After a full day of bustling activity, the once-empty two-bedroom apartment had finally been tidied into a livable state.
Only one master bedroom was furnished, while the other room was set up as a music room.
This was Zhou Yansheng’s insistence.
After seeing Yang Zhiqiang off, Zhou Yansheng went upstairs and saw Qin Qing wiping down the large rosewood bed with a cloth.
Qin Qing glanced up at him, then lowered her head to continue working.
She was full of energy.
“Zhou Yansheng, your bed isn’t as pretty as mine.”
It was bulky and took up too much space.
Zhou Yansheng chuckled, in an unusually good mood as he teased her, “As long as it’s big and sturdy enough.”
It took Qin Qing a few seconds to catch his meaning.
This dog of a man was flirting with her!
Her face flushed instantly.
Just as Zhou Yansheng was admiring her shy expression, Qin Qing suddenly threw the cloth in her hand aside.
She challenged him provocatively, “If you’ve got the guts, try sleeping with me on this bed!”
As soon as she finished speaking, her face turned even redder.
Zhou Yansheng raised an eyebrow, not shying away. He watched the little woman before him with amusement, leaning in slightly:
“It’s not like we haven’t slept together before…”
His breath brushed against the girl’s ear, sending a tingling sensation.
Their first time had been on this very bed.
Back then, the bed was still in the Zhou family villa in the Beijing compound.
Though two lifetimes had passed, the memory of that night remained as vivid as yesterday.
That dog of a man had been so fierce with her that night.
It hurt so much.
But when he held her and whispered “Qingqing” in her ear, it was so sexy.
She… loved it so much.
“Hmph! This bed is mine tonight!” Qin Qing lifted her chin proudly, deliberately suppressing her shyness. “You sleep on the sofa!”
“Alright,” the man replied, his tone laced with laughter.
“Are we really staying here tonight?” he asked.
“Mm,” Qin Qing nodded repeatedly. “As real as it gets.”
“Then let’s go,” he said, naturally taking her hand. “We’ll go to the family compound to move your things.”
Downstairs, they saw the Santana that hadn’t been driven away.
“Has Sixth Brother not left yet?” Qin Qing wondered.
“The car is ours,” Zhou Yansheng unlocked it and opened the door. “Young Miss, please get in.”
Qin Qing, confused, climbed into the car in a daze.
It wasn’t until the car had left the neighborhood that Zhou Yansheng explained, “It’s inconvenient without a car, so I had Qiangzi get one for us.”
He said it lightly.
Qin Qing quickly understood, a moment of realization dawning on her.
She had been too naive earlier.
Perhaps Brother Qiang’s talk of buying a villa wasn’t just empty words.
After all, in her memories from her previous life, a few years later, this man would become a sharp-suited successful figure featured in financial magazines.
She glanced at the man beside her now, dressed in his crisp military uniform.
Qin Qing! You really have it good~
You’ve encountered every style there is!
“What are you grinning about?” The man, focused on driving, caught the smile at the corner of her mouth from the corner of his eye.
“Smiling because you’re good-looking,” Qin Qing deliberately told the truth.
She didn’t want to give him a chance to evade.
“Then why did you go and like someone else?” The words slipped out, and Zhou Yansheng couldn’t help but mock himself.
The car fell silent for a moment.
“I… was wrong,” Qin Qing finally said after a while, tugging gently at the man’s arm as she apologized softly.
Screech—
The car came to a sudden stop.
“Wh-what’s wrong?” Why stop so suddenly? Qin Qing was bewildered, but seeing Zhou Yansheng’s less-than-pleased expression, she shrank back.
“Qin Qing, there’s no need to apologize,” he said, ruffling her hair as if to comfort her. “It’s in the past.”
But the little woman he thought needed comforting did something unexpected the next second—
“Really?” She had already lunged over from the passenger seat, wrapping her arms around the man’s neck without hesitation.
“No more digging up my past from now on!”
The tears welling up in her eyes were just due to overactive tear glands—nothing to do with her.
Qin Qing blinked, letting the tears fall, and with a childlike pout, she bit the man’s lips.
