Chapter 97 – The Truth
Before Fei Yishan arrived, Xiao Fang asked about Que Jiang’s schedule. Fei Xiangnan immediately understood what was going on.
“I’ll find some time to talk to him, but,” Fei Xiangnan paused here.
“But?” Xiao Fang prompted, but Fei Xiangnan didn’t continue. He held Xiao Fang’s gradually recovering face and kissed the tip of his nose.
“It’s nothing. Let’s get ready. Given Fei Yishan’s personality, she should be here soon.” Xiao Fang was dazzled by Fei Xiangnan’s handsome face and dizzily went back to arranging the fried chicken.
Ever since Xiao Fang returned, he had been able to get anything he wanted to eat at home with a single call. Fried chicken, coke, and the like were completely on the table.
To cater to the younger generation’s tastes, Xiao Fang had practically raided all sorts of popular snacks today, laying them out on the table. It was all to show Fei Yishan how generous he, her sister-in-law, was!
At around eight-thirty, there was a knock on the door. Fei Xiangnan went to open it. Outside, Fei Yishan was a little out of breath, a look of panic on her face that she rarely showed.
“What is the truth?”
With that posture, if Fei Xiangnan were to tell her here, she wouldn’t even need to come inside.
Xiao Fang immediately handed her a new pair of slippers. “What are you doing standing at the door? Hurry up and come in.” Then he turned around and dragged Fei Xiangnan inside.
He couldn’t leave them an opportunity to chat in the entryway!
When Fei Yishan saw Xiao Fang, her biggest impression was how much weight he had lost. He was a whole size smaller than the last time she saw him. Anyone who didn’t know better would think Fei Xiangnan was abusing him. But the reality she saw was that the romantic magnetic field between Fei Xiangnan and Xiao Fang was still so strong it was sickeningly sweet, with no hint of abuse at all.
Immediately, Fei Yishan remembered Xiao Fang’s other profession: actor.
Are all actors this dedicated these days? He’s already married into a wealthy family, yet he’s still working so hard. Such people are rare. Thinking about it, Fei Yishan’s admiration for Xiao Fang couldn’t help but grow.
However, even though Fei Yishan hadn’t thought about targeting Fei Xiangnan for now, she also hadn’t expected to be able to visit someone’s home so calmly, especially after walking into the living room and smelling the strong aroma of fried chicken.
“You haven’t had breakfast yet?” Fei Yishan’s face darkened as she looked at the table full of snacks. It didn’t look like something that old-fashioned Fei Xiangnan would eat.
“No, this is all for you. Sit, sit. I guessed you didn’t eat enough for breakfast, so have something to tide you over.” Xiao Fang seemed very enthusiastic. After Fei Yishan chose a seat, he placed a cup of milk tea in her hand.
“Try it, this milk cap is super delicious.” Xiao Fang’s entire being radiated enthusiasm. The key was that Fei Xiangnan, sitting in the middle, didn’t find it strange at all. He even very naturally wrapped a chicken leg in a clean napkin and handed it to Xiao Fang. Xiao Fang, without any pretense, started gnawing on it. This was a scene Fei Yishan had never imagined.
Given that Xiao Fang had helped her before, Fei Yishan didn’t say anything to refuse. She took a sip of the milk tea and cut straight to the chase.
“Can you tell me now? I investigated the company’s financial income over the past ten years, and there was a huge fluctuation ten years ago, right before and after my dad went to prison. Moreover, the Fei family’s overt development has clearly accelerated in the last ten years. By shortening the recovery of underground businesses, the Fei family has thoroughly established a foothold in the business world, with a development trend formally on par with Second Uncle Fei’s overseas economy. These things shouldn’t be something that could be resolved just by my father going to prison, right?” Fei Yishan said as she took out various documents from her bag.
Since there was really no space on the coffee table for the documents, Fei Yishan had no choice but to hand them to Fei Xiangnan.
Fei Xiangnan took them without a word, just looked at them carefully. There was no panic on his face. Instead, he looked like a teacher checking a student’s homework, his expression growing more and more satisfied.
Compared to Fei Xiangnan, Xiao Fang on the side seemed to be in a different dimension from their conversation. He didn’t ask much, nor did he offer his own opinions. He just dutifully gnawed on his fried chicken. After finishing, he picked up an iced coke, first glancing cautiously at Fei Xiangnan. Only after getting his permission did he start drinking with confidence, and then he picked up a double-scoop ice cream.
