0012 012 Long summer winds and clouds, rain and wind.
In August, Qi Shuyao was so bored at home that she wandered all over the hills and even lay on the lawn counting blades of grass.
As expected, Qi Yu was promoted and transferred from the Ministry of Commerce to become the Party Secretary of Jingyang City.
He's been coming home later and later lately, and he's been staying home later and later. The events around her birthday seem like a dream that only Qi Shuyao has experienced. Now, all the bubbles have been popped, leaving her alone, smiling foolishly at the sky, before secretly withdrawing her smile.
It was about to rain, and almost everyone in the family came to look for her. The sound of footsteps on the floor was continuous. In the end, Qi Yu found the little girl curled up under the tree, as if she had suffered a great injustice.
"What's wrong, Yao Yao? Who bullied you?"
He picked up a strand of her hair and poked her face with it. She frowned, moved her shoulders, and pushed him away, stubbornly refusing to turn back.
"I haven't seen my dad for almost a week and he hasn't turned around to hug me. It seems like he doesn't miss me at all."
Qi Shuyao abruptly pulled her hair back and sat up abruptly, throwing a handful of plucked grass into Qi Yu's hand.
"I haven't left the house for almost a month. I'm practically growing out of this grass."
"You used to dislike going out, and you wouldn't go out even once during a holiday."
"Well... before, it was my own choice not to go out, but now you're not letting me go out. How can that be the same?"
"So what do you want to do outside now?"
He squatted down and asked her, but she didn't want to answer. She patted her bottom, got up from the ground, and said she was hungry.
"Do you want to visit Li Qing?"
"...How did you know?"
Qi Yu stepped forward and removed the bits of weeds stuck to her back, then tidied her hair.
"Even if you go out now, you can't see her. Visitation is not allowed now."
Why?
"This kind of serious criminal case involves too many aspects, and it won't allow someone like you who has no connection to visit, at least not now. Wait a little longer."
"oh."
Qi Shuyao's spirits plummeted, and she walked back with her head down. Qi Yu looked at her slightly hunched shoulders, opened his mouth several times, and finally asked the question.
Have you been in contact with Song Yusheng recently?
"No, didn't you say you wouldn't contact anyone? What's wrong?"
She finished speaking in one breath without turning her head.
"It's nothing, come and eat first."
After dinner, Qi Shuyao returned to her room, took a shower, and leaned on the windowsill to watch the rain. As she watched, she realized something was off. She took out her phone to send a message to Song Yusheng, but after swiping her fingers and thinking it over, she decided to try a more indirect approach.
"Log in? It's been a long time since I played."
Song Yusheng didn't reply until she was almost asleep.
"Not today, I just got back from outside, I'm too tired."
Qi Shuyao tossed her phone aside, understanding.
Song Yusheng was always sent by her parents to learn various skills, or rather, they called it interest cultivation, character building, and self-cultivation.
She will definitely be a strong contender on the path to becoming a wealthy wife. Given her parents' personalities, they'll definitely make sure she's number one and surpasses all other wives when they raise her to be someone's wife.
Or maybe she'll just marry Su Shaojin; it doesn't seem impossible.
Despite knowing each other for so many years, even though she always had a beautiful smile on her face, Qi Shuyao felt that she wasn't happy. In her eyes, Song Yusheng had a very flamboyant personality and liked to be straightforward and outspoken, but now she was forcing herself to be shrewd and diplomatic.
Lying in bed, she fantasized about her friends' future and couldn't help but think about what she would do in the future. It seemed that her intentions were not clear. Qi Yu had never mentioned these things. Was she going to continue painting and keep painting forever? Or was Qi Yu relying on his future high position and power, thinking that no one would dare to say anything if she got married in her current state?
Qi Shuyao suddenly sat up, terrified by the idea. The more she thought about it, the more likely it seemed. She twisted the blanket in her hands and bit her lip, trembling all over at the mere thought of it.
Qi Yu has mentioned things like "Yao Yao can do whatever she wants" and "No matter what Yao Yao does, Daddy will help you solve it" more than once, which seems to further support this speculation.
Once an idea pops into your head, everything will be interpreted as proof of it. Qi Shuyao was lost in thought for a long time when she was interrupted by a short ringing of the bell.
Qi Yu sent a message.
"Don't stay up late, go to bed early. The new boss is having a dinner party with some people this Saturday night. You're coming with me, so bring a simple dress that doesn't have to be too formal."
"Also, I'm off tomorrow, so I'll have a barbecue in the yard."
"good!!!!"
The little girl immediately became happy, sent a string of exclamation marks, threw down her phone, crawled into bed, and completely forgot about her previous thoughts.
Although the He family banquet was called a family banquet, everyone was not really family, and there were bound to be some tensions between them. However, Qi Shuyao had met the current head of the family when she was very young, and she could jokingly say, "I even held you when you were little." So she wasn't too nervous. She wore a small shirt with a pleated skirt and no high heels.
Old He has a daughter who is not with him now, so he only brought his wife. Today, he invited three families in total.
Qi Yu was his old subordinate, another was Zou Cong, his secretary who had followed him for many years, and the last one was actually Su Changce, who had bought his way into the position.
