Although Qin Xiaoyu didn't need to constantly supervise her cousin's family and Captain Chen was capable of handling the work, only Qin Xiaoyu could make the decisions regarding the designs; without her, things just wouldn't work.

"Why don't you bring your two kids over to stay too? It'll be more lively with the whole family." Seeing that the weather was getting colder, her cousin-in-law noticed Qin Xiaoyu running back and forth. Although she was driving, the car wasn't warm inside, and it would freeze solid after only half a day.

"Hanhan's school is close to there, and my younger sister also needs to learn piano, so we can't let the teacher travel too far. There's no other way." Qin Xiaoyu had considered it, but she couldn't find a solution that satisfied both sides.

"Xiaoyu, what are you trying to do with this building?" The cousin was distressed by the money Qin Xiaoyu had spent like water was going down the drain.

"I haven't thought it through yet. Some of my ideas are still immature. Let's wait and see."

Qin Xiaoyu's ideas were actually quite mature, but she needed policy support. What she regretted most now was not having properly studied socialist construction during her school years. She had no idea what stage of development China had reached in 1984.

She couldn't act rashly; she had to be cautious. Her business was different from Qi Si's. Qi Si could simply stick to his path in the food industry. She wasn't going to settle; she wanted to be number one, so she had to take a broader and longer route.

Zhou Xing seemed to have vanished from her life without a trace. What she said to her wife that day was also her honest opinion.

It would be a lie to say she wasn't heartbroken. He had promised to protect her, but instead he brought her a storm, leaving her adrift in the wind and rain. No matter the reason, she felt insecure.

Since he said the injury was no longer a problem, why didn't he contact her? Could it really be impossible to find her? She didn't believe it.

Perhaps, all she's waiting for is a breakup. Qin Xiaoyu is a Scorpio; once she makes up her mind about something, there's no turning back. She's ready.

With recent expenses on rent and shopping, Qin Xiaoyu's money has been running out quickly. She plans to be more frugal, as she'll definitely need more funds if a new project starts next year.

This meant the two boys would have to make do. They were used to watching color TV at the Zhou family's house, and coming back to watch a small nine-inch black and white TV was quite a change for them.

"Hey girl, look what I brought!" Qi Si was like a timely rain, carrying in a bunch of boxes, big and small, filling the living room.

"What is this?" Qin Xiaoyu leaned closer. It was written in Japanese, but she recognized the trademarks: Hitachi and Sanyo.

In the 1980s, Japanese electronics dominated the market. Most color TVs were made in Japan, with Hitachi being more affordable, Toshiba slightly more expensive, and Sony considered high-end. Sanyo held the largest market share in the audio equipment market.

"I bought it in a hurry and didn't even pick a brand. Anyway, it won't break, so I'll just keep an eye on it." Qi Si was a completely different person in front of Qin Xiaoyu. He was low-key, humble, and to put it bluntly, he was like a doormat.

"You're wasting money again! Aren't you going to open a sixth branch? Why did you buy all this stuff? Take it back!" Qin Xiaoyu snapped.

"I didn't buy it for you. Look at the two kids crowding in front of the TV, what if they get nearsighted? My niece has such beautiful big eyes, she looks awful with glasses on." Qi Si said casually, leaning down to kiss his younger sister. His younger sister didn't hold back and pinched his cheek, twisting it hard.

Wow! Those little hands are really strong!

"You pinched your uncle again! Didn't I already tell you that?" Qin Xiaoyu scolded her younger sister.

"Don't blame my niece, you pinched her well, I like it!" Qi Si said with a smug look, pressing his face close to his little sister's for her to pinch him again.

"You deserve it!" Qin Xiaoyu laughed in anger. There was no way to discipline the child in front of Qi Si. He looked aggrieved and protected Qi Si from saying anything.

The TV was 21 inches, big enough. Hanhan ran out and called Jia Nannan over. Good friends should share, so the three children watched Ikkyu-san side by side.

Qi Si had already unpacked the speaker; it was quite large, silver-white, and very impressive.

"Where should I put it?" Qin Xiaoyu looked around but couldn't find a suitable place.

"You're so fussy! If you don't have anywhere to put it, just throw it away!" Qi Si said with a stern face. He carried the speaker around for a while, but couldn't find a place to put it, so he simply put it on the dining table, taking up half of the table.

"What's that?" Qin Xiaoyu asked, noticing that there were still boxes left unopened.

"This is for toasting bread slices. I'm planning to open another Western restaurant, so I bought a few of these. This one is for you to use; it'll make cooking easier in the morning."

"Open a Western restaurant? It must be Cheng Fuxing's idea again, right?" Qin Xiaoyu smiled.

"That little guy from Guangdong has so many clever ideas, one in the blink of an eye. You know what, he really is a lucky star, the lucky star you brought me," Qi Si said with a beaming smile.

"Then treat him well, give him a raise, and whatever you do, don't let him run away."

"Don't worry, he can't escape. I've already made all the arrangements." Qi Si smiled smugly.

"What arrangements?" Qin Xiaoyu realized that she had overlooked something.

"Find him a wife, where will he run off to?" Qi Si laughed heartily.

"Brother, if you're going to talk about this, I'll say a few more words. Hope you don't like what you're hearing..."

"Then don't say it, I just don't want to hear it." Qi Si had no intention of discussing women with Qin Xiaoyu.

"No way! I have to stop you. Stop bringing just anyone back; their tastes are too extreme!"

"Isn't everyone else the same except you?" Qi Si suddenly said, got up and walked out, leaving Qin Xiaoyu there, unsure whether to chase after her or send her away.

She went out onto the balcony and could see Qi Si's car slowly driving out of the community gate. The car's headlights were on, and snowflakes were dancing in front of the lights. It was snowing again.

"Where's Uncle?" Hanhan ran over and asked.

"Uncle, we're home." Qin Xiaoyu said, feeling a pang of heartache. She thought of Qi Si's simple little house, the same bed, but different women—where was home?

Every time she offered to tidy up his house, he would say it was fine, he could make do.

Without her, life would just be a compromise.

The phone rang. Qin Xiaoyu hated the days without caller ID, but she had no choice but to answer it.

There was only a profound silence on the other end.

"Who is it?" Qin Xiaoyu shouted irritably.

Suddenly, her heart skipped a beat; she thought of someone.

"Are you Zhou Xing?" Qin Xiaoyu exclaimed in disbelief.

Click. The call ended.

Hearing her words, Hanhan turned her head in astonishment and stared at her.

"Was that Uncle Zhou's call?"

"No, I misheard." Qin Xiaoyu walked dejectedly into the inner room.

Her intuition told her it must be Zhou Xing. Why was he afraid to speak? Had they really come to this?

As the ending theme of Ikkyu-san began to play, Jia Nannan reluctantly jumped off the stool, greeted Qin Xiaoyu, and went home for dinner.

It's news time now, and the kids are smart enough to relax a bit and get away from the TV.