Dusk slowly fell, and after Lin Qingya went upstairs, she did not come down again. After Qin Hai had the property staff fix the main gate, he returned to his own room and carefully examined the pendant on his chest in the mirror.
The pendant was white, shaped like a long bar, slightly smaller than a finger, resembling jade, yet not as heavy as jade, more akin to a bone. However, this bone appeared to be quite old, with a rich and substantial patina.
Others might not be sure whether this pendant was made of jade or bone, but Qin Hai was one hundred percent certain that it was bone, human bone to be exact. Before his rebirth, he had had a similar piece hanging from his chest, very much like the one now before him.
The original bone pendant had been found in a secret base of the IN Organization. To protect this bone, the organization had dispatched numerous experts and Qin Hai had been seriously injured in the process. However, after having it analyzed, he learned that, aside from confirming it was a human bone, there was nothing special about it, which had left him quite frustrated for a while.
What surprised him now was that after his rebirth, he had encountered another bone pendant like the one before. And according to the memories of this body, the current bone pendant had been left to him by his parents, hanging around his neck for as long as he could remember.
"Could it be that this bone pendant helped me to be reborn?"
Now, seeing the bone pendant again, Qin Hai couldn't help but carefully recall the moment just before his rebirth. He vaguely remembered seeing a flash of white light at the very last moment before the explosion, coming from his chest. It seemed very possible that this bone pendant was the reason he could live again.
After looking at it for a long time, just as before, Qin Hai still couldn't fathom the mystery of the bone.
After a while, he sat cross-legged on the bed, ready to begin his cultivation practice. Compared to his former self, this body was far too frail. Although he had no intention of living a life on the edge again, it was necessary to have the ability to protect himself.
However, as Qin Hai concentrated, preparing to start his practice, a dazzling white light suddenly burst from his chest. Following this, a surging Inner Qi burst from the True Yuan bone pendant into his body, flowing through his limbs and reaching every corner, constantly remodeling his physical form.
"What is this..." Qin Hai's eyes flew open, he was too surprised to close his mouth. The True Yuan that had arrived was not only sudden but also immensely powerful, leaving him stunned.
The whole process was brief; the white light vanished almost as quickly as it had appeared, and the white bone quickly returned to its previous state. But Qin Hai keenly felt that the True Yuan in his body now was no different from before his rebirth.
If it weren't for the fact that his current appearance was so different from before, Qin Hai might have believed that he had never died at all.
Or to put it another way, perhaps the True Yuan that he had cultivated with great difficulty had also been reborn with him?
In the midst of his shock, Qin Hai's mouth widened more and more, nearly bursting into loud laughter with excitement. Regardless of how this True Yuan had come about, it was undeniably tremendous news. It had to be said, today was a great day, with one unexpected good thing after another!
"It seems this little trinket is indeed a treasure; no wonder people from the IN Organization were desperate to get their hands on it."
After the excitement, Qin Hai picked up the bone pendant again. Now there was no doubt that his rebirth was definitely related to this kind of bone.
Just then, a ringtone suddenly sounded in the living room, likely Lin Qingya's cellphone. Not long after, footsteps were heard, presumably Lin Qingya coming downstairs.
Qin Hai had no interest in eavesdropping on Lin Qingya's phone call. Just as he was about to continue examining the bone pendant, he heard Lin Qingya suddenly ask loudly, "What did you say? What's lost...okay, I'll be right there, you guys call the police immediately...yes, immediately!"
Suddenly, the sound of a car engine came from outside the villa, and by the time Qin Hai chased after it, Lin Qingya had already driven away from Lijing Garden.
...
At midnight, Lin Qingya returned to the villa, exhausted. After closing the door, she collapsed into the sofa in the dark.
As usual, once back in her own home, there was no need for her to maintain any elegance or grace, and she relaxed as she pleased.
Lying on the sofa and staring at the dark ceiling, Lin Qingya's brows remained furrowed.
Just a short time ago, the headquarters of Yafang Group, known for strict security measures, had been burglarized. Not only was a significant amount of cash stolen, but several confidential business documents in the safe were also missing, and the company's internal surveillance system had not captured any suspicious clues.
