By the time Liu Qinxin received the news, it was already evening.

Old Madam Liu had cried herself hoarse, sobbing uncontrollably, hoping her daughter would return home right away to at least help manage the family affairs.

But as soon as Liu Qinxin heard about the circumstances of her brother Liu Fan’s death, her first reaction was that this was definitely no accident; her second was that it was very likely Ming Yue who had done it.

It was Ming Yue seeking revenge.

However, ever since that day when Ming Shuo kicked her out, Ming Yue seemed to have vanished into thin air—no one could find any trace of her anywhere.

Over these past few days, Liu Qinxin secretly hired people to search the entire city from top to bottom, but unfortunately, they still couldn’t locate Ming Yue.

That Fu Qiancheng also seemed to be looking for her, but again, there was no news at all.

So big a person—just because you say you can’t find her doesn’t mean you really can’t.

And that was precisely what frightened Liu Qinxin the most.

Under the current circumstances, it was as if the enemy was in the shadows while she was in the light. Liu Qinxin simply couldn’t bear to leave her two children even a single step at such a time, for fear that one careless moment of not keeping a close eye on them might lead to another mishap—one that she truly couldn’t handle.

So without a second thought, she flatly refused her mother, saying through tears, “Mom, I can’t go back for now. You and my sister just take care of things at home.”

“Qinxin, what kind of talk is that? Is this even human speech? Fan isn’t just anyone—he’s your own brother! He’s already gone, and you can’t even come back to see him one last time?”

Old Madam Liu asked in utter shock, her voice hoarse with grief.

Yet Liu Qinxin remained unmoved, firmly repeating over the phone, “Yes, I can’t do it.”

The dead are dead—she’s no immortal deity who can bring the dead back to life or revive her brother. What good would it do if he were brought back?

Liu Qinxin leaned weakly against the window, her gaze slowly drifting toward her two children in the distance, and for the first time in her life, an overwhelming, uncontrollable fear surged within her.

She took a deep breath and said to her mother on the other end of the line, “Mom, let’s put it this way: please take good care of Brother’s funeral arrangements, and I’ll transfer the money to you later.”

“Qinxin!”

“And also…” Liu Qinxin thought for a moment, then decided to share her concerns with her mother, “From now on, you should be extra careful yourself. I just have this feeling that something’s not right with everything that’s been happening in our family lately.

In my opinion, these incidents are definitely connected to that Ming Yue. Now that she’s hiding and we can’t find her, you really need to stay on guard at all times.”

“So this is why you’re not coming back?” Old Madam Liu didn’t seem to be listening much at all; she was still fixated on her daughter’s refusal to return home and hadn’t yet shifted her attention to Ming Yue.

But Liu Qinxin no longer wanted to say much more.

She knew her own mother all too well.

If she kept talking, it would only invite trouble for herself.

So after letting out a sigh, Liu Qinxin quietly said to her mother, “Mom, let’s leave it at that,” and then immediately hung up the phone.

Old Madam Liu nearly smashed the phone, calling her a “ungrateful wolf” and a “heartless brat”—whatever harsh words she could think of, she hurled them at her.

Liu E, standing nearby, had been holding back for a long time but finally spoke up.

Only when Old Madam Liu had run out of insults did she softly say, “Mom, I think Qinxin has a point. With Jiajia and Lai Lai both having run into trouble one after another, it makes sense that Qinxin is seeing snakes in wine cups. And as for our family…”

Liu E paused briefly, then added, “I don’t think all these strange things happening in our family lately are just bad luck. It’s quite possible that that despicable Ming Yue is secretly stirring up trouble behind the scenes. So we really must be extremely, extremely careful—our family simply can’t afford another setback.”

End of Chapter 163: Counterattack 89