Li Qing returned to Miye Bar.
It was nearly 11 p.m., and the bar was still bustling with activity.
After scanning the first floor, Li Qing noticed that Yuan Miao, who usually bounced around energetically downstairs, was nowhere to be seen.
She walked over to the bar and asked Zeng Huai what was going on.
“Uncle Jiu is here.”
“…I see.”
Li Qing looked surprised. What wind had blown the elusive Uncle Jiu here?
When Li Qing entered the second-floor office, she saw Zhao Wenyi and Uncle Jiu sitting calmly on the sofa, chatting.
Yuan Miao was sitting at the desk, playing a game.
The game’s background noise was almost drowning out the conversation from the sofa, but the two men didn’t seem to mind.
“?”
Li Qing paused, her expression turning odd.
This computer contained many important files, and usually only Uncle Jiu and Zhao Wenyi were allowed to use it. Yet now, it was being used by Yuan Miao to play games?
Was this the legendary… grandparent-grandchild bond?
“Xiao Li.”
Uncle Jiu looked up and called her name.
At fifty, Uncle Jiu remained spirited and sharp. His seemingly lean frame concealed explosive strength capable of delivering a fatal blow, and his eyes carried an authoritative intensity even without anger.
Though he had now stepped back from the front lines, it was said that in his youth, he had worked as a mercenary in war-torn regions abroad, having weathered countless storms.
“Uncle Jiu.”
Li Qing frowned and glanced at Yuan Miao, who was completely absorbed in his game and hadn’t even noticed her return.
“Heh.”
Uncle Jiu noticed her gaze and couldn’t help but chuckle. “When Wenyi first told me you’d gained a son, I advised him to get a brain scan.”
But after coming here himself, he realized Zhao Wenyi had been telling the truth.
Perhaps because his youth had been chaotic and unsettled, he now valued peaceful, warm moments even more.
Yuan Miao, this junior from twenty years in the future, happened to fill the void of “family happiness” he had missed.
Li Qing sat down on the sofa in silence.
With the two men present, she refrained from questioning Yuan Miao about the medical expenses. Instead, she brought up the matter of the sun tattoo.
“Sun tattoo?”
Zhao Wenyi asked nervously, “Did you encounter someone from the Light Righteousness Society?”
Light Righteousness Society?
Zhao Wenyi had kept her away from such matters, so this was the first time Li Qing had heard of this organization.
She shook her head. “Not me, but one of my clients…”
Li Qing briefly recounted what had happened while she was delivering food earlier. After listening, Zhao Wenyi’s furrowed brow relaxed.
“The Light Righteousness Society was originally a gray organization entrenched in Wucheng. But after their leader was imprisoned, they seem to have kept a much lower profile.”
Uncle Jiu spoke calmly, “They’ve undergone a major internal reshuffle.”
“If your new client can attract people from the Light Righteousness Society, they’re likely involved in this reshuffle. Their leader is set to be released early next year. It’s best not to provoke them lightly.”
“…I understand.”
Li Qing nodded with a grave expression.
She hadn’t expected Shen Lanting, a homebody, to be connected to Wucheng’s underground organizations.
“One more thing, Xiao Li…”
Zhao Wenyi gestured toward Yuan Miao with his chin. “At his age, Yuan Miao should still be in school, right?”
Li Qing was taken aback by the question.
She had never considered this before. By age, Yuan Miao should be in his final year of high school, just like her.
“His identity…”
Li Qing’s lips twitched. Yuan Miao was still undocumented. Where was she supposed to get him an identity?
Uncle Jiu also furrowed his brow and sighed, “I can handle the identity issue, but getting into school won’t be easy…”
“What school? What are you talking about!”
Yuan Miao had just finished an exhilarating round of gaming. Looking up, he saw his mother had returned and immediately scurried over.
“We were discussing your schooling,” Li Qing said casually.
“Schooling?!”
Yuan Miao’s eyes widened in horror, as if the sky had fallen.
How could he have forgotten about this!
“?”
Li Qing’s scrutinizing gaze fell on Yuan Miao. Why did she feel his reaction was off?
An uneasy premonition began to stir within her.
Zhao Wenyi, however, didn’t notice anything amiss. He smiled calmly and said, “Yuan Miao must have inherited your intelligence. You can tutor him after school, and he’ll catch up quickly.”
“…Haha.”
Yuan Miao laughed along, feeling both guilty and awkward, but he didn’t dare agree with Zhao Wenyi’s words.
Was his mother smart?
Well, she did seem clever… but that didn’t necessarily mean she was good at studying. Yuan Miao vaguely remembered that his mother hadn’t even gotten into university.
He couldn’t help but wonder strangely to himself.
“Is that so?”
Li Qing was half-convinced, half-doubtful.
Yuan Miao’s reaction didn’t seem to match that idea.
But she still had something else to settle with Yuan Miao, so she didn’t dwell on it too much.
Li Qing led Yuan Miao out to the corridor and handed him the 10,000 yuan she had saved up over this period.
“You withdrew 20,000? Put 10,000 back first.”
“Put back what?”
Yuan Miao looked utterly confused.
Li Qing frowned at him.
“Brother Zhao told me about it. You…”
She cleared her throat and continued in an unnatural tone.
“You used your father’s money. I have no relationship with him now, and I won’t spend his money.”
Yuan Miao suddenly understood.
How could he possibly take his mother’s money? He immediately pursed his lips and shook his head.
“I used it, it has nothing to do with Mom!”
“But it was because of me that you used it.”
“Being filial to Mom is only natural!”
“………”
Seeing Yuan Miao still so stubborn, Li Qing wasn’t as angry as she had been the first time. Instead, she felt more helpless.
For a moment, she seemed to see her younger self in him. How had this personality been so precisely inherited…
Yuan Miao remained stubborn and unyielding. Not wanting to argue with him, Li Qing rubbed her temples and spoke calmly, “If you won’t return it, then go find your father.”
“!!!”
Yuan Miao stared at her, shocked and aggrieved.
His mother didn’t want him?!
Li Qing hardened her heart and didn’t look at him.
She glanced at Zhao Wenyi and Uncle Jiu, who were peeking from behind the door, silently urging her not to be so harsh. She tugged at the corner of her mouth in exasperation.
Seeing his mother’s cold expression, Yuan Miao finally panicked.
He couldn’t leave his mother’s side now!
In the end, Yuan Miao relented.
Pouting, he took a few steps forward, carefully tugged at the hem of Li Qing’s clothes, and said pitifully, “Mom, I’ll put it back.”
Li Qing breathed a sigh of relief.
She patted Yuan Miao’s head.
“Good boy.”