She had just exploded in anger, reprimanding the security staff fiercely, and then coordinated with the police to investigate the scene of the theft.
Several hours had passed, and she was feeling utterly exhausted.
Closing her eyes, Lin Qingya unbuttoned a few buttons at her chest and completely relaxed, wishing she could sleep until dawn.
Click! The living room lights suddenly came on. Lin Qingya quickly shielded her eyes with her hand and, after adjusting to the light, she was shocked to find Qin Hai sitting opposite her, gazing intently at her chest.
"Why are you here?" she quickly covered her chest and sat up, turning her back to Qin Hai to quickly adjust her clothes while asking angrily.
Qin Hai chuckled, "As your future husband, shouldn't I wait for my wife to come home?"
Lin Qingya paused in what she was doing, feeling a sudden warmth in her heart. She hadn't expected this shameless guy to wait for her. Was he worried about her safety?
But on second thought, this guy could not only pretend to be honest and sincere but had even faked his own death. What lies couldn't he tell? She absolutely couldn't trust him again.
After straightening her clothes, she turned around with a cold face and asked, "Then why didn't you turn on the light?"
"Why would I turn on the lights when I'm alone? It's a waste of electricity," Qin Hai yawned, stood up, and waved his hand, "Alright, now that you're back I can rest easy. Go to sleep early, I'm really tired!"
Could it be that this guy had really been waiting up for her until now? Lin Qingya looked at Qin Hai with suspicion and suddenly said, "Wait a moment."
"If you have something to say, spit it out, if you have a fart—" Qin Hai stopped mid-sentence, seeing Lin Qingya's angry face, and quickly said with a smile, "What else is there?"
Lin Qingya snorted and pointed to the sofa, "Sit down first, I have something to tell you."
Once Qin Hai sat down, Lin Qingya pondered for a moment and then said, "You should also know, my father trusts you very much. He always told me that you are honest and reliable, worthy of trust. Now I want to know, is what my father said right? Can you make me trust you?"
Without hesitation, Qin Hai praised, "Uncle Lin absolutely has an eye for people. On this point, you should learn from him!"
"Is that really the case?" Lin Qingya asked, holding back her anger, "Then tell me, why did you seem so honest a few days ago, and now today you've suddenly changed? Dare you say you didn't fake it before, that you haven't been hiding anything or deceiving my dad?"
Finishing her words, Lin Qingya stared at Qin Hai icily. To deal with such shameless scum, she had to tear off his hypocritical mask directly, without any mercy.
But, to her surprise, as soon as she finished speaking, Qin Hai showed an innocent expression: "Wife, you've really hurt my feelings! How can you still ask me this, don't you know the reason?"
"I know the reason?" Lin Qingya asked in astonishment, "How would I know what the reason is?"
Qin Hai touched his head with a look of grief and even put his head in front of Lin Qingya, crying out like a wronged wife, "Look, look, you've hit me with such a big lump, I'm lucky to be alive, and you still say you don't know the reason?"
Qin Hai then raised his head to look at Lin Qingya, firmly grasped her soft, boneless jade hand, knelt on one knee with an emotional expression and said, "But I also want to thank you for that whack because it completely knocked some sense into me. Yes, I've realized that I used to live too pathetically, too repressed, too useless, and I could say I wasn't worthy of you at all. But don't worry, wife, I now fully understand. From now on, I will definitely live as my true self, live a vigorous life! Wife, I will not let you down!"
After speaking, Qin Hai placed Lin Qingya's hands against his chest, looking at her with a deeply affectionate expression.
However, inwardly he thought, "Damn, that was close. Thank goodness I reacted quickly. If I directly told her I was reborn, I would probably not only scare her unconscious again, but I would likely end up tied up in a mental institution tomorrow."
Lin Qingya didn't realize at all that Qin Hai was fabricating another tall tale; after all, rebirth was such an outlandish concept that no one would have thought such a fantastical event could happen. She stared blankly at Qin Hai, feeling as though ten thousand alpacas were rampaging through her mind.
