Because of the medication, Qiao An was speechless for a moment after hearing Du Xiaoruo's silly remark about Ultraman, and soon drifted off to sleep again.
When I opened my eyes again, it was already daylight.
Du Xiaoruo sat in a chair, fast asleep on the edge of Qiao An's hospital bed. A ray of translucent morning sunlight shone through the small window of the clinic, landing right on her soft black hair.
Joanne reached out and brushed away the stray hairs that were falling across her face.
Du Xiaoruo frowned, pouted and sighed, then slowly opened her eyes. Her doe-like, innocent eyes were momentarily confused. Only when she saw Qiao An's pale face did she belatedly remember that Qiao An had been sick last night.
The moment Du Xiaoruo opened her eyes, she saw Qiao An staring intently at her. She immediately sat up straight, pretending to casually reach out and brush the back of her hand across her mouth, trying not to drool.
Thankfully, my lips are fine. Could there be some eye discharge?
Du Xiaoruo quickly stood up, "I...I'm going to the restroom."
She fled the ward and hurriedly walked to the public restroom in the corridor. Although the restroom was simple, it was very clean. Du Xiaoruo looked at herself carefully in the mirror. Fortunately, apart from a pressure mark on her cheek from sleeping face down, everything else was normal.
Du Xiaoruo patted her face with water. The original owner of this body was 22 years old, while Du Xiaoruo was actually 26 years old. The difference of only 4 years made a big difference in her skin condition.
Even though she didn't sleep well last night, her face was still smooth and flawless, and she didn't have any dark circles under her eyes. She couldn't be more satisfied with her current state.
The on-duty doctor yawned as he entered the ward, saw that they were already up, went back to write a prescription, and
"Go to the pharmacy to get the medicine according to this prescription. Take it three times a day, according to the dosage. Do not eat anything cold or icy for three days. Pay more attention to your diet, and it is best to drink some porridge."
Qiao An stood up, took the prescription, and felt better. Her confident and composed demeanor returned.
The Qiao family has a private doctor, and medical advice is usually given directly to the housekeeper by the doctor. This is the first time Qiao An has handled these matters personally.
He picked up the prescription, looked at it, and asked very seriously, "If you're going to drink porridge, should you drink it before or after meals?"
The old doctor raised her eyelids and stared at him for a long time with the look one gives a man looking at an idiot, as if she were trying to confirm whether Joan was joking.
After meeting his earnest, grey-blue eyes, the doctor sighed, turned, and left.
He's so handsome, it's a pity he's an idiot.
When Du Xiaoruo returned from the bathroom, she stood at the door and saw this scene. For a moment, she didn't know whether to turn around and leave this place of trouble. Was it too late to pretend that she didn't know him?
They returned to the guesthouse. When Mu Hua and the others got up in the morning, they couldn't find Qiao An's family. They then learned from the guesthouse manager that the handsome guy with blue eyes had fallen ill in the middle of the night and had been taken to the hospital overnight.
Du Xiaoruo and Qiao An's phones were both dead, and no one could contact them. They were anxiously discussing what to do when they heard the sound of a car outside. They looked up and saw the Bentley returning.
Qiao An got out of the car, and everyone surrounded him to check him over carefully. Only after confirming that he was alright did they feel relieved.
The guesthouse has a communal kitchen, but everyone arrived late yesterday and didn't have time to buy groceries, so we'll have to eat breakfast outside today.
As a food connoisseur accompanying this trip, Ni An had already inquired about a local delicacy called "meat fish," which involves hand-pounding river fish meat with fresh pork to make a paste, then poaching it in boiling water to make fish balls, and finally adding rice noodles and fish bones to make a rich soup. It is known as "the most delicious food in Guicun."
A famous meat and fish shop was not far from the guesthouse. Since no one was driving, the group strolled towards the old shop.
When Qiao An arrived at the store, he finally understood why the doctor had looked at him like he was caring for someone with intellectual disabilities that morning. It was because, damn it, the doctor was telling him to eat porridge, which meant he should eat porridge as a main meal, not before or after meals.
The shop offered free millet porridge. When they arrived, Du Xiaoruo gave Qiao An a warm bowl of millet porridge, and that was it.
