Chapter 33 Watch

It's okay if you don't think of some things, but once you think of them, you can't help but think about them.

Speaking of which, Lin Qiao had always thought that Ji Duo was a workaholic and a careerist. After all, Xu Li said that he was often so busy that he didn't go home for ten days or half a month. Shu Li also lived in the company all year round, leaving the original owner alone in the empty house.

As a result, except for that mission, he came back home normally every day. He did not treat the army as his home or his work as his wife.

Then he probably doesn't have time to prepare for business...

No, isn't this the reason why this man married her? Why is he not in a hurry now?

Was it because of something that temporarily delayed the progress, or was it hidden so deeply that even she didn't notice it?

Lin Qiao only regretted that she didn't take it seriously enough at first. If she had read the original book, would she be so clueless? She had to guess everything.

So when Ji Duo walked in that evening, he saw Lin Qiao sitting on the sofa with a thoughtful look on his face.

Seeing him coming back, she turned her head and looked him up and down carefully, with some doubt in her eyes.

He paused, and hung his military cap on the hanger by the door as usual. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Lin Qiao smiled, but her eyes were still on him. "Don't you have anything to tell me?"

Who can stand this? Any man would have to think about what he is doing.

Ji Duo is undoubtedly a man. If he thinks about what she said a little, he can think of one or two things.

The first thing is the matter of the child marriage replacement. However, if Lin Qiao knew about it, her reaction would definitely not be so calm. That's because it's about the photo.

In the morning, she was going to deliver something to Ozawa, and he left a little later. He stuffed the photo into the newspaper she used to pack the things, and wrote a note asking Ozawa to keep it and not let her see it. After all, it has been more than a month, and she has never touched the album since she put the photos there.

She didn't touch it earlier or later, but she touched it as soon as he took the photo away?

Did she discover something? Or did she simply think that the disappearance of their engagement photo might have something to do with him?

Ji Duo sat on the sofa, picked up the cup and drank a sip of water without making a sound.

This person has always been very stable, and there is no clue to be found in his expression. Because there is no clue, Lin Qiao chose to hint directly to see if he could trick him into revealing anything.

Although the two of them are in a cooperative relationship, they have already cooperated in bed. If he has any plans for the future of the two of them, he should also give her a hint, right?

So the man didn't say anything, and she didn't rush to speak either, she just watched with her squinting eyes.

This behavior further confirmed Ji Duo's guess that she must have discovered something.

But she probably didn't know much more. The man thought of what to say almost instantly, "You were busy at noon, so I forgot to tell you."

Is it true? Lin Qiao even has

Sit up straight.

Ji Duo was not someone who liked to be dominated by others, so before she could ask, he continued, "I've taken the photos to the office."

It's not justifiable to lose it at home, and no one is at home, especially upstairs. Wouldn't Lin Qiao turn it upside down?

It’s different in the office, where there are a lot of people coming and going, so not having a photo is really not a big deal.

Lin Qiao was stunned when he heard this. "What photo?"

Seeing her expression of "that's it", Ji Duo was stunned for a moment, and then suddenly realized that what she said was completely different from what he said.

So Lin Qiao hasn't even realized it yet, and he was the one who initiated it?

And judging by her reaction, she didn't seem to care about the photo at all, and immediately asked him which one he took...

This was the first time that Ji Duo had encountered such a situation, but he didn't show anything on his face. He quickly took the initiative back into his own hands, "It's not a photo, what are you asking?"

Lin Qiao was stumped by the question. She couldn't just say, "I calculated with my fingers. Are you planning to go back to your hometown to do business?"

Transmigrating into a book is her biggest secret, which she cannot tell or explain clearly. Of course, she couldn't be fooled by a man's words. Without blinking, she had already come up with a plan, "I want to ask you about the small box that Sister Yan mailed to us. I was packing my things just now, so why didn't I see it?"

This time it was Ji Duo who was speechless, and the man even paused before putting down the cup.

Lin Qiao guessed that he had torn up the note, and his expression was not very good, so there must be something wrong. Unfortunately, the thing was not with her, and she only glanced at it at first and didn't really understand it.

She pretended to be nonchalant, "What's in it? It looks like a medicine box to me."

Could this man have some hidden illness that no one knows about?

It doesn't look like that, but she has personally tested his physical condition and has the final say.