He still brought his wife and son to the event. Su Shaojin hadn't attended her birthday party last time, and only sent a gift more than a week later. After that, there was no further contact.
This newly promoted official was a typical ambitious man who wanted power more than money, but because of his clean background, he took a different path and was promoted by Lao He. Although being assigned to the Ministry of Transport was not his original intention, it was still a step forward.
The banquet was clearly divided into groups: the men discussed politics, the women talked about family, and Qi Shuyao, Su Shaojin, and Zou Cong's son, Zou Jiangyu, chatted idly on the side.
Qi Shuyao really wanted to secretly ask Su Shaojin about Song Yusheng, but Zou Jiangyu was overly enthusiastic. He was two years older than the two of them and always acted like an older brother, forcing conversation even when there was none, making all three of them feel awkward.
The adults weren't having an easy time either. Old He said he just wanted to relax and not talk about work today, and he even led them all into the ladies' conversation. The lonely old man Qi Yu was naturally relaxed and hid to the side drinking tea, while Mrs. Zou was chatting and laughing with the somewhat reserved Mrs. Su.
"Minister Su, you're keeping such a beautiful wife hidden at home, are you afraid we'll snatch her away?"
Mrs. He also echoed her sentiments from the side.
"Yes, we don't even know Mrs. Su's name yet."
Qi Shuyao suddenly realized that despite knowing Su Shaojin for so many years, she didn't even know what his mother's name was.
Madam Su seemed somewhat at a loss, her eyes fixed on Su Changce instead of answering. The man chuckled exaggeratedly and stepped forward to explain himself.
"Madam's surname is Gu, and her nickname is Chaohuan. She is introverted and doesn't talk much. She has stayed at home for many years. Ladies, you should take good care of her in the future."
Upon hearing the surname, everyone present was taken aback, but Su Changce had anticipated this reaction and continued to explain.
"Don't worry, everyone. It has absolutely nothing to do with that Gu family. My wife comes from the Immortal Society. Her family runs a small livestock farm. My parents-in-law overworked themselves in their early years, and now no amount of money can save them..."
Xianhui is a small town squeezed in the middle by Jingyang City. Because it is located in the north, it is damp all year round due to the natural freshwater lake to the east. It is also squeezed into a small plateau by Eryang, which is full of cliffs. Xianhui, which is adjacent to the lake, developed animal husbandry, and its small ranches became very successful.
Everyone else bowed their heads in grief, but Qi Shuyao turned to look at Gu Chaohuan after hearing the words "Immortal Gathering." The woman avoided eye contact with anyone else throughout the entire banquet.
The Immortal Gathering? She remembered that Li Qing was also a member of the Immortal Gathering.
She then looked at Qi Yu, and after their eyes met, she raised an eyebrow slightly and asked a question. The man blinked, and she looked away, turning to tease Su Shaojin.
"Your mother has this kind of personality? I've never met anyone like that before."
Su Shaojin, whether he inherited it from someone or not, always had an arrogant attitude, as if he were the most important person in the world. He was already used to his mother's coy demeanor and shrugged indifferently.
"That's just how she is, she doesn't care about anything all day, she cries at the drop of a hat, and lately she seems to be writing something again, just messing around with useless things."
The mother and son didn't seem to get along well either, so Qi Shuyao didn't know what to say. She turned her gaze to Zou Jiangyu, who was wearing glasses. He should have been a carefree eighteen or nineteen-year-old, but he lived like a carbon copy of his father, a human computer, meticulous in every detail.
Indeed, children are a mirror of their parents. These two are exactly like their father. Thinking of this, she looked up at Qi Yu again.
She and Qi Yu do not look alike, but people always smile and say "This beautiful daughter looks just like her father" whenever they see them, making her unable to tell whether they actually look alike or not.
The ladies over there were chatting about something else, but all that could be heard was Madam He saying, "She's not their biological child after all, she just ran away like that." Her voice was very soft, hidden in the men's conversation, but it landed precisely in Qi Shuyao's ears.
What if he's not their biological child?
Her gaze remained fixed on Qi Yu until the adults finished their conversation and got up to see them off. Qi Yu walked towards her, and Qi Shuyao shook her head violently, trying to banish that absurd idea.
Old He arrived a step ahead of Qi Yu, and as always, he lovingly patted her head, handing her two big, crisp peaches, which were her favorite.
"Yaoyao, come over and play whenever you have time. Your Aunt He misses you too."
Old He's wife also has the surname He, and their family is very harmonious.
"Okay," she agreed quickly.
The three families dispersed from the entrance and drove off on different roads. Qi Shuyao didn't notice that the Su family's car hadn't returned to Yangcheng; she was only focused on getting closer to Qi Yu and starting to beat around the bush again.
"Did you hear what Aunt He just said? Whose child isn't their own and still runs away?"
Qi Yu, who had been resting with his eyes closed, opened them upon hearing this, and playfully poked her cheek.
"Still so gossipy, only interested in this kind of thing. It's Old Lin's second son. He and his wife adopted a very young son before, who was studying abroad. When he heard the rumors here, he stopped going to school and just disappeared."
"Ugh...this is so inhumane! My parents raised me."
She leaned back to the other side, took a bite of the peach, and then said nothing more.
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