"I think your brain is just water, you should throw in some tea leaves and let it steep instead."
Shi Huaifeng strolled for a while, then suddenly said, "I have to see the Medical Officer, Hongle, let's talk tomorrow."
Le Yuxin asked curiously, "Why do you need to see the Medical Officer?"
"Nothing major, just a little illness," he replied blandly.
At this moment, everyone—yes, everyone, including Qin Yueshi—knew that Shi Huaifeng had hemorrhoids.
The Glorious people were nearly immune to all illnesses; the word "sickness" barely existed in their dictionary, but Dongyang was close to the East Sea, where the cuisine was mostly seafood, the climate muggy and hot, the flavors spicy, and Shi Huaifeng was always sitting and calculating, handling business like a true career man. And the one pain that cell-division enhancement could not heal, might even make worse, was just this one.
Besides, everyone had keenly noticed that ever since he walked in, Shi Huaifeng hadn't sat down once.
And recalling even farther back, Le Yuxin realized Shi Huaifeng hadn't sat down even once on the ship either.
"Feng, I'll go with you," Shi Huaicheng sighed, "I should guard against it before it happens too."
"Is there something wrong with your Shi Family or what..."
The three Qin siblings watched them leave, and the main hall suddenly fell silent.
Qin Yueyang asked, "Brother, what's my next assignment?"
Le Yuxin froze, then remembered that ever since he was a kid, Qin Yueyang's entire life had been planned out by Qin Leyi.
Studying, martial training, business management, goals, every little thing, Qin Leyi had managed his brother's life down to the last detail.
If life was a marathon, Qin Leyi was the kind of coach who would put a marker every 50 meters.
Normally, most people would hate having their lives arranged like this—just like how rich second-generation heirs refuse to inherit the family business, insisting on meeting some lotus-flower heroine at a tiny company... but Qin Yueyang obviously wasn't bothered. Instead, he was urging Le Yuxin for the next main quest.
But this stumped Le Yuxin; he had no clue what kind of assignment to dish out, and Qin Leyi never left him a "Younger Brother Development Plan" sequel, so all he could do was make it up as he went along,
"Uh, uh... Your Biting Battle Technique is almost at the Integration and Mastery stage, right? Then just focus on the Combat Technique for now these days."
Qin Yueyang nodded, "So, will you handle the family affairs, or should we hire a new steward, or will I be in charge?"
"...You handle it." Even though Le Yuxin looked down on how Qin Leyi had turned his brother into a tool, after trying it out himself, "he found it surprisingly effective."
"Okay."
Then the two of them looked at Qin Yueshi—they both knew their sister hadn't left yet because she definitely had something to say.
Sure enough, Qin Yueshi walked up to Le Yuxin and asked, "Does what you said before still count?"
"...Could you remind me which thing I said?"
"That I can keep on studying at the Royal Academy."
"You're willing now?" Le Yuxin asked in surprise, "I thought you wouldn't want to accept your brother's generosity."
"No matter what, getting an education isn't wrong, and mastering power isn't wrong either." Qin Yueshi looked at him and said, "After all, you men can't be trusted."
"That's true," Le Yuxin sighed, "Jing Zhengwu really can't be trusted. If only he hadn't fought with Jing Zhengwei, the schemer, over the family inheritance, then maybe Third Sis wouldn't have had her heart broken like this. He just lost his life, but Third Sis, you lost your love!"
"Enough, enough, Qin Yueshi's fists clenched with rage."
Qin Yueshi's mouth twisted as she forced the words out between her teeth, "Does. It. Still. Count!?"
"You're such a hardworking student, I'll do my best to make arrangements." Le Yuxin sighed, "Really, it's great, you get to enjoy another round of bright and beautiful student life."
"If you like it that much, you should go to school too," Qin Yueshi spat coldly, walking away without looking back.
When Qin Yueshi was out of sight, Qin Yueyang asked, "Why?"
"Did the Qin Family just only say the main keywords when talking? Did I look like Baidu or something?"
"Why go out of your way to rile up Third Sis?" Qin Yueyang was a bit confused, "That was obviously a perfect chance for you two to make up."
"No reason, after being a good brother for over ten years, and making just one mistake, she resents me for this long; maybe I should just be a lousy brother—then I'll only need to do one good thing for her to see me in a new light. Plus..."
"I wasn't really all that great a big brother anyway."
Le Yuxin shrugged, "Hey... Second Bro, I'm tired. Want to take a bath and get some rest."
Qin Yueyang nodded, "I'll have someone get the hot water ready right away."
Watching his tool-brother leave, Le Yuxin closed his eyes and tapped the tea table.
"He was improving too."
"Qian Yuliu's experience told him: don't get involved with White Night."
"Yinyin Yin's experience told him: don't drink liquid offered by others."
"Jing Zhengwei's experience told him: don't create unnecessary attachments."
"For now, this Qing Lan bond was enough to fill his emotional quota. He didn't need more family. He didn't need more friends."
"Qin Leyi had too many ties; he had to slowly, painstakingly cut them all."
"Death for him was just a layover on a journey, but for everyone else, it was a final farewell."
"Even though he was just an account thief with no standing to comment, he genuinely wished that no one would grieve his death."
"Or maybe,"
"He simply hoped that when he saw others hurting over his death, he wouldn't feel guilty."
...
...
"Young Master changed a lot after he woke up."
"Yeah, not only did he quit the red juice, he suddenly loves honey Five-Flower Tea."
"The Young Master used to always take quick showers, now he's into long soaks in the tub."
"He even thanked me earlier."
"Really? When I was helping him put on his boots on the ship, he thanked me too. I thought I heard it wrong..."
"He's like a totally different person..."
The two servants gossiped as they walked through the house. They didn't notice that, since the place had been vacant for so long, several lights in the courtyard were broken and never replaced, and the corridors were thick with shadows.
Just as the two servants passed through a shadow in the corridor, a pair of hands lunged out from the darkness like claws, locking tightly onto the backs of their necks, fingernails scraping hard across their Adam's apples, pain and the taste of blood forcing them to choke back their screams.
"Se—Second Young Master!?" the servants twisted their heads in terror, and saw Qin Yueyang in his signature black-cross, white coat, standing silently behind them, "We—"
"I'm in charge of all family matters now," Qin Yueyang said softly, "I think it's time for new servants."
"Second Young Master, the Young Master—"
"I've always been good at cleaning up messes."
With two crisp cracks from their necks, the servants' bodies collapsed. Qin Yueyang glanced back at the bathhouse filled with steam, then at the two corpses dripping from his hands. His face stayed as calm as ever—no joy, no sorrow.
"You just knew too much."