Chapter 49 Seeing with the Eyes

Squeak.

A slight noise came from outside the courtyard. Qiao Wu, being in an unfamiliar environment, was more sensitive to it. She looked up and saw Lu Yingchi standing behind the iron gate, half of his face hidden in the darkness, staring intently at her.

"I'm not going to say anything more," she said to Lu Jinzhi in the video. "Lu Yingchi might not be used to it. I'm going to go check on him."

Lu Jinzhi: "They'll behave if you just wait it out."

Qiao Wu didn't answer, but hung up the phone with a smile, then got up and walked to the iron gate: "When did you arrive?"

Lu Yingchi said expressionlessly, "When you were very good friends."

At this moment, Qiao Wu suddenly realized that Lu Ning was right; Lu Yingchi's hearing was indeed exceptionally good, as he could hear this.

"Can't sleep?" she asked.

“This place.” Lu Yingchi stood at the door without moving. As he spoke, he subconsciously glanced into the courtyard. Only after confirming that no one else was there did he say, “Who could sleep here?”

Qiao Wu: "Then go sleep in the car."

"How can anyone sleep in a car?!"

After he finished speaking, he did not hear Qiao Wu's reply; the other party simply looked at him quietly.

Lu Yingchi looked away: "I just want to ask, you used to be even more pampered than me, how come you can get used to everything now?"

He maintained a learning attitude towards Chao Qiaowu, and many of his early bad habits were learned from her. In the past, she was more like a pampered rich girl than he was.

Qiao Wu never expected others to be able to see anything like Lu Jinzhi, nor did he want to tell them about these strange things. So he said, "People change. Don't keep dwelling on the past. Lu Yingchi, you need to learn to move forward."

“I’ve been walking.” Lu Yingchi frowned, looking a little frustrated that he couldn’t find his way. “You’re walking too fast.”

Qiao Wu found it funny.

She has traveled so many more years than Lu Yingchi, of course she will be faster than him.

"What does this have to do with me? Can't you walk on your own?" She leaned against the iron gate, her voice softer than the night breeze. "Lu Yingchi, let me tell you the truth, I won't stay in the Lu family forever, nor will I be able to appear by your side in time every moment."

Lu Yingchi looked annoyed: "So you really are going to find Zhong Hejing."

“If it wasn’t Zhong Hejing, it would have been someone else, or even myself,” Qiao Wu said. “When that time comes, you’ll have to face the difficulties and the unknown on your own. You have to walk every step of the way by yourself. Do you want to live under my wing forever?”

She raised her hand to show how tall Lu Yingchi was: "But you are already much, much taller than me, I can't protect you."

"Who asked you to protect me?" Lu Yingchi straightened up a bit. "I can protect you."

"How will you protect me?" Qiao Wu asked, following his words. "Let's think about it another way. If I were carsick, had a fever, didn't like the food here, wasn't used to the environment, or couldn't sleep, how would you arrange things for me?"

Lu Yingchi parted his lips slightly, but no sound came out.

He would subconsciously look for Qiao Wu when he couldn't sleep, but what if she did too?

His first thought was to take Qiao Wu away to a place where she could sleep and be taught, but all that was outside were towns and villages, and aside from the time cost, there was simply no place where his princess could sleep peacefully.

He realized that he was not even as good as a bowl of murky sugar water.

At this moment, his shoulders, which had been standing tall, finally slumped, and he was completely bewildered.

"I don't know." He was frustrated, yet helpless.

I want to be angry, but I can only be angry at myself.

"You said I'd have time to find it."

“I’m not leaving tomorrow. You have plenty of time. I won’t leave before then. That’s why I brought you here today.” Qiao Wu patted his shoulder. “Don’t do things just because I ask you to. You should think about what you should do because of yourself.”

"You always spout a lot of profound truths."

Lu Yingchi said in a muffled voice, "But I don't want to hear it."

"Then remember this, and listen to it again when you want to." Qiao Wu yawned. "Do you want to go back to sleep now or sleep in the car?"

I don't want to choose either of them.

Seeing his resistance, Qiao Wu said again, "If you don't want to sleep, you can sit until dawn, but I need to sleep. I have to work tomorrow."

