"Okay, I told you, nothing happened..."
"What hasn't happened?" Zhou Yue barged in without knocking.
"Why did you come so early? At this rate, I'll have to pay you a salary. Even the students aren't as enthusiastic as you." Qin Xiaoyu sighed.
"I was worried about you, so I asked you to stay, but you insisted on going home. I was worried that you might get into trouble walking alone at night." Zhou Yue glared at her.
"Come on, let's go downstairs and get to work! What a wonderful day!" Qin Xiaoyu took out her dental kit and pushed the two gossipy girls out.
That's what she said, but Qin Xiaoyu really wasn't sure if she could truly let go.
"Little Fish, come to my place for lunch," Qi Si called out from the building entrance.
After what happened last night, Qin Xiaoyu hadn't figured out how to face him yet. Unexpectedly, he came to her door, leaving her a little stunned. She bit her toothbrush, unsure of how to answer.
"Want to have hot pot? Can I come along?" Zhou Yue darted out of the classroom and said to Qi Si with a grin.
"You, come on over too." Qi Si was startled by Zhou Yue. This wasn't part of his plan, but looking at Zhou Yue's eyes shining with the temptation of the food, he really couldn't say no. It would be cruel to refuse a foodie.
Qin Xiaoyu could tell that Qi Si wanted to talk to her alone and didn't want to involve Zhou Yue. However, Zhou Yue had long heard of Qi Si's restaurant's reputation and had originally begged Commander Zhou to have a meal there. But Commander Zhou was principled and refused to patronize a local tyrant's restaurant. Since she didn't have many friends, she couldn't very well order a table of food herself, so she had no choice but to endure it.
So today I'm determined to go no matter what, no matter how Qin Xiaoyu hints or tries to coax me, I'm going to follow her, like a leech I can't shake off.
Qin Xiaoyu led Zhou Yue into the hot pot restaurant, where they saw people coming and going, and the steaming heat and spicy aroma filled their nostrils. The girl at the counter was arguing with a customer.
"I'm so sorry, all the seats are booked. There's nothing I can do about it."
"Is it alright to reserve a table for tomorrow?"
"All slots for the day after tomorrow are full, the earliest we can book is five days from now!"
"Squeeze in a table, squeeze in a table for me..." Gu Jia kept pleading.
"This business is booming!" Zhou Yue exclaimed, almost drooling.
Qin Xiaoyu had an idea.
Qi Si led them into the best private room, which was spacious and bright.
"Brother, the three of us don't need such a big private room, let's give it to the customers." Qin Xiaoyu couldn't sit still as soon as she saw it.
"You can never earn all the money in the world, girl," Qi Si said meaningfully.
"What's good to eat? Should we order some dishes? Is it spicy? Do you have any drinks?" Zhou Yue ignored them and kept asking herself questions.
"Girl, order whatever you want to eat, it's up to you." Qi Si handed over the menu.
"I'm going to see Zhu Bao. I haven't seen him for days. I'll ask him to make some arrangements." Qin Xiaoyu got up and walked out, with Qi Si following closely behind.
They didn't take the direct route to the kitchen; the waiters were constantly coming and going, making it too inconvenient.
Qi Si led her around in a circle and into the courtyard behind the kitchen.
Everyone was busy inside the house, and the yard was very quiet.
"Girl, let's just pretend last night never happened," Qi Si suddenly whispered behind Qin Xiaoyu.
Qin Xiaoyu's body stiffened, she stopped in her tracks, and without turning around, remained silent.
"You know what? I'm terrified. If I had done something last night, I would have regretted it for the rest of my life. Ever since I went to prison at the age of thirteen, I've lived a life without light. You brought me a little light. Without you, I would have lived in darkness for the rest of my life, with those rats. You saved me. This will never happen again, don't worry. I will always be your brother."
"Brother, let's go in, I'm hungry." Qin Xiaoyu walked quickly towards the kitchen, wiping away a tear as she entered.
Zhu Bao was still the same as before, small in stature, her face flushed pink from the steam.
Unlike before, the sous chefs and kitchen helpers all treated Zhu Bao with the utmost respect, and he was the only one who had the final say.
Upon seeing Qin Xiaoyu, Zhu Bao's eyes lit up, and he spoke in his hometown dialect as if the person who had come was not his former teacher, but his closest relative.
Zhu Xiaoyu could barely understand it, but Qi Si was not as good as her. He was completely confused and finally cursed, "You son of a bitch."
Zhou Yue ate her fill at this meal, which completely whetted her appetite. She had long forgotten her identity as the commander's daughter and kept calling Qi Si "Fourth Brother".
Qi Si initially treated her poorly only out of consideration for Qin Xiaoyu. But after getting to know her, he discovered that this commander's daughter was not only unpretentious, but also utterly clueless—a simple-minded girl who was incredibly easy to get along with. The two quickly became acquainted.
“If you’re craving something in the future, just come and eat by yourself. You don’t need to ask my sister. She’s busy. I feel bad about wasting her time if I ask her to eat.” Qi Si was telling the truth, and Qin Xiaoyu smiled slightly.
"By the way, brother, I have a suggestion."
"Okay, go ahead."
"You're opening a branch, and you keep turning customers away like this. Are you trying to lose money?"
"Branch stores?"
"Yeah, this city isn't that big, but it's not that small either. And not many people own a car. It's not worth driving this far just to eat. If you open a few more branches, wouldn't that solve the problem?"
"Girl! You actually thought of that!" Qi Si was so happy he almost jumped up. Money had been flowing in like water lately, and he wasn't satisfied with just keeping it in the bank to earn interest. He wasn't sure what to do with any other projects, so he originally wanted to ask Qin Xiaoyu for advice, but she brought it up first.
"Brother, I'll say it again: since we can make money through legitimate business, let's not resort to violence."
"Don't worry, sister. I've realized that money is a good thing, much more useful than fighting and killing. My brothers used to suffer and take risks when they followed me. Now they're sheltered from the wind and rain, making money while living a life of luxury, making their families look at them with new respect. That makes me even more convinced that I made the right decision," Qi Si said with emotion.
When Zhou Yue came out of Qi Si's place, she was as beautiful as a flower.
"Little Fish, is this Qi Si the gang leader? He doesn't seem like it. He's not fierce at all."
Qin Xiaoyu sneered inwardly. Not fierce? I'll kidnap you to the warehouse in the middle of the night and see.
Because Hanhan and her siblings have been staying at the Zhou family's house more often recently, Zhou Xing's mother is very considerate and often invites Qin Xiaoyu over for meals. Before she knew it, she had really become a member of the Zhou family.
When she went to the Zhou family's house, she bought some fruit on the way. As soon as she entered, she was hit by a spicy smell that made her sneeze twice.
"Little Fish is here, and you bought fruit again. We haven't finished talking about the last one yet." Zhou Xing's mother came out of the kitchen while sneezing.
"Achoo! What's going on?" Qin Xiaoyu rubbed her nose.
"It wasn't until you treated Xiaoyue to a Sichuan hot pot meal that she got hooked and even found a soldier from Sichuan to help her cook it," Zhou Xing's mother said, both amused and exasperated.
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