Zhao Qingyun nodded, "Okay, then let's go back the day after tomorrow, no later than the day after tomorrow, I have important business to attend to."
He went back to his room upstairs. This apartment was bought by his parents after they got married. He didn't live here often after he went to college, but going back to his own apartment was too much trouble, and he hadn't arranged for someone to clean it in advance.
He looked at himself during his middle school years; this house had witnessed his growth.
Zhao Qingyun made a call, but Xu Lai didn't answer. He checked the time and guessed that she was probably taking a shower right now.
If he were home, he would help her blow-dry her hair in ten minutes, and then the two of them would lie in bed chatting. He would smell the same shower gel that smelled like hers as he did, and hold her as they fell asleep.
Twenty minutes later, the phone rang. Xu Lai had just finished drying her hair when she saw the message on her phone, so she called back.
Zhao Qingyun answered immediately and asked, "Have you missed me?"
Xu Lai thought for a moment and said, "Would you believe me if I said I didn't?"
Zhao Qingyun was so angry that his teeth itched. "Xu Lai, I'll give you one more chance."
Xu Lai smiled and said, "Okay, okay, I missed you."
Actually, she didn't miss him too much, because she knew he would be back in a couple of days, and the feeling of parting was almost nonexistent.
Zhao Qingyun flipped the camera over, "Let me show you the room I've slept in since I was a child."
Xu Lai glanced at it and saw the photo frame flash by, but she didn't see Zhao Qingyun's face.
Xu Lai smiled and said, "Oh, now I have a vague memory. You've already stayed in my room, so I won't go into details."
Zhao Qingyun loosened his tie. He knew Xu Lai's room more than just a few times; he knew it inside and out.
Xu Lai placed her phone in front of the cup, took some body lotion, and chatted with him casually while applying it.
After applying the ointment to her legs, she took off her pajamas and started applying it to her body.
The two remained silent. Xu Lai even forgot that her phone was still on video. By the time she finished applying makeup and put on her pajamas, Zhao Qingyun's ear tips were already slightly red.
His Adam's apple bobbed twice, and his voice was low and hoarse as he cleared his throat. "Xu Lai, did you provoke me on purpose?"
Xu Lai was utterly wronged. "I don't know! Zhao Qingyun, what are you saying? It's too suggestive. Shut up."
Zhao Qingyun chuckled softly, "Wait for me to get back."
Xu Lai slammed down the phone in a huff, her cheeks flushed, and despite the cold weather, she broke out in a sweat. She quickly found the remote and turned off the heater.
Zhao Qingyun pressed the back of his hand to his forehead and sighed helplessly. He had originally planned to wait for the reaction in his lower body to subside on its own, but the scene kept replaying in his mind, and his whole body became hot.
Left with no other choice, he went to the bathroom, turned on the cold water, and then took a shower for almost half an hour.
After he finished showering, he felt much better. He was radiating cold air, and his skin felt icy cold to the touch.
The next morning, he got up early as usual. Xu Lai wasn't there, and no one was forcing him to stay in bed, so he went for a run around the neighborhood.
When Zhao Qingyun got home, the housekeeper had just put breakfast on the table. She took a bottle of water from the refrigerator and took a couple of sips.
The aunt quickly said, "Xiaoyun, don't drink cold water right after exercising."
Zhao Qingyun drank a third of the bottle, tightened the cap, and said, "It's okay, Auntie, I know what I'm doing."
This auntie has been working for them for many years. Zhao Qingyun can't even remember when she started working there. He only knows that he often ate the breakfast she made when he was in elementary school.
He went upstairs to take a shower, changed his clothes, and when he came downstairs, his parents and the old lady were already having breakfast at the table.
No one in their family has a rule that meals won't start until everyone is present; everyone eats on their own, sits down to eat, and leaves as soon as they're done.
Zhao Qingyun sat down, drank a bowl of porridge, ate half a fried dough stick, and then put down his chopsticks.
He was about to go to the head office when Ms. Yingqiu stopped him, saying, "Your grandfather is back. He invited our family to have dinner at the old house tonight. That person will be there too."
Zhao Qingyun frowned, then nodded: "Understood."
He went to the company with Zhao's father. He hadn't been back for a while, and the first thing he wanted to do was hold a shareholders' meeting.
He greeted his second uncle, who was Zhao Qingxi's father and also Zhao Duo's father.
Uncle Zhao nodded. He was in charge of the entertainment sector. When he was notified of a meeting today last night, he knew it was because his nephew had returned.
After the meeting, Zhao Qingxi went to his office and said, "Why are you back?"
Zhao Qingyun flipped through the project proposal and said, "After the old lady came back, my mother kept talking about her, and I also had some personal matters to attend to."
As Zhao Qingxi spoke, she glanced at him and said, "A while ago, I went to our family's jewelry store, and they said that our young boss Zhao had come by and ordered a ring."
Zhao Qingyun said impatiently, "Who knows if it was Zhao Duo who made the decision?"
Zhao Qingxi laughed and said, "You're kidding me. If Xiao Duo can order a ring, that's practically the same as you suddenly getting married."
She concluded by saying, "No matter what, you should bring the person back for a meeting before making a decision, so as not to upset Grandpa, since he had already chosen someone for you."
Zhao Qingyun nodded: "I know what I'm doing. The person he chose, tsk tsk, I don't think much of her either. She's not worthy of being compared to Xu Lai."
At 6 p.m., Zhao Qingyun and his father went home together to pick up Ms. Yingqiu and took her to the old house.
Before they even went inside, they could hear how lively it was. Ms. Yingqiu thought to herself, "That's true. As long as that person is there, there will never be a dull moment."
Zhao Qingyun put down the gift, walked up to the old man, and called him "Grandpa".
The old man was not young; his face was full of wrinkles, which became even more pronounced when he smiled.
He took Zhao Qingyun's hand and asked, "You're back. Are you leaving again this time?"
Zhao Qingyun did not answer, but only said, "I'll go over there and say hello first."
Next to the old man was a woman who looked to be in her sixties. She was the old man's caregiver, though that was only in name.
Zhao Qingyun's grandmother passed away early, in her fifties. After the old man got older, he hired a caregiver. Who knows what methods the caregiver used to successfully take over the job?
Although she was ostensibly a nanny, she actually enjoyed the treatment of a concubine, and she could only accept it obediently, otherwise Old Master Zhao's three children would not be easy to mess with.
But the nanny's daughter was restless and actually tried to push her daughter onto Zhao Qingyun, which is why he fled to Heng County.
I don't know where I heard that Zhao Qingyun has a girlfriend, so I thought he brought her with him and was planning to make things difficult for him. But I didn't even see her.
Zhao Qingyun went over and called out, "Aunt Qin."
Liu Qin hummed in agreement. She was hardly an aunt; her mother relied on the old man, and she only benefited from it, yet she never seemed to recognize her own place.
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