This guy's mouth is like a clam, and it is estimated that there is nothing to ask. Lin Qiao successfully turned the tables and was ready to put this matter aside for the time being. "Let's eat. It's too late to go."

Anyway, if he really didn't plan to work in the army anymore, he would have to tell her sooner or later. Instead of guessing here, he might as well think about whether to make another bucket of liquid soap. In the morning, several female teachers from the first grade of high school bought it. In the afternoon, the number of people who came to her for orders obviously decreased. I don't know how the sales will be in the future.

As soon as I stood up, I heard the man next to me say, "Do you really want to know?"

Ji Duo put the cup back on the coffee table and just looked up at her. His expression was calm, yet inexplicably gave people a sense of oppression.

Lin Qiao suddenly thought of the same thing that happened last night at the old house when the man pressed her on the desk. There was danger hidden under his calmness. Her attitude changed very smoothly. "I don't want to."

However, after turning off the lights at night, Ji Duo still took her to review the scene of last night.

The man's breath was hot, and his big hand held her waist the whole time. For some reason, he even pinched one of her ankles.

His palms were too hot, and there were still marks on his fingertips from gripping the gun. When she was tensing her toes, he held them and rubbed them a few times, and she trembled and lost all strength.

Afterwards, the man carried her back to the bed, got some water for her to wash, and leaned against the desk where the water marks had not yet disappeared, swishing the ashes into the ashtray. "Do you still want to know?"

Even though she said she didn't want to, he still dragged her out for a big meal, didn't he?

Lin Qiao was about to say what was wrong when she noticed the man glancing at the drawer under the closet, where she kept her underwear.

She was shocked at that moment. Why didn't she realize that this man was so petty before?

And do you old cadres all play such tricks? He unlocked the desk as soon as he said it, and I wonder if he was secretly looking at something behind her back...

Lin Qiao threw the towel into the basin and closed his eyes. "Go to sleep. I have to get up tomorrow to make liquid soap."

The man stood there for a while before he put out his cigarette and came over to wash up. His expression didn't reveal whether he had any regrets or not.

Because they had just returned home on Friday, Xu Li did not let the couple bother, and Lin Qiao had the whole day of Sunday to do as he pleased.

On Monday, she brought the liquid soap that someone else had ordered to school. There were only two kilograms in total, and one kilogram of it was bought by two people together. It was obvious that she was not sure whether it was good or not.

This is unavoidable. When any new product appears on the market, consumers are more cautious. Therefore, businesses would rather not make money, but offer trials and big discounts, just to capture the target customers and have them come back in the future.

Lin Qiao was not prepared to make a discount. She had limited materials and was not ready to expand. The school only had so many faculty and staff, and it was not enough for her to expand.

Unexpectedly, before the morning was over, more and more people came to her to place orders. Some people who had asked about it last week but did not buy it also ordered one kilogram from her.

Those who asked but didn’t buy something basically felt that it wasn’t worth it or that the item wasn’t that necessary. If they suddenly changed their mind, there must be a reason.

After asking around, Lin Qiao found out that someone had used her liquid soap to wash their hair yesterday, Sunday.

Lesbians have long hair, so whether they use soap or perfumed soap, it takes a long time to wash their hair, and the effect of laundry cream is also average. Using Lin Qiao's liquid soap can save at least one-third of the time, because it contains grease and the hair is not as dry as washing with laundry cream.

Once something has something special that cannot be replaced by other things, naturally more people will want to buy it. Before school was over at noon, Lin Qiao had ordered another seven kilograms.

It seems that she was right to make a new bucket yesterday. Liquid soap needs two weeks to saponify. Once the previous batch is sold out, the new batch can be used.

"Your soap doesn't cost much, does it?" The guy who had negotiated with her that day came back, "I heard that chemical products are very profitable."

What can I say about this teacher Bi? Although he is a man, when it comes to being a mother-in-law or gossiping, many female comrades can't catch up with him, so he has a nickname called "Niangniang".

Once, Lin Qiao went to the store to buy some fruit and happened to see him haggling with someone. He insisted on getting a discount for two eggplants and a cucumber. The salesperson must have been annoyed by him and ignored him. He kept haggling and finally left with only the eggplants.

You can't let this kind of person feel that he has a loophole. Lin Qiao packed up his things and prepared to leave. "How would I know? My friend can't tell me this."

