Upon hearing this, He Suyue stomped on his foot, then turned and ran away in embarrassment.
"Ouch, this girl is ruthless." He Qixie's instep hurt a lot, and he said to Qiao Qiu, "Then my sister and I will go first."
Qiao Qiu gave a slight smile. "Okay."
"Goodbye."
"I'll take you."
"No need, you should get some rest. I'm sorry."
"It's alright."
Qiao Qiu knew he was referring to what had just happened. Since he said he wouldn't see her off, then she wouldn't.
Watching He Qixie and He Suyue's figures disappear around the corner, Qiao Qiu took out her hand hidden behind her back. As soon as she loosened her clenched fist, drops of blood immediately oozed from the four crescent-shaped marks on her palm, and the sharp pain immediately stimulated her senses.
Qiao Qiu frowned, looking at the blood on her palm. Perhaps influenced by Shen Junbai, she remained unusually calm when she saw these things, as if nothing mattered except for a slight pain. Only the pain in her heart could stir her emotions.
Qiao Qiu returned to her room, cleaned up the blood, applied some high-grade wound medicine to stop the bleeding, and then changed into a clean set of pure white clothes before going out.
She was extremely busy; the Shen family's businesses here needed to be thoroughly investigated by the end of the day.
Fortunately, there weren't many businesses in the area. Qiao Qiu checked the records, inspected the harvest in the fields, and consulted with the villagers who farmed her land. After confirming that there were no issues with collecting the rent, she went to inspect her three shops and offered some suggestions.
Qiao Qiu returned to the Shen residence as it was getting dark.
She had only gone halfway when she ran into He Qixie, who had come looking for her.
When He Qixie saw her, he quickly walked over and said worriedly, "Junbai, when you went to check the family business, you should have brought someone with you. Why did you come out alone?"
By candlelight, Qiao Qiu looked at his handsome face and said, "The servants can't keep up with me."
He Qi Xie said, "Then you can call me next time."
Qiao Qiu pursed her thin lips, her deep and beautiful eyes narrowed slightly, a glint of light flashing within them. "Okay."
"Let's go back."
He Qi Xie turned and left, feeling depressed. He suddenly realized that he might have been worrying about Shen Junbai too much. When he moved in that afternoon, he immediately went out to look for him as soon as he heard that Shen Junbai had gone out alone.
Qiao Qiu didn't think too much about it, but she had a vague feeling that tonight was not peaceful.
After the two returned to the Shen residence and had dinner, they packed their luggage, and Qiao Qiu finally had time to sit down and rest.
When He Qixie found her, she was drinking wine under the moon in the courtyard. He was about to walk along the corridor when he saw a dark figure at the courtyard gate. Upon closer inspection, he realized it was He Suyue.
"Suyue, what are you doing here?"
He Qixie's voice wasn't loud, but it still startled He Suyue.
He Suyue patted her chest, pointed to Qiao Qiu's side, and whispered, "Brother, Brother Shen is really pitiful."
He Qixie glanced at Shen Junbai, who was drinking alone under the moon. Dressed in white, he looked like an immortal. His thin figure was shrouded in a layer of sadness. Although there was no sadness on his face, Shen Junbai was indeed heartbreaking.
He Qi Xie withdrew his gaze, looked at He Su Yue, and laughed, "You little girl, you wouldn't have fallen for Jun Bai, would you?"
He Suyue was a little shy, but she still nodded.
“But he already has a fiancée. If you like him, you can only become a concubine at most. Are you willing to do that?” He Qixie had to remind his sister that the marriage between the Shen and Li families had caused a sensation throughout the entire Shuzhou City, and almost everyone knew about it.
He Suyue's eyes dimmed slightly. She glanced at Shen Junbai under the moonlight and finally nodded. "As long as he has even a little place for me in his heart, I will be content."
"Silly little sister." He Qixie patted her head, feeling a pang of heartache.
He Suyue pulled his hand down and said, "Brother, why don't you go and talk to Brother Shen? He's all alone there and looks so lonely."
He Qi Xie laughed, "Why aren't you going?"
"A man and a woman alone together at night, even if they are not in the same room, can still easily cause misunderstandings."
"Yue'er has really grown up; she even knows to be mindful of such trivial matters now."
"Go quickly."
"Okay, okay...you're not coming with me?"
"elder brother!"
He Qi Xie smiled and shook his head, then walked towards the ethereal young man in the courtyard and said, "We're setting off tomorrow, yet you still have such a good mood, enjoying the moon and drinking here."
Qiao Qiu had already heard him talking to He Suyue, but she hadn't heard what they were saying clearly. She wasn't surprised to see him come over now.
"I can't sleep."
She missed Su Xi. Whenever she thought of him, she would recall the scene when she first met him.
He said he didn't quite remember what his mother looked like, and he was very grateful to her for reminding him of the feeling of his mother's love for him.
But how could she not remember what her mother looked like? Hundreds of lifetimes and thousands of years had long since erased her memories of her mother.
This terrified her, making her afraid that when she went back, she wouldn't recognize what her mother looked like anymore.
"Thinking about Uncle Shen and the others?" He Qixie sat down, picked up a wine glass, poured himself a drink, and drank with her.
Qiao Qiu nodded slightly and said, half-jokingly, "Without them, there would be no me, but they are dead, yet I am still alive."
As she spoke, Qiao Qiu tilted her head back and drank a glass of wine, tears streaming down her cheeks.
This was the second time He Qixie had seen her cry. For some reason, he felt an urge to hold her and comfort her.
He Qixie was shocked by his own thought. His body trembled. How could two grown men...do such a girly thing?
—He Qixie racked his brains but couldn't come up with a specific adjective.
But his gaze couldn't help but linger on Qiao Qiu's delicate face, tracing it over and over again. It was as if he were bewitched; when he didn't see her, it wasn't so bad, but once he did, he couldn't take his eyes off her.
Qiao Qiu drank a lot of alcohol, but her eyes were still bright, showing no signs of being drunk.
Her gaze fell on He Qixie, watching him avert his eyes somewhat flustered, raising an eyebrow in confusion. But He Qixie was still quite pleasing to the eye; very manly, masculine, good-looking, and handsome!
"Brother He, why are you called Seven Xie?"
"Because my mother had a difficult childbirth, it took her two days and two nights to give birth to me. Although it was dangerous, both mother and child were safe. When the midwife told my father, he was so excited that he bowed to the sky seven times, saying that he was thanking God for hearing his prayers and allowing us to be safe. That's how I got my name."
He Qixie's voice was very pleasant to hear, and in the quiet night, it had a magnetic quality.
Qiao Qiu nodded. "I see. It's clear that your parents have a very deep bond."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
