As visitors gradually arrived at the stalls, they didn’t take a break. After eating something to fill their stomachs, they continued operating the stall for the afternoon.
It wasn’t until the sun was about to set, when all the items they had prepared were sold out, that the group finally got a chance to rest.
Zhao Wenyi tallied up the day’s earnings. After deducting various costs, he found they still had over four thousand in profit.
“This is exhausting, but it really pays off!”
Luo Zhengyu sighed with emotion.
Zeng Huai silently agreed.
Zhao Wenyi distributed the remaining money among them.
He said, “There’s still some time left. I’ll handle the rest here. You all can go take a stroll.”
Luo Zhengyu shook his head and refused.
He stretched lazily and said slowly, “No, what’s interesting about this boring place?”
“Brother Zhao, I’ll stay and help you.”
Zeng Huai also had no intention of leaving.
They were going to run the stall for three days. After today, they still needed to prepare for tomorrow.
“Alright.”
Zhao Wenyi nodded.
He turned to Li Qing and said, “Xiao Li, don’t stay here. Take Yuan Miao out for a walk.”
Hearing this, Li Qing took a hundred-yuan bill from the scattered cash and handed it to Yuan Miao.
“Pocket money. Go have fun.”
“Thanks, Mom!”
Yuan Miao happily accepted it. “Uncle, Uncle, I’m off to play!”
Luo Zhengyu crossed his arms behind his head, watching Yuan Miao’s departing figure with amusement.
“Xiao Li, you’re looking more and more like a mom these days.”
Unsurprisingly, he got hit again.
Zhao Wenyi glared at him unhappily.
“Xiao Li is still young.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah…”
Luo Zhengyu rolled his eyes.
There was no reasoning with a sister-obsessed brother.
Li Qing smiled and walked over to the grassy area by the nearby lake, intending to lie down and rest for a while.
The weather today was just right—neither too hot nor too cold, with clear skies and fresh air.
Shortly after she lay down, she noticed a figure out of the corner of her eye.
Yuan Tingshen?
Li Qing frowned. What was he doing here?
Especially since Yuan Tingshen seemed to be walking toward her.
“……Li Qing.”
Yuan Tingshen stopped beside her.
He had just returned to Wucheng today.
Yuan Tingshen had spent a few days in Jinghua, using all his connections to investigate the origins of that young man, but he found nothing.
He had separately probed his father and mother but couldn’t uncover any information related to that young man.
Now, his parents were worried that he was under too much pressure lately and urged him to rest more.
In the end, Yuan Tingshen returned empty-handed.
With a knot of frustration in his heart, he decided to take a walk in the park but forgot that today was the first day of the National Day holiday, when the crowds surged.
Yuan Tingshen had intended to leave, but on his way out, he spotted Li Qing lying on the grass, her expression calm and peaceful.
At this moment, Li Qing had shed the cold, sharp demeanor she wore at school, replaced by a relaxed and contented ease.
Almost as if compelled by some unseen force, he walked over.
And, as expected, Li Qing’s expression changed the moment she saw him.
He felt utterly helpless.
“Can I talk to you?”
“……A thousand for conversation.”
Li Qing raised an eyebrow, making an outrageous demand.
Her intention was to discourage Yuan Tingshen, hoping he would take the hint and leave gracefully, but she underestimated these wealthy people.
Yuan Tingshen didn’t hesitate to take out his phone.
“I’ll pay. Can you accept my friend request?”
“???”
Li Qing looked utterly bewildered.
Had Yuan Tingshen’s brain been damaged by the rain that day? He kept doing things that left her utterly baffled.
She had no intention of wasting time with Yuan Tingshen here.
Li Qing pouted and was just about to stand up to return to her stall when she heard the payment notification sound from her phone in her pocket.
“…WeChat payment received, one thousand yuan.”
For convenience, Li Qing had made her payment QR code into a lanyard card hanging around her neck and had forgotten to take it off.
