Chapter 1196: A Confession Gone Wrong

"Sisters?"

"What nonsense are you talking about?"

Shi Ran did not tell her parents that Yun Qitian was "gay"; she felt this was his private business, and before Yun Qitian came out publicly, she had a duty to keep his secret.

She explained that the two of them had grown up together since childhood and were too familiar with each other; they were so familiar that there were no other feelings or thoughts.

She told her parents not to waste their efforts, as she did not want to get married in this lifetime and wanted to stay by her mom and dad's side forever!

It would have been better if she hadn't said that.

Once Shi Ran expressed her inner thoughts, Shi Youxuan and Sheng Hanyu became even more panicked.

Their daughter, who was so outstanding, was going to live her whole life without a lover and grow old in loneliness?

No, the two of them would not agree to that.

The two simply went to find Yun Qitian and asked him point-blank: "Qi Tian, tell us the truth, do you like Shi Ran?"

"I do."

He admitted it openly and honestly.

Fearing that he hadn't been clear enough just now, Sheng Hanyu emphasized again: "We are talking about the kind of liking a boy has for a girl, not friendship, nor brotherly love, nor sisterly love."

Yun Qitian nodded again: "Yes, I didn't misunderstand the meaning of Uncle Sheng's words. The way I like Shi Ran is the kind of liking a boy has for a girl, not any other kind."

"But she was engaged to someone else..."

"I don't care."

"She still has someone else in her heart."

"I am willing to wait."

With things said so bluntly, what else was there to say?

Sheng Hanyu and Shi Youxuan were very gratified and expressed their one-hundred-percent support for him.

Both sets of parents quickly reached a consensus.

Ma Ling'er stated that if Shi Ran could become her daughter-in-law, she would agree to any conditions proposed; although she was the mother-in-law, she would absolutely never interfere in the young couple's family life, as long as the children were happy, that was what truly mattered.

Yun Zhehao felt the same way as his wife!

The two families were old friends, and they understood each other's temperaments and personalities very well.

They also shared the same customs and habits; if Shi Ran and Yun Qitian formed a pair, it could not be more perfect.

With both sets of parents in agreement, Yun Qitian prepared to confess his feelings to Shi Ran.

However, a complication arose at this moment.

A coup occurred in L Country, and Qi Heng was driven from power!

The coup was launched by the military and supported by the common people; it took almost no effort, and the Qi Family's era of presidency had already ended.

The military occupied the Presidential Palace, but Qi Heng and his sister disappeared, and they were not caught.

Once the news of the coup in L Country came out, the whole world was in an uproar!

Jiangzhou.

Dingsheng high-level conference room.

Half an hour after the news of the L Country coup spread, all the shareholders and executives of Dingsheng Group had gathered.

The topic of today's meeting was, of course, not to participate in another country's political issues, but to figure out how to get back the assets that had been confiscated by Qi Heng!

Someone suggested going to the International Court to sue L Country for illegal actions, forcing them to cough up the encroached assets under pressure.

As soon as this proposal came out, it was immediately met with disdain.

If that were useful, wouldn't they have gone to sue long ago?

It was useless when Qi Heng was president, and now that his government had become a government-in-exile, it would be a miracle if suing them now worked.

On the other side, someone proposed cooperating with the new government to earn back the initial losses little by little!

But the risk of doing so was also very high; who knew if they would repeat the same old tricks?

The two sides argued for a long time without reaching a consensus.

Finally, Sheng Hanyu made the final decision—they would participate in the L Country economy, but the method had to change!

This time, others would not show their faces; it would mainly be Liu Fengchao leading a team over there, focusing on trade rather than infrastructure.

Trade allowed for quick entry and exit, and the operations were flexible.

But the disadvantage was that it was highly replaceable and lacked the long-term nature of infrastructure projects.

However, having said that, when doing business with L Country, what need was there for long-term plans?

They would take advantage of the fact that everyone was currently watching from the sidelines and no one dared to do business with L Country, while they were going in at a time when all kinds of supplies were scarce; by the time others reacted and started following suit, most of the money would have already been made.

The Chairman's resolution received unanimous approval from everyone.

Liu Fengchao led the team to L Country, and Wang Yong provided support over there to ensure everyone's safety.

Everything was arranged properly, and everyone took their positions to begin in an orderly fashion.

But Shi Ran felt somewhat restless; she was listless in everything she did and frequently made mistakes.

Yun Qitian saw it all, but he said nothing.

He knew why Shi Ran was restless, so he did not confess his feelings at this time.

Some love does not need to be rewarded; silent waiting is also a different kind of happiness!

A dilapidated Castle.

An underground secret room.

"Brother, I'm hungry!" the little girl raised her head and said softly to her brother.

Her voice was timid and Nuonuo.

Although she was young, she knew that the situation for her and her brother was not very good right now.

Being able to stay alive was already a blessing; asking for too much would be excessive.

But she really was so hungry.

She had not eaten for a whole day, and if she hadn't been unable to bear the hunger, she would not have asked her brother for food.

Qi Heng was extremely anxious; he himself had no appetite at all.

Only when his younger sister reminded him did he remember that the two of them had not eaten for a day.

"I'm sorry, little sister, brother has wronged you. Wait for me, I'll go get something to eat."

This place was originally the Castle of the Zhu Family, but after the Zhu Family fell, it gradually became abandoned.

Later on, rumors of it being "haunted" spread, so even fewer people dared to come here.

In fact, this abandoned castle had already been converted into a combat readiness base for the Qi Family.

A large amount of wealth and many weapons and equipment were hidden here, including food and drink.

Even if the two siblings hid here for a year, as long as they weren't discovered, they wouldn't starve to death.

Qi Heng prepared to go get food, but his younger sister let out a "Wah!" and began to cry loudly.

She cried while shouting: "Brother, don't leave me behind, don't leave me behind. Mom and Dad don't want me anymore; if you don't want me either, I'll be a child that nobody wants, how pitiful..."

So Qi Heng took his younger sister with him.

"Wah—"

Seeing a room full of canned goods, compressed biscuits, and bottled mineral water, the little girl stopped crying.

She exclaimed: "So much food? Brother, with all this, we don't have to be afraid of being discovered no matter how long we hide here, right?"

"That's right." Qi Heng touched his younger sister's head, his heart aching: "I'm sorry, little sister, brother has made you suffer with me. Brother promises that you won't have to live like this for long; it won't take much time before we will live a good life."

"Mm."

The little girl nodded solemnly, believing her brother's words without a doubt.

Presidential Palace.

"Clang!"

Liu Quan smashed a teacup and angrily vented his rage at his subordinates: "Are you all useless? Tell me, what is the use of me raising you? You can't do anything right; there's no sign of the items, and the people can't be found..."

The subordinates were so scared they didn't even dare to breathe.

They replied timidly: "I'm sorry, Commander, it's our incompetence, but we really did our best... we've practically dug three feet into the ground both inside and outside the city..."