He was like a mascot.
Mascot Xiao wasn’t just sitting there being a mascot, though. While Fei Xiangnan was looking at the documents, he was actively handing snacks to Fei Yishan. Fei Yishan felt that she was probably the only one who was anxious the whole time. In order not to be so passive, she had to take the initiative to start a topic.
“Did you lose so much weight from acting?”
Xiao Fang swallowed the last bite of ice cream, his expression not particularly proud, just very casual. “It’s part of the job.”
Just because of this simple and clear sentence, Fei Yishan’s opinion of Xiao Fang changed for the better again.
But President Fei, who was looking at the documents, wasn’t very happy. To hell with “part of the job.” He had been worried about him for two months. He couldn’t let her ask any more questions. If she made Xiao Fang get carried away and he took on another self-harming role, how would he live?!
“Your investigation is not bad. To know this much without relying on the Fei family’s resources, you’re actually just one step away from the truth.” Fei Xiangnan handed the documents back.
Fei Yishan clutched the documents. She was indeed one step away from the truth. The key was whether she believed it or not.
Fei Xiangnan crossed one leg over the other, putting on a powerful posture. Even if his words burned him, he remained calm. “You’re guessing whether your father, my uncle, went in voluntarily or was forced in by me.”
Fei Yishan had always been straightforward. Even when her thoughts were pointed out, she didn’t show a trace of panic. “That’s right, that’s what I think.”
“Then what if I said I forced him?” Fei Xiangnan fanned the flames without missing a beat.
Xiao Fang, gnawing on a chicken wing, summarized Fei Xiangnan in his mind with one phrase: a little dancer in a minefield.
Fei Yishan also answered without any hesitation, “Then you’d better watch your position carefully!”
It could only be said that they were indeed cousins. The words they spoke were equally ruthless and without any scruples, because they had enough confidence.
To prevent his little minefield dancer from playing with fire, Xiao Fang kindly tugged on Fei Xiangnan’s sleeve. “Lang Lang is about to wake up,” which was another way of saying, “You should go prepare the formula.”
“If you trusted me enough, you wouldn’t have held back from visiting your father until now. Your aunt is not a stable person. Uncle would never tell her such a secret. You’re different. The Fei family urgently needs someone like you,” Fei Xiangnan said with a hint of regret in his voice.
“What do you mean by that?”
At this point, Fei Xiangnan’s expression finally turned serious. “Ten years ago, the Third Branch of the Fei Family tried to infiltrate our clan. Uncle and I colluded…”
Fei Yishan left the Fei family residence in a hurry, her heart burning with anxiety. She walked out with a complex mix of emotions, looking as if she had lost her soul.
Xiao Fang hugged Nuomici worriedly. “Yishan is in this state. Are we really not going to see her off?”
Fei Xiangnan held the peacefully sleeping Lang Lang, who had just had his milk, in his arms. He replied calmly, “She has a place she wants to go. If we send someone to follow her, she’ll feel uncomfortable. Let’s go, it’s almost noon. Time to prepare lunch. I’ll cook this time.”
“…No, no, I’ll do it.”
“…”
***
“Fei Hai, come out for a moment. Your daughter is here to see you,” a prison guard called out in the cell block.
A middle-aged man immediately stopped fiddling with his computer. He slowly raised his head, even chewing on those two words. Not his wife, but… his daughter?
“Fei Hai, hurry up!” the prison guard sounded a little impatient.
Fei Hai immediately nodded, closed the Plants vs. Zombies interface on his computer, and walked out. In less than two minutes, he entered the meeting room. Through the glass, he saw the daughter he hadn’t seen in ten years. She looked more like a boy than he had imagined, and also stronger than he had imagined.
She picked up the phone through the glass.
Fei Hai immediately sat down and pressed the phone to his ear.
Fei Yishan spoke, without any so-called warmth or nostalgia. The first thing she said was, “You’re really something, colluding with Fei Xiangnan to frame me!”
A look of helplessness and bitterness appeared on Fei Hai’s face. “Dad was also…”
“You don’t have to say it. I know everything. I’m not an unreasonable person either. You were in prison for ten years, and Fei Xiangnan was resented by the Fei family for ten years outside. This is the price you both paid.”
