11 New Year
"Why did you come back early?"
Those must be his brother's partners in the antique business.
Her profession has a rather delicate relationship with their industry. Although she would not do anything illegal or corrupt, she can't escape other people's speculation and gossip.
But that's a story for another time.
She doesn't plan to go, so naturally she won't have any contact with them.
What about the fourth day?
"We should invite our neighbors in the village to dinner."
After making some inquiries, Song Chiyu discovered that they would be busy until the seventh day of the Lunar New Year. Once the busy period ended on the seventh day, everyone could finally prepare to go back to work.
Song Chiyu is hard to judge; she finds herself quite content staying at home alone.
"Has your nephew come back yet?"
He paused for a moment before realizing which nephew he was referring to. "You're asking about Qi Zhannan?"
"Hmm." Given how much importance her family placed on this, Song Chiyu found it hard to believe that this person would run away until now and not go back just to avoid going on a blind date with her.
No news.
"?" Song Chiyu was startled. What kind of monster was she? How could she scare a child with such strong family cohesion to the point that he didn't even go home for the New Year?
"You should tell him that I won't bother him."
"It's not your problem, he's afraid of me."
Are you fierce at home?
“A bit fiercer than others,” he explained gently.
"Well, you're doing this for his own good." Given how much his father and brother spoil him, if he doesn't become more stern, this nephew is doomed.
He smiled slightly. "Perhaps."
"Who is he talking to on the phone?" The people eating inside peeked at him through the window. "Why is he still smiling?"
"What? Second Uncle can actually laugh?" As a junior who had grown up hearing about Qi Yanzhou's bad reputation, they immediately became interested. However, Qi Yanzhou only glanced in their direction, and the crowd, who had been so enthusiastic just a moment ago, immediately scattered like birds and beasts and became bystanders.
**
Song Chiyu's "worries" reached the third day of the Lunar New Year, and Old Song called Qi Yanzhou to question him. What kind of era is this? Where is there any idea that wives get up and busy while men sleep in? It turned out that Qi Yanzhou got up even earlier than Song Chiyu and was extremely busy. In the short few minutes that the two of them were on the phone, three people had already come to see him.
Old Song swallowed back the words of scolding he was about to say, and instead expressed concern for him, telling Song Chiyu to be more understanding of her husband and to put her personal emotions aside for now.
Song Chiyu was very understanding, after all, she herself was lying on the sofa, and out of humanitarian concern, she sent Qi Yanzhou a WeChat message: "Still busy?"
He was busy, but he replied immediately when he saw her message.
"Then you go ahead with your work, I won't bother you anymore."
"Is something the matter?" Qi Yanzhou asked.
"Did my dad call and yell at you?"
"No, it's just that you need me to take extra care of you. I understand."
Song Chiyu felt a little guilty. "I'm glad you understand. When are you coming back? Let me treat you to dinner."
Qi Yanzhou: "?"
Qi Yanzhou called shortly after, asking with concern, "What's wrong?"
It seemed as if she thought there was something else she wanted to say, but was too embarrassed to bring it up.
Song Chiyu felt a little awkward: "...It's nothing, I just wanted to thank you."
"No need, it was my responsibility anyway." He secretly breathed a sigh of relief and resumed his usual aloofness.
Song Chiyu was even more embarrassed: "Okay, then call me anytime if you need my help."
"Do you want to see me?" he suddenly asked.
Song Chiyu couldn't help but recall the night he asked her if she wanted to sleep, his tone implying that he would go along with it if she wanted to. Her cheeks flushed slightly: "No, I just felt that since you've helped me so much, I should treat you to a meal."
"It's nothing," someone else came to see him, and he glanced at the anxious look on their face and said indifferently, "I have something to do here, I'll hang up now."
Song Chiyu didn't know why she was shy.
The conversation kept replaying in her mind, and it took her a while to recover. Perhaps it was the surge of adrenaline, but she suddenly didn't want to lie down anymore and wanted to go out for a walk.
Shops were gradually opening on the street, and after browsing around for a while, she headed towards the nearby antique market. As a famous ancient capital of seven dynasties, Ducheng was always bustling with activity, and every stall was surrounded by people who had come from afar specifically to hunt for bargains.
Song Chiyu usually buys broken fragments or incomplete pieces here to practice her skills, and also squats at the stalls pretending to select goods while listening to people haggle. She spent the morning browsing, buying several loose pages and fragments of ancient books, intending to take them home to restore, frame, and turn into cultural and creative decorations. Compared to complete ancient books, these fragments have lost their value for research and reading, but some ancient books are highly valuable to collectors, and their fragments are equally valuable. Song Chiyu usually finds fragments of ancient books that are not particularly valuable to begin with, only of learning and decorative value to her finished products, but she is still very happy and excited. Back home, she locked herself in her bedroom and started working on them. By the time she came to her senses, it was already dark outside.
A faint knocking sound came from outside the door.
She opened the bedroom door, and the knocking suddenly became louder. She stepped forward, puzzled, and asked, "Who is it?"
“I,” the person outside the door paused, “Qi Yanzhou.”
Song Chiyu opened the door in surprise: "Why are you here?"
