai An was well-behaved and cute. Sitting together, the height difference and body shape difference were all there, it looked like the configuration of the protagonist gong and shou.

Xie Shiwei revealed a kind of loving smile like he was obsessed with shipping a couple. Bai An was flustered by this unclear smile and couldn’t pick up the dishes several times. Xie Shiwei then put a piece of cowboy bone into his bowl, and Bai An ate it tremblingly.

At first, Bai An ate very slowly, but later, because the food was so fragrant, his movements became unconsciously faster, which could be called a feast.

The minute hand of the clock moved two large squares, Bai An let out a small burp, and He Qin also put down his chopsticks.

Xie Shiwei handed Bai An a napkin: “Bai An, let me tell you some heartfelt words.”

“I used to be very immature and made a lot of mistakes, I’m sorry to you. But don’t worry, I will never cause you any trouble again in the future. As for sending you abroad, what’s done is done, just treat it as me sending you abroad for a trip. Look at the scenery and get your diploma by the way, and you also learned a lot of English, it’s a good thing, right?”

Bai An was stunned, his tongue tied: “Right, right?”

He Qin looked at his watch, urging Bai An to leave.

Xie Shiwei said goodbye to him, and Bai An left with a sigh of relief, holding a box of chocolates.

He Qin closed the door again, locking it with a click.

In the quiet office, the wall lamp emitted a pale yellow light, echoing the fishing lights on the sea outside the floor-to-ceiling window.

He Qin was wearing a dark blue cashmere sweater, with a light gray suit vest over it, leaning lazily against the edge of the desk with his legs bent, looking at Xie Shiwei: “Now the door won’t be blown open by the wind.”

Xie Shiwei suspected that He Qin was implying something, and calmly took the bait: “Yes, to be safe, you should remember to lock it in advance in the future.”

“You heard everything.” He Qin said.

This was a statement.

Xie Shiwei was too lazy to pretend, shrugging his shoulders to admit: “Yes, I came early and heard that Bai An found a person named Li Dong who wanted to embarrass me. Although he stopped at the edge of the cliff and didn’t succeed, I still fell.”

“You’re not angry?”

“I’m angry, but the reason he did this is because I used to be too reckless. Thinking of this, I’m not so angry.”

He Qin stared into Xie Shiwei’s eyes, as if wanting to see through those beautiful eyes, to see through the person hidden behind them.

“You are very different from before.”

“I know, I said, I’ve seen through a lot these days, and I’ve figured out a lot.”

“I don’t think amnesia has such a big effect.” He Qin said, “Are you hiding something from all of us?”

Xie Shiwei tilted his head: “What can I hide from you?”

“For example, a terminal illness, with little time left.” He Qin sincerely hoped that God would take this evil away.

Xie Shiwei laughed as soon as he heard it, his waist and back trembling, but he stopped under He Qin’s gradually cooling gaze: “Not only amnesia, but after experiencing this accident, I really woke up. Life is very short, and I don’t want to be confused all the time.”

He Qin looked at him for a long time, noncommittal, and sat back in his office chair, spraying water on the turtle bamboo on the table, saying: “Since you’ve heard everything, I won’t hide it from you. The accident you had at my house party was man-made.”

“How exactly did I fall? Do you know?” Although Xie Shiwei had already eavesdropped on Chen Ning’s conversation with He Qin, he was a little curious since he hadn’t seen the video of himself falling into the water.

He Qin described it again, and Xie Shiwei curled his lips.

The mastermind was really vicious.

He Qin: “Xie Shiwei, there’s something I must emphasize to you again. Although the current evidence clearly points to Bai An, it wasn’t him who harmed you. There is someone else.”

Xie Shiwei: “I heard it, but are you sure Bai An wasn’t lying?”

He Qin was sure: “No.”

“What if the chat logs he showed you were just a cover? Pretending to cancel the transaction, but secretly executing it strictly.”

He Qin: “I understand Bai An. When he explained, he didn’t even have a prepared speech. He was very flustered, afraid that I would misunderstand him. He wasn’t lying.”

Xie Shiwei leaned back against the sofa, humming, maintaining his character: “You trust him, but I don’t. He hates me so much, he’s capable of doing anything.”

He Qin tapped the table with his finger: “But there are doubts about the matter. This surveillance video was sent to your stepmother by the water-splasher Li Dong, and then Li Dong disappeared from the world, unable to be contacted. He left a confession email and disappeared. Is this reasonable? Isn’t he worried that he can’t hide well and will be found by the Xie family one day and brought back for you to vent your anger?”

Xie Shiwei frowned: “You mean, Li Dong himself wouldn’t be so stupid. This email wasn’t sent by Li Dong, but by another insider to guide us to suspect Bai An?”

“Yes, or everything was directed and acted by him and the mastermind. You’d better not trust the people around you too much.”

Xie Shiwei narrowed his eyes and looked at He Qin.

He was quite bold, directly implying that Chen Ning was the mastermind.

But he was still cautious: “In any case, I demand to investigate Bai An’s communication records first to confirm that he really hasn’t contacted Li Dong again in any way since that day in the cafe before I can rule out his suspicion.”

He Qin was surprised that Xie Shiwei would have such a meticulous way of thinking, shaking his head: “I don’t agree.”

But Xie Shiwei was very firm: “I understand, you’re afraid of Bai An being sad and embarrassed to come forward. It’s okay, you don’t have to take action. I’ll find someone to handle this matter.”