Chapter Thirty-One

The old man's name was Zhou Sheng, a prominent figure in Ming'an City. Qi Kai's success today was largely due to Zhou Sheng's support.

As the saying goes, the older a person gets, the more shrewd they become. Over the years, Zhou Sheng has gradually withdrawn from the stage of Ming'an City, letting the young people do what they want. Now, the names his subordinates hear most often are Xiao Enke, Qi Kai, and He Ru. The slightly younger ones don't even know that Zhou Sheng is the old man behind the scenes.

Zhou Sheng genuinely didn't care about this matter, but what he did in his youth was enough to make younger generations like Qi Kai wary.

Because of Zhou Sheng's support, Qi Kai inevitably became the subject of suspicion that some things were secretly orchestrated by Zhou Sheng. He was happy to use Zhou Sheng's name, but this also brought him constraints. In order to ensure Zhou Sheng's attitude towards him, he would visit the old man Zhou Sheng every once in a while.

He used to go alone, but one time he brought Qi Xiao with him. The old man treated Qi Xiao very well, you could say he doted on her like his own granddaughter.

Qi Kai didn't think much of it at first, but it wasn't until Qi Xiao came out of Zhou Sheng's place with injuries on her face that Qi Kai realized something was wrong.

To this day, he still doesn't know why Qi Xiao was beaten, and Qi Xiao remains silent.

Not long after, the old man asked him to bring Qi Xiao to see him again. At that time, he was facing internal and external troubles, and he knew that Zhou Sheng meant to test whether they were still of one mind. So he hardened his heart and took Qi Xiao with him.

During that time, Qi Xiao was suspected of trying to escape, but he was caught and brought back. After that, the relationship between the siblings became very strange.

Qi Kai isn't the type to have heart-to-heart talks, so he's been putting it off.

This time, Old Master Zhou Sheng wanted to bring him along to find Qi Xiao, and Qi Kai was inexplicably forced to obey.

There was an open space outside the courtyard, which could be tidied up and used for a barbecue party. But instead of a barbecue grill, there was a teapot for elegant guests on the table. Yu Xi glanced at it and looked away, giving it a pretentious evaluation in her mind.

Some people always think that by being gentle in their later years, they can offset the bad karma they created when they were young.

That's ridiculous.

"I've heard Xiaoxiao mention you before. You're a very remarkable child. You suffered the devastating loss of your parents at such a crucial stage in your life, yet you still managed to maintain such a peaceful mindset and choose your family so well. You are truly an extraordinary child."

This praise was so insincere; every word was aimed directly at Zhou Mo's lungs.

Fortunately, Zhou Mo never gets angry because of people who don't know what's good for them.

She peeled the orange, casually dividing the segments to Yu Xi and Qi Xiao, keeping one for herself and chewing it slowly. "If you were in my situation, you would definitely be calmer than me."

The bodyguard behind Zhou Sheng's expression changed.

They had been by Zhou Sheng's side for so many years, and they had never seen a junior dare to speak to Zhou Sheng like that.

They're like a newborn calf that's not afraid of a tiger.

"Are you interested in joining us? Studying is for making money in the future, and we can also provide job opportunities here." Zhou Sheng was different from before. He was not angry because of Zhou Mo's offense. Instead, he was more amiable and looked at Zhou Mo with admiration in his eyes.

Zhou Mo shook her head, "No."

"I live a precarious life, and I want to live a longer life."

This reason for refusal is the reason most people would want to refuse, but most people wouldn't say it out loud. After all, it's an offensive statement, like stabbing someone in the heart of anyone who joined but regretted it.

Zhou Sheng sighed, seemingly helplessly, "Never mind then, I don't like to force others. Xiaoxiao, let's go, you haven't had a meal with me in a long time."

Qi Xiao was suddenly called out, and her body stiffened instinctively. Her first reaction was to look at Qi Kai, but Qi Kai remained unmoved by Qi Xiao's plea for help, ignoring her needs as he had done countless times before.

Just when Qi Xiao was in despair, Yu Xi spoke up, "Let's eat together."

Qi Xiao looked at Yu Xi in disbelief, seemingly not expecting that Yu Xi would be the one to speak up for her in the end.

Since arriving here, Zhou Sheng has never looked at Yu Xi directly. He seems to dislike Yu Xi very much. Now, when he hears Yu Xi speak, he frowns.

Yu Xi seemed oblivious to how annoying she was, and continued, "I also made plans with He Ru to eat together."

That was a suggestion; this is a notification.

Zhou Mo had no interest in listening to what Yu Xi was saying; her attention was entirely on Yu Xi's hand covering the back of her hand. Just as she was about to speak, Yu Xi stopped her without saying a word and stood up for her.

Zhou Mo is very sensitive to emotions. Yu Xi probably doesn't like this old man, so she wasn't very polite when she spoke. Compared to other things, maintaining the feelings of her family members is what the head of the family should do.

Yu Xi's sudden action and protectiveness reminded Zhou Mo of something that happened when she was a child.

At that time, Zhou Mo was still in elementary school. She was small and short. There were always some mischievous boys in her class who liked to cut Zhou Mo's hair, cutting it little by little. Zhou Mo only found out that her hair had been cut when school was about to end. She went to confront them, but they just laughed it off.

If you tell the teacher, the teacher will just laugh it off.