When I contacted him at noon, he was still in Anxi.
"I've come to wish your parents a Happy New Year." He sighed silently and showed the gift box in his hand.
"At this hour?" Song Chiyu was surprised.
"Hmm." Qi Yanzhou walked in and placed the gift box on the shoe cabinet in the entryway. "Aren't they coming back tomorrow? If I deliver it tomorrow, won't I give myself away?"
Song Chiyu immediately realized that they had gone to Anxi together, but when Li Li returned, she found her alone at home, and there was no sign that she had just returned from Anxi. Wouldn't that mean she was doomed?
"Teacher Qi, thank you so much." If it weren't for him, she would have been scolded mercilessly on New Year's Eve. Forget about the New Year, she probably wouldn't have been able to even enter her own home and would have become the laughingstock of her hometown.
"You're welcome," Qi Yanzhou casually tidied up the sofa she had scattered on, "Have you eaten?"
"No," Song Chiyu suddenly came to her senses, "Teacher Qi, what would you like to eat?"
Seeing that she was still thinking about treating him to a meal, Qi Yanzhou said, "Anything is fine with me."
"Let's go out and see what we can eat now." Song Chiyu took off her down vest and walked towards the bedroom.
Qi Yanzhou's gaze unconsciously swept over her chest. Her already full breasts became even more prominent and rounded as she took off her clothes. He immediately lowered his eyelids and turned his back.
Song Chiyu hadn't thought anything of it at first, but now she felt a little uncomfortable and silently put on the vest she had taken off halfway.
When she came out after changing her clothes, neither of them mentioned the incident.
Arrive at the shopping mall in the city center.
There were more diners than Song Chiyu had expected. Long queues formed outside the slightly better restaurants, with wait times of at least half an hour. Song Chiyu didn't want to wait and suggested, "Teacher Qi, why don't we go to the supermarket to buy some food and cook at home? That should be faster than this."
“Okay,” Qi Yanzhou nodded, “I’m fine with either.”
However, the supermarket was also very crowded.
Song Chiyu was initially displeased, thinking he might be up to her bad idea, but he remained calm and showed no sign of giving her a hard time.
Qi Yanzhou pushed the shopping cart: "What do you want to eat?"
“I still have some vegetables at home, we can just buy some more vegetables and frozen products,” Song Chiyu said, her mood calming down. “What kind of broth do you usually use for hot pot? We only have tomato flavor at home.”
"Tomatoes will do."
"Then let's buy two more fresh tomatoes to make the sauce."
Song Chiyu found it hard to believe that she could feel comfortable under such circumstances. "Didn't you say you had guests at home tomorrow? Is it okay for you to come back like this today?"
He leaned down and looked at the freezer, his gaze falling on her: "Well, I sent someone else. It's just a meal for everyone, nothing big."
“It seems like nothing serious happened to you,” Song Chiyu said with a smile as she bent down to take something out of the freezer.
There are still some.
He just didn't want her to know. He blinked, staring at her eyelids. "Mm."
After the two of them exited the supermarket's express checkout, they received a call from Li Li.
"Xiaoyu, I heard from your third aunt that you found a university professor? He's tall, handsome, and treats you well. Why don't you bring him back for us to meet?" The person on the other end of the phone wasn't Li Li, but her cousin Song Zhi. Because the two were close in age, they had been compared since childhood. Song Zhi wasn't as good at studying as her, and she was always used as a negative example during the New Year. This situation only changed after Song Zhi got married and had a child. Now, hearing that Song Chiyu was going to become a "positive example" again, she naturally disagreed: "I know you just got married and it's inconvenient for you to come back, but is it a problem to see him? I've been trying to video call you these past few days, but I can't get through at all!"
Song Chiyu didn't speak, but Li Li's voice came from the side: "I told you, Xiaoyu has been very busy these past two days and hasn't had time to video chat with us. You can come to Ducheng to see her anytime after she's done with her work."
"Third Aunt, that's not how it works. Even if you're busy, you shouldn't be so busy that you don't have time to connect to a video call, right?" Song Zhi persisted. "Don't you think so, Xiaoyu?"
"Okay." Song Chiyu replied calmly, "If you really want to see it, then go ahead and watch it."
"It's not that I want to see it, it's just that everyone is curious." Song Zhi didn't believe it at all, thinking it was all Li Li's imagination. After all, her daughter, who had been the pride of the family since childhood, had suddenly become a negative example for the family. Who could stand that? In addition, Li Li didn't have much experience in this area, so it was understandable that she exaggerated without thinking. However, Song Zhi had been scolded by his parents a lot because Song Chiyu had found a good partner, so he had to find out the truth about this matter no matter what.
Song Chiyu hung up the phone.
He looked at Qi Yanzhou beside him.
Qi Yanzhou: "?"
At the same time, Song Zhi's video call came in. Song Chiyu didn't have time to explain, and said succinctly, "My relatives back home want to see you. Just help me greet them."
For Qi Yanzhou, this required almost no cost.
He nodded slightly: "Yes."
[Author's Note]
Starting with this chapter, I'll be updating daily! [heart emoji]
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