Brother Dao Took the Entertainment Industry by Storm, Fans Beg Me Not to Kill Anymore

Chapter 748: Visiting the Qian Family

The Qian Family’s ancestral home.

The Qian Family could be considered one of those families with exceptionally deep foundations. Most of their family members worked in fields related to culture and history. Elder Qian was the vice president of the Calligraphy Association, Qian Wenhao’s father was a leader in the Beijing Municipal Education Bureau, Qian Wenhao’s mother was a history professor at a university, and several of Qian Wenhao’s uncles included an archaeological expert, a museum director... Even the least accomplished member among them ran their own antique shop.

This kind of family wasn’t rare in Beijing, but it was undeniably one of the distinguished scholarly families worth mentioning.

Even their ancestral home was located in a prime-positioned retro courtyard house villa district. Although it couldn’t match the sheer scale of Zhuang Hongyi’s home that Xiao He had visited last time, it was filled with a unique ancient charm and thoughtful design, making anyone who stepped through the gate feel a certain reverence upon entering a classical household.

Fortunately, Xiao He arrived later than the others, so Elder Qian had already managed to calm everyone’s emotions and freed himself up to receive Xiao He.

Seeing Elder Qian personally come out to greet him, Xiao He quickly walked over to say hello and thank him. “With so many things going on today, and you still coming to receive me personally, I’ve really troubled you. I should have come to visit another day.”

“Ah, we’ve known each other for so long now, no need for pleasantries!” Elder Qian waved his hand casually. “Come on in! The others have heard that the materials you provided helped the restoration center find crucial evidence—they’re all very curious about you! Perfect timing, I’ll introduce you around—”

When Xiao He followed Elder Qian into the villa’s main hall, everyone else had already composed themselves and welcomed him with smiles.

Qian Wenhao’s parents were especially warm, taking Xiao He’s hands and thanking him profusely.

The Qian Family knew many people in the calligraphy world. After the incident, they had sought out numerous experts to help the restoration center provide copying materials, but the results hadn’t been great. Xiao He’s arrival, however, instantly resolved their big problem—how could they not be delighted?

So without any hesitation, even though the young man before them was younger than them, including Qian Wenhao, they showed no signs of negligence whatsoever.

As for their thanks, Xiao He accepted them rather calmly.

After all, regarding this incident, he had done far more work that the Qian Family knew nothing about.

Though it wasn’t directly for Qian Wenhao’s sake, he had indirectly helped Qian Wenhao get released sooner, avoiding further police investigation.

But—

Xiao He swept his gaze around the room, still somewhat worried as he asked, “Qian Wenhao... is he alright?”

To be honest, Qian Wenhao’s condition when he came out was truly not good.

Xiao He was genuinely concerned about his state.

It felt like Qian Wenhao’s problem wasn’t even physical anymore—it was psychological.

“Ah, don’t worry, he’s just gone back to his room to freshen up.”

Qian Wenhao’s mother said gently, though her voice choked with heartache. “I just don’t know what’s wrong with him. He hasn’t said a single word the whole way, and his spirits have been terrible.”

If it were just poor rest, that would be reassuring, but judging by Qian Wenhao’s condition, that clearly wasn’t the case.

“It’s fine, I’ve already arranged for a doctor to check on him.”

Qian Wenhao’s father put his arm around his wife’s shoulder and comforted her softly.

Though many mysteries remained unsolved, thankfully Qian Wenhao was already back home. Everything was moving in the right direction, and everyone believed this hurdle would be overcome.

Hearing this, Xiao He didn’t bring up Qian Wenhao’s situation again, not wanting to make the others worry. Instead, he chatted casually with the Qian Family, taking the opportunity to get to know a few of its members.

By blood relation, Qian Wenhao’s father should call Elder Qian “Fifth Uncle,” and Qian Wenhao should call Elder Qian “Fifth Grand Uncle.”

As for Elder Qian’s generation, only he remained now, so the younger generation all held him in great respect, and the family treated him as their stabilizing anchor.

