The Favored Heiress
Chapter 692: You Are My Sister

Chapter 692: Chapter 692: You Are My Sister

About fifteen minutes later, a group of people left the experimental base.

Li Qiao chose a Parma specialty restaurant near the experimental building, and just as she walked into the private room, the phone in her pocket rang exactly on time.

She went to the rest area on the side of the private room to answer the call, her tone quite light, "Speak."

Bai Yan had long become accustomed to her way of answering and retorted with a curled lip, "Before I say anything, first tell me, who have you offended recently?"

Li Qiao thought seriously for three seconds, "I don’t know."

Bai Yan laughed out of exasperation, licking his molars, as his tone rose, "Then do you know someone has placed a bounty on your life in the black market?"

"I know now."

Bai Yan felt he could die of frustration at Li Qiao’s hands someday. Only she could face a black market assassination with such calm composure, "Are you still in Parma?"

"Hmm." Li Qiao leaned casually against the armrest, crossed her legs, and waggled her toes, "How much did they offer for me?"

Bai Yan reported truthfully, "Thirty million."

Li Qiao’s brows and eyes gradually darkened, "I’m only worth thirty million?"

Is this damn point the main issue?

Bai Yan took a deep breath, suppressing the irritation welling up inside him, patiently adding two words, "Pounds."

"Oh, that’s alright then."

Bai Yan: "..."

After a speechless silence, Bai Yan cleared his throat and changed the subject, "You know the rules of the black market. Once they take this job, you’ll be plagued with endless trouble."

The Flame Alliance might have already laundered their business, but many underworld organizations were still active across all continents, with countless sources for information.

Thirty million pounds was enough to attract countless people willing to risk their lives for money, especially in the black market.

Li Qiao glanced at Shang Yu lighting a cigarette across the table. As her gaze shifted, a sharp gleam flashed through her eyes, "Did they only target me?"

Bai Yan kept a straight face, enunciating each word, "What else do you want, a buy one get one free deal?"

Li Qiao rubbed her forehead, her lips curving up, "I’ll offer double. Take the order and counter-kill for me, and try to dig up the opponent’s information."

Bai Yan declined seriously, "Never done that, it’s against the rules."

"Do you want the rules or do you want the Flame Alliance?"

After several seconds of inner conflict, Bai Yan chose the latter, "Fine, transfer the money to my account, and I’ll take care of the counter myself."

After ending the call, Li Qiao returned to the dining area without any change of expression. Just as she settled down, Mo Jue leaned in, whispering, "Ancestor, what did you do with my hair just now?"

Li Qiao tilted her head to look at Mo Jue’s lively eyes, smiling, "What do you think?"

Mo Jue covered her mouth with her hand, pretending to be serious, "I secretly asked an expert, and he said you were doing a DNA test."

She had casually extracted this information while cozying up to the expert earlier.

Li Qiao had never intended to hide Mo Jue’s origins. Seeing the eager look in her eyes, she weighed her options and asked directly, "Do you want to know where you come from?"

Mo Jue blinked unexpectedly, shaking her head, "I don’t want to."

"Why?" Li Qiao’s eyes sparkled with interest, expecting a detailed explanation.

Seeing this, Mo Jue tapped on the tablecloth, eyed Li Qiao, and murmured, "I definitely have a father and a mother, but they haven’t looked for me all these years, they probably don’t want me anymore."

These low murmurs were filled with resentment and blame.

She had outgrown the age where she needed parents and relatives, her envy and expectations long worn down by harsh reality.

Regardless of her origins, she just wanted to be Boss Li Qiao’s loyal follower, Mo Jue.

And this was the first time Li Qiao discovered Mo Jue’s sensitive inner world harbored secrets of stubbornness unknown to others.

She picked up her teacup and took a sip, some words getting stuck at her lips, unable to continue.

Not long after, Mo Jue snapped out of her thoughts, suddenly half-opening her mouth, squirming to grab Li Qiao’s wrists, "Ancestor, you just finished a DNA test and then suddenly started talking about origins... don’t tell me... you’re my sister, are you?"

Li Qiao’s expression remained neutral as she placed her cup down, looking at her outfit splashed with lemon water. She pulled out a tissue, wiped it off twice, and glanced at Mo Jue, "No."

"Oh, I thought..." Mo Jue patted her chest somewhat embarrassedly.

Then, Li Qiao calmly added, "You are my sister."

Luoyu: "??"

She is a girl?

Mo Jue was stunned, dug in her ear, and leaned her face close to Li Qiao, "What what what?"

"You heard me right."

Mo Jue was flabbergasted, her face going pale.

It might have been a bit rash to tell Mo Jue in this manner, but it was a good way to test her reaction.

If she wanted to know the details, she could relay them meticulously.

If she didn’t want to know, it was fine to stop there.

But Li Qiao never expected Mo Jue’s reaction to be so beyond her imagination.

She watched as Mo Jue’s lively little face suddenly scrunched up, then she sniffled and tears started to fall quickly, bursting into loud sobs within seconds.

Luoyu was shocked.

And Shang Yu, whose face was as still as a deep lake, also furrowed his thick brows, glancing at the sobbing Mo Jue with displeasure, "Does she offend you that much by being your sister?"

Mo Jue pursed her lips, not daring to be as brazen anymore, but continued to sob quietly, with an expression that read heartbroken.

Li Qiao held her forehead with one hand, her temple twitching twice, then grabbed two tissues and pressed them against Mo Jue’s face, "Stop crying."

Is she that emotional?

Soon, Li Qiao realized she had overthought it.

Mo Jue took a sharp breath and forced herself to stop crying, taking a while before she could say a few intermittent words, "So I, am I also the boss’s...sister?"

Li Qiao turned to look at Mo Jue’s tear-streaked face and narrowed her eyes slightly, "No..."

The sobbing stopped abruptly.

Mo Jue’s mouth curled slightly, blinking her red tearful eyes, "Really?"

"Yeah, you are not blood-related to him."

After those words, Mo Jue wiped her face with the tissue, shook her head, and stopped crying, "Oh, as long as I’m not the boss’s sister, it’s fine."

Li Qiao: "?"

She observed Mo Jue’s swift return to her usual demeanor and raised an eyebrow to ask, "You don’t want to be his sister?"

Mo Jue nodded without any hesitation, "Of course not, that would be so awkward, it’s incest..."

As long as the boss wasn’t her brother, there was no problem.

Li Qiao: "..."

Indeed, one couldn’t interpret Mo Jue with ordinary thinking.

Mo Jue blew her nose, her voice muffled, "So, should I call you ancestor or sister in the future, which do you prefer?"

Li Qiao smiled with curved lips, "Whichever, anything is fine."

Mo Jue straightened up, glanced at Li Qiao with a fickle look, "Can you come out with me for a moment?"

Li Qiao, not knowing what she intended, gave Shang Yu a look and then followed Mo Jue out of the private room.

The two came to the turn of the stairs, one after the other. Just as Li Qiao steadied herself, Mo Jue, who had been leading, swiftly turned around and hurled herself into Li Qiao’s arms.

Only when they embraced did Li Qiao realize that Mo Jue was indeed very frail, her chronic malnutrition having left her skinny and small.

Mo Jue didn’t speak or cry aloud, just held Li Qiao tight, burying her head in her shoulder, with her body occasionally trembling slightly from suppression.

After a long, long time, she complained in a hoarse voice, "Why did it take you so long to find me..."