The Heir to the Seven Killers in the City

Chapter 36: An Unexpected Turn of Events

Upon hearing the name “Qin Yu,” Zhang Qiqi looked at Lin Xinrui with a hint of wariness. It wasn’t her fault—Lin Xinrui was simply too strikingly beautiful, so much so that even Zhang Qiqi felt she couldn’t hold a candle to her. So this reaction was perfectly natural. But Lin Xinrui looked at Zhang Qiqi with a similar expression, wondering why this girl was at Qin Yu’s house. Before they knew it, the two had already marked each other as enemies. “Qiqi, who is it? If it’s someone we don’t know, just send them away. Why are you just standing there?” Zhang Xiaofei looked at Zhang Qiqi, who had opened the door but remained silent. Unable to see clearly who was outside, he spoke as he walked toward the door. As he approached Zhang Qiqi, Zhang Xiaofei finally got a clear look at the person outside. Seeing such a stunning beauty suddenly standing at his doorstep, he felt a momentary, inexplicable fluster, but he quickly regained his composure and said, “Miss, is there something you need?” It was only then that Lin Xinrui realized she’d been a bit flustered earlier, so she repeated her question: “Is Qin Yu here?” In fact, Zhang Xiaofei had already figured out that such a beautiful woman was definitely looking for Qin Yu; otherwise, his sister wouldn’t have been standing there at a loss for a moment. He glanced at his sister and said, “Go call Yuzi first. Don’t just stand there dumbfounded.” “I’m here—no need to call me,” Qin Yu said as he emerged from his room. He knew exactly who was at the door without even looking. “Well, why don’t you come in and have a seat first?” Zhang Xiaofei said politely, while constantly giving his sister meaningful glances to tell her not to act too impulsively. Qin Yu could tell, too—and he could only imagine how fiercely these two women would clash when they met. But he didn’t have time to dwell on that; Lin Xinrui had surely come on a mission from Lin Hao. So Qin Yu said, “No need. I’ll step outside to talk with Lin Xinrui. You guys go ahead and eat dinner.” As he spoke, Qin Yu headed for the door. When he reached the entrance, he glanced at Zhang Qiqi. The young girl looked as if she’d been wronged; she kept her head down and said nothing. Feeling a twinge of pity, Qin Yu offered a brief explanation: “It’s just some work-related matters. I’m not sure when they’ll be resolved, so you and your brother should go ahead and eat.” Zhang Qiqi was a sensible girl, so she managed a faint smile and nodded. Once outside, the two were silent. Before long, Lin Xinrui said, “I wouldn’t have guessed it, but you’re actually quite popular with girls.” Qin Yu detected a hint of jealousy in her tone, which actually made him feel a strange sense of pride—though he quickly suppressed it. “Does Lin Hao have a mission for me?” Qin Yu asked. Seeing that Qin Yu wasn’t going to answer that question, Lin Xinrui pouted unhappily and said, “My godfather does indeed have a mission for the two of us.” “The two of us?” “No way! Do you think I’m a burden?” Lin Xinrui, who was already in a bad mood, got even more upset upon hearing this and even stomped her foot in frustration. Of course, Qin Yu didn’t mean it that way. He’d seen just how capable Lin Xinrui was—though she was indeed a bit behind him, she was still a formidable fighter compared to the average person. “Of course I didn’t mean that. Besides, that girl is my best friend’s sister. Because I got the Fire Scorpion Gang riled up, they’ve ended up living rough just like me, so I just couldn’t bring myself to ask your godfather for this apartment.” Of course, Qin Yu knew full well that this wasn’t what Lin Xinrui was actually upset about, so he didn’t dwell on the matter but instead addressed the issues that truly concerned her. Lin Xinrui secretly let out a sigh of relief, but she couldn’t save face, so she kept a stern expression and said, “My adoptive father told me to go with you to clear things out. You have no choice. I’ll meet you here at 8:00 p. m. tonight.” After saying that, she turned her back and walked away without another word, feigning anger. Qin Yu wasn’t sure if she was actually angry, so he didn’t feel comfortable trying to stop her. “A dark and windy night—perfect for murder!” Qin Yu sat in the car driven by Lin Xinrui as they headed toward the outskirts, and a breeze had just picked up that night. “You sure have a lot of time on your hands,” Lin Xinrui said. Qin Yu replied nonchalantly, “You should know as well—these underworld thugs are just small-time henchmen. Lin Hao is just trying to curry favor with the police. What danger could there possibly be?” “My godfather does indeed think that way,” Lin Xinrui said. Hearing Lin Xinrui refer to him as “foster father” time and again made Qin Yu feel uneasy. He thought to himself that since Lin Xinrui already knew what his foster father had done—and that he had even tried to kill her, his own foster daughter— “Why didn’t you leave back then? I had no choice—what about you?” Qin Yu finally couldn’t hold back any longer and blurted out the question. Lin Xinrui paused for a moment, then said, “Do you think I had a choice? If only I had your abilities—but I didn’t even have the leverage to negotiate.” Qin Yu swallowed the words “I’ll take you away” that were on the tip of his tongue and instead fixed her with a silent gaze. “We still have a ways to go. We’ll make it through.” Lin Xinrui didn’t seem to mind Qin Yu’s silence; she simply said those words and walked on ahead. Their destination was an underground money exchange, one that was tied to several underworld factions of varying sizes. Before entering the money exchange, Qin Yu stopped and asked, “There must be innocent people at the underground money exchange. What will happen to them?” “My godfather’s stance is that it’s better to kill a thousand by mistake than to let even one slip through.” Qin Yu sighed upon hearing this. “I don’t want it to be this way either. But what can we do?” Lin Xinrui said helplessly. “What would you prefer?” Qin Yu asked suddenly. “Huh?” “I was just asking.” “I do. I love shopping, I love places that are really, really beautiful, and I love flowers. I didn’t used to like flowers much, but my older sister loves them the most.” Lin Xinrui hesitated again at this point, but when she saw the determined look in Qin Yu’s eyes, she spoke up. “What I love most is freedom—being carefree and unrestrained.” As she said this, Lin Xinrui smiled, and her smile was beautiful. Qin Yu wanted to hold onto that beauty. So Qin Yu said, “I hope you can get what you want, so will you wait for me?” “I’ll be right back.” Lin Xinrui stood frozen in place, watching the man who had just promised her walk inside. She thought it would all be over quickly. But the man was taking an awfully long time to return. Finally unable to wait any longer, she walked into the underground casino to find a pool of blood on the floor. Qin Yu was radiating a terrifying red aura—even Lin Xinrui was startled. Qin Yu turned to look at Lin Xinrui and walked toward her with heavy steps. Lin Xinrui’s heart was pounding, yet she didn’t move—perhaps because she believed Qin Yu wouldn’t hurt her, or perhaps because she was too terrified to take a step. With a thud, Qin Yu collapsed to the ground.