0043 043 I should be happy, but I can't smile.
The assistant stood outside Qi Yu's office again, carrying the documents. This time, they were delivered by Secretary Zhou. She seemed lost in thought, lingering at the door for a long time, even pressing her ear against it to listen for any sounds before finally knocking.
"Enter."
She pushed open the door and went in, and saw Qi Yu bending down to pick up Qi Shuyao, who was sleeping on the sofa, and put her down. He then turned to look at her.
"...Oh, Secretary Qi, these are the documents that Secretary Zhou just brought back. He said he'd get them for you right away."
Qi Yu looked down at his daughter in his arms, gently bounced her body, and then turned to look at his assistant.
"Okay, let's put it there for now."
The door closed again, and Qi Yu pulled the wet collar out from under Qi Shuyao, who was pinning him down, and carried her back to the chair.
She straddled his lap, her legs hanging down naturally, still not touching the ground despite her size, swaying gently with his movements. Her upper body pressed tightly against his, her cheek against his chest, her breath mingling with his heartbeat.
The sun finally climbed out in the afternoon, streaming in through the window. Time seemed to sway back to childhood, when she always liked to snuggle up to him like this, holding up half a cookie and stuffing it into his mouth, then giggling to herself.
Time turns and turns, and finally we've returned to where we started.
Qi Yu opened the document Zhou Cheng had sent: the final approval for the Yang Lang General Cultural Park Art Museum. As long as this thin piece of paper left his office again, the Yang family in Henghai New District would be given a second chance at life.
He put the documents about the illegal sale of cultural relics, the documents about Ji Shuihan's hired gun, and the photo of Pei Yuzhou's tombstone together, and after thinking for a moment, he also put the comic book "All the Dogs in the World Hold Hands" on top of it.
They may all be wrong. On the surface, the Yang family is still the Yang family, but what they really are inside is hard to say.
The most crucial figure in this story, Yang Tian, seems to have gone unnoticed by everyone.
Qi Shuyao has especially disliked the start of the school year these past two years. Why is it that every time a major event happens around the time she starts school?
The Yang Lang General Tomb Cultural Center is open as usual, with a large number of visitors coming and going. They even started a live broadcast, with the camera focused on the newly built tombstone for the old general. The old general has some prestige among the people, and many people come to pay homage to him, praying for their careers or studies.
She leaned against the classroom wall, secretly watching the live stream, her face expressionless.
Qin Zhuohan glanced at her screen and casually replied,
"You like it?"
"Um...no, I just don't understand."
"It's all business, making money, who cares about ancestors? Xiao Shui's new picture book must be selling like hotcakes again."
It was quite novel to hear these words from him. Qi Shuyao took off her headphones, leaned over with a mischievous grin.
"Young Master Qin, have you finally figured it out?"
Qin Zhuohan turned to look at her, a mischievous grin on his face.
What makes you think I'm someone who doesn't like money?
"It's probably just the smell of disinfectant."
Qi Shuyao leaned back against the wall, and Qin Zhuohan also raised his head and leaned back against the backrest.
“Actually, I knew from a very young age that money might be more important than life. Private hospitals are much more expensive than public hospitals, and they focus on service and technology. My dad has recruited many, many great professors from all over the world, and people keep coming to them seeking their expertise. Some high-ranking officials and wealthy people want to pay double or triple the price to have all the medical staff serve them, while some poor people who have scraped together all their money kneel in front of experts, crying and begging them to save their family members. Everything has a price tag, from the food in the cafeteria to the life on the operating table. In the ward, there can be a person in a vegetative state whose name is unknown but who has paid a lot of money, while outside, the family members of patients who cannot raise enough money are told that there are no beds available.”
He tilted his head back slightly, tapping his fingers lightly on his school uniform pants. He looked very different from before, but in reality, it seemed like nothing had changed.
"Will you become a doctor in the future?"
"I don't know, I don't know either."
The school bell rang. Qi Shuyao straightened up, turned her phone over, but there was no sound. She didn't know what had happened in the cultural center. Suddenly, there were no tourists in front of the camera. The camera was pointed at the stone statue of General Yang Lang. The statue clearly had no eyes, but she felt like someone was watching her from inside.
She put the phone face down again.
