Qin Xiaoyu's comment, "That's impressive," made the atmosphere in the room tense.
"I, Qi Si, have never abandoned a single brother." Qi Si was caught off guard, and his face turned ashen.
"Then who can I abandon? I can only endure it. But things are getting better now. I think in another three or four months, I should be able to start making some money back. At that time, I won't be short of money from Fourth Brother's place. You have to trust my character." Qin Xiaoyu suddenly stood up and patted her small chest loudly, which almost made everyone in the room laugh.
Qin Xiaoyu is only 1.5 meters tall, and there are a group of burly men who are 1.8 meters tall standing next to her. Watching her stand there, it always feels like child's play, and even a bit like bullying people.
"Alright, alright, with your kind face and soft heart, how can you make any money?" Qi Si was so angry that Qin Xiaoyu waved her hands repeatedly.
"Yes, definitely! Trust me!" Qin Xiaoyu exclaimed, jumping up and down.
"Fourth Brother, shall we serve the food now?" a waiter asked cautiously, peeking in.
"Bring the dishes, we're all starving." Qi Si waved his hand. Qin Xiaoyu's heart jumped again. This was a trap! How much would this meal cost? Her heart pounded, and she felt a little panicked.
"You eat first, then go back to the hospital." Qi Si pushed a steamer of buns in front of Qin Xiaoyu as soon as it was served.
"Should I eat first?" Qin Xiaoyu thought about it and realized it made sense. She was paying for her own food anyway, so what difference did it make who ate first? She was starving, so she wolfed down five steamed buns, choking and hiccuping. She reached for the water bottle, but it was empty. The short girl couldn't bear to watch any longer and pushed her water glass towards her. Qin Xiaoyu gulped down the water, wiped her mouth, and stood up.
"Fourth Brother, you guys keep eating, I'm leaving now." Qi Si was already drinking with his brothers, and no one paid any attention to her.
When Qin Xiaoyu passed by the hotel reception desk, she considered just slipping away, but then she thought that even if she ran away, she couldn't hide, so she gritted her teeth and went forward.
"The bill for the private room is settled," the proprietress said without looking up. Qin Xiaoyu shrank back and ran off, afraid Qi Si would change his mind. Even after running all the way to the hospital gate, she still couldn't figure out what was going on tonight. Did Qi Si really trust her character?
When Qin Xiaoyu returned to school, Master Wang and Dazhuang had already returned, both unharmed. Tian Tian had applied medicine to her face and covered it with gauze to keep it warm; she rushed to greet Qin Xiaoyu as soon as she saw her.
"Auntie, where did you go? I've been looking for you up and down the stairs. Where are my little brother and sister?"
"They are still in the hospital."
"The hospital? You just left the child there by yourself?" Mr. Wang asked anxiously.
"I entrusted them to a friend, I'll go pick them up right now," Qin Xiaoyu hurriedly explained. She wasn't sure herself, and wished she could fly to Hanhan and her little sister's side immediately.
It was past ten o'clock at night when Qin Xiaoyu left school. The streets were deserted, and the cold moon hung in the sky, illuminating the snow-covered ground. Qin Xiaoyu's footsteps crunched on the snow, the sound carrying far. She had never felt so lonely before, as if it were the end of the world, and she was the only person left in the world; everyone else had vanished.
She quickened her pace, ignoring the slippery road, and ran towards the military hospital. Once upstairs, Qin Xiaoyu grabbed a nurse and asked for directions to Zhou Xing's office.
She stood in the middle of the corridor, with doctors' offices on one side and doctors' lounges on the other. Under the two signs, she was a little confused. It was so late; everyone was probably asleep. Knocking abruptly seemed like she might disturb them. Hesitantly, she walked to the office door. Newspapers were pasted behind the glass door, and the bottom section was lifted. Qin Xiaoyu peered in and could see a corner of the room. Zhou Xing was sitting upright, reading a book. Beside him, she could see two pairs of small shoes placed side-by-side on the floor—they belonged to Hanhan and her younger sister.
Qin Xiaoyu felt a void in her heart, her nose stung with tears, and she almost burst into tears.
She knocked on the door a few times, and Zhou Xing came over in response.
"Mom." Hanhan was a light sleeper. Hearing the knock on the door, she immediately sat up and saw Qin Xiaoyu come in. She jumped off the bed barefoot and rushed into Qin Xiaoyu's arms.
"It's cold, Mom is cold, come up to bed." Qin Xiaoyu pressed Hanhan back onto the bed.
"Mom," Hanhan clung to her, refusing to let go.
"Are you hungry? Mom brought you some cookies."
"Uncle fed us, milk powder with biscuits." A smile appeared on Hanhan's face, completely unlike the restraint she had when Qin Xiaoyu wasn't around.
"Thank you." Qin Xiaoyu finally had a chance to thank Zhou Xing.
"It's alright, your daughter's fever has subsided, so it doesn't seem like a big problem," Zhou Xing said lazily.
"I'm so sorry to have bothered you for so long. I'll take them away now, you should rest." Qin Xiaoyu saw that her younger sister was sleeping on the bed and had already taken off her coat, so she quickly pulled it over to put it on her.
"Do you even know how to take care of a child?" Zhou Xing asked impatiently. Qin Xiaoyu had just received his favor and didn't want to directly confront him, so she could only hold back and quicken her pace as she helped her younger sister put on her sleeves.
"The child's fever just broke, and you're taking him out like this? No wonder he'll have a fever again when he gets home! You guys sleep here, I'll find somewhere else." Zhou Xing ripped off his younger sister's clothes and threw them back on the bed, then turned and walked out.
Qin Xiaoyu and Hanhan exchanged a glance but remained silent. She slumped onto the bed, feeling utterly exhausted. She hadn't felt anything until now that she could finally rest, and her whole body felt like it had completely fallen apart.
There was a knock on the door, and she said softly, "Please come in."
Zhou Xing pushed the door open and awkwardly pointed to the table before quickly picking up the book. He turned back at the door and said, "Lock the door tonight."
"Okay." Qin Xiaoyu walked to the door.
"By the way, what's the story behind your negotiations with the underworld?" Zhou Xing was quite gossipy.
"Ha, they collect protection money, they want three thousand at a time. Hanhan's great-grandmother was just hospitalized for surgery, I pawned all my cash at the hospital, I don't have the money to pay."
"Protection fees? What era are we living in? People still collect protection fees?" Zhou Xing was quite surprised.
"How could a noble young master like you understand the hardships of ordinary people?" Qin Xiaoyu couldn't help but tease him.
"So what do we say now?" Zhou Xing didn't pursue her attitude.
"I haven't said anything yet, but I promised to start paying in April." Qin Xiaoyu lowered her eyes, her two pale little hands twisting together. At that moment, she looked weak, helpless, and somewhat humiliated. A tear rolled down and fell onto the back of her hand.
"You guys go to sleep." Zhou Xing's curiosity was satisfied, and he left in a hurry.
Qin Xiaoyu sat back on the bed. Hanhan, who had been observing her closely, got up and stood behind her, massaging her shoulders with her little hands. The fatigue in Qin Xiaoyu's body slowly disappeared under the soothing touch of Hanhan's little hands.
"Go to sleep, son, you must be tired too." Qin Xiaoyu hugged Hanhan tightly; he was the closest person to her in the world.
With Hanhan beside her, she could sleep soundly, but Qin Xiaoyu couldn't fall asleep no matter what. She didn't know if it was because of the choice of location or because the events of the day were too exciting. She carefully considered every possibility, but her thoughts became clearer and clearer.
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