"I…"
"I what?" Lily said sternly. "Don't you dare lash out at me right now… because I swear… I will ask Bei Tian to skin your girl alive while you watch!"
Once again, Lily's provoking words spiked Qin Yuanfeng's short temper, but he did his best to control it. He closed his eyes and began chanting words that Lily didn't recognize. He kept repeating those words as he tried to calm himself. He will not lose control. He will not… He will not hurt his sister.
"I what… Qin Yuanfeng?"
"I don't think she is doing it because she wants to," Qin Yuanfeng said. What if Ziyi was also threatened by Zhang Yifei? What if she truly loved him but couldn't do anything about it because Zhang Yifei also threatened her family? He clutched the file in his hand tightly as he thought of how Zhang Yifei must have manipulated Ziyi as well.
"Bei Tian. Get me another knife. This time… I won't miss," Lily said, making Qin Yuanfeng's eyes widen.
"Are you crazy?" he asked.
"So what if I am?" she countered. "Look at the file that I gave you and think with your head! Don't make me lose my patience, Yuanfeng… You wouldn't want to see me angry." She understood that all this man craved was love and acceptance. She knew that he had been abused and that all he wanted was for someone to show him that he is loved.
Ziyi was his candy. The only thing that gave him a taste of how sweet the world could be, so taking her away would be… challenging. Lily must find a method that would counter his need to protect Ziyi. She needed to get him to throw away his candy on his own.
Qin Yuanfeng looked at Lily for a while before shifting his gaze towards the file in his hand. It contained a few photos and some files from the registry.
"She was adopted. She was originally a Zhang but when a young couple adopted her, they changed her name to Li Ziyi," Lily said. "I don't have the complete information, but one thing is for sure: she is still talking to her biological father and he is still talking to Zhang Yifei. You see where I'm going with this?"
Qin Yuanfeng did not answer her as he continued to read the file. It was very detailed. It even showed how Mr. Zhang put Li Ziyi up for adoption because he lacked the means to raise her. Mr. Zhang must have approached Ziyi when she was older, Qin Yuanfeng concluded as his hand started to tremble.
"I think you are smart enough to understand what happened next," Lily added before finishing the last of the apple.. "Now… I want to know your…"
"How did you know that it was me?" Qin Yuanfeng interrupted her. "It could have been anyone here, anyone else. How did you know that it was me? It could have been an accident! What if Zhang Yifei was already suspicious and predicted your moves?"
"After what happened seven years ago, I learned that there are no accidents around me, brother." Lily paused deliberately before adding, "Unless of course… it's on purpose."
"Only Bei Tian knew about the plan. Did you think I would really attack a place with hundreds of people working day and night?" Lily asked, making his brother speechless. That is indeed true. According to his information, Lily didn't like hurting the innocent. "However, a diamond mine is different. It's existence is a secret and the workers were not required to work twenty-four seven to avoid arousing suspicions."
"So you gave me the wrong information."
"Not really. I said we were going to bomb their mines. I never said which mine," Lily beamed. "Now.. my question is. Do you want me to take away your candy? Or will you spit her out on your own?" Lily knew that it was never Qin Yuanfeng's intention to betray her. However, she found Qin Yuanfeng to be truly weak and far too easy to manipulate. Having someone like him around is… a very dangerous thing.
"I… I just can't believe it. I… she would not, I think someone is manipulating her." Qin Yuanfeng still felt that Ziyi was being manipulated. How could she betray him? She was his everything! How could she…
Lily let out a loud sigh as she stared at her own brother. It seems that love really is a dangerous thing. Qin Yuanfeng's IQ might be high but his EQ was rock bottom, which was really a pity. "Tell me one thing, Yuanfeng. Why did you lash out when someone mocked the blond girl on TV?"
"I…" Qin Yuanfeng instantly lowered his gaze and avoided Lily's eyes.
"Why did you do it? Did Ziyi tell you to pretend to be mentally ill to make me pity you?" Lily asked. "The things that were neatly arranged by two's, was it her idea? Did she ask you to pretend that you were mentally disturbed to arouse my pity for you to the point where I feel I must avenge you?"
Once again, he was rendered speechless. The fight was indeed Ziyi's idea, but the things that were arranged by two's had always been his habit and it had nothing to do with Ziyi. He was naturally a neat freak. In fact, this was also the reason why he bathed with salt every single day. He wanted to be as clean as possible. But this wasn't the point… the point is that Ziyi is riling him up and putting ideas in his head, but he always thought it was because she wanted to get rid of Zhang Yifei as soon as possible.
"She did… didn't she?" Lily's smile was sinister, to say the least. She continued to stare at Qin Yuanfeng, making him lower his head even more. Her gaze was making him uncomfortable. "I am right. She is your weakness. The moment Zhang Yifei knows that we had this conversation, she will act as if she has kidnapped Ziyi and she will blackmail you to do her bidding."
"Of course… that is only if she thinks that you are still alive," she added, her gaze full of meaning.