“Not leaving?” Zhou Yansheng frowned. “Staying here?”
He looked at the young girl with suspicion, only to see her nod vigorously.
Captain Zhou twitched the corner of his mouth speechlessly.
“What are you thinking?” He curled his fingers and gently tapped her little head. “Freeze here overnight and have me send you straight to the hospital tomorrow morning?”
“But I really don’t want to leave…” The girl looked at the man with a pitiful expression. “Brother, I have a home now…”
After two lifetimes, she finally had a little nest of her own.
Even though he had given it to her.
Qin Qing’s tears began to fall again, pattering down.
The girl’s voice was so soft, yet to Zhou Yansheng, it felt so heavy…
“Silly girl, the home is here and won’t disappear. Once we’ve gathered all the things we need, we’ll move in.”
He lifted her little face. “No more crying!” His thumb gently wiped away her tears.
In the end, Qin Qing was reluctantly led out of the apartment building by Zhou Yansheng.
However, that night, Zhou Yansheng stayed in the family compound until the girl fell asleep before leaving.
It was, after all, a sweet torment.
Qin Qing counted the days as they passed.
The question she asked Zhou Yansheng most often was: “Where is Sixth Brother now?”
If it weren’t for the fact that he knew both of them so well, Zhou Yansheng might have suspected the little girl had taken a liking to Old Six.
But when he spoke with Yang Zhiqiang on the phone earlier, he couldn’t help but ask Qiangzi to look into the matter between Lin Xiang and Qin Qing.
The girl had come south to find him without any warning, and everything about it seemed strange.
He had accepted her.
But he had to get to the bottom of things.
Qiangzi didn’t go into detail on the phone, only saying he would report in person.
So, not only Qin Qing, but Zhou Yansheng was also eager to see Qiangzi sooner.
…
The past couple of days had been relatively peaceful, except Qin Qing heard from Li Qin that Zhao Xiaolin’s father had repeatedly undermined Zhou Yansheng at work.
Qin Qing was a bit worried and asked Zhou Yansheng about it, but he simply told her it was normal work matters and not to worry unnecessarily.
“The family compound is never short of rumors. Haven’t you gotten used to it yet?” Zhou Yansheng teased. “There’s even a rumor that my wife goes in and out every day with a fashionable teacher.”
He wore a half-smile.
“There’s nothing between me and my senior brother!” Qin Qing bristled.
“Mm. So don’t believe rumors, and don’t spread them.” With that, Zhou Yansheng changed the subject.
Finally, early on Sunday morning, Zhou Yansheng took Qin Qing back to the apartment building.
“I must stay here tonight!” Qin Qing declared earnestly.
After all, she had been longing for this for days.
“Mm, just tidy up a bit so it’s livable. We can add things slowly.” Zhou Yansheng agreed readily.
However, when the two of them met Yang Zhiqiang, they were both stunned.
“Sixth Brother, are you a robber?”
Qin Qing rubbed her eyes for a long time as she watched three entire Liberation-brand trucks and a Santana sedan drive into the neighborhood.
“What’s going on?” Zhou Yansheng frowned as he pulled Yang Zhiqiang aside.
“Well, you told me to bring the piano from the compound, right? Auntie Qiu said the new furniture had a smell, so she had me bring everything that could be moved from your new home.”
“She said she’d buy new things for the house later.”
“What? Didn’t Auntie Qiu tell you?”
Yang Zhiqiang looked utterly confused.
Zhou Yansheng and Qin Qing exchanged a glance, both seeing helplessness in each other’s eyes.
The Auntie Qiu Yang Zhiqiang referred to was none other than Zhou Yansheng’s biological mother, Madam Wu Yunqiu.
In Qin Qing’s eyes from her past life, she was the kindest person in the Zhou family.
and the person she respected most.
Now, faced with three truckloads of overflowing maternal affection, the two of them had no choice but to brace themselves and accept it all.
“Zhou Yansheng, there’s no room in the house… what do we do?” Qin Qing tugged at Zhou Yansheng’s sleeve as she watched Yang Zhiqiang directing the workers to unload the goods.