That's all.
Alright.
Joan looked resentfully at the fragrant and delicious dishes of Guicun's Number One Delicacies in front of the others, then at the bland millet porridge in front of him, and protested in dissatisfaction.
"This porridge has no flavor, I can't eat it."
Upon hearing this, Secretary Kim thoughtfully added some salt to his millet porridge.
In the live stream room,
What's going on? These people have gotten incredibly audacious, haven't they? Daring to feed their sugar daddy millet porridge?!
[Did the person upstairs just join the live stream? Apparently, CEO Qiao had a stomachache last night and was taken to the hospital, so he can only eat millet porridge today.]
【Oh? How could it be so bad? Take care, Mr. Ha.】
In the small group chat between Secretary Kim, Otto, and the other two, a heated argument was taking place.
Otto saw the news about Joanne's illness in the live stream early this morning and immediately tagged Secretary Kim.
[Old Jin, what happened? Is it serious? If it gets really bad, come back immediately and get it checked out at a big hospital. Don't let it leave any lasting damage; my great-grandfather died of stomach cancer.]
Secretary Kim: [It's alright, a minor incident. This guy's over six feet tall, he can handle it.]
Yu Pan, [Why did you suddenly get sick? Lao Jin, give me a reasonable explanation.]
Secretary Kim: [What's there to explain? Can't you all see? He was jealous of the boss's wife talking to Ni An yesterday, so he ate so many spicy dishes and drank ice-cold beer. He brought it on himself.]
Otto: [Oh, I see. Then tell Ni An to talk to the landlady less in the future, and not to upset me, or the consequences will be severe.]
Yu Pan: [This is too much trouble. Tell Ni An to come back first, so he won't be in the way.]
Secretary Jin, [Get out! Are you even being reasonable? Ni An hasn't offended any of you.]
After breakfast, back at the guesthouse, Mu Hua wanted to take the children to ride the covered boats. Qiao An was not feeling well and needed to stay at the guesthouse to rest. Du Xiaoruo also said she wanted to stay. Xia Qing also said that she hadn't slept well last night and felt a little dizzy.
Finally, Mu Hua and Ni An took the children out to play, leaving Qiao An and the others to stay at the guesthouse.
This guesthouse is very small; they booked all the few rooms. Since everyone staying there is a local, the communal kitchen is very convenient to use.
Du Xiaoruo went to the kitchen and saw that the equipment was quite complete. She then asked the guesthouse owner about the nearby farmers' market, had Qiao An transfer some money to her, and then scanned a shared bicycle to ride to the farmers' market to buy groceries.
After everyone left, the guesthouse became quiet, and the live stream was paused so as not to disturb Qiao An's rest.
Xia Qing also came out of her room and knocked on Qiao An's door.
Qiao An was lying in bed watching a movie when she heard someone knocking on the door. Ji pulled up in her slippers and walked over, opening the door.
Xia Qing, dressed in pajamas, stood at the door. "Qiao An, I want to talk to you."
Joanne stepped aside to let him in. "Shall we talk inside?"
The suite had a large garden terrace. Qiao An gestured for Xia Qing to sit there as well. She took two bottles of ice water from the refrigerator, feeling the refreshing coolness in her hands. Qiao An's gaze fell on a sticky note on the refrigerator door.
Do not drink ice water.
He smiled, put the water bottle back, and poured himself a cup of hot water from the thermos.
Joanne sat down on an outdoor chair and turned her head. "What is it?"
Xia Qing also took the ice water and held it in her palm, getting straight to the point, "Let's cooperate."
Qiao An paused, holding the hot water in his hand. "What?" He wasn't quite sure what Xia Qingye meant.
"I want to kill Qiao Qingchuan, and after thinking it over, I have no choice but to cooperate with you." Xia Qing repeated what she had just said.
Joan picked up his water glass and took a small sip of the warm water. He was a little confused about what was going on.
"But I don't want to kill Qiao Qingchuan."
Xia Qing pressed on, "But you want to destroy the Qiao family, don't you? Our goals are actually the same."
Qiao An didn't know how to answer Xia Qingye's question, so she remained silent, gesturing for Xia Qingye to continue.
