"Little Fish, you've really made something of yourself. You've run such a big school quite well." The stepmother, a middle school teacher, spoke with an air of authority, her tone condescending, as if praising a student.
"Hehe." Qin Xiaoyu walked to the desk and sat down without exchanging pleasantries with them.
"Xiaoyu, we came here this time to see if you need any help. We're family after all, so just let us know if you need anything," Qin's father said, still maintaining his superior attitude.
Qin Xiaoyu mentally vomited; this person's skin was truly thick.
Qin's father was a low-level employee in a government agency. Due to his conduct issues, he was slow to get promoted and considered himself to be a talented but unappreciated man. He always thought of himself as an extraordinary genius.
"I have plenty of help here, nothing's a problem." Qin Xiaoyu was too lazy to waste words with them.
"Little Fish, to be honest, no one is as reliable as your own family. If you need help, it has to be your own flesh and blood." Qin's father was eloquent, and he gave Master Wang a meaningful look as he said this.
"Hehe, everyone wants to add flowers to brocade, but who wants to offer charcoal in the snow? The person who offers charcoal in the snow is my best helper."
“Xiaoyu, I know you’ve kept some things in your heart all these years. But things are different now. You’re more mature now, and we can talk things out.” The stepmother used the persuasive skills of a high school teacher to persuade her.
"Are you ever going to stop? Let's go!" Qin Xiaoye couldn't take it anymore and stood up abruptly.
Although Qin's father and stepmother weren't overly obsequious, they still put on smiling faces. Only Qin Xiaoye's face remained unchanged.
Qin Xiaoyu admired this kind of person. No matter what, she had backbone. Based on her attitude, she could still accept this girl.
"Just like that, you're leaving?" Qin Xiaoyu deliberately provoked her.
“Why aren’t you leaving? They want to beg you, but I don’t think that way. You were nothing before, and I looked down on you. I still look down on you now, so what?” Qin Xiaoye indeed started yelling.
"Fine, then you'd better do better than me before you look down on me." Qin Xiaoyu sneered, shutting Qin Xiaoye down.
"Okay, you wait!" Qin Xiaoye strode outside.
"This child!" The stepmother could only follow closely behind.
"Little Fish, it was your birthday a few days ago. I happened to be away on a business trip, so I brought you a small gift, which I've left on your desk. I'm leaving now. Let's keep in touch. Dad will always be your strong support." Father Qin said calmly as he walked out the door.
Qin Xiaoyu rushed back to the table to look for it. What a worthless gift! She didn't care about it and wanted to take it away as soon as possible.
There were quite a few things piled on the table. She flipped through them but didn't see anything that looked like a gift. Judging from the noise, the group had already gone downstairs.
She walked to the south window and saw her stepmother and Qin Xiaoye arguing as they walked, and couldn't help but sigh.
From the host's perspective, Qin Xiaoye can be considered her family. This girl has some connections; it remains to be seen whether she can break free from her family of origin.
Thinking about the gift made her anxious, so she went back to the table and started rummaging through it. There were many magazines and textbooks stacked against the wall, all of them looking like antiques, but they were better than nothing.
At the very top, there was an extra book, which turned out to be a foreign fashion magazine.
Heh, she sneered inwardly. No wonder so many women fawn over this old man; he really knows how to give gifts, and they touch the heart. His emotional intelligence is exceptionally high.
She really couldn't bear to return the gift.
"You really love studying." Zhou Xing pushed open the door and said sarcastically, as was his habit.
"It's something rare; you'd never guess who sent it." Qin Xiaoyu recounted what had just happened.
"This junk, return it! I don't want it! How many do you want? I'll have someone buy them back for you!" Zhou Xing had a fiery temper, but he wouldn't tolerate any nonsense. He snatched the magazine and threw it aside.
Qin Xiaoyu didn't argue with him; what he said made sense.
"Your uncle and aunt are back. Go home more often; they miss you too."
"Don't make wild guesses about our family. They don't miss me, they're just annoyed by me. I'm just a troublesome kid in their eyes." Zhou Xing sat down on the sofa, propping up his long legs, and Qin Xiaoyu's eyes sparkled with pink hearts.
This man is handsome no matter how you look at him, how could he possibly be hers?
"What are you doing, with your little eyes darting around like that?" Zhou Xing saw right through her thoughts.
"No." Qin Xiaoyu blushed and pretended to walk to the window to look at the scenery.
The north window faces the military compound, and you can see the Zhou family's villa. There are several figures moving around on the platform, as if someone is playing with Hanhan and her siblings.
"What did you see?" Zhou Xing followed over and naturally put his hand on Qin Xiaoyu's waist. Her body tensed up and she froze.
The figure on the platform suddenly stopped moving, as if looking this way.
Qin Xiaoyu knew they couldn't see anything, but she still took a half step back guiltily.
"Look at you, you're perfectly upright, what are you afraid of?" Zhou Xing pushed her forward.
"Stop joking around. I told you we'd take this step slowly."
"How slow? Do you know that Bai Weiwei is about to launch an attack on me? Aren't you in a hurry to declare your sovereignty?"
"If she likes it, then let her take it." Qin Xiaoyu felt a pang of jealousy again, and her heart was filled with unease.
"What do you take me for, to give away like that?"
Bang! The door was kicked open, and Zhou Yue burst in.
"Little Fish!" She was taken aback when she saw Zhou Xing.
"What's wrong, Sister Xiaoyue?" Qin Xiaoyu was just about to look for her and hurriedly went to meet her.
"Nothing much, I just missed you and came to see you." Zhou Yue hesitated, and Qin Xiaoyu knew that Zhou Xing was in the way.
"Go home, don't stay here anymore," Qin Xiaoyu immediately told him to leave.
"Oh dear, my status... forget it!" Zhou Xing stormed off in a huff.
"Little Fish, I'm so sad." Zhou Yue burst into tears again.
"Tell me what happened quickly, don't keep me worried." Qin Xiaoyu pulled Zhou Yue to sit down on the sofa.
“We went to Beijing for treatment, and the doctors all said the same thing: I’m afraid I can’t have children anymore.” Zhou Yue cried sadly, and Qin Xiaoyu felt a pang of sorrow in her heart. She hugged her, unsure of how to comfort her.
"What should I do?" Zhou Yue asked blankly.
What did they say?
"I told her to continue seeing a doctor," Zhou Yue said in a pitifully soft voice.
"Did they give you any trouble?" Qin Xiaoyu was a little worried. Although Zhou Yue was Commander Zhou's beloved daughter, judging from the incident where she was forcibly taken back to his hometown for the New Year, the other party was quite domineering.
"No." Zhou Yue's voice was even lower.
"What happened to your hand?" Qin Xiaoyu noticed a bruise on Zhou Yue's wrist and quickly pulled her over to take a closer look.
“We bumped into each other on the train, it’s okay.” Zhou Yue pulled down her sleeve to cover her wrist.
"How could you be so careless?" Qin Xiaoyu said with heartache. Zhou Yue's skin was already fair, and this patch of bruises looked shocking.
"Okay, stop nagging me." Zhou Yue didn't want to bring up the topic anymore. She talked to Qin Xiaoyu for a while, vented her emotions, and seemed a little better.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
