Chapter 40: Outstanding Debts

Ning Qier, hoping to lift Yu Zhi’s spirits, suggested she accompany him home.

Yu Zhi, who had privately assumed that Ning Qier had completely severed ties with his family and would never speak to them again, was stunned. Was her intelligence wrong? But hadn’t Ning Qier himself said his relationship with his family was poor?

Yu Zhi’s expression was far too easy to read; her thoughts were laid bare at a glance. Ning Qier smiled indifferently. "There are storms inside the house and outside of it. If we change the sea we're sailing on, who knows? You might just find a solution to your problems."

*Fine,* she thought. *Your mental fortitude is certainly superior.*

But going home with Ning Qier—what about Chen Shaoyan? Yu Zhi didn't speak directly, instead gesturing with her eyes toward Wuwu. The implication was clear.

It wasn't as if they were actually returning as humble juniors; Ning Qier was quite willing to take the opportunity to stir up trouble for those people. "We are a family, so of course, we go back together."

Triggering the keyword, the sharp-witted Wuwu blinked and looked at Ning Qier. "Brother Zhouzhou, where are we going again?"

"You're coming home with me, but once we reach this new place, you can't call me 'brother' anymore."

At these words, tears instantly welled up in Wuwu’s eyes. "Please don't abandon me—"

Ning Qier reached out and covered her mouth. "Don't cry. I’m not abandoning you. When we get to the new place, you must call us 'Papa' and 'Mama.' Do you understand?"

Yu Zhi frowned, staring at Ning Qier in disbelief. What kind of situation could possibly require him to conjure up a child on the spot? Wuwu blinked and nodded, signaling for Ning Qier to remove his hand from her mouth.

Taking Yu Zhi’s hand, Ning Qier offered no further explanation, saying only, "You’ll understand why I’m doing this once we get there."

If Ning Qier’s goal was to distract her, he had certainly succeeded. Yu Zhi’s mind was now racing with reasons for his behavior. Although she had initially considered adopting Wuwu as her daughter, she had dismissed the idea due to her age, assuming it would be impossible to process.

After a brief preparation, the three of them set off on their journey back.

"Waiting for the rabbit to hit the tree stump" was indeed an effective strategy. Ever since they failed to capture Ning Qier last time, Mother Qi had stationed people at the airport, determined to seize him the moment he stepped out.

True to form, the moment the three of them emerged, they were surrounded by a group of men in suits.

"Young Master Rang, please don’t make things difficult for us."

The leader clearly understood Ning Qier’s temperament, using a seemingly polite request to deliver a veiled threat. Yu Zhi had once been pursued in such a grand, dramatic fashion by Ms. Xu, and she found the current scene somewhat comical. Comical in the literal sense; she hadn't felt it as a child, but seeing it as an adult, it was excruciatingly awkward.

Naturally, her tone was playful, her eyes filled with scrutiny. "Young Master Rang~"

Having no intention of resisting, the three of them climbed into the bodyguards' car as expected.

Although it was early autumn and still warm, there was a chill in the breeze. Mindful that Yu Zhi was still ill, Ning Qier ordered the heaters to be turned on and instructed them to call home and tell the chef to prepare a restorative soup.

Observing how accustomed Ning Qier was to giving orders—hardly the behavior of a poor soul bullied by his family since childhood—Yu Zhi once again reserved judgment on what Li Youning had told her.

The bodyguards had picked up someone not included in their orders, so they naturally had to report back to the main house. Upon receiving the news, those involved, regardless of what they were doing, all made the same decision.

"Young Master Rang, Madam says you are to go directly to the study to see her upon arrival." The head bodyguard glanced quickly at Yu Zhi before immediately looking away. "Madam says you are to bring this little miss with you."

"Little miss" referred to Chen Shaoyan.

Yu Zhi leaned back in her seat, closing her eyes to rest, but her ears remained tuned to their conversation. She guessed that soon, Ms. Xu would come knocking to demand they hand her over. She wondered what kind of "good family" she had chosen that she was in such a hurry.

Surely that "good family" wouldn't want a woman with a child in tow, would they?

Some matters needed a conclusion, which was why she had agreed to Ning Qier’s plan. But what was his agenda? This plan couldn't have been thought up just now; it must have been in the works, with her own involvement being the unforeseen variable.

Had he come up with this idea the moment he saw Chen Shaoyan?

Lost in thought, she drifted off to sleep.

When she woke, Yu Zhi realized only the two of them were left. She went from dazed to panicked in an instant. "Ning Qier, where is Wuwu?"

Seeing Yu Zhi’s anxiety, Ning Qier didn't mince words. "Wuwu has already been taken inside. I didn't wake you because you were sleeping so soundly. Don't worry; she’s being looked after by reliable people."

Yu Zhi let out a sigh of relief, though her voice remained nasal as she frowned. "Is it really okay for me to just sleep through this? Won't you tell me your plan?"

With no one else around, they could speak more freely. She laid it out plainly, hoping Ning Qier would clarify his intentions.

With no one else present, Ning Qier didn't beat around the bush.

He dropped a bombshell.

"I am Zhou Huan."

The words struck Yu Zhi like a lightning bolt, shaking her awake. She sat bolt upright, her expression turning stern. Crossing her arms over her chest, she furrowed her brows. "Are you playing me for a fool?"

Seeing that Yu Zhi had reached a dark conclusion, Zhou Huan quickly explained, "No, that’s not quite right. I am also Ning Qier."

Yu Zhi knew that some people suffered from conditions where they created alternate personalities. "Schizophrenia?" But that didn't fit; if it were schizophrenia, the other personality wouldn't leave a physical trace.

Ning Qier continued, "No. To be precise, I used to be Zhou Huan, but now I am Ning Qier. I swapped identities with the original Ning Qier."

There were holes in every word, and the sudden shock left Yu Zhi unable to process the information quickly. Curiosity no longer mattered; she couldn't even bring herself to prepare for the confrontation ahead.

Yu Zhi looked at him earnestly. "When did this start?"

"When I was in my second year of high school..."

At least the person she had been dealing with was this current 'Ning Qier'.

A flash of insight occurred in her daze, and Yu Zhi asked, "When did we first meet?"

The question pierced into Ning Qier’s churning memories, striking the answer hidden in a forgotten corner.

"The question you should be asking is when I first met you..." Ning Qier’s emotions remained steady, as if he weren't the one who had just dropped such a bomb. He gently corrected her question.

"I met you unilaterally when I had just started middle school. That was when I found out I had a twin 'brother.' I found out his location and snuck past all the bodyguards to go see him.

"I passed by a plaza and saw many people surrounding a girl. Because I had witnessed many instances of bullying, I walked over out of concern."

The event Ning Qier described surfaced in Yu Zhi’s own memory. But she was certain she had never seen Ning Qier; with his striking appearance, she would have remembered him if they had met.

"I didn't see you back then."