Chapter 578 Will he become the second Qiao Hong?

Rain pattered on Qiao Hong's face, and at first he couldn't see the person in front of him clearly.

However, Qiao Xing recognized Qiao Hong.

In less than a month, he went from being full of vigor to becoming a beggar.

She had heard some of the reasons for Old Master Qiao's death, and she wasn't surprised. Knowing Qiao Hong as she did, she knew these things were bound to happen sooner or later.

Doing too many bad things will eventually backfire.

All of this is Qiao Hong's own retribution.

Qiao Xing glanced at him briefly before calmly looking away and saying to Qin Ce, "Let's go in."

However, it was just that simple look from her that completely shattered Qiao Hong's rationality.

He suddenly realized that if Qiao Xing had helped him from the very beginning, even by offering just a little bit of assistance, he would never have ended up like this.

In particular, he remembered that it was Cao Yun who went to Qin Ce, and Qin Ce agreed to help Cao Yun, largely because of Qiao Xing.

Qiao Hong could no longer contain his anger and charged towards Qiao Xing, yelling, "It's all because of you! Because of you, I've become like this!"

Qiao Xing stopped instinctively. She sensed Qiao Hong rushing towards her, but before she could react, Qin Ce was already standing behind her.

His face was cold and sinister. Just as Qiao Hong was about to approach Qiao Xing, he raised his leg and kicked Qiao Hong in the chest.

Qiao Hong took a few steps back and fell to the ground again.

He knew perfectly well that Qin Ce was right next to Qiao Xing, and that there was nothing he could do to Qiao Xing.

But he was still unwilling to accept it. He was unwilling to accept that he was finished like this. He could not bear that everyone had abandoned him. Cao Yun was gone, his son and daughter were estranged from him, the Qiao family regarded him as a criminal, and he would spend the rest of his life in prison because of a huge property lawsuit.

He was unwilling to accept it!

Qiao Xing wanted to turn her head to look at Qiao Hong, but Qin Ce forcibly turned her head back, saying, "Go inside first."

Qin Ce glanced at Xin Jiu not far away, and Xin Jiu immediately stepped forward with her umbrella and walked up to Qiao Hong.

“Mr. Qiao, please leave now, otherwise Mr. Qin will have to resort to other means to deal with you.”

Inside the mourning hall, apart from members of the Qiao family and the old man's close friends, there were practically no other people who came to pay their respects.

The memorial service was organized by Qiao Jie. In fact, when the old man was alive, he had said that if he passed away, he should just find a coffin and send him off quietly.

However, Qiao Jie still held a proper farewell ceremony at the funeral home.

Of course, he did this not only to save face for the Qiao family in front of outsiders, but also because he didn't want people to think that the Qiao family's sons were not just like Qiao Hong.

Whether Qiao Jie was genuinely sad or just putting on an act for everyone to see, his eyes were red and he looked much more haggard.

Seeing Qiao Xing enter, Qiao Jie was somewhat surprised. "Xingxing, you're here?"

Qiao Xing nodded slightly and said to Qiao Jie, "Please accept my condolences."

Regardless of what happened before or what Qiao Jie did, Qiao Xing didn't want to argue or discuss it now. She had only one purpose in coming here today: to send off Old Master Qiao.

Once she stepped out of that door, she had no further connection with the Qiao family.

Several relatives were standing behind Qiao Jie. Qiao Xing glanced at them briefly; she recognized some, but couldn't remember others.

She placed the flowers she had prepared beforehand in front of the old man's portrait.

Looking at the old man's still kind face in his portrait, Qiao Xing felt a strange feeling welling up in his heart.

The old man had several sons, each of whom he was proud of. However, these sons were either greedy for money or profit-driven. You couldn't even tell whether their filial piety towards you was genuine or just for the sake of saving face.

But in the old man's heart, even if it was fake or perfunctory, it was still a token of his affection.

Perhaps the old man couldn't have imagined, even as he closed his eyes, why Qiao Hong would do such a thing.

Two words lingered on Qiao Xing's lips; she really wanted to say them out loud.

But in the end, he couldn't bring himself to call out; he simply bowed deeply.

She had come here many times when she was a child, and everyone treated her coldly. But when she was young, she met Qiao Xing. She remembered that when Grandpa Qiao saw her sitting in the corner, he said, "Fourth brother, that's your daughter. Aren't you going to call her over for dinner?"

It was just a simple sentence, but Qiao Xing kept it in her heart for many years. Perhaps it was because she was too lonely and too miserable at that time that such a sentence warmed her heart.

Meanwhile, Qiao Jie's gaze remained fixed on Qin Ce, who was standing at the door.

Qin Ce didn't come in with Qiao Xing, not because he didn't want to, but because Qiao Xing had told him this herself when they came in.

Few people in the Qiao family knew Qin Ce's identity. Qiao Jie was one of them. Qiao Xing knew that as long as Qin Ce appeared, he would definitely take the opportunity to go up and talk to him.

Qin Ce didn't come in; he just stood quietly at the entrance of the mourning hall.

Qiao Jie hesitated and stood there. Opportunities to see Qin Ce were rare. Qiao Hong had gone to S&C many times before but had never been able to see him, or even have a chance to speak to him. Now that he had finally met Qin Ce, Qiao Jie naturally did not want to give up this opportunity.

He wanted to go forward, but seeing Qin Ce's indifferent expression, he didn't dare.

He stood there without even glancing at him. Wouldn't it be incredibly embarrassing if he tried to be friendly but was met with indifference?

While Qiao Jie was still hesitating, Qiao Xing was already preparing to leave.

Qiao Jie quickly stepped forward and said to Qiao Xing, "Xingxing, thank you for coming all this way. Although you haven't seen your grandfather much since you were little, he will be very happy to know that you came to send him off."

He added, "You came in a hurry and haven't eaten yet, have you? I've arranged a restaurant. Why don't you take Qin Ce with you and we'll go have a meal together?"

Qiao Xing glanced at Qin Ce and shook his head. "No need, Second Uncle, let's go back first."

Qiao Jie was also thinking of getting closer to Qiao Xing and taking the opportunity to build a relationship with Qin Ce.

Who knew that Qiao Xing didn't appreciate her efforts at all.

After Qiao Xing finished speaking, she walked directly towards Qin Ce and said, "Let's go back."

Qin Ce asked, "Is this all?"

"Okay." Qiao Xing nodded. "Let's go."

Actually, it wouldn't have mattered if she hadn't come to see Grandpa Qiao off today, but Grandpa Qiao always reminded her of Grandpa Qin.

She didn't want to be too cold or inhuman. She did hate Qiao Hong and didn't want to pay attention to anyone in the Qiao family, but that didn't conflict with her coming to see off Old Master Qiao.

She just wanted to put her mind at ease.

Back in the car, Qiao Xing thought about how warmly Qiao Jie had treated her earlier, and couldn't help but feel a little disheartened.

She asked Qin Ce, "Do you think Qiao Jie will become the next Qiao Hong?"

Although Qin Ce didn't go inside, he saw Qiao Jie's expression clearly.

He said, "No."

Qiao Xing was somewhat surprised, "Why?"

In her eyes, the two people were no different: greedy, snobbish, and hypocritical.

"Qiao Jie is much more tactful than Qiao Hong in many things. Although they are essentially the same, Qiao Jie will choose to protect himself more often. Even if he can't make money, he won't let himself get involved in trouble."