Qiao Qingmeng's post caused a minor stir online, with several prominent entertainment bloggers tagging Qiao An.
[Isn't this the necklace that President Ha gave to Xiaoruo before? Why was it later given to Qiao Qingmeng?]
[Does Ha think this necklace suits his sister better?]
Does giving a necklace indicate that Qiao An and Qiao Qingmeng's relationship isn't as bad as rumors suggest? It seems the siblings have a pretty good relationship.
Meanwhile, Joan was happily working as a free male caregiver at the orphanage and had no idea what was happening on social media.
There aren't many entertainment options at the orphanage in the evenings. Shortly after dinner, the children gradually go to wash up and prepare for bed.
There was a downpour in the afternoon, and the night sky was exceptionally beautiful, like countless tiny diamonds adorning a deep blue velvet cloth. Because the sky here has little pollution, the stars looked particularly clear.
Mu Hua and his friends, along with the three little ones, sat on the bleachers of the basketball court looking at the stars.
Like a little tour guide, Lele pointed to the stars in the sky and explained them to everyone.
"Vega, Altair, and Deneb form the Summer Triangle, within which you can find Cygnus, Vulpecula, and Delphinus."
Xiao Tong and Xiao Shu were so engrossed in listening that they kept pestering Lele to point out the constellations to them.
After listening for a while, Mu Hua turned to Qiao An and asked, "Lele's knowledge is so diverse. Shouldn't she learn systematically if she wants to take the civil service exam in the future?"
Qiao An sat next to Xiao Ruo with one of her long legs bent, tugging at a stray strand of hair by Xiao Ruo's ear and twirling it around her long fingers.
Hearing Mu Hua's words, he turned his head and replied.
"As long as he's happy, that's fine. No matter how hard he tries, he'll never surpass me. I might as well just give up and live a happy life."
Xiaoruo was stunned by his shameless remarks and looked at him in surprise.
The viewers in the live stream were laughing hysterically.
[Mr. Ha, you shameless bastard! How can you say such shameless things without batting an eye?]
I feel so lucky to have a dad like that. He has a strong support system for his whole life. While others are working hard, Lele can just relax and be happy.
No wonder he named him Lele; it's such a simple and unpretentious name.
My dad often says the same thing: as long as I'm healthy and have a stable job, he doesn't care about anything else, as long as I'm happy. It's just a pity he's only an ordinary person, without the extraordinary superpowers of someone like Mr. Ha.
[To the person upstairs: I suggest you try pushing your parents in reverse. If you push them hard enough, they'll definitely become very successful.]
+1
Dean Huang searched the courtyard and finally found them near the basketball court. He shouted from afar,
"You lot, hurry up and wash up and go back to your rooms, or the big bad wolf will come and take you away."
Everyone was speechless.
Mu Hua replied with a smile, "Dean Huang, the oldest person here is already in their late thirties. Big Bad Wolf probably doesn't like people that old."
Dean Huang slapped his forehead. "Oh dear, look at my memory! You guys hurry up and wash up and go back to your rooms, the lights are about to go out."
[Haha, the Big Bad Wolf is coming to get you! I didn't expect Dean Huang to be such a comedian.]
[I noticed it the moment he said his rheumatism was a special ability; the director is so adorable.]
The washroom at the orphanage is the kind of sink from schools in the 80s and 90s—a long, concrete sink with a row of taps above it, big enough for a dozen or twenty people to wash at the same time. Little Shu named this sink "Sink Plus."
Xiaoruo couldn't wash her face by herself because of her injured arm, so Qiaoan wrung out a towel, held Xiaoruo's head down, and vigorously scrubbed her face.
Before Du Xiaoruo could even feel shy, Qiao An rubbed her head until it was buzzing, and her fair face turned red, making her look like she had been drunk last time.
When Fan Yue saw him washing someone else's face like that, she was about to say something when she saw Qiao An wring out the towel again and vigorously scrub his own face.
Even Lele was frantically rubbing her face, looking as if she wanted to rub off a layer of skin from her face.
Fan Yue: "...Lele, doesn't your face hurt?"
"It doesn't hurt." Lele shook her head. "My dad said that scrubbing it clean will make my skin better."
Fan Yue carefully applied the facial cleanser to her cheeks and gently massaged it in circles, using the fine foam to wash away the dirt from her pores. But even with such meticulous skincare, her skin still wasn't as good as others', which was truly frustrating.
