Gu Qiu was puzzled by A-Long’s words.
“Fortune-telling?”
Earlier at the bar, Zhao Yulong had only told Gu Qiu that he used the “online girlfriend” to deter Qin Zhiyi. As for the fact that she had read his face, which involved his own romantic matters, he kept it hidden.
But since the topic had come up again, he gave a brief explanation…
After hearing it, Gu Qiu was stunned.
The mysterious and cryptic words Qin Zhiyi had said were essentially telling A-Long to go find Song Qing!
But if he remembered correctly, he had never talked to Qin Zhiyi about A-Long’s love life.
Even if he had, it wouldn’t be normal for her to tell A-Long to pursue someone he had lost contact with for a long time!
Face reading and fortune-telling were definitely fake!
The only explanation that made sense seemed to be that Qin Zhiyi, just like him, knew A-Long’s future…
The thought that had flashed through his mind earlier was very likely true.
Qin Zhiyi had also been reincarnated!
In a daze, Gu Qiu recalled every scene of his interactions with Qin Zhiyi over the past few days.
『Since you don’t want an online romance, let’s start from reality. I’ll pursue you, okay?』
『A-Qiu, I’ll work hard to become the person most suitable for you!』
『What if I don’t have money? Can I pay with myself?』
『That was before. My target now is you!』
『…』
Numerous memories flooded in, giving him a headache.
He shook his head, tossing aside all these messy thoughts, then let out a heavy breath.
“Silly woman, hasn’t pestering me for a whole lifetime been enough?”
Zhao Yulong glanced at Gu Qiu from the corner of his eye.
He hadn’t caught what the other was muttering, but he didn’t press further, lest it bring up the previous topic again.
Regarding Song Qing, he had his own considerations, or rather, an inner conflict.
He wanted to ask about her news, but was afraid of learning she already had a partner.
He wanted to see her once, but felt he hadn’t yet made something of himself…
And so, the two brothers, each burdened with their own thoughts, sat in silence. The only sound in the car was the wind noise coming through the windows on both sides.
…
Over an hour later.
Yunmeng District, on a fairly bustling street.
Zhao Yulong parked the car in a public spot, and he and Gu Qiu took out various groceries and supplements from the trunk.
After a trip to the supermarket, both of them were in much better spirits. Carrying bags big and small, they chatted and laughed as they walked into a street-side shop called “Grandma Chen Noodle Shop.”
Compared to the franchised and chain stores nearby, this simply renovated hole-in-the-wall looked much more modest. But its just-right layout and clean, tidy environment earned it a lot of points, and the aroma wafting from inside from time to time was enough to hook anyone’s appetite.
However, it was already well past noon, and the noodle shop didn’t have much business.
Looking around, there was no one else except an old woman and a young woman sitting at a table on the right.
Zhao Yulong’s gaze fell on the white-haired old woman, and he greeted her with a smile.
“Grandma, I brought this kid Gu Qiu to you!”
Grandma Chen had noticed them the moment they walked in. She temporarily paused her chat with the young woman across from her, scanned her eyes over the two of them, and finally stopped on Gu Qiu.
She immediately stood up and walked slowly to greet them.
Grandma Chen was not tall, reaching only the shoulders of the two young men, Gu Qiu and Zhao Yulong, and her figure was slightly hunched. Yet her wrinkle-lined cheeks had a healthy rosy tint, and she looked quite spirited.
Her eyes, gazing at Gu Qiu, were full of warmth and kindness.
“A-Qiu, I haven’t seen you for a month. How did you get so thin?”
“With the food at their school, it’d be hard not to lose weight!”
Zhao Yulong chimed in out of habit, only to find Gu Qiu standing frozen in place. He nudged him with his elbow.
“Hey, Grandma’s talking to you!”
Saying that, he followed Gu Qiu’s gaze curiously, only to realize that the back he had just ignored looked somewhat familiar.
He looked closely for two seconds, and his eyes immediately widened.
“Qin…”
Then, Zhao Yulong looked at Gu Qiu again and mouthed:
“Really got followed?”
Gu Qiu let out a helpless sigh.
If the earlier probability of his guess that Qin Zhiyi was also a reincarnator was around 60%, then the fact that she could arrive at the noodle shop ahead of him without following him pushed that probability above 90%!
But he didn’t have time to dwell on Qin Zhiyi’s matters right now. He offered Grandma Chen a smile.
“Grandma!”
“Don’t listen to his nonsense, the school food is fine!”
“I’ve just been too busy lately, that’s why I lost a little weight. Isn’t that why I came over to improve my meals with you?”
As he had thought before, besides A-Long, there were two women who had given him love and kindness since childhood!
One was Aunt Lan, whom he called Mom.
The other was Grandma Chen, standing before him, who treated him like her own grandson!
Aunt Lan’s full name was Shen Yuelan, the dean of the Rainbow Orphanage.
Under her protection, a group of destitute children, including Gu Qiu and A-Long, found a home and thrived.
But the good die young!
Seven years ago, a journalist chasing traffic fabricated baseless rumors into a report titled “Rainbow Orphanage Dean Shen Yuelan Embezzles Donations, Purchases Luxury Car and Mansion.” This directly led to Aunt Lan suffering abuse and harassment from all sectors of society, and also threw the orphanage into an operational crisis.
Under immense pressure, Aunt Lan leapt from the orphanage rooftop, ending her life.
After the truth came to light, people turned their fire on the journalist. Although he received due punishment, compared to Aunt Lan losing her life, it wasn’t even worth mentioning!
Fortunately, the wicked meet their end. Three years after Aunt Lan’s passing, that journalist also died in a great fire.
The orphanage ultimately couldn’t escape decline. The other children were gradually adopted by other welfare institutions. Only Gu Qiu and Zhao Yulong, worried that Grandma Chen might do something foolish out of grief over losing her daughter, resolutely stayed by the old woman’s side.
In the days that followed, with their companionship, Grandma Chen gradually came out of it and continued her daughter’s charitable work in her stead.
In her earlier years, she spent the money she earned on Gu Qiu and Zhao Yulong. Once the two had the ability to be self-sufficient, she found two more children from struggling families and used the noodle shop’s profits to support their schooling…
Grandma Chen reached out her exceptionally rough hands and pinched his cheek.
“When you called a couple of days ago, you said you weren’t busy. Now you’re busy again. You… busy or not, you have to eat properly!”
“The school isn’t far from here anyway. It’s only a three-to-five-minute bike ride. Come back and eat when you have nothing to do!”
“Okay, I’ll listen to you!”
Gu Qiu agreed softly.
In truth, he didn’t want to trouble Grandma.
However, considering that the old woman also needed companionship, he planned to just come by once every weekend!
While Gu Qiu and Grandma Chen were talking, Zhao Yulong set down the things in his hands on the table, then walked over and sat down across from Qin Zhiyi.
“Teacher Qin, why are you here?”
Qin Zhiyi scooped a spoonful of noodle soup into her mouth and smiled:
“I got hungry on the way back to school. This old shop caught my eye, so I came in to try the taste. I didn’t expect to run into you again. What a coincidence!”
Zhao Yulong narrowed his eyes slightly, revealing a “Do I look like an idiot?” expression.
At the same time, Grandma Chen noticed the situation on this side and hurriedly said:
“A-Long, go, go, go. It’s been half a day and we finally got a customer. Don’t go scaring the young lady away!”
Before Zhao Yulong could reply, Qin Zhiyi was the first to turn and smile.
“Grandma, it’s okay!”
Saying that, she waved at Gu Qiu.
“Hello, A-Qiu!”