The Root of All Evil: Qin Zhengwei

"Old Lin, where are you?!"

"Can't see you—make some noise!"

An Yi called out several times.

Gazing at the vast expanse of colorful yet slightly foul-smelling garbage in the dump, he sighed faintly.

"So much trash. Who knows where he went? Searching like this is exhausting, not to mention filthy."

At least the wheelchair was intact. Bringing it back would at least give Yaoyao some closure.

With a sorrowful expression, An Yi picked up the knockoff wheelchair and prepared to leave.

Bang! Bang!

Two gusts of cyan wind erupted, blasting the garbage aside and slashing toward the sky.

The mountainous piles of trash were sent flying, scattering like a dense curtain of rain.

"I'm here!"

Lin Chen's cold voice rang out.

An Yi froze for a moment before his eyes reddened, and he rushed over with overwhelming grief.

"Old Lin! I—I finally found you!"

"Get lost!!"

Night fell.

Leaning on his crutch, Lin Chen picked up a towel and dried his damp black hair, staring through the window at the nightscape outside the hotel.

After an entire afternoon of scrubbing, the stench of garbage on him had finally faded.

Buzz buzz buzz—

His phone vibrated.

Lin Chen glanced at the caller ID and answered. "Hello, Yaoyao."

Qin Yao's clear, melodious voice carried a hint of hesitation as she whispered, "Lin Chen... no, Brother!"

"Brother?"

Hearing the term, Lin Chen frowned slightly.

"Brother... I... I met Mom."

Qin Yao's voice trembled as she spoke, recounting everything.

A look of shock flashed across Lin Chen's usually icy face.

"Brother... are you okay?" Qin Yao asked softly when she didn’t hear a response.

"Yeah."

Lin Chen nodded slowly.

After hanging up, he stared at the nightscape outside the window, a bitter smile tugging at his lips.

"Fate... truly unpredictable."

"Hey, Old Lin, time to change your bandages!"

An Yi's voice came from outside the door.

"I need some peace."

Lin Chen closed his eyes, exhausted, and lay back on the hotel sofa.

"Hey, Lao Bai, do you know who 'Peace' is?"

"My elementary school classmate was named Peace."

"Got it. Invite her over—Old Lin's craving a woman."

Jiangbei City.

Qin Family Villa, living room.

Lin Mei'er sat on the sofa, leisurely sipping tea.

Across from her, Qin Zhengwei sat stiffly, beads of sweat forming on his forehead without him realizing.

Feeling that, as the brother-in-law, he shouldn’t appear so intimidated, Qin Zhengwei cleared his throat.

"Ahem... Meimei—"

"Hmm?"

Lin Mei'er’s peach-blossom eyes shot him a cold glance.

"Cough... Miss Lin, if you have something to say, please speak directly." Qin Zhengwei forced a smile.

Lin Mei'er set down her teacup and snorted. "Yaoyao is with my sister. Did you know?"

"The Underworld?!"

Hearing this, Qin Zhengwei immediately shot to his feet, furious. "What the hell is she doing in that godforsaken place?!"

"Last night, the girl lied on the phone, saying she was having fun in the capital and didn’t want to come back yet. Who’d have thought she’d run off to the Underworld?!"

"My sister’s there—why panic?" Lin Mei'er scoffed.

"How can I not panic?! You know exactly what kind of place the Underworld is!"

Qin Zhengwei scratched his head frantically.

The Underworld was one of the world’s top assassin organizations, handling all sorts of dirty, shadowy dealings.

And now, his daughter was at their headquarters!

He’d been careless. How could he have guessed that Qin Yao attending a simple banquet would spiral into this?

Lin Mei'er frowned at Qin Zhengwei’s frantic pacing. "Grow a spine. What’s there to panic about?"

"What the hell is Lin Lan thinking?! Why does she want to see Yaoyao now? We agreed back then—no contact!"

Qin Zhengwei, now too angry to fear Lin Mei'er, snapped back.

When Qin Yao was still in swaddling clothes, she had been quietly sent back to Jiangbei with one condition—complete separation from Lin Lan.

Lin Lan, as a member of the Underworld, carried too much baggage.

The organization’s intricate power struggles, external interference, endless scheming—it was all too dangerous.

Raising Qin Yao in that environment would have been unthinkable.

That’s why Qin Zhengwei had chosen to bring her back to Jiangbei to grow up safely.

Yet now, at the height of the Underworld’s turmoil, Lin Lan had taken Qin Yao back.

"Yaoyao’s identity has been exposed," Lin Mei'er said gravely.

Qin Zhengwei’s frown deepened. "What do you mean?"

"Remember the last kidnapping attempt by the Butcher’s Blade?"

Lin Mei'er’s voice darkened. "They’ve already made their move. Yaoyao isn’t safe here anymore."

At this, Qin Zhengwei’s face paled.

Many of the major financial groups in the country had hired assassins from the Heaven Organization.

He’d initially assumed it was just some business rival targeting him.

But hearing that Qin Yao was now in the crosshairs of the entire Heaven Organization, his hands trembled.

"The Underworld may be unstable now, but compared to here, it’s safer. Besides... it’s been twenty years since mother and daughter last saw each other. This is a rare chance."

Qin Zhengwei clutched his hair and sighed.

"You bastard, what are you sighing about?! If it weren’t for your debauched ass seducing my sister back then, none of this mess would’ve happened!"

Lin Mei'er glared at him, her anger flaring.

Back then, Lin Lan had already been engaged to the young master of the Hong family, a powerful financial dynasty in the U.S.

It should’ve been a perfect match—wealth, status, beauty.

Who could’ve predicted that some small-time playboy from Jiangbei would swoop in and ruin it all?

The thought made Lin Mei'er hate her younger self even more.

At just ten years old, out of sheer curiosity, she’d dragged Lin Lan into a bar—where they’d run into this degenerate.

Lin Lan, barely eighteen and naive in love, never stood a chance against Qin Zhengwei’s smooth-talking charm.

Within days, she was completely smitten.

By the time they returned to the Underworld, Lin Lan was already pregnant.

The fallout was catastrophic—the Hong family alliance collapsed, and the Underworld’s old faction leader, who’d long seen them as a threat, seized the opportunity to suppress them...

Lin Mei'er exhaled sharply, fists clenched, her rage simmering as she stared at Qin Zhengwei.

This man was the root of all evil.

Feeling her murderous gaze, Qin Zhengwei shivered. "Don’t look at me like that! I’m a victim too!"

Back then, he’d been young, rich, and handsome—a textbook high-society playboy.

He’d just wanted a one-night stand with a pretty girl at the bar.

How was he supposed to know she was from the Underworld?!

From that moment on, his carefree life as a wealthy heir spiraled into the murky world of international power struggles.

Worse, he’d been brutally beaten by an eleven-year-old girl—left hospitalized for six months with injuries that still made him shudder twenty years later.

Just seeing Lin Mei'er now sent chills down his spine.

Lin Mei'er massaged her temples. "Right now, I’m more worried about your son."

"Son?!"

Qin Zhengwei nearly jumped out of his seat. "Lin Mei'er, don’t you dare slander me! I’ve been loyal to Lin Lan—heart and soul! What son?!"

Lin Mei'er: "..."

"Why are you so worked up?"