TRYMBPIETM 157: Extra 1

The off-road vehicle endorsed by Chi Qingzhou had just launched.

On the very first day, some rich guys went straight to the 4S stores and bought a dozen cars, then used them as prizes in a repost giveaway on Daziyan. The only condition to enter? Just praise Chi Qingzhou a few times for being gentle and kind.

Like a stone dropped into a still lake, this bold move set off waves. Netizens responded enthusiastically, and soon other rich guys and gals followed suit.

When people first found out the car’s spokesperson was Chi Qingzhou, they thought this was just some die-hard fans trying to boost his popularity. But it quickly became clear that these people doing the giveaways weren’t into celebrity culture at all.

What’s more, their giveaway requirements were odd. Not the usual “no entry if you’ve trashed them” type of fan rules. Instead, you had to use Chi Qingzhou’s full name and compliment him for being righteous, warm-hearted, gentle, hardworking, professional…

The bizarrely specific praise, as if they were trying to sculpt a perfect golden idol, amazed netizens. One by one, they joined the repost-and-win frenzy.

No one really cared about the car.

They just liked the buzz. Nobody wanted to miss out on the fun.

Thanks to the masses flocking to enter the giveaway, Chi Qingzhou ended up trending in the top three search results, each trend for a different reason.

Some speculated that Chi Qingzhou was about to marry into a wealthy family, and all this was to curry favor with some powerful figure.

Others guessed that Chi Qingzhou wasn’t really the Chi family’s youngest son, but actually a long-lost heir to some ultra-rich clan. How else to explain the treatment he was getting?

Still others thought maybe Chi Qingzhou possessed some rare and mysterious talent that rich men and women couldn’t get enough of.

There were even wilder theories: that he was bound to a system, that he was the reincarnated ancestor of a wealthy clan, or even an alien undercover on Earth…

Writers and screenwriters alike would have to bow in awe at this level of imagination.

But those rich folks actually involved? They kept a strangely silent attitude toward all the speculation.

The reason was simple. When enough people throw out wild guesses, eventually someone’s going to hit the bullseye.

The story of the third son of the Yi family had already spread throughout their circles.

The father murdered the mother, and even set up a formation to suppress her fate, using two blood-related sons as anchors to force the Yi family to rise to power.

Even after becoming one of the top families, the Yi patriarch wasn’t satisfied. He married a wealthy widow, hoping to recreate the same fate-stealing spell.

But that woman had better luck. Just as the old man began making his move, his youngest son, the fourth son, who dabbled in the arts, accidentally interrupted him.

That interruption left the old man seriously ill, and after that, he became unusually harsh with the youngest.

But that wasn’t the end of it.

Even a tiger doesn’t eat its own cubs, they say, but this patriarch was ruthless. When one plan failed, he just came up with another.

He hired two shady sorcerers and, under the guise of setting up “Wanying” temples, had statues made of his third and fourth sons for worship. He used the unjustly dead to gather incense offerings, mixed his sons’ blood with the bones of those corpses, and diverted the offerings while binding the ghosts to his sons.

Over the years, those ghosts became inseparably linked to the boys. He just had to wait for the right time to have them “die of illness,” and then he’d have two powerful spirit servants under his control.

Once this came to light, the other elite families who had dealings with the Yi family were horrified. They quickly cut ties with the old man and his eldest and second sons.

As for the woman he married, she had long been wary because of Zhong Lingshu’s story.

That’s right, she knew Zhong Lingshu.

Their relationship was complicated. In high school, she had a first love, but they broke up because of long distance. She got married and had kids, while he became a teacher in a remote village, married a local woman, and had a daughter, Zhong Lingshu.

Later on, the Cheng family of Port City discovered that Zhong Lingshu’s mother was closely related to them.

Two generations ago, a Cheng girl had been kidnapped and never found. That girl had children while living elsewhere, and one of them was Zhong Lingshu’s mother.

In other words, Zhong Lingshu and Yi Shangxiao, the third Yi son, were actual cousins. Marriage was completely out of the question.

