The journey back to the city was silent all the way. When Xie Bingxia got out of the car, she wanted to say goodbye to Gu Bei. But the other man directly shifted gears and stepped on the accelerator, disappearing in the campus in a blink of an eye. So she had to swallow the word "bye" back.
Xie Bingxia knew Gu Bei's character. He was really angry. She sighed, carried her backpack and went upstairs. The dim yellow light in the corridor cast a huddled figure, squatting in front of her dormitory.
"Qin Feng?" Xie Bingxia walked over and saw Qin Feng burying his head in his arms, making a slight snoring sound - he was sleeping soundly.
"Get up. You'll catch a cold if you sleep here." Xie Bingxia bent down to pull him. Qin Feng rubbed his eyes in a daze. "You're back? I've been waiting for you for a long time..." When he was a little more awake, his vigilant dog - like eyes scanned around. "That Yuan girl didn't follow you, did she?"
Xie Bingxia pulled him into the room and casually ordered a portion of braised prawns in oil. "I've ordered takeout. Eat it before you go back."
Qin Feng found a chair to sit down, and his stomach began to growl. He rubbed his belly. "I'm sorry, Bingxia. It's all my fault..."
"What are you talking about? It's me who should say sorry." Xie Bingxia said seriously. "Don't provoke Yuan Yiyun anymore. I shouldn't have encouraged you to take risks."
"Bingxia..." Qin Feng was extremely touched. "I did it voluntarily. I wanted to help you."
Xie Bingxia shook her head. "Yuan Yiyun is too shrewd. You're no match for her. Let's talk while we eat later." She smelled a bad odor and immediately frowned tightly.
"Take a shower before the takeout arrives," Xie Bingxia pinched the tip of her nose and waved her hand in disgust. "You stink of sweat!"
Qin Feng grabbed his sweatshirt and smelled it. "Really? It's not that bad, is it?" Suddenly he exclaimed excitedly. "You're asking me to take a shower in your bathroom...?"
"Go quickly. I don't want to eat in a room full of sweat smell."
A blush rose on Qin Feng's cheeks. He happily took out a change of sportswear from his backpack and walked into the bathroom. He looked full of longing, as if he were a pilgrim entering a church.
After a simple rinse, using Xie Bingxia's shampoo and shower gel, Qin Feng walked out as if bathed in holy light. Just then, the braised prawns in oil were delivered.
"Tell me in detail about today's operation." Xie Bingxia opened a bottle of draft beer and filled their glasses.
Qin Feng peeled the prawns vigorously. While recalling, he said, "After you left, um... I went to buy drinks. According to the plan, I sent a text message to Yuan Yiyun, asking her to book a room. I said I'd go get my bag first and then leave. So she came to the changing room to block me."
"So far, it's the same as the plan." Xie Bingxia drank half a glass of draft beer in one gulp. "And then?"
"Then we went into the changing room."
"Wait a minute." Xie Bingxia caught the loophole and asked Qin Feng, "She came to the changing room to block you. We heard your conversation at the door. But there was a key sentence missing."
Qin Feng put the peeled prawns on Xie Bingxia's plate. After thinking carefully for a moment, he exclaimed as if suddenly enlightened, "I did miss a sentence! According to the plan, I should have told her first that Xie Bingxia and I had sent a text message and that they had gone back first. Only then could we act intimately and enter the changing room together, so that you and Gu Bei could see it."
"Exactly!" Xie Bingxia thought. "The fact is that she didn't care at all who was in the changing room and dared to openly show her relationship with you. That means it didn't matter even if Gu Bei saw it."
Her previously confused mind had caught an important thread and was gradually unraveling the mystery.
"Neither Yuan Yiyun nor Gu Bei cares about the matter of infidelity." Xie Bingxia drank the remaining half - glass of wine and slammed the glass on the table heavily. "We've been played."
She originally planned to let Gu Bei see Yuan Yiyun's true colors. If he annulled the engagement because of this, it would be the most ideal outcome. Even if Gu Bei chose to endure it for the sake of the two families' face and the benefits of the alliance, she had a backup plan.
This operation was just a试探. However, unexpectedly, it had led to more clues.