After saying that, she really turned around and went back into the house.

Lu Yingchi quickly grabbed her wrist: "Wait a minute."

Qiao Wu lowered her eyes and pulled her hand out of his palm: "Don't fight with the opposite sex so easily."

Childhood is childhood, and adulthood is adulthood.

How can he still not tell the difference?

Qiao Wu's words only made Lu Yingchi feel as if he had grasped something extraordinary, and he stared blankly at his palm.

"Is there anything else?"

Lu Yingchi moved his other hand, and the sensation in his hand reminded him of the purpose of his visit. He opened his palm and said, "This is for you."

In the center of the large palm is a small dog pendant, a fluffy husky.

Young Master Lu doesn't seem like the type of person who would buy this kind of thing.

Where did it come from?

"A classmate gave it to me," Lu Yingchi said vaguely. "I don't need it for anything, and that monkey took my car keys. You can use it."

Qiao Wu accepted the small gift without a second thought, taking the pendant and saying, "It looks a lot like you."

Who are you calling a dog?

Seeing that she seemed to like it, Lu Yingchi's gloomy mood, which had been lingering all evening, finally improved. He didn't argue with her and put his hands in his pockets, saying, "Alright, go to sleep."

"Um."

Qiao Wu turned around, took a few steps, then came back, closed the iron gate, and locked it.

Lu Yingchi: "..."

Who are we guarding against?

He watched Qiao Wu's figure disappear before returning to the villager's house.

It was better than being in a cramped car. He leaned over the bed and sniffed around, but couldn't smell anything else. So he sat down on the edge of the bed and looked out the window at the sky.

Qiao Wu said the stars are beautiful.

No, we can't think like her.

He has to protect her.

Young Master Lu gently bumped his head against the wall, wondering what kind of person he really was!

The next morning, everyone got ready to go to the nearby undeveloped barren mountains to check out the terrain. Qiao Wu had asked Guo Liyan to contact a geological expert the night before, and they were going to go together today to see the potential for development in this area.

Lu Yingchi had indeed stayed up late. No matter how unaccustomed he was to the late hours, he couldn't help but fall asleep. However, he had to go to the airport in the afternoon, so he didn't want to spend the morning catching up on sleep. Hearing others get up, he also got up.

I feel groggy when I wake up, so I'm sitting on a small chair in the shade by the window to catch up on some sleep.

A moment later, the village party secretary pushed open the courtyard gate and led several people in: "Chairman Qiao, the experts have arrived."

Three people arrived: two middle-aged men and a young girl fully armed.

Qiao Wu stood up to greet them, then noticed that the girl's gaze was fixed on her. She looked back and saw that the girl was carrying a backpack, wearing sunglasses on her head as decoration, wearing cargo pants and boots, and had a healthy tan complexion.

When their eyes met, the girl didn't look away, continuing to stare directly at her.

“These are my students, who came along to gain experience,” one of the geologists said.

The girl extended her hand to Qiao Wu: "Cong Yi."

The other person's scrutiny was so obvious that Qiao Wu couldn't ignore it even if she wanted to, but she only raised an eyebrow slightly and didn't say anything more: "Qiao Wu."

The village chief handed each person a bottle of water: "Since everyone is ready, let's leave while the sun isn't too strong now and come back to rest at noon, so we don't get sunburned later."

Qiao Wu had no objections and called out to Lu Yingchi, who was almost asleep.

Because it was an undeveloped mountain path, we had to use sticks to clear away the weeds along the way.

Qiao Wu was operating the drone, and since she couldn't free her hands, she walked behind. Guo Liyan and Lu Yingchi were clearing the way for her in front of her.

When she stopped to rest because she was tired, Guo Liyan, who was carrying water for her, would immediately hand her the water.

These were all things an assistant should do, and Qiao Wu accepted them without a second thought.

The road was a bit narrow, and everyone sat scattered under the trees. Qiao Wu was drawing a small map on a piece of paper when someone suddenly sat down next to him: "Do you usually have people wait on you like this when you go out?"

Hearing that it was the girl's voice, Qiao Wu didn't even look up: "Is there a problem?"

