Lu Xinyi’s brows snapped together as she gave a thought to what he said. He was right. Her mother and Sun Feiyan’s father died with only a couple of months in between the time of their deaths. Sun Feiyan’s father died from an unknown disease from what she heard, but the Sun family might have known what the real cause was and chose to black out everything about his sudden death like Sun Meixiu’s death.
A shiver ran down her spine, and it wasn’t from the coldness in the air. She didn’t like to think that the Sun family was able to kill one of their kin, but her parents might have not actually died from an accident.
“Why are you telling me these?” she blurted out. The sudden blast of the wind made her hair loose and messy, her bright eyes waiting to hear the truth from him.
“Xin’er, your family was supposed to leave the country a week before your father’s accident.” He Haotian’s voice was a little rough. Lu Xinyi wasn’t sure if it was because of the cigarette and the cold or if he was blaming himself for his father’s sudden death.
“I was the one who convinced him to leave the country and be a professional chef abroad. Your mother’s siblings were still after her even after her removal from the line. It was because they knew, deep down, she still had a place in Chairman Sun’s heart. She was, after all, his only child from his wife.”
She couldn’t remember if her parents had mentioned leaving the country or taking a vacation. Her father was so busy it was hard for him to leave his work.
“I don’t know anything about it. Mother never told me anything.”
He Haotian nodded. He wasn’t expecting that the young Lu Xinyi was aware of what’s happening around her.
“I refuse to believe that it was an accident,” he straightforwardly told her, “Your father was a person of habit. It can be irritating at times, but he never failed to check everything from the number of supplies, condition of the appliances, to keeping his workplace in pristine condition. He never leaves his kitchen with a single spec on dirt on it.”
“You mean to say someone plotted the accident?” Her heart beat loudly on her chest that she could hear it on her ears.
“Lingyu was with him when it happened. He confirmed that the night before, they had checked the gas containers at the back. There shouldn’t be any leak during the lunch service. The accident shouldn’t have happened in the first place.”
Lu Xinyi lowered her head. Just what He Haotian said, her father had habits that were hard to change. Lu Sibai didn’t mind being late or delayed as long as he could assure that their workplace was safe from any accidents. There was so little chance that he hadn’t checked the night before. She could clearly remember her brother Tian Lingyu complaining about their father’s stalling to go home.
“You think the Sun family has something to do with it?” she asked suspiciously. ρꪖꪕᦔꪖꪕꪫꪣꫀꪶ
He Haotian frowned as he remembered the last conversations he had with Lu Sibai. The couple was desperate to leave the country at the last minute. After the death of Sun Meixiu’s half-brother, they had thought that something would occur anytime soon. The lack of activity from her other siblings made them suspicious.
Something bad was about to happen. If those death threats that Sun Meixiu received from the past weeks before Lu Sibai’s accident weren’t a giveaway, then they don’t know what was really happening. The couple was determined to treat it like a real threat on their family that was why Lu Sibai sought his help.
“We couldn’t find a direct link to them.” He Haotian finished his cigarette and threw it carelessly at the nearest trash bin. “If you really want to know what happened that day, you may ask your brother.”
Lu Xinyi pursed her lips. How could she talk with Tian Lingyu if he hadn’t contacted her for years?
“That’s easier said than done. I haven’t seen him since forever.”
The older man knitted his brows in confusion. Tian Lingyu had visited him some time ago last year. Did it mean he hadn’t shown himself to Lu Xinyi? Hadn’t he told her about his admission at Silver Leaf, too?
He Haotian thought that maybe Lu Xinyi’s attendance at Silver Leaf wouldn’t be so bad after all. Tian Lingyu should be in his second year at the academy by now, and he wouldn’t let anyone bully his sister.
The only problem that He Haotian could see was the Sun family obstructing and ruining Lu Xinyi’s plan. He didn’t trust anyone from that family especially that woman who forced Sun Meixiu to leave the capital.
“What about your mother’s family? Have they tried to talk to you?”
“Forcing me to come back and marry whoever they decided to? It must be nice to become a villain in someone’s story. I’m sure by now, they painted me as an unfilial child of the family.”
She knew better now. Being a Sun hadn’t really brought her anything good, and Sun Feiyan’s motives weren’t clear to her. Lu Xinyi was sure as hell that her aunts didn’t like her. In fact, hate wasn’t the right word. They probably hate her for being her mother’s daughter, giving her the rights as a Young Miss of the family.
He Haotian could tell from the earlier events that she wasn’t really ready to attend Silver Leaf yet. He only had one week to train her skills and her tongue, but that wouldn’t be enough.
Her sudden breakdown in the kitchen wasn’t lost on him. She wasn’t stable. He was glad though; she had Shen Yi beside her. Shen Yi was stable when she was not. If not for himself, then surely he could for the sake of his wife.