Just after washing her face, Qiao An's phone rang. He went out to answer the call, while Du Xiaoruo quickly rinsed her feet in the mop sink and darted back to her dormitory.
Joan walked to the playground and answered the phone.
Secretary Jin told him about Qiao Qingmeng over the phone.
Qiao An exited his phone, opened the post, frowned, and looked confused in his gray-blue eyes.
He couldn't understand Qiao Qingmeng's purpose in doing this.
Her post was bound to be exposed by Qiao An, and Qiao Qingmeng would definitely become a laughing stock on the internet. Why would she do something that would dig a trap for herself?
"Mr. Qiao," Secretary Jin reminded him, "what do we do now?"
"The official statement has clarified the situation," Qiao An said decisively.
Regardless of Qiao Qingmeng's purpose, he could not create the illusion that he and Qiao Qingmeng had a good relationship in public. Moreover, everyone knew that the necklace was a gift for Xiaoruo, so what was the point of wearing it around Qiao Qingmeng's neck now?
"Mr. Qiao, there's something I haven't told you before."
Secretary Kim said, "After you said the necklace was lost, I was worried that someone around me might be up to no good, so I called the police and filed a case. Although we didn't find anything out at the time, we did report the necklace missing to the police."
Joan's pupils constricted, and a playful smile crept into her eyes. This was getting interesting.
"Jin, find the police officer who called the police and have them question Qiao Qingmeng. Also, release an official statement explaining the situation."
"good."
Qiao An added, "Don't use my personal account to post this; respond using the official account."
Using an official account to post this is clearly an attempt to distance herself from the situation; Qiao An personally no longer wants to have anything to do with Kim Hee-jin's side.
After Secretary Kim agreed, she added a seemingly unrelated remark, which was quite meaningful.
“Mr. Qiao, please don’t wash Xiaoruo’s face like that. Otto said that girls’ skin is not as thick as yours and can be easily broken by vigorous scrubbing.”
Qiao An raised an eyebrow, "Xiao Ruo?"
Secretary Kim immediately changed her address to "Boss's wife".
"Um."
Joan hung up the phone.
Because of the limited conditions at the orphanage, there was no internet in the girls' dormitory, so no cameras were installed. After returning to the dormitory, Fan Yue put on a face mask and lay half-reclined on the bed scrolling through her phone.
Xiaoruo's face was a little sore from Qiao An's rubbing, and she didn't know if her skin was broken, so she didn't even dare to apply lotion. She held a small mirror in her left hand and carefully observed the sore spots on her face.
"Wow!" Fan Yue exclaimed, her face mask still on, as she mumbled, "Xiaoruo, look at this necklace."
Fan Yue pointed her phone screen at Xiao Ruo, who was sleeping on the opposite bed.
Xiaoruo tilted her head and looked at it. "It's pretty. What's wrong?"
"Don't you know what this necklace is all about?"
Fan Yue had no choice but to explain it to her.
"This necklace was bought by Qiao An from Xia's Jewelry to give to you, but now I don't know why it's on Qiao Qingmeng."
Xiaoruo put down the small mirror, her curiosity piqued as well. "Really? It was a gift for me?"
"Yes, I watched that live stream. But you're too carefree. Don't you watch your own live stream replay? Many female celebrities even have their assistants edit out their parts. They not only have to watch the live stream again, but also have to pay attention to whether their image has collapsed and whether their image is perfect enough."
Du Xiaoruo was completely dumbfounded. She really didn't know this process. Now the live broadcast was almost over, her persona had already collapsed, and her image was gone. It was too late to make amends.
"Hey, Jinse has officially responded." Fan Yue saw another newly released message, "It turns out that the necklace suddenly went missing, and they even called the police. It should have been picked up by Qiao Qingmeng."
Fan Yue looked completely bewildered. "But why would she do that? What would she gain from wearing this necklace? She'd only be ridiculed online, right?"
Xiao Tong lay in bed reading picture books, but her ears were listening to her mother and the others gossiping.
Hearing this, she turned over and lowered her head from the upper bunk.
"Mom, you don't understand. She must like Mr. Ha. Geng Xiaofan in our class likes the school heartthrob in our grade. She found the school heartthrob's exercise book and said it was given to her by him. It's a kind of possessiveness, a way of asserting dominance."