Cong Yi said, "I've seen plenty of rich people like you. You talk about doing charity but it's just a way to make money. You say you're here to investigate, but you're actually surrounded by bodyguards. You have everything done for you. It's just a show for the media."

Before Qiao Wu could reply, she said smugly, "I told you so."

Instead of answering, Qiao Wu asked, "Do you know how to operate a drone?"

"Yes, for what purpose?"

The next second, the drone controller was shoved into Yi's hand.

She stared at Qiao Wu in shock: "What are you going to do?"

"Weren't you here to gain experience with the teacher? Here's your chance." Qiao Wu stood up, broke off a branch from the surrounding trees, looked down at her, and said with a smile, "Let me see what kind of things people like you who rely solely on yourselves can accomplish."

The village chief was already asking if we could leave.

Qiao Wu responded and walked over there, leaving Cong Yi, who was holding the controller and looking completely bewildered.

He also told Guo Liyan, "You walk forward, don't look back, you don't need to show me the way."

Guo Liyan overheard their conversation, but he didn't understand the girl's inexplicable hostility towards Qiao Wu. He simply listened to his boss, nodded, and quickly walked to the front.

Qiao Wu didn't turn around, nor did he glance at Cong Yi again.

After realizing what was happening, Cong Yi cursed under her breath and hurriedly followed, but there was only Qiao Wu in front of her. Qiao Wu looked thin, but she actually walked very fast, and Cong Yi couldn't catch up at all.

Moreover, although the grass had been cleared by the people in front and had grown too lush, it quickly returned to its original state. She had to keep her head down and watch the road carefully as she walked, and before long she fell far behind.

When the group stopped at a pond, she caught up, panting. She couldn't keep up her facade of friendliness and said to Qiao Wu as soon as she caught up, "Aren't you afraid I'll smash your drone?"

"Go ahead and smash it." Qiao Wu opened his phone's QR code for receiving payments. "It supports cash and card payments, and the time I'm wasting is paid by the hour."

"..."

After waiting for half a minute and not seeing the girl smash anything, Qiao Wu put away her phone, took the drone controller into her hand, and looked her up and down with the same gaze that the other person had used to look at her. She scoffed, "You're not much better off without someone to serve you."

"you!"

“I introduced myself earlier. You can call me Chairman Qiao or Qiao Wu, but don’t call me ‘people like you.’” Qiao Wu didn’t look at her again, but instead retrieved the drone and continued, “Don’t mistake rudeness for personality.”

"Cong Yi!" the geologist shouted from the bottom of the pool, "Come down and take a look."

Cong Yi glared at Qiao Wu, but became even more frustrated when she realized that he hadn't looked at her at all. She then slid down the path beside her.

"Chairman, who is that person? Should we deal with him?" Guo Liyan noticed the conflict between the two and came over to ask.

"No need," Qiao Wu said dismissively. "She's just a little girl."

She handed the drone to Guo Liyan and then walked down from the side.

"How is it?" She looked around. "Will any construction work nearby affect the water quality?"

If development is to be carried out, the surrounding area will definitely need to undergo a lot of changes. This pool has always been a clear water source, and if it is affected, then there is no point in developing it.

The geologist nodded: "As long as we don't get too close, and don't start construction upstream, we need to protect this section before we break ground. We can't build tall buildings here, as it will affect the nearby vegetation."

Qiao Wu nodded.

Cong Yi squatted by the water's edge, observing the water quality, and said, "Capitalists should just manage the money; why should they care about water sources and vegetation?"

"Hey." Lu Yingchi, who was sitting on the rock, stood up, his face dark. "Can't you speak properly? What kind of tone is that?"

"Hey, hey, hey!" The geologist was immediately exasperated and quickly tried to smooth things over, saying, "Let's not hurt our feelings, Congyi, you just focus on your work!"

She then said to Qiao Wu, "She's young and a bit spoiled. Maybe it's just too hot today. She's not usually like this."

"My younger brother is also young," Qiao Wu said with a smile. "He's been spoiled by his family, and he didn't sleep well tonight, so he's a bit grumpy. Please bear with him."

“I’m not like him at all,” Cong Yi sneered. “A rich but brainless idiot.”

