Qiao Family.
When Qiao Rui arrived, the doorman at the entrance was stunned to see her, and, stopping her, asked in surprise, "Excuse , miss, do you have an appointnt?"
Qiao Rui’s brow furrowed slightly, and no wonder the doorman did not recognize her. Her face was without glasses and not just that; she had also changed her clothes.
Qiao Rui said, "I am Qiao Rui."
The doorman saw the girl in front of him, dressed fashionably, with beautiful features and a strong presence.
A youthful radiance shone from her beautiful face, vibrant like a fresh flower.
It was impossible to compare her with the dowdy sixth miss from the Qiao family of before.
How could that be the sa person?
The doorman was dumbfounded, "You, how could you possibly be the sixth miss?"
Rui Danran countered, "How could I possibly not be?"
The doorman imdiately ca to his senses and said, "I’m sorry, Sixth Miss, I didn’t an that, I recognize the voice—it’s you."
"Elder Qiao is looking for ," Qiao Rui said. "May I go in now?"
The doorman nodded at once. "Sixth Miss, please."
With that, Qiao Rui was able to enter the Qiao family residence.
The butler was just as astonished when he saw her. "You are?"
"I am Qiao Rui," Qiao Rui repeated. "Uncle Butler, where is Elder Qiao?"
"Ah, Sixth Miss?" The butler was also taken aback. "You’ve changed so much; you look like a completely different person."
Rui Danran said indifferently, "I had no choice."
The butler: "...."
Qiao Rui walked inside.
The butler said from behind, "Elder Qiao is waiting for you in the room, Sixth Miss. You’ve turned out to be so beautiful; Elder Qiao will surely be very happy to see you."
"Let’s hope," Qiao Rui said in a flat tone, harboring no expectations of the Qiao family.
The butler could tell there was criticism in Qiao Rui’s words towards Elder Qiao, and not knowing how to respond, he could only give a dry laugh, attempting to explain, "Actually, Elder Qiao has high hopes for the Sixth Miss."
"Is it higher expectations for the Pei family?" Qiao Rui didn’t leave any face for Elder Qiao.
Stunned by the retort, the butler was too embarrassed to say anything.
Qiao Rui entered the room and found Elder Qiao sitting on the sofa. When he looked up and saw her, he was taken aback.
Noticing Elder Qiao’s hesitation, the butler imdiately smiled and said, "Elder Qiao, look who this is?"
Elder Qiao squinted at the door and was suddenly startled.
He saw the girl with long black hair hanging down, tied up in part with a blue ribbon, the rest cascading down. Her eyes were as deep and dark as the endless night, with long, thick lashes like tiny fans, her skin fair, and her features delicate—bearing traces of that woman.
He abruptly stood up, his gaze narrowing, looking at Qiao Rui and demanded coldly, "Are you Qiao Rui?"
Qiao Rui nodded. "Yes, Grandfather."
Elder Qiao was shocked, and it took a long mont before he could recover.
Qiao Rui hadn’t expected Elder Qiao’s expression to be so exaggerated; moreover, he seed rather displeased.
Elder Qiao saw in Qiao Rui’s eyes the shadow of her mother, the woman who had taken away his most pride-worthy son.
The woman who had ruined his son’s life.
His expression turned complex, and the shock in his eyes quickly morphed into resentnt.
"Elder Qiao?" The butler noticed the old man’s odd behavior and gave a reminder.
Elder Qiao suddenly snapped back to reality, steeled his emotions, sat back down and said indifferently, "Co, take a seat."
Qiao Rui walked over and sat down on a sofa opposite Elder Qiao and began, "Grandfather, you asked to co here to talk about my brother, and I want to know his whereabouts."
"There is no news," Elder Qiao’s voice was cold and uncomfortable to hear.
Qiao Rui frowned, "You asked to co to tell ."
"He’s dead," Elder Qiao suddenly said in a deep voice.
Qiao Rui couldn’t hold back and exclaid angrily, "Impossible!"
Elder Qiao didn’t say anything; his entire deanor seed changed, exuding profound sorrow.
Qiao Rui paused, touched by his expression, looking at him puzzledly.
After a silence, Elder Qiao finally said, "I’ve also been searching for your brother for years, to no avail. The man is likely gone."
"No, that’s impossible!" Qiao Rui repeated the line, unable to accept it emotionally or rationally.
"Do you think I wanted this?" Elder Qiao shouted angrily. "He is the only male of the Qiao family, my only grandson!"
Elder Qiao’s roar effectively silenced Qiao Rui.
She froze, seeing the grief in the depths of Elder Qiao’s eyes; she could not ignore it—his sorrow was sincere.
Perhaps he genuinely mourned his grandson, after all, the boy was the Qiao family’s only male child.
But the idea of her brother being dead, Qiao Rui couldn’t accept it, and she wouldn’t surrender to it.
"If he’s alive, I want to see him; if he’s dead, I want to see his body," Qiao Rui stated word by word.
Elder Qiao was briefly stunned, then looked up in panic to et Qiao Rui’s firm and profound eyes.
Such determination, such unwillingness, she was so much like her mother!
Ha!
The thought of that woman turned Elder Qiao’s grief into anger and resentnt.
It was all that woman’s fault, causing the loss of his son and now his grandson.
If it hadn’t been for that woman, his finest son would have married a suitable girl and lived a happy life.
"If you want to investigate, then do so thoroughly," Elder Qiao said coldly. "I hope you find your brother, but all this is wishful thinking!"
Seeing Elder Qiao now, Qiao Rui sensed he might have so hope for his grandson, and his grief seed genuine.
Qiao Rui said, "Give a clue, and I will investigate."
"If there were any clues, I wouldn’t have failed to find him," Elder Qiao said with a cold sneer. "Whether you believe it or not, I am even more eager to find your brother than you are."
Qiao Rui was stunned, then responded, "Since Grandfather and I share the sa goal, if there are no clues, there must at least be a photo, right?"
Elder Qiao looked at Qiao Rui with cold eyes and scoffed, "Haven’t you already turned my room upside down?"
Qiao Rui stiffened.
Elder Qiao said coldly, "You rummaged through my room as soon as you ca back, don’t think I don’t know."
Qiao Rui hesitated, then said after a long pause, "Grandfather must have just rembered, having just discovered it, right?"
Elder Qiao narrowed his eyes.
Qiao Rui t his gaze, "Elder Pei told you that I searched for my brother’s photo, then you pieced it together and rembered I had searched your room. Yes, I certainly did search before, but found nothing."
Elder Qiao looked at her with cold eyes, "So you thought you could find so clue in the Pei family, you were willing to marry Pei Liyan for a lead on your brother, rather than directly asking if there were any photos or clues to your brother."
Qiao Rui watched Elder Qiao without saying a word.
"You don’t trust ," Elder Qiao’s voice had aged noticeably.
Qiao Rui pressed her lips together, gave a bitter smile and retorted, "Should I trust Grandfather?"
"What about the outco?" Elder Qiao scoffed, "Do you think that by really marrying Pei Liyan, disrupting my plans, you’d make suffer?"
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