“We contacted Mu Huaisheng—he’s at Mingyang. He’s rushing back immediately. We won’t let Mu Sisi accuse you,” Song Yu promised. She produced a pack of tissue from her bag and gave it to Ruan Danchen.
Lawyer Song had completed the procedures and came out with Ruan Danchen’s phone.
Ruan Danchen was talking to Song Yu. Her emotions had not settled down yet so Lawyer Song did not disturb her. Qi Chenglin took her phone from him and kept it.
“Let’s head to the car first,” Qi Chenglin suggested composedly.
Once outside the police station, Lawyer Song excused himself and left. Song Yu had her arm around Ruan Danchen. Song Yu assured, “Don’t worry about this. Nothing will happen to you.”
Dan Ruanchen nodded. They walked to the car. Song Yu planned to sit with Ruan Danchen at the back, but Qi Chengzhi forcefully shoved himself into the back seat so he could sit with Song Yu. Ruan Danchen ended up in the passenger seat.
Qi Chengzhi called the old mansion to inform them that they were done and were heading back.
Ruan Danchen noticed that Qi Chenglin was not heading toward her house. She assumed that he was going to drop off Song Yu and Qi Chengzhi at the old mansion first, so she said, “You can just drop me here.”
Qi Chenglin only glimpsed at her. He did not make a sound nor did he stop the car.
“You’re coming to the old mansion with us,” Song Yu clarified.
“Ah, I can’t do that!” Ruan Danchen sputtered, “Aren’t you guys having a family gathering there? I shouldn’t go!”
“Do you think we’d let you go home and overthink this?” Before Ruan Danchen could refute, Song Yu continued, “Before we left, Grandmother Qi had instructed us to bring you back with us. It’s rowdy there, so you won’t think about this nonsense.”
Ruan Danchen was still hesitating. Qi Chengzhi took a glance at her and said coolly, “When we were leaving, Youxuan was determined to follow but he was stopped by the others at home. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have stayed home.”
The moment he mentioned Qi Youxuan, Ruan Danchen clenched her fists and stopped refusing.
The Tech8 stopped in front of the old mansion. After getting out, Ruan Danchen followed Qi Chenglin into the courtyard. She was very nervous, and no amount of deep breaths could calm her.
As she was walking, the door opened abruptly. A small figure that looked round as a ball run toward her. “Step—”
Qi Youxuan bolted out the door. The words ‘stepmom’ almost slipped out of his mouth but he stopped himself in time. With his face tinted red, he ran in front of Ruan Danchen, raised his tiny hands and grabbed hers. Shy, he turned away but could not hide his delight.
“…” Qi Chenglin looked at the fat little boy speechlessly. What was he so shy about?
“Aunt Ruan, I hear that you’re framed by some bad guys. Are you okay?” Qi Youxuan asked, looking up at her.
Ruan Danchen saw that he was genuinely concerned about her. Seeing the sincere and beautiful grape-sized eyes of his, she no longer regretted going there.
She shook her head. “I’m fine.”
“Come on in. There’s a whole table of food prepared!” Qi Youxuan told her. Tugging on her hand, he brought her into the house. While walking, he introduced his family to her. “Aunt Ruan, you should come by more often when you’re free. Great-grandma and great-grandpa are always bored. They can only squabble with each other to pass the time.”
Grandfather Qi: “…”
Grandmother Qi: “…”
“Ah, this kid! What are you saying?!” Grandfather Qi fumed, glaring at the boy.
Ruan Danchen was caught in an awkward situation. She did not know what to say so she just ruffled Qi Youxuan’s hair a little. His hair was not styled today. His soft hair laid flat on his head. He looked like a little watermelon boy.
“Xiao Ruan, are you hungry?” Grandmother Qi asked warmly while tugging on Ruan Danchen’s hand.
“No, I’m not hungry,” Ruan Danchen answered. Even though it was almost one o’clock, she had lost her appetite because of what happened at the police station and because she had to endure the smell of vomit for so long. “I’m sorry that my incident delayed your meal.”
“Oh, don’t worry about it. I’ve been eating a lot of snacks this entire morning, so I’m not hungry either. Aunt Liu is cooking now. She’ll be done in about half an hour,” said Grandmother Qi. “Come have some snacks first.”
Once everyone was seated, Qi Chengzhi explained the situation.
Qi Chengyue pouted. “That Mu Sisi really is one of a kind. I don’t think you can find anyone else in the world as thick-skinned as her.”
While everyone was discussing the incident, Qi Chengyue saw that Qi Youxuan was sitting quietly for once. He was not even eating anything. He just sat on the rug, looking at something.