Fei Hai sighed. “It was hard on Xiangnan too.”
“Hard on him for what? He even found a partner, and their child is almost half a year old!” Fei Yishan said stubbornly.
Fei Hai still had that good-tempered look. “Xiangnan told me. As his uncle, I didn’t even get to give him a red envelope. I’ll have to make it up to him when I get out.”
Fei Yishan suddenly didn’t know what to say. She hadn’t seen her father in ten years. He was older than she remembered, wearing a dusty prison uniform. He was clearly the previous head of the Fei family, yet he had been in this place for ten years, hidden away for ten years.
Fei Yishan suddenly couldn’t hold it in anymore and started to cry.
Seeing his daughter cry, Fei Hai was at a loss. He wanted so much to wipe away her tears, but he couldn’t. “Shanshan, don’t cry. Dad is getting out soon.”
Fei Yishan hadn’t heard that name in many years. She didn’t want to seem so fragile. She covered her eyes with her hands and said through gritted teeth, “You could at least have some backbone! If I had believed you earlier, you wouldn’t have had to wait ten years. You should have believed in me too. Am I… that useless in your eyes?”
A look of heartache appeared in Fei Hai’s eyes. “Dad didn’t want you to be shackled so early. Seeing you grow up well and have a goal to strive for, I was very happy.”
Fei Yishan wiped away her tears. Now that everything had happened, she also knew where the crux of it all lay and what she would have to face.
“I’m grown up now. I don’t need any greenhouse anymore. I will bear the responsibility of being a member of the Fei family. As for the things you lied to me about, I’ll settle the score slowly, after you get out.” When Fei Yishan said the last sentence, Fei Hai’s eyes also turned red.
“Okay, after I get out. My daughter doesn’t need a greenhouse anymore.” Fei Hai’s voice was filled with unconcealable pride as he said this.
The father and daughter didn’t talk for long. Fei Yishan’s boyish personality didn’t lend itself to small talk. After saying what she needed to say, she left. She didn’t want to cause too much trouble. From now on, she also knew what she truly had to do.
And at the same time, a photo of Fei Yishan leaving the prison successfully reached a certain person’s hands.
The real battle had only just begun.
***
At the same time, the call that Ma Rui had been longing for finally came through.
“Hello? You actually still have my contact information. I thought you deleted me. Your attitude towards former colleagues is really terrible.” Although Ma Rui was filled with all sorts of concerns, the words that came out of his mouth had a different flavor.
“Yeah, it’s pretty terrible.” Surprisingly, the other side was agreeing with him. Que Jiang had never done that before. And his voice sounded even hoarser than usual.
Ma Rui realized something was wrong and asked, “Are you not feeling well? Do you have a cold? Did you buy medicine?”
Que Jiang didn’t answer these questions. Instead, he asked, “I heard you have a new girlfriend?”
For some reason, when this question came from Que Jiang’s mouth, Ma Rui felt a wave of discomfort, like a thorn stuck in his heart. Yet he still had to respond happily, “Yeah, she’s super obedient and cooks really well. Come to my place when you have time, and I’ll have my girlfriend cook for you. I guarantee you’ll want to find one too.”
“It’s good that you found someone suitable for you. I wish you happiness.” Que Jiang’s voice was indescribably hoarse, and the finality in his tone even made Ma Rui think it was a farewell.
“Oh, oh, you’re talking strangely today. Well, if you have time, come back and I’ll treat you to a meal. We were colleagues before, after all.” Ma Rui had no fire left in him now, his heart feeling heavy and oppressed.
There was a moment of silence on the other end, then he said, “I might not have time for a while. I have my own things to do.”
A look of dejection crossed Ma Rui’s eyes, and his hand, which was mixing noodles, even paused.
“Well, that’s fine. There will be plenty of time in the future.”
“Ma Rui, I said I liked you before, and it caused you a lot of trouble. From now on, just forget about it. For all the things before, I’m very sorry.” After Que Jiang finished speaking, he didn’t give Ma Rui any more time to talk and hung up the phone directly.
Ma Rui was stunned, and he didn’t come back to his senses for a long time.
This… was actually a good thing, wasn’t it?
But when Ma Rui came back to his senses, he couldn’t feel happy at all.