Chapter 14: Turning Black into White

Chapter 14: Distorting Black and White

Qin Weiming had spent years tossing woks in the kitchen, so his strength was far greater than Qin Jingming's. Moreover, Qin Weiming was currently in a fit of rage, acting as if he had lost all control. Gao Mingyu tried to pull him back but couldn't; consequently, Qin Jingming was no match for him. After taking several punches to the face, his face instantly swelled up like a pig's head.

If the tea house security hadn't arrived later, there was no telling how much more of a beating Qin Jingming would have taken!

Family scandals should not be aired in public. Qin Jingming was also afraid that the fact he had harmed his niece would be leaked; if that happened, he truly wouldn't be able to hold his ground in the business world anymore. To settle the matter quietly, he could only buy peace with money. After paying all the necessary compensation, the four of them finally walked out of the tea house together.

"Qin the Second, you've certainly gained some nerve, even daring to hit me!"

Qin Weiming spat out another glob of phlegm, startling Qin Jingming into dodging and shielding himself with his briefcase. "Fine, you're tough. Just you wait."

The couple glared at the father and daughter as if they wanted to burn two holes through them with their eyes. To avoid another physical altercation, they quickly drove away. Qin Jingming decided to head back to the ancestral home first to lodge a complaint, letting the old master and old mistress deal with them.

Qin Weiming looked a mess—his hair was disheveled, his face had two scratches from Gao Mingyu, and his clothes were torn in two places.

With bloodshot eyes, he apologized to his daughter, "Yike, it's Dad's fault. I didn't expect your uncle and aunt to... to be like this." A thousand words seemed stuck in his throat, leaving him unable to say a single thing.

Looking at the disheveled Qin Weiming, Qin Yike felt deeply moved!

Qin Weiming's workplace wasn't far from here. Qin Yike wanted to know what mattered most to him, so she had secretly recorded a conversation and sent it to him. She hadn't expected him to show up not only so quickly but also to arrive just in time to hear the inhumane words spoken by Qin Jingming and his wife. Thus, his outburst was within her expectations, yet still slightly surprising.

He loved his daughter dearly, but for many years, as a "small person" living under the suppression of his father and brother, he had long forgotten how to express it. With a dominant wife and a mother-in-law and brother-in-law who pressured him until he could barely breathe, this man's love for his daughter had become repressed and subtle—perhaps even without him realizing that the distance between him and his daughter was gradually widening. Perhaps it was because his daughter had grown up and become estranged from her father, or perhaps because she was studying so far away that Qin Weiming hadn't realized his daughter had become a completely different person.

"Dad, let's go sit in the small park nearby!"

The father and daughter went to the park and found a quiet, shaded spot to sit down.

"Does your face hurt?"

The two bloody scratches were both swollen.

"It's fine!" Qin Weiming felt somewhat at a loss; he still didn't know how to face his daughter. He felt useless. If only he had been more capable, Qin Jingming and his wife wouldn't have dared to treat her this way. To put it bluntly, they treated them like easy targets!

"Why do you think they did this?"

Qin Weiming looked up at his daughter, stunned. "What?"

"They—Qin Jingming and Gao Mingyu—why did they lie to us? Or to put it another way, why did he scheme against us?"

Qin Weiming was momentarily speechless, unable to find the words even after thinking for a long time.

Qin Yike knew he had realized the truth; he just couldn't accept it in his heart yet.

"Because we are the weak, and they are the strong."

Qin Weiming's expression turned despondent. Even if he didn't want to admit it, he knew that this was the reason Qin Jingming dared to bully them so brazenly.

Biological brothers should support and help one another! But at some unknown point, the bond between him and Qin Jingming had grown increasingly thin, to the point where their relationship had soured into something else entirely.

"Do you know why it turned out this way?"

Qin Weiming nodded, then shook his head.

Qin Yike sighed softly before saying, "A dragon may have nine sons, but each is different. It is only natural for brothers to differ due to their personalities! My uncle is shrewd, bold, and decisive in his actions; he is suited for business, so his success is only logical. In contrast, you are easily content and lack such great ambition. There is nothing wrong with living a simple, quiet life."

Qin Weiming stared blankly at Qin Yike, as if he almost didn't recognize her. Was this still the daughter who did nothing but sulk every day?

"Six months ago, I fainted at school. While I was in the hospital, I kept thinking about certain things."

Qin Yike fabricated her lies without a hint of hesitation. "Actually, the human heart is the hardest thing to predict, isn't it? If you lack ability, even your parents will look down on you. Because my uncle has a son who is capable, Grandpa has always favored him and hasn't treated our family very well."

These words made Qin Weiming feel utterly ashamed. Even his own parents despised him; how much of a failure must he be?

"In Grandpa's eyes, my uncle is his pride. Even if my uncle truly did something wrong, Grandpa would only protect him. Dad, you didn't actually do anything wrong. If there is any fault, it's only that you've always just drifted through life without fighting for anything, which is why we've ended up in this situation."

"Yike..."

"Don't be sad, you still have me!" Qin Yike gave a bright smile. "Dad, I will make you proud! When we are strong enough, those people will only come to flatter us; they won't dare step on us again."

Qin Weiming lowered his head, not wanting his daughter to see the tears in his eyes.

"Then... then what do we do?"

"Just watch. Grandpa will call you tonight."

"Then it's over!" Qin Weiming slapped his thigh, his voice cracking. "Your uncle will probably distort black and white! Grandpa is going to scold me again!"

Distort black and white?

Qin Yike really wanted to scoff. "From beginning to end, our family of three is the only one kept in the dark! Do you think Grandpa and Grandma wouldn't know? Think about their attitude when they called us to come over earlier—do you really think they were unaware?"

Qin Weiming froze, his body suddenly trembling. "Daughter, I've lived all these years for nothing! I can't even see things as clearly as my own child!"

"Dad, don't be afraid, you still have me! I'll tell them that we aren't that easy to bully!"

Just then, the phone in Qin Weiming's pocket suddenly rang. He pulled it out and saw that it was indeed a call from Qin Jianqiang!

"It's Grandpa!"

"He's definitely asking you to come over tonight. My uncle must have complained. Answer it. Don't say too much on the phone; we'll talk when we meet tonight."

Qin Weiming nodded and pressed the answer button. On the other end, Qin Jianqiang's reprimands came crashing down on him. The insults were extremely foul, causing Qin Weiming's eyes to turn red once again.

"I understand. I'll be there tonight." After hanging up, Qin Weiming lowered his head and began to cry. He didn't even try to hide it from his daughter, breaking into loud, helpless sobs!