31 Agreement
"You don't like me, yet you're so wet?"
"If you don't like me, why are you so good at being wet?" His voice remained gentle and polite, not at all like something crude to say.
Song Chiyu was startled.
Qi Yanzhou realized his emotions were off, took a deep breath, and calmed himself down, saying, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that. I'll be back soon, just a little while, okay?"
After saying that, he gently touched her lips again.
Song Chiyu was so charmed by his kiss and questions that she inexplicably agreed.
Only then did he get up and leave.
Unexpectedly, he didn't return all night. Song Chiyu only learned in the morning that something had happened in the nearby mountains. Qi Yanzhou had led people up the mountain overnight and hadn't returned yet. Song Chiyu was unsure how to evaluate him as the head of the family and leisurely ate her breakfast in the dining room.
There are other guests in Anxi today.
After having dinner, Qi Qingfang and Qi Jianguo led their men back first, leaving only Qi Zhannan and Song Chiyu to wait for Qi Yanzhou to set off together.
When Song Chiyu was halfway through her meal, Qi Yanzhou finally returned.
The collar of his white shirt was smudged with mud, adding a touch of determination to his handsome face. Song Chiyu scrutinized him intently, and once he sat down beside her, she quietly moved closer: "What have you been busy with?"
Qi Yanzhou was about to answer.
An elderly man with white hair beckoned him into the main hall. Song Chiyu couldn't help but say, "Grandpa, you've all been busy all night, why don't you all have something to eat first? I'll get some for everyone."
Once she stood up, the others didn't know what to say and could only sit down in the dining room.
However, Qi Yanzhou didn't let her do anything. He held her wrist and said, "I can serve myself. You eat yours."
Seeing that Qi Yanzhou served himself rice, the others naturally felt embarrassed to wait.
They all stood up as well.
Qi Zhannan, oblivious to the intricacies of the situation, asked without hesitation, "Second Master, what exactly happened after all this commotion last night?"
The old man didn't even look up: "Don't worry about the child."
Qi Zhannan scoffed and let out a cold snort.
Qi Yanzhou seized the opportunity to approach Song Chiyu and explained in a low voice, "White bones were washed out of the mountain stream. The villagers were terrified, thinking someone had dumped a body and killed someone here. I looked at them, and the bones are quite old; they seem to have come from that tomb. I suspect that the tomb raiders dug up the body after going down into the tomb, and then, due to years of rain erosion, part of the tomb collapsed, and these white bones were washed down the river. I've already reported it to the local public security bureau and cultural relics bureau. But don't tell anyone else, because my second uncle is worried that it was done by the villagers and wants me to downplay the incident."
The subtext is: don't call the police.
Let them handle it themselves.
"Isn't your village committee doing anything about it?"
“The village officials have all gone home. By the time they return, the place will have been completely emptied.” Qi Yanzhou had already seen through the fact that the others were pretending not to want to make a big deal out of it, but were actually after his own profits. “You and Zhan Nan can go first. I’ll stay here.”
Song Chiyu remained calm. "You're alone?"
“I’ve already called others over,” Qi Yanzhou said, realizing that a fierce battle was about to begin, but he showed no sign of apprehension. His expression was calm and resolute. “I’ll handle this.”
Song Chiyu glanced indifferently at the people around her. Whether it was her subjective feeling or not, she sensed that none of them were good people, and they all seemed capable of turning their backs on family for money. She sipped her spicy soup, her expression unchanged, but her hand unconsciously grasped his under the table.
Qi Yanzhou noticed her worry and squeezed her hand, saying, "Don't worry, I can handle it."
Song Chiyu recalled how she had previously been unwilling to acknowledge him as her husband because she was worried about his stance, and she couldn't help but feel guilty as she pursed her upper lip and looked at him.
He gently curved the corners of his lips and touched her face with the back of his fingers.
Qi Yanzhou entered the main hall, and Song Chiyu, taking advantage of the fact that not many people knew about this, packed his luggage and drove Qi Zhannan down the mountain.
Qi Zhannan was completely unaware of the seriousness of the situation.
He kept questioning Song Chiyu's driving skills the whole way, but Song Chiyu wasn't in the mood to pay him any attention. She only breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Zhou Yue's SUV drive past her on the road next to her.
