A remarkably discreet black sedan was parked by the roadside, yet the man standing beside it was far more striking than the vehicle itself. He appeared to be in his late forties or early fifties, but despite his middle age, he showed no signs of aging. His imposing 1.9-meter frame, accentuated by a tight leather jacket, appeared even more formidable. With a shaved head and a short scar trailing from the corner of his right eye, he exuded a particularly fierce aura. Standing there with an impassive expression, the middle-aged man possessed the chilling demeanor of a ruthless killer, making it difficult to meet his gaze.
As Qin Zheng descended the stairs, his gaze immediately fell upon the man. Even as he approached, a profound sense of bewilderment gnawed at him—’Why was this man here?’ he wondered.
The middle-aged man, Li Ying, his stern expression softening slightly, nodded at him. “Mr. Qin.”
“Uncle Li, what brings you here?”
As he spoke, Qin Zheng subtly glanced at the sedan parked nearby. As expected, before Li Ying could respond, another voice echoed from within the car: “A Ying, let him in.”
Li Ying’s expression froze, and the words he had been about to utter died on his lips. He simply stepped respectfully aside and opened the car door for Qin Zheng.
Qin Zheng raised an eyebrow, and despite a vague sense of unease, he climbed inside.
****
Compared to its exterior, the car’s interior was equally unassuming. Yet, Qin Zheng knew this seemingly ordinary vehicle was anything but simple. Every part of it had been meticulously modified. Not only was the body crafted from materials with exceptional impact resistance, but the windows were also made of special bulletproof glass. While designed for internal comfort, its exterior had been engineered to be “indestructible.”
****
The true owner of the car, however, fixed his gaze directly on Qin Zheng the moment he settled into the seat. The glint in those sagacious eyes sent an inexplicable chill through Qin Zheng’s heart.
Growing increasingly perplexed, and seeing that the man opposite him had no intention of speaking, Qin Zheng finally broke the silence. “Uncle Bai, what brings you here so suddenly?”
“I’ve come to warn you.”
Beside him, the bespectacled middle-aged man, with his refined appearance, remained impassive. Compared to the fierce bald man outside, he seemed much frailer, with temples streaked with grey, even appearing somewhat weak. Yet, the pressure he exerted on Qin Zheng was easily ten times more intense than Li Ying’s formidable presence.
The moment the man spoke, Qin Zheng felt his breath catch. Still, he managed to speak despite the immense pressure. “A warning? Has something gone wrong with the company? But there shouldn’t be any issues recently, should there…?”
Regarding the company, even though he had been in Suhua recently, he had been handling matters regularly. If there were any problems, he would surely know. What truly baffled Qin Zheng was what kind of issue would necessitate this influential figure coming to see him personally. Even if the company had imploded, the first person to be contacted should have been his father, not this man beside him. Indeed, this was what Qin Zheng couldn’t fathom, for he simply couldn’t comprehend who this ‘Uncle Bai’ truly was.
As Qin Zheng’s confusion deepened, he could discern no flicker of emotion on the man’s face beside him. The man simply watched Qin Zheng in silence, making him feel increasingly uneasy.
“It’s not about work.”
‘Not about work?’ Hearing this, Qin Zheng grew even more bewildered. ‘If it wasn’t about work, then what was it? And why use the word ‘warning’? Surely I haven’t done anything outrageous, have I? Even if I had, with this man’s personality…’
“That child is quite adorable, isn’t she?”
Just as Qin Zheng furrowed his brow, pondering the man’s intentions, the calm voice made him pause. “Uh… what?”
‘That child is adorable? Which child?’ The cryptic remark left Qin Zheng utterly baffled, but in the next instant, another face spontaneously materialized in his mind, and his body abruptly tensed.
“Uncle Bai, are you talking about—Bai Xia?”
‘Uh, wait!’ Qin Zheng pressed a hand to his temple, feeling as though something had suddenly clicked into place. ‘Bai Xia? Bai Xia, Bai Zhen, and Xia Qingyu!?’
Observing the shift in his expression, the man beside him gave a soft snort, a cold smile playing on his lips. “What do you think?”
“Uncle Bai, please allow me a moment to process this.”
Taking a deep breath, Qin Zheng managed to compose his astonished expression, though a hint of disbelief still lingered. “Bai Xia… she couldn’t possibly be your… daughter, could she? My and Qingyu’s only daughter.”
A fleeting look of complexity crossed the man’s face, but Qin Zheng, whose attention was not focused there, failed to notice. He only heard the man continue, “If I’m not mistaken, haven’t you met before?”
‘…That was over a decade ago, wasn’t it?’ Without prompting, he had no recollection, but with the mention, Qin Zheng did indeed recall a few fragments. However, due to the scarcity of memories and the passage of time, most details remained blurred. The only thing he could still vividly recall was the timid gaze of a child peeking out from behind an adult. ‘She was Bai Xia?’
“That’s not right. I distinctly remember investigating Bai Xia before, and she…”
Before Qin Zheng could finish, the man shook his head. “The person you contacted—if I didn’t want him to know something, what do you think he could possibly find out?”
