"Little Fish, you're not a lying child. Tell me the truth, is Wenwen dating someone in the provincial capital?"
"Others liked her, but she didn't agree."
"Oh dear, Xiaoyu, I think God has eyes. You were fine back then, but I joined others in criticizing you, saying bad things about you, and throwing cold water on you. Now it's all come back to haunt me. My own daughter is in worse shape than you! She got pregnant out of wedlock and has a child out of wedlock. How will she ever face anyone again?" Grandma Hanhan didn't dare to cry loudly, but sobbed softly, and it was heartbreaking to hear.
"Mom, Wenwen isn't that bad. Don't talk about her like that."
"I'm not just saying this to describe her; other people say even worse things about her. It's karma, karma!" Grandma Hanhan stood up and staggered toward the door.
Qin Xiaoyu couldn't stop her, so she had no choice but to let her go.
The door to the lady's room opened and closed, and Qin Xiaoyu went in.
"Did Madam hear everything?"
"Well, there's nothing we can do. People get old but they don't die, and they're not deaf." The lady always felt that Tang Wenwen had disgraced the Tang family and was furious with her.
“Wenwen knows she was wrong, so please don’t blame her. She’s suffered too.”
"Her suffering is her own fault, what does it have to do with me?" His wife was stubborn, and Qin Xiaoyu knew she couldn't persuade her.
"Tell her not to get married, don't ruin someone's life. Our daughter isn't that shameless." The old Scorpio woman had a sharp tongue. Qin Xiaoyu could only retreat with a wry smile.
The commotion woke Zhou Xing's mother up early, but she was afraid of embarrassing Hanhan's grandmother, so she didn't dare to go downstairs. She only came down now and went into the kitchen to make something for Qin Xiaoyu to eat.
"Mom, I'm not hungry. Sit down and let's talk."
"Jingtian is back. He came to see you yesterday. Give him a call." Zhou Xing's mother brought over a bowl of white fungus and lotus seed soup and placed it in front of Qin Xiaoyu.
"He's looking for me? I don't have time for him!" Qin Xiaoyu felt heartbroken thinking about Tang Wenwen's situation and hated him.
"He said he wanted to go see Zhou Xing." Zhou Xing's mother lowered her head and kept wiping a wrinkle on the tablecloth with her hand, again and again.
"Okay, I understand." Qin Xiaoyu couldn't continue the topic, so she lowered her head and ate lotus seeds one by one; they were bitter.
The next morning, Jing Tian came to pick up Qin Xiaoyu. He was dressed in all black—a black shirt, black pants, black leather shoes, and black sunglasses—and looked much more mature.
Qin Xiaoyu led him to Zhou Xing's grave and gave them some time. These were brothers who had been with Zhou Xing for over a decade; they must have a lot to say.
She picked some wildflowers and placed them in front of Sister-in-law Deng's grave. The photo on the tombstone was clean, as if someone had visited recently. Sister-in-law Deng's photo was cut out of her wedding photo by Deng Jianyan; she didn't even have a single photograph.
The black-and-white outfit made Sister-in-law Deng look more charming. She wasn't particularly beautiful, but she wasn't ugly either. She smiled contentedly, leaning to one side. There should be a handsome man there, someone she couldn't possibly be worthy of, but who is now her husband.
Now that her other half has been cut off, her body is struggling to support her, and her smile has become strained.
When Jing Tian arrived, his eyes were covered by sunglasses, but his nose was red, indicating that he had been crying a lot.
“Zhou Xing is very disappointed in me.” His voice was hoarse.
"What do you mean?"
“When I came back for the Spring Festival, he didn’t say anything to me, he only told Wang Lei.” Jing Tian lowered his head.
"Maybe it's because you're not feeling well, and he's afraid you'll ruin things." Although Qin Xiaoyu disliked him, she still offered a few words of comfort because she saw that he was genuinely upset for Zhou Xing.
“I brought him the best gift, which is now buried beside him.”
Qin Xiaoyu saw them; they were two cassette tapes, probably brought back by Jing Tian, and likely both were limited editions.
"Did Aunt Feng ask you to come back?" Qin Xiaoyu felt a lump in her throat when she thought of the fortune telling by Aunt Wang.
"No, it was Wang Lei who called me. I found out about Zhou Xing's situation and flew back immediately."
"Ha, my buddies are more important than my parents."
"It's fine if you're sarcastic, but Zhou Xing is definitely more important to me than anyone else, including Wang Lei. The years we spent together are irreplaceable. You don't understand him; his life is far richer than you know!" Jing Tian suddenly became angry.
Actually, Qin Xiaoyu had felt this anger too. She hated war. If it weren't for that damned war, Zhou Xing would still be alive and kicking, running around and annoying people everywhere.
When are you leaving?
"It should be soon; he hasn't finished his studies over there yet. By the way, sister-in-law, I'll ask you one last time, where is Wenwen?"
"I can't say."
"Okay, I won't ask again." Jing Tian kept his word and never asked again. Qin Xiaoyu felt sorry for Tang Wenwen once again.
She recalled Qi Si's words; she felt the same way, not wanting Jing Tian to continue loving Tang Wenwen and clinging to her. But on the other hand, he let go, and she felt angry. What was wrong with Tang Wenwen? How could he just say he didn't love her anymore?
Perhaps because she went to the cemetery, Qin Xiaoyu had that long-forgotten dream again. On that cold, moonlit night, Zhou Xing lay beside her bed, fast asleep, his long eyelashes casting a shadow.
She dared not reach out, afraid of waking him, but beautiful moments are always fleeting. The more she feared waking him, the sooner she would open her eyes.
Qin Xiaoyu would have insomnia if she had this dream; the cold, lonely room was so desolate it was maddening.
She brought the little cake up; the little guy had eaten his fill and was growing rapidly, already quite plump. His fur was smooth and soft; she pressed her head against it, feeling the warmth, and her heart calmed down.
The phone rang deafeningly. Qin Xiaoyu glanced at the time; it was two in the morning. She rushed downstairs, waking Zhou Xing's mother and Commander Zhou, who also came down.
"Little fish, please come and save me, I don't know what to do," Mr. Wang said, his voice trembling with tears.
When Qin Xiaoyu drove to the police station, Mr. Wang was handcuffed to a heating pipe and was half-squatting in a very uncomfortable position.
"What happened?" Qin Xiaoyu was about to go over and ask when she was stopped by a policeman.
"Who are you? Don't talk to the suspect."
"This is my master. I'm here to vouch for someone." Qin Xiaoyu quickly took out her business card and handed it over with both hands.
"Qin Xiaoyu? Wow, she's very famous." The police had heard of her name before.
"May I ask, what law did my master break?" Qin Xiaoyu asked patiently.
"She's the head of the hairdressing school. The students at the hairdressing school were engaging in group sex and disrupting social order, so she's the leader of a gang." The police officer had barely finished speaking when Mr. Wang's eyes rolled back and he fainted.
Ignoring all attempts to stop her, Qin Xiaoyu went over and pinched his philtrum and fanned him, finally managing to revive Master Wang.
"Little Fish, please save your master! I've been a widow for so many years, and I've always been innocent. Now, I'm living like this, and I've been called a hooligan. I can't bear the shame!" Master Wang burst into tears as soon as he opened his eyes.
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