Did Qi Youxuan not want Ruan Danchen to become his stepmother?
Now that his stepmother was there, why did he not take the chance to stick with her? That was extremely out of character!
Qi Chengyue thought it was weird. She tossed away the sunflower seed in her hand and crept over to investigate. She stopped behind him and looked over his shoulders to see that the little fatty was looking at a fashion magazine. He was on the children’s clothing page.
The little model in the magazine was a mixed-race child. He was very handsome. He had a pair of dark eyes, a sharp nose, and short, brown hair. He was wearing a charming little baseball shirt.
“Can you read these words? You’re so focused on it,” Qi Chengyue asked.
“Aiyah!” Qi Youxuan yelped. He was so surprised, he threw the magazine away. He turned around to see Qi Chengyue. He patted his chest with his fat baby hands, saying, “Aunt, why did you scare me like that?”
“…” Qi Chengyue pouted. “Who said I was trying to scare you? I even spoke in a soft voice. What are you looking at so attentively? You can’t even read the words.”
Qi Youxuan picked up the magazine and flipped it back to that page. Then, he stood up and waddled toward Ruan Danchen with his little butt bouncing in the air.
He ran to Ruan Danchen’s side and tried to clamber onto the sofa. Ruan Danchen scooched to the side and carried him up to the sofa.
Qi Youxuan pointed at the little model on the magazine and asked, “Aunt Ruan, do you think I’d look good in this hairstyle?”
He reached to touch his hair. He had always thought his hairstyle was uncool.
Turned out that was what Qi Youxuan was focused on so much. Ruan Danchen looked at the model thoughtfully, then turned to Qi Youxuan and pondered earnestly.
Her gaze wandered from his soft hair to his eyebrows and eyes, then to his nose and mouth. Even though his face was quite chubby, his features were refined. Ruan Danchen thought that he was a lot more handsome than the model in the magazine.
Those eyes of his…
“Aunt Ruan?” Qi Youxuan tugged on Ruan Danchen’s sleeve.
Ruan Danchen snapped out of it. She glanced at the magazine again and said, “This hairstyle looks easy to maintain. I think it suits you a lot.”
“That’s great!” In that instant, Qi Youxuan turned to Qi Chenglin and requested, “Dad, later this evening, bring me to the barbershop at the intersection to get this haircut!”
“Whether it’s attractive or not, it has nothing to do with the hair. It’s the face that’s important.” Qi Chenglin pointed out coldly.
“It’s not my fault that I take after you.” Qi Youxuan turned away angrily. He threw his tiny body against the sofa back and covered his face with the magazine, throwing a tantrum.
As he waited for someone to console him, he felt his arm being pinched lightly. The touch was gentle and soft. So much so that Qi Youxuan could get drunk on the feeling.
He did not move away but he did not remove the magazine from his face either. He wanted to embrace that gentleness a little longer.
Suddenly, he felt that his magazine was being tugged upward, but it was not completely taken away.
Ruan Danchen leaned toward him and covered her face with the magazine too. She whispered, “I think it really suits you. Once you get your haircut, send me a picture of it.”
Qi Youxuan turned to her. He squinted at her and said, “Don’t lie to me. I don’t have your phone number.”
Ruan Danchen grinned. She reached into her pocket out of habit but realized it was empty. “Aiyah, I left my phone at the police station. They didn’t return it to me.”
Unexpectedly, Qi Youxuan glared at her with suspicion. “Don’t lie to me just because I’m young. If you don’t want to give me your number then can’t you just say it directly? All you adults are always so fake.”
“…” Seeing Qi Youxuan’s distrustful expression, Ruan Danchen was getting anxious. “It’s true! Why would I refuse to give you a petty phone number?”
“Ah, what are you two yapping about?” Qi Chenglin’s sarcastic voice, which he seemed to be born with, sounded. Judging from his voice, he was very near them.
Before Ruan Danchen could react, the magazine got pulled away.
She looked forward but was unexpectedly met with Qi Chenglin’s crotch. He was standing straight with one arm holding the magazine while the other was placed in his pocket, making the fabric at that area pulled even tighter.
Ruan Danchen’s face was immediately burning up. Stuttering, even her gums were boiling. It was as if she could spit fire from her mouth.
She quickly turned her gaze away. Qi Youxuan told, “Aunt Ruan said she left her phone at the police station.”
Ruan Danchen felt Qi Chenglin’s gaze fall on her face. Her cheeks burnt up. Plucking up her courage, she raised her head to face him. Seeing his elegant, attractive face, she stuttered, “When I… When I was brought to the police station, they… they confiscated my phone. I totally forgot about it when we let.”
