Chapter 63: Welcome to My Team

Chapter 63: Welcome to My Team

In the coffee shop.

"So you're Grandma Wang's grandson?" The man looked Qin Yan up and down, his eyes full of undisguised wariness and suspicion.

He looked to be around thirty, wearing a suit and a pair of black-framed glasses, with his hair neatly combed.

However, despite his polished appearance, his tiredness was hard to hide.

Qin Yan sat across from him, with a polite smile. "Yes, I met your father when I last returned to the village. He misses you very much. When he heard I was in the city too, he asked me to look you up, hoping you'd find time to visit home."

The man froze for a moment, then smiled sarcastically. "Misses me? More like he misses my money. If you're here to patch things up for him, then we've got nothing to talk about."

With that, he got up to leave.

"Hold on, don't rush off." Qin Yan set down his coffee and said, "I'm not here about your dad. He just gave me his contact info, and I had to pass along his message."

The man gave Qin Yan a suspicious look, studying this young man who seemed older than his years.

He sat back down. "Fine, then tell me—what do you really want from me?"

"It's about my parents."

"Your parents?" The man frowned, as if trying to remember.

Qin Yan instinctively tightened his grip on his coffee cup and nodded. "Yes. I was in a car accident a while back and lost some memories. I don't want to worry my brother, so I didn't tell him. He always treats me like a kid and hides things from me, so..."

Qin Yan smiled bitterly, looking dejected.

The man shifted in his seat, looking uncomfortable, his tone no longer as stiff and guarded as before. "If you want to know about your family, just ask around the village. Everyone knows Grandma Wang. Why go to all this trouble to find me? I haven't been back for years."

"I know."

"You know?" The man was somewhat taken aback.

Qin Yan nodded. "Your father told me. And I'm not asking about recent stuff—I want to know about the past. I seem to have lost that part of my memory... about my family.

Not long ago, my grandmother got hurt, and I rushed back that night, hoping to take her back to live with me. But she refused, and my brother did too. He told me to stay out of family matters, but I need to know."

With that, Qin Yan pulled out a stack of cash and slid it across the table. "This is fifty thousand for information. Tell me whatever you know about my family—I just want my memories back."

Qin Yan spoke sincerely and offered a generous sum.

Needless to say, the man was tempted.

He was a college grad who'd fought his way out of a rural village, scratching out a living alone in the big city. After all these years, he had nothing to show for it—middle-aged and broke, couldn't even afford a single room in this city.

But he was proud and stubborn, unwilling to take just any job, unable to let go of his pride in his education.

The jobs that looked good were nothing but endless exploitation.

His education had taught him pride and self-respect, but reality kept knocking him down.

Fifty thousand.

Enough to live on for a long time.

The man didn't let his guard down, and he didn't reach for the money. Instead, he asked, "You just want to know about your family?"

"Yes."

"But I'm just an outsider. What I know might be partly hearsay, and I can't guarantee it's accurate."

"That's fine." Qin Yan was equally frank. "I considered that when I sought you out. If I want to recover my memories, I won't rely on just one person."

He had thought about asking the villagers, but there were too many gossiping tongues in the village—word might get back to Qin Mo, or reach his grandmother, which would cause trouble.

The man pondered for a moment, then nodded. "Alright. Honestly, I don't know much—just what everyone else knows."

"Grandma Wang wasn't originally from our village. She moved there later, bringing a small child with her, saying it was her grandson. That must be you."

Qin Yan nodded, not interrupting, and continued listening.

"Grandma Wang was always dressed neatly and elegantly, unlike the local village grandmothers. The villagers said she had a good daughter who married a wealthy boss, and she was there to enjoy her retirement in the countryside. Her house and land were all bought by her son-in-law."

"Later, something happened in Grandma Wang's family. It was around the New Year, I think—her daughter and son-in-law came back to pay respects, bringing along their older grandson.

The villagers weren't really sure what happened, but it seemed the family had some kind of argument. Then the younger child—that would be you—was taken away by your parents, and the family of four drove off in a car. But that departure led to disaster."

Qin Yan's heart skipped a beat, a vague suspicion forming.

As the man continued, it aligned with what Qin Yan had guessed—an accident had consumed his parents in flames, leaving only the two brothers alive.

The original owner had been sent back to the countryside, while the teenage Qin Mo had vanished, not reappearing for several years.

When he finally resurfaced, he was already successful in his career. He built a tombstone for their parents in the village, took the original owner away, and left an old woman behind to watch over the ancestral home, returning each New Year to pay respects.

Three years ago, the original owner had suddenly fled in the middle of the night, and hadn't returned since.

Of course, the man knew nothing about these recent events, but through these fragments and third-party accounts, Qin Yan increasingly sensed something was off.

Even if the original owner wasn't close to his parents, he wouldn't have gone three years without returning to pay respects—especially when there was a grandmother who had raised him for years.

"Mr. Qin, that's all I know. If you want more detailed information, asking your family directly would be more appropriate. Or you could investigate them—probing from their side might be more straightforward."

Qin Yan let out a breath and stood up. "I'll consider your suggestion. By the way, I heard you graduated with a degree in engineering from a 211 university. My company is in its early stages—any interest in joining me?"

The man's expression froze. "I have a one-year employment gap."

Qin Yan shrugged. "What does that matter? As long as you haven't forgotten your professional skills, that's what counts. I need talent right now, and I think you need an opportunity."

"..."

"This is my business card. Give me a call once you've made up your mind." Qin Yan handed over a card. "It was a pleasant conversation today. Goodbye."

He had just turned and taken a few steps when the man stood up and called after him. "Wait, Mr. Qin. I'm willing to join your company. The salary..."

A slight smile curved at the corner of Qin Yan's lips as he turned around. "Come to my office tomorrow. HR will discuss the details with you. You won't be disappointed."

The man's tense nerves relaxed, and a smile broke through. "Alright. Oh, Mr. Qin, I haven't introduced myself. My name is Cheng Yao. Thank you."

"OK, welcome to my team, Cheng Yao."

...