Xia Qing also unscrewed the ice water and took a sip. When she spoke again, her voice sounded as if she had ice in it.
"Although you run Arthur, you've never intended to expand Arthur. Instead, you seem to be using Arthur to hone your team's skills. You've been waiting for a bigger opportunity, haven't you?"
Xia Qing ignored Qiao An's reaction and continued talking.
“You used to wear a pair of antique tourmaline cufflinks, which were auctioned at a London jewelry auction and sold for 20 million US dollars. Now those cufflinks are up for sale on the jewelry market. I guess you must be short of money lately.”
"Furthermore, following the jewelry line, I asked around and found out that you've been speculating in jewelry for the past few years, and about a week ago, you were selling off all the jewelry you owned."
"Why would you sell off assets at this critical juncture when Qiao Qingchuan is in trouble? I suspect it's to get a large amount of cash so you can acquire Jinse's shares at any time."
"So, you actually look down on Yase, and your goal is the entire Jinse Group, right?"
Qiao An calmly took a sip of water, remaining noncommittal. But in her heart, she had begun to admire Xia Qing. No wonder she was the only child of this generation in the Xia family; she was much smarter than Qiao An had imagined.
“But you might not have that much money,” Xia Qing added. “Whatever amount you need, the Xia family can lend it to you.”
"Moreover, if the two of us cooperate, it will be a cross-industry collaboration between Xia's Jewelry and Jinse Group. It's like I'm marrying Xia's to Jinse, bringing a generous dowry and not asking for a bride price. I don't think you would refuse such a highly profitable business, would you?"
Xia Qing's offer seemed like a huge meat pie had been thrown at Qiao An's head; Qiao An couldn't understand it.
Why are you helping me like this?
Xia Qing tightened her grip on the ice water. "I'm not helping you, I'm helping myself, and helping the Xia family."
"Given my current situation, if I cause any more trouble, Jin Xizhen and Qiao Qingchuan will not let me off the hook. But if they make me compromise and continue to live a miserable life in the Qiao family, they would rather kill me. So, I need to strike first."
“Qiao An, although I don’t know what the rift is between you, Jin Xizhen, and Qiao Qingchuan, I can tell that they have been suppressing you. You must hate them as much as I do. After hesitating for so many years, it’s time to fight back.”
Joan put down her water glass, seemingly unwilling to discuss the topic of Kim Hee-jin.
“I understand your intentions. I don’t know if what I’m doing now will be successful. Xia’s Jewelry is the wealth accumulated by the Xia family for generations. This burden is too heavy. I will come to you again when I have more than 80% confidence.”
Xia Qing wanted to say something more, but Qiao An raised her hand and pinched her brow, looking tired.
"Miss Xia, let's stop here for today. I have important business to attend to tonight and need to rest now."
After Xia Qing left, Qiao An remained seated on the balcony terrace without moving.
He was indeed looking for an opportunity to acquire Jinse's shares, and he was indeed short of money.
Xia Qing just mentioned that the sale of jewelry was only one aspect. In fact, Qiao An still has some fixed assets, such as houses and shops. In the worst-case scenario, he has a trump card to raise money, but it is a bit risky to use.
In his plan, he was the only one involved in this matter from beginning to end; it was an overconfident plan to use his own strength to shake up the entire Jinse Group.
However, the plan has encountered some unexpected circumstances. The Xia family is one variable, and another variable is... Qiao An no longer wants to go to war with a coffin. He has developed some attachment to this world.
Du Xiaoruo rode her bright yellow electric bicycle back from grocery shopping. The basket in front of the bicycle was full of fresh fruits and vegetables. She wore a helmet with a panda head printed on it, and the blue sky behind her created a heartwarming scene.
Qiao An saw her through the gaps in the leaves of the green plants on the terrace. Xia Qingye's words had just stirred up memories, and her depressed mood felt like a cool breeze had broken through.
He picked up his phone and sent a message to Secretary Kim.
Do you usually cook at home?
The message was sent, but Secretary Kim did not reply.
Joan stood up impatiently and walked towards the third floor where Secretary Kim lived.
There was only one room on the entire third floor; the rest of the space was a small garden. Joan went upstairs and saw that the door was ajar. He walked over and pushed the door open.
