Chapter 14 The couple returned home together. He didn't care about people, he only cared about a cat. ...

She shouldn't have come. She didn't get the questions she wanted to ask, and instead exposed her own secrets. Zhu Qingzhi glared at him and immediately shut up.

Lu Yao took his phone out of his shirt pocket and asked lazily, "Wen Qi wants you to go back to the old house with him for dinner?"

...

They were born to the same parents, so how come his brain works better than hers?

"Are you willing to go? If not, I'll have him reschedule." His phone was still on the work group screen, with messages popping up from time to time.

Zhu Qingzhi leaned back, finding a comfortable position: "There's nothing I'm unwilling to do; we'll have to meet eventually."

With an unlit cigarette dangling from his mouth, Lu Yao replied to a message in the work group: "It's only three years, it doesn't matter if we don't see each other again."

"They're not really going to eat me. Besides, it's basic courtesy!" Seeing that he was genuinely busy, Zhu Qingzhi got up and offered him her chair, but she was still persistent, leaning closer to look at the bruise around Lu Yao's eye. "Who exactly did you fight with?"

Lu Yao put away his phone and flicked her forehead: "It's a private matter, don't meddle in kids' business. By the way, can you handle those things online?"

Zhu Qingzhi angrily picked up her bag and slammed it against him: "You're an outsider, so don't interfere." She walked to the door, then turned back, pulled a plaster from her bag, and threw it on the table. "Didn't I tell you, you don't look handsome at all in sunglasses!"

*

When Zhu Qingzhi returned to the villa on the hillside, Wen Qi had already arrived home.

He was standing by the sofa, buttoning his shirt. A few red marks flashed across his chest, and there was a similar mark on his wrist last night. Had he been in a fight too? But looking at him like this, who could he have gotten into a fight with?

As Wen Qi finished buttoning the last button, he noticed Zhu Qingzhi looking lost in thought: "What's wrong?"

"nothing."

She noticed that the shirt Wen Qi was wearing had a Chinese-style design with frog buttons, which clearly matched the cheongsam that had been delivered that morning. Zhu Qingzhi immediately took off her shoes and prepared to go upstairs to change her clothes.

It was just past 5:15. From here, it would only take half an hour to get to the Wen family's old residence if there was no traffic.

However, traffic jams can make the time unpredictable, and being late is considered very impolite, so they need to leave before the evening rush hour.

Today, Uncle Li from the Wen family's old residence drove to pick them up, and the two of them sat in the back seat.

Zhu Qingzhi's nervousness hadn't subsided, and she stared blankly at the scenery outside the window the whole way. Wen Qi also seemed to be busy with work, the sound of his typing never stopping.

Time flew by. After Uncle Li turned into the gate of the Wen family's old mansion, Wen Qi closed his laptop and asked, "Are you nervous?"

"A little," Zhu Qingzhi told the truth, especially when she saw several people waiting anxiously in front of the door, her tension reached its peak.

Wen Qi suddenly patted her head: "Don't worry, you can play with Xiao Cang in a little while."

Zhu Qingzhi was momentarily unsure whether to ponder Wen Qi's sudden intimate gesture or to consider who Xiao Cang was. The car was already parked at the door.

Wen Qi quickly opened the car door and got out, then went around to the door on Zhu Qingzhi's side and stopped her parents who were trying to surround her: "I reminded you yesterday to be more discreet, or you might scare her."

Mother Wen's eyes were almost closed from laughing. She had long since ignored Wen Qi's previous instructions: "You think your wife will be scared away by us? Let me tell you, if she runs away, you can only blame yourself for being useless."

Wen's mother gave Wen Qi a forced smile and glared at him, signaling him to open the car door quickly.

Wen's father was practically playing the role of a mascot. Ever since he received the news yesterday that Wen Qi was going to bring Zhu Qingzhi home, he had been trained by Wen's mother to manage his facial expressions all day long, and now his face was almost frozen from smiling.

Zhu Qingzhi was wondering why Wen Qi was blocking the car door and wouldn't open it.

Uncle Li chuckled and said, "Young Master made a special trip back to the old house yesterday to tell Master and Madam to behave themselves when they see you. I think Madam has probably forgotten, and Young Master is reminding her now."

Is Wen Qi really that thoughtful?

She immediately loosened her grip on her sleeve, her tense emotions easing a bit. She smiled at Uncle Li and gently pushed open the car door. Wen Qi noticed her movement and stepped aside.

"Dad, Mom," she said politely as she got out of the car.

Wen Qi leaned lazily against the car door with his hands in his pockets, seemingly not paying much attention to how she addressed him.

Mother Wen knew Zhu Qingzhi, and seeing that she was even more beautiful and lovely than on TV, she liked her even more. In addition, she and Wen Qi were dressed in matching clothes today and looked very well-matched standing together. Mother Wen completely forgot what Wen Qi had said.

"Chao Chao, it's chilly outside, come in quickly." Mother Wen called her by her nickname and pulled her into the house, completely ignoring the two men standing outside.

Wen's father's smile had become muscle memory; he couldn't relax at all. He patted Wen Qi on the shoulder and said, "Haven't you gotten used to it after all these years? It's no use telling your mother anything."

Wen Qi pressed the tip of his tongue against one side of his cheek, lowered his head, and maintained the same posture as before. His eyes were slightly raised, and he could just see Zhu Qingzhi's back. Belatedly, a soft laugh escaped his throat.

The sound wasn't loud, but it was quite noticeable in the quiet night. Wen's father, who was walking inside, paused noticeably. He turned around as if he had seen a ghost, and saw Wen Qi pull his hand out and slap it on the car window, looking at him and calling out, "Dad."

