After the Breakup, He Washed Away the Memories Chapter 66

Chapter 66

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The short section of the phone call recording, excluding the beginning and end, was less than a minute.

Rong Qin didn’t know who had sent him this anonymous email, but that question was obviously not important at the moment.

He repeatedly listened to Qin Zexi’s arrangement in that recording. Every word spoken by the alpha felt like invisible needles dipped in the spiciest chili, stabbing into his heart.

Qin Zexi knew all along that he harbored resentment towards the Thirteenth Military District’s Pirates. He wanted revenge for his deceased brother and even harbored a humble hope that his brother who hadn’t been found in the sea accident could still be alive. He did charity work and donated diligently, hoping for a stroke of luck, even if his brother wasn’t alive in this life, at least he could pray for a better place for his brother in the next life.

He hadn’t hidden anything from Qin Zexi.

But what had Qin Zexi done during this process?

Knowing what he had always wanted to do, he stopped them from meeting when he suspected that Qiu Qiu might be his brother; truly, this alpha was cunning. He even thought of the idea of having someone adopt Qiu Qiu early, attempting to make Qiu Qiu disappear from the welfare institute.

For a moment, he didn’t know whether to praise Qin Zexi for his intelligence or curse himself for being foolish.

Qin Zexi had only seen Qiu Qiu once more than a decade ago, yet he could judge that Qiu Qiu might be his brother. But after Qiu Qiu became an adult, after several encounters with him, he didn’t even realize that Qiu Qiu was his brother.

If he had never met Qin Zexi, would he have been able to avoid such an outcome?

Even though he had successfully recognized Qiu Qiu now, the hardships and unfair comments Qiu Qiu had experienced in the past had already become substantive scars in his heart.

But what use was it to say these things now?

He was blind, both in his eyes and heart.

No matter how much he regretted getting involved with Qin Zexi, he couldn’t undo the consequences now.

Rong Qin looked at the phone recording on the computer screen, his whole body stiff like a frozen corpse, unable to move his limbs. It wasn’t until a new email popped up that he snapped out of it.

Rong Qin’s Adam’s apple rolled up and down.

It was still an anonymous email.

But this time, it was a video.

The protagonist on the cover of the video was Qin Zexi. Based on the suit and tie Qin Zexi was wearing, Rong Qin could even tell that it was from last August when they attended a banquet in the Capital Star of the First Military District.

But he had left midway during that banquet, leaving Qin Zexi alone.

And the starting point of this video was after he had left.

Qin Zexi and his friends were gathered in groups, drinking and chatting. Each alpha had an pheromone-blocking collar around their necks; and beside them, there were also many omegas wearing white pheromone-blocking collars.

Knowing that Qin Zexi wouldn’t easily lose control now, the omegas stood very close to him. One of Qin Zexi’s close friends even pushed the omega next to him towards Qin Zexi; Qin Zexi didn’t avoid it, only covering his lips with his hand and looking at his friend with impatience. He seemed to say something because his friend beside him burst into laughter even louder.

Rong Qin didn’t hear what Qin Zexi said, but he could “see” clearly what this friend said.

He understood lip reading. He easily understood the words of the alpha.

He said, “Zexi, you’re fine now. Why don’t you find an omega? Dump that useless beta soon. They even left early tonight, what’s the point of keeping such a disrespectful beta?”

“It’s better to have an omega. They can bear your firstborn for the Qin family in the future.”

Enduring, enduring with all his might.

Veins bulged on Rong Qin’s forehead. This was why he didn’t like Qin Zexi’s friends. If it weren’t for their family background supporting them, he would have beaten them to a pulp long ago.

Especially this one who spoke.

It was this person who mercilessly ridiculed him before he and Qin Zexi got married, telling him to pull himself together and not to take advantage of the situation. Being able to marry into the Qin family was truly his good fortune as a beta.

This video was unlike the previous phone recording. Rong Qin only watched it once before pressing the close button.

Although he knew that Qin Zexi no longer had a stress response to omegas, seeing Qin Zexi showing no aversion to omegas still made Rong Qin immediately feel a sour numbness deep inside. He also had possessiveness, but he now detested these alphas and was disgusted with himself.

And by now, Rong Qin already had an idea of who sent these two emails.