What I mean is, I was helping my friend sell it, but my friend didn't tell me, so what are you asking about?

The head teacher of Class 3 heard it and couldn't help laughing.

Empress Bi was confronted and her face was obviously not happy. Just as she was about to say something, someone came in and said, "Teacher Lin, students in your class are fighting with others."

One of the problems that students of this generation are giving teachers a headache is fighting.

Even if it’s just a small matter, I can ask my brother to be my friend and we can play for two or three days.

After all, they are idle. They are only in their teens and full of energy. They don't study much, so they have no place to vent their energy and are easily impulsive. Before Lin Qiao traveled through time, students were so busy that they doubted their lives just by studying. Who would have the time to fight?

Lin Qiao no longer cared about the other party, so he put down his things and went out.

The corridor was in chaos. A group of people gathered between the front and back doors of the fourth and fifth shifts, and shouting and cursing could be heard from time to time.

Lin Qiao walked over quickly and shouted, "Stop! Stop it!" He pushed through the crowd and just happened to see the soldiers fighting with the boys from a certain class.

Hearing Lin Qiao's voice, Junzi apparently regained some of his rationality, but the other party seized this opportunity and punched him in the face.

The soldier had been chased and beaten by Brigadier General Liang, so he could not bear this loss. He immediately grabbed the opponent's collar and threw him against the wall with a loud bang.

It was useless to ask them to stop. Lin Qiao glanced around at the people who were having fun and said, "Why don't you pull them apart?"

She was a teacher, and she had a certain dignity in her manner. She was also very pretty in an aggressive way. As soon as she saw them, someone rushed over to separate them.

The two were pulled apart, but they were still glaring at each other angrily, obviously still a little drunk. Lin Qiao directly called the monitor of Class 4, "What's going on?"

It turned out that the boy from Class 5 found that his electronic watch, which he had put in his desk for fear of damaging it, was missing after the physical education class.

He searched the whole class but couldn't find it. He sat by the back door, so he suspected that it was a student from another class. It happened that school was just over, and when he passed by Class 4, he saw Li Xiaoqiu drop a piece of paper on the ground. It was exactly the same as the one he dropped. He was afraid that someone would see it, so he quickly picked it up and naturally believed that it was Li Xiaoqiu who took it.

As for the soldier, he came to return the notes to Li Xiaoqiu, but happened to meet a boy who came in to catch a thief, and they started fighting after a disagreement.

Lin Qiao then noticed that Li Xiaoqiu was also standing next to him, her face flushed and her eyes red.

Seeing Lin Qiao looking at her, the girl shook her head hastily, "No, I don't!"

"Where did you get this watch?" The boy was still holding the watch in his hand.

He spat on the ground fiercely, "Who doesn't know that your mother ran away and your father only makes that much a month?"

Ever since he ran into Qi Huaiwen and Li Xiaoqiu suspected of being in a premature relationship that day, Lin Qiao still found out about the girl's situation.

To be honest, they are somewhat similar to Qi Huaiwen, both are teachers' children, both have no mother, and live alone with their father. However, Qi Huaiwen's mother passed away, and Li Xiaoqiu's parents divorced, and they left her and her father to divorce when the fight was at its worst.

In the following years, teachers were still in a bad situation and their salaries were low. Her father never remarried, but this incident also became a scar.

The boy started to expose other people's shortcomings. Li Xiaoqiu's eyes were originally just red, but this time tears really fell.

Lin Qiao's voice turned colder. "Our teachers' salaries are not high, but we teach and educate people. It's not shameful to earn this money."

The boy then remembered that she was still there and his expression froze.

"Besides, the police are investigating the case and they have to present evidence. Isn't it too early for you to draw a conclusion now?"

Just then, Class Five's head teacher, Lady Bi, also came over. She already had a general idea of ​​what was going on, and upon hearing what was said, "The matter hasn't been investigated clearly yet, so everyone should not get excited." But she did not immediately stand on the side of her own students and help question Li Xiaoqiu.

This changed Lin Qiao's opinion of him a lot, and he called the monitor of Class 4, "Take the students back to study first, and let them go home a little later today."

Empress Bi also quickly arranged for the people in her class to go back. When she was about to take them back to the office for detailed questioning, she found Qi Huaiwen standing there without moving.

The boy calmed down and looked at Lin Qiao, "I can testify that the watch belongs to Li Xiaoqiu. I saw her wearing it last Saturday."

