Chapter 99: If You Want the Fragments, Send Someone Else

The man didn’t answer, but his fingers tapped faster on the keyboard.

After a good while longer, he stretched his arms and moved aside, making way for Qi Ke. "Go ahead and look."

Qi Ke knew how to fast-forward and use the other controls; the rest was up to him.

Qi Ke acknowledged quietly, then pulled over a chair and focused on the monitor.

"Your phone keeps ringing. Aren’t you going to get that?" Xiao Rui had just left but quickly doubled back.

Only then did Qi Ke remember his phone was fixed. He took it and glanced at the screen. The caller ID clearly displayed the two words "Gu Mian."

’Well, well. He finally remembers me?’

Thinking about what the man did last night, Qi Ke couldn’t help but frown. But the thought that he might know Wen Qian’s whereabouts made him press the answer button.

"Where are you?" the man asked, getting straight to the point.

Qi Ke glanced at Xiao Rui beside him and didn’t answer Gu Mian.

He was already being watched; Xiao Rui’s place was his last refuge. "What is it?"

Gu Mian had expected Qi Ke’s coldness and said nonchalantly, "Let’s meet."

At this point, it was impossible to know whether Qi Ke was a friend or foe, so Gu Mian couldn’t bring him to the villa.

Besides, he had his own selfish reasons. Wen Qian treated Qi Ke differently, and he didn’t want the two of them to get too involved.

’Especially Qi Ke... He doesn’t seem like someone you can easily dismiss.’

"With Qianqian?" Qi Ke let out a soft chuckle and continued dragging the mouse, scrubbing through the footage. A second later, his gaze locked onto a group of people outside the apartment building.

’As I thought, reviewing the footage in reverse was the right call.’

The other end of the line went quiet for a moment. After what felt like an eternity, Gu Mian’s low voice came through the phone. "I can find you even if you don’t tell me."

The threat was obvious, but Qi Ke wasn’t buying it.

Maybe that would have worked before, but now he was on a wanted list. He might as well have had the words "At Rock Bottom" plastered on his face.

"I want to see Qianqian." The playful look on his face vanished, his expression growing serious.

’All he wanted was to see Qianqian. As long as he could see her, he would agree to anything else.’

After waiting a moment without an answer from Gu Mian, he spoke again. "I know what you want. I can give it to you, but I have to see her."

"I’ll think about it and call you back." Gu Mian’s voice grew colder, and he hung up before the other man could respond.

At almost the exact same moment, Wen Qian came downstairs, rubbing her sleepy eyes. When she saw Gu Mian, her eyes filled with delight. "You’re back."

"Mm-hm." A complete change from his earlier coldness, a slight smile touched the man’s lips.

He was about to say something else when a tall, straight figure darted in front of him.

It was Yin Zhi, wearing an apron, who smilingly interrupted him. "Qianqian, breakfast is almost ready."

Gu Mian squeezed his eyes shut, fighting the urge to throw the man out.

He hadn’t slept all night, so he was already in a bad mood. On top of that, with the call from Qi Ke just now... it was getting a little hard to keep up the act.

"You’re up so early..." Wen Qian said to Yin Zhi, a little surprised.

’Doesn’t he usually love to sleep in?’

’He went to bed so late last night, yet he has the energy to make breakfast today?’

The smile on Yin Zhi’s face didn’t falter. "Yep! We’re pretty far from the city here, so ordering takeout and all that isn’t very convenient. That’s why I got up early."

Gu Mian shot Yin Zhi a sidelong glance before impassively turning his head away. ’The smile on his face is genuine enough,’ he thought, ’but the dark circles under his eyes are pretty obvious too.’ At the thought that Wen Qian had probably kicked Yin Zhi out of her room last night... Gu Mian’s expression softened a little.

Ling Xuan watched quietly from a distance, unsure for a moment if he should step forward. The scene that greeted him the moment he left his bedroom was so shocking, he thought he was still dreaming.

’I wonder if the Young Master will end up fighting Gu Mian. If they do, should I let them compete fairly... or should I find the right moment to screw Gu Mian over?’

’A truly profound question.’

’But then again... the Young Master can cook?’

Ling Xuan cautiously headed toward the kitchen. Whether the meal was a success or a failure was one thing, but he absolutely couldn’t let the kitchen get blown up... It would be a damn shame to have their location exposed over something like that.

"Go on, go on, stay out of the way." However, as soon as Ling Xuan got close, Yin Zhi waved him away.

Ling Xuan scratched his head. "You really don’t need my help, Young Master?"

Yin Zhi ignored him, turning to Wen Qian. "Just you wait for my breakfast made with love, Qianqian."

Ling Xuan: "..."

’Someone please save the Young Master from his love-addled brain.’

When Shen Mqing came downstairs, Wen Qian and Gu Mian were sitting on the sofa, removing the fragments from the Wind Chime. Now that everyone was living under one roof, there was naturally nothing to hide.

Of course, there was another reason... they didn’t take Shen Mqing seriously in the slightest.

The guy was just too naive. He bullied the weak, feared the strong, and was impulsive to boot. He might as well have had the words "Just a Kid" written on his face.

Wen Qian seriously wondered if he was even a legal adult.

"So these are the fragments you were talking about?" Shen Mqing edged closer, looking like a curious kitten. But upon feeling Yin Zhi’s warning glare from a distance, he stiffly retracted his outstretched foot.

He felt wronged. ’Why is the Young Master staring only at me?’ he thought. ’There are so many other people in the room.’

After finishing Wen Qian’s breakfast, Yin Zhi left the kitchen, signaling for Ling Xuan to come and take over the rest of the work.

That’s right, he had only made a meal for Wen Qian...

There was an apple on the coffee table for Li Jiu; he could feed himself.

’As for everyone else... that’s a lot of work. Better to let Ling Xuan handle it.’

"Qianqian, time to eat!" Yin Zhi called to her from the dining table, looking for all the world like a doting househusband.

Wen Qian looked at the breakfast laid out on the table, feeling slightly awkward. "Let’s wait and eat with everyone else."

’They’ve all been working so hard; it wouldn’t be right for me to eat alone.’

Hearing this, Yin Zhi didn’t insist. He had Ling Xuan take the breakfast to the kitchen to keep it warm, then walked over to Wen Qian.

He didn’t think there was anything wrong with what he’d just done. He was simply being obedient—obedient to Wen Qian.

By now, everyone else had gradually woken up and gathered around the coffee table to watch Wen Qian and Gu Mian assemble the fragments.

’It’s a little strange,’ she thought. ’If the disaster on Blue Star was caused by the shattering of the Critical Stone, then the two events should have happened at the same time.’

’At such a critical, disastrous moment, how could her mother have had the presence of mind to search for Critical Stone Fragments amidst the ruins?’

Initially, Wen Qian had thought these fragments were merely handmade trinkets her mother had prepared in advance, but now it seemed things weren’t so simple.

"What are you thinking about?" Gu Mian asked softly, as if sensing her preoccupation.

Wen Qian thoughtfully caressed the fragment in her hand. After a long moment, she looked up at him. "I was just thinking... what kind of person was my mother, really?"