Qi Chenglin scoffed. He took his hand out from his pocket. That hand was holding a phone. “How unprofessional do you think our Qilin’s lawyer is? How can he mess up a trivial matter like this?”
Ruan Danchen looked at the phone with astonishment. His long fingers were presented in front of her—they were slender and elegant.
Ruan Danchen carefully received the phone from him, afraid to touch his fingers. She bowed her head to thank him. Just then, Qi Youxuan snatched the phone from her.
His two little hands appeared even tinier while holding the large phone. His palm was not even as big as the screen. Holding the phone with both hands, he keyed in his number on the keypad with his thumbs. His thumbs could not even reach the middle keys, so he held the phone with one hand and typed with the other.
After keying it in, he repeated the number to himself to make sure it was correct. He pressed the dial button and returned the phone to Ruan Danchen. “Remember, this is my number!”
He climbs off the sofa and ran into his room in the old mansion. He produced a Totoro-shaped phone from his yellow duck backpack. Only then did he remember—the phone he had was a kid’s phone. He could not take any pictures with it.
Qi Chenglin watched as Qi Youxuan darted out of the room in haste. “Dad, get me an adult’s phone!”
“Why do you want a new one?” Qi Chenglin asked. He took the kid’s phone from Qi Youxuan’s hand and checked if it was functioning. “This one isn’t broken yet!”
“I can’t take pictures with it,” Qi Youxuan complained while twisting his round tummy around. “Aunt Ruan said that when I get a new haircut, I should send her a picture of it.”
Qi Chenglin glanced at Ruan Danchen then returned the phone to Qi Youxuan. “A child shouldn’t use an adult’s phone. Use this and don’t make a fuss.”
“Then how can I take pictures?” Qi Youxuan protested, “Is it such a sore sight to see a woman appreciate me more than you?”
“…” Qi Chenglin was rendered speechless.
“Are you jealous of my youth?” Qi Youxuan held his head up high and stood on tiptoes.
“Hey, you’re crossing the line!” Qi Chenglin’s expression darkened. What nonsense was he spitting? How could he possibly be jealous of a tiny being like him?
“Youxuan, what if you ask Aunt Song Yu to take a picture for you after you get your haircut? I’m her colleague, so she can show it to me directly,” Ruan Danchen suggested hastily. She was afraid that Qi Youxuan might start arguing with Qi Chenglin. What if Qi Chenglin tries to hit him in a fit of rage?
Qi Youxuan was not content with her suggestion. He wanted to send the picture to Ruan Danchen the moment he got the haircut.
Nevertheless, it seemed to be the only solution. Qi Youxuan reluctantly nodded in agreement.
“Give me her phone number,” Qi Chenglin uttered abruptly.
Qi Youxuan was confused. Qi Chenglin’s words were vague. He pondered upon it for a long time, then asked doubtfully, “Dad, who’s phone number do you want? Aunt Ruan’s?”
“Who else would I be talking about?” Qi Chenglin raised an eyebrow at him. “Once you get your haircut, I’ll take a picture for you and send it to her.”
“There’s no need—” Ruan Danchen objected but neither of them was listening.
Qi Youxuan gleefully betrayed Ruan Danchen and gave her number to Qi Chenglin.
Once Qi Chenglin keyed in Ruan Danchen’s phone number, her phone rang. An unfamiliar phone number appeared on the screen.
Ruan Danchen thought it was strange. She picked up the phone uneasily. “Hello?”
“We’re in the same house, what are you hello-ing about?” Qi Chenglin’s voice sounded in the phone, merging with his actual voice.
“…” Ruan Danchen raised her head and saw Qi Chenglin holding his phone to his ear with a face full of mockery toward her.
Ruan Danchen hung up in silence. Since they were in the same house, why did he have to say that to the phone?
“Save the number. Otherwise, next time you might think it’s a scammer’s number.” Qi Chenglin pointed at the phone in Ruan Danchen’s hand with a nod.
Ruan Danchen could only quietly save the number and assign Qi Chenglin’s name to it. She could not help but feel that things had taken a weird turn. Somehow, she ended up exchanging numbers with Qi Chenglin. What was that about?
Grandmother Qi’s sharp eyes darted to and fro from Qi Chenglin and Ruan Danchen. Suddenly, she stood up called, “Aunt Liu, why isn’t lunch ready yet? I’ll go see what’s going on.”
She scuttled into the kitchen, where she put her head out the door to peek into the living room.