Though interrupted, Qin Zheng didn’t feel angry. At the same time, he had to admit that if this man truly wished to conceal something, he wouldn’t be able to uncover anything. Even if he did find something, it would only be what others wanted him to see. ‘And much more, for example, the most crucial one—’
“Alright, but if Bai Xia is truly your daughter, then how could she… well, how could she be living out there?”
To be honest, even with this influential figure’s assertion, Qin Zheng still harbored doubts, wondering if he had misunderstood. After all, Bai Xia’s demeanor was inconsistent with her true identity—gravely so!
In response to Qin Zheng’s confusion, the man beside him uncharacteristically fell into a prolonged silence. After a considerable pause, he finally sighed. “She ran away from home.”
“Uncle Bai, are you joking? With your influence, how could she possibly run away? Even if she truly left, for this long…”
“Do you think Xia’er could have left without my permission?”
“Alright, that makes sense.”
Rubbing his forehead, Qin Zheng felt his mind reeling from the sudden influx of information. Bai Xia was this man’s daughter? Even though he knew the man wouldn’t lie to him, he found it incredibly difficult to accept, especially since Bai Xia’s demeanor didn’t align with such a background at all. After all, in his eyes, Bai Xia was essentially a lazy loli, prone to indulgence and rarely diligent. She was a little cunning, a little greedy, a little sharp-tongued, and a little tsundere. How could this possibly connect to the figure in his memories? ‘So… what exactly happened to Bai Xia?’
Composing himself, Qin Zheng looked earnestly at the man beside him, sensing that something was amiss. And, upon careful reflection, something had indeed happened around this man in the past, though Qin Zheng, being young at the time and adults deliberately concealing it, hadn’t been privy to the details.
Bai Zhen didn’t reply. He instinctively reached for a cigarette from beside him, but the next moment, as if realizing something, he slowly put it back. Leaning back against the seat, he quietly gazed forward. After a long silence, Qin Zheng finally heard him speak in a slightly hoarse voice, “Don’t delve into these matters. Later, don’t mention my visit to her, and don’t bring up anything about the past! I only came today to give you a warning, young man.”
“…Uncle Bai, what exactly do you mean?”
“No! Don’t play dumb with me!”
Glaring fiercely at Qin Zheng, Bai Zhen’s eyes flashed with a warning. “I can temporarily place Xia’er by your side. During this time, you *must* take good care of her. If she even scrapes a knee, I’ll break your legs!”
“Third! And if you dare to do anything to her…”
Pausing slightly, a chilling smile spread across Bai Zhen’s face.
“Then prepare for your old man to fish you out of the river.”
Qin Zheng’s mouth opened, but under Bai Zhen’s piercing gaze, he ultimately said nothing. For the man opposite him was likely not joking, and he indeed possessed such means and power. After all, despite having gone legitimate for many years, their family’s underworld connections ran incredibly deep back then. Even when the old master was still alive, he was revered as the “Dragon Head” by the underworld. Therefore, even though Bai Zhen appeared refined and gentlemanly, Qin Zheng was not deceived by his outward facade.
Finally, he nodded.
“I understand.”
“Good, now get out… Oh, right. Later, I’ll have A Ying give you the contact information for the security personnel. Make sure to check in with them regularly.”
Qin Zheng, who had already pushed the door open to leave, paused, nodded, and said nothing further.
After he had exchanged a few words with Li Ying outside and departed, Li Ying circled around and got into the car.
The car slowly started. As they drove away, the bald, fierce-looking man couldn’t resist glancing out the window once more, finally breaking the silence. “Is this truly alright?”
“What’s ‘alright’ or ‘not alright’?” Bai Zhen was also looking out the window, but upon closer inspection, one would notice his attention was unfocused, almost dazed.
“Mr. Qin is certainly a good person to entrust her to, but given Miss’s current condition…”
“That’s enough, A Ying.” Interrupting Li Ying, Bai Zhen closed his eyes and leaned back against the seat, appearing somewhat weary. After a deep breath, he shook his head. “I know what you’re worried about. Xia’er’s situation I understand better than anyone, and it’s all my fault that things turned out this way.”
“Boss…”
“Alright, alright. I asked you to contact Dr. Shangguan earlier. Have you done so?”
Li Ying wanted to say something, but he merely opened his mouth before swallowing his words. After a brief silence, upon hearing his boss’s question, he nodded. “Yes, I contacted her before we came and informed Dr. Shangguan about the situation here.”
“What did she say?”
“Dr. Shangguan said this might indicate a worsening of her condition, but she also said—”
‘A worsening condition isn’t necessarily a bad thing?’ Pondering this somewhat contradictory conclusion, Bai Zhen’s expression was unreadable. It wasn’t until he unconsciously took out a stack of photos from beside him and gazed at the girl’s infinitely radiant eyes in the pictures that he seemed to grasp the other person’s true meaning.
“Not a bad thing? I hope that’s truly the case.”