That tone sounds a bit strange.

Qiao Wu couldn't help but glance at Cong Yi a few more times.

Lu Yingchi rolled up his sleeves: "Come on, say it to me again?!"

Cong Yi also put his tools aside and stood up: "Come on, if you're so tough, hit me too. If you touch me, I'll twist your head off."

"Good heavens!" Several village officials were completely bewildered by the sudden confrontation between the two. "What's going on? What's going on? Stop arguing!"

Qiao Wu, however, remained standing there as if nothing had happened, cheerfully saying, "It's nothing, the kids are just playing around."

He also pulled the two geologists closer to him to prevent them from being caught in the crossfire.

She turned her head and asked, "Where is your student from?"

"Just like you."

Qiao Wu nodded: "Their family seems to be well-off."

The girl was wearing designer clothes, and the watch on her wrist was worth at least seven figures.

“Her family is wealthy,” the geologist said. “Her brother is the owner of the Qin Group, you’ve probably heard of him.”

Qiao Wu understood now: "To be precise, it's not that I've only heard of her; I'm very familiar with her brother."

No wonder he was so hostile towards her from the start; it turns out he was after her.

Qiao Wu looked around, picked up a long stick that everyone had been using to get there, and tested it out.

The two were still locked in a stalemate by the opposite pool. This was the first time Lu Yingchi had ever encountered someone who dared to be so arrogant in front of him, and even wanted to fight him!

He had just walked over when he suddenly realized that Qiao Wu was still there. He subconsciously glanced at her again, frowned, and stopped in his tracks: "It seems that academic qualifications can't prevent a person's character. Where did this random pheasant come from, biting anyone she can't help?"

Seeing this, Cong Yi mocked, "Coward."

"Shut up!" the geologist snapped. "If you don't listen, go back!"

Just then, he saw Qiao Wu, who was carrying a stick, move. She walked to the edge of the pool and used the stick to pull Lu Yingchi back in: "Come back."

Lu Yingchi hesitated for a moment, but still walked back.

Seeing this, Cong Yi was about to squat down to pick up the tools, but before he could bend down, the long stick was pressed against his chest.

She glared angrily at Qiao Wu, raising her hand to knock the stick away, but the stick seemed to have eyes, circling her hand once and returning to its starting point.

However, because she was standing on the edge of the pool, she almost fell in headfirst and had to quickly regain her balance.

She was forced back several steps by the stick, her back hitting the damp, moss-covered stone wall.

"Qiao Wu!" she exclaimed, staring at the stick. "Are you going to hit me?!"

“I can beat your brother, so what can’t I beat you?” Qiao Wu tightened his grip. “Cong Yi, if you can’t give me a straight answer today, I won’t let you leave here.”

"What brother?" Lu Yingchi asked, bewildered. "Besides that idiot Qin Tianrui, who else have you beaten up?"

Zhong Min: "I heard that President Qin has a younger sister, but they don't share the same surname?"

Cong Yi angrily retorted, "Who wants to share his surname!"

Qiao Wu smiled and said, "Then take off your watch, and I can return it to him for you."

Upon hearing this, Cong Yi knew she had guessed who he was, and said coldly, "You really are the same kind of person as Qin Lian!"

That day, when she called her parents, she heard that Qin Tianrui had been beaten, and badly beaten, and hadn't spoken for several days after returning home.

I asked around and found out what happened on the zero loop.

But she wasn't that close to Qin Tianrui, so she was happy to be beaten or not, and even downloaded the video to watch it every day.

But it wasn't until she saw the photos from the charity gala that she realized Qiao Wu was in cahoots with her brother, no wonder he beat Qin Tianrui up like that.

"You keep calling people like you 'passersby'," Qiao Wu continued, pressing against her chest. "You've traveled the world, how come you're still so narrow-minded? Have you even met me before judging me?"

"No need to see him."

"Oh." Qiao Wu raised his chin and said to Lu Yingchi, "Make a call to the police and say that there is a person here with a bad temper and questionable values. I suspect she is a murderer and I need to call the police now."

Cong Yi: "Who killed someone!"

Qiao Wu laughed and said, "You can identify who I am just by talking, but I can't say you're a murderer? Don't be so hypocritical."

