There’re Always Paranoid Thoughts to Monopolize Me - Chapter 54.2

A few seconds later, everyone awkwardly sat back down, shaking their heads silently.

The old professor walked to the podium, smiling.

“Trading one for a bunch, it’s worth it.”

The entire classroom: “…”

****

Qin Ke led Qin Hanyi and Yin Chuanfang to the coffee shop across from A University Affiliated High School.

The capital city was bustling, and with A University Affiliated High School located in the city center, places like coffee shops were never short of customers, whether on weekdays or holidays.

After entering, the three found a table and sat down.

It was Qin Hanyi and Yin Chuanfang’s first time in such a big city, and they couldn’t help feeling a bit constrained, their eyes showing hesitation and unease.

Especially when they saw Qin Ke naturally walk to the counter to order three cups of coffee after they sat down, Yin Chuanfang couldn’t help but darken her expression and said to Qin Hanyi. “I told you she must have money from her parents that we don’t know about—otherwise, how could a seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl come here to study and live here?”

Qin Hanyi, who was slightly more worldly, frowned at her words.

“This school transfer couldn’t be done even with money—you think just anyone can casually transfer to study here?”

“…Hmph.” Yin Chuanfang looked at the girl’s back with an ugly expression. “Anyway, she must be hiding something—maybe friends her parents knew before they died or something.”

“If her parents had really planned all this for her in advance, or if she had some friends taking care of her, how could their property have fallen into our distant relatives’ hands?”

“…”

Yin Chuanfang choked for a moment, then spoke irritably. “Then how do you explain it! She’s an orphan, even our Yanyan doesn’t have such good treatment, how can she live in such a big city?”

Qin Hanyi’s expression also darkened a bit.

After a few seconds, seeing Qin Ke turning around with the tray, Qin Hanyi lowered his voice. “Control yourself—today, no matter what means we use, whether tricking or coaxing, even if we have to force her, we must get her to go back—otherwise, when the notary lawyer responsible for reviewing the inheritance of her parents’ property comes to our house and doesn’t see her—then we won’t have any claim to anything from her family!”

“…”

Yin Chuanfang gritted her teeth, and finally nodded reluctantly.

At this moment, Qin Ke had already returned to the table with three cups of coffee.

Meeting Qin Hanyi and Yin Chuanfang’s complex, appraising gazes, Qin Ke calmly placed two cups of coffee in front of them. Then she sat down opposite the two, poured one-third of a sugar packet into her coffee, and stirred it leisurely before looking up at them.

Yin Chuanfang, who had just been scalded by some spilled coffee, compared her own clumsiness to Qin Ke’s composure and couldn’t help but force an insincere smile.

“Xiao Ke, it seems you’re living quite well here.”

Qin Ke pretended not to understand her implication and nodded calmly.

“It’s a bit better than living at the Qin household.”

“—!”

As soon as these first words came out, Qin Hanyi and Yin Chuanfang’s expressions changed.

Yin Chuanfang, sharp-tongued, was about to retort angrily, but was stopped by Qin Hanyi under the table. Qin Hanyi turned his head to give her a warning look, reminding his wife not to forget their true purpose for coming.

Then Qin Hanyi softened his expression slightly and turned back to look at Qin Ke.

“Xiao Ke, I know that since you left so quietly, you must have some misunderstandings about me and your mom, we—”

“Uncle Qin,” Qin Ke suddenly interrupted Qin Hanyi. This form of address startled the couple across the table, and they looked up at Qin Ke.

“You—why are you calling me that?”

Qin Ke remained composed, “This is how I should have addressed you all along. After all, you never treated me as your daughter, and you’re indeed not my parents.”

“What kind of talk is this!” Yin Chuanfang finally couldn’t hold back. She raised her voice involuntarily, drawing annoyed looks from customers at nearby tables, but she didn’t notice. She looked at Qin Ke with a malicious gaze, “We took care of you painstakingly for so many years—now that you’ve grown up, your wings have hardened, and you want to shake us off relying on what your parents left you, is that right!?”