Secretary Kim was lying on a soft swing bed in a dimly lit room with dark curtains hanging low around him. A movie was being projected onto a screen above his head, and he was fast asleep.
Qiao An looked around the room and found that it was decorated in a very charming style. It was probably the best room in the guesthouse, with a swing bed, a giant screen projector, and a large garden full of roses. "I'm really shameless to have booked this room for myself," Qiao An thought to herself.
He nudged Secretary Kim's calf, which was dangling by the bedside, with his toe.
Secretary Kim slowly opened his eyes, and saw Qiao An's magnified face in his pupils. He was stunned for two seconds, then sat up with a somersault.
"Mr...Mr. Qiao, what brings you here?"
Qiao An pointed to her phone on the pillow, "I sent you a message."
Secretary Kim reached for her glasses, which had slipped to the side of her pillow, put them on, picked up her phone to read the message, and then looked up in confusion.
"Cooking? I can."
"Okay, get up and come downstairs with me."
Secretary Kim pressed a button by the bedside, and the electric curtains and the giant screen overhead slowly retracted, revealing a picturesque river view outside the window. Below the giant screen was a whole glass roof, so you could see the dazzling starry sky from your bed at night.
Joanie paused in her steps as she stepped out the door. "Is the stargazing beautiful from here?"
"It's alright." Secretary Kim tidied up the bed a bit. "There were clouds last night, not many stars, but I saw pink clouds, it was very dreamy."
The two went downstairs, where Du Xiaoruo was busy in the kitchen wearing an apron. She had looked up recipes online that morning and was preparing to make some light and easy-to-digest dishes.
Qiao An gestured to Secretary Jin to help, and then sat down on a high stool at the bar.
Du Xiaoruo was quite content cooking in the kitchen by herself, but their arrival made her feel uncomfortable. However, since Secretary Jin was sent by Qiao An, she couldn't very well send him away and put him in an awkward position later, so she assigned him some tasks.
Secretary Kim hadn't cooked in a long time. She remembered how, when she was in school, she'd come home on weekends and help her mother with chores while chatting – it was so heartwarming. So now, while helping wash the vegetables, her mouth was constantly busy.
"These tomatoes are exceptionally good, ma'am. Look at their bright red color; they're clearly ripe. These tomatoes are juicy and fleshy, and they smell wonderful."
Overwhelmed by their hospitality, Du Xiaoruo had no choice but to put her nose to the tomato and smell it.
"Mmm, it smells good."
Secretary Kim smiled smugly, "Right? These tomatoes taste just like tomatoes from my hometown."
Du Xiaoruo, “…” Is the intelligence of your company hereditary?
Qiao An was amused by him, and jokingly called him an idiot. Seeing that Du Xiaoruo was really bad at chatting, and looked like she was facing a major crisis whenever Secretary Jin spoke, Qiao An subtly changed the subject.
"Jin, what time did you and Han Nianwei agree to meet?"
"At three o'clock in the afternoon, after lunch we'll pack up and head up Turtle Mountain."
"Um."
Secretary Jin put the washed vegetables into the shopping basket and continued her incessant explanations to Du Xiaoruo.
"Boss lady, our Yase has a fabric research and development base in Guishan. You would never guess that persimmons, indigo, and bayberries can all be used to dye fabrics. Some fabrics are even buried in the ground so that ants can bore natural marks into them. It's really interesting."
Du Xiaoruo took the vegetables he had washed and placed them on the cutting board to chop, then softly hummed in agreement.
Then she realized that her behavior might not have been very good, making Secretary Kim feel neglected, so she added,
"That sounds interesting."
"It sounds interesting, and it looks interesting too. Let me tell you about the boss's wife, before I came to the company..."
"Alright." Joan interrupted Secretary Jin's incessant chatter by pressing her temples. "You're giving me a headache. From now on, no talking."
Secretary Kim pursed her lips, and finally the world fell silent.
Lunch was a simple and light yam and millet porridge. Although it was still porridge, it was served with side dishes including scrambled eggs with tomatoes, winter melon and pork rib soup, and a stir-fried vegetable dish.