Crying and kissing at the same time.
Had it really… been put to rest?
She cried fiercely and kissed fiercely too.
Zhou Yansheng didn’t push her away, nor did he take the lead.
He simply cooperated, letting the little girl vent.
It took a long while before he finally pressed the exhausted little one against his shoulder.
With one hand, he pulled a handkerchief from his pocket.
“Crybaby,” he said with feigned disdain, but his movements as he wiped her tears were incredibly gentle. “Sit properly.”
The car slowly started and merged back into the main road.
The residential compound was crowded and bustling, especially during the rush hour after work. A striking black car had been parked there for quite some time.
It was warm inside the car, so Qin Qing had even taken off her coat.
She pushed the door open and stepped out.
A gust of cold wind made her shiver.
Zhou Yansheng, who had followed her out, frowned and draped his coat over her shoulders.
“So it’s Captain Zhou!”
“Tsk tsk! That car!”
“I’ve long heard Captain Zhou comes from a good family, but I never expected he’d even have a car like that.”
Envious murmurs drifted from the surroundings.
“Why don’t I have such luck, marrying a man like that!”
“If you had the looks of a vixen, maybe you could charm Captain Zhou too.”
Qin Qing truly admired those who gossiped right in front of others.
At least wait until they’ve left before talking.
“Brother, my hands are itching again,” she whispered into the man’s ear.
Unexpectedly, the man beside her suddenly shouted loudly:
“Vixen! Let’s go home!”
Not only was Qin Qing stunned, but even all those whispering fell silent.
Then, they awkwardly dispersed.
Qin Qing: …
Zhou Yansheng was still the fearless ruffian king of the compound, after all.
The two had dinner outside before returning to the apartment building.
Once again, Qin Qing dragged her suitcase, now missing a wheel.
She was as excited as a child!
“I have a home! I have a home! I have a home!”
Late at night, Qin Qing turned on every light in the house.
Especially the crystal chandelier in the living room, which had just been installed today.
Qin Qing stared at it for a long time.
The yellow light shone through the dense crystal pendants, refracting into a dazzling array of colorful reflections.
Colors that couldn’t be seen during the day.
It was too dreamlike!
“Don’t stare at the light for too long; it’ll hurt your eyes.” Her eyes were covered by the man’s large hand.
“Brother, I have a home!” Qin Qing repeated, murmuring under his palm.
“Mhm,” Zhou Yansheng responded, then released his hand.
He couldn’t bear to dampen the excitement of a child who had been without a home since she was twelve.
But the next moment, the little girl pulled him into the music room.
“Brother, play the piano, okay?” She insisted, pulling him to sit on the piano bench.
“You know how long it’s been since I last played,” Zhou Yansheng chuckled.
“I don’t care! You’re a genius!”
Qin Qing acted spoiled, just like when she was a child.
Zhou Yansheng lifted the piano lid.
He casually tapped a few keys.
This antique piano was the one he practiced on as a child, and Qin Qing had used it ever since she started learning.
He never imagined that one day, he would bring it to Jiangcheng.
“If the piano is moved to Jiangcheng, won’t Aunt Qiu—no, Mom—find it inconvenient?”
Qin Qing couldn’t help but feel sentimental.
Zhou Yansheng’s mother, also her mother-in-law, was a renowned pianist in the country.
Zhou Yansheng had been forced to practice the piano since he was young.
It wasn’t until later, when she started learning, that Aunt Qiu finally let Zhou Yansheng off the hook.
Zhou Yansheng often joked that she had saved him.
Little did she know that all her passion for the piano originated from him…
“Brother, play Schumann’s Träumerei, okay?” Recalling the past, Qin Qing made her request.
Zhou Yansheng sighed helplessly, “It’s been too long, I don’t remember the score anymore.”
But seeing the little girl’s expectant expression, he could only nod. “If I can’t finish, you take over.”
Qin Qing eagerly nodded and sat together with him on the piano bench.
Zhou Yansheng then raised his wrist, and the notes began to flow…
Qin Qing watched just like that.