There’s No Such Thing as a Free Lunch

While Fang Zhou and Han Xi were opening up to each other in Southeast Asia, some events were unfolding back in the Qin family in China.

The old Qin family mansion, hidden deep in the mountains, had become much livelier in recent days due to the arrival of a new guest.

The large villa, which usually went dark by nine o’clock, was still lit up. The Chinese-style lanterns hanging in the corridor swayed gently in the wind, casting a beautiful glow.

Under the light, someone was holding a book, reading intently, until the arrival of another person broke the tranquility.

“Ah Yun, it’s time to rest.”

The hoarse voice carried a hint of fatigue, but the person still forced themselves to come over and urge Qin Yun to rest.

The woman sitting in the lounge chair, dressed in casual clothes, had her hair pinned up with a hairpin. When she looked up, her delicate and beautiful features were revealed, causing Qin Shu to feel a moment of disorientation.

It was as if an old acquaintance had returned.

He thought to himself: She truly is her daughter. From certain angles, they look so alike. No wonder that during Qin Yun’s graduate studies, when he went to her school to find her, he could recognize her in the crowd with just one glance.

Qin Yun saw that it was her estranged father who had come, but she didn’t even raise an eyebrow. She merely let out a faint “Hmm” from her throat and then said nothing more, returning her attention to her book, clearly not taking his words to heart.

Seeing his daughter completely ignore him, Qin Shu felt a pang of discomfort.

But during these past few days at the Qin family mansion, he hadn’t had much time to spend with her and build a father-daughter relationship. He was either busy at the research institute working on compatibility issues or dealing with unresolved academic matters.

By the time he returned home in the evening, she was nowhere to be found.

So he had to ask the old man to talk to her more.

Unfortunately, Qin Yun had long harbored a prejudice against the Qin family, and her attitude toward the old man was lukewarm at best.

This left the old man somewhat annoyed, and he threw a childish tantrum, deciding not to initiate any more conversations with Qin Yun.

Today, when Qin Shu finally saw Qin Yun, he decided to come over himself.

“Aren’t you curious about the results?”

Seeing her like this, Qin Shu didn’t rush to urge her to rest. Instead, he found a seat for himself.

He even picked up a cup, poured himself some tea, and took a sip.

After all, Qin Yun was more anxious about this matter than he was.

Sure enough, when he mentioned the results, Qin Yun reacted.

She finally lifted her gaze from the book and looked at her estranged father, asking eagerly, “How is it? Are the results out?”

They had said it would take three days, and today was indeed the third day. However, Qin Yun had thought the results wouldn’t be available until tomorrow afternoon.

Qin Shu took his time sipping his tea, his expression relaxed.

“The results are out, but are you sure you want to know?”

Qin Yun rolled her eyes internally, unable to resist a sarcastic thought: Do you even need to ask?

Why else would she have stayed here for the past few days? It was all to get the results and then negotiate with him.

“Just tell me already, stop beating around the bush.”

Qin Shu nodded slightly, pulled up a document on his phone, and handed it to Qin Yun while explaining.

“Based on the national database, there are indeed a few matches for the girl whose information you provided. However, given the current progress, only one match will be available for her within the next two months.”

“And we’ll need to negotiate with the patient to have them sign a voluntary donation form before we can proceed.”

Qin Yun took the phone and carefully reviewed the information, unable to contain her excitement.

“That’s easy. I can handle the negotiation myself, as long as I can get the contact information and details.”

Fang Wenjing can be saved!

This was truly wonderful news.

Qin Yun wanted to tell Fang Zhou immediately and share the joy with him.

Everything she had said and promised would be fulfilled.

This was the best opportunity to mend her relationship with Fang Zhou, and Qin Yun was determined not to let it slip away.

However, Qin Shu remained silent, his expression unreadable as he watched his daughter.

Sensing his gaze, the smile on Qin Yun’s face froze.

She looked up and saw the flicker in her father’s eyes. In that instant, she understood his intentions.

“What do you want?”

There really is no such thing as a free lunch.

Even her own father wouldn’t agree to her request unconditionally.

Of course, Qin Yun had never expected Qin Shu to help her without any strings attached.

Someone as self-serving as him wouldn’t miss the chance to use this as leverage.

Sure enough, as soon as she spoke, Qin Shu smiled.

“My request is the same as before. As long as you agree to move your mother’s grave here, you won’t have to worry about the kidney donation. I’ll personally handle the voluntary donation form for you.”

“In fact, if you’re willing, you won’t even need to find a surgeon. I’ll arrange for the most experienced doctor to perform the surgery.”

“How about it?”

As Qin Shu spoke, he grew more excited, his hand trembling as he held the teacup, causing the brown liquid to spill onto the floor.

Silence spread between them, the atmosphere growing heavy and oppressive. Even the wind seemed to know better than to blow through, fearing that a storm might erupt between this father and daughter, dragging everything down with it.

Qin Yun lifted her eyelids and gave a strange smile.

“What if I don’t agree? Will you refuse to help?”

She should have known better. The Qin family was full of people who would eat you alive without leaving a trace. How could she expect to get what she wanted without paying a price?

But his demand was too much, and Qin Yun’s first reaction was anger.

However, under the circumstances, she knew that anger was useless.

The old man wouldn’t care about family ties.

Agreeing to his terms would mean betraying her mother.

Refusing him would mean giving up on Fang Wenjing’s life.

Qin Yun stared at her father, silently clenching her fists, feeling more tormented than ever before.