Chapter 229 - Was there a kid...

He wondered what he could say in this situation. Based on what Xiao Lei told him about Xiao Yunjie, he could tell that Xiao Yunjie was a responsible person. Therefore, for him to disappear so suddenly like this... Something must have had happened to Xiao Yunjie. 

"I'm sure he would be fine..." Han Ye said in the end as he averted his eyes and pretended to be looking out for Xiao Zhihao.  

Han Ye was unsure of whether he wanted something extremely bad to happen to Xiao Yunjie. Now that he discovered his feelings about Xiao Lei, he felt as if he were standing in the middle of a crossroad, where he had to decide either to act on his feelings or bottle it down so that he would not end up hurting her or anyone else.

At the moment, he chose to bottle everything down, but he still wanted to get an answer to his dilemma.

Han Ye had been trying to search for Xiao Yunjie, but he could not find any information about the guy other than what Xiao Lei had been telling him. He did, however, notice that something was off about the man's past. Han Ye found out that Xiao Yunjie was the adopted son of a prominent couple in a city several hours away from Imperial City. 

And according to Han Ye's men, Xiao Yunjie was adopted by the couple when he was around 10 or 11 years old, but he ran away from home when he was sixteen, not long after the birth of his adoptive parents' son. When Han Ye's men tried to look for more information, they could not find anything. 

Xiao Yunjie's younger adoptive brother knew nothing about him, other than the fact that he existed, and Xiao Yunjie's adoptive parents passed away a few years ago. Han Ye sent his men to continue digging into Xiao Yunjie's past, but there was nothing from the orphanage where he was supposed to come from. 

There was no record at all. 

Han Ye had been stumped by it. 

Xiao Yunjie was legally adopted into the Xiao Family, but how could there be no information about the man prior to the adoption? He had to have a name, a family, an identity... yet everything pointed to the fact that he might be an alien in this country. Like Xiao Lei. 

If he was an alien, then... Where did he come from? And most importantly, who helped him with the adoption?

As Han Ye glanced at Xiao Lei, he wondered if he should tell her a piece of information that might be or might not be important. When he saw how tired she looked, he decided not to tell her about it first. He wanted to find out more first. 

"He might know something..." Han Ye thought. He then took out his phone and looked for a person's contact details. 

[Head Manager Han / Brother]

He quickly texted Head Manager Han a message. 

[Can we meet up any time this week? There's something that I have to ask you.]

Not long later, Head Manager Han replied with a message. 

[I'm outside your car.]

Han Ye frowned and immediately turned his head away from Xiao Lei to look outside his car. He then noticed that Head Manager Han was leaning against a tree near him. The man was smoking, which was rare for him, and he was not as fastidious as how he was usually. 

The top two buttons of his shirt were unbuttoned while his tie was hung loosely around his tie, making him look like a working man who had just gotten off work. His sleeves were rolled back to around his elbows, and his black blazer was hung on a branch of the tree.

The reason why Han Ye thought that he was not as fastidious was that Head Manager Han usually kept his professional style on and off work, and Han Ye could not recall the man ever wearing anything sloppily. 

Han Ye tapped on Xiao Lei's shoulder to get her attention. When she looked at him, he said, "Xiao Lei, I'll be right back." 

"Where are you going? Toilet?" 

He shook his head. "Head Manager Han... I mean, he's here. I'm just going to talk to him for a while. I won't be far," Han Ye said as he pointed out the whereabouts of Head Manager Han to her. "Just shout if you need me."

Xiao Lei looked at Head Manager Han, who was now looking at a hot older woman who was walking toward him, before nodding. "Go then. I think Zhi Hao might need more time."

Han Ye nodded and got out of the car. 

When he walked to Head Manager Han, he noticed that there were at least ten cigarette butts on the ground. "Since when had you been stalking me?" Han Ye asked jokingly. 

Head Manager Han stared at Han Ye with an indifferent expression. "Don't flatter yourself. I've been here even before you arrived earlier."