Only then did Cong Yi realize that she couldn't argue with this person at all. She tried to grab the stick, but he dodged her. Enraged, she shouted, "Let go of me!"

"I won't let you go." Qiao Wu's smile faded. "Since you know I beat your brother, you should know how I beat him. The idea that you don't hit girls doesn't apply here. If you provoke me, I'll beat you just the same."

"Do you know how much money Qin Lian transferred to me after I hit Qin Tianrui last time?" Qiao Wu's gaze swept over me, as if appraising a product. "How much do you think you're worth this time?"

"I'm insured from head to toe! Try hitting me!"

"It doesn't matter." Qiao Wu pulled out a card and threw it on the ground. "I can afford to pay for it."

Everyone around was shocked.

Is this the source of the confidence of the wealthy?

Even Lu Yingchi has never been this arrogant.

He discovered that Qiao Wu was even more terrifying than him when he acted like a rogue.

"Now tell me." Qiao Wu used the stick to lift Cong Yi's chin. "If you can't give me a clear reason why you hate me, then we'll just stay here and wait."

Yi's back was already soaked by the water seeping from the mountain, and her face was being directly exposed to the sunlight. She closed her eyes, feeling somewhat uncomfortable.

"Anyone who's with Qin Lian is no good!"

"Interesting." Qiao Wu chuckled. "Looks like you're even dumber than Qin Tianrui."

"You're comparing me to that good-for-nothing Qin Tianrui?!"

"At least Qin Tianrui knows who he relies on for his livelihood, and he'll restrain himself a bit in front of Qin Lian. But you're still clueless about who the Qin family is really relying on," Qiao Wu said coldly. "If I were your brother, I'd kick you out of the house and let you experience what it's like to be a real ordinary person."

"My parents will never forgive him!"

"So what? Qin Lian is in charge of the Qin family now." Qiao Wu glanced at her. "As for those who treat him as an enemy, why should we care? It's just a matter of forgiveness. What do you hate about him? Do you hate his domineering nature, his control over you, or his cold-heartedness?"

Qiao Wu poked her face with a stick: "Wake up, you keep talking about rich people. You can stand here studying the major you like and fly all over the world, all because your brother has taken on all the responsibilities and burdens you should have had."

“You’re right, a rich and wicked man like me won’t let you get away with this.” Qiao Wu said naturally, “I’ll show you how I can bully an ordinary person like you. You’ll stand here until I’m satisfied.”

As he spoke, he waved to the bodyguards he had brought: "Each of you find a stick and hold her up like this."

The bodyguards dared not utter a word of dissent.

"Chairman Qiao," the geologist said in surprise as he came to persuade him, "this is not a good idea."

"Don't worry." After letting the bodyguard take over, Qiao Wu freed up her hands and continued her original work. She said softly, "Her brother told me to keep an eye on his disobedient younger siblings. They've had a good life for too long, it's time for them to suffer a little."

He then raised his voice and said, "Everyone, mind your own business. I'll take responsibility if anything goes wrong."

Cong Yi was cornered against the wall by two bodyguards, where he was both hot and cold.

She just watched helplessly as no one dared to look at her again.

Ugh! I'm so angry!

She stood there as punishment for an hour. After everyone else left, Qiao Wu walked up to her and gestured for the two bodyguards to let go.

Cong Yi's legs felt weak and she almost fell headfirst into the water.

But Qiao Wu, who was walking over, helped him up: "Are you behaving yourself now?"

Cong Yi stared at her.

"Now I'm giving you two choices. One is to follow me, shut your mouth, do your job properly, and see how someone like me works."

Qiao Wu helped her to an open space. "Secondly, I'll call Qin Lian right now and tell you to get out of my sight."

"I came with my teacher!"

"Didn't you say that all rich people are like this? Don't you know how rich people operate? I'm the biggest spender here now. If you piss me off, do you think the villagers will let you stay here? What can your teacher do?"

Qiao Wu picked up an empty bottle of water from the side and threw it at her, put her hat on, and then pinched her face to make her look into his eyes: "If you don't have a brain, don't use your brain to see the world. Use your eyes, understand?"