After school, Qi Shuyao was taken to Jingyang. That evening, she went to attend her best friend's coming-of-age ceremony. After changing into her little dress, she went to Qi Yu's office for a while. He had gone to a meeting, and the office was empty.
She rocked back and forth in Qi Yuxin's new swivel chair, her gaze sweeping across the bright glass, while she twirled a large balloon she had just bought on the main street.
The assistant came in several times, bringing her water and food, and her smiling face even seemed somewhat kind.
Qi Yu came in just in time to rescue her. After the assistant closed the door, she jumped up and pounced on Qi Yu, giving him a big kiss.
"Can't you go home tonight? You've been working overtime for so long."
"It'll be over soon, just a little while longer."
"You won't tell me? Fine, then can you tell me why that restaurant owned by the Yang family is still so successful? When are you planning to take them down?"
"We don't know their true core yet, so we can't be reckless."
"Actually, I can help you."
"What?"
“The gallery, I can go and get to know Yang Tian. Besides, in their eyes, our relationship isn’t good either. We’re just an ordinary father and daughter who wouldn’t say a word to each other even if we were in the same room.”
"Don't go looking for her yet. Let's see what they can do on their own."
"Oh well."
When the time came, the driver came to pick her up. Qi Yu hugged her and kissed her several times in the house before letting go. While she was still catching her breath, he quickly took the balloon from her hand and tied it to the leg of his table.
"This is my hostage. You need to come back and rescue it right away."
Qi Shuyao was taken aback for a moment, but immediately followed suit and patted him on the shoulder.
"Don't worry, I'll definitely be the first parent to come pick you up!"
"They're going to rebel!"
She dodged Qi Yu's grabbing hand, nimbly ran out with her small bag, and giggled all the way.
Most of the birthday parties for socialites in Jingyang are pretty much the same, especially coming-of-age ceremonies, which are quite awkward and boring. She hid on the sofa at the back, swirling a glass of red wine, her mind wandering to all sorts of random thoughts.
Qi Yu's birthday is coming soon. The news Pei Youwen brought last time was so shocking that she forgot to refute his far-fetched reasons. Now that their relationship has changed, she has thought for a long time but still can't think of a good gift to prepare for him.
Pei Youwen had previously said he would paint a portrait of her. In fact, she had painted many portraits before, but they were all done secretly by herself. They contained too many of her twisted emotions, and now she was too embarrassed to even look at them.
Speaking of Pei Youwen, she hadn't heard from him for a long time. It seemed that he hadn't appeared since the night Tu Mi fell. She heard that their old house had been sold, the servants had been dismissed, and the Pei family gang had completely disappeared since the funeral. It seemed that the Pei family had withdrawn from the stage of conflict and had been completely locked into history.
However, she didn't know if the girl who was thrown into the underground dance hall had escaped, or where Tu Mi had gone.
The lights dimmed, and in the bright light, her best friend's father was leading his daughter toward the stage. Suddenly, an idea popped into her head.
Could it be that Tu Mi was taken away by her father?
No, no, that's absurd. How could someone who's never appeared before suddenly show up and take my daughter away without me even noticing? And she couldn't possibly just obediently go with him.
Tu Mi opened her eyes in a bright bedroom. Beneath her was a soft, large bed that stretched as far as the eye could see. She felt as if she were sinking into a cloud. The blankets exuded a fragrance, different from Yao Yao's. This scent was easy to relax, while Yao Yao's scent was somewhat pungent, yet irresistibly alluring.
She lay in bed silently enjoying herself for a while, then suddenly sat up. She had enjoyed herself enough during this time. Several kind-looking aunties were taking care of her from head to toe. The pain from the miscarriage and fracture had dissipated, and she now seemed to be a whole person again.
The door opened, and instead of the ever-smiling auntie, a man walked in today.
She instinctively shrank back, but the man's smile seemed even warmer as he smiled and opened his arms to her.
"Baby, it's your dad."
Qi Shuyao only remembered to take out her phone after leaving her best friend's house; there were more than a dozen missed calls.
Qi Yu was waiting for her outside the door. She jogged over and held her phone up to his face.
"Do you know who this is? They've called me so many times."
"Li Qing's lawyer, her second trial is about to begin."
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