“Madam Qi, what are you doing?” Aunt Liu asked, gently patting on her shoulders. Seeing Grandmother Qi playing detective in her own house, Aunt Liu was complete baffled by her actions.
“Shush!” Grandmother Qi turned around with her finger on her lips, gesturing Aunt Liu to keep her voice low. “You do your thing. Don’t mind me.”
Grandmother Qi took out her phone from her pocket and made a call.
Song Yu’s phone rang. She took out and saw that it was Grandmother Qi calling. Hiding in the kitchen and making secret phone calls, just what was Grandmother Qi playing at?
She answered the phone but before she can say ‘Grandma’, Grandmother Qi instructed, “Don’t call me Grandma. Hurry up and come to the kitchen. Make sure you don’t arouse anyone’s suspicion.”
Song Yu hung up. She excused herself by saying she was heading to the kitchen to see if there was anything she could help with, then hurried to the kitchen.
The moment she set foot into the kitchen, Grandmother Qi pulled her to a corner. “My dear Song Yu, I think the interaction between the Chenglin and Xiao Ruan is a little odd! It feels like something’s going on! I’ve never seen Chenglin talk to other women like that before.”
Song Yu had not seen Qi Chenglin talk much to women, but she knew his attitude toward Ruan Danchen was indeed different.
“Do you think Chenglin is falling for her?” Grandmother Qi asked expectantly.
“…” Hesitantly, Song Yu commented, “If he likes her then why is he being so insulting?”
Grandmother Qi thought long and hard on it. She guessed, “Maybe that’s his way of showing he likes the lady.”
The longer Grandmother Qi pondered on it, the more hopeful she became. “I think this will work. His words may be offensive, but at the end of those insults, didn’t he still managed to reel in her number? You should invite Xiao Ruan here more often! Create some opportunities for Chenglin.”
Song Yu nodded. Even if Qi Chenglin was not interested in her, Song Yu had no problems with setting Ruan Danchen up with him. Qi Chenglin was a good man, after all. Thus, Song Yu eagerly agreed to Grandmother Qi’s request.
“Actually, back when Ruan Danchen rejected my offer, I was trying to introduce Qi Chenglin to her,” Song Yu revealed.
“See? They’re fated to meet. Even after she rejected your offer, they still crossed paths in the end!” Grandmother Qi stated delightedly. “Ah, today is full of joyous events! Chengyue found a good man, while Chenglin’s love life is finally looking up. Chengji is the only one left now.”
When the two of them were done discussing, Aunt Liu had finished cooking.
After everyone enjoyed lunch together, Qi Chengzhi received a call from Chu Zhaoyang.
Once he hung up the phone, he swept his eyes across the room and announced, “Guan Xiaolin’s uterus is infected. They have confirmed she’s now infertile.”
“How’d that happen?” Guan Liya asked, stunned by the news.
Even though Guan Xiaolin had wronged Qi Chengyue, after Guan Xiaolin aborted the child, she would never end up with Jian Yi again. Therefore, the Qi family had nothing against her anymore.
Moreover, if that incident had not occurred, Qi Chengyue might not have been able to make her decision and she would not have ended up with Cheng Dongge. All that happened ended up being blessings in disguise.
As for the rest, Guan Liya never planned to push Guan Xiaolin all the way to the edge.
Besides, Guan Liya was a woman too. She was a mother. She knew how painful it is for a woman to be infertile. It was too serious of a matter for her to gloat on.
“It was Zhou Mingyan. Somehow she found out Guan Xiaolin had an abortion. She went to the hospital and wreaked havoc. Guan Xiaolin hadn’t even recovered enough strength to get out of bed yet when Zhou Mingyan dragged her to the floor and beat her up. She went from cold to hot, causing her to develop a fever, and now—”
“How could that Zhou Mingyan do this! No wonder she came to our house early in the morning and begged on her knees. After doing such a terrible thing, I can’t believe she had the guts to come begging for our help.” Guan Liya fumed. How could such people exist?
“How is Guan Xiaolin now?” Song Yu inquired while refilling everybody’s tea.
“She doesn’t know about it yet. Her parents are keeping it a secret from her. The Guan family had handed the case to their lawyer,” Qi Chengzhi informed.
…
…
Since they finished lunch late at three o’clock, no one was hungry during dinnertime. Aunt Liu cooked a bowl of noodles for each of them.
At night, Ruan Danchen left with Song Yu.
Although Song Yu wanted to set Ruan Danchen up with Qi Chenglin, Ruan Danchen had been through a lot that day so Song Yu was still worried about her. Song Yu took the chance to help her relax a little on the way home.