Being able to record a phone call of Qin Zexi in his office and having a video of Qin Zexi attending a banquet, this anonymous sender was quite uninteresting.

Because the answer was already obvious, if these two emails weren’t sent by Qin Zexi’s personal assistant. Who else could it be?

As for the reason.

It was simply due to the jealousy of an alpha secretary.

The alpha secretary by Qin Zexi’s side had followed Qin Zexi for more than ten years, even staying by Qin Zexi’s side before he even knew Qin Zexi; when he was accepted by Qin Zexi and allowed to participate in various matters of the Qin family’s company, this alpha assistant looked at him with disdain, as if he almost had the word “rejection” written on his forehead.

It was actually quite funny.

When he was mingling with Qin Zexi in the military district, no one stopped them.

But when everyone knew that he and Qin Zexi had obtained a marriage certificate and become legal partners, everyone showed such disdain and lack of expectation. It was as if he could indeed be with Qin Zexi, but he would always be the one hidden in the shadows.

A fall into the pit, a gain in your wit.

When he saw Rong Qiu again, Rong Qin gritted his teeth and reminded Rong Qiu not to hang out with scumbags and to stay away from that nest of vipers.

Rong Qiu, who was cooking noodles, looked puzzled. He was wearing an apron and holding a long-handled spoon in his hand. Upon hearing this, he turned his head to look at Rong Qin in the wheelchair, his clear eyes filled with confusion and incomprehension.

“But I didn’t have many friends to begin with.”

“…”

Ah…this…

Rong Qin carefully recalled Rong Qiu’s sparse friends list.

Indeed, that was the case.

He could count the number of people who were close to Qiu Qiu with one hand.

Afraid of causing Rong Qiu to be nervous and to avoid him developing an inexplicable sense of wariness, he quickly added, “These are just my personal feelings. Qiu Qiu doesn’t need to take them to heart. There are still many good people in our military district. Qiu Qiu just needs to be a little more careful. You should be cautious when you go to other military districts. Those alphas are all treacherous, and you never know what dirty things they’re thinking behind their facade.”

Rong Qin poured out his heart, and Rong Qiu listened earnestly.

Moreover, Rong Qiu felt that Rong Qin’s words made sense, which reminded him of Qin Muye before.

In university, Qin Muye had a trash friend, Su Ran, so Qin Muye perfectly fit Rong Qin’s description of someone who associates with trash.

Even now, even though he hadn’t seen Su Ran in over five years, Su Ran was still not a good person in Rong Qiu’s heart. Su Ran was an alpha with a knack for provoking omegas far stronger than his ability to carry out missions in the military district. It was laughable, really. At that time, he thought that with his identity, he could successfully persuade Qin Muye to have less contact with this alpha.

Then he got slapped in the face.

But now, he rarely thought about past events.

He also rarely contacted people from the past.

Except for Professor Ren, he would send blessings to Professor Ren on holidays, and he would often send special products from the Thirteenth Military District to Professor Ren. Sometimes when Professor Ren encountered rare mech design books in the library, he would ask if he needed them.

So when there was a familiar friend request in his contacts one day, he was especially surprised.

***

【I’m Su Ran, add me.】

What’s this? Just as he was thinking that Su Ran wasn’t a good person, this alpha came over to add himself as a friend again. Since Rong Qiu arrived at the Thirteenth Military District, he had changed everything, changed his cards, changed his contact information, and even his email was different from before.

He didn’t know where Su Ran got his new contact information from.

Seeing that he hadn’t added the friend, Su Ran sent another friend request, but this time with a note.

【I have something to tell you, but I’ve been blocked by Ah Ye for a long time…】

The first sentence left Rong Qiu baffled.

He wanted to talk to him about something, but what did that have to do with Su Ran being blocked by Qin Muye? It’s not like he told the alpha to block Su Ran.

Rong Qiu was puzzled.

Even so, Rong Qiu turned off the stove and agreed to Su Ran’s friend request.

His impression of Su Ran still remained from five years ago when he hadn’t discovered Qin Muye’s cold violence towards him yet. Unable to contact Qin Muye, he started with Su Ran, but Su Ran was obviously in cahoots with Qin Muye, helping Qin Muye hide things from him, and didn’t even tell him the truth until graduation.