"This is?" the woman standing next to Head Manager Han asked. 

Han Ye glanced at her and felt as if he had seen her before. He then nodded and offered his hand as he said, "I'm Han Ye, Miss...?"

"Oh!" The woman gasped and looked at Head Manager Han who nodded to confirm. She then looked back at Han Ye and shook his hand. "I'm Dr. Wing. An old friend of Han Xuan."

Han Ye nodded. He then looked at Head Manager Han and asked, "Can we talk in private?"

"Wing is from the Shenlong Family's medic department. Is this something that she should not be privy to?" 

Han Ye's eyes went wide slightly and looked at Dr. Wing again. He recalled her face now, but... He narrowed his eyes and asked, "You're one of the doctors at..." 

Head Manager Han sighed. "You even checked on the kid's details?" 

"I... was curious," Han Ye admitted calmly. He then looked at Dr. Wing and asked, "I didn't know that you are also working for the Shenlong Family."

Dr. Wing smiled. "Well, if people know who actually works for the Shenlong Family, then we would be in grave danger, won't we?" 

Han Ye smiled and nodded. "Fair enough." 

He knew roughly how the Shenlong Family was, so he did not ask too much about it. Instead, he asked Head Manager Han, "Is everything alright? Why are you here?"

Head Manager Han shrugged. "Nothing. What do you want to talk about?" 

Dr. Wing rolled her eyes and said, "We came to attend a funeral." 

Han Ye looked at Head Manager Han, and after a few seconds, he gasped. "He... The boy..." 

Head Manager Han clenched his jaws. He did not really want to talk about it. Besides, he was not the sentimental type who liked to talk out their feelings. "Wing, you and your big mouth." 

She shrugged and placed a hand on Head Manager Han's shoulder. "Well, this is your younger brother after all." 

It was just a simple gesture, but... Han Ye could not help but think deeper into this. Especially since Head Manager Han was not someone who was big on body contact. There was no way the man would allow someone insignificant to touch him.

Han Ye frowned as he tried to think back to what he read from Head Manager Han's file. A few seconds later, he finally recalled who Dr. Wing was. 

In Head Manager Han's file, she was listed under "known lover".

"Which meant, she was the baby's mother?" Han Ye thought as he looked at her. 

When Dr. Wing saw his eyes, she could tell that he knew, so she merely smiled and nodded. 

Han Ye nodded even more politely back at her. He then looked at Head Manager Han and asked, "When did this happen?" 

"A few days ago," Head Manager Han murmured as he dropped a cigarette butt on the ground before stepping on it to put out the embers. As he looked at the cigarette butts that were around his feet, he thought about how quickly he burned through them... A few puffs and they were gone. Like that kid's life. 

"He passed away in his sleep..." Dr. Wing explained. It was something that everyone had been expecting, so in a way, everyone had made the mental preparation for it. Even so, for everyone who knew Tay Dingxuan, they were still deeply affected. 

She then pointed to one direction and said, "He's buried over there, but because Dingxuan's family is there, Han Xuan didn't want to go. We are just waiting here until they leave." 

They had been waiting since this morning.  

Han Ye looked over to where she was pointing. He had to squint his eyes to get a better look, and he saw a few people crowding at an area. He then looked at Head Manager Han and said, "I'm sorry."

"There's nothing to be sorry about. People come and go," Head Manager Han said, but his tone of voice betrayed his emotions at the moment. It was obvious that he was affected by the boy's death. He cleared his throat and asked, "Quick. What the hell do you want to talk about?" 

His abrupt tone, as well as the glare in his eyes, indicated that he no longer wanted to talk about Tay Dingxuan.

"Erm..." Han Ye glanced at Dr. Wing before sighing. He figured it would be fine. Head Manager Han would say something if he did not think that it was appropriate for Dr. Wing to be here. "I just want to ask... Around the time you were taken by the Shenlong Family, was there a kid by the name Xiao Yunjie?" 

xxx

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