Qi Zhannan recognized the people in Zhou Yue's car and rolled down the window to greet them, but Song Chiyu accelerated. Qi Zhannan turned around in confusion: "Second Aunt, you're in a hurry to get home for dinner, you don't need to drive so fast, do you?"
Song Chiyu did not answer.
They didn't reveal the whole story until they entered Anxi city. Qi Zhannan immediately perked up, "Such a big thing, and you're only telling me now?"
Song Chiyu refrained from criticizing him.
No one told him about this, which shows his status in the family.
"Qi Yanzhou can handle this kind of thing; it's not your place, Young Master Qi, to get involved."
"No, I have to go back," Qi Yanzhou said confidently.
Song Chiyu pretended not to hear, drove the car directly into the parking lot outside the antique street, took out the car keys and walked out.
Qi Zhannan followed behind her, puzzled: "If you're not going, give me the key!"
Song Chiyu wasn't in the mood to coax him. Reaching the courtyard gate, she saw antique collectors coming and going and decided not to go in. She called Qi Jianguo over, briefly explained what had happened, handed over the keys, and left.
When Qi Jianguo learned that she was avoiding suspicion, he stopped trying to keep her around.
They wanted to arrange for her to stay at a hotel first, but Song Chiyu refused.
She wandered aimlessly along the street, carrying her luggage.
Watching the hurried pedestrians, she decided to return to Mingzhou first. Before leaving, she sent Qi Yanzhou a text message, and only received his reply, "Okay," after she had already left Mingzhou for Xizhou.
Song Chiyu stopped bothering him.
The Spring Festival holiday passed quickly. Song Chiyu stayed in Xizhou for two days and went back to work. She thought she would return to the ancient book restoration room, but unexpectedly went to the metal restoration room instead.
She changed into her work clothes and came out when she ran into Xie Yunjin coming in.
A fleeting look of surprise crossed his face, but it vanished in an instant, replaced by a clear smile in his eyes behind his glasses: "You're back."
Song Chiyu nodded.
Xie Yunjin didn't say much, nodded, and walked out. As always, he was full of vigor.
Song Chiyu licked her lips.
Knowing that her transfer was all thanks to Xie Yunjin, and that she didn't want to owe Xie Yunjin a favor, she kept thinking about how to tell Ms. Li that she wanted to resign on her way back. Ms. Li certainly wouldn't understand her and would think she was making a mountain out of a molehill.
Song Chiyu didn't know what was wrong with her.
She had been working with Xie Yunjin for quite some time now, yet she couldn't bear it any longer. The sight of Xie Yunjin reminded her of Qi Yanzhou's question about who was the legitimate wife between him and Xie Yunjin. The thought of Qi Yanzhou's worried and distressed feelings welled up uncontrollably, but she could do nothing. She couldn't show any emotion and worry her parents, nor could she afford to distract him.
I wonder how things are going in their village.
His emotions spiraled out of control and he became uncontrollably depressed.
She returned home, forcing a smile as she entered the kitchen to greet Li Li. Little did she know, the person in the kitchen wasn't Li Li at all, but the very person she had been worried about before entering. Qi Yanzhou, spatula in one hand, calmly stared at her: "Off work?"
It was as if all her worries did not exist.
He has always been simple and at ease.
Wearing a white shirt with the dark blue apron that Lao Song often wore, the same apron always made Lao Song look like a butcher when cooking, but on him it exuded a warm and down-to-earth charm.
She blinked incredulously.
Why are you back?
Qi Yanzhou also found her question strange, and blinked at her in the same way: "I came back after I finished dealing with things."
"How was it handled?" Song Chiyu asked with concern.
“I pretended to agree to Second Master’s request and told him I hadn’t called the police, but he took his men to the mountain to look for the grave that very night.” Qi Yanzhou turned the range hood down a bit: “I surrounded them with my men beforehand. When the police and the village committee arrived, I left.”
"That simple?"
"Yes." He nodded.
But she felt that the real situation was definitely much more dangerous than this. Based on their understanding, they would not think that Qi Yanzhou was doing it for their own good. On the contrary, they would think that he was siding with outsiders and cutting off their own family's source of income.
"Did you get insulted?" She recalled the scene of Qi Si verbally abusing him.
"No."
