"Teacher Qin?" Zhou Chunhua exclaimed in surprise, "How could you...?"
She originally wanted to ask how Qin Xiuyuan knew she lived here, but when the words were on the tip of her tongue, she realized that it would be too impolite to say it directly.
"Aren't you going to invite me in for a seat?" Qin Xiuyuan straightened the hem of his gray Zhongshan suit.
Zhou Chunhua then noticed that Qin Xiuyuan was clearly dressed up carefully.
She looked completely different from when she first met him, when he was so unkempt.
"Please, please come in." Zhou Chunhua quickly opened the door and invited Qin Xiuyuan into her home.
As soon as Qin Xiuyuan entered the room, his gaze fell on the only pair of men's slippers.
Zhou Chunhua quickly bent down and put the shoes into the shoe cabinet, then took out a pair of large-sized rubber sandals from the cabinet.
"Quickly, come inside and sit down."
Those shoes belonged to Gu Yao. Because he came here often, he prepared a pair of slippers for himself.
But he has obsessive-compulsive disorder and particularly dislikes others touching him or his things.
Zhou Chunhua did not explain to Qin Xiuyuan.
Fortunately, Qin Xiuyuan hesitated in his eyes and didn't ask any questions, which prevented her from feeling embarrassed.
After making tea for Qin Xiuyuan, she asked, "Teacher Qin, is there something you need from me?"
"It's a small matter, and I'd like to ask for your help." Qin Xiuyuan took out an invitation.
She picked it up and saw it was a banquet invitation from a publisher called the Encyclopedia.
"What is this?" Zhou Chunhua didn't understand Qin Xiuyuan's meaning.
Qin Xiuyuan smiled gently.
"I would like to ask you to be my date tomorrow and accompany me to this banquet."
Zhou Chunhua quickly waved her hand: "Old Qin Xiu, it's not that I'm trying to help, but I've never been to such a place before, and I'm afraid I'll embarrass you. Besides, I have something to do tomorrow, so I'm really sorry."
She did have something to do; she had already made plans with Gu Yao.
Right now, even if the sky were to fall, nothing is more important than finding Nini.
"Is it Gu Yao?" Qin Xiuyuan asked.
Zhou Chunhua was taken aback at first, then nodded.
"I'm sorry, Teacher Qin, I did make an appointment with Teacher Gu beforehand."
Qin Xiuyuan silently put the invitation into his briefcase, and when he looked up again, the smile on his face had vanished.
“Xiao Zhou, I know I’m not as young as Gu Yao, nor do I have his good looks, but I’m more mature and stable than him. I believe I can do a better job than him in taking care of people.”
Moreover, I believe that I am not only more stable in terms of income than him, but I also have more time and energy to take care of my family.
I hope you can give me a fair chance to compete with him, and I will…
“Wait, wait! Teacher Qin, how did you get off topic like this?” Zhou Chunhua interrupted, “Teacher Qin, I have no plans to remarry.”
Seeing Qin Xiuyuan's suspicious look, she decided to just tell him the truth.
In matters of the heart, Zhou Chunhua has never been one to drag things out.
"Let me be frank, I have no plans to remarry now, nor will I in the future. And what I want to tell you is, please look at me carefully. I am who I am, Zhou Chunhua! Not your wife, and I will never be a substitute for your wife."
Before Qin Xiuyuan could speak, Zhou Chunhua interrupted, "Teacher Qin, whether you admit it or not, what I want to say is that I don't want to, and have no intention of, starting a new relationship."
Because I have wasted too much time in the first half of my life, I have many things to do and accomplish in the remaining days of my life that are more important than romantic love.
Besides, I only have respect for you; I have no other feelings for you, nor can I possibly have any. Therefore, please don't embarrass me.
Qin Xiuyuan's gaze towards her changed.
A mix of emotions swirled within me; it was very complex.
Zhou Chunhua did not avoid him, but met his gaze calmly.
Time passed by, second by second.
After an unknown amount of time, Qin Xiuyuan suddenly stood up, said sorry, and walked towards the gate.
Zhou Chunhua quickly followed.
Qin Xiuyuan went out the door, then suddenly turned back and said, "I'm sorry. When I get back, I will seriously consider the issues you raised today. However, if I am certain that my feelings for you are not because of my deceased wife, I will still try my best to win you back."
Of course, this is on the premise that you're also prepared to choose a new partner. At that time, I only hope to have a fair chance to compete with Gu Yao.
Zhou Chunhua: ...
She felt inexplicably powerless.
So he didn't hear a single word of what I just said to him.
Just as she was about to explain, Qin Xiuyuan didn't give her a chance and left directly.
...
The next day.
Zhou Chunhua got up early as usual.
As I get older, I sleep less.
I had just finished washing up when someone rang the doorbell.
She opened the door, and a plastic bag blocked her view.
"What do you want to eat for breakfast?" It was Gu Yao.
"It's the weekend, don't you get any rest?" He took the groceries, went inside, and closed the door.
Gu Yao took off his suit jacket, threw it on the sofa, and started rolling up his sleeves as he walked towards the kitchen.
She walked behind, carrying a plastic bag.
She didn't know why, but she could even detect pleasure in Gu Yao's subtle expressions and voice.
Zhou Chunhua figured it must be because she hadn't slept well that she had this mistaken perception, so she simply stopped thinking about it.
"Didn't you say 10 o'clock? Why are you here so early?"
Gu Yao took the plastic bag from her and turned around to put the food inside into the refrigerator.
"I wanted to take you somewhere later, so I came early."
"Then... what are these foods?"
"I bought it on my way here because I didn't know you had it. Okay, you go ahead and do your thing, I'll call you when it's ready."
Gu Yao didn't give her a chance and immediately got to work.
With nothing to do, she could only sit at the dining table and watch Gu Yao's back.
She was certain that Gu Yao was in a good mood.
Because whenever he was in a good mood, he would come to her place and cook for her.
Soon, a steaming hot breakfast was laid out on the table.
Vegetable porridge, steamed buns, bok choy with oyster sauce, and a small plate of dried radish—all her favorites.
Then, as usual, they sat opposite each other and quietly finished their breakfast.
As before, she cleared the dishes, while Gu Yao carefully looked at the documents she had compiled the night before.
By the time she finished washing the dishes, Gu Yao was already wearing his coat and waiting for her at the door.
He opened the door: "Let's go, we'll talk on the way."
So she didn't even know where they were going, and just like that, she followed Gu Yao.
On the way, they kept discussing the deputy stationmaster surnamed Wang.
The conclusion is that Gu Yao will take her to meet that Deputy Station Chief Wang.
Then the car was parked in an underground parking lot of a shopping mall.
Just as Zhou Chunhua thought they were looking for someone, Gu Yaoyan led her into a jewelry store.
To be honest, this was Zhou Chunhua's second time in a place like this.
That previous time was when she cashed out Liao Nanxing's credit card.
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