She wanted to go home and tell her dad and mom, but before she even left the school gate, she was surrounded by boys. Their young faces showed disgust that they couldn't hide. The children, influenced by online comments, felt that people who told teachers were traitors and would be cursed.

The children were very quick learners, and they hurled all sorts of hurtful words at Zhou Mo. Some even started pushing and shoving Zhou Mo, just like their own parents.

Zhou Mo is very young, but she is very brave. When someone pushes her, she pushes them back. Although she is in a lot of pain, she still tries to reason with them while holding back her tears.

Back then, Zhou Mo didn't know how to swear, so naturally she couldn't win an argument with an unreasonable person.

Finally, Zhou Qinian found her, which brought this farce to an end.

The moment Zhou Mo saw her father, she felt aggrieved, tears welling up in her eyes. She still remembers the look of heartache in Zhou Qinian's eyes. She nestled listlessly in Zhou Qinian's arms, feeling the rhythm of him carrying her up the steps, and listening to his reasoned arguments with the teacher in the office. At that time, she was still too young and only felt that it was good to have a father.

Later, her mother trimmed her hair at home, giving her a short haircut. Zhou Mo looked like a round, chubby dumpling, and she was incredibly cute. Her mother took many pictures with her, and would even poke her chubby cheeks while eating. Zhou Mo quickly forgot about the unpleasantness at school.

When she woke up, she found a bravery certificate on her bedside table. The presenter was Zhou Qinian, the host was Hua Rong, and the recipient was Zhou Mo.

Zhou Mo stared blankly at the back of Yu Xi's hand, missing her father and mother.

"What? Did the steam get in your eyes? They're so red." Yu Xi's familiar carefree voice came from beside her. Zhou Mo looked up and met Yu Xi's smiling eyes. He was looking at her like this, his chin resting on his hand, without a trace of romance, just frank and sincere.

"Where are they?" Zhou Mo was stunned for a moment, and soon realized that Zhou Sheng, Qi Kai and Qi Xiao were all gone.

Yu Xi stretched and stretched out her long, bent legs a good distance. "Let's go. If He Ru is coming over to eat, she can't really eat here."

"You really called He Ru?"

Yu Xi suddenly moved closer to Zhou Mo, "What do you think of He Ru as a person?"

"good."

“The evaluation isn’t very high.” Upon hearing Zhou Mo’s reply, Yu Xi resumed her lazy posture of slumping on the folding chair. “I thought you would say he’s handsome, reliable, and rich.”

“They are indeed very wealthy.” Zhou Mo thought back to the scene of the last meal. That was not something an ordinary family could afford. Even though she had the money left by her father and mother, she didn’t dare to squander it. There were still many places where she would need money in the future.

"cut."

Zhou Mo put the matter behind her. Yu Xi stood up for her, and she stood up for Qi Xiao. Since Yu Xi had arranged everything, Qi Xiao would be fine.

Next up is her relationship with Yu Xi.

"Yu Xi, do you want to take the college entrance exam?"

Yu Xi looked puzzled. "Huh?"

"With your abilities, getting into university is definitely not a problem. Don't you want to leave Ming'an City?"

"Where are we going?" Yu Xi still had that nonchalant attitude, and it was impossible to tell whether he had seriously listened to Zhou Mo's advice.

"Zhengyang City, come to Z University and be my junior."

Zhou Mo was very persuasive. With just one sentence, she stirred up Yu Xi's long-dormant thoughts, but that was all. Yu Xi shook her head and said, "I will not leave Ming'an City."

“M University is also good, but it’s a pity for your math skills. Z University’s science programs are better than M University’s.”

Yu Xi sat up straight, her playful smile vanished, replaced by a very serious expression. "Whether it's M University or Z University, I don't want to."

“There’s a teachers’ college in Ming’an, but I don’t think you’re really suited to be a teacher. But if you like it, I’ll support you.”

"Zhou Mo, stop pretending to be stupid." Yu Xi could easily see that Zhou Mo was being unreasonable.

Zhou Mo blinked. "We can choose a school later. Let's get the high school enrollment paperwork done first?"

"Zhou Mo".

"Yu Xi, I'm serious."

The hand that was pressing down on Zhou Mo's hand became his 'hostage' left there. Zhou Mo grabbed it tightly with her own hand, and Yu Xi couldn't pull it back. How could he have forgotten to pull it back?!

"Brother, how can you bear to let me go far away alone? You're not thinking that you'll get rid of me, this burden, once I go to university, are you?"

How could that be? He wanted to hold Zhou Mo firmly in his grasp.

"Brother, please don't abandon me."

That's too much, Zhou Mo.

Zhou Mo took Yu Xi's hand and placed it on her cheek, rubbing against her beloved human like a docile cow cat.

Yu Xi looked down at Zhou Mo, closed his eyes, and his face was full of frustration. He took a deep breath, trying to drive away the ripples.

"Zhou Mo, you win."

Zhou Mo quickly sat up straight, let go of Yu Xi's hand, and happily jumped up and down a few times. "Hehe, remember to fill out the form later."

"You've been planning this for a long time, haven't you? You didn't go to the school last time just to...me, did you?"

Zhou Mo winked at Yu Xi, "Guess."

Guess what?

Yu Xi rolled her eyes, propped her chin up, and looked in a different direction, but the corners of her mouth involuntarily turned up.