Song Chiyu was still somewhat doubtful, and wanted to say something more. Li Li returned carrying a plastic bag, and Song Chiyu immediately peeked out from the dining room guiltily: "Mom."
Li Li responded, completely unaware of anything amiss, and happily told her about what happened while shopping at the supermarket.
Infected by her emotions, Song Chiyu decided to trust him first and smiled nonchalantly. After a while, Old Song also returned with the cooked food he had specially queued up to buy, and hurriedly explained to Song Chiyu, "I said I would cook the dishes, but Yanzhou insisted on not agreeing. It made me quite embarrassed."
Song Chiyu did not believe it.
Qi Yanzhou, however, stepped in to defend Lao Song, saying, "It's just cooking; it doesn't matter who does it."
Old Song was very satisfied with his explanation.
She gave Qi Yanzhou a thumbs up, but Qi Yanzhou didn't reply. Instead, he whispered in Song Chiyu's ear, "Time to eat."
"I'll serve the rice." Song Chiyu followed him into the kitchen.
He stood next to her, ladling soup from the pot.
Song Chiyu decided not to bring up what had just happened. She cautiously observed him, then furtively glanced outside the kitchen, deciding to say something irrelevant to ease the tension from their conversation.
"Teacher Qi?"
"kindness?"
"Can I pinch your butt?" Song Chiyu asked in a conciliatory tone, but she never expected him to agree.
Qi Yanzhou glanced at her with an upright expression and said, "Okay."
Song Chiyu was startled: "What?"
Seeing that he was still waiting for her, Song Chiyu shamelessly pinched his butt.
Unexpectedly, he grabbed her wrist, which was resting on his trousers, and forcibly pulled her around his waist. Just as Song Chiyu was wondering what was going on, his hand, which was holding a soup spoon, suddenly wrapped around her neck, and he lowered his head to kiss her lips hard.
"Teacher Song, you're running a little too fast."
“Me,” Song Chiyu naturally denied, “your family invited your friends who are in the antique business to dinner, what would I be there for?”
“Hmm…” he said thoughtfully, “You know that’s not what I meant.”
"Then what did you say?"
He did not answer.
Song Chiyu wasn't sure if he was blaming her for not keeping her promise from that night, or for him wandering alone in the mountains while she had left Anxi without permission. Deciding to break free from his grasp, she silently avoided his gaze and said, "I'll go out first."
"Okay." He let go of her hand without saying anything more.
**
After dinner, Song Chiyu put away the dishes and prepared to go to the kitchen to wash them, but Li Li snatched the dishes away from her, saying, "Tell me, how long has it been since you two last saw each other? Why are you washing dishes? Go take a shower!"
Song Chiyu: "..."
Li Li vaguely sensed that her words were somewhat inappropriate, and coughed twice in mock surprise: "Even if you don't shower, you should at least be doing something else with Yan Zhou! What are you washing dishes for? Didn't you hear that he came to find you as soon as he got off the plane while we were eating?"
Song Chiyu wanted to say something more, but Li Li bluntly said, "Don't think I don't know, your brows have relaxed the moment Yanzhou came back. Alright, stop pretending! Get out!"
Just as Song Chiyu was about to explain, Qi Yanzhou suddenly walked in from outside. Seeing the awkward atmosphere between the two, he asked with some confusion, "Hmm?"
Fearing that Li Li might say something inappropriate again, Song Chiyu quickly pulled him outside. Qi Yanzhou, however, stopped and waited for her to explain.
Knowing she couldn't hide it from him, and wanting to test his attitude, she braced herself and explained, "My mom said you're finally back, so she wants me to go take a shower now."
Why take a bath?
Song Chiyu remained silent, only staring intently at him.
He instantly realized, "I'm not in a hurry."
"Who's in a hurry?" Song Chiyu was genuinely anxious when she heard this.
Besides, it's not a matter of whether it's urgent or not, but the thought of doing this kind of thing under the parents' noses... just feels weird.
She glanced at Lao Song, who was deliberately hiding in the bedroom, and whispered in Qi Yanzhou's ear: "If you really want to, go to your place."
"Why would you go to my place?" He looked blank, as if he really didn't know why he would go to my place.