Thinking about it now, Rong Qiu felt that the beating he gave Su Ran at graduation was a bit too light.

Just two black eyes. His combat power at that time was far from what it is now.

Rong Qiu fell into inexplicable reminiscence.

And the chat box on his phone showed that Su Ran had been editing the message to send, but it hadn’t been sent yet.

Rong Qiu waited for a long time but didn’t receive it, so he simply put the phone aside and continued cooking his noodles.

Rong Qin pushed the wheelchair in, obviously interested in his phone.

But there was some concern in his eyes.

“You’ve been using this phone for over five years, hasn’t it been replaced yet? Look, it’s peeling off here. I’ll buy you the latest phone.”

“No need, a phone is just a communication tool, as long as it works. I mostly use the brain interface for work anyway.”

With the noodles cooked, the noodles on the side were already done. Rong Qiu took out two large bowls from the cupboard, stretched out the chopsticks, and the cold noodles fell into the bowl without sticking together. Rong Qiu then scooped a large spoonful of sauce, sprinkled it with chopped green onions. This bowl of noodles was both delicious and fragrant, and it was something he had learned from Zhao Nanchen before.

He pushed Rong Qin to have a meal.

The two brothers sat at the dining table, and Su Ran’s message was finally edited.

Even though Su Ran scratched his head and thought about Rong Qiu and Ah Ye’s current situation very much, he didn’t dare to inquire too much. He wrote a long 300-word message, and when he sent it, it was a long string of text.

Rong Qiu frowned.

After reading it, he understood the gist of Su Ran’s words.

But it was a bit inexplicable.

Su Ran said that Qin Muye almost ruined their Su family because of him, and even broke off ties with Su Ran. Su Ran is still on Qin Muye’s blacklist to this day.

Because of him? What did he do?

Su Ran was much better than those alphas who asked questions without answering.

Su Ran: “It’s about the time when the Fourth Military District… Qiu Qiu, your mech malfunctioned and fell into the sea.”

“Oh.”

“The Fourth Military District has reopened the investigation into the cause of your mech accident and issued a statement saying that the accident at the time had nothing to do with you. A University also forwarded the document. The real culprit behind the scenes was an alpha named Zhou Jia…”

At this point, Su Ran paused, “This Zhou Jia was an alpha who used to flatter me. He wore my coat, swiped my access card, and entered the mech storage room to replace the parts of your mech. But he has now been expelled from A University.”

Su Ran’s words were somewhat pale, but the official documents he sent were black and white.

The same statement, the same signature, but the content was worlds apart.

Qiu Qiu’s heart stirred as he read.

He thought that the past was already over.

He didn’t expect someone to still remember, to still remember to redress grievances for him.

Su Ran: “This is all because Ah Ye requested a reinvestigation… Ah Ye said a lot in the military district for your sake, and I, I still owe you an ‘I’m sorry’ until now.”

“Never mind about apologies, it’s all in the past.”

Whatever Rong Qiu said, he didn’t mean to blame Su Ran anymore.

He just felt that Su Ran was too naive, always being manipulated by other alphas from beginning to end.

Su Ran’s matter was just a minor incident.

The Thirteenth Military District soon ushered in New Year’s Day.

The Federation didn’t have the lunar New Year holiday; New Year’s Day was their Spring Festival and the most important festival of the year.

Major, medium, and small companies all had a uniform seven-day holiday, and students had a whopping forty-day winter vacation.

It was the most joyful year for Rong Qiu and the most comfortable year for Rong Qin. Zhao Dongqi had returned to the Capital Star, and Zhao Nanchen had become a regular visitor to this small villa, even becoming Rong Qiu’s backup little brother. So when the older brother left, the lonely Zhao Nanchen immediately flapped his wings and came to take refuge with Rong Qin and Qiu Qiu.

On New Year’s Day, the day of reunion, the small villa of Qiu Qiu’s family was particularly lively.

Zhao Nanchen took charge of the kitchen, Rong Qin decorated with New Year’s goods, and Rong Qiu was already pinned down by Rong Qin to write the character for “fu*” on the coffee table.
* luck/ good fortune

Rong Qiu could write a few simple brush strokes.