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“We contacted Mu Huaisheng—he’s at Mingyang. He’s rushing back immediately. We won’t let Mu Sisi accuse you,” Song Yu promised. She produced a pack of tissue from her bag and gave it to Ruan Danchen.
Lawyer Song had completed the procedures and came out with Ruan Danchen’s phone.
Ruan Danchen was talking to Song Yu. Her emotions had not settled down yet so Lawyer Song did not disturb her. Qi Chenglin took her phone from him and kept it.
“Let’s head to the car first,” Qi Chenglin suggested composedly.
Once outside the police station, Lawyer Song excused himself and left. Song Yu had her arm around Ruan Danchen. Song Yu assured, “Don’t worry about this. Nothing will happen to you.”
Dan Ruanchen nodded. They walked to the car. Song Yu planned to sit with Ruan Danchen at the back, but Qi Chengzhi forcefully shoved himself into the back seat so he could sit with Song Yu. Ruan Danchen ended up in the passenger seat.
Qi Chengzhi called the old mansion to inform them that they were done and were heading back.
Ruan Danchen noticed that Qi Chenglin was not heading toward her house. She assumed that he was going to drop off Song Yu and Qi Chengzhi at the old mansion first, so she said, “You can just drop me here.”
Qi Chenglin only glimpsed at her. He did not make a sound nor did he stop the car.
“You’re coming to the old mansion with us,” Song Yu clarified.
“Ah, I can’t do that!” Ruan Danchen sputtered, “Aren’t you guys having a family gathering there? I shouldn’t go!”
“Do you think we’d let you go home and overthink this?” Before Ruan Danchen could refute, Song Yu continued, “Before we left, Grandmother Qi had instructed us to bring you back with us. It’s rowdy there, so you won’t think about this nonsense.”
Ruan Danchen was still hesitating. Qi Chengzhi took a glance at her and said coolly, “When we were leaving, Youxuan was determined to follow but he was stopped by the others at home. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have stayed home.”
The moment he mentioned Qi Youxuan, Ruan Danchen clenched her fists and stopped refusing.
The Tech8 stopped in front of the old mansion. After getting out, Ruan Danchen followed Qi Chenglin into the courtyard. She was very nervous, and no amount of deep breaths could calm her.
As she was walking, the door opened abruptly. A small figure that looked round as a ball run toward her. “Step—”
Qi Youxuan bolted out the door. The words ‘stepmom’ almost slipped out of his mouth but he stopped himself in time. With his face tinted red, he ran in front of Ruan Danchen, raised his tiny hands and grabbed hers. Shy, he turned away but could not hide his delight.
“…” Qi Chenglin looked at the fat little boy speechlessly. What was he so shy about?
“Aunt Ruan, I hear that you’re framed by some bad guys. Are you okay?” Qi Youxuan asked, looking up at her.
Ruan Danchen saw that he was genuinely concerned about her. Seeing the sincere and beautiful grape-sized eyes of his, she no longer regretted going there.
She shook her head. “I’m fine.”
“Come on in. There’s a whole table of food prepared!” Qi Youxuan told her. Tugging on her hand, he brought her into the house. While walking, he introduced his family to her. “Aunt Ruan, you should come by more often when you’re free. Great-grandma and great-grandpa are always bored. They can only squabble with each other to pass the time.”
Grandfather Qi: “…”
Grandmother Qi: “…”
“Ah, this kid! What are you saying?!” Grandfather Qi fumed, glaring at the boy.
Ruan Danchen was caught in an awkward situation. She did not know what to say so she just ruffled Qi Youxuan’s hair a little. His hair was not styled today. His soft hair laid flat on his head. He looked like a little watermelon boy.
“Xiao Ruan, are you hungry?” Grandmother Qi asked warmly while tugging on Ruan Danchen’s hand.
“No, I’m not hungry,” Ruan Danchen answered. Even though it was almost one o’clock, she had lost her appetite because of what happened at the police station and because she had to endure the smell of vomit for so long. “I’m sorry that my incident delayed your meal.”
“Oh, don’t worry about it. I’ve been eating a lot of snacks this entire morning, so I’m not hungry either. Aunt Liu is cooking now. She’ll be done in about half an hour,” said Grandmother Qi. “Come have some snacks first.”
Once everyone was seated, Qi Chengzhi explained the situation.
Qi Chengyue pouted. “That Mu Sisi really is one of a kind. I don’t think you can find anyone else in the world as thick-skinned as her.”
While everyone was discussing the incident, Qi Chengyue saw that Qi Youxuan was sitting quietly for once. He was not even eating anything. He just sat on the rug, looking at something.