“…”

Under Yin Chuanfang’s fierce expression, the girl across the table showed no sign of retreat or fear from beginning to end.

She just sat there motionless, her gaze as calm as still water as she looked at Yin Chuanfang—like an indifferent spectator watching a ridiculous play.

Under this gaze, Yin Chuanfang finally couldn’t continue.

She gritted her teeth in anger, “Why are you looking at me like that, am I wrong!?”

Qin Ke finally reacted.

The girl across the table turned her pretty oval face to the side and let out a light sneer.

“When did you ever ‘painstakingly’ take care of me?” She repeated those four words slowly and mockingly. Not waiting for them to refute, Qin Ke turned back with a cold smile. “You were actually painstakingly hiding from me, spending the inheritance my parents left behind, weren’t you?”

“…!!!”

Across the table, their expressions changed dramatically.

Recovering from the huge shock, Yin Chuanfang’s voice became hoarse, “You, how do you know about the inheritance!?”

“Yes, how would I know?” Qin Ke replied sarcastically.

The girl laughed softly, and as she did, the corners of her beautiful almond eyes curved slightly downward. Combined with her face, she looked even more innocent and harmless, but at this moment, it only filled Qin Hanyi and Yin Chuanfang with terror.

“In your eyes, wasn’t I just a money tree with a limited use? Like a fool being tricked by you for so many years, watching you use the banner of taking care of me while spending my parents’ inheritance, giving Qin Yan the best and most expensive things, while always giving me the most perfunctory things or even what Qin Yan threw away.”

Faced with their ashen faces as their deception was exposed, Qin Ke still wore that harmless smile. Only in her eyes, the temperature had dropped to freezing and never warmed again.

“You never truly considered me as your daughter for a moment, did you? Otherwise, you wouldn’t have ignored me for so long, and only now, when you finally learned I wasn’t dead, rushed to find me just before I come of age… What, are you afraid that if I’m not around, you won’t be able to embezzle the part of my parents’ inheritance meant for me after I become an adult?”

“…”

Qin Hanyi and Yin Chuanfang’s expressions were close to horrified.

They exchanged an incredulous look, both seeing the immense fear and confusion in each other’s eyes—they hadn’t even told Qin Yan about the specifics of the inheritance, how did Qin Ke know about it…

Qin Hanyi was the first to force himself to calm down. He squeezed out a smile and looked at Qin Ke.

“Xiao Ke, you must have heard someone maliciously trying to drive a wedge between us, right? Your Aunt Yin and I never intended to privately embezzle your parents’ inheritance. We’ve always been planning to hand it over to you when you come of age—”

“How stupid must I have seemed in the past few years for you to be so brazen, still trying to fool me like an idiot even now?”

Qin Ke interrupted Qin Hanyi without hesitation.

Seeing them still try to deceive her with such shameless words after being exposed, she was truly disgusted beyond endurance—

“Give up. I won’t go back with you, and I certainly won’t be fooled into handing over what my parents left for me.”

“Qin Ke, you really are…”

Yin Chuanfang became anxious, slapping the table as she stood up.

Qin Ke coldly glanced at her.

“Don’t think you can use that parental attitude to scold me, you’re not qualified—if you don’t want me to find a lawyer after I come of age to certify and make you spit out every bit of the inheritance you’ve ‘eaten’ over these years…”

In front of Yin Chuanfang’s suddenly pale face, Qin Ke smiled coldly.

“Then don’t appear in front of me again of your own accord.”

Yin Chuanfang was furious.

She reached out to grab the collar of the girl across the table, raising her hand to slap her.

Qin Ke’s eyes turned cold, and she was about to move when suddenly a gloomy, hoarse voice sounded from behind her—

“If you dare touch her…”

“I will break your fingers one by one.”