This had given Yuan Tingshen an opening.
Li Qing stopped in her tracks.
She met Yuan Tingshen’s innocent gaze.
For a moment, she almost imagined she was seeing Yuan Miao.
“…Ahem.”
Li Qing was startled by her own speculation.
How could that be!
Though they both share the surname Yuan…
Wait, why do they both have the surname Yuan?!
Li Qing belatedly realized this issue.
Her expression looked as if she’d seen a ghost.
But she didn’t think of leaving again.
Blame her for having a bit of morality; the principle of delivering service after receiving payment made it impossible for her to leave. She could only grit her teeth and sit back down.
“What do you want to say?”
“Thank you.”
Yuan Tingshen breathed a sigh of relief.
He put down his phone and sat down beside Li Qing.
He had originally only wanted to find an opportunity to speak with Li Qing, but after sitting down, he inexplicably thought of the things he had encountered recently.
“If one day, someone unexpected appears in your life, someone who might even have a special connection to you…”
“………”
Wait.
Li Qing had planned to give a perfunctory response and then find a chance to slip away, but as she listened, something felt off.
Although Yuan Tingshen was clearly talking about his own situation, Li Qing found she could relate to it as well.
She thought of Yuan Miao.
Li Qing couldn’t help but fall silent.
Yuan Tingshen only spoke a couple of sentences before dropping the subject.
He turned his head to look at Li Qing, who had suddenly gone quiet, his gaze gently tracing the contours of her eyebrows and eyes.
He thought of that bouquet of flowers.
Although he had taken good care of it, because its roots had been cut, it still couldn’t escape its fate of withering.
Yuan Tingshen gazed at Li Qing, lost in thought, while Li Qing, thinking of Yuan Miao, didn’t notice his stare at all.
What interrupted Yuan Tingshen was a phone call from the bank.
The bank manager informed him that the young man using his supplementary card had appeared again and was currently at the bank counter conducting business.
“…What business is he conducting?”
“A deposit.”
“?”
Yuan Tingshen froze on the spot.
Then, he learned that the bank where the other person was located was only a few hundred meters away from him.
It seemed to be just outside the park.
With the answer so close at hand, Yuan Tingshen hung up the phone and looked at Li Qing apologetically.
“Sorry, I have an urgent matter and need to leave first.”
“Then go.”
Li Qing snapped out of her thoughts, baffled.
Did he expect her to praise him for being “so polite”?
Worried that the young man might leave if he arrived too late, Yuan Tingshen hurriedly departed.
……
Yuan Miao was bewildered as he was ushered into the bank’s VIP client lounge.
He was just depositing ten thousand yuan; was such a grand treatment necessary?
But he soon learned the answer.
When Yuan Tingshen, slightly out of breath, appeared at the entrance of the lounge, Yuan Miao stood up in disbelief, his eyes wide.
“You, you, you…”
Why does this person look so much like my dad?!
Does this young man recognize him?
Yuan Tingshen stood at the doorway for a moment to catch his breath, his expression unreadable, then calmly walked in.
“What’s your name?”
“Yuan Miao.”
Yuan Miao answered instinctively.
As the words fell, Yuan Tingshen frowned.
Surname Yuan?
So it really is my father’s illegitimate child.
Yuan Miao asked nervously yet expectantly, “Are you… Yuan Tingshen?”
Who could tell him why a younger version of his father suddenly appeared before him? Shouldn’t he be in Jinghua City?
Yuan Tingshen’s frown deepened.
He let out a mocking laugh.
“Yuan Kuangtian even told you about my existence. It seems you really are his—”
“Dad, what are you talking about?”
Yuan Miao interrupted him in confusion.
Why was he suddenly bringing up his grandfather?
Yuan Tingshen’s voice abruptly stopped.
He looked utterly incredulous.
“…What did you call me?”
“Dad!!”
Yuan Miao shouted it again, louder this time.