When he mentioned last Saturday, Lin Qiao remembered the time when they met the two of them talking under the wall. But she didn't know whether he was wearing a watch or not, because Li Xiaoqiu had his hands in his pockets at that time.

The boy from Class 5 obviously didn't believe it, "You say there is one? You are in the same class as her, so you must be on her side." He asked Li Xiaoqiu directly, "Tell me where you got this watch. It's an electronic watch that costs more than 100 yuan. Did your father buy it for you, or did you change it yourself?"

At this point, Empress Bi was a little hesitant and asked Li Xiaoqiu, "Did your father buy you the watch?"

Just as Li Xiaoqiu was about to speak, he was slapped in the face with a loud and crisp slap.

The girl's tearful face instantly had five finger marks on it. The man wanted to hit her again, but Lin Qiao stepped forward and protected her behind him. "If you have something to say, just say it. Why are you hitting a child?"

Last time, Qi Huaiwen was caught copying books in class. No matter how angry Vice Principal Qi was, he didn't beat the child in public. But Li Xiaoqiu's father beat him without asking any questions. He was stopped by Lin Qiao, and pointed at his daughter behind Lin Qiao, "What's wrong with me beating her? I'm beating her because she's shameless!"

The middle-aged man was still furious, his eyes almost popping out, "Did I give you less food or clothes? Why are you stealing things from me? If I had known you were such a jerk, I shouldn't have wanted you in the first place. I would have told you to get out with your mother, so you don't have to embarrass me by coming to school!"

Judging from his reaction, it was obvious that the watch Li Xiaoqiu bought was not bought by him.

Now the Empress was in a dilemma. She didn't want to deal with it seriously, because the things were lost by a student in their class. But she wanted to deal with it seriously, because the person who stole the things was Lao Li's daughter.

Lin Qiao also frowned and was about to ask what was going on when the girl behind him suddenly sobbed, "My mother bought it for me."

She lowered her head and did not look at her father when she said this. Teacher Li obviously did not believe it. "Your mother? Does she still remember that she has a daughter like you?"

After being asked this question, Li Xiaoqiu fell silent again.

The father and daughter were both irritable and would not listen to explanations, and the other kept silent when yelled at. It was impossible to communicate properly. Lin Qiao was also a little troubled, so she patiently asked the girl: "Can you contact your mother and ask her to come over to testify for you?"

This is the best solution at the moment. In this era, there is no surveillance, so we can find out where the things have gone by just checking.

Li Xiaoqiu paused and shook his head, "She left after she finished reading it. I, I don't know where she is now..."

"And you still say you didn't lie!" Teacher Li was furious and was about to bypass Lin Qiao and continue beating the child.

Lin Qiao stopped him again, "Let's look for it again. Maybe it fell somewhere and we didn't find it before. Also try to contact Li Xiaoqiu's mother, what if we can get in touch with her? Since there is such a possibility, don't jump to conclusions and wrongly accuse the child."

After being blocked by her again and again, Teacher Li lost his temper and said, "Just do it if you can!" He turned around and left everyone behind.

Seeing Lin Qiao's insistence, Empress Bi had no better solution. "I'll take people back to look for it. Check the desks and trash cans."

The boy was obviously not convinced, and glared at Li Xiaoqiu as he followed the teacher back to the classroom.

Li Xiaoqiu pursed her lips but did not avoid him. She looked at Lin Qiao with gratitude, and regardless of the other party's contempt, she followed Class 5 to look for him together.

This search took most of the afternoon.

In the summer, people wear less and cannot hide something as big as a digital watch. After being questioned, the students from both classes went home for dinner. Lady Bi searched for a while, but couldn't find it, so she left. "You should give an explanation as soon as possible. Feng Gang is stubborn and might call the police."

Li Xiaoqiu's face turned pale when he heard this. "I'm sorry, Mr. Lin, for causing you trouble."

"Now is not the time to talk about this." The more urgent the situation became, the calmer Lin Qiao became. "You can't get in touch with your mother at all?"

Li Xiaoqiu thought about it carefully, "I still remember where my grandmother lived, but I don't know if they knew where my mother was." He lowered his head and said bitterly, "I heard that she got married again and her life was not good. This year, there was a business in her hometown, so she followed him."

"Then give me your grandmother's address and I'll send a telegram to try."

