"You've come so quickly," said Mr. Lu as he sat down in front of Xing Zhaozhao.
“It’s just on Renmin Road right next door, only a few steps away,” Xing Zhaozhao said, glancing at Zhou Huaixi beside her. “I didn’t expect Mr. Zhou to be here too.”
Zhou Huaixi looked a little dejected. He greeted Xing Zhaozhao and then sat down next to Mr. Lu.
“He hasn’t been in a good mood these past few days. I was worried that he would get sick from staying cooped up at home, so I took the liberty of bringing him along. You don’t mind, do you?” Mr. Lu asked.
Xing Zhaozhao shook her head: "I don't care."
As she spoke, she glanced at Zhou Huaixi and couldn't help but ask, "Has something happened?"
After saying that, he realized it was inappropriate to ask about someone's private matters, so he quickly apologized, "I'm sorry, I was too nosy."
"It's nothing, it's not something that can't be talked about," Zhou Huaixi said.
Xing Zhaozhao looked at Mr. Lu with a questioning expression.
Seeing that Zhou Huaixi didn't mind, Mr. Lu directly told Xing Zhaozhao, "A couple of days ago, the higher-ups notified Huaixi that they had caught the person who framed his father, Professor Zhou Qingyuan, back then, and that they were going to exonerate Professor Zhou Qingyuan."
Xing Zhaozhao was surprised: "So fast?" She had only mentioned it to Mingcheng before the New Year, and it had only been a few days.
Mr. Lu and Zhou Huaixi both looked at Xing Zhaozhao with surprise.
"What do you mean? Do you know something?" Zhou Huaixi looked at Xing Zhaozhao, frowned, and asked.
Xing Zhaozhao was taken aback for a moment, then quickly shook her head: "Know what? I don't know anything!"
"Then why did you ask so quickly? It's like you know something," Zhou Huaixi said.
"That's really fast. It's only been a month since I last heard you mention your father, isn't it?" Xing Zhaozhao asked.
Zhou Huaixi: "..."
Now that you mention it, it does seem to make sense.
Xing Zhaozhao secretly breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that Zhou Huaixi no longer had any doubts.
"Who did it?" she asked deliberately. "To frame Mr. Zhou's father so secretly, it couldn't be someone close to him, could it?"
Zhou Huaixi's face fell, and he looked dejected.
"So... I was right?" she asked, looking at Mr. Lu.
Mr. Lu nodded sadly: "It's that Li Jian, Huai Xi's father's only student, whom Huai Xi always treated like a brother..."
"It was him?" Xing Zhaozhao exclaimed in surprise. "No wonder Mr. Zhou suffered such a great blow."
“That’s right,” said Mr. Lu. “I don’t know where the higher-ups got the information from, but before the New Year, when he was completely unprepared, they took action and brought him down in one fell swoop. Although the details are still under investigation, it’s basically eight or nine out of ten. Otherwise, who knows how long we would have been fooled.”
"Really?" Xing Zhaozhao exclaimed in surprise, but secretly she couldn't help but feel delighted. It was she who did it!
“Although it’s a bit late, Professor Zhou’s innocence has been cleared after all. Mr. Zhou should be happy. As for the others, they’re not worth wasting so much of your feelings on and affecting your mood. It’s unnecessary,” Xing Zhaozhao advised Zhou Huaixi.
"That's true." Zhou Huaixi took a deep breath, and his mood improved a bit.
"I want to move my research back to China as soon as possible," Zhou Huaixi said after a moment's thought.
Mr. Lu turned to look at Zhou Huaixi, his face full of surprise: "You actually changed your mind?"
Zhou Huaixi smiled with a rare ease: "My father dedicated his entire life to contributing to the country. Even when he was wronged, even on his deathbed, he never wavered in his original intention. I want to carry on his legacy, rather than continue to get stuck in a rut."
Mr. Lu was also happy for him: "It's good that you've figured it out."
“It should have been done a long time ago. After all, you’re not young anymore. You’ve wasted your best years by getting stuck in a rut. Even if you want to contribute to the country, you won’t be able to do it for many more years. If you get sick or suffer some kind of disaster, what use will you be?” Xing Zhaozhao said.
Mr. Lu and Zhou Huaixi both turned to look at Xing Zhaozhao: "..."
Xing Zhaozhao met their somewhat complicated gazes: "What, did I say something wrong?"
"No, not at all..." Zhou Huaixi looked at Xing Zhaozhao, his eyes filled with a hint of resentment. There was no need to be so blunt.
At this moment, Qin Shi walked over and smiled at Xing Zhaozhao: "Hello."
Mr. Lu immediately stood up and introduced to Xing Zhaozhao: "By the way, this is Mr. Qin Shi, the buyer of your wooden box."
Xing Zhaozhao stood up and said, "Hello, Mr. Qin, please have a seat."
After Qin Shi sat down, Xing Zhaozhao glanced at Fu Hong, who had been watching them from a distance, and asked curiously, "Does Mr. Qin know the owner of this place?"
Qin Shi nodded: "We were neighbors when we were kids."
Xing Zhaozhao raised an eyebrow slightly: "That's quite a coincidence." He also lives on Dacheng Street.
"It's not a coincidence. I used to come here often, so I specifically chose this place," Qin Shi said.
Xing Zhaozhao smiled but did not correct his misunderstanding.
"Mr. Lu said you wanted to see me, but I don't know why?" Xing Zhaozhao asked.
"Oh, I just wanted to ask you where you got that wooden box," Qin Shi said.
“I found it by chance while sorting through old things at home,” Xing Zhaozhao said. “I heard from the elders in my family that she found it outside the scrap yard in town before, but she can’t remember exactly when she found it. She’s old and her memory isn’t good.”
"No wonder I couldn't find it after searching the junkyard so many times back then; it turns out it was taken long ago," Qin Shi said with a helpless sigh.
Xing Zhaozhao's eyebrows twitched slightly.
He did indeed go to the junkyard to look for that wooden box.
Xing Zhaozhao looked surprised: "So that wooden box originally belonged to Mr. Qin's family?"
Qin Shi nodded: "That wooden box was made by my grandfather. It was a wedding gift for my grandmother when we got married. My grandmother always cherished it. Unfortunately, during that special period, my grandmother suffered because of her status as a capitalist's daughter. The family was in chaos, and many things were lost, including that wooden box. My grandmother fell ill after that. I've always wanted to find it, but I've never been able to. My grandmother passed away not long after, and my grandfather was devastated and soon followed suit..."
When Qin Shi spoke of what happened back then, his eyes welled up with tears.
"Oh, I see." Xing Zhaozhao felt a pang of sadness. "Since that wooden box originally belonged to your family, then the auction proceeds..."
She hesitated for a moment, then said, "Maybe I shouldn't take it..."
After saying that, I couldn't help but feel sorry for myself; it cost so much money.
Qin Shi smiled and said, "Since that wooden box has been in your family for so many years, it belongs to you, and the money from the auction is rightfully yours. I specially asked Mr. Lu to arrange this meeting with you, not for the money, but to thank you. If your elders hadn't picked it up back then, it might have been chopped up and burned for firewood long ago, and it wouldn't be here now. When my grandparents passed away, they had nothing of value and left nothing behind. Now that we've found something, it's a way to remember them."
"Thank you." Qin Shi stood up, bowed solemnly to Xing Zhaozhao, and said.
Xing Zhaozhao felt a little embarrassed and quickly stood up: "You're too kind..."
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