Chapter 55: Do You Want to Go Home?

Qiu Yiyao stared in disbelief at those two adorable little ears, which twitched slightly. She couldn’t help but reach out and touch them; the fur was delicate and soft.

Congcong sensed her touch and looked up at Qiu Yiyao. “Sister Yiyao, are you touching me?”

His face was hairless, and his tiny hands and feet bore no strange claws or long nails. Qiu Yiyao found it quite miraculous.

“Congcong, can you tell me, you and your mother, what exactly are you…”

Qiu Yiyao paused, uncertain how to address them—should she call them monsters, fairies, or simply animals?

“What?”

Congcong blinked his innocent big eyes, not understanding.

Qiu Yiyao gently touched his little ears. “Congcong, Sister Yiyao doesn’t like children who tell lies. What’s with your two ears?”

Only then did Congcong realize. He raised his chubby little hand to his head, shook his head, and his ears vanished. He mumbled, “Mom said not to let others see my ears.”

At that moment, through the open door, Qiu Yiyao saw Li Zhen emerge from the back door with a serious expression and hurriedly said, “Congcong, your mother is here.”

Congcong’s eyes showed fear.

Qiu Yiyao comforted him, “Don’t be afraid. Sister won’t tell Mom. This is our secret.”

“Secret?”

“Yes, only Congcong and Sister know. That’s called a secret.”

Congcong understood and happily shouted, “Secret!”

“What secret?”

Li Zhen looked suspicious. Seeing Qiu Yiyao holding Congcong, she scolded sternly, “You’re not listening to what Mom said, are you? You have a cold; you can’t get too close to Sister Yiyao. What if you pass the cold to her?”

“I’m fine. I’m very healthy,” Qiu Yiyao patted her chest. “It’s just a little cold, no worries. By the way, I just felt Congcong’s forehead; he seems to have a fever.”

“It’s okay. I already gave him medicine to reduce the fever,” Li Zhen said, seemingly less worried.

“By the way, Yiyao, your father is looking for you.”

“Oh, I’ll go back right now.”

Qiu Yiyao guessed that Li Zhen must have told Qiu Shengming something. Was she about to reveal some inside information to her?

At the thought, she felt a flicker of anticipation.

But when she returned home, the living room was empty.

“Strange.”

Seeing no one downstairs, Qiu Yiyao cautiously called upstairs twice, but no one responded.

“Where did they go? Could Sister Zhen be playing a trick on me?”

She thought it unlikely. Recalling that Qiu Shengming and Bai Peiyu often sneaked upstairs to discuss matters, she guessed they were probably in a room and hadn’t heard her calls.

She tiptoed upstairs and reached Qiu Shengming’s door. Just as she was about to press her ear to it to eavesdrop, she noticed the door wasn’t fully closed.

Curious, she quietly pushed the door open. There was no one inside.

She felt foolish—she had hoped to overhear some information.

Qiu Yiyao felt disappointed and was about to leave when her eyes caught a small plastic bag on the bedside table, with the words “Yueli Town Hospital” clearly printed.

Driven by curiosity, she entered the room and picked up the bag’s contents. The unfamiliar medicine names and the familiar symptoms they treated gave her pause.

Qiu Yiyao dared not think further.

But one thing was clear: this medicine was definitely not for Qiu Shengming.

Recalling Xiao Yi’s sudden appearance, Qiu Yiyao instinctively believed he must have gone to Li Zhen to say something, which was why she hurried to find Qiu Shengming.

And the content was undoubtedly about her.

A chill ran through Qiu Yiyao’s heart. Could this bag contain poison disguised as medicine?

Although Bai Peiyu and Xiao Yi bore deep hatred, since they had conspired to deceive her, it was not impossible that Bai Peiyu might try to kill her.

Moreover, there was Bai Lixuan out in the suburbs. If he was used as leverage, she would surely lose.

And since Qiu Shengming treated Bai Peiyu like his own son, the two must be closely allied.

Just as her heart grew uneasy, footsteps echoed from the stairs.

Qiu Yiyao hurriedly returned the medicine and ran out of the room.

Bai Peiyu came up the stairs.

Seeing Qiu Yiyao, his face grew solemn. “I have something to tell you.”

He turned and headed downstairs. Without hesitation, Qiu Yiyao followed.

No matter what Bai Peiyu wanted to say, she would fight to survive.

They walked in silence, one after the other, until they reached the riverbank.

Bai Peiyu stared at the water, his brows tightly furrowed, as if struggling within.

Could it be that Qiu Yiyao had guessed right?

Xiao Yi had threatened him with Bai Lixuan, forcing him to act against her? Yet, he still retained a shred of conscience, wanting her death to be clear and understandable?

Qiu Yiyao did not want to die, especially not to let that scoundrel Xiao Yi succeed.

“Speak. There’s no one else around now,” Bai Peiyu said.

At his words, Bai Peiyu turned to her, his eyes clearer than ever before.

“Do you want to go home?”

Qiu Yiyao was stunned, thinking she misheard. “What? Go home?”

“If you say you want to, I’ll take you there.”

Though Bai Peiyu’s voice was soft, his words were resolute.

Qiu Yiyao realized her acting was too poor—he had known all along.

“I want to.”

Her heart felt unbearably heavy. Who wouldn’t want to go home? But what about the innocent ones? Was she to let them die here?

She shook her head. “But I can’t just go back like this.”

Bai Peiyu was silent. After a long moment, he sighed helplessly. “It’s all fate. No one can escape.”

“If it’s all fate, do you think helping me means I can escape destiny’s grasp?”

Bai Peiyu did not answer. He looked out at the surging waves.

A small boat struggled to keep balance amid the turbulent water.

The river breeze tousled Qiu Yiyao’s short hair.

She sighed—life was like this messy hair, easily thrown off course by the slightest breeze.

Bai Peiyu turned to look at her profile. “From now on, whatever I say, you must obey without asking why or hesitating.”

“Nothing can be questioned?”

Bai Peiyu did not reply, instead gazing again at the river.

Not far away, someone approached stealthily—an old man with half-white hair and shifty eyes, appearing nonchalant but constantly glancing at Qiu Yiyao.

This unsettled her deeply.

“Don’t focus on what others are doing. Just take care of yourself,” Bai Peiyu said without looking away, though he noticed everything she did.

“Xiao Bai,” the old man greeted with a smile, “long time no see.”

“Uncle Yang, it’s you who’s rare to see,” Bai Peiyu smiled back. “I heard Auntie hasn’t been well lately. How is she now?”

“Much better.” Uncle Yang glanced at Qiu Yiyao. “Is this… your girlfriend?”