In the Qian Family, the saying “Having an elder is like having a treasure” was truly embodied.

With Elder Qian at the helm, and with the Qian Family’s other brothers and younger generations also united, each developing their own careers while supporting one another, the siblings’ relationships had remained very good over the years. It was a rare case of a large family living in harmony.

Xiao He, after meeting everyone, couldn’t help but feel some emotion.

Moreover, everyone was very friendly. There was none of that scholar’s pretentiousness—they didn’t look down on Xiao He as an actor, treating him as a lowly performer. Their interactions were simple and genuine, without forcing sophistication. It all felt very down-to-earth.

Among them, Qian Wenhao’s fourth uncle was an archaeology professor—a tough guy who had actually gone down into tombs and fought with grave robbers. He had a muscular build, spoke in a booming voice, and was the most straightforward of all the Qian Family members. When he heard Xiao He was playing Emperor Chen, he couldn’t help but start talking about his experiences going down into tombs. Xiao He listened, utterly captivated, and decisively decided to stay for lunch before leaving.

...

About twenty minutes later, while Fourth Uncle Qian was still recounting his glorious feat of speeding through the desert in his car to cut off grave robbers, the family doctor who had been checking on Qian Wenhao came downstairs.

Immediately, everyone’s attention turned to the doctor.

Qian Wenhao’s parents stood up and gestured for the doctor to step aside for a detailed discussion.

“...For now, the main issues are being too thin and mental stress...”

Xiao He caught fragments of the conversation—mostly about Qian Wenhao’s poor mental state.

The doctor recommended plenty of rest and food. If his appetite remained so poor that it couldn’t be improved, then intravenous fluids might be necessary to maintain basic bodily balance.

Xiao He thought for a moment, then stood up and said to Fourth Uncle Qian, “Can I go upstairs and see Qian Wenhao? I can see his mental state isn’t great. Maybe people our age have more to talk about—a little chat might cheer him up a bit?”

Though the doctor had advised rest, Xiao He felt that Qian Wenhao probably couldn’t sleep right now anyway.

And he really wanted to get close to him, to see if he could pry open the door to his heart and uncover that unknown secret.

Fourth Uncle Qian thought it over and naturally had no objection. In fact, he called over a few of the Qian Family’s younger generation and had them take Xiao He upstairs for a visit.

One of them was Fourth Uncle’s daughter, who had just graduated from college this year. From the moment she saw Xiao He, her eyes had been sparkling. She sat rigidly to the side, extremely excited, and when she heard her father’s words, she nodded frantically and immediately stood up to lead the way.

Xiao He was already immune to the starry-eyed gaze of fans toward their idol, so he simply curved his eyes into a friendly smile at her, instantly earning himself a beet-red face.

“B-Brother Xiao, hello.”

Qian Wenya introduced herself awkwardly. “I’m your fan.”

“Mm, I know. Thank you for your support and liking me.”

As they chatted, they walked upstairs. The other young members of the Qian Family exchanged glances and consciously took a step back, giving Qian Wenya room to chase her star.

The group soon arrived at the door of Qian Wenhao’s room.

Qian Wenhao’s room was at the very end of the second floor, a spot with excellent natural light. But right now, the door was tightly shut, refusing entry to anyone.

“Brother Wenhao!”

Qian Wenya found the door locked from the inside. She knocked for a long time, but there was no response from within.

After knocking for another while, Qian Wenya could only apologize to Xiao He. “Sorry, Brother Xiao. He’s probably just...”

Xiao He was no longer listening to the young woman’s explanation.

He simply stood in front of the door, sniffing lightly, then suddenly leaned in close to the doorway and sniffed carefully. “Do you smell something?”

“Huh?”

The others also began to wrinkle their noses and sniff.

Fortunately, this was an old house, and the door’s seal wasn’t very good. Soon, the others faintly caught the smell of something burning.

The next moment, Xiao He swiftly removed the hairpin from Qian Wenya’s ear, said a quick “Sorry,” and expertly picked the lock on Qian Wenhao’s door, charging inside—

“Qian Wenhao, what are you doing?”