Luo Zhengyu walked over to Zhao Wenyi with a smile, draping his arm over Zhao Wenyi’s shoulder, his sly gaze landing on Yuan Miao.
“So, what’s the relationship with this relative? Your dad wouldn’t happen to be in Wucheng too, would he…”
“Ahem.”
Zhao Wenyi coughed heavily, cutting Luo Zhengyu off. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a fleeting look of guilt in Yuan Miao’s eyes, deepening his suspicion.
Could Yuan Miao’s biological father really be in Wucheng?
But didn’t he say he was a native of Jinghua City?
“…Xiao Li.”
Zhao Wenyi snapped back to attention and said seriously to Li Qing, “You absolutely must not start dating too early. At the very least, wait until after your college entrance exams.”
Li Qing: “…”
Why had the topic taken such a serious turn?
She tugged at the corner of her mouth in exasperation. “Let’s leave it at that for now. I’ll start looking for a place to rent in the next couple of days.”
“Mom, I’ll help you look too!”
Yuan Miao eagerly raised his hand.
“You?”
Li Qing was about to say, “Do you even know how to look for a place?” when she suddenly remembered Yuan Miao’s unnerving talent for acting cute.
So she silently swallowed her words.
Yuan Miao had probably never even rented a place before; this was likely just a spur-of-the-moment idea.
Still, if Yuan Miao was going to attend school, he really couldn’t keep living on Ninth Street.
She hoped her mother wouldn’t misunderstand their relationship again.
Li Qing thought to herself silently.
Zhao Wenyi said, “We don’t have much to do during the day. We’ll go with you.”
“Okay.”
……
Because of this matter, Li Qing decided not to deliver takeout today. When the time was right, she went to pick up Chen Ruohua.
Chen Ruohua shared many amusing stories with Li Qing.
“Grandma Xu lives alone now and feels lonely. She even wanted me to stay with her a few more days.”
“Square dancing really is good exercise, but unfortunately, I’m not very coordinated. I ended up making quite a few blunders…”
Li Qing’s responses were somewhat absent-minded.
After several such instances, Chen Ruohua sensed that her daughter had something on her mind.
She couldn’t help but ask.
“Qingqing, has something happened?”
“…No.”
Li Qing paused for a moment before shaking her head calmly.
When the traffic light turned green, she twisted the handlebar and said, “Mom, let’s move somewhere else.”
Chen Ruohua was taken aback.
She didn’t answer immediately, remaining silent all the way home.
When she opened the door and saw the living room in complete disarray, along with the visibly messy bedroom, she understood everything.
Li Qing closed the door behind them. Seeing the state of the living room, she knew Li Jianhui had taken out his anger on their belongings again after she left.
That was all he could do—rage helplessly.
Li Qing sneered inwardly with disdain.
The next moment, she heard her mother’s voice.
“Alright, let’s move.”
Chen Ruohua took a deep breath.
Li Qing was stunned for a moment before pursing her lips and calling out, “Mom…”
Chen Ruohua turned around and gave her a strong yet gentle smile.
“He’s already sold everything valuable in the house. This time, he must have found the jade bracelet I hid.”
“…Yeah.”
Li Qing responded heavily. “I’ll get the bracelet back.”
There were only a few places in the old district where one could pawn things. Uncle Jiu’s connections were well-informed, so news would likely come soon.
“Tomorrow, I’ll start looking at places first. Mom, take everything you can with you. Don’t leave anything for him.”
“Okay.”
Chen Ruohua was amused by Li Qing’s words.
The mother and daughter didn’t have many belongings, and nothing of much value—after all, anything valuable had long been secretly sold off by Li Jianhui.
After packing all night, Li Qing had Zhao Wenyi drive over early the next morning to move their luggage to the bar first.
Worried that Li Jianhui might return and cause trouble for Chen Ruohua, Li Qing sent her mother to stay with Grandma Xu.
“Mom, you can keep Grandma Xu company for a few days. Once I’ve sorted out the housing situation, I’ll come pick you up.”
“Can you manage everything on your own? Maybe I should go find…”
“It’s fine, Brother Zhao and the others are here.”
Li Qing shook her head, declining Chen Ruohua’s offer, and took on all the responsibilities herself.
Chen Ruohua hesitated, wanting to say more, but she knew Li Qing was very determined—once she made up her mind, it was hard for anyone to change it.
She could only watch with concern as Li Qing got into the car and drove away.
Grandma Xu’s tone was full of admiration: “Qingqing is so sensible and mature. You’ll be able to enjoy a comfortable life from now on.”
Chen Ruohua smiled helplessly.
……
Zhao Wenyi and the others took Li Qing around the city to look for suitable rental properties.
But after a whole day of searching, they still hadn’t found anything suitable.
Either the location wasn’t right, the apartment was on too high a floor and inconvenient to access, or the rent was too expensive for the poor conditions…
In the end, they returned empty-handed.
At the bar.
Zeng Huai returned behind the counter to wipe down the surfaces, preparing for the evening’s business, while Zhao Wenyi and Luo Zhengyu sat nearby chatting.
Li Qing, meanwhile, was on her phone searching for rental listings online.
Taking advantage of everyone being downstairs, Yuan Miao quietly picked up his phone and went upstairs, hiding in a corner on the second floor to call his father.
“Hey, Dad.”
As soon as the call connected, Yuan Miao lowered his voice to speak.
On the other end, Yuan Tingshen paused.
He asked calmly, “Are you doing something sneaky?”
“What sneaky…”
Yuan Miao muttered, then returned to his normal voice, “I’m just worried about being caught.”
“What is it?”
“Dad, do you have any vacant properties, not too far from the school and the hospital?”
Vacant properties?
Yuan Tingshen thought Yuan Miao had finally come around—even if he hadn’t moved to Wutong Garden, he was still turning to him for help.
So he gave him his assistant’s contact information.
“Zhou Zhe will find something for you.”
“Huh? So Uncle Zhou was already working for you this early on?”
Yuan Miao’s surprise was unmistakable in his tone.
Yuan Tingshen hung up without another word.
The next day, as Li Qing was about to head out to continue house-hunting, Yuan Miao stopped her, proudly presenting the resources his father had provided.
“Mom, I found a place! Come with me to check it out!”
“…Really?”
Li Qing paused mid-step.
Zhao Wenyi and Luo Zhengyu had something come up last minute, and Zeng Huai had to take his grandfather, who had a cold, to the hospital, so today she was going to look at houses alone.
Yuan Miao snorted lightly, looking smug as he declared, “I sent you the address. You’ll know once you see it for yourself!”
Li Qing took out her phone—Yuan Miao had indeed sent an address a few minutes earlier.
She gave a slight smile. “Alright, get in the car.”
Since the housing search hadn’t yielded any results yet, she might as well check out the place Yuan Miao mentioned.
“Great!”
Yuan Miao immediately put on his exclusive black cat-eared helmet.
Luo Zhengyu had bought it for him after getting paid—brand new, and Yuan Miao loved it.
Li Qing drove him to the address.
She stood outside, gazing at the imposing entrance of the residential complex and the sternly stationed security guards at the gate, falling into a moment of silence.
…Yuan Miao seemed to have overestimated her wallet.