Qin Hanshu comforted her, "This test might not be accurate. Perhaps Peipei has simply changed her mind and doesn't want to go abroad anymore."
Liu Ercui shook her head blankly, "When I asked her, I paid special attention to her expression. The way she looked... who hasn't been young? I could tell what she meant by that shy look."
Qin Hanshu was speechless. She wasn't Liu Ercui and couldn't empathize with Liu Ercui's distress.
In her opinion, it wouldn't be a problem if Peipei and Qilang were actually dating. Leaving aside how far their youthful romance could go, even if they did get married, as long as their feelings were genuine, she would still offer her blessings. After all, Qilang and Peipei weren't related by blood, and they could get a marriage certificate even if their household registrations were separate.
Liu Ercui let out a long sigh.
Qin Hanshu said, "You should stay calm and see how things go. What if it's a misunderstanding?"
Liu Ercui nodded silently; that was the only way.
"By the way, is your Zhou Chi coming back?"
Qin Hanshu nodded: "Yes, I'll go back next year."
Liu Ercui asked, "How many years did he study in Beijing? It must have been seven or eight years, right? I remember when he left, Peipei was only in high school, and now Peipei is almost graduating from university."
Qin Hanshu nodded and said, "It took him eight years to earn a doctoral degree. He originally said he wanted to go abroad for the first few years, but then I don't know what he was thinking, so he didn't go."
Liu Ercui: "That's good. He's been in Beijing for so many years and feels too estranged from home. Who knows what will happen after he goes abroad?"
Going abroad is popular now, and most of those who go abroad try not to come back.
If that really happens, the parents may never see their child again in their lifetime.
Qin Hanshu respected the children's wishes, but Liu Ercui didn't want the children to go out from the bottom of her heart. Fortunately, Peipei didn't have that plan.
“Sigh, the children haven’t been together for years and have grown distant. Every year when Zhou Chi comes back, Peipei is shy and doesn’t say much when she sees him. The relationship between our two families might fade with the next generation.”
Qin Hanshu said, "Anyway, they will all be working in Jiangcheng in the future. If they get together often, their relationship will naturally warm up again."
***
This winter, snowflakes fell in Wuhan. Although they melted into water as soon as they landed, they still gave the feeling of goose feathers fluttering in the air.
Many people were excited and ran into the streets to stroll in the snow.
As soon as Peipei stepped out of the school gate, she saw Qi Lang leaning against the road sign. He was only wearing a thin jacket with the zipper open, and Peipei felt cold just looking at him.
Aren't you cold wearing so little?
Upon hearing the sound, Qi Lang hurriedly stubbed out the cigarette between his fingers and turned around.
Noticing the lingering smell of smoke in the air, he waved his hand awkwardly, trying to shoo it away. "I didn't know you came out so quickly."
If he had known he would see her so soon, he definitely wouldn't have smoked; he knew Peipei hated the smell of smoke.
Peipei disliked the smell of smoke, but she wasn't domineering enough to control Qi Lang, especially since she was just there to pick something up.
"You said you bought concert tickets?"
Qi Lang quickly pulled two tickets out of his pocket and handed them to Pei Pei, saying, "I happen to have a brother who's a scalper, and he sold them to me at the original price."
This is a ticket to a rock band concert. The band is incredibly popular across the country, and tickets are extremely hard to come by. In fact, Qi Lang and the scalper aren't brothers at all; he bought the ticket at a high price.
Pepe believed it and paid Qi Lang the original price for the tickets.
Qi Lang paused for a moment, then accepted it.
Peipei smiled and said, "Thank you, I'll head back to my dorm now."
"Hey..." Before his mind could even process what was happening, Qi Lang had already called out to Pei Pei.
Pepe stopped and looked at him questioningly.
The girl in front of me is no longer the plump girl she was as a child. She is now graceful and elegant, with a pair of bright, watery eyes that seem to shimmer. One look from her can make your heart race.
Qi Lang lowered his eyes in a panic, and it took him a while to find his voice, "It's quite cold. Are there any restaurants near your school? I'd like to have some hot soup."
"There's a pretty good beef soup restaurant near the South Gate."
Qi Lang clenched his fists, trying to remain calm, and said, "Why don't you take me there? I'll treat you..."
“Hmm…” Peipei thought for a moment and said, “Okay, but I’ll treat you. Consider it a thank you for buying the ticket for me.”
Qi Lang didn't argue about who invited whom, and nodded with suppressed joy.
As soon as Peipei turned around, his mouth stretched to the back of his ears in a wide grin.
Having lived under the same roof for many years, Peipei and Qilang's relationship wasn't particularly close, but they had become much more familiar with each other than at the beginning.
Although this familiarity was mixed with a lot of politeness, Qi Lang was still content.
While we sat down to wait for our food, Peipei casually remarked, "You're dressed too lightly; you'll easily catch a cold."
"I'm not cold..." Qi Lang remembered that he had just said he was cold and wanted to drink hot soup, and abruptly cut off the words.
Luckily, Peipei ran into an acquaintance who greeted her, but she turned her head away and didn't notice what he said.
The female classmate who had greeted him walked over, her gaze lingering on Qi Lang, and asked, "Peipei, who is this? I've never seen him before."
Peipei said, "This is my brother."
The girl's eyes lit up. "You have such a handsome brother?"
Peipei smiled but didn't explain further.
The female classmate was very outgoing and wanted to get to know Qi Lang. After asking Pei Pei's opinion, she sat down at the same table with them.
The female classmates kept talking about Qi Lang, and one of them asked, "Brother, you should have graduated from university by now, right? What company are you working for?"
Qi Lang paused and glanced at Pei Pei.
Peipei thought she was being asked to answer, so she said, "My brother is working with someone to form a construction team."
Before the female classmate could ask any more questions, Peipei changed the subject and started talking about some things related to her studies.
Qi Lang took a bite of the pancake in his hand, lowered his eyes, and his heart, which had been warmed by the beef soup, suddenly turned cold again.
He never went to university and worked as a laborer on construction sites. Society is not like it used to be; doing dirty and hard work doesn't make people feel honored.
She probably also felt that he wasn't someone she could be proud of.
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