The dishes were served.
Li Yingtang cut the lamb chops for Qin Xian and scooped him a bowl of her favorite sweet fermented rice dumplings.
“Eat. Why are you staring at me?”
She sounded as though she was scolding him, but inside she was secretly pleased.
Had today’s outfit stunned him?
Ha! Men!
Qin Xian lowered his eyes.
The lamb chops before him glistened invitingly. The sweet rice dumplings steamed gently, with osmanthus blossoms and goji berries decorating the snowy white glutinous rice balls. They looked as exquisite as they tasted.
Since childhood, this was the first time he had ever eaten such delicately prepared food.
It was also the first time he had been cherished so openly.
He filled a bowl for her as well.
“You should have some too.”
“I’ll eat the meat first.”
Li Yingtang picked up a sliced lamb chop with her chopsticks.
The meat was tender, juicy, and flavorful.
“Not bad. Does it suit your taste?”
Qin Xian nodded.
With such a lavish meal, how could it not?
“If you like it, I’ll buy the ingredients and make it for you next time,” Li Yingtang said. “The service here is terrible. We’ve been sitting here so long and they haven’t even served us tea.”
Qin Xian: “…”
So she preferred his cooking and his service?
He immediately took back the gratitude he had just felt.
After dinner, Li Yingtang paid the bill.
As they left, she glanced at the bag Qin Xian was carrying.
He had insisted earlier that they wouldn’t be able to finish everything, but they had almost run out of food.
Back in the village, he usually ate only about half a bowl more than she did.
Today, he had eaten more than twice as much as she had.
If she kept feeding him delicious food, would he eventually gain weight?
Would his handsome face lose its charm?
She whispered,
“If you ever get fat and greasy, I can’t promise I’ll still love you.”
“Tangtang, what did you say? I didn’t hear you.”
Li Yingtang smiled and adjusted the scarf around her neck.
“Nothing. Let’s go.”
Night had fallen completely.
After seeing Qin Xian off, Li Yingtang returned to the guesthouse.
She had spent the whole day running around and was exhausted.
After washing up, she went to bed early.
The next morning, she checked out.
Carrying her luggage, she headed to the market and spent a generous sum on a large slab of pork before taking a bus to Jiang Wanshu’s house.
The workers were already busy renovating.
She divided the pork among them.
“You’ve all worked hard. It’s just a small token of appreciation. I’ll be busy for a while and won’t have time to supervise, so please follow my renovation plans carefully. Once everything passes inspection, I’ll treat everyone to a meal.”
The workers happily accepted the meat.
“Don’t worry. We’ll make sure you’re satisfied.”
After thinking for a moment, Li Yingtang wrote down the address of Dahe Village and handed it to the foreman.
“If a woman named Jiang Wanshu comes claiming this house belongs to her and asks you to stop renovating, please ask her to come find me at this address.”
The foreman looked puzzled.
“Is there some dispute over who owns the house?”
Li Yingtang smiled.
“Just a small misunderstanding. Nothing serious.”
After leaving the house, she visited a bicycle shop.
She immediately took a liking to a white Phoenix-brand women’s bicycle.
The price was 160 yuan.
It required a purchase voucher, which she didn’t have, so she spent another twenty yuan buying one from the salesperson before finally registering and taking the bicycle.
She then rode to the guesthouse where Qin Xian was staying.
After asking for his room number, she saw him stepping out of the room with a cold expression.
She smiled and was just about to greet him when another man hurried out behind him.
The man looked a few years older than Qin Xian.
His skin wasn’t as fair, but it wasn’t dark either, just a healthy wheat color.
He was about the same height and build, with sharp, handsome features.
Unfortunately, the gloomy expression between his brows gave him a sinister appearance.
“Are you really not coming back with me?”
Qin Xian remained silent.
“What if I told you this is the last time I’ll ask?”
The man reached out to grab him.
Qin Xian forcefully shook him off.
Watching the two of them struggle while speaking in such vague terms, Li Yingtang suddenly felt her scalp go numb.
An unbelievable thought flashed through her mind.
…No way.
Had she spent all this time pursuing…
…another woman?
“Tangtang.”
Qin Xian noticed her.
Li Yingtang immediately turned around and walked away.
“Hmph!”