Lin Qiao was about to go back to the office to get a pen, but when he looked up, he saw a familiar tall figure standing not far away.

She glanced at her watch subconsciously, "Why are you here?"

It was a hot summer day, but Ji Duo still buttoned up his shirt meticulously, as if unbuttoning any of them would make him look undignified. He raised the lunch box in his hand and asked, "You haven't eaten yet."

"I was so busy that I forgot."

This is the disadvantage of not having a mobile phone. Otherwise, she could just make a phone call. Why would a man have to come to school to find her?

Lin Qiao quickly took the lunch box and glanced at Li Xiaoqiu who was feeling uncomfortable. "It's already this late. Come over and eat with us."

Li Xiaoqiu was stunned and shook his head quickly, "I, I don't need it..."

"Come and eat together. I have some cookies in my office. That's enough." Lin Qiao didn't give her a chance to refuse again. She walked quickly to the office and asked the man as she walked, "Have you eaten yet?"

"I've eaten." It was Ji Duo's first time in Lin Qiao's office, and he could tell which table was hers almost at a glance.

Her desk is not very tidy, but when she has nothing to do or wants to relax, she likes to fold things with paper. Sometimes it is lilies, sometimes it is roses. The pens on the desk are all in small cans with paper flowers inside, which must belong to her.

Sure enough, Lin Qiao pulled out the chair in front of the desk and asked, "Are you going back right away, or are you going to sit here for a while?"

Ji Duo walked straight to the window, lowered his eyes and looked out, "You eat, I'll take the lunch box back later."

Thinking that if he left now, he would have to go home and wait. After all, Xiao Fang went to the door to pick him up on time. Lin Qiao didn't say anything, put the lunch box on the table and opened it.

This was the first time that Li Xiaoqiu sat down to eat with his teacher. They ate in silence. Then, while eating, a tear fell on his hand.

She quickly turned her head away, but a light blue plaid handkerchief appeared in her sight.

Lin Qiao said nothing, didn't ask, and didn't comfort. He just let the girl vent on her own.

Li Xiaoqiu took it and wiped it, then subconsciously said "I'm sorry", "I don't want to cry, I just want to say thank you to the teacher." Introverted children are probably not good at expressing themselves, she was a little incoherent, "The teacher is very good to me, believes in me, and... anyway, she is like my mother."

She is only two years older than her, so she shouldn't be able to give birth to a daughter this big...

Lin Qiao paused and noticed that the man by the window turned his head and glanced at her.

Li Xiaoqiu obviously didn't notice, and continued to mutter, "Actually, my mother was very good to me when I was a child. She would make delicious food for me and sing little songs to put me to sleep. She had no choice at that time. My grandmother always complained that she couldn't give birth to a son. My father was in a bad situation at that time and had a bad temper..."

At this point, he suddenly paused, "Of course my dad is not a bad guy, but he has a hard time too, and he has to endure the bullying outside. He has been very hard these years."

Neither mom nor dad is a bad person, there are reasons for everything, but what about her?

Divorced couple

There are many reasons. Apart from cheating and domestic violence, which are obviously the wrong side, you can't say who is at fault for many of the rest. It is often the case that the husband says he is right and the wife says she is right. Everyone thinks that the other party has let them down and that they are wronged.

And it is difficult for anyone who feels wronged not to tell their children about this grievance, hoping that the children can stand on their side.

Li Xiaoqiu had found excuses for everyone, so she had to bear the rest of the grievances by herself. It was no wonder that she was usually so quiet and introverted.

"When a man is in a bad situation, can he go home and lose his temper?" Ji Duo's low voice suddenly came from the silence.

He didn't say anything and Lin Qiao almost forgot he was there. She immediately raised her eyes and glared at the man, telling him not to provoke the child.

Compared to Li Xiaoqiu who only fights with herself, her look is bold and lively, which is much more pleasing to Ji Duo. The man pretended not to notice, "If there is no other way, you should take the child away." At least if it were Lin Qiao, she would definitely not let herself and the child live like this.

After being hurt twice in a row, Lin Qiao didn't dare to let him stay in the office any longer, and directly pulled him out, "You should go back first."

The soft little hand was against his back. Ji Duo frowned, but did not dodge and was pushed away by her force.

As soon as they reached the corridor and closed the door, Lin Qiao suddenly lowered his voice and said, "Watches like this are rare in the market, right?"