Fan Yue was startled by Xiao Tong and said seriously,
"Fan Baitong, pull your head back in, it's scary. And what kind of nonsense is in your head? Don't talk nonsense, Qiao Qingmeng is Qiao An's younger sister."
Xiao Tong stuck out her tongue and pulled her head back in.
"Kids these days have really strange ideas."
Fan Yue made a few complaints and then went back to surfing the internet.
Du Xiaoruo carefully recalled Xiao Tong's words, her heart pounding like a small drum, and even her ears seemed to be ringing with alarm bells.
Fan Yue and the others don't know Qiao An's true identity, but Du Xiaoruo does. In Qiao Qingmeng's mind, she and Qiao An are people who have no blood relation. Once she accepts this premise, it's entirely possible for Qiao Qingmeng to fall in love with Qiao An.
For some reason, Du Xiaoruo felt inexplicably irritated whenever she thought about it, and wished she could punch Qiao Qingmeng's head and smash it open.
Incidentally, Qiao An was a little angry. If he hadn't dressed like a rich kid all the time and flaunted his wealth, no one else would have been interested in him.
Fueled by anger, Du Xiaoruo tossed and turned until midnight before finally falling asleep.
When I woke up the next morning, my cheeks were even redder, as if Qiao An had rubbed them raw. I was so annoyed.
Xiaoruo, harboring this inexplicable anger, went out and happened to run into someone from the company who came to deliver clothes to Qiao An.
Showing off and being a braggart.
In this godforsaken place, I don't know who she's trying to impress by dressing so extravagantly.
Qiao An greeted her, but Du Xiaoruo drifted past him as if she hadn't seen him, making Qiao An feel both embarrassed and guilty.
They still needed to go grocery shopping in the morning. Dean Huang was worried about them riding the tricycle by themselves, so he grabbed two strong men, Mu Hua and Qiao An, and personally drove the tricycle to escort them to the grocery shopping.
Little Shu, munching on a raw sweet potato, stood at the gate escorting them away, shaking his head and sighing as he complained.
"Dean Huang took two big pigs to the market to sell them and use the money to repair the roof."
In the live stream room,
[Hahaha, Little Book, you'll die if your dad goes back to watch the live stream replay.]
Why is my son eating a raw sweet potato? Oh my god, could he get poisoned? Isn't anyone taking care of him?
Eating raw sweet potatoes won't cause poisoning, but it might cause some indigestion.
[Didn't you guys notice that Xiaoruo was angry with Qiao An today? What happened between them? I want to hear the gossip.]
[To the person upstairs: If your husband bought you a necklace, but lost it before you even received it, and another girl picked it up and wore it, what would you think?]
[One more thing: Your arm is injured, and your husband washes your face with the same pressure as the bathhouse lady. What do you think of that?]
[Damn it, where's my eight-meter-long sword?]
[I'm supporting Xiaoruo this time, that bastard Qiaoan.]
The tricycle wobbled and swayed onto the road.
Mu Hua nudged Qiao An, reminding her, "Don't you think Xiao Ruo's mood is a bit off today?"
"Yes." Qiao An nodded honestly. "What happened to her?"
Mu Hua glared at him with exasperation, "Don't you know what you did? You lost the necklace you gave her, and then that necklace mysteriously appeared on another girl's neck. Wouldn't you be jealous if you were in her shoes?"
Upon hearing that Du Xiaoruo was jealous, Qiao Anxin was overjoyed. Doesn't jealousy mean she likes someone?
Dean Huang rode his bicycle, his voice carried by the wind from ahead.
"It's okay if a girl is angry, just buy her some treats and coax her to be happy."
Ten minutes later, Joan stood in front of the seafood shop in town, looking utterly devastated.
Are you sure you want to buy this?
“Turtle is very nourishing, and Xiaoruo is injured right now, so she needs to be nourished.” When he said this, Dean Huang’s eyes revealed the wisdom that only someone his age possesses, making people unable to help but believe him.
The seafood shop owner gestured with his chin towards Qiao An, "Want some turtle?"
Upon hearing this, Dean Huang and Mu Hua took a step back and pushed Qiao An to the front.
"Then I'll take one, a big one." Joan was a little afraid of these cold-blooded creatures that wriggled in the water, but she nodded with a forced smile.
The boss yelled at the workers behind him, "That boss is a bastard."
At this moment, Qiao An was blinded by fear and did not realize that there was anything wrong with what the seafood shop owner said. Mu Hua and Dean Huang were laughing so hard that they were trembling with laughter, biting their fists.
