"Let's go. The banquet is about to start," Qi Ye said as he checked the time and then took the lead in walking inside.
Xu Tingyu followed beside him, greeting the guests one by one.
Every time they met someone, Qi Ye would patiently introduce the person's identity to her.
She maintained a proper expression throughout and exchanged pleasantries with each person.
Although she didn't like such occasions and found such socializing meaningless, there was nothing she could do. She couldn't figure out Qi Ye's thoughts for the time being, so she could only take one step at a time.
When the banquet was halfway through, Qi Ye was pulled aside by several men to talk.
Xu Tingyu found a quiet corner to sit down and planned to take a break.
Not long after she sat down, she felt a pair of eyes constantly on her.
She looked up and followed the line of sight. Not far away, a man was staring at her.
The man looked about twenty years old. He was of regular features, but his eyes made people uncomfortable, as if he was eyeing some prey.
Xu Tingyu frowned. Just as she was about to look away, she saw the man walking towards her.
An alarm bell rang in her heart, and she instinctively moved to the side.
However, the man seemed not to notice her movement and sat directly opposite her.
"Miss Xu, do you still remember me?" he asked with a smile, his tone a bit flippant.
Xu Tingyu ignored him and was about to change her seat.
As soon as she stood up, the man reached out to block her.
"Don't remember? But don't be in such a hurry to leave. Let's have a chat," he said, his tone even more frivolous, and he even reached out to grab Xu Tingyu.
Xu Tingyu's face darkened, and she shook off his hand forcefully.
"Please respect yourself!"
The man seemed not to expect Xu Tingyu to reject him so directly. A flash of annoyance crossed his face.
But he quickly put on that smiling expression again.
"Miss Xu, don't be so cold. It's just about making friends. Maybe I have something you want here," he said and then tried to reach out for Xu Tingyu again.
Xu Tingyu had had enough. Just as she was about to splash a glass of wine on him, she heard the man say, "Don't you want to know the truth about your younger brother's death?"
Hearing this, Xu Tingyu froze.
Her younger brother's death had always been a pain in her heart.
The clues she had been following before had all been cut off.
Over the years, the Xie sisters were dead, and Qi Ye had admitted that the words were what he had people say to mislead her.
Her intuition told her that this matter was not that simple.
But Youyou was kidnapped, so this matter was put on hold again.
Now, this man suddenly brought up this matter. Was there a hidden story behind what happened back then?
She looked at the man in front of her, her eyes full of caution and doubt.
"What do you know?"
The man smiled but didn't answer her question directly.
Instead, he found a photo on his phone and then handed the phone to her.
There were two people in the photo, and one of them was her deceased younger brother.
Xu Tingyu looked at the photo, her fingers trembling slightly.
"You should be very familiar with this photo," the man said slowly. "I was at the scene the day your younger brother fainted."
The other person in the photo was him.
"Are you classmates?" Xu Tingyu asked, her voice trembling slightly.
She wasn't very familiar with Xu Jia's classmates because he had been a boarding student in high school.
Moreover, later she got married and rarely went home. She could hardly see Xu Jia once a month.
But this man knew her and asked if she had forgotten him. Had they met before?
The man nodded.
"Yes, we were deskmates and lived in the same dormitory. He always told me that his sister was beautiful and excellent."
"We met back then, but we didn't talk much. But now it seems that you are really excellent. You can handle things well even beside your enemy."
Xu Tingyu's pupils suddenly shrank. She stared fixedly at the man in front of her, her voice low and with a bit of warning.
"What exactly do you want to say?"
The man put away his phone, leaned forward slightly, and looked at Xu Tingyu with a bit of playfulness in his eyes.
"I want to make a deal with you."
"A deal?" Xu Tingyu frowned. "What kind of deal?"
The man smiled. "I know that you've been investigating the cause of your younger brother's death, and I have the clues you want in my hands."
"As long as you agree to one condition of mine, I'll tell you everything I know."
Xu Tingyu's heart skipped a beat. She didn't expect this man to know so much.
She looked at the man, her eyes full of vigilance.
"What's the condition?"
The man sat up straight, his tone full of certainty.
"It's very simple. I want you to help me leave here and go back to Kyoto."
Hearing this, Xu Tingyu frowned even more.
"Leave here and go back to Kyoto? What do you mean?"
The man lowered his voice. "To be honest with you, I escaped here because I was being hunted down. As long as I get back to Kyoto, I'll be safe."
"And I have the clues about your younger brother's death in my hands. As long as you help me leave here, I'll give you the clues."
Hearing this, Xu Tingyu's heart lifted even higher, but she didn't show it. She just looked at the man calmly.
Why did this man suddenly approach her and say these things? Where was he leading her?
Even though she really wanted to know the truth about her younger brother's death, she had suffered a lot, so she was very vigilant.
What if he was lying to her?
But if she missed this opportunity, she might never find any clues about her younger brother's death again.
She scrutinized the man in front of her, her eyes full of hesitation.
"How do I know that what you said is true?"
The man seemed to have anticipated this question from Xu Tingyu. He smiled slightly.
"Have you ever wondered why he suddenly went to the laboratory building that day when he was having a normal class?"
"I dare to approach you because I naturally have some evidence in my hands. As long as you help me leave here, I'll give you the evidence."
This point that the man brought up was also something that had puzzled her before.
But she was still very cautious and repeated the question, "How do I know that you're not lying to me?"
The man squinted his eyes and laughed. "Miss Xu, you don't have a choice now."
"Either you trust me, help me leave here, and get the evidence you want."
"Or the truth about Xu Jia's death will never come to light."
Xu Tingyu looked at him quietly, struggling in her heart.
Finally, she made a decision.
"Okay, I'll help you leave here. But you have to remember that if you dare to lie to me, I'll never let you go."
A smug smile appeared on the man's face.
"Miss Xu, you can rest assured. I won't lie to you. As long as I'm safely back in Kyoto, I'll give you the evidence."
Saying that, he took out a note from his pocket and handed it to Xu Tingyu.
"This is my contact information. I know that Qi Shifeng has also come to the UK, but please don't use any of the Qi family's connections to help me."
"Also, don't mention the fact that I approached you today to anyone, anyone at all."