He learned this when he was in the Welfare Institute, taught by the next-door Chinese medicine grandfather.

Rong Qiu wrote very carefully stroke by stroke.

Seeing the golden “fu” character appearing on the square red paper, Rong Qin’s eyes were full of praise. He even skillfully took out his phone, took photos, recorded, and sent them all in one go.

The two brothers pasted couplets and “fu” characters on all the doors and windows of the villa, even the small windows on the terrace were decorated with a beautiful pair of “fu”.

During the New Year’s dinner, Rong Qin gave Rong Qiu and Zhao Nanchen each a red envelope. Zhao Nanchen was pleasantly surprised, while Rong Qiu felt a bit embarrassed. He was already twenty-six years old and yet still receiving red envelopes that only children typically received during the New Year. But Rong Qin’s eagerness to give, and even pride in giving, made Rong Qiu feel obliged to accept, despite the thinness of the red envelope. Under Rong Qin’s repeated urging, he accepted it, unaware that inside the thin red envelope was a check worth eight digits.

Rong Qin also handed Rong Qiu a small sachet the size of a thumb, faintly scented with incense, containing auspicious papers he had obtained.

Rong Qiu hung this small sachet on his keychain, carrying it with him everywhere.

After finishing dinner and receiving the red envelopes, they didn’t bother to clear the table. Zhao Nanchen immediately dragged them outside to set off fireworks.

The Thirteenth Military District allowed fireworks during these days.

Rong Qiu had loved watching fireworks since he was young. There were many children in the Welfare Institute, and every year on this day, the director would buy some sparklers. Each child would only get three, but he treasured each one like a precious treasure. When lit, they would release round wisps of sparks, shining brighter in the darkest of nights.

Zhao Nanchen was obviously not satisfied with just sparklers.

Because of some alpha’s childishness, Zhao Nanchen had brought out two boxes of various fireworks from the storeroom. It was unclear when he had prepared them, but there were many types, ranging from small fountains to small rodents, and even large bouquet fireworks.

Their villa area wasn’t the only one setting off fireworks that night. Many passing children held colorful sparklers, and when they saw Zhao Nanchen’s two large boxes of fireworks, they envied them and couldn’t move their feet.

Under the gaze of such eyes, Zhao Nanchen couldn’t help but stand tall and proud. He handed Rong Qiu his favorite type of fireworks, which Rong Qin could also use, but being in a wheelchair, he could only play with sparklers like those. He then took the largest bucket of fireworks and placed it on the main road, where there were no power lines, a spacious area perfect for setting off such large fireworks.

With a flick of a lighter, Zhao Nanchen immediately darted over to Rong Qiu’s side, constantly reminding him and Rong Qin to cover their ears.

“Biu!” – “Boom!”

“Biu!” – “Boom!”

The children were frightened and scattered at first, but after discovering it was a large firework, they became excited again. They covered their ears and looked back at the sky, where one huge bouquet after another bloomed.

After a large one was set off, there were scattered smaller fireworks.

Rong Qiu also lit a sparkler.

The silver tin sign was held between his slender fingers, and a small snowflake-shaped firework, no larger than a fist, burned from one end to the other, stopping abruptly about twenty centimeters from Rong Qiu’s fingers. The tin stic turned from silver to red, but quickly turned into a silent black.

Yet Rong Qiu felt inexplicably relaxed.

Just like when he was a child.

All the worries and unhappiness accumulated over the year dispersed with the burning of this small sparkler.

That night, under Zhao Nanchen’s lead, Rong Qiu tried many fireworks he had never ignited before, while Rong Qin transformed into the most professional brother-loving cameraman. At first, he just took photos, but later felt that photos weren’t enough, so he started recording videos with full memory.

After recording, it was the usual show of brotherly affection.

A carefully selected fifteen-second video.

With a caption, it was sent.

Perfect.

***

New Year’s Day.

Qin Muye rarely had three days off, but after barely finishing the New Year’s Eve dinner with Qin Zexi, they both went their separate ways. His brother’s temper was very irritable now, always busy with something, but at least he remembered to attend the online meeting at the Qin family headquarters.

Qin Muye was already satisfied that his brother could recover from his injuries and behave himself.

