The Heir to the Seven Killers in the City

Chapter 40: For Love

Qin Yu rescued the two of them, then, led by Lin Xiaorui, returned to her “secret base.” Since they hadn’t been in the mood to look around or tidy up earlier, they hadn’t noticed that the room was now in a rather gruesome state—bloodstains were everywhere, the bedsheets had turned red, and there were even handprints smeared with fresh blood on the walls. Lin Xiaorui was a girl who loved to look her best. Seeing her room in such a state—and knowing that two grown men had witnessed it—her cheeks flushed with embarrassment in an instant. “Uh, I’ll clean this up. It’s all my fault anyway,” Qin Yu said, immediately coming up with a way to save her from embarrassment when he saw Lin Xiaorui’s reaction. Zhang Xiaofei watched his friend—who was usually quite carefree—now showing such thoughtfulness toward others, and couldn’t help but click his tongue in admiration. Qin Yu shot Zhang Xiaofei a glance, his expression not exactly “friendly”... “What are you looking at? I just didn’t expect you to have such a thoughtful side—it’s truly amazing!” Then, in a particularly low voice, he added, “It really is the power of love!” With his keen hearing, how could Qin Yu not catch that? He kept pushing Zhang Xiaofei toward the door and said, “Enough already. Everyone knows what you’re up to. The walls need to be repainted, and the bedding needs to be replaced. I’m leaving the shopping to you!” Zhang Xiaofei, of course, knew exactly what Qin Yu meant. He let out a couple more “tsks.” Feeling a bit embarrassed to stay any longer, he walked out the door before Qin Yu could even push him. Qin Yu followed him out and closed the door behind them. “All right, like I don’t know what’s on your mind, kid? You’re a guy, after all. I’ll go take care of it right away. Sorry for interrupting your precious time together,” Zhang Xiaofei said. In reality, that wasn’t the real reason Qin Yu had sent Zhang Xiaofei away. His mind was a complete blur right now, and he needed to get to the bottom of things with Lin Xiaorui, but he didn’t explain any of this to Zhang Xiaofei and simply let it stand. After saying that, seeing that Qin Yu had nothing else to add, he got into his car and drove away. Qin Yu walked back into the room. Lin Xiaorui watched as Zhang Xiaofei drove off in the distance, then said, “Your friend is quite an interesting guy.” “We’ve been inseparable since we were kids. Don’t let his appearance fool you—he used to take me out to play all the time, and he’s actually helped me out a lot in the past.” As Qin Yu spoke, his thoughts drifted back to events from a very long time ago. Lately, for some reason, he’d found himself constantly reflecting on the past and getting lost in nostalgia. “Now that I’m capable, if there’s anything I can do to help, I’ll definitely step in. Besides, these matters are extremely dangerous. They think I’m already involved, so I have to see this through to the end.” “Are you going to take full responsibility for his sister, too?” Hearing this, Lin Xiaorui asked in confusion. Qin Yu had been deeply immersed in thoughts of brotherly friendship, but her single remark made him feel that women in this world were truly a source of trouble—unable to tolerate one another. “Are you jealous?” Qin Yu teased. Both were smart people; they both understood that after all the ups and downs they’d been through, they’d developed feelings for each other. “No, I just can tell that Zhang Xiaofei’s younger sister has feelings for you,” Lin Xiaorui said. Qin Yu didn’t hold back: “But I really do treat her just like my own little sister. It’s just that because she got caught up in this whole mess, she’s already lost so much.” Qin Yu slowly recounted what had happened. After hearing the story, Lin Xiaorui sighed. What could she say? A young woman had lost what could be considered her most precious first time—even Lin Xiaorui, who had previously viewed her as a romantic rival, couldn’t help but feel a deep sense of sympathy. “How about this? Even though the law doesn’t allow it right now, I do. Why don’t you marry her too? But I’ll be the primary wife. I’ll treat her like a younger sister from now on. That young lady is very pretty, so you won’t be losing out on anything.” Qin Yu was taken aback by Lin Xiaorui’s unusual suggestion. Smiling, he said, “Don’t tease me like that. There’s bound to be a way to resolve this, but not by doing something so reckless.” Lin Xiaorui laughed as well. They looked at each other, both feeling a warm glow in their hearts. Lin Xiaorui seemed to suddenly think of something and began scrutinizing Qin Yu’s body, then asked, “Have your injuries healed completely?” “I never had any external injuries to begin with. As for the rest, I’m sorry, but I don’t want to talk about it—not even with you. I hope you understand,” Qin Yu said, his expression suddenly turning serious. Lin Xiaorui nodded. She understood—this was Qin Yu’s secret, and it wasn’t something simple. If Qin Yu didn’t bring it up, she wouldn’t ask about it in the future, no matter how close they became. “But I promise you, what happened before will never happen again. And what I said that night—I meant every word.” Lin Xiaorui suddenly got goosebumps from what Qin Yu said; tears were already welling up in her eyes. Qin Yu immediately pulled her into a hug. Lin Xiaorui, who had been so strong, finally couldn’t hold back any longer, and tears streamed down her face in big, heavy drops. Qin Yu held her without saying a word as Lin Xiaorui cried for a while. Later, with red-rimmed eyes, she slipped out of his embrace and said with a smile, “I look so ugly when I cry!” “I like it.” “All right, stop crying. Isn’t everyone okay? Didn’t we just have a close call? By the way, who were those guys?” Only now, with his head still spinning from love, did Qin Yu remember to ask about the serious matter. Lin Xiaorui also stopped crying and said, “They’re probably gangsters from around Jiangcheng. Yesterday, we raided an underground casino that was very important to them, which caused them to panic. They captured the two of us this time specifically to negotiate with Yi… Lin Hao.” Lin Xiaorui had originally intended to call Lin Hao “godfather,” but after glancing at Qin Yu, she began addressing him by his full name instead. In truth, Qin Yu didn’t really care what Lin Xiaorui called Lin Hao; after all, he owed him a debt of gratitude for raising him—even if that had mostly been for his own benefit. “This isn’t over. I didn’t realize it yesterday, but now that I think about it, by having the two of us handle this, Lin Hao has effectively put us at odds with the entire Jiangcheng underworld. There’s no way we can walk away from this unscathed.” Lin Xiaorui nodded and said, “I’m sorry. If I’d been a little more level-headed, this wouldn’t have happened.” “What’s there to be afraid of? Since we can’t avoid it, let them come. They’re all scum anyway. I’ve figured it out: true freedom means cutting the problem off at the root.” Qin Yu spoke with righteous conviction. He had indeed been thinking about this for a long time—ever since the monk finished speaking, or perhaps even long, long before that, when he’d pondered similar questions. And he had already arrived at his answer.