"Gu Bei has known Yuan Yiyun's true nature for a long time!" Xie Bingxia gritted her teeth. Gu Bei's attitude during the day had already said it all. He had known what kind of person Yuan Yiyun was, but still chose the alliance. This man could even abandon his male pride for the sake of interests and endure to such an extent. How cold - blooded he was!
So it was not surprising that he had staged a fake car accident to kill Xia Jingwei and seize the Xia Corporation.
Seeing Xie Bingxia's extremely serious expression, the prawns in Qin Feng's mouth suddenly lost their taste. He tugged at his slightly wet hair and said impatiently, "It's too complicated! Are these people playing the Game of Thrones or something?" Not wanting to think anymore, it was more practical to eat more prawns to supplement protein. He took a sip of draft beer. At this time, his phone in his pocket rang out the theme song of SpongeBob SquarePants inappropriately. Since his hands were covered in oil, he had no choice but to ask Xie Bingxia to answer it for him.
"It's Li Duo." Xie Bingxia answered the phone. Qin Feng only heard a noisy and anxious voice on the other end of the phone, speaking very fast. He quickly asked, "What's going on?"
Xie Bingxia replied into the phone, "Okay, okay. We'll come right away." After hanging up the phone, she turned to Qin Feng and said, "Yan Xiaoyi is missing."
*
Qin Feng and Xie Bingxia rushed to Li Duo's dormitory. They saw a dignified lady sitting in the room. She was well - dressed but looked haggard, obviously having not had a good rest for several days.
"Auntie!" Qin Feng greeted her. "What on earth happened? Tell us."
Yan's mother's voice choked with sobs. "Xiaoyi... He went home a few days ago and packed his clothes in a hurry. I asked him where he was going, and he said the school was organizing a sketching trip. This child is very honest, so I didn't suspect anything. But he didn't reply to my messages or answer my calls for several consecutive days. I was really worried, so I came to the school to look for him..."
Li Duo said anxiously, "The sketching story is obviously a lie. We're studying business. There's no art course in our elective courses. What would we go sketching for?"
Xie Bingxia asked, "Have you been in touch with him?"
Qin Feng said embarrassedly, "I've been busy with you these days, so I haven't been in touch."
Li Duo also lowered his head and said guiltily, "He hasn't been back to the dorm either. I thought he was sick and wanted to go home to rest for a few days. Similar things have happened before, so I didn't pay much attention. I sent him a message to show my concern, but he didn't reply, so I just let it go."
Hearing what everyone said, Yan's mother's eyes were filled with tears. "Where could this child have gone without saying a word? Could he... have encountered danger?"
Xie Bingxia quickly stepped forward and put her arms around Yan's mother to comfort her. "Auntie, don't worry. We'll go and ask around the school about Yan Xiaoyi's whereabouts. You sit here first."
Yan's mother nodded in agreement. Xie Bingxia led the two boys out of the dormitory and closed the door behind her.
"Tell me your thoughts."
"Yan Xiaoyi is definitely not a willful person. Maybe he really had an accident?"
"Don't talk nonsense!" Li Duo punched Qin Feng, not using much strength, but rather like a vent of dissatisfaction. "You've been hanging out with the goddess all day and don't even care about your brothers. How can you say that?"
Just as he finished speaking, he received a cold stare from Xie Bingxia. He immediately changed his tune. "Hey, I didn't mean that. It's normal to value your love interest over your friends."
This time, he received double stares. Li Duo shrank his neck and tried to make up for his mistake. "Before you came, I asked the other classmates in the WeChat group. None of them had seen him, which means he didn't even come to school."
"There's someone who might know his whereabouts." Xie Bingxia looked at Qin Feng. Qin Feng suddenly realized. "Yuan Yiyun!"
"It's too late today. You'll go and find out from Yuan Yiyun tomorrow."
"Me again?" Qin Feng made a pitiful face. "She'll definitely kill me when she sees me tomorrow!"
"What? What's the relationship between Yuan Yiyun and Yan Xiaoyi?" Li Duo smelled the scent of gossip and asked.
Xie Bingxia patted Li Duo on the shoulder. "You go with Qin Feng tomorrow."