“Little Qingqing—” Qiangzi started to interject but was cut off by Zhou Yansheng.
“From now on, call her sister-in-law.”
After receiving a sharp glare from Fourth Brother, Qiangzi obediently corrected himself, “Hello, Fourth Sister-in-law.”
Qin Qing felt a bit uneasy—this was the first time someone in their circle had acknowledged her status!
“I say, Fourth Brother, why don’t you just buy a separate villa in Jiangcheng!” Yang Zhiqiang said casually.
Qin Qing’s mouth fell open in an “O” shape.
Sixth Brother’s tone was way too bold.
Buy a villa just like that?
The Zhou family was wealthy, but Zhou Yansheng wouldn’t go so far as to ask his family for money.
And with Zhou Yansheng’s salary, he certainly wouldn’t have to worry about food, clothing, or daily expenses, but buying a villa was simply unimaginable.
She took Yang Zhiqiang’s words as a joke.
“Qingqing, go upstairs first and direct the workers to place the furniture where it’s needed. We’ll keep an eye on things down here.” Zhou Yansheng intentionally sent Qin Qing away.
“Come with me.” Zhou Yansheng headed straight for the Santana.
The brand-new Santana still smelled of fresh car scent.
The two got in and closed the doors, shutting out all outside noise.
“Let’s talk about Lin Xiang first.” Zhou Yansheng, sitting in the driver’s seat, got straight to the point.
“Sure thing.” Yang Zhiqiang didn’t beat around the bush and began recounting, “Not long after you and Qin—you and Sister-in-law got your marriage certificate, didn’t you return to your unit? After you left, Sister-in-law seemed like a completely different person.”
“She never once went to the Golden Sunshine Dance Hall where Lin Xiang performed.”
“But about a week after you left, Sister-in-law took He Wenhua, Ye Chuan, and a few other juniors and stormed into the Golden Sunshine, almost wrecking the place!”
At this point, Yang Zhiqiang glanced sideways at Fourth Brother but didn’t detect any unusual reaction, so he continued:
“She got Lin Xiang fired! And using your reputation in the capital, she made it clear that any venue daring to hire Lin Xiang would be crossing you, the Crown Prince.”
Zhou Yansheng’s lips curved into a smile.
“Wenhua said that night, Sister-in-law stood right on the stage and publicly denounced Lin Xiang for swindling her money, tricking her into so-called investments with sweet talk and deceit! She urged all the girls present not to be fooled by scumbags!”
Yang Zhiqiang paused and glanced at Zhou Yansheng.
“Go on.”
Qiangzi nodded, “Then she had Wenhua and the others strip Lin Xiang down to his underwear and throw him out. She said…”
“She said… she’d rather burn everything she bought than leave it for a scumbag.”
“And then, she actually set fire to all of Lin Xiang’s belongings.”
Zhou Yansheng’s smile deepened.
The little girl he had spoiled should be exactly like this.
“But…” Yang Zhiqiang thought of the follow-up he had investigated and added, “I heard Lin Xiang recently latched onto a wealthy Hong Kong businesswoman and was taken to Hong Kong.”
“Mhm.” Zhou Yansheng nodded. Without that handsome face, Lin Xiang wouldn’t have been able to charm Qin Qing so thoroughly back then.
But what exactly caused such a drastic change in her?
Was it really because she married him and turned over a new leaf?
Zhou Yansheng didn’t have a definite answer.
Still, it was a good start.
“You’ve worked hard on this trip.” He patted Qiangzi’s shoulder.
“I was originally planning to submit my transfer application as soon as possible, but since Qingqing has come, I have no intention of leaving for now. You handle the business matters first.”
“Don’t worry, Fourth Brother.” Yang Zhiqiang spoke with deep respect for Zhou Yansheng.
“Also, help me move back the furniture I couldn’t bear to part with.”
“Really not buying a bigger house?” Qiangzi was taken aback—Fourth Brother certainly wasn’t short on money.
“No need.” Zhou Yansheng’s gaze drifted toward the second floor outside the car window.
His and Qin Qing’s home didn’t need to be too big.