Lan Yu Xi scoffed, "I won't force you, but those people your father left behind will force me. My children will face greater trouble."
Ruan Si Zhe clutched his head in agony, "Except for Tuo Mi, everyone in Bing Yan is loyal to you. Can you truly bear to abandon them? Have you ever considered how heartbroken they would be if they knew you abandoned them all because of one person's mistake?"
Seeing Lan Yu Xi unmoved, Ruan Si Zhe suddenly stood up, "Tuo Mi deserves to die!"
Lan Yu Xi raised an eyebrow, "You're going to kill him? But can you go through with it? If you could, you wouldn't have beaten him half to death and brought him to me. He truly deserves to die. After the incident, I quickly found out he was the hacker, but I didn't touch him for your sake. These past few days, you've been struggling, haven't you? On one side, there's me and Chao Chao Mu Mu, and on the other, there's a close friend, a brother who grew up with you."
Ruan Si Zhe closed his eyes in pain, "I am indeed struggling, but my struggle isn't about covering up his crime. It's about whether to let him live or die."
"If I were you, I'd struggle too, because he did it all for you. Xiao Zhe, your master is a very lazy person. If your father hadn't entrusted Bing Yan to me when you were so young, I would never have taken it on."
Lan Yu Xi stood up and reached out to pat his head, but as her hand extended, she realized Xiao Zhe had grown significantly taller, and reaching his head was no longer as easy as before.
Lan Yu Xi changed her approach mid-motion, patting his shoulder forcefully. "You're growing up. Help your master share some of the burden, I'm begging you."
Ruan Si Zhe froze for a moment, then after a long pause, he asked with difficulty, "If I take over Bing Yan, will you still care about me?"
Lan Yu Xi smiled as she looked at him, as if she knew why this little one was so resistant to taking over Bing Yan.
"There's an old saying in China, 'A master for a day is a father for a lifetime.' This is a bond without blood ties, one that can never be severed. Although I'm not much older than you, in this life, you, Chao Chao, and Mu Mu are all my children."
Ruan Si Zhe wanted to smile but found it difficult. In her eyes, he would probably always be a child.
Ruan Si Zhe glanced towards the door, a mischievous glint flashing in his eyes. "What about my senior brother? Do you consider him your child too?"
Lan Yu Xi scoffed, "He has someone who dotes on him, so I don't want him! You, Chao Chao, and Mu Mu are the treasures in my palm."
"Master, you don't love me anymore... *sob sob*, I'm so sad..." Qiao Yi Si ran from the entrance directly towards Lan Yu Xi.
Lan Yu Xi cast a sinister glance at Ruan Si Zhe, and the next second, just as Qiao Yi Si was about to embrace her, she grabbed Ruan Si Zhe and made the two of them share an intimate hug.
"You brat, trying to set a trap for me!" Lan Yu Xi cursed, then kicked Ruan Si Zhe's butt. Her kick sent the two disciples, who were embracing, tumbling onto the sofa.
Qiao Yi Si was pinned tightly under Ruan Si Zhe. He cried out, pushing Ruan Si Zhe away with disgust.
"You brat, have you gotten fat recently? You're almost crushing me to death."
As Ruan Si Zhe stood up, rubbing his backside, Lan Yu Xi grabbed his ear.
"You brat, do you think I'm old and my ears don't work anymore? I can't even hear if someone's come to the house? You dare to scheme against me, I'll twist your ear off!"
Qiao Yi Si sat up, smiling. "Yes, twist him like that. This kid is getting naughtier. You want to fight for favor, fine, but why drag me into it? Hearing you dislike me directly is a million times more devastating than being in the dark and then finding out!"
"Master, I was wrong, I was wrong... Ow, my ear is going to fall off."
Lan Yu Xi wasn't actually twisting his ear. Seeing him act like a drama queen, she angrily kicked him towards Qiao Yi Si again.
This time, Qiao Yi Si was smarter. As soon as Lan Yu Xi raised her foot, he teleported to another sofa.
Lan Yu Xi glared at him fiercely. "Why are you back so early?"
It wasn't even the end of working hours yet.
Qiao Yi Si glanced at Ruan Si Zhe, but still produced a lab report. "I was afraid Ethan might have other allergens, so I had the research institute in Country M re-screen him."
Lan Yu Xi furrowed her brow slightly and took the lab report.
First item: Goat milk! Not allergic.
Lan Yu Xi exchanged a look with Qiao Yi Si, then asked coldly, "Have the nannies at home been apprehended?"
"They've been apprehended, but I haven't had time to interrogate them yet. I just sent Wan Qi and Ethan to Mom's before coming here."
"No rush. There's one more person who needs to be apprehended." Lan Yu Xi frowned, pulled out her phone, and dialed. "Huo Ding, find out who did the allergy screening for Ethan."
"What happened?"
"I'll explain later. Go find the person first, and once you find them, apprehend them directly. Be quick."
"Okay, I'm on my way."
Lan Yu Xi hung up the phone and turned to go to the storage room.
Ruan Si Zhe was momentarily stunned, then looked sharply at Qiao Yi Si. "This scheme is this big? But as far as I know, Su Ming is a brute, and he and his men hadn't even been to China before the incident... Also, it wasn't him who persuaded Tuo Mi. Who helped him with this scheme?"
Qiao Yi Si asked, looking shocked, "Tuo Mi? Your protector? He was involved too?"
Ruan Si Zhe lowered his head in shame. "Yes."
Qiao Yi Si, incensed, kicked him. "Does Master know?"
Ruan Si Zhe didn't dodge, enduring the kick. "She knows, but Master didn't deal with him. I sent him to the base. He only told me the truth when I was leaving. He said the person who partnered with him wasn't Su Ming, but he didn't know who it was specifically. I didn't want Master to worry, so I didn't tell her. I wanted to tell her after I found out."
As Lan Yu Xi came out with a medicine box, she happened to overhear this. "Don't get involved in this. I'll investigate."
"I..."
Lan Yu Xi sharply interrupted him. "If I tell you not to investigate, then don't. I don't want the people around me to get into trouble one by one, understand!"
Seeing Ruan Si Zhe remain silent, Lan Yu Xi then said to Qiao Yi Si, "Let's go to your place. I want to see who dares to cause trouble under my nose."
Qiao Yi Si quickly stood up to follow.
Ruan Si Zhe hesitated for a moment, then also followed. "I'll go too."
The three of them, master and disciples, had just arrived in front of Qiao Yi Si's villa when Huo Ding's call came through.
"Huo Ding, did you find out?"
"I found out, but the person resigned after the incident."
"Send me his address and phone number."
"I just called him, and his phone number has been deactivated."
Lan Yu Xi narrowed her eyes. "Send me that too."