"Maybe." Yun Qiao was not too sure.
"Then let's go together?" Qin Lili invited.
Yun Qiao shook his head. "I'm afraid not. We're staying at my boyfriend's grandparents' house this time, and we might have to spend the Lantern Festival with our family. I don't want to leave them alone and go out to play."
"Then let's do it another day. We don't have to hang out on the Lantern Festival." Qin Lili said, "Are you free tomorrow or the day after tomorrow? I'd like to treat you to a meal and introduce you to my girlfriend."
"Besides, you even have a child now. I haven't even seen what your partner looks like. I wouldn't recognize him if I met him on the street."
Yun Qiao smiled and said, "Who said you haven't seen it?"
"Huh? I've seen it?" Qin Lili's eyes widened. "When have I seen it? You never included photos in the letters you sent me."
Yun Qiao reminded her, "It was the day I left for the countryside. It was the soldier who came to my house to pick me up and set off with me."
"!!!" Qin Lili was shocked: "Isn't that your uncle's friend?"
"Yes." Yun Qiao couldn't help laughing: "So my uncle can be considered as the matchmaker between us."
"Oh my god. This is so... so dramatic!" Qin Lili sighed, then regretted, "It's a pity that I was so focused on being sad that day that I only noticed the person standing next to you and didn't even look at his face."
Yun Qiao said, "It's okay. You'll know what he looks like after we eat together."
Qin Lili asked curiously, "Is he handsome?"
"Of course. How could I like him if he wasn't handsome?" Yun Qiao said as a matter of course.
The two girls looked at each other and suddenly burst into laughter like silver bells.
The two chatted for a long time that day, until the sun began to set outside and the sounds of cooking came from the family building. Yun Qiao then said goodbye to Qin Lili with reluctance.
"Are you really not staying for dinner?" Qin Lili seemed reluctant to leave.
"Let's have lunch together tomorrow at noon." Yun Qiao pointed at He Yan in his arms and said, "The child is too young. He needs to go home before dark, otherwise he will be frightened."
"Then let's go."
Qin Lili sent Yun Qiao to the bus stop outside the family building. She watched her get on the bus and waved goodbye to her through the window glass: "Be careful on the road."
"Yeah, I know." Yun Qiao nodded and waved at her: "Go back, see you tomorrow."
"See you tomorrow."
The bus started moving quickly, leaving Qin Lili's figure far behind.
Yun Qiao changed buses and returned to the staff housing complex of Shanghai University before it was completely dark.
He Tingjun had not returned from drinking with his cousins yet. The two old men had gone to bed early and had dinner before dark. They had already returned to their room at this time.
Yun Qiao did not go in to disturb the two elders. He stood at the door and greeted them, letting them know that he was back, then took He Yan back to the second bedroom.
The job of taking care of the elderly is not easy. It is rare that after Sister Song helped the two elderly people fall asleep, she took the initiative to come to the second bedroom to ask Yunqiao what he wanted to eat in the evening and prepared to cook for Yunqiao.
Yun Qiao thanked Sister Song for her kindness and said, "Sister Song, no, I'll wait for Tingjun to come back and eat together."
"What about the child?" Sister Song asked, "Is the child hungry? How about I make him a bowl of noodles first?"
Yun Qiao saw that her words did not sound polite, so he nodded and said, "Okay, thank you for your trouble."
"It's okay, it's just a bowl of noodles, it's not a big deal." Sister Song smiled kindly and turned to go to the kitchen to cook noodles.
She was busy with work, and after sixteen hours she had cooked the noodles and asked Yun Qiao to take the child to the restaurant to eat.
In just six minutes, Yun Qiao thought it was just a simple vegetarian noodle, but he didn't expect it to contain vegetables and eggs, and was seasoned with dried shrimps and chopped green onions. He could smell the fresh and fragrant aroma from a distance.
Yun Qiao sincerely admired, "Sister Song, you are amazing."
"It's okay. I'm just used to it. No matter who it is, as long as they do more work, they can be the same as me." Sister Song felt from the bottom of her heart that she was just an ordinary nanny and did not think she was outstanding in any way.
"That's different. Some people can work their whole lives and still be clumsy." Yun Qiao laughed and said, "Being able to do housework to the utmost is also a skill. Sister Song, you are really amazing."
Sister Song was not used to hearing people complimenting her in person, so she smiled awkwardly and found an excuse to go back to her room.
Yun Qiao smiled silently and came to sit at the dining table with He Yan in his arms. The little guy seemed to smell the fragrance and danced with excitement. He couldn't wait to eat.
Yun Qiao picked up the noodles in the bowl with chopsticks and stirred them back and forth. When the temperature of the noodles dropped and they were no longer hot, she gave her the spoon and let her eat by herself.
As soon as He Yan grabbed the spoon, he couldn't wait to scoop the noodles into his mouth, eating one mouthful after another with relish.
After dinner, Yun Qiao added hot water, washed the child's face, hands and feet, lay down with her, told her a bedtime story, and patiently coaxed He Yan to sleep.
After He Yan fell asleep, Yun Qiao took the clothes she had changed today to the yard to wash.
Halfway through the shower, He Tingjun finally came back from outside.
Although he went out to drink with his cousins today, the main purpose was to catch up on the past. They hadn't seen each other for a few days, so they spent most of the time talking and didn't actually drink too much.
But he stayed in the drinking party for too long. Even though he didn't drink much, the other people in the room were smoking and drinking, so he was inevitably covered in the strong smell of smoke and alcohol.
He saw Yun Qiao squatting under the faucet in the yard washing clothes. An idea suddenly occurred to him, and he walked over and embraced her from behind.
He leaned his shoulder against Yun Qiao's and called her softly, "Wife."
Yun Qiao frowned at the smell of cigarettes and alcohol on him. After pushing him away, he covered his nose with a look of disgust: "You smell like cigarettes and alcohol, it stinks. Stay away from me."
He Tingjun lowered his head and sniffed, but the smell was not very real. "It seems to be a little bit."
He had been in that kind of environment for so long that his sense of smell had almost become acute.
"Are you really meeting up with your cousins?" Yun Qiao was a little skeptical. "Don't the men in your He family smoke? Why do they smoke and drink?"
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