He didn’t want a repeat of the last time when he quietly found his way to Rong Qiu’s house, so he replaced the bodyguards around his brother.

The overlap of work and personal matters during this time had left Qin Muye exhausted.

But he couldn’t sleep.

His eyes stared blankly, not knowing what he was looking at. The military district’s plan for the coming year hadn’t been flipped through for a long time, and the pen in his hand had gathered a sesame-sized drop of ink.

Under the sound of the next round of fireworks, Qin Muye finally snapped out of it.

He sighed heavily and finally closed the military district file.

Nowadays, his only solace was Rong Qin’s Moments.

Because Rong Qin would occasionally post updates about Rong Qiu, sometimes a bowl of soup, sometimes a silhouette, never revealing Rong Qiu’s full face.

Even so, Qin Muye was content.

But today was different.

His solo shots from before had been replaced by a fifteen-second video. Opening it, he saw a scene of a fountain firework shooting into the sky. At first, Rong Qiu couldn’t be seen because there was only a long lighter visible. As the firework barrel sprayed out the first sparks, the person lighting it deftly stepped back, and just then, their beautiful features were illuminated by the golden light, their blue-amber eyes shining like a sea of stars under the shower of gold.

This video replayed repeatedly on his phone and then appeared on his computer screen.

He downloaded it.

He couldn’t count how many times he watched it before, but just as he was about to comment on Rong Qin’s post, he quickly saw a new update on Rong Qin’s Moments.

It was Rong Qiu’s new post, a photo of a fountain firework. The fireworks weren’t very big, and the height of the spray was even lower than Zhao Nanchen’s next to it.

Clearly, this photo wasn’t as clear and vivid as Rong Qin’s video, but Qin Muye was especially pleased. The fact that he could see Rong Qiu’s update meant that Rong Qiu had removed him from the blacklist.

He downloaded the photo again.

But he hesitated to comment on Rong Qiu’s post.

Ultimately, he held back, afraid that his words would appear on v Qiu’s Moments, and that Rong Qiu would reject him again, putting him back in the doghouse.

In the end, he endured it.

Qin Muye scrolled through his phone screen with fingers still affected by chilblains.

Repeatedly watching Rong Qiu’s recent Moments, during the time when Rong Qiu had blacklisted him, Rong Qiu had posted a total of five updates, all filled with life updates. Most of the content was about taking care of Rong Qin, except for one picture that stood out. It was a close-up shot of the seedlings outside Rong Qiu’s villa.

These were the plants he had secretly replaced, and they were thriving.

But they still couldn’t compare to the one in his room. The one in his room was planted before he departed from A Star, and after nearly seven months, its growth far exceeded the new seedlings Rong Qiu had planted. Thanks to his deliberate pruning, many new shoots had grown into budding flowers.

Looking at the sparse flower buds on the rose seedling, Qin Muye took out an old phone from the drawer.

The old phone, along with a pen, had been thrown into the trash bin before, but the trash from the spaceship was dumped at designated garbage sites, and fortunately, someone had retrieved this pen and phone.

Qin Muye had spent a lot of money to get the pen and phone back.

The nib of the blue pen was already bent, and its odd curvature made the ink flow unevenly. He carefully adjusted it, ensuring it worked properly before returning it to Qiu Qiu.

But the phone left behind had long since become useless junk.

The SIM card inside was nowhere to be found. As a result, he still couldn’t check how many messages Qiu Qiu had sent during that time. But he had enlisted technical investigators specializing in such matters, and the response he received was that it would take some time to retrieve chat records from five or six years ago.

The night passed slowly.

Listening to the crackling of fireworks outside, Qin Muye now had nothing but time…

***

This was the liveliest New Year Rong Qiu had ever experienced.

He hadn’t realized before that the fireworks on New Year’s Eve would last the whole night, even sleeping in a room with no curtains, he could see the huge fireworks near and far from his bed, one after another, bright and lively.

It wasn’t until dawn broke in the east that the fireworks gradually subsided.

But Rong Qiu felt as if the sound of fireworks lingered both in reality and in his dreams. Unusually, he didn’t tire of it, and even had a good dream.

He glanced at his phone upon waking up, and it was already nine o’clock.

