Chapter 3206

Even the closest people always have something hard to say.

Yiqi lifted their eyelids, didn't speak, but their ears twitched; obviously they were listening.

"Do you want to know if the person behind those assassins is Bai Ze?" Jin Chen looked at him. "Instead of locking him in the basement and torturing him with a whip, shouldn't you first investigate what happened that day?"

Yiqi fell silent for a moment; the snack in their hand had been pinched until it was almost crumbling, crumbs sticking to their fingertips. In that pose they shoved the last piece into their mouth, then brushed off the crumbs on their hand, propped their chin, and looked at Jin Chen.

Jin Chen hesitated, then still said that sentence: "When dealing with a partner, you don't need to use such hurtful means to punish."

Yiqi's brow furrowed slightly, their heart inexplicably trembled, and they recalled Bai Ze's appearance after the whip wounds.

"But..." Yiqi's brow tightened slightly, their voice lower than before, "What if he really helped others bully me?"

Jin Chen thought for a moment, then said: "Then investigate first before drawing a conclusion. If it was him, you don't need to like him anymore—you can handle him however you want."

But do you think Bai Ze is that kind of person?

Yiqi's eyes drooped, their lashes covering their golden-brown eyes; they stayed silent for a long while—so long that Jin Chen thought they wouldn't answer—until he saw them shake their head slightly.

……No, he's not that kind of person.

That's why they felt so upset. Yiqi's fingers unconsciously clutched the edge of the table, and their mind began uncontrollably replaying the scene from that night.

Yiqi was so furious back then that they didn't think about anything. Now, guided by the cheap older brother, after calming down and retracing their steps, they realized that night indeed had many details they hadn't noticed. When Bai Ze blocked them, the gesture wasn't an aggressive interception but more like a protective stance, not wanting them to continue forward.

Also, what Bai Ze said when letting those assassins go—his voice was too soft for Yiqi to hear clearly, but if Yiqi carefully recalled the mouth shape…

Yiqi's brow tightened more and more, those fragmentary memories in their mind being flipped through frame by frame, pieced together, but they could never be fully completed.

Yiqi suddenly sat up a little, the light of fighting spirit reigniting in their eyes, cleared their throat, and said, "Actually, I already knew all of this."

Jin Chen chuckled, "You're still pretty humble."

Yiqi stiffened their neck, averted their gaze pretending to look at the crooked-neck tree in the courtyard, and changed the subject awkwardly.

I'm hungry! Time for lunch!

——

Meanwhile, at the White Family Manor on the other side of Didu.

After returning home, Bai Ze had the doctor treat their wounds. Although the whip wounds had begun to heal under the medicine's effect, they still looked shocking.

At this moment, Bai Ze soaked in a diluted medicinal bath, leaning against the tub's edge, their neck slightly tilted back, with only the shoulders and above visible above the water, thin muscles covering the skeletal frame.

The whip wounds on their back soaked in the medicinal water; the burning pain faded bit by bit, the medicine working well—the scars on their back no longer looked as frightening, and the redness and swelling around the edges had mostly subsided.

Bai Ze closed their eyes to rest a while, the screen staying lit on the chat interface with Yiqi.

Yiqi was raised by Sailina in District Ten; they know their temper—when angry, they'll do anything. Bai Ze wasn't sure if Yiqi had blocked them again this time; they stared at that name on the screen for a while, their chin sinking slightly into the water, lips pursed.

Finally, they flipped the camera, took a selfie, tapped to send, and no red exclamation mark popped up on the interface.

Bai Ze exhaled gently, eyes closing, the corners of their mouth slightly turning up.

Meanwhile, at the restaurant of Jin Manor.

Yiqi buried their head in a bowl of mushroom noodle soup, the noodles wound twice around the chopsticks just about to be lifted to their mouth, when the phone suddenly rang with a special notification.

They knew it was a message from Bai Ze; they had only wanted to glance at it casually, but being disturbed while eating is never pleasant, yet when their eyes fell on the screen, they froze completely.

Steam rose steadily from the bowl, their mouth slightly open, chopsticks holding the pose of lifting noodles, frozen like that for about five seconds.

In the photo on the screen, amid the misty bathwater, the faint outline of shoulders and neck, the deep collarbones, and on the thin muscle a few red whip marks still not fully faded could be seen, set against their already fair skin, showing under the warm light an indescribable meaning. All the lines that should be revealed were revealed, and moreover… moreover, the half‑covered chest, hesitant to speak.

Yiqi's ears flushed red at once, the noodles in their mouth forgotten to chew, they stared at the screen for a while, a tingling sensation spreading from the tip of their tongue to their heart.

White chocolate cake.