The viewers in the live stream were practically laughing themselves silly.
[Hahaha, the boss went too far! One scolding is enough, why keep repeating it?]
[Doesn't our CEO have any pride? He's the chairman of Jinse Group, hahaha, I can't take it anymore, I need to laugh a little longer.]
The seafood shop owner packed a large turtle in a net and handed it to Qiao An. Qiao An didn't dare to take it and pushed Mu Hua away.
Mu Hua took the net bag from him and urged Qiao An to pay the money quickly, and then everyone hurried to buy ribs.
Another strange phenomenon was then observed in the live stream.
[Wait, didn't Mu Hua say he'd cover all the meals? Why is it that our CEO Ha has been paying the bill all day?]
Haha, these two are such a handful, they can't live a day without teasing each other.
Looking at it this way, our boss Ha seems a bit dim-witted, getting called a "turtle" and still happily following behind to pay.
True wisdom often appears as foolishness.
Secretary Jin is always very efficient. Qiao An and her group had just finished buying groceries when Qiao Qingmeng in Wencheng received a summons from the police station.
A bright red McLaren sports car roared to a stop in front of the Luofeng District Police Station. Qiao Qingmeng got out of the car and entered the police station accompanied by her lawyer.
In the interrogation room, the young police officer asked her,
"Yesterday you posted a photo on social media in which you were wearing a pearl necklace. You said it was a gift from your brother, right?"
Qiao Qingmeng's gaze fell coldly on the metallic-looking tabletop, and she nodded impatiently.
"Please speak, is it yes or no?" the police officer asked her.
Qiao Qingmeng raised her eyes to glance at the policeman opposite her, leaned back in her chair, and answered in a cocky, drawn-out tone, "
Yes~
The police officer took a statement and then asked...
“This necklace was lost 20 days ago, and we have a police report on it. Now that the necklace has been found on you, we reasonably suspect that you stole it, and the amount involved is over 20,000 yuan. This can be classified as a major criminal case, do you understand?”
Qiao Qingmeng smiled dismissively and said...
"Theft? Are you kidding me? Go ask around, I'm the eldest daughter of the Qiao family. Ever heard of Jinse Group? Would I steal a mere pearl necklace? You country bumpkin, the money I spend on one meal is enough to pay you a month's salary. What are you talking to me about theft?"
"Watch your attitude," the police officer reiterated sternly. "Then how do you explain the lost item appearing on you?"
Qiao Qingmeng lowered her chin and looked at the other person with a cold gaze.
"I found it. It's not illegal to find things, is it, officer?"
The police officer's blood pressure spiked from her anger, and he shouted at her, "Since you found it, why do you say it was a gift from your brother? As far as we know, the Joan you mentioned in the article never gave you this necklace."
"What?" Qiao Qingmeng crossed her arms and looked at the other person with her chin. "Is vanity wrong? Is vanity illegal, officer?"
The police were furious with Qiao Qingmeng's attitude, but they couldn't find any evidence that she had stolen it. It was highly likely that, as she herself said, she had found the necklace and posted the update because of vanity.
After the questioning was completed, Qiao Qingmeng walked out of the police station with an arrogant expression.
Back in the car, Qiao Qingmeng turned on her phone, and as expected, Jinse's official account had replied to her post.
Ms. Qiao's pearl necklace was lost half a month ago. The police were notified of the loss at the time, and there was no claim that Qiao An gave her the necklace. The necklace has now been recovered, and the police are investigating.
Beneath the necklace that Qiao Qingmeng's brother gave her was an overwhelming barrage of insults.
[Are you perhaps suffering from some kind of serious illness? This necklace was clearly bought by Qiao An for Xiao Ruo, you shameless bastard.]
I've seen shameless people, but I've never seen anyone as shameless as you. What good does this do you?
[I'm dying of laughter. First, Qiao Qingchuan stole Xia Qingye's necklace to give to his mistress, and now Qiao Qingmeng steals Xiaoruo's necklace and claims it was a gift from Qiao An. You two siblings are really something else.]
[Joan has never publicly stated that you are his sister. Have some self-awareness, you disgusting bastard.]
Qiao Qingmeng slammed her phone aside in frustration. Damn it, this is so annoying! Qiao An is too much; she actually went and called the police.
She irritably ruffled her hair, picked up her phone again, and sent a message to her secretary.