Surely not? Just because Zhu Qingzhi politely called out "Mom and Dad," this kid starts plotting his own scheme? With this puzzled feeling, Mr. Wen entered the room and first poured himself a cup of tea to calm his nerves.

Then Wen Qi took out a pre-prepared gift from the trunk and went inside.

Wen's mother had already pulled Zhu Qingzhi to sit on the sofa and was enthusiastically promoting the food laid out on the table.

The first thing Wen Qi did upon entering the room was to call out "Mom." Unlike the usual polite greetings, this time the sound was clearly filled with joy.

Wen's mother unconsciously glanced up at him, but couldn't discern anything amiss on his face. Wen's father, however, had already seen through everything and remained calm as he turned the page of the newspaper in his hand.

The gifts were prepared according to Mr. and Mrs. Wen's preferences, so there were no mistakes. Mr. and Mrs. Wen didn't care much about these formalities, so they didn't pay much attention to them and just told Wen Qi to put them aside.

Zhu Qingzhi seized the opportunity and took out the bracelet and beaded bracelet she had prepared.

Before she could even say anything auspicious, Wen's mother had already eagerly opened the box, slipped the bracelet onto her wrist, and then grabbed Wen's father's hand, sliding the bracelet into his as well: "We love it, we love it so much!"

Oh my god, she's so cute.

Zhu Qingzhi was also touched by Wen's mother's smile and sincerely smiled and said, "As long as Mom and Dad are happy."

Wen Qi walked over and happened to see this scene.

He didn't say anything, his gaze sweeping over the food on the table, noticing the mung bean cake next to it that Zhu Qingzhi had taken a bite of: "Next time, change it to Deyuefang's."

Zhu Qingzhi paused for a moment, then heard him say the second half of his sentence, "This one is too sweet; nobody likes to eat it anymore."

Immersed in joy, Wen's mother gave Wen Qi a perfunctory "hmm" in response.

This kind of dessert is usually only loved by girls. If Wen Qi knows so much about it, she must have done her homework.

At this moment, a maid came over and reminded them that they could go have dinner.

The table was brightly colored, and almost all the dishes were light and flavorful, just what she preferred. She and Wen Qi sat on one side, and Wen Qi served her food in a gentlemanly manner. Wen's mother was good at creating a lively atmosphere, so there wasn't much awkwardness.

After the meal, Zhu Qingzhi was already able to easily link arms with her and sit on the sofa to chat.

In response, Wen's father cast a look of pity and disdain at Wen Qi. How come this kid didn't inherit Wen's mother's social skills? After so many days of interaction, he's not even as fast as Wen's mother in winning him over.

Wen Qi seemed not to understand the subtext in her father's eyes, and simply left the living room silently.

What does it mean that he left at such a crucial moment?

Wen's father took a breath, utterly speechless at Wen Qi.

Wen's mother had a very deep understanding of Zhu Qingzhi. She not only knew about the recent public opinion storm that Zhu Qingzhi was involved in, but she could even explain the details of Zhu Qingzhi's early career.

Although her parents treated her very well, they were against her entering the entertainment industry. However, they couldn't persuade her otherwise, so they could only try to keep their eyes off her and didn't pay attention to anything she did in the entertainment industry.

Suddenly, a senior who was so supportive of her career appeared, and Zhu Qingzhi was both surprised and touched.

"If there's something you can't handle, don't bear it all by yourself." Wen's mother patted her hand, about to say something comforting, when she heard a cat meow.

Mr. Wen put down his newspaper and saw Wen Qi appear in the living room, holding the cat by the scruff of its neck.

The person was sitting right in front of me, and I don't know what he meant by going to play with the cat.

Mr. Wen felt complicated. He exchanged a glance with Mrs. Wen and found that she had the same complicated emotions in her eyes as he did. Most of these emotions were unspoken.

Zhu Qingzhi was feeling melancholy, and before the bitter tears could even reach her eyes, she was interrupted by a meow from a cat. Turning her head, she saw Wen Qi standing next to her, casually holding a cat in his left hand and texting on his phone in his right.

How can anyone resist petting a cat?! Especially a big, round, fat orange cat!

Zhu Qingzhi sniffed.

He held the big, fat orange cat in his hand, its two front paws poised in a surrender gesture on either side of its face. Its round, bright eyes were quite adorable, and it let out a soft meow as it looked at Zhu Qingzhi.

Wen Qi seemed to realize for the first time that he was holding a live cat. He didn't even lift his eyelids, and his voice remained as cold as ever: "Mom, your cat is stealing food again."

...So what if it steals food? It's been doing this for a while now, otherwise it wouldn't have grown to this size. I think you're just being nosy today, worrying about a cat instead of people.

Wen's mother felt like she had two heads to crack. She was furious at Wen Qi, but she couldn't get angry. She turned her head and glanced at Zhu Qingzhi, who was almost slumped on the sofa, looking at Wen Qi with a puzzled expression.

Wen's mother sighed inwardly, lamenting that her son was utterly hopeless, when she heard Zhu Qingzhi's tentative voice: "Xiao Cang?"

Wen Qi's voice came along with hers: "Xiao Cang".

A note from the author:

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Kiyoshi [heart eyes]: Ahhhhhhh (So cute)

Wen Qi [covers face and peeks]: Hmm~

Wenfu and Wenmu [eating melon][eating melon][eating melon]: Let's have some tea.

Author [eating melon]: [Let me see][Poor thing][Flattery] Mwah!