They especially wanted to eat white chocolate cake now.

No, what nonsense!

Yiqi snapped back to reality, rested the chopsticks on the bowl's rim, held the phone turning it over and over to look again, their fingertips picking at the edge of the screen twice.

Damn Bai Ze, who allowed them to use sexual allure to enchant! This person has no sense of shame at all!

They're still wounded—why post such photos instead of healing! And why send these kinds of pictures! Have they sent them to others too!

Once they catch that adulterer, they'll definitely use this chance to retaliate harshly!

Yiqi cursed Bai Ze ninety‑nine times in their heart, but their fingers honestly stayed above the screen, unwilling to swipe away; their thumb dragged across the photo twice, zooming in and out, in and out, until they finally noticed a line of small text beneath the picture.

: Thank you for the medicine, the wounds on their back are much better.

Yiqi blinked, "Medicine? What medicine? I never gave Bai Ze any medicine."

They suddenly remembered something, lifted their head to glance toward the restaurant entrance—just then Jin Chen walked over from the hallway, head down fiddling with the screen on their hand, walking and watching; when they saw Jin Chen reach the table, they reached out and poked their forearm.

Yiqi tilted their head back, "Was it you who gave Bai Ze the medicine?"

Jin Chen was poked by them, looked up with a grunt, pulled out a chair and sat down, voice lazy, "No need to thank—next time you'd better remember… oh no, better yet, hope there isn't a next time."

Yiqi gave an "oh", then lowered their head again to look at that message on the screen.

Bai Ze sent them this kind of photo, and wrote such soft words underneath—probably meaning they wanted to reconcile.

Yiqi's fingers rubbed twice, wanting to reply but not knowing what to say; their mood was complicated, hard to describe— a bit lost, a bit helpless, a bit sad.

They stared at the chat interface for a long time, ultimately not replying with a single character, but instead made up their mind.

They must thoroughly investigate what happened that day, do it themselves!

——

Over the next few days, Yiqi practically lived in the Study, hardly leaving home.

Jin Chen gave them permission—top‑tier conglomerate heir‑level system access, not to mention military region clearance—making basically everything query‑able across the Huaxia Empire.

This was the first time Yiqi personally handled such an investigation; although the operations were a bit unfamiliar at first, they learned quickly—after tinkering for two days they had figured out the ropes.

Following the trail left by those assassins, they quickly pinned down the mastermind: Qibuman.

Yiqi found the name utterly unfamiliar, never having heard of it. Yet beneath that name lay a more concrete clue: in Didu's South District, a private business club that had opened less than half a year ago—its registration information linked in countless ways to the Qibuman lead, although the front listed someone else's name, the flow of funds and personnel movements still pointed vaguely to Qibuman.

Qi Qi turned over the association's materials inside out, after confirming the location and security situation, began to ponder how to sneak in.

He certainly wouldn't be foolish enough to barge in alone.

Yi Qi casually sent a message in the Second Generation Heir group chat, saying he wanted to find a place to hang out; immediately someone recommended that club, which had just opened not long ago, with exquisite decoration and good privacy, already somewhat famous among the wealthy circles in Didu. Yi Qi followed the cue and, in a few words, settled on the date for the gathering.

On the afternoon of the gathering, Yi Qi changed into neat casual clothes, rolled up his cuffs twice to reveal his wrists, and tousled his hair with two grabs; he looked neither as relaxed as at home nor overly formal, while his entourage of bodyguards stood in a neat row behind him, making quite a show.

Just as he was about to leave and reach the first-floor lobby, he saw the cheap Dage who had been appearing and disappearing lately sitting on the Sofa drinking coffee, also changed into a black long-sleeved shirt, looking quite the charmer.

Looks hot.

After Yi Qi gave that evaluation, he then asked, "How come you're here?"

Jin Chen set down his coffee cup, leisurely looked over, and said, "For such an important occasion, aren't you planning to bring me along?"

Yi Qi exclaimed in surprise, "What are you going to do over there?"

"To keep you from being too affected," Jin Chen's voice was light and airy, with a teasing air of watching a show, "I'll have to clean up the mess again."

Yi Qi: "……"

How annoying!

He turned his head away, but in the end did not refuse.

To be honest, he actually had some doubts about this trip. He had never been to that club, and he didn't know what kind of person Qi Bu Man was; although he had quite a few bodyguards with him, it was uncertain whether they could handle any trouble that might arise. Now cheap Dage voluntarily said he'd come along, and Yi Qi inexplicably felt the stone weighing on his heart drop a bit.

"Then let's go, don't get me into trouble!" Yi Qi said with his hands behind his back and his chin raised.

Jin Chen: "……" Tch.