Did Qi Youxuan not want Ruan Danchen to become his stepmother?
Now that his stepmother was there, why did he not take the chance to stick with her? That was extremely out of character!
Qi Chengyue thought it was weird. She tossed away the sunflower seed in her hand and crept over to investigate. She stopped behind him and looked over his shoulders to see that the little fatty was looking at a fashion magazine. He was on the children’s clothing page.
The little model in the magazine was a mixed-race child. He was very handsome. He had a pair of dark eyes, a sharp nose, and short, brown hair. He was wearing a charming little baseball shirt.
“Can you read these words? You’re so focused on it,” Qi Chengyue asked.
“Aiyah!” Qi Youxuan yelped. He was so surprised, he threw the magazine away. He turned around to see Qi Chengyue. He patted his chest with his fat baby hands, saying, “Aunt, why did you scare me like that?”
“…” Qi Chengyue pouted. “Who said I was trying to scare you? I even spoke in a soft voice. What are you looking at so attentively? You can’t even read the words.”
Qi Youxuan picked up the magazine and flipped it back to that page. Then, he stood up and waddled toward Ruan Danchen with his little butt bouncing in the air.
He ran to Ruan Danchen’s side and tried to clamber onto the sofa. Ruan Danchen scooched to the side and carried him up to the sofa.
Qi Youxuan pointed at the little model on the magazine and asked, “Aunt Ruan, do you think I’d look good in this hairstyle?”
He reached to touch his hair. He had always thought his hairstyle was uncool.
Turned out that was what Qi Youxuan was focused on so much. Ruan Danchen looked at the model thoughtfully, then turned to Qi Youxuan and pondered earnestly.
Her gaze wandered from his soft hair to his eyebrows and eyes, then to his nose and mouth. Even though his face was quite chubby, his features were refined. Ruan Danchen thought that he was a lot more handsome than the model in the magazine.
Those eyes of his…
“Aunt Ruan?” Qi Youxuan tugged on Ruan Danchen’s sleeve.
Ruan Danchen snapped out of it. She glanced at the magazine again and said, “This hairstyle looks easy to maintain. I think it suits you a lot.”
“That’s great!” In that instant, Qi Youxuan turned to Qi Chenglin and requested, “Dad, later this evening, bring me to the barbershop at the intersection to get this haircut!”
“Whether it’s attractive or not, it has nothing to do with the hair. It’s the face that’s important.” Qi Chenglin pointed out coldly.
“It’s not my fault that I take after you.” Qi Youxuan turned away angrily. He threw his tiny body against the sofa back and covered his face with the magazine, throwing a tantrum.
As he waited for someone to console him, he felt his arm being pinched lightly. The touch was gentle and soft. So much so that Qi Youxuan could get drunk on the feeling.
He did not move away but he did not remove the magazine from his face either. He wanted to embrace that gentleness a little longer.
Suddenly, he felt that his magazine was being tugged upward, but it was not completely taken away.
Ruan Danchen leaned toward him and covered her face with the magazine too. She whispered, “I think it really suits you. Once you get your haircut, send me a picture of it.”
Qi Youxuan turned to her. He squinted at her and said, “Don’t lie to me. I don’t have your phone number.”
Ruan Danchen grinned. She reached into her pocket out of habit but realized it was empty. “Aiyah, I left my phone at the police station. They didn’t return it to me.”
Unexpectedly, Qi Youxuan glared at her with suspicion. “Don’t lie to me just because I’m young. If you don’t want to give me your number then can’t you just say it directly? All you adults are always so fake.”
“…” Seeing Qi Youxuan’s distrustful expression, Ruan Danchen was getting anxious. “It’s true! Why would I refuse to give you a petty phone number?”
“Ah, what are you two yapping about?” Qi Chenglin’s sarcastic voice, which he seemed to be born with, sounded. Judging from his voice, he was very near them.
Before Ruan Danchen could react, the magazine got pulled away.
She looked forward but was unexpectedly met with Qi Chenglin’s crotch. He was standing straight with one arm holding the magazine while the other was placed in his pocket, making the fabric at that area pulled even tighter.
Ruan Danchen’s face was immediately burning up. Stuttering, even her gums were boiling. It was as if she could spit fire from her mouth.
She quickly turned her gaze away. Qi Youxuan told, “Aunt Ruan said she left her phone at the police station.”
Ruan Danchen felt Qi Chenglin’s gaze fall on her face. Her cheeks burnt up. Plucking up her courage, she raised her head to face him. Seeing his elegant, attractive face, she stuttered, “When I… When I was brought to the police station, they… they confiscated my phone. I totally forgot about it when we let.”