Qin Xian looked bewildered.
Had she somehow found out that the house belonged to him?
Was she angry because she thought he had deceived her?
He hadn’t meant to hide it—he had only worried the truth would embarrass her.
He hurried after her.
“Tangtang.”
Li Yingtang jumped onto her bicycle and pedaled away.
“Tangtang!”
Qin Xian was about to chase after her when the other man grabbed him again.
“That’s your biological father. He’s been thinking about you all these years. Is it really so difficult to see him one last time?”
Qin Xian exploded.
“My biological father?”
“Did he ever raise me for even one day?”
“When my mother and I struggled just to survive, he lived happily with your grandmother, surrounded by children and grandchildren.”
“When my mother became gravely ill, my grandmother swallowed her pride and went to your family for help. It was just as cold as today. She came home soaked in freezing water and never recovered.”
“Within three months, I lost the two people closest to me.”
“Why didn’t he come see me then?”
“He wanted to! It was Grandma—”
“Stop using women as excuses.”
Qin Xian’s voice was ice-cold.
“Don’t bother me again.”
“Whether he lives or dies has nothing to do with me anymore.”
With that, he walked away in the direction Li Yingtang had gone.
The young man’s expression darkened instantly.
Watching Li Yingtang’s retreating figure disappear into the distance, his eyes narrowed.
He mounted his bicycle and followed her.
After riding for a while, Li Yingtang’s hands became unbearably cold.
She stopped at a teahouse by the roadside.
After ordering a pot of hot tea, she wrapped her hands around the warm teacup.
A moment later, someone sat across from her.
It was the man who had been arguing with Qin Xian.
Her temper flared instantly.
Seriously?
Had he come to ask her to return Qin Xian to his family?
Her upbringing prevented her from causing a scene in public.
“I’m sorry,” she said politely.
“I don’t like sharing a table with strangers.”
“What exactly is your relationship with my uncle?”
Li Yingtang’s beautiful eyes widened.
Uncle?
What did he mean?
Qin Xian’s nephew?
Why did the nephew look older than the uncle?
Did he simply look mature, or was he actually older?
She needed answers.
After a moment’s thought, she calmly replied,
“I don’t even know who you are. Why should I tell you?”
“My surname is He. My name is He Fanzhi.”
After introducing himself, He Fanzhi rented a private room and explained everything from the beginning.
His father and Qin Xian were half-brothers who shared the same father.
Qin Xian had taken his mother’s surname.
His mother came from a distinguished family of physicians and was a respected doctor herself.
When Elder He was hospitalized because an old injury had flared up, she became his attending physician.
As time passed, the two fell in love and privately pledged themselves to each other.
Once the affair became public knowledge, she resigned from her position and left Yanjing to avoid the scandal.
The next time she appeared, she was already gravely ill.
Qin Xian’s grandmother had gone to the He family seeking help, but Elder Madam He personally turned her away.
As a result, Qin Xian’s mother died from her illness.
Unable to bear the blow, Qin Xian’s grandmother passed away not long afterward.
When Elder He finally learned what had happened, he wanted to bring Qin Xian back to the He family to raise him.
However, Qin Xian’s great-aunt—his grandmother’s younger sister—appeared and took him away instead.
Two years ago, that great-aunt also passed away.
Heartbroken, Qin Xian made a mistake at work while grieving and was transferred to the countryside.
“For the past two years,” He Fanzhi said helplessly, “Grandfather’s health has been poor. He thinks about Uncle all the time and has written countless letters, but Uncle has never replied.”
Li Yingtang found the story difficult to believe.
In real life, she had seen mistresses before.
The news reported similar stories all the time.
Women who became someone else’s mistress usually had no moral boundaries and always sought personal gain.
Would someone like that really bear a man’s child with no expectation of benefit?
Would she really leave simply because the affair became public?
Shouldn’t she have demanded that the man give her an official status instead?
Besides…
Qin Xian’s mother came from a prestigious medical family and was an accomplished physician herself.
Qin Xian had inherited her looks—someone as handsome as he was couldn’t possibly have had an ordinary-looking mother.
She was beautiful, well-educated, and came from an excellent family.
Would a woman like that really fall in love with an older man who already had grandchildren and lingering injuries?