Apart from editing a few texts and sending them at midnight, he hadn’t stayed up late. The texts he sent last night had been successfully delivered, and seeing the replies from friends and mentors this morning made Rong Qiu feel comfortable.

After exchanging greetings, he quickly received a message from someone.

He hadn’t sent a message to this person last night, but he still received their blessings at midnight.

— Qiuqiu, Happy New Year.

***

After New Year’s Day, Rong Qin went to the hospital for his final checkup. His wounds had healed well, leaving only scars that had scabbed over, without affecting important nerves or muscles.

But Rong Qin’s broken arm was still in a cast.

However, Rong Qin was now able to return to work.

Rong Qin was very happy, even willing to endure the unpleasant scar removal cream that Rong Qiu applied for him every night.

Days passed leisurely.

Without someone’s disturbance, Rong Qin almost forgot about his married status. He was so careless that he was kidnapped on his way home from work.

***

The first person to notice Rong Qin’s disappearance was Rong Qiu.

At 7:30 in the evening, with a table full of food prepared, Rong Qin, who should have returned by now, was nowhere to be seen. His phone was unreachable. Rong Qiu contacted Rong Qin’s assistant, who said Rong Qin had left work two hours ago and was supposed to be picked up by Zhao the driver.

But it had been two hours since he left work, so he should have been home by now.

Despite worrying, Rong Qiu first thought that Rong Qin might have something to deal with and his phone might have run out of battery. But this theory didn’t hold up. By ten-thirty, Rong Qin’s phone was still as silent as a dead phone.

Rong Qiu didn’t know where Rong Qin might usually go. In his impression, Rong Qin was a workaholic who either lived in his villa or in the company lounge. He couldn’t think of anywhere else Rong Qin might be. He even asked Beta Bar, but Rong Qin wasn’t there either.

Could he have gone to his and Qin Zexi’s house?

As a last resort, Rong Qiu, who didn’t have Qin Zexi’s number, called Qin Muye.

Qin Muye had just finished the evening event and was exhausted, but all fatigue vanished when he received Rong Qiu’s call. However, when he learned the reason why Rong Qiu was calling him, his thick eyebrows slightly furrowed, and the protruding peaks of his eyebrows converged inward like two converging mountain peaks.

He quickly put on his down jacket over his military uniform, didn’t bother changing his shoes, and headed out with his laptop.

“Don’t worry, Qiuqiu, I’ll go home and check it out.”

While comforting Rong Qiu, Qin Muye contacted Qin Zexi with his laptop.

But there was no signal at all.

Just like Rong Qiu described, his brother, like Rong Qin, was unreachable no matter how many times he tried to call.

It was as if all these people had been cut off from communication. No matter how he tried to contact them, he couldn’t reach them.

Unable to get through on the phone and clearly worried, Qin Muye drove to Qin Zexi’s house. Their house was equipped with surveillance cameras, and through them, he knew that his brother wasn’t at home. If his brother wasn’t at home and wasn’t at his own place, then he must be at the company. While waiting for the traffic light, he received a response from the Qin family company. All the employees had already left work.

So his brother wasn’t at the company either.

Qin Muye arrived at his brother’s house, but he didn’t need to get out of the car. He had already confirmed that his brother’s house was empty. The beautiful little villa was shrouded in the dim light of street lamps, but every room was pitch black.

Rong Qiu hadn’t hung up the phone, still waiting for Qin Muye’s response.

Their breathing connected through the phone line.

“How is it? Have you found anything?” Rong Qiu anxiously asked from the other end of the line.

But Qin Muye still tightly gripped the steering wheel.

His brother wasn’t at his own villa, nor was he at Qin Muye’s villa. Now, just like Rong Qin, he had lost contact with him as well. A highly unlikely thought quickly rose in Qin Muye’s mind, but it swiftly expanded before him.

Qin Muye replied, “He might have been taken away by my brother.”

***

Qin Muye had never imagined that he would see Rong Qiu again in such a situation. Rong Qiu was dressed in home clothes, with a down jacket on top, hadn’t even taken a bite to eat, and immediately drove to Qin Muye’s residence following the address Qin Muye had given him.

Before even entering, Rong Qiu got straight to the point: “Rong Qin wouldn’t just go with your brother without a word, so he must have been taken away by your brother, right?”

