Chapter 744 - 774: His Parents Are Also Fake

"You mean Gao Yuan? But that woman... she isn’t his mother."

Gu Xu had learned this from a colleague he ran into last time he helped Qin Jiao look up information on Gao Yuan.

The colleague told him that Gao Yuan’s mother had a mental illness and had been living in a sanatorium.

And Gao Yuan’s father was a taciturn man who was always at the sanatorium, caring for her.

Of course, Qin Jiao hadn’t asked about it at the time, and Gu Xu hadn’t mentioned it. He had simply taken a closer look at the file and memorized what Gao Yuan’s mother looked like.

She was an elderly woman, haggard and worn down by life, who would shout "Son!" at the birds flying across the sky.

She was mentally unstable, a desolate and pitiful sight.

As Gu Xu explained the situation with Gao Yuan’s parents, Qin Shi saw her cousin’s face drain of color. She reached out and tugged on his hand.

Gu Xu stopped talking.

He said remorsefully, "I’m sorry. Sister Qin was just so worried about you, and I happened to know a colleague who could help, so I looked into it for her. If you’re angry, please, blame it all on me. It has nothing to do with Sister Qin. She’s just genuinely worried about you."

Qin Jiao had privately asked Gu Xu to investigate Gao Yuan.

Of course, it was all for Qin Xiaolan’s own good.

’But from Gu Xu’s perspective, Gao Yuan was Qin Xiaolan’s boyfriend. If Qin Xiaolan found out her family had investigated him like this, she would surely be upset.’

’Sigh... All he wanted was to be good to Xiao Shi’s family and help them with whatever they needed. He never imagined he’d be the one to let the cat out of the bag!’

Qin Xiaolan said nothing. Gu Xu looked to Xiao Shi, pleading for help.

Xiao Shi was very clever and pieced together the gist of the situation from their conversation.

Looking around at the bustling mall, she realized they could run into anyone. "Cousin," Xiao Shi said calmly, "it’s about time for dinner. Let’s find a place nearby so we can eat and talk."

After speaking, she walked over and took Qin Xiaolan by the hand.

Xiao Shi felt that her cousin’s palm was ice-cold.

She turned and shot Gu Xu a glare.

Knowing he was in the wrong, Gu Xu meekly followed behind them. Once they got to a private room in the restaurant, he went downstairs to order food.

Inside the private room, only the two cousins remained.

Xiao Shi poured her cousin a cup of hot water. After taking a sip, Qin Xiaolan finally calmed down a little.

She said, "I knew Big Sis had someone investigate Gao Yuan."

"So are you mad at her?"

Qin Xiaolan answered honestly, "At first, I was a little uncomfortable with it, but I know she was just looking out for me. If there was nothing wrong with Gao Yuan, she wouldn’t be trying to stand in our way."

Hearing this, Xiao Shi felt a wave of relief.

’No matter what, she couldn’t let a man come between them.’

After a moment, Qin Xiaolan finally composed herself.

’The story about his ex-wife going abroad was a lie, and now his parents are fake, too.’

’Just how many things has Gao Yuan been hiding from me?’

When Gu Xu came back in after ordering, Qin Xiaolan asked, "Do you know the address of the sanatorium where his parents are?"

"I do. It’s out of town."

"I want to go see them."

Gu Xu glanced at Xiao Shi, who kicked him under the table.

Gu Xu immediately said, "Alright, I’ll go find that colleague right now and get the address of the sanatorium."

Qin Xiaolan said with a sigh, "It’s not that urgent. We can do it after we eat."

Though, to be honest, she didn’t have much of an appetite.

***

Business at the Jiuyi Tea Restaurant was getting better and better.

However, Qin Jiao had been mulling over a problem recently. Her parents were getting older, and they had no ambition to become big-shot bosses.

Qin Jiao was thinking of letting her parents step away from the restaurant business entirely. If they wanted to keep running Youjia Noodle House near their residential complex, that was fine too.

Or they could just retire and enjoy their golden years.