Qi Chenglin scoffed. He took his hand out from his pocket. That hand was holding a phone. “How unprofessional do you think our Qilin’s lawyer is? How can he mess up a trivial matter like this?”
Ruan Danchen looked at the phone with astonishment. His long fingers were presented in front of her—they were slender and elegant.
Ruan Danchen carefully received the phone from him, afraid to touch his fingers. She bowed her head to thank him. Just then, Qi Youxuan snatched the phone from her.
His two little hands appeared even tinier while holding the large phone. His palm was not even as big as the screen. Holding the phone with both hands, he keyed in his number on the keypad with his thumbs. His thumbs could not even reach the middle keys, so he held the phone with one hand and typed with the other.
After keying it in, he repeated the number to himself to make sure it was correct. He pressed the dial button and returned the phone to Ruan Danchen. “Remember, this is my number!”
He climbs off the sofa and ran into his room in the old mansion. He produced a Totoro-shaped phone from his yellow duck backpack. Only then did he remember—the phone he had was a kid’s phone. He could not take any pictures with it.
Qi Chenglin watched as Qi Youxuan darted out of the room in haste. “Dad, get me an adult’s phone!”
“Why do you want a new one?” Qi Chenglin asked. He took the kid’s phone from Qi Youxuan’s hand and checked if it was functioning. “This one isn’t broken yet!”
“I can’t take pictures with it,” Qi Youxuan complained while twisting his round tummy around. “Aunt Ruan said that when I get a new haircut, I should send her a picture of it.”
Qi Chenglin glanced at Ruan Danchen then returned the phone to Qi Youxuan. “A child shouldn’t use an adult’s phone. Use this and don’t make a fuss.”
“Then how can I take pictures?” Qi Youxuan protested, “Is it such a sore sight to see a woman appreciate me more than you?”
“…” Qi Chenglin was rendered speechless.
“Are you jealous of my youth?” Qi Youxuan held his head up high and stood on tiptoes.
“Hey, you’re crossing the line!” Qi Chenglin’s expression darkened. What nonsense was he spitting? How could he possibly be jealous of a tiny being like him?
“Youxuan, what if you ask Aunt Song Yu to take a picture for you after you get your haircut? I’m her colleague, so she can show it to me directly,” Ruan Danchen suggested hastily. She was afraid that Qi Youxuan might start arguing with Qi Chenglin. What if Qi Chenglin tries to hit him in a fit of rage?
Qi Youxuan was not content with her suggestion. He wanted to send the picture to Ruan Danchen the moment he got the haircut.
Nevertheless, it seemed to be the only solution. Qi Youxuan reluctantly nodded in agreement.
“Give me her phone number,” Qi Chenglin uttered abruptly.
Qi Youxuan was confused. Qi Chenglin’s words were vague. He pondered upon it for a long time, then asked doubtfully, “Dad, who’s phone number do you want? Aunt Ruan’s?”
“Who else would I be talking about?” Qi Chenglin raised an eyebrow at him. “Once you get your haircut, I’ll take a picture for you and send it to her.”
“There’s no need—” Ruan Danchen objected but neither of them was listening.
Qi Youxuan gleefully betrayed Ruan Danchen and gave her number to Qi Chenglin.
Once Qi Chenglin keyed in Ruan Danchen’s phone number, her phone rang. An unfamiliar phone number appeared on the screen.
Ruan Danchen thought it was strange. She picked up the phone uneasily. “Hello?”
“We’re in the same house, what are you hello-ing about?” Qi Chenglin’s voice sounded in the phone, merging with his actual voice.
“…” Ruan Danchen raised her head and saw Qi Chenglin holding his phone to his ear with a face full of mockery toward her.
Ruan Danchen hung up in silence. Since they were in the same house, why did he have to say that to the phone?
“Save the number. Otherwise, next time you might think it’s a scammer’s number.” Qi Chenglin pointed at the phone in Ruan Danchen’s hand with a nod.
Ruan Danchen could only quietly save the number and assign Qi Chenglin’s name to it. She could not help but feel that things had taken a weird turn. Somehow, she ended up exchanging numbers with Qi Chenglin. What was that about?
Grandmother Qi’s sharp eyes darted to and fro from Qi Chenglin and Ruan Danchen. Suddenly, she stood up called, “Aunt Liu, why isn’t lunch ready yet? I’ll go see what’s going on.”
She scuttled into the kitchen, where she put her head out the door to peek into the living room.