Throughout the journey, Rong Qiu’s mind was racing like a well-oiled gear machine, turning at high speed.

What he could be sure of was this: Rong Qin’s disappearance couldn’t have been voluntary. Because even if Rong Qin was delayed at work by just ten minutes, he would always call to explain. A situation where he didn’t return home for hours without contacting anyone was absolutely impossible.

Qin Muye didn’t deny Rong Qiu’s words.

He handed Rong Qiu a pair of disposable cotton slippers. “My brother would never harm Rong Qin.”

“But this is illegal!”

Rong Qiu couldn’t believe that Qin Zexi would do such a thing. He didn’t dare to imagine what situation Rong Qin might be in now.

Even though Qin Muye repeatedly assured him that Qin Zexi would never harm Rong Qin, Rong Qiu had already lost much of his remaining trust in Qin Zexi, an S-level alpha.

“Don’t worry, I’m still trying to contact my brother.”

Rong Qiu was frustrated, but at this moment, he realized that he had no influence or friends in the Thirteenth Military District; he was far inferior to Qin Muye, who had countless connections and resources to try to find Rong Qin’s whereabouts.

They first checked the surveillance cameras outside Rong Qin’s company.

The footage showed Rong Qin sitting in a wheelchair, being pushed into a car by two ordinary-looking tall alphas.

Then the car left the range of the camera. Qin Muye had someone retrieve surveillance footage along the street, but they found that Rong Qin’s car entered an area where there was no surveillance, and it didn’t come out for a long time.

There was no sign of abduction from start to finish, as if he had vanished into thin air.

When Qin Muye’s men found the dead-end alley where the surveillance cameras didn’t cover, Rong Qin’s car was indeed parked there. The driver, the accompanying caregiver, and the bodyguard were all there, but Rong Qin was missing.

Rong Qiu was burning with anxiety. Even though it was already two-thirty in the morning when they arrived at the scene, he felt no drowsiness at all.

Qin Muye was equally alert.

Rong Qiu wanted to ask the people in the car, but found that they were all sound asleep and couldn’t be woken up no matter how loudly he shouted.

“They’ve been drugged.”

Qin Muye skillfully checked the back of their necks. Rong Qiu shone the light from his phone and saw a slight red mark on the back of each person’s neck.

Now Rong Qiu’s face could be described as dark as ink.

Rong Qiu gripped his phone tightly, the fingertips that were already pale from blood loss now even paler. “If something really happened to Rong Qin…”

“It won’t.”

He knew his brother well, and he had always loved Rong Qin. It was just the inherent pride in his nature that drove him to do such absurd things.

If someday they were faced with a situation where only one could survive, even if he died himself, his brother would ensure Rong Qin’s safety.

Rong Qiu blinked slowly, staring at the contact “Brother Rong Qin” on his phone screen. His thin lips trembled slightly as he opened and closed them. “How can you be so sure?”

Qin Muye sighed deeply in his heart. “Rong Qiu, do you know what the susceptible period is like for an S-level alpha?”

Qin Zexi’s susceptible period was the epitome of a traditional crybaby alpha.

Words that would never be spoken at normal times would suddenly come out during the susceptible period. He had witnessed his brother’s susceptible period, holding Rong Qin’s clothes, surrounded by Rong Qin’s photos, saying “Wife, never leave me” over and over again, humble and weak, completely devoid of the pride of an S-level alpha. At this time, an alpha was stripped of all the glamour and was laid bare.

So Qin Muye had never doubted his brother’s love for Rong Qin.

Even if it had become somewhat paranoid.

***

Whether Rong Qiu accepted Qin Muye’s explanation or not, his long-standing agitation was finally slowly pacified. He repeatedly played with the keychain’s small sachet in the car.

The two of them actually sat in the car, dry and silent, all night.

But Rong Qin didn’t come back the next day.

Nor did he come back the day after.

On the sixth day, Rong Qiu was like a withered twig, waiting anxiously, but Qin Muye continued to urge him not to worry.

“It’s been six days, and there’s been no word from Rong Qin.”

“My brother won’t hurt him.” Qin Muye reiterated.

“But how can I trust you? How can I trust that you’re not colluding with your brother!”