Perhaps because of the lower pollution levels in Guishan, the vegetables tasted exceptionally good, sweet and crunchy, making Qiao An no longer find drinking porridge so unbearable.
After the meal, Xia Qing also said that she hadn't helped with the cooking and insisted on washing the dishes herself.
Qiao An stood up and said to Secretary Jin, "I'm going upstairs to change my clothes. Let's head to Guishan."
Secretary Kim followed, saying, "I'm going back to my room to change my clothes too."
The two walked together to the second-floor stairwell. Secretary Jin went up to the third floor first, and Qiao An, remembering that she had something to tell him, also went up to the third floor.
After the two left, Du Xiaoruo's phone rang. She picked up her phone from the bar, unlocked it, and her heart skipped a beat when she saw the sender.
This is Chen Ding's number, the same number that sent her the message the day Qiao Qingchuan cheated on her.
[At 3 PM, head to the Guishan Yaser Fabric R&D Base.]
Du Xiaoruo walked into the yard with her phone in her hand, pacing back and forth anxiously for a couple of minutes. Three o'clock in the afternoon, Yase Fabric R&D Base, wasn't that the same schedule as Qiao An and the others?
She had a vague premonition that Chen Ding's information was more like a guide, leading her to witness some turning points that could change the world, to exert effort at each inflection point, until it affected the ending of the entire world and brought the plot back on track.
That means something big will happen at 3 o'clock in Guishan that will affect the world. The key question now is how she will get to that fabric base.
Du Xiaoruo walked to the second-floor corridor. She figured Qiao An should be changing clothes in her room by now. Du Xiaoruo thought that if she went up the mountain alone and ran into Qiao An and the others, it would be difficult to explain. It would be better to just tell Qiao An that she wanted to go to Turtle Mountain and go with them.
"How should I say it?" Du Xiaoruo stood in the corridor, quietly rehearsing her lines when she met Qiao An.
"Ahem." She cleared her throat first.
"Qiao An." She hesitated at first, then muttered in annoyance, "Should I call him Mr. Qiao? Or President Qiao? President Ha? Or Qiao An?"
“Just tell them, Joan, I want to go to the fabric base to see the ants.”
"No, no, it's not about watching ants. Joan, I want to go watch. Hmm, what was Secretary Jin saying just now? Something about bayberries or something? It's all so messy."
Du Xiaoruo stood in the corridor, repeatedly practicing her words while keeping an eye on the room door, waiting for Qiao An to come out.
Just as Qiao An came down from the third floor, Du Xiaoruo's soft mutterings echoed up the stairwell, and Qiao An heard them clearly.
He recalled Ultraman from last night, shook his head with a smile, and deliberately quickened his pace as he walked downstairs.
Hearing the sound of slippers, Du Xiaoruo quickly shut her mouth, turned around, and saw that it was Qiao An. She was startled, and her face turned bright red.
Du Xiaoruo unconsciously pressed her thumb against the pad of her index finger and scribbled vigorously, which helped relieve some of her inner anxiety.
Qiao An stood on the two steps and leaned down to look at Du Xiaoruo.
My gaze fell on Du Xiaoruo's fingers, where her fair fingertips were marked with faint red lines.
When Qiao An first heard Du Xiaoruo's mutterings, he had already prepared his words of refusal. But seeing her like this now, he impulsively asked, "..."
"Are you free this afternoon? If you're bored, would you like to go to Turtle Mountain together?"
Qiao An regretted her words as soon as she said them.
Sending Du Xiaoruo to Guishan means that she will be informed of some dirty things in advance.
Although he and Du Xiaoruo hadn't known each other for long, and had only recently become truly familiar, this brief period had been the most relaxed and enjoyable time of his twenty-odd years of life. He really didn't want to spoil this relaxed and pleasant experience, so maybe he should just not let her go and find an excuse to put it off.
While Qiao An was coming up with several excuses, Du Xiaoruo had already changed into a light sportswear outfit, put on a sun hat and sunglasses, and stood fully armed in front of Qiao An.
"Shall we leave now?" she asked softly, lifting her eyelids.
Qiao An had just prepared a long list of ways to refuse, but what came out of her mouth was, "Leave right now."
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