CHAPTER 124: CHAPTER 124: QIN JINHAI IS GONE

Qin Jinhai showed no reaction.

Li Yuan turned to ask Jian Yao, only to find Qin Sheng had already entered.

Qin Sheng’s expression was complex, a mixture of heartache and anger.

His gaze was somewhat obsessive as he stared at Qin Jinhai.

Anyone could die, everyone would die, but Qin Jinhai simply cannot.

Qin Sheng dragged Jian Yao over. "Why aren’t you treating him?"

Jian Yao stumbled. "He can’t swallow any medicine. Even the most skilled doctors can’t cure him."

"Then pry open his mouth and force it down!"

"Are you joking with me? He can’t swallow on his own. How am I supposed to force it?" Jian Yao wasn’t without a temper.

After all, he was the youngest son of a master of traditional Chinese medicine and the current President of Jiangnan Bank. Everyone tried to curry favor with him. Who was Qin Sheng to disrespect him like this?

If it were Qin Jinhai treating him like this, he wouldn’t mind at all. But Qin Jinhai’s reckless father? Forget it.

Qin Sheng was about to erupt again, but Li Yuan stopped him.

"Stop bothering President Jian. If you want your son to live, just call Fu Bing over. As long as Fu Bing is here, even if he’s on the Naihe Bridge, he could crawl back."

Qin Sheng retorted, "I would rather he died than let Fu Bing come near him again!"

"Then why are you shouting at others? Just prepare for your son’s funeral," Li Yuan couldn’t stay calm any longer.

As a mother, she couldn’t do anything for her own child. What was her purpose then?

Qin Sheng was silenced by her words. Glaring coldly at Jian Yao, he commanded, "Get Fu Bing over here!"

"Fu Bing is not a servant of your household, to come and go at your command," Jian Yao said sarcastically.

Li Yuan looked at Qin Jinhai with heartache, then stood up and approached Jian Yao. "President Jian, please tell me Fu Bing’s address. I will go and beg her myself."

"I’m sorry, Fu Bing has nothing to do with Jinhai anymore. I don’t recommend you go looking for her. Jinhai hasn’t mentioned Fu Bing at all since he fell ill. What makes you think his illness will improve the moment Fu Bing arrives?"

"Now is not the time for arguments. I just hope he can survive this ordeal. To achieve this, I wouldn’t mind even kneeling before Fu Bing."

"Madam Qin, isn’t your desperate love for your child a bit too late now? You can love your child, that’s your prerogative, but why should Fu Bing risk getting involved again? What’s in it for her to get mixed up in this? When you need her help, you summon her. When you don’t, she’s the one you blame for harming your son. Do you really think she wants to be entangled with your family?"

Jian Yao was one of the few who knew the truth about Fu Bing’s imprisonment back then. Such a bright person had been wrongly accused, leaving her with many regrets. And yet, those who caused her misfortune still wanted to exploit her further.

Just putting himself in Fu Bing’s shoes made Jian Yao want to explode.

Li Yuan fell silent.

Qin Sheng spoke coldly, "As long as she can save my son’s life, that’s all that matters. I don’t care what she thinks. If you don’t tell me, I’ll find out myself!"

Jian Yao retorted, "You think the Qin Family is all-powerful? Are my Jian Family, along with the Ren Family of Jiangnan, not enough to deal with your Qin Family?"

"Then let’s see!"

"Enough!" Li Yuan yelled, unable to bear it any longer. She glared at Qin Sheng. "Are you going to waste precious time quarreling? If you don’t want to see Jinhai, then get out!"

Qin Sheng fell silent.

He looked at Qin Jinhai again, still unwilling to believe that the man lying on the bed, barely clinging to life and on the verge of death, was his son.

Qin Jinhai couldn’t possibly be this fragile!

Then, Qin Sheng’s gaze turned icy.

He strode quickly to the bedside and yanked the quilt off Qin Jinhai.

Li Yuan exclaimed, "What on earth are you doing?"

"Do you really believe he’s so weak? As long as Fu Bing is alive, he can never die! Qin Jinhai would absolutely not bear to leave Fu Bing alone in this cold world!"

Jian Yao’s brow twitched. He said angrily, "If you’re going to act insane, please do it elsewhere! You’re not welcome here!"

Qin Sheng paid him no mind. He tore open Qin Jinhai’s pajamas, and when he saw the wounds beneath, he staggered backward.

His eyes were fixed on the scar as he muttered to himself, "Impossible, impossible..."

The tears Li Yuan had been holding back finally fell.

"Qin Sheng, that’s enough... that’s enough..."

Qin Sheng clenched his teeth. "How could he... for a woman..."

He couldn’t finish his sentence.

Did he love Fu Bing that much? Was Fu Bing so special that he would trade his life for her?

Qin Sheng’s mind couldn’t process it.

Without Qin Jinhai, what would become of the Qin Family?

Qin Sheng quickly regained his composure. His sharp gaze swept towards Jian Yao. "Keep today’s events a secret. And everything about him from now on must also be kept secret."

Jian Yao ignored him.

Li Yuan covered her face, weeping uncontrollably.

This was their retribution...

Qin Jinhai passed away at three in the morning. He had struggled until midnight, vomiting blood several times before he finally succumbed.

Jian Yao, unable to bear letting Li Yuan see his tragic state, had asked her to leave the room. He only told her the time at the very end.

Li Yuan sat numbly in the living room, unable to utter a word.

Meanwhile, Qin Sheng stood by the window the entire time, staring fixedly ahead.

There must have been a mistake somewhere. He must have overlooked some detail...

Jian Yao said, "You should both go back to your rooms and rest. I’ve already arranged for the mortuary staff to come. Let the Mortician prepare him, and then you can go see him."

"What happened to him? Why did he vomit so much blood?" Li Yuan asked.

"He had too many old injuries. I’ve been making him take medicine for years, but he was injured too frequently; I couldn’t do anything more. He was a doctor himself; it’s not like he didn’t try to manage his condition," Jian Yao said, his eyes reddening. It was the sorrow of the old burying the young. Even if he was discontent with them, now was not the time for accusations.

Li Yuan suppressed her grief and waited until the mortuary van arrived to take the body away. Only then did she muster the strength to return to her room.

She and Qin Sheng sat in different parts of the room, neither speaking.

Qin Sheng smoked one cigarette after another.

Li Yuan no longer felt like crying.

She had neglected her duties for too long. Crying now held no value. Jinhai was gone...

Suddenly, Qin Sheng extinguished his cigarette in the ashtray and said with unwavering certainty, "Qin Jinhai would definitely not die so easily!"

Li Yuan looked at him, puzzled.

"You..."

"He’s playing the ’golden cicada sheds its shell’ trick on me. He wants to ’kill’ Qin Jinhai before my very eyes and then reappear beside Fu Bing in a completely new guise."

"Even if he reappears, he’s still him. Fu Bing would never accept him."

"You’re wrong. Even if he disfigures himself and lives his life behind a mask, he would stay by Fu Bing’s side," Qin Sheng said, growing more excited. "After Fu Bing was released from prison, a disfigured bodyguard wearing a mask started staying by her side. It’s very likely that was Qin Jinhai, paving the way for his ’death’ today. He’s been planning this for a long time!"

Li Yuan shook her head in disbelief. "That’s all your speculation. You just refuse to accept the fact that he’s dead."

"I will prove it to you!"

The mortuary van sped through the city streets late at night.

The man wrapped in the body bag moved slightly.