Rong Qiu regretted his trust in Qin Muye. What if this alpha was conspiring with Qin Zexi? What if, because of these six days of delay, he missed out on some great opportunity?!

Rong Qiu’s restlessness and distrust were clear and unambiguous, and it was precisely this unabashed suspicion and distrust that caused Qin Muye’s heart to ache. It was as if he had been struck on the head with a club, dizzy and cold all over; his lips quivered, then violently trembled.

Rong Qiu doubted him.

Rong Qiu actually doubted him.

Enduring the bone-chilling cold, Qin Muye had already lowered his head in defeat. At this moment, he, an alpha, seemed like a defeated lion. He said only one last time.

“Your brother is safe.”

Rong Qiu’s wildly fluctuating emotions didn’t calm down so quickly. Rong Qiu hadn’t been to the Mecha Research Institute for a full six days. He forced himself to sit down and draw, forcing himself to trust Qin Muye’s words, believing that according to Qin Muye’s understanding of Qin Zexi, Rong Qin must be safe.

But all this was in vain.

The inherent distrust of alphas finally erupted in this phone call on the sixth day.

Qin Muye could only make him wait, wait, and wait…

He waited from the first day until the sixth day, but he didn’t get any results.

Rong Qin was his only relative in this world, but his only relative had been missing for six days.

After hanging up the phone, Rong Qiu’s chest heaved violently.

Perhaps it was because of the frustration of waiting in vain, or perhaps it was because Qin Muye was Qin Zexi’s brother, but the guilt by association made Rong Qiu bristle with resentment towards Qin Muye. He knew Qin Muye wasn’t that kind of person, but he still couldn’t let it go.

He rubbed his head in frustration, making his dry hair explode.

In the moment before hanging up the phone, he could even sense the extreme desolation of the alpha; but it was too late, he had hurt Qin Muye deeply, so this alpha might never come to him again.

It was supposed to be a good thing.

But Rong Qiu couldn’t feel any joy.

***

Finally.

On the seventh day, Rong Qiu received the long-awaited news of Rong Qin’s return.

When Rong Qin returned, there was nothing unusual about him. He was wearing a thick down jacket and a warm cashmere sweater underneath. When he took off his down jacket at home, Rong Qiu realized that Rong Qin seemed to be doing extremely well. Even the fractured bones in his hand seemed to be fine, and even the bandages were newly changed white gauze.

But the better Rong Qin looked on the outside, the more hollow he seemed.

This was a manifestation of dwindling vitality.

Rong Qiu’s heart was squeezed tightly.

It seemed that Rong Qin knew he was worried, as he tried to smile through the dark shadows under his eyes and comforted him, “I’m fine. And I have some good news.”

But at this moment, Rong Qiu couldn’t care less about any good news.

However, Rong Qin reached out and gently rubbed the rough hair on Rong Qiu’s head, which had become coarse from his anxiety. “He’s willing to divorce me.”

“…” Rong Qiu was stunned, “Congratulations, Brother Rong Qin.”

Rong Qiu didn’t dare to say anything more to provoke Rong Qin. After taking good care of Rong Qin and making sure he slept well, he sent a message to Qin Muye, informing him that Rong Qin had returned.

Qin Muye already knew.

Because his brother had returned.

The tall and burly alpha still had his broken leg in a cast. When his brother returned, he was covered in injuries, from his face to his hands, even to his ankles, every exposed part of his body had scratches and bruises, and there was even a particularly deep bite mark on his neck, where no pheromone barrier patch had been applied.

It was obvious who the owner of that bite mark was.

And coincidentally, Qin Zexi had returned during his susceptible period.

This time, there was no one to comfort his glands, so Qin Zexi had turned into a crybaby. However, when Rong Qin left last time, all his clothes were taken away, leaving Qin Zexi with only a piece of yellowed bandage, which had been replaced with a new one. The smell was faint, like a drop of tasteless water for a desperately thirsty giant beast, naturally not enough.

But Qin Muye had no reason to let Rong Qin come and comfort his brother again.

Because Qin Muye quickly found a document from Qin Zexi’s open clothes.

A signed divorce agreement.

Signatories: Qin Zexi, Rong Qin

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