"Could it be..." Song Chiyu was too shy to say it after a few more times, but when she noticed that Ms. Li was still eavesdropping by the door, she suddenly raised her voice: "Alright! Let's go for a walk!"
**
There's a park right outside the residential area.
After passing through the park, they arrived in the city. Seeing the shopping mall where she often shopped, Song Chiyu, trying to ease the awkward silence of the journey, asked, "Is there anything you want to buy?"
"Yes." He glanced at her tentatively.
"Let's go then." Song Chiyu didn't suspect anything and took the lead in walking towards the pedestrian crossing.
The supermarket downstairs in the mall wasn't very busy after the Lunar New Year. Song Chiyu pushed her cart, bought her usual drinks and snacks, and only when she was about to pay did she realize he hadn't taken anything. Just as she was about to ask him what he wanted, she saw him take a box from the counter after looking around for a while and place it on the cashier's counter.
Song Chiyu assumed it was his usual cigarette and picked it up to take a look.
I was just about to ask what kind of cigarette it was and why the packaging was like this, when I suddenly saw the Zero Feel Ultra-Thin label on it and immediately put it back without hesitation.
The cashier scanned it without any surprise.
Qi Yanzhou took out his phone to pay, then looked at her calmly and asked, "What are you looking at?"
Song Chiyu blushed and gave him a push on the shoulder.
She had been trying to figure out what he meant the whole way, but it turned out he only meant one thing.
He acted as if he hadn't heard her, put the box into the shopping bag, and led her outside.
Xie Yunjin and her colleagues finished their meal and came down the escalator, only to see this scene. One second she was marveling at their project, and the next she couldn't wait to gossip: "Isn't that Song Chiyu and her husband? Look how good their relationship is! They're even holding hands when they go shopping. You kept saying it was a fake marriage to spite you. See? If you miss out on Song Chiyu, you might never get another chance."
Xie Yunjin put one hand in his pocket and coldly watched the two people's backs as they walked away.
How can you be so sure this isn't just an act for me?
“You,” the colleague hesitated, “don’t wait until everyone else is showing their pregnancy before you’re still not over it.”
Xie Yunjin disagreed.
Even now, he still doesn't believe there can be any real affection between the two. They may seem close, but their relationship can't withstand any hardship. The moment there's a conflict of interest, they fall apart.
"Would you like to make a bet with me?" Xie Yunjin asked.
"What are we betting on?"
"She'll get a divorce soon." Xie Yunjin knew very well that she would never love anyone again the way she loved him, and in the end, it would still be him.
His colleagues had no idea where his confidence came from.
He agreed: "Okay, let's bet big. If she doesn't divorce, you have to give me your new car."
**
It wasn't even nine o'clock yet when Song Chiyu and Qi Yanzhou returned with their things; Li Li and Lao Song were already asleep.
The room was pitch black; not even a sliver of light shone through the crack in their bedroom door.
That's too deliberate.
Song Chiyu took a deep breath and pretended to be calm as she picked up her drink and put it in the snack cabinet.
Honestly, she didn't have any romantic thoughts at all today, especially considering that Lao Song and Li Li were pretending not to care but actually eavesdropping.
She casually moved closer to Qi Yanzhou and whispered in his ear, "I'm going to take something to your place."
Qi Yanzhou gave her a meaningful look. "Are you sure?"
At that moment, she was still unaware of the seriousness of the situation.
She sensed that someone was listening in from behind the walls, and that her mattress was making a lot of noise. She nodded affirmatively.
Qi Yanzhou stopped teasing her, took her packed travel bag, and after hearing her say goodbye to her parents at the door, he took her hand and went downstairs.
I got on the bus.
Song Chiyu belatedly realized something was wrong, "Why should I go to your place?"
"Didn't you say you wanted to go?" He seemed to be unaware of the reason.
"It's all your fault for buying those things..." Coupled with Ms. Li's lewd words, she was misled and unknowingly led into the trap. "Just drop me off somewhere, I'll take a taxi back."
"It's not impossible, but—" He tilted his head, pulled out a corner of his shirt that was tucked into the leather button, and took her hand, placing it on his abs. "You really don't want to?"
[Author's Note]
[Facepalm laughing and crying][Facepalm laughing and crying][Facepalm laughing and crying] Thank you all for your generosity!! I'm overwhelmed with gratitude!! Thank you!!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
