Chapter 513: Chapter 501: You little bastard!

"Big Sister, I miss you."

For Ji Yi, this might have been the longing of just over a year. But for Qin Fan, it was the culmination of centuries of yearning that had accumulated deep within his heart. Over five hundred years of devastating longing erupted at the sound of his voice. It wasn’t an overwhelming surge, but a gentle warmth that flowed across his face and shone in his eyes.

As their gazes met, the air seemed to stand still, and time itself appeared to freeze.

In Ji Yi’s eyes, there was only the little tagalong brother who used to trail after her.

In Qin Fan’s eyes, there was only the big sister who had always protected him.

"Little brother, is it you? Is it really you?" Ji Yi’s voice trembled as she looked at his familiar face, at those handsome features now filled with confidence. As she spoke, she raised her delicate hands, only to stop them halfway and let them hang suspended in the air.

"Big Sister, it’s me! It’s me, Qin Fan, the little tagalong who always needed your protection! Big Sister, remember that saying, ’the tables turn’? I’ve only ever said that phrase once, and it was to you. Big Sister, I’ve done it now! No one dares to bully me anymore. Never again!"

Fighting back a wave of emotion, Qin Fan gently took Ji Yi’s small hand and placed it on his own cheek.

"You little bastard!"

Upon receiving Qin Fan’s confirmation, Ji Yi could no longer control the flood of emotions. Her tear ducts gave way, and her eyes instantly welled up.

"Whoa there! Are you making a veiled insult? If I’m a little bastard, doesn’t that make my dad an old bastard? I’m telling Aunt Ji!" Qin Fan teased with a cheeky grin.

Unfortunately, Ji Yi was completely immune to such threats. She stared at Qin Fan, her gaze piercing, and her lips parted. "Why did you delete me on WeChat? Why did you block my phone number?"

Before Qin Fan could even respond, she opened her mouth and bit down hard on his shoulder.

HISS!

Despite suppressing his Prison Suppressing Body, Qin Fan sucked in a sharp breath from the force of her merciless bite. But immediately after, his face broke into a smile. He didn’t stop her, simply allowing her to vent all her emotions onto his shoulder.

The bite lasted a full half-minute, and Ji Yi only released him when her own teeth began to ache and her jaw felt numb. She gave his chest a light punch in feigned anger. "That’ll teach you a lesson! If you ever dare delete my WeChat or block my number again, you’ll see how I deal with you!"

"I won’t. I absolutely won’t," Qin Fan replied earnestly, gazing at her exquisite and lively face.

Letting out a breath, Ji Yi smiled and wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes. At this moment, while her heart was filled with a thousand emotions, endless questions also began to surface.

In less than two years, he had gone from a Qin Family outcast—a pathetic wretch that anyone could bully and humiliate—to the respected "Mr. Qin" who could casually enter a private club like this. What on earth had happened to Qin Fan? What else had taken place during this time? Were Uncle Qin and Aunt Wei okay? Countless thoughts swirled in her mind at his sudden reappearance.

"Mr. Qin, can I still call you my little brother?" Knowing now wasn’t the time to press for details, Ji Yi wiped away the last of her tears and asked with a smile. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

"No matter how much I change, you’ll always be my big sister, and I’ll always be your little brother," Qin Fan said, shaking his head with conviction.

In his heart, it was just as he said. In this life, he would always be Ji Yi’s little brother, always Old Fourth to his brothers from Dorm 708, always Xiao Fan to his parents, and always Jiang Yino’s one and only. These things would never, ever change.

"Do you resent me for not coming to find you?" Ji Yi asked, feeling a touch of guilt as she sensed the deep emotion in his words.

"No! A person has to grow up. I can’t come crying to you every time I’m wronged, nor can I always hide behind you and wait for you to stand up for me. To be honest, even if you had come looking, I wouldn’t have met with you. I was afraid that the little bit of strength and independence I’d built up would instantly crumble the moment I saw you. It wasn’t just me; my parents and even Aunt Ji knew it. I was too dependent on your bottomless spoiling of me! But it’s not like anyone’s to blame. When the rest of the world treated me like a pile of dogshit, only my parents, you, and Aunt Ji doted on me. How could the abandoned son of the Qin Family, raised in that environment, not become dependent on you?" Qin Fan explained, his voice full of emotion that ended with a hint of self-mockery.

Seeing that self-deprecating look on his face, Ji Yi felt a sudden pang of heartache. She knew his past better than anyone, understanding the grievances he’d suffered even more than his own parents, Qin Chu and Wei Shuying.

With an undisguised look of heartache, she reached out and cupped his face with both hands. "That’s all in the past now. It’s all over! Seeing you like this today, I feel so relieved. I’m so proud of you!"

After she spoke, she paused as if a thought had just occurred to her, a flash of hesitation in her eyes. But how could such a fleeting expression escape Qin Fan’s notice?

"Big Sister, just say what’s on your mind," Qin Fan prompted with a slight smile.

"Xiao Fan, what happened to the Qin Family? Are they filled with regret now?" Ji Yi asked, biting her lip as she lowered her hands.

"The Qin Family? The Qin Family is gone," Qin Fan replied with a mischievous lift of his brow.

"Gone? How could the Qin Family be gone? How could something so big happen without me knowing?" Ji Yi exclaimed, her eyebrows arching in shock.

"The Qin Family’s foundation was corrupt. I just used the evidence I’d gathered to wipe them out in one go," Qin Fan said nonchalantly.

His words left Ji Yi utterly stunned. She was well aware of how powerful the Qin Family was. As the most influential family in the Jiangdong Region aside from the Ye Family, they had collapsed just like that? And at Qin Fan’s hands?

Wasn’t this all too melodramatic, too unrealistic?

"When did this happen?" Ji Yi asked. Though the story seemed unbelievable, she knew Qin Fan wouldn’t joke about something like this, so she didn’t doubt him.

"On the Old Matriarch’s birthday banquet. I was waiting for that day. I went to offer my ’congratulations’ with a coffin and angered her to death right then and there. This also served as revenge for my grandmother. Now, she can finally rest in peace in the netherworld," Qin Fan said, a hint of melancholy in his tone as he shook his head.

"Crazy, that’s insane! Xiao Fan, how did you possibly do it? You... you’re so young, yet you brought down the entire Qin Family? What in the world happened to you all this time?" Unable to contain her shock any longer, Ji Yi asked in a rush.

But just as her words fell...

DING-A-LING!

A crisp bell rang out from the upper level of the clubhouse.

Instantly, a hush fell over the venue as all the influential figures present subconsciously silenced their conversations.