"After all this trouble, this guy suddenly turns out to be such a bastard because of me!"
Lin Qingya was utterly speechless, not knowing whether she had done a good thing or a bad thing.
But deep down, she had an uneasy premonition.
After a while, Lin Qingya suddenly snapped out of it and quickly withdrew her hands from Qin Hai's chest. Perhaps she was slightly stimulated by Qin Hai's robust body, as she rarely felt somewhat shy and embarrassed, her face flushed with a delicate red glow, so beautiful it was beyond words, and even Qin Hai was stunned.
Facing Qin Hai's burning gaze, Lin Qingya felt a bit flustered and turned her head away, changing the subject, "Tonight, the company was burglarized, and we lost quite a few things, which is why I came back late."
"Victim of a thief?" Admiring Lin Qingya's rarely seen bashfulness, Qin Hai felt amused, sat back in his seat, lit a cigarette, and with a frown said, "I haven't been at the company long, but from what I've seen, there are surveillance cameras installed in many crucial areas. Didn't they catch who did it?"
The deceased Qin Hai had already been working at Yafang Group for almost a month, so the current Qin Hai was quite familiar with Yafang Group.
Lin Qingya shook her head with her beautifully arched eyebrows slightly furrowed, "The surveillance footage is all normal, I'm starting to suspect there might be a mole in the company."
After a pause, she looked towards Qin Hai and said, "With this kind of incident, I don't know who I can trust in the company anymore. Since you say I can trust you, can you do me a favor?"
Qin Hai blew out a smoke ring, smiling, "You want me to help you root out the mole?"
Lin Qingya nodded slightly.
"What's in it for me? I'm not interested in a deal without benefits," Qin Hai said with an even brighter smile.
After a moment of astonishment, Lin Qingya's recently calmed mood became irritable again. Holding back her anger, she asked, "What benefit do you want?"
"Start by calling me 'dear husband'!" Qin Hai said excitedly.
"In your dreams!" Lin Qingya stood up abruptly, glaring angrily at Qin Hai.
Qin Hai quickly raised his hands and said, "Don't get mad now. In business, bargaining is normal. If I'm helping you with such a risky task, isn't it fair to ask for a higher reward?"
Lin Qingya snorted coldly and sat back down on the sofa, "Choose another one, that's definitely not going to happen!"
Rubbing his hands together, Qin Hai's smile grew cheekier, "Then how about a kiss from you? If you don't want it on the lips, a peck on the cheek is fine too. I don't mind."
"Shameless!"
Lin Qingya barely restrained herself from slapping the shameless scoundrel in front of her and said coldly, "Are you sure you can find the mole?"
Leaning back on the sofa with a sly smile, Qin Hai replied, "It might be difficult for others, but for me, it's too easy."
Joking aside, as the founder and leader of the world-class mercenary organization Starshine, finding the hidden mole within the company was hardly a challenge.
Lin Qingya really wanted to ask Qin Hai how he would do it, but seeing him deliberately posing as some sort of sage annoyed her so much that she almost spitefully said, "Fine, I agree. If you find the mole, I'll give you a kiss. If you can't find it, our engagement is off."
Holy moly, she actually agreed!
Now it was Qin Hai's turn to be surprised. He had only been teasing his silly wife, never expecting Lin Qingya to actually take him up on the offer, and yet she agreed so readily.
It seemed the mole incident had really upset Lin Qingya!
In his mind, he immediately pictured Lin Qingya obediently puckering her lips to kiss him, and he couldn't help but get excited.
"Alright, a gentleman's agreement is as good as gold! It's a deal!" Qin Hai smiled slyly, stretching out his hand, wanting to seal the deal with a high five, but unfortunately, she didn't give him another chance to touch her hand and turned to go upstairs.
"Catch the mole?" Watching Lin Qingya's graceful departing figure, Qin Hai was unfazed by her indifference, and the corners of his mouth slightly turned up, "Seems interesting. Looks like the days ahead are going to be fun!"