eurekapd Chapter 1268 Yun Rui's sincere heart: Don't come near my daughter
Chapter 1268 Yun Rui's sincere heart: Don't come near my daughter
The floor clock in the study struck eleven. Qi Ruixiang's eyes moved from the yellowed files to Yang Bin, who was leaning on a leather chair, the cigarette between his fingers flickering, and the ashtray was piled with half-burned cigarette butts.
The air was filled with a strong smell of tobacco, mixed with the damp air coming in from the window, making it hard to breathe.
"Boss Qi really cares about Xiaotang." Yang Bin was the first to break the silence. His voice was so low that it seemed to come from deep in his chest. He flicked the ash from his cigarette, and sparks splashed on the carpet, leaving tiny burn marks. "But as a father, I hate to see people plotting against my daughter."
Qi Ruixiang took off his gold-rimmed glasses and slowly wiped the lenses, but his eyes behind the lenses were as sharp as a hawk: "Chief Yang, you are suspicious. I just admire Miss Yang's kindness." His tone was steady, but sharp, "Just like I admire Chief Yang's vigorous and resolute style in the police force, so I want to make friends with you."
"Make friends?" Yang Bin suddenly sneered and stood up abruptly, and the metal seat made a harsh sound on the floor.
He approached Qi Ruixiang, the brass buttons on his police uniform almost touching his chest. "Three months ago, you suddenly moved from Phoenix International to the opposite side of my daughter's house. Two days ago, you pretended to bring stray cats and dogs to the pet hospital where she worked, and you tricked her into bringing you back. Mr. Qi, do you think I would believe that you were here just to make friends?"
Qi Ruixiang's pupils shrank slightly, and then returned to normal. He took a half step back to avoid Yang Bin's hot breath: "It seems that Director Yang knows a lot about me."
He put on his glasses again and glanced at the family portrait on the bookshelf. In the photo, Yang Xiaotang was wearing a white dress and smiling brightly, while Yang Bin was hugging his wife's shoulders, looking very energetic. "I heard that when the director's wife was seriously ill, it was Master Gu who used his connections to contact the experts? I'm sure you have always remembered this favor."
These words made Yang Bin's face instantly gloomy.
He clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white from the effort: "What do you want to say?"
"I just think," Qi Ruixiang adjusted his collar and said slowly, "In this city, everyone makes a living under the protection of the Gu family, so we are all family. It's not a bad idea for family members to support each other..."
He paused deliberately, observing the other party's reaction. "Of course, I'm not forcing you. I just want to know the details of the missing person case from 20 or 30 years ago."
"I hadn't entered the industry when that case happened..." Yang Bin gritted his teeth and spat out three words, turned and walked to the window, and lifted a corner of the blinds.
The light shone through the gaps on his face, making his expression uncertain. "Even if I knew something, I wouldn't tell you. Do you think our confidentiality clause is just a decoration?"
Qi Ruixiang was silent for a moment, took out a yellowed photo from the inside pocket of his suit, and gently placed it on the desk.
In the photo, the young Qi Zhifang is holding her younger self, with antique buildings behind her: "She is my mother, and I have no memory of her. From being abandoned by her, to later noticing something was wrong, and finally getting a clue, Director Yang, do you think I will give up so easily?"
His voice suddenly became low and cold. "No matter good or bad, I must get a result. If anyone dares to stop me, I don't mind fighting to the death."
Yang Bin turned around suddenly, a hint of shock flashed in his eyes, but it was quickly replaced by vigilance.
He grabbed the photo and tore it in half, with the pieces scattered on the carpet: "Qi Ruixiang, you'd better understand that some secrets are better off never seeing the light of day." He approached Qi Ruixiang and spoke word by word, "Stay away from Xiaotang, otherwise, even if it means losing this police uniform, I will make sure you can't stay in this city."
Outside the window, the spring thunder suddenly roared, casting a shadow on the two people confronting each other.
Qi Ruixiang looked at the anger that was about to overflow from Yang Bin's eyes, and knew that this first move was too hasty after all.
But he did not regret it, because he saw a hint of hesitation in the other person's eyes - as long as there was this tiny gap, he could pry open the door to the truth.
The floor clock in the villa struck twelve. Yang Xiaotang curled up on the bay window on the second floor, watching Qi Ruixiang's black car disappear around the corner.
The moonlight shone through the gauze curtain onto her, dyeing the cat hair tease in her fingertips silver-white.
The sound of her father's suppressed cough coming from downstairs, mixed with the rustling sound of rummaging through documents, was like a feather tickling her heart.
"Informant? Undercover?" She bit her lower lip and muttered to herself, her nails unconsciously scratching the peeling paint on the window frame.
Memories suddenly flashed back - three days ago in the pet hospital, when Qi Ruixiang bent down to check on Xueqiu, he saw the dark red birthmark on the back of his neck;
The fiery light in his eyes when he explained old photos at the antique market;
And the aura he exuded when he left his study and passed by me, judging from the old man's expression, I guess that the exchange between them must have been very unpleasant.
What kind of person has such great power to make his own father suffer?
These fragments were pieced together into vague outlines in her mind, but they only aroused her desire to explore more.
The wooden stairs suddenly creaked. Yang Xiaotang hurriedly lay back on the bed and pulled the quilt to cover her burning cheeks.
The door was pushed open a crack, and my father's silhouette stood in the moonlight, with the metal buttons on the epaulettes of his police uniform shining coldly.
"Are you still awake?" Yang Bin's voice was hoarse from excessive smoking and drinking, "Stay away from Qi Ruixiang from now on."
"Why?" Yang Xiaotang sat up suddenly, shaking the lucky cat figurine on the bedside. She noticed that the veins on her father's hand holding the door handle were bulging, just like when he was chasing a fugitive when he was a child. "He is very loving, and..."
"No and!" Yang Bin suddenly raised his voice, shaking the family portrait in the frame. He quickly realized his mistake and turned his face away: "Anyway, listen to me and go to sleep."
The moment the door was slammed shut, Yang Xiaotang was startled!
In the silence of the night, Yang Xiaotang's thoughts became more active. She turned over and took out her cell phone, the light from the screen illuminating her furrowed brows.
Under the entry "Qi Ruixiang Miaoyin Media" in the search bar, there are all reports about successful business people, but the image of the man in a suit and tie in the photo and the man holding Snowball and coaxing it to take medicine softly cannot be overlapped.
She opened the family group for some unknown reason and came across a photo of her father's celebration party last year - in the corner, the picture of Gu Yunqian and Qi Ruixiang toasting had the edges cropped out, leaving only the two people looking at each other meaningfully.
"Ding——" The phone suddenly vibrated. It was a message from Qi Ruixiang: "Did Xueqiu take his medicine on time today?"
The accompanying picture shows a can of cat food on his desk and a note with crooked kitten paw prints drawn on it.
Yang Xiaotang stared at the screen, the corners of her mouth raised uncontrollably, then quickly pursed into a straight line. As the director's daughter, she should have been wary of such deliberate approach, especially under her father's repeated instructions, but the curiosity surging in her chest was like a wild horse running away.
The smell of night rain drifted in from the window. Yang Xiaotang walked to the desk with a pillow in his arms and opened his sketchbook...