After the two men left, Xiao Jinpeng told the driver to leave as well.

After everyone left, he said to Xiao Jinyu, "Inviting you to dinner was just a pretense; the real purpose was to get that woman away from Grandma."

Xiao Jinyu finally understood, "You mean to secretly get rid of that woman? That way, even if Grandma is angry, the woman will be gone, and she won't really blame us."

Xiao Jinpeng: "..."

I'm so tired!

But the meaning was similar, so he nodded, "Yes, that's exactly what I mean."

"Okay, then I'll cooperate with you." Xiao Jinyu couldn't wait to get rid of Qiao Qiqi.

*

After delivering the goods, Qiao Qiqi went to the black market again. Now that she has fewer and fewer opportunities to go out, she tries to stock up on tickets and supplies as much as possible so that it will be convenient to use them in case she needs them in the future.

She wandered around outside until noon, selling a basket of apples and a basket of pears before packing up and leaving.

After buying two skewers of candied hawthorn on the way, Qiao Qiqi went home.

That evening, Xiao Jinpeng and Xiao Jinyu suddenly came to the Qin family's house, saying they wanted to invite her out to dinner to thank her for saving Xin Xin and Chen Chen.

Xiao Jinyu grabbed her hand and said apologetically, "What happened during the day was my fault, but my brother has already scolded me when I got back. You saved my younger brother and sister, so I should thank you. That's why I asked my brother to come with me to treat you to a meal to apologize."

Looking at Xiao Jinyu's ingratiating smile, a sentence flashed through Qiao Qiqi's mind—

A weasel offering New Year's greetings to a chicken has ulterior motives.

She didn't simply believe that Xiao Jinyu was actually inviting her to dinner.

Qiao Qiqi's gaze swept over Xiao Jinpeng beside her. She had always suspected that the people outside were Xiao Tanghai's men, so she was extra wary of the Xiao family. And since Xiao Jinpeng was Xiao Tanghai's son, the two were clearly in cahoots.

Thinking of this, Qiao Qiqi immediately smiled and said, "I just ate some pastries with Xin Xin upstairs and I can't eat anything else, so let's do it another day. Brother Qin and Chenchen will be back in a couple of days, and we can eat together then."

“How can that be?” Xiao Jinyu blurted out instinctively.

Qiao Qiqi looked over and asked, "Why can't it work?"

Xiao Jinyu's eyes lit up with anxiety, and then she heard Xiao Jinpeng quickly say, "What Jinyu means is that this time it's just my brother and I treating you to a meal to thank you. When Baoguo and Chenchen come back, it's Grandma who will be hosting the banquet, so it's different."

Reminded, Xiao Jinyu immediately said quickly, "Yes, yes, that's what I meant." She took Qiao Qiqi's hand and suddenly started to act coquettishly, "So... Auntie, please come with us. If you don't come, you're disrespecting us."

The more persistent the other party is, the more suspicious it is.

Qiao Qiqi definitely couldn't go. Just as she was about to speak, a servant suddenly came in and said, "Madam, the Fang family has arrived."

As soon as he finished speaking, Fang's father, mother, Fang Jingru, and Fang Ke walked in from outside.

The Fang family not only came, but the whole family came together.

As soon as Fang Ke entered the door, she rushed to Qiao Qiqi and gave her a big hug. "Qiqi, I missed you so much!"

Seeing Xiao Jinyu being pushed aside, Qiao Qiqi smiled and pinched Fang Ke's waist, "I can tell you really missed me, you've lost weight around your waist."

Fang Ke blushed, feeling utterly ashamed that her foodie nature had been exposed in front of so many people. "You're so annoying! Is this what I meant?"

"Isn't that right?" Qiao Qiqi asked innocently.

Fang Ke's face turned even redder, "You you you..."

"Stop teasing her. This girl really misses you. She talks about you countless times every day at home." Fang Jingru stepped forward, her gaze fixed on Qiao Qiqi's face. Seeing that her complexion was rosy and she looked to be in good condition, she finally felt relieved.

Qiao Qiqi had just finished writing a serial novel to show Fang Jingru. Seeing that the old lady and Fang's parents were already chatting, she took Fang Ke and Fang Jingru's hands and said, "Old lady, Fang Ke, Aunt, and I are going upstairs to catch up. We won't stay here with you."

"Alright, alright, go ahead!" The old lady waved her hand.

Qiao Qiqi then led Fang Ke and Fang Jingru upstairs, leaving Xiao Jinpeng and Xiao Jinyu standing there with gloomy faces. Their plan had failed, and they could only leave disappointed.

After getting into the car, Xiao Jinyu couldn't help but complain, "The Fang family's arrival is too coincidental! Brother, what do we do now?"

Xiao Jinpeng had no idea what to do.

Seeing how wary Qiao Qiqi was, he felt even more strongly that the woman was not simple.

However, if once doesn't work, try again. He didn't believe that woman could keep refusing him forever!

Having made up his mind, Xiao Jinpeng informed Xiao Jinyu to come and invite him again the next day.

"Okay!" Xiao Jinyu agreed.

When they arrived the next day, the old lady told them that Qiao Qiqi had gone to the Fang family's house the night before and had not returned.

The two realized that Qiao Qiqi was deliberately avoiding them, and unwilling to give up, they rushed to the Fang family again, only to be told that Qiao Qiqi and Fang Ke had gone out to see a movie and had not returned yet.

"This woman is clearly playing us on purpose!" Even Xiao Jinyu, who was usually quite naive, could see that now.

There are more than one cinema in Beijing, and even if they find the right one, they might end up going to the wrong place again.

Realizing they were destined to return empty-handed, the two went home in a huff.

The next morning, Qiao Qiqi had just gotten up when she heard a car drive into the yard. Seeing that someone had come so early, she subconsciously walked to the window and looked down, just in time to see Qin Baoguo getting out of the car.

Seeing that Qin Baoguo had returned, and that Qin Huai must have come as well, Qiao Qiqi immediately disregarded everything else and rushed downstairs.

He ran into the yard in one breath, and everyone had already gotten out of the car.

Qin Huai was holding Chenchen's hand and talking to her with his head turned to the side when he suddenly heard footsteps. He slowly looked up.

Then, someone suddenly pounced on him.

Qiao Qiqi rushed straight into Qin Huai's arms and hugged his waist tightly.

Seeing this person at that moment, she realized just how much she missed him!

Before they knew it, a month had passed since they last saw each other.

Qin Huai stiffened for a moment, then subconsciously let go of Chenchen's hand and hugged her.

Having grown accustomed to Qiao Qiqi's enthusiasm, even after a month apart, Qin Huai's subconscious reaction was ingrained in his very being.

But when he looked up and didn't see any shocked, teasing, or embarrassed looks from anyone, his body stiffened again, and he quickly reminded Qiao Qiqi, "There are people here, let go quickly."

"No!" Qiao Qiqi didn't care at all; they'd already been seen anyway.

Since that's the case, she might as well let her heart guide her and hold on a little longer.