Crashing into an Old Flame
Chapter 281: That Hazel

Chapter 281: That Hazel

In a suburban mansion.

"Father, open the door!" Qin Zehan knocked on the door to the study once again.

The atmosphere in their mansion was dark and gloomy. The lights were all turned off and even the hallways gave off a vibe of things-about-to-go-so-terribly-wrong.

The butler approached Qin Zehan, ’’The Old Master needs some time to recover from this. It would be better for you to come back later, Master,’’ Although his tone was polite, Qin Zehan sensed the old man’s obvious intentions of sending him away.

He paused his movements and looked at him, his eyes narrowing slightly, ’’Since when was it your turn to tell me what to do?"

The butler was startled by his cold gaze. He bowed and retreated.

Qin Zehan closed his eyes. The butler had been a loyal aide to his father and had served by his side for a long time hence he understood what the man intended to do.

But that was not the cue for him to leave his father alone at a time like this.

Qin Zehan clenched his fist and raised it to knock on the door again but before his hand could touch the door, the door opened from inside.

Old Master Qin’s haggard face appeared in front of Qin Zehan, rendering him motionless.

’’Father..’’

The old man turned around and walked inside and Qin Zehan promptly followed him.

’’How long did you intend to keep it from me?’’

Immense guilt filled Qin Zehan’s heart, ’’I did not have a clue about my elder brother. I discovered this when I followed Logan but if you want me to tell the truth, I intended to keep you in the dark about this.’’

Old Master Qin turned to look at him, ’’Like how you made me believe that my eldest grandson was dead?"

Qin Zehan closed his eyes, ’’He wanted that life. He wanted to have nothing to do with us. And if I told you about it, it would have made things more difficult for both you and him so I kept you in the dark,’’ he inhaled a deep breath and opened his eyes, ’’Brother’s condition is not optimistic. I needed time to...’’

’’To be calculative? Manipulative?" Old Master Qin scoffed, slumping back on the swivel chair, ’’What did I do deserve a son as cold-hearted as you?’’

Qin Zehan’s jaw clenched but he pursed his lips, not uttering a single word.

’’All you think about is plotting and planning, winning, profits, business, and everything materialistic. But your father is old. I don’t need those things. I don’t need to be kept in the dark to stay happy. I don’t need you to make things perfect for me. I’d rather have cried, watching my grandson from afar for years than believing that he was dead.’’

’’I understand.’’

Old Master Qin shook his head, ’’You don’t! Or you would not have thought about keeping the matter regarding Louis under wraps. You would not have dared to think of keeping me in the dark!"

Complicated emotions flickered in Qin Zehan’s eyes but when he looked up, his face was expressionless. His cold eyes did not betray a single emotion, ’’What do you want me to do now?"

’’You tell me, what do you want us to do now? You are a genius here, aren’t you? Tell me what we are going to tell Alex.’’

Qin Zehan paused for a brief moment before he opened his mouth, ’’His uncle is alive. His brother is alive. There is nothing else for us to tell.’’

’’Uncle?" Old Master Qin laughed till his eyes turned red, ’’Uncle?! Don’t we both know what the truth is or have you gotten too accustomed to the lies that you feed to the world?"

Qin Zehan thrust his hand inside his pockets, his fingers curling into a fist but his voice remained nonchalant as he spoke, ’’I have been his father for years and I will be his father for the years to come. There is nothing that needs to change.’’

’’You better mark your words. I don’t want another mistake. For the sake of my one grandson, I sacrificed the other. I have made decisions that wrench my heart to this day and if it is all for naught in the end, then I would not know where it would leave me,’’ Old Master Qin mumbled, burying his face in his hands, ’’I would not know how pathetic that would make me.’’

’For the sake of my one grandson, I sacrificed the other.’

For once throughout the whole conversation, confusion marred Qin Zehan’s face.

How was Logan sacrificed for Alex? What in the world was his father insinuating?

’’Father, you...’’

’’Get out. Leave me alone.’’

Qin Zehan paused. In the end, he turned around and walked out of the study.

The sudden ringing of his phone brought him out of his reverie.

Initially, Qin Zehan was about to decline the call but when he checked the caller ID and saw that it was a call from his secretary, he changed his mind and swiped it up.

’’What is it, Yize?"

’’President. I have gathered all the information about the people you wanted me to look into. Logan Parker and Maxim Warner."

"Oh? Are you that efficient?" Qin Zehan’s lips twitched.

’’I had to pull an all-nighter to find more information but at the end of the day, yes, even though I feel rather shy by your compliment but I am efficient,’’ the man responded coyly.

Qin Zehan pinched the spot between his brows, ’’You are late. I already found what I had to find.’’

’’What? How—’’ the man halted his words for a moment before he spoke again, ’’The lady you met at the hospital that day. Maxim Warner’s mother.’’

’’It doesn’t matter—"

’’...Hazel Warner... Ah, okay president, I got it. Shall I then stop looking into these people?"

The name had Qin Zehan frozen briefly until he heard his secretary continue.

’’Yes, stop looking into them,’’ Qin Zehan hung up.

Hazel.

The name was not unfamiliar to him.

Qin Zehan walked to his room after commanding the servants and nurses to take care of Louis who was staying in the guest room.

Once he reached his room, he closed the door and removed his vest, and folded the sleeves of his shirt.

Qin Zehan unbuttoned the top buttons of his shirt until a silver chain came into view.

Weighing the chain down from the middle was a delicate silver ring with a small ruby in the middle. It was simple, beautiful yet so intricate.

Just like the lady he had encountered in that desolately attractive small town.

The woman who consumed his mind and body the moment she entered his sight. The one who made him hate her yet be so thoroughly obsessed with her that he could not get her out of his head until months.

Qin Zehan looked at the ring he had been wearing around his neck and suddenly he had no idea what he had been wearing it for.

Was it a souvenir from the woman who was so interesting that he felt like he had stepped into a new world? Or was it a reminder that they would never meet again?

Or was it a constant reminder that there was this woman who had the audacity to tie him up and beat him like a devil?

He did not know.

Qin Zehan sighed and slumped back on the bed.

All he knew about her was her first name. Hazel.

And the moment his secretary mentioned some other person with the same name, all those old memories rushed back to him, consuming his head.

But Qin Zehan was well aware that they could not be the same person.

He had a long conversation with that mysterious lady and he had listened to every word that had come out of her mouth. He had paid attention to all her words like they were going to secure him the most important business deal.

And out of all the things that he had learned about her, there was one point that she hated big cities, loved her father, and had Avalon in her blood. She told him that she would stay in that small town forever and finish her studies, work on her dreams, and never once leave that place.

And as much as a bizarre part of his head was trying to link every Hazel in the world to that particular Hazel, he knew that none of them were her.

She was probably married. With kids. A huge family that she talked of. Living her dream life, relaxing, and having as much fun as she had wanted to have.

She was probably still there. In that small town. Long forgetting about the man she had a one-night-stand with.

And she would probably never know that the man was lying on his bed, amidst his hectic life, looking at the ceiling and wondering what it would have all been like had she stayed that night until he was sober enough to talk to her. What it would have been like had he encountered her the next time when he went back to that place.