Li Qiuyue was thinking of how to backtrack when she heard Qin Huai speak like that, and her whole body froze.
Her expression blanked for a moment, her beautiful eyes full of quiet resentment.
Qin Huai watched and couldn’t help but find it amusing.
Sure enough, she still hadn’t reached Zhaozhao’s calm.
Soon, Li Qiuyue rolled her eyes and said in a low voice, “I don’t need you to do anything for me, but you can’t just live in this house and eat for free, can you?”
“I thought I already gave you living expenses?” Qin Huai deliberately retorted.
Seeing Li Qiuyue widen her eyes, puff up her cheeks, and look ready to explode the next second, he immediately softened his tone: “Of course, if there’s anything I can do, I should help you.”
The pufferfish cheeks deflated instantly.
Li Qiuyue snorted coldly, glaring at him in displeasure.
He was lucky he changed his tune quickly otherwise, today she would have kicked him out the door for sure!
She didn’t notice the mischievous glint in Qin Huai’s eyes, focusing instead on expressing her concerns: “Tomorrow, when you have free time, come to my stall. Tomorrow we’ll go to the newspaper office together.”
She needed to publish the signed document in the paper so that everyone would know she had severed ties with the Li family.
Since she couldn’t read many big characters, she had to rely on Qin Huai to back her up.
Qin Huai was silent for a moment, then realized what she meant.
He pressed his lips together, looked at the unhappiness on her face, and said in a low voice, “Since you already have the signed document, you don’t need to wait for the newspaper.”
“No, my friends told me that in the city, cutting ties has to be announced in the paper so everyone knows,” Li Qiuyue said seriously.
Qin Huai raised an eyebrow.
Probably in the sixties or seventies, some people would do this to avoid being sent to the countryside.
But now, the educated youth had all returned to the city who would announce family affairs in the newspaper anymore?
After the initial disbelief came sheer amazement.
Li Qiuyue might not understand much and couldn’t comprehend certain things.
Yet to protect Zhaozhao, she would go to the utmost lengths.
Taking a child away from her would be no different than what a child-stealer does.
“What’s wrong?” Li Qiuyue tilted her head when Qin Huai didn’t speak.
Qin Huai snapped back to attention and stood up. “Nothing. Tomorrow at noon, during my break, I’ll go with you okay?”
Li Qiuyue was asking for help; naturally, there was no objection.
…
Coincidentally, the newspaper editor-in-chief was an old friend of Qin Huai.
With Qin Huai’s help, the content Li Qiuyue wanted to publish was quickly finalized.
Qin Huai had some private matters to discuss with the editor, so Li Qiuyue and Zhaozhao sat on a bench to wait.
Li Qiuyue was taking Zhaozhao for a check-up at the hospital that afternoon, so she wasn’t in a hurry to go home.
It was Li Qiuyue’s first time visiting a newspaper office.
Inside, it was clean and beautiful. There were various books on the desks, completely different from her usual environment.
Zhaozhao noticed a small table nearby with a book whose cover showed a monkey wearing a golden headband, holding a magic staff, standing on a cloud.
He immediately perked up. “Mom, is that Sun Wukong you were talking about?”
Li Qiuyue didn’t see exactly where, but Zhaozhao pointed with his little hand.
Unexpectedly, a woman just came out of the office next door, and Zhaozhao’s tiny hand accidentally poked her stomach.
The woman exclaimed, “Ouch!” At first, she saw a plainly dressed woman and a child.
She immediately pushed Zhaozhao’s shoulder sharply.
With a shrill voice, she shouted, “Where did this blind country bumpkin come from? What if you dirty my clothes?”
She gestured disdainfully, patting her black long coat.
Li Qiuyue quickly stood and pulled Zhaozhao behind her.
The woman across from them wore high heels, had wavy hair, and was dressed in the trendiest fashion.
“Sorry, he wasn’t paying attention,” Li Qiuyue said calmly and firmly. “I will make sure he behaves in the future. If your clothes are dirty or damaged, I can compensate you.”
“Compensate? This down jacket costs sixty yuan can you afford that?” The woman scanned Li Qiuyue up and down, sneering. “I bet you don’t even know what a down jacket is, do you?”
Seeing the woman’s expression toward his mother, Zhaozhao felt a bit angry.
He hugged Li Qiuyue’s leg and raised his little head. “Auntie, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to touch you.”
“But my hands are clean. Except for touching your clothes, I haven’t touched anything dirty,” he showed his small hands.
“You little country bumpkin, what do you mean by that!” The woman widened her eyes in anger.
The onlookers nearby immediately snickered.
Li Qiuyue pinched Zhaozhao’s little face and scolded gently, “Don’t talk nonsense. Apologize properly to Auntie.”
After all, it was Zhaozhao who caused this. The woman’s push hadn’t hurt him.
Also, they came in using Qin Huai’s connection. Li Qiuyue wasn’t afraid of a scene, but it could affect Qin Huai.
Thinking this, she suppressed her temper.
Zhaozhao, always obedient, apologized politely.
The woman was unwilling, but in front of so many people, she couldn’t press the matter.
Li Qiuyue patted Zhaozhao’s head appreciatively.
Not wanting more trouble, she took Zhaozhao outside to wait.
But after just a few steps, someone blocked their path.
It was the curly-haired woman again: “I had a hundred yuan on my desk. Did you steal it?”
Li Qiuyue frowned and looked in the direction she was pointing.
That was the table farthest inside the magazine office they hadn’t even gone there.
She said firmly, “So many people have been watching since we came in. We haven’t touched anything over there.”
“You little country bumpkin, who would keep an eye on you?” The woman sneered.
One hand on her waist, the other on a nearby table, she was determined not to let them leave.
A sly smile curled her lips. “Whether you stole it or not, why not have someone check?”
She glanced back and gestured to an old man in a blue, dirty padded jacket in the corner.
The old man hunched over, his gaze leering and greedy, scrutinizing Li Qiuyue with ill intent.
“Cuifen, stop it. No need to be so harsh toward the child’s mother in front of him!” another woman in a white coat stepped forward.
Wu Cuifen glared at her. “Stop it? It’s my fifty yuan that’s gone. You don’t know what it’s like to lose money!”
“We know whether you lost money or not,” the woman in white said indignantly.
Wu Cuifen wasn’t fazed, still glaring and threatening. “What, do you also want Brother Wang to frisk you?”
The woman in white was about to respond but was tugged away by a colleague, stopping her from arguing further.
After all, this had nothing to do with Li Qiuyue and her child, and it wasn’t worth defending them.
Wu Cuifen was pleased with their tact, then turned to the man and ordered, “Brother Wang, start frisking with the little one.”
As she spoke, she reached out to grab Zhaozhao’s little arm.