“Madam Qi, what are you doing?” Aunt Liu asked, gently patting on her shoulders. Seeing Grandmother Qi playing detective in her own house, Aunt Liu was complete baffled by her actions.
“Shush!” Grandmother Qi turned around with her finger on her lips, gesturing Aunt Liu to keep her voice low. “You do your thing. Don’t mind me.”
Grandmother Qi took out her phone from her pocket and made a call.
Song Yu’s phone rang. She took out and saw that it was Grandmother Qi calling. Hiding in the kitchen and making secret phone calls, just what was Grandmother Qi playing at?
She answered the phone but before she can say ‘Grandma’, Grandmother Qi instructed, “Don’t call me Grandma. Hurry up and come to the kitchen. Make sure you don’t arouse anyone’s suspicion.”
Song Yu hung up. She excused herself by saying she was heading to the kitchen to see if there was anything she could help with, then hurried to the kitchen.
The moment she set foot into the kitchen, Grandmother Qi pulled her to a corner. “My dear Song Yu, I think the interaction between the Chenglin and Xiao Ruan is a little odd! It feels like something’s going on! I’ve never seen Chenglin talk to other women like that before.”
Song Yu had not seen Qi Chenglin talk much to women, but she knew his attitude toward Ruan Danchen was indeed different.
“Do you think Chenglin is falling for her?” Grandmother Qi asked expectantly.
“…” Hesitantly, Song Yu commented, “If he likes her then why is he being so insulting?”
Grandmother Qi thought long and hard on it. She guessed, “Maybe that’s his way of showing he likes the lady.”
The longer Grandmother Qi pondered on it, the more hopeful she became. “I think this will work. His words may be offensive, but at the end of those insults, didn’t he still managed to reel in her number? You should invite Xiao Ruan here more often! Create some opportunities for Chenglin.”
Song Yu nodded. Even if Qi Chenglin was not interested in her, Song Yu had no problems with setting Ruan Danchen up with him. Qi Chenglin was a good man, after all. Thus, Song Yu eagerly agreed to Grandmother Qi’s request.
“Actually, back when Ruan Danchen rejected my offer, I was trying to introduce Qi Chenglin to her,” Song Yu revealed.
“See? They’re fated to meet. Even after she rejected your offer, they still crossed paths in the end!” Grandmother Qi stated delightedly. “Ah, today is full of joyous events! Chengyue found a good man, while Chenglin’s love life is finally looking up. Chengji is the only one left now.”
When the two of them were done discussing, Aunt Liu had finished cooking.
After everyone enjoyed lunch together, Qi Chengzhi received a call from Chu Zhaoyang.
Once he hung up the phone, he swept his eyes across the room and announced, “Guan Xiaolin’s uterus is infected. They have confirmed she’s now infertile.”
“How’d that happen?” Guan Liya asked, stunned by the news.
Even though Guan Xiaolin had wronged Qi Chengyue, after Guan Xiaolin aborted the child, she would never end up with Jian Yi again. Therefore, the Qi family had nothing against her anymore.
Moreover, if that incident had not occurred, Qi Chengyue might not have been able to make her decision and she would not have ended up with Cheng Dongge. All that happened ended up being blessings in disguise.
As for the rest, Guan Liya never planned to push Guan Xiaolin all the way to the edge.
Besides, Guan Liya was a woman too. She was a mother. She knew how painful it is for a woman to be infertile. It was too serious of a matter for her to gloat on.
“It was Zhou Mingyan. Somehow she found out Guan Xiaolin had an abortion. She went to the hospital and wreaked havoc. Guan Xiaolin hadn’t even recovered enough strength to get out of bed yet when Zhou Mingyan dragged her to the floor and beat her up. She went from cold to hot, causing her to develop a fever, and now—”
“How could that Zhou Mingyan do this! No wonder she came to our house early in the morning and begged on her knees. After doing such a terrible thing, I can’t believe she had the guts to come begging for our help.” Guan Liya fumed. How could such people exist?
“How is Guan Xiaolin now?” Song Yu inquired while refilling everybody’s tea.
“She doesn’t know about it yet. Her parents are keeping it a secret from her. The Guan family had handed the case to their lawyer,” Qi Chengzhi informed.
…
…
Since they finished lunch late at three o’clock, no one was hungry during dinnertime. Aunt Liu cooked a bowl of noodles for each of them.
At night, Ruan Danchen left with Song Yu.
Although Song Yu wanted to set Ruan Danchen up with Qi Chenglin, Ruan Danchen had been through a lot that day so Song Yu was still worried about her. Song Yu took the chance to help her relax a little on the way home.
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