"Auntie, how could I be angry when you care about me? I'm too grateful to even ask for your thanks," Qin Xiaoyu said with a smile, afraid of upsetting Zhou Xing's mother.
“Look at this Staff Officer Zheng, he’s five years older than you. His wife died in childbirth three or four years ago, and he’s been living alone ever since. With his background, so many people have introduced him to potential partners, there’s a long line of unmarried young women. But he says he’s been hurt and can’t bear to see women give birth, so he wants to find someone who can take care of children. Don’t you think this is fate?” Zhou Xing’s mother spoke with great enthusiasm, while Qin Xiaoyu could only lower her head.
"Xiaoyu, what are your thoughts? Tell me." Zhou Xing's mother was certain that Qin Xiaoyu wouldn't be picky about such a person.
"Auntie, if I say I don't want to look for someone anymore and just want to raise my two children and live a good life, will you think I'm being dramatic?" Qin Xiaoyu looked up and said softly.
“Zhou Yue said the same thing, but it’s not realistic. You’re still young. There will be many more things to deal with in the future, and you can’t handle them all by yourself.” Zhou Xing’s mother sighed and shook her head.
"Auntie, I..."
"I'm telling you, Zhou Yue, you're just bored. You're so busy buying clothes, why don't you stop meddling in other people's business? What did Qin Xiaoyu do to you? Why did you have to find her an old man with a bunch of poor relatives?" Zhou Xing suddenly appeared out of nowhere, and his words made Zhou Xing's mother's face turn green.
"Zhou Xing, have you taken the wrong medicine today? You don't talk as much as you do in a whole month! Shut up!"
Zhou Yue had just seen Staff Officer Zheng off and spent a long time comforting him. She originally wanted to come back and try to persuade Qin Xiaoyu again, but after hearing what Zhou Xing said, she knew that it was probably all over.
"I just can't stand how you guys do this. Why do you think Qin Xiaoyu is inferior? Why does she have to marry a divorced man?"
Although Zhou Xing's words were a bit harsh, Qin Xiaoyu found them very pleasing; he was expressing the cry from the bottom of her heart.
"Alright, that's enough. I'm tired, I'm going upstairs to sleep." Zhou Xing's mother was well-mannered and couldn't argue with Zhou Xing in front of Qin Xiaoyu, so she went upstairs in a huff.
"Sister Xiaoyue, don't worry about me, I'm really fine," Qin Xiaoyu comforted Zhou Yue.
"I'm about to go out, let me see you off." Zhou Xing took the younger sister, who was already wearing a coat, from the guard's arms. Qin Xiaoyu was also eager to escape, so she followed behind him like a well-behaved little wife. The four of them left the Zhou family's house.
"You won't blame me for ruining your plans, will you?" Zhou Xing said coldly.
"No, thank you," Qin Xiaoyu said with a slight smile.
"Truth or dare?"
"Sincerely. What you said is exactly what I wanted to say."
"Haha, I was just saying, don't think too highly of yourself." Zhou Xing's twisted personality is something else, he flatters while putting down.
"I didn't look at myself. You're the one who said all this. What are you trying to say?" Qin Xiaoyu said helplessly.
"I... don't want to say anything." Zhou Xing stopped, stared at Qin Xiaoyu in the moonlight, and finally said nothing, striding forward.
The little girl was already sleepy, her head limply resting on Zhou Xing's shoulder, her eyes closed, her long eyelashes drooping down.
Hanhan was held in Qin Xiaoyu's hand, and she followed closely with small, quick steps. To outsiders, they looked like a family returning home late at night.
It was late spring, and the branches were quietly sprouting new buds. The air was filled with the fresh fragrance of leaves. Qin Xiaoyu took a deep breath of the pure, unpolluted air and suddenly felt very happy.
She had fallen in love with the 1980s. Everything here was inconvenient, materially scarce, clumsy, and simple. People were also old-fashioned, conservative, and dull. But in this era where time seemed to slow down, the human touch that flowed slowly was even warmer.
Back then, travel was slow, and a lifetime was only enough to love one person.
A lyric suddenly popped into her head.
If that person comes, will she still dare to love?
Qin Xiaoyu discovered that a seed had already sprouted in her heart.
Spring has come, nothing more. She stomped down hard, restoring the loosened soil to its original state; she couldn't afford to be hurt anymore.
The matter of introducing her to a potential partner greatly upset Zhou Xing's mother, and it took her a long time to recover.
Just then, Commander Zhou got busy with work, traveling all over the country for meetings, and Zhou Xing's mother naturally had to accompany him, so Hanhan and her siblings didn't visit the Zhou family as frequently.
With more and more students coming from other places, Qin Xiaoyu is already planning to open a branch school. Choosing a location is giving her a headache. There aren't any good houses available right now, and besides, with her reputation as Principal Qin, every place she goes to look at will try to rip her off.
She spent half the day running around without success and realized it was past lunchtime, so she decided to find a small restaurant to grab a bite to eat.
A restaurant I frequent was under renovation. Scaffolding had been erected outside, and a bald man crawled out from under it—it was Qi Si.
"Brother?" Qin Xiaoyu exclaimed in surprise. Qi Si had been quiet lately, so it seemed he had some new developments.
"Okay, come in." Qi Si lifted the canvas on top with his hands and helped Qin Xiaoyu crawl inside. It was dark and messy inside, and construction was underway.
"Brother, you're going to open a restaurant?"
“I’ve thought about what you said, and you’re right. I need to find a different way to make money; that’s the important thing. If nothing else works, I’ll open a restaurant since I love to eat.”
"Brother knows himself quite well." Qin Xiaoyu couldn't help but chuckle.
"That's right, with a girl's guidance, I finally got it."
"What's your restaurant's specialty?"
"Steamed buns, dumplings, stir-fries, anything is fine."
"That won't do. You can only choose one main dish; you can't have them all." Qin Xiaoyu shook her head.
"Do you think it's better to have everything a guest wants when they come to eat, or to have nothing at all?" Qi Si was not convinced.
"Brother, do you want to make big money, or just earn a little money through hard work?"
"Who doesn't want to make a lot of money!"
"Then listen to me!"
"Okay, go ahead."
"Okay, I'll go back and make a plan, and we'll discuss it in detail tomorrow."
Qin Xiaoyu planned to help Qi Si with the planning. She returned to school, locked herself in her office, and wrote and drew until it got dark before finally stretching.
Because she had made prior arrangements not to be disturbed, no one dared to come up. Hanhan and her younger sister were led by Master Wang without making a sound.
Qin Xiaoyu got up and walked to the window. She glanced at the north-facing window as usual. There was light on, and she was lost in thought for a moment.
Knock knock. Someone is knocking on the door.
"Come in... Brother?" This was truly strange; Qi Si could even knock on the door now. Qin Xiaoyu looked at the large aluminum lunchbox in his hand and found it even more amazing.
"I was just passing by. Hmm, this is leftover, you can have it." Qi Si opened the lunchbox, and the room was filled with a delicious aroma. It was sauerkraut and oil-filled buns, Qin Xiaoyu's favorite.
Qi Si wasn't used to taking care of others, so he rubbed his hands together and looked away, unsure where to look.
"Brother, please sit down. I'll eat first. It's delicious!" Qin Xiaoyu then realized that she hadn't eaten lunch and was starving. She started eating in big bites.
"Brother, look." Qin Xiaoyu moved the paper on the table over with her finger.
"You drew this? My sister is amazing!" Qi Si exclaimed in amazement. It included a floor plan, a business model, and even a complete list of dishes.
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