Chapter 194 Nobody Has a Choice
"You arranged for us to meet?" Qin Yi forced a smile, barely containing his anger. "I need someone else to arrange a meeting for me to see my own mother. Brother, I'm here to visit relatives, not to visit someone in prison."
These words were rather sharp, causing the air inside the car to suddenly freeze.
Shi Yi felt a little embarrassed and quickly tried to smooth things over, "Xiao Yi, what are you doing? Talking to your brother like that! He must have his reasons for making these arrangements. Look at you, you kept praising your brother when you came, how come you're saying such hurtful things now?"
After Shi Yi finished speaking, she glanced at Qin Ce and said with a smile, "Brother Qin Ce, you and Xiao Yi haven't seen each other for so many years, so you may not know him very well. He's usually a very nice person. He just wanted to see Auntie, so he was a little anxious. Don't take it to heart."
Qin Yi hugged his bag, turned his head to the side, somewhat angry, but did not refute.
He was indeed a little anxious, but how could he not be anxious when he finally got to see his mother whom he hadn't seen for twenty years?
Shi Yi also said, "Brother Qin Ce, you've never been back, so you don't know that Xiao Yi hasn't had a good time these past few years."
"The aunt that Uncle Qin married, she... I'm not trying to say anything bad about her, it's just that after they got married, Xiao Yi and Uncle Qin's relationship got worse and worse. Now Uncle Qin's attention is all on his children, and he hardly cares about Xiao Yi at all."
These are long stories, but these few sentences are enough to prove that Qin Yi has not had a very happy life with his father all these years.
When I was young, I was naive and didn't understand that woman's true nature; I was repeatedly provoked.
By the time he became old enough to understand, the relationship between father and son was beyond repair. He even wondered countless times if his mother had taken him away instead, would his life have been completely different?
But there was no other way at that time; he couldn't choose, and neither could anyone else.
Qin Liang disliked Qin Ce because he was always going against him, and Qiao Yi was even more afraid that Qin Ce would do something earth-shattering if he followed him.
Left with no other choice, she had to take Qin Ce with her.
After Shi Yi finished speaking, the carriage fell into a long silence.
After an unknown amount of time, Qin Ce suddenly returned to the hotel booking page, scrolled through his contacts, found Joey's number, and called her.
He also put it on speakerphone.
The call connected, and Joey's offbeat voice came through the other end, "Baby, what's up? You've finished eating, do you want to pack some for Mommy? Anything is fine, you know Mommy loves to eat..."
"Qin Yi is here."
Qin Ce interrupted her, and those words seemed to pause the conversation on the other end of the phone, bringing the sound to an abrupt halt.
Qin Yi stared intently at his phone, the woman's voice replaying in his mind, conjuring up countless happy and beautiful images.
But none of these scenes belong to him.
With each stroke of the brush, Qin Yi's face changed, and even he himself felt that he looked somewhat repulsive at that moment.
After a long silence, Joey's voice finally came from the phone, "Where are you?"
“Guxi Street”.
"Well..." Joey's voice sounded a bit unnatural, as if she didn't know how to respond, "Well, has he eaten?"
Qin Ce glanced back at him and asked, "Have you eaten?"
Qin Yi's eyes flickered, and he quickly composed himself, saying in a muffled voice, "I didn't eat."
With the speakerphone on, Joey naturally heard it.
"You guys go reserve a table first, I'll be right there."
"good."
Qin Ce hung up the phone and looked up to meet Qin Yi's gaze. "What do you want to eat?"
The latter seemed somewhat guilty and uneasy, subtly averting her gaze, and said, "Whatever."
Qin Ce glanced around and drove the car away.
This side.
Qiao Xing and Wang Ye finished eating, but there was still a lot left because they had ordered enough for three people, but Qin Ce hadn't come, so the two of them couldn't finish it.
Wang Ye called a waiter to pack the food, paid for it, and walked out of the mall with Qiao Xing.
It was already dark outside, with colorful neon lights flashing everywhere. People were coming and going, and the cold wind was blowing back and forth at the door. The two of them stood at the door, looking at the bustling square, but felt an indescribable loneliness.
Qiao Xing felt a chill run down her spine.
Wang Ye said, "Didn't Qin Ce say he was coming to pick you up? Give him a call."
Qiao Xing clutched her phone and put it in her pocket. She pulled her hat up and hunched her shoulders, saying, "I texted him. He should be here as soon as he's done with his work."
"Then let's go inside and wait. It's so cold outside."
"Okay." Qiao Xing was also a little overwhelmed. The winters in the south are so cold they freeze you to the bone, especially when the wind blows, it feels like you're inhaling knives.
The two went inside and found a place to sit. Wang Ye saw that her face was red from the cold, so he ran to buy her a cup of hot milk tea.
Looking at the milk tea in her hand, Qiao Xing couldn't help but tease, "Looks like this relationship wasn't a waste of time; I've been trained to be so understanding."
Wang Ye paused, then glanced at Qiao Xing with annoyance. "Can you say something nice? I'm still heartbroken."
Qiao Xing opened her mouth, "I'm sorry."
"Never mind." Wang Ye sat down next to her, took a sip of his milk tea, and listlessly glanced around the mall.
He suddenly saw a girl in a white wool coat in front of him and nudged Qiao Xing with his elbow, "Is that your colleague?"
Qiao Xing followed his gaze and saw that it was indeed none other than her boss, Bai Yi.
Bai Yi was holding the hand of a four or five-year-old child, and the two were buying milk tea at the entrance of a milk tea shop.
"Yes." Qiao Xing was also a little surprised. Why was Bai Yi holding a child's hand?
Could it be her son?
But isn't she dating Jiang Wang?
Is the child Jiang Wang's?
In just a few seconds, Qiao Xing went through a brainstorming session, imagining a melodramatic and heart-wrenching love story.
"Go over and say hello."
Qiao Xing paused for a moment, then shook her head and said, "Forget it, don't go."
No one in the department knew that Bai Yi had a child. If she went to find out, she might be silenced.
Wang Ye shrugged, showing no interest.
However, after Bai Yi finished buying the milk tea, she turned around and saw Qiao Xing, and their eyes met.
Now it's impossible to pretend you didn't see it.
Qiao Xing had no choice but to stand up from his chair and walk over to greet her, "Team Leader Bai, what a coincidence."
Bai Yi nodded without changing his expression. "Yes, what are you doing here?"
"Oh, my cousin and I are eating here." Qiao Xing said, glancing down at the little boy. To be honest, his features did resemble Bai Yi's.
"This is my son," Bai Yi introduced calmly. "Linlin, call her Auntie."
The child, holding a cup of milk tea, looked up at Qiao Xing with a curious expression and said in a soft, sweet voice, "Hello, Auntie."
"..." The pearl in Qiao Xing's mouth got stuck in her throat, neither going up nor down, and it took a lot of effort to swallow it down.
She forced a smile: "Y-hello."
"You seem surprised?"
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