Chapter 160: What Does It Feel Like to Eavesdrop?

"If you hadn't hung up on me, would I have made a special trip over here! How can you even say that?" Qi's father truly couldn't hold it in any longer.

Qi Mo's expression remained exceptionally indifferent, as if he couldn't be bothered to care about any of this.

Qi's father glanced at Qi's mother. Although he didn't speak, his gaze said it all.

*Why aren't you saying anything? Why aren't you asking? What kind of sense does it make to leave all the talking to me here when he won't even listen to a word I say!*

How could Qi's mother fail to read the old man's mind? Though she was initially reluctant to play along with his wishes, she herself was burning with curiosity.

Pausing for a moment, she let out a light cough, turned her gaze to Qi Mo, and asked with a hint of perplexity, "Son, tell Mom, what on earth is going on here? Are you certain you've found that fiancée of yours? And does her family know?"

"They probably don't," Qi Mo replied calmly.

"Huh?" Qi's mother's expression was filled with astonishment. "After all, she is someone else's daughter. Now that you've found her, why haven't you let them know?"

"I haven't thoroughly confirmed it yet." Qi Mo's demeanor remained completely unperturbed, answering his mother's questions one by one.

Of course, had his father been the one asking, he probably wouldn't even have bothered to reply, likely just telling him that he would find out when the time came.

Right now, Qi's father was in a thoroughly foul mood because he had sensed this exact double standard.

*This ungrateful brat always takes his mother's side! I'm his biological father, for crying out loud!*

Yet, fearing that he might ruin the atmosphere and cause the brat to clam up entirely, he could only sit on the sidelines and try to make himself as inconspicuous as possible.

Qi's mother glanced at the old man before turning her attention back to her son, asking hesitantly, "Then... what is that young woman's situation like? Can you give us the details? When you refused to marry Emily this time, was it because you wanted to fulfill your past promise?"

"She has always been my fiancée."

A single sentence made his stance crystal clear: the person he intended to marry had always been, from start to finish, his fiancée, not some so-called childhood sweetheart.

"You... I already told you..." Qi's father hadn't even finished his sentence before his arm was suddenly grabbed by the woman beside him.

He looked over with a resentful glare, only to be met with a fierce scowl from her. Enraged, his lips parted to retort, but he was a step too slow as the woman beat him to the reprimand.

"How dare you still talk nonsense here? Without me, would you have been able to get any answers out of him at all? Besides, what's wrong with fulfilling a promise made in the past?" Clearly displeased with the old man's narrative, Qi's mother shot back instantly.

"You—"

For a fleeting second, Qi's father was once again rendered speechless. If he wanted to find out the specific details, he simply couldn't afford to snap at his own son.

He drew in a deep breath, forcibly keeping his emotions in check.

Qi's mother let out a soft huff, turned her gaze back to Qi Mo, and instantly shifted her tone back to gentleness. "Son, since we've both made the trip here in person, why don't you tell us how things stand? Otherwise, your father and I will just be left hanging with our hearts in our throats, completely in the dark about the actual situation."

***

Qi Mo gave them a calm sweep of his gaze and, seeing the elderly couple looking at him with eager, pleading eyes, paused for a moment before finally speaking. "The reason I haven't gone into detail with you is because I still need to investigate this matter further."

"Then why don't you just tell us what you've found out so far?" Qi's father, unable to restrain himself any longer, blurted out the question once more.

Qi Mo frowned slightly. "I said, once the investigation reaches a stage where it's nearly complete, I will tell you."

Qi's father: "..."

He was anxious—genuinely, intensely anxious.

Yet right now, he didn't dare utter a single syllable.

Qi's mother, on the other hand, was growing impatient. After giving the old man beside her a sideways glance and a slight frown, she stood up directly and walked over to Qi's side.

Neither Qi's father nor Qi Mo anticipated her next move.

The very next second, she reached out and grabbed Qi Mo's arm. "Come on, son. Mom knows it's inconvenient for you. Since you don't want to talk about it with your father, fine—you can tell me alone. We won't tell your dad a thing. Come on, let's go to the study and talk."

Qi's father: "..."

He felt like he was about to die of pure frustration.

Yet he still couldn't squeeze out a single word of protest.

Qi Mo wasn't telling *him* anything—not a single word—so he didn't dare say too much now, terrified of ruining his chances.

If the two of them went off to talk in private, even if he couldn't hear it firsthand, he could always get a retelling later.

Seeing the look on his father's face, Qi Mo couldn't help a faint smile. Allowed to be pulled up by his mother, he didn't rush off immediately, choosing instead to tease the older man, "Can you hold back?"

"I can hold back, I can definitely hold back!" Qi's mother immediately chimed in with a beaming smile. "Your dad isn't interested in these things anyway. Go, go, go, just the two of us will talk!"

With that, paying no mind to anything else, she dragged Qi Mo toward the inner rooms.

Qi's father: "..."

At that moment, he was truly left speechless.

Meanwhile, wearing a half-smile, Qi Mo cast one last glance at his father before allowing his mother to pull him into the study without a word.

The moment the study door clicked shut, Qi's father tiptoed over with stealthy footsteps.

Inside the study, the mother and son had already taken their seats. Qi's mother immediately asked, "What does the young woman look like? Do you have a photo? Let me see."

Qi Mo raised an eyebrow. This time, he actually took out his phone, opened a file, and handed it to her.

***

Qi's mother took it without a word and immediately began to look through it.

Outside the door, however, Qi's father stood in total bewilderment.

*Why is there not a single sound coming from inside?*

*How can it be this quiet?*

*Even if they're whispering, shouldn't I be able to hear at least something?*

*No, my ear must not be close enough.* This time, he pressed his entire body against the door, his ear plastered tightly against the wood.

Inside the room, Qi Mo cast a meaningful glance toward the door. Remaining silent, he simply sat normally on the sofa.

Qi's mother, meanwhile, was carefully examining the phone screen, her eyes filled with utter shock.

"This, this, this... how on earth did she end up in Country Z?" As she spoke, she looked up at Qi Mo, who merely raised an eyebrow and remained silent.

Qi's mother lowered her gaze back to the phone, having yet to finish reading everything.

Qi's father outside the door: "...?"

*What are they talking about!*

*Just a little closer, just a little closer...*

Yet the next instant, his body suddenly lurched violently forward!

Before he knew it, he was stumbling uncontrollably right into the room!

Qi's mother: "???"

"Husband?" Qi's mother suddenly raised her head to see him stumbling forward with a half-bent posture, and instinctively sidestepped out of the way.

It was Qi Mo who stepped forward in time, his long arm shooting out to grab his father's collar and haul him upright.

With a cold smirk, Qi Mo asked, "How's the experience of eavesdropping?"

"You ungrateful brat! You ungrateful little brat!!" Standing straight and panting heavily, Qi's father glared at him. "Have you lost your mind! You've really gone mad! You knew damn well I was standing right outside the door, and yet you yanked it open with that much force! Were you trying to make your old man fall to his death?!"