The reason she pretended to be his wife was to uncover the truth behind her parents’ deaths.

Later, Yi Shangxiao’s younger brother, Cheng Shang, became a star diviner. Even though Zhong Lingshu didn’t know the whole story, she saw a path to revenge. With Yi Shangxiao’s persuasion, she left the Yi family.

Now that the Yi family empire had collapsed, only Yi Shangxiao and Cheng Shang had escaped. Everyone else, either imprisoned, paralyzed, or driven mad. The dust had finally settled.

The woman from Magic City had also divorced the Yi patriarch in time, narrowly escaping disaster. Once the Yi family fell, she immediately struck back, avenging herself and Zhong Lingshu in one go.

Looking at the miserable fate of the Yi family and the two brothers’ ordeal, many children from elite families were deeply shaken.

Especially those from households with stepparents, everyone started getting spiritual consultations and hoped to invite Chi Qingzhou for a reading.

Chi Qingzhou was known to be a kind and helpful person, but he turned down every request brought to him.

His reason was valid, and unarguable.

“I’m going to visit my father and brother. I don’t have time these days,” he said.

Even if everyone knew the fall of the Chi family had something to do with him, with that kind of answer, no one could really say, “You’re just making excuses,” to his face.

So the people requesting his help backed off.

Chi Qingzhou chose a pale blue suit and dressed carefully. He plucked a peach blossom from the vase at home, held it in his hand, and headed off to the prison where Chi Jianming and Chi Xiaoyuan were being held, with Xing Shuangzhan by his side.

On the way, Chi Qingning returned from a shoot and ran into him. Surprised by the formal outfit, he paused.

Ever since learning the truth about Chi Qingzhou, Chi Qingning had taught himself to ignore anything that didn’t make sense.

So he didn’t ask where someone found a peach blossom in this season. He just smiled and asked, “Second Brother, are you heading to a shoot?”

Chi Qingzhou stopped walking and smiled with curved eyes. “I’m going to visit father and brother.”

Chi Qingning froze. His expression and mood became complicated.

He studied Chi Qingzhou’s face and asked carefully, “Second Brother, did you… forgive Dad and Big Brother?”

Chi Qingzhou gave him a puzzled look. “Of course not. They committed crimes.”

Chi Qingning stared at the flower in his hand. “But… you’re bringing them flowers?”

Such a tender gesture didn’t exactly scream unforgiving.

Chi Qingzhou smiled softly and happily.

“Mm. Because I’m bringing Mom to see them.”

He gently stroked the peach blossom’s petal. His gaze was just as gentle.

Mom…?

Chi Qingning was stunned. True, even though their mother wasn’t very kind to Chi Qingzhou, she had given him life. His attitude toward her was always a bit softer.

He didn’t think too deeply about it, just assumed that when Chi Qingzhou said “bringing,” he meant going in her place. Knowing Chi Qingzhou’s personality, it made perfect sense he’d visit their father on their mother’s behalf before he joined her in the afterlife. So he nodded and didn’t ask further.

But when Chi Qingzhou invited him to come along, he quickly made up an excuse about work.

As if! He was still doing everything he could to avoid those two. No way he’d go visit them voluntarily.

Chi Qingzhou looked a little disappointed, but didn’t push.

He got into the car with Xing Shuangzhan, napped in his arms, and by the time Xing Shuangzhan woke him up, they had arrived outside the prison.

Inside the visitation room, Chi Qingzhou waited briefly before seeing Chi Jianming and Chi Xiaoyuan rush in.

The moment they saw Chi Qingzhou, they became emotional. They didn’t even bother sitting down and rushed to the glass, sobbing and begging for forgiveness.

“Qingzhou, Dad knows he was wrong. I shouldn’t have listened to your mom and done those things to you. I didn’t know it was that serious. I’m sorry!”

“And Qingning too. I thought he was just vain but not malicious. I didn’t think he’d treat you like that.”

“I was wrong. I ignored your feelings for a bit of profit.”

“I know I was wrong. I won’t hurt you again. Please, help me, son.”

