Chapter 318 There is no need for negotiation

Qiao Xingren was numb; she didn't want to be a bystander, and besides, she felt really awkward standing there.

Zhang Zhe was also a little annoyed. He patiently said, "Stop making a fuss. Let's go back and discuss it slowly. Everything can be discussed."

“We have nothing to discuss. I just want that house. You and your parents can discuss it yourselves. Come back to me when you've reached an agreement.”

Zhang Zhe said, "I can't just leave them alone in my hometown, can I?"

"Didn't they used to live in their hometown? Why can't they do it now? Isn't it the same to go back and see them during the Lunar New Year?"

“They were young before, but things are different now. They’re old now, and I’m leaving them in my hometown. What have they done to raise me? What kind of person would I be!”

"I..." Lin Shuang wanted to say something, but when she saw Qin Ce coming over out of the corner of her eye, she swallowed the words back.

"What are you talking about?" Qin Ce had been waiting for a long time, but Lin Shuang had been chatting with Qiao Xing for ages.

If he doesn't come over soon, the noise will probably go on until midnight.

Qiao Xing, as if seeing a savior, quickly broke free from Lin Shuang and ran to Qin Ce's side, saying, "We were chatting."

Zhang Zhe's expression darkened even more when he saw his boss.

If the boss finds out that he can't even handle his own family matters, he might start to doubt his work ability.

However, Lin Shuang wasn't really stupid. In this situation, she still had to give Zhang Zhe some face, so she didn't continue talking about it.

She knew that she could make a scene at home or in private, but in public, especially in front of his boss or friends, she had to give him face.

Qin Ce glanced at the two of them, then looked away and took Qiao Xing's hand. "Let's go."

Qiao Xing nodded, then turned to Lin Shuang and said, "Then we'll be going now."

Lin Shuang maintained her smile, "Okay, see you tomorrow."

After the two left, Lin Shuang's face fell again.

Zhang Zhe pulled her away, saying, "Okay, let's go back and talk."

Lin Shuang shook off his hand, and although she was unhappy, she still got into his car, which made Zhang Zhe breathe a sigh of relief.

Qiao Xing finally let out a long sigh of relief after getting into the car.

Qin Ce glanced at her and asked, "What's wrong? You look listless."

Qiao Xing said, "It's nothing, just a slight headache."

She had been listening to Lin Shuang's complaints all day, and now Lin Shuang's voice was stuck in her head and she couldn't get rid of it.

What do you want to eat tonight?

"I don't know." Qiao Xing leaned weakly against the car window. "Let's go back and make our own hot pot, with that chicken broth base."

"Anything is fine."

Qin Ce drove her to the market. There were more stalls at the market today, and the seafood vendors were open too.

The two bought a lot of ingredients, including a whole free-range chicken. She didn't know how to make the chicken soup base yet, so she had to go back and watch a video tutorial.

After buying it, I discovered that it was actually more expensive than eating in the restaurant!

"I should have eaten out."

"I did the cleaning myself."

Qin Ce put the things in the trunk, closed the car door, and pushed her into the car.

After returning home, the two went into the kitchen together. Qin Ce didn't know how to cook this either, so he took out his phone to search for tutorials, and Qiao Xing also went over to watch.

"Wash it clean, add scallions, ginger, and Sichuan peppercorns, and simmer for an hour. Han Yan..." Qiao Xing read the instructions aloud. The Han Yan in the instructions was the WeChat name that popped up on Qin Ce's phone.

Han Yan sent him a file.

Immediately following was another message, which Qiao Xing didn't have time to read before Qin planned to post it.

"Alright, I got it. You can leave now." Qin Ce began to shoo him away.

Qiao Xing was still holding a greasy free-range chicken in his hand. "Didn't we agree that I would cook it?"

"Then go wash the vegetables," Qin Ce said, pointing to the bags and packages. "Organize them."

Qiao Xing blinked, placed the free-range chicken on the cutting board, and obediently went to wash the vegetables.

Qin Ce returned to the WeChat interface, glanced at the message sent by Han Yan, and then quietly put his phone into his pocket.

Qiao Xing washed all the vegetables, put them on plates, and took them out to the dining table to prepare for later use.

The old man, leaning on his cane, watched the two of them with a smile from the sofa.

The soup base needed to be cooked for an hour, so Qiao Xing, having nothing else to do, went to the sofa to chat with the old man.

The old man said, "Isn't it boring living with an old man like me?"

Qiao Xing shook her head, "No, we're so happy living together."

The old man said with a mysterious smile, "Really? I have a feeling some people are unhappy."

Who were these "certain people" referring to? Qiao Xing subconsciously looked towards the kitchen, where she could vaguely see the tall shadow of a man on the transparent glass door.

Qiao Xing laughed and said, "How could that be? He's happy too, he just doesn't like to express it."

"They've already sided with him so quickly?"

Qiao Xing blushed. "I'm just telling the truth."

The old man laughed heartily.

Before long, Qin Ce brought out the cooked broth and invited the two to eat.

Quickly help the old man over there.

Smelling the aroma wafting from the pot, Qiao Xing couldn't help but give it a thumbs up, "That's amazing, it's exactly the same as the one in the store."

Qin Ce handed her the chopsticks, "Then you can try it."

Qiao Xing couldn't wait to sit down and put in some vegetables that could withstand long cooking times.

However, before the three of them could start eating, someone suddenly knocked on the door.

Qiao Xing was taken aback. "Could it be that Qin Yi is back?"

The old man snorted coldly, "His return is quite timely."

Qin Ce stood up and went to open the door.

The door opened, but standing outside was not Qin Yi, but He Fen.

"You guys actually live here?"

Qin Ce asked, "What is it?"

He Fen said, "Didn't you want to buy a house? I've come to discuss it with you."

"I made it very clear during the day that if you've made up your mind, you can come to me anytime. If you're talking about something else, there's no need for further discussion."

His attitude infuriated He Fen. She exclaimed, "Honestly, you're so rich, why do you have to haggle over such a small amount of money? You've already bought a house, why buy this old one?"

"This is our business. You just need to tell me whether you're selling or not."

Hearing the sound, Qiao Xing got up and went over.

When she saw it was her aunt, her head started to ache again.

He Fen said, "What's wrong with adding another 100,000? If we sell the house, where will we live? You have to think about us too."

Hearing this, Qiao Xing felt a surge of anger. She retorted, "When you kicked us out, did you even think about whether we had a place to stay?"

She glanced at Qin Ce, wondering what he was up to and why he wanted to buy this house again.

Before He Fen could speak, Qiao Xing added, "We're not buying this house. You can sell it to someone else."

After Qiao Xing finished speaking, he pulled Qin Ce in and closed the door.

He Fen was furious at Qiao Xing's rudeness, muttering curses and saying she was heartless and had grown too big for her britches.

Qiao Xing pretended not to hear and looked at Qin Ce, asking, "Why did you buy that house?"