[Buy online trolls to suppress this matter, no matter the cost, suppress it for me. If you can't do that, don't come to work tomorrow.]
My phone rang right after I sent the message.
When Qiao Qingmeng saw that it was Jin Xizhen calling, she calmed herself down and put on a wronged tone.
"mom."
Kim Hee-jin's voice sounded slightly angry. "What happened with the necklace?"
“I was framed by Joan. He had his secretary give me the necklace, saying it was a gift. I thought he was trying to be nice to me, but I didn’t expect to fall into his trap.”
As Qiao Qingmeng continued to "condemn" him, Jin Xizhen became increasingly angry and her heart ached. She had really underestimated this wolf cub before. She had seen him as a pitiful wretch who could be bullied and had no power to fight back, but now he dared to openly play dirty tricks.
"Mom, don't worry, I'll find a way to suppress this matter myself, and it won't affect our business," Qiao Qingmeng said, feigning obedience.
Kim Hee-jin comforted her daughter for a few more minutes before hanging up the phone.
At this moment, Qiao An was wearing an apron, holding a pot lid as a shield in her left hand and a kitchen knife in her right hand, staring at the turtle in the pool.
A large crowd had gathered behind Qiao An, all there to watch her kill the turtle.
Qiao An shielded his face with the pot lid and took two steps forward. The big turtle raised its small eyelids and gave him a disdainful look, as if to say, "Don't touch me," with an even stronger aura than Qiao An holding a knife.
"Use the back of the knife to slap him, knock him unconscious first." Mu Hua stood a meter away from Qiao An, giving instructions from the sidelines.
Joan mustered her courage and poked the hard carapace with the back of her knife.
At this moment, the turtle in the pool also sensed the danger and finally slowly crawled out of the pool.
The giant turtle only moved a few small steps, which terrified Qiao An. She threw down the knife and the pot lid and ran out of the kitchen screaming.
The crowd, eager for a good show, followed him out.
Watching Qiao An run all the way to the playground, she quickly climbed up the flagpole and hung on it like a koala, swaying back and forth.
Dean Huang, who was teaching a class, saw this scene through the window. He was so frightened that he dropped the blackboard eraser in his hand with a "thud" and rushed out of the classroom.
Dean Huang ran and shouted,
"Who put this thing up there? Tell him to come down! I just replaced the flagpole last semester, ouch!"
Joan looked down from the flagpole and felt dizzy. She quickly closed her eyes. It was terrifying, so high.
The crowd below was laughing hysterically. The orphanage students were rolling around in the classroom laughing, and the people in the live stream were screaming with laughter. Xiaoruo and Lele covered their faces, too embarrassed to admit that they were a family.
Just then, Qiao An's phone, which was lying below, rang.
Xiao Shu kindly picked up her phone, ran to the flagpole, and shouted at the top of her lungs, "Dad, someone's calling you!"
"Hang up."
"Okay, I'll answer it." Xiao Shu pressed the answer button.
Seeing that the phone had been answered, Joan had no choice but to call out, "Who is it?"
The little boy looked at the screen and shouted, "I can't read!"
"What are you pretending to read if you can't read?" Mu Hua, fearing it was a work-related call from Qiao An, quickly came to her rescue.
Upon seeing the caller ID, she was stunned and shouted towards the railing, "Qiao An, the caller is [Big Bib Slaps Love Brain to Death]."
As he read this sentence, Mu Hua heard a voice on the other end, which should be Jin Xizhen's voice. He calmly reached out and covered the receiver to prevent the voice from coming out.
Although Mu Hua didn't know the relationship between Qiao An and Jin Xizhen, anyone with eyes could see that Jin Xizhen was suppressing Qiao An, and as a brother, Mu Hua naturally sided with Qiao An.
The live stream audience was laughing hysterically.
Hahaha, who is this?
[You love-struck fools didn't do anything to anyone, so why did you slap them with a big shovel? Hahahaha...]
Although I don't know who this "Big Shot Slaps Love-Brained Person" is, he's really pitiful.
"I'm hanging up." Qiao An didn't dare look down and shouted with her eyes closed.
Kim Hee-jin was furious and started cursing on the other end of the phone, but it was as if her voice was blocked; no matter how much she shouted, no sound came out.
Mu Hua obediently hung up the phone, thinking that this classmate, who was "slapped to death by love," must be so angry that she needed to see a doctor by now.
Oh, what a tragedy.
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