The little beggar was speechless after being asked two questions in a row by Qiao Qiqi.

Qiao Qiqi stared intently at his face. "I don't care what you're hiding, but you lied to me, so I can't let you stay here without a reason."

"I'll take my sister away right now!" the little beggar said, rushing into the house.

Qiao Qiqi didn't stop him, but just as he reached the door, she suddenly said, "Have you thought it through? It's almost dark now. It's fine for you to be out alone, but your sister is only 5 years old. In the dark and windy night, if she runs into bad people, you two children will be left helpless."

The little beggar froze, rooted to the spot.

A fierce struggle flashed across her small face.

Seeing his appearance, Qiao Qiqi finally softened. "Fine, since you saved me once, I'll let you stay at my house for one night, but you have to answer two questions for me."

"The first question is, are your parents really dead?"

"The second question is, when you came in you said you were being targeted by bad guys, and now you say that corrupt police officers are arresting you. So how many times have you encountered bad guys? Have you been arrested many times?"

The little beggar thought for a moment before turning around and returning to Qiao Qiqi, saying, "My parents really are dead, but not last year. They died three years ago in a car accident."

“In the past three years, we have encountered a lot of bad people. Those bad people would wear police uniforms to trick my sister and me into opening the door, and then they would grab us and put us in a car to sell us to a faraway place. So now we don’t trust anyone.”

Three years ago...

The little beggar was not even 10 years old at that time, and his younger sister was only two years old.

Qiao Qiqi couldn't imagine how two children that big could have survived.

No wonder he stole cornbread from the little beggar when he first met him.

The little beggar hesitated for a moment and then said, "The house we live in is not our home. The house is empty. We broke in and moved in."

"Where do you live?"

The little beggar glanced at her, pursed his lips, and remained silent.

Qiao Qiqi realized that he might have something he couldn't say, or that he might have bad memories of that place, so she didn't press him.

"Fine, if you don't want to tell me, then forget it. But you have to tell me your and your sister's names, otherwise I can't just keep calling you little beggars, can I?"

The little beggar's eyes flickered. "My name is Chenchen, and my sister's name is Xinxin."

Seeing that he was still wary of her and wouldn't even tell her his full name, Qiao Qiqi didn't press him.

"Okay, Chenchen, you and your sister go inside and get some sleep first. I'll let you stay for the night, and we'll talk about the rest tomorrow."

The little beggar looked at her hesitantly, as if he wanted to say something but couldn't.

“Say what you want to say,” Qiao Qiqi said.

The little beggar hesitated for a moment before saying, "I can work, I'm not afraid of hardship or fatigue, can you please not send my sister and me away?"

What!

Why should I blame myself for this?

Adopting two children is a big deal, and Qiao Qiqi was at a loss for what to do, but when she met the pitiful look in their eyes, she couldn't bear to refuse.

"Let me think about this for a bit. You can stay here for now, and I'll let you know when I've made up my mind."

The little beggar naturally interpreted her words as meaning that as long as he behaved well and worked hard, he would be able to stay.

Thinking of this, he immediately perked up.

Seeing that there was only half a tank of water left, he immediately scooped out two ladles of water, carried the bucket to the well to pump water.

Seeing that it was getting dark and he was still fetching water, Qiao Qiqi immediately went over to stop him, "It's getting late, go wash up and go to bed. There's no rush to work, you can do it tomorrow."

"No need, I'm not sleepy yet. I'll get some water and then go to sleep."

Qiao Qiqi couldn't stop him, so she simply let him go.

Of course, she mainly wanted to observe the little beggar's behavior. If he was of bad character or lazy, she wouldn't keep him.

Watching the little beggar pour the water from the bucket into the well, then quickly pump it up a few times to draw the water up, he soon filled a bucket.

The movements were practiced and skillful; it was clear this wasn't the first time he'd done this.

What puzzled Qiao Qiqi even more was the little beggar's name. In this day and age, most people are named Jianjun, Weiguo, Jianjun, Jiefang, Zhi, Ling, Juan, and the like, especially in rural areas, where almost all names are like this.

Children like Chenchen and Xinxin, who are like little beggars, are rarely useful.

So when Qiao Qiqi heard the little beggar say those two names, she subconsciously wondered if the two of them were from a big city.

But looking at Chenchen's skillful water-pressing movements, Qiao Qiqi was no longer so sure.

But if they weren't from the city, how could such a young child come up with such a name?

After thinking for a long time without coming up with a solution, Qiao Qiqi simply gave up trying.

"What are you thinking about?" Qin Huai came back from outside and saw Qiao Qiqi sitting in the courtyard, not moving for a long time. He walked over and asked.

Qiao Qiqi glanced at him, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw Chenchen coming out of the kitchen. Her eyes flickered, and she stood up. "I'll go inside and make the bed. Are you going up the mountain again tonight?"

Qin Huai glanced at Chenchen and said, "I'm not going. I made plans with my mother to go mushroom picking in the mountains tomorrow."

Qiao Qiqi also felt that it would be better not to go up the mountain. There were two strangers in the house tonight. Although Chenchen was just a child, it would be unsafe for her, a woman, to be at home alone if they had bad intentions.

Go inside and spread out the bedding.

Qiao Qiqi laid out a newly made quilt for Xin Xin's wedding, and simply gave the new quilt to Chenchen and Xin Xin as well, while she and Qin Huai used the old one.

Although it's old, it was all washed clean before.

After finishing all that, Chenchen also finished fetching water.

Qin Huai taught him to take a shower, and then Chenchen went inside to sleep.

After a busy day, Qiao Qiqi felt sticky and uncomfortable all over.

Seeing that Chenchen had gone to sleep, she immediately put the towel in the basin to wet it, then wrung it out and wiped herself. Since she couldn't reach her back, she handed the towel to Qin Huai, saying, "Help me wipe my back."

After saying that, Qiao Qiqi turned her back to Qin Huai, lifted her shirt, and waited for him to serve her.

As Qin Huai gazed at the fair and slender waistline, a surge of heat suddenly rose from his waist.

My whole body felt burning hot, as if I were being roasted on a fire.

A man who had recently indulged in sensual pleasures suddenly abstained from sex for so many days. If he hadn't been forcefully controlling himself and deliberately avoiding looking at or thinking about it, he would have already given in.

At this moment, even a small section of skin can instantly spread like wildfire.

Qiao Qiqi waited for several seconds, but seeing that the person behind her did not move, she couldn't help but turn around and met a pair of dark eyes.

Seeing the man's flushed cheeks, Qiao Qiqi instantly realized something, suddenly put down her shirt, and leaned forward to get closer to the man.

"Your face is so red, are you shy?"