“I don’t need to get out. Just a reduced sentence, please!”

“I’ll reflect on my mistakes. I’ll try to make up for them. Please speak up for me, I don’t want to die here!”

Chi Xiaoyuan was even more desperate, kneeling and kowtowing as he begged. He confessed everything, including how Fan Tao had ordered him to hire that master.

Chi Jianming, who hadn’t known about it until now, was shocked into silence, momentarily forgetting to cry.

But Chi Qingzhou remained calm.

He simply sat and watched them go mad, and only after they had worn themselves out did he quietly shake his head and refuse.

Before the two men could spiral further into hysteria, Chi Qingzhou spoke in a calm voice.

“I’m not here to question the law’s judgment of you. I came today only to bring Mom to see you.”

Chi Jianming froze, completely forgetting to cry.

He lifted his head and studied Chi Qingzhou carefully for a moment, his voice uncertain and wary.

“Your mother… Fan Tao, she’s still alive?”

Chi Xiaoyuan stopped crying and slowly turned to look at Chi Jianming.

Chi Qingzhou’s lips curled into a slow smile. “Of course not.” His gaze was full of hidden meaning. “Seems like you already know exactly what would happen to her in the end.”

Chi Xiaoyuan’s face changed.

Chi Jianming opened his mouth, dazed, but no words came out.

He couldn’t quite understand his youngest son’s reaction.

Hadn’t Chi Qingzhou and Fan Tao clashed, even gone so far as to be at odds, with Chi Qingzhou personally sending her off?

So why didn’t he sound angry when he spoke about her?

But it was Fan Tao who had hosted the ritual and the array all those years ago. She had been the first to agree to send Chi Qingzhou away when he was just a child.

In contrast, Chi Qingzhou had shown a sort of restrained kindness toward him and the eldest son. He hadn’t killed them, hadn’t even directly clashed with them. Wasn’t that a sign of lingering family sentiment?

So why was it that after their repentance and begging, this son still refused to forgive them?

Was it because he still held resentment? Because they hadn’t done enough?

Chi Jianming instinctively glanced at Chi Xiaoyuan, wanting to give him a look so they could plead together.

But what he met were eyes filled with hatred and disgust.

In that instant, Chi Jianming’s expression changed too.

He instinctively wanted to back away, but a soft laugh from above his head interrupted him.

He hesitated, then turned his head along with his eldest son.

“I don’t know what game you two are trying to play now.”

They heard Chi Qingzhou say that.

“But I do know, you must be wondering why I treat Mom the way I do.”

“It’s not that strange, is it? I don’t entangle myself with you two, not because I see you as family. And I went against Mom, not just because I wanted justice.”

Chi Qingzhou tilted his head slightly, his eyes filled with a gentle smile.

“I went against Mom because I saw her as my opponent. No matter how she treated me, she earned the right to be my opponent. But you and Brother?”

Chi Qingzhou closed his eyes, caressing the peach branch in his hand with a serene smile.

“I’m a filial son. No matter how badly my mother treated me, she was still the one who gave me life, who brought me into this world. The justice I deserved, I’ve already claimed for myself as an independent person. And as a son, I should also repay the kindness of birth.”

He raised his hand, gently flicking the peach blossom. The blooming flower floated and landed behind the glass.

“Back then, Mom was willing to watch the whole village die just to elope with you, Dad. That shows she loved you the most.”

“Later, Mom gave birth to me so that Brother could live well. That shows she loved him too.”

Chi Qingzhou said warmly,

“She loved you both so much. If the three of you could reunite sooner, she’d definitely be happy.”

And so, he had decided to bring Mom to see Dad and Brother, to give them to her.

Breathing in the heavy scent of peach blossoms in the air, Chi Qingzhou’s smile grew even brighter.

See? He knew Mom would be happy.

A family of three, reunited. How wonderful.

He turned his head and smiled at Xing Shuangzhan, leaving behind the terrified cries in the visitation room as he happily leaned into Xing Shuangzhan’s arms and left with him.