Chapter 111 (Combined)
111:
Qin Yuan had just hung up the phone with Qiu Yue when she received a call from Mu Zheng.
"What happened?" Mu Zheng asked him.
Although Qin Cheng's narration was very complete, a child's perspective is sometimes only a part of the event. Mu Zheng hoped that he could have a better and more comprehensive understanding of the matter so that he could be prepared no matter how the Qiu family reacted or how they refuted him.
It wasn't that he didn't know what the Qiu family had said.
Hearing his words, Qin Yuan knew that Qin Cheng must have told his parents about what happened in the underground parking garage that day after he got home.
He briefly repeated it, and heard Mu Zheng say to him, "I understand."
He said, "You don't need to worry about the rest; I'll take care of it."
“How can that be?” Qin Yuan retorted. “I was the one who took them to see Qiu Yue. If something happens to them, I should naturally be responsible.”
“Your own foundation is not yet stable, so there are some things that are inconvenient for you to do. It is more appropriate for me to take the lead.”
Qin Yuan: "Then I can't just do nothing."
He said, "I will do as much as I am capable of. Even if I can't break him, I can still make him suffer."
Hearing him say that, Mu Zheng didn't try to persuade him any further.
Qin Yuan is, after all, an elder. If a junior is bullied in front of him, he would not stand idly by unless he didn't care about the other party.
This is his right as an uncle.
Mu Zheng could not, and did not feel he had the right to deprive him of his rights.
"Okay," he replied.
He hung up on Qin Yuan and then called Ye Qingxi.
Looking at the caller ID, Ye Qingxi guessed that it was most likely related to Qiu Lu.
After all, Qin Cheng's expression wasn't good until he left.
If he goes back like this, his uncle and aunt will definitely be concerned and will inevitably find out what happened this afternoon.
This was actually outside of Ye Qingxi's plan. Initially, Qin Cheng wasn't part of his plan. He was thinking of going to Mu Zheng himself, pretending to accidentally let something slip, and then trying to sow discord between Qiu Lu and Mu Zheng.
But Qin Yuan brought Qin Cheng with her today, and he happened to run into Qiu Lu. The combination of these two factors led to the current situation.
I wonder if Qin is still angry now?
Let him video chat with me again in a little while and try to comfort him.
Ye Qingxi answered the phone, and Mu Zheng's voice came through, "Does your hand still hurt?"
Ye Qingxi was stunned; she hadn't expected his first words to be like this.
He subconsciously shook his head, not wanting Mu Zheng to worry: "It doesn't hurt anymore."
"real?"
"Mm." Ye Qingxi nodded.
Hearing his soft, indifferent "hmm," Mu Zheng felt both tender and heartbroken.
He held the phone and spoke gently to the child on the other end, "Xiaoxi, if you're wronged or bullied outside, tell your dad. If your dad isn't home, tell me. Don't suffer in silence and pretend nothing happened, okay?"
Ye Qingxi was stunned for a moment.
His parents never said such things to him.
This was the first time anyone had ever said something like that to him.
“You are young and there are many things you can’t solve on your own. You need to rely on adults. If you don’t speak up, the adults won’t know, and you will continue to feel wronged and miserable.”
“In that case, your father, me, and your grandfather will all be upset.”
He said, "Xiaoxi, adults work hard to make themselves richer, to stand in higher positions, and to have more power, not only for themselves, but also for their children."
"Only in this way can he help his child when he is wronged, so that the child is not bullied and is not sad."
“You’ve always been a good child, but being too good isn’t good either. Being too good means you don’t express your grievances just to be considerate of adults. That’s a dereliction of duty as an adult. It makes me wonder if I, as your uncle, have done enough for you, if I’m not trustworthy enough, and if you can’t rely on me.”
"No," Ye Qingxi quickly replied, "Uncle, you're perfectly fine."
"Then why didn't you tell me about this after being home for so long?"
Ye Qingxi: ...
Of course, it was because Qin Cheng would tell him when he got home, so he was too embarrassed to say it again.
"If this happens again in the future, please tell me immediately, okay?"
Hearing his coaxing tone, Ye Qingxi unconsciously agreed, "Okay."
Mu Zheng was relieved.
"Now tell your uncle, do you feel wronged today? Are you still in pain? Does your hand still hurt?"
Ye Qingxi: ...That was indeed not unfair, not uncomfortable, and not painful.
His plan went even more smoothly than he had imagined, and he was overjoyed!
How could I feel wronged or upset!
Even now, he felt a touch of warmth in his heart because of Mu Zheng's words!
In other words, Mu Zheng made a phone call, not a video call, otherwise he would have seen the upturned corners of his mouth right now.
However, he certainly wouldn't say that to Mu Zheng.
Although he felt a little embarrassed for making Mu Zheng worry about him, Qiu Lu was someone he absolutely could not let go, so this plan had to be carried out.
Therefore, Ye Qingxi immediately responded in a wronged tone, "...Mm."
He feigned a wronged and frightened look, trying to sow discord among Qiu Lu, saying, "Uncle, he's so fierce! The teacher said that if you bump into someone, you should apologize. I already said it, but he still won't let me go. He's still being fierce to me and even wants to hit Brother Qin Cheng."
Ye Qingxi instantly put on a sobbing voice—of course, just a sobbing voice, since Mu Zheng couldn't see it anyway, so there was no need to use it with tears, "I'm so scared."
"I originally wanted to see Uncle Qiu Yue, but now I don't dare to go see him anymore."
Mu Zheng felt a pang of heartache upon hearing the sob in his voice and the fear revealed in his words.
When Ye Qingxi first came to the Mu family, he was very open and generous. It was just that he was unfamiliar with the new environment, so he was a little quiet. But he was still confident and would not say things like "I'm so scared".
But now, he says he's scared!
He was afraid because of Qiu Lu.
She clearly wanted to continue hanging out with Qiu Yue, whom she had just met, but because of this fear, she didn't dare to go see him again.
Mu Zheng almost wished he had been there, beating Qiu Lu so badly that he couldn't fight back, and then making Qiu's parents come and claim their son.
"Don't be afraid," he coaxed gently. "Go if you want to. Don't worry about the person who bullied you today. Your uncle will make him apologize to you, and he will also make him compensate you for your injuries."
Ye Qingxi shook her head, "I don't want to, I don't want to see him again, I don't like him."
"Okay, okay." Mu Zheng quickly comforted him, "If you don't want your uncle to see you again, then I won't let you see him."
"But he has to apologize; it's something he owes you, and he has to repay it."
Ye Qingxi wisely chose to remain silent.
Seeing this, Mu Zheng assumed that Qiu Lu was still traumatized by what had happened before and did not want to have anything to do with him anymore.
He gently comforted him, "It's okay, baby. Get a good night's sleep tonight, and when you wake up, everything will be alright."
"Mmm," Ye Qingxi replied obediently once again.
Mu Zheng coaxed him into giving up again before hanging up the phone.
He called Mu Shaoting and asked her to spend more time with Ye Qingxi so he wouldn't be sad alone.
Mu Shaoting: ? ? ?
"Feeling unwell?!" Mu Shaoting exclaimed in shock. "What's wrong with Xiaoxi? Why does she feel unwell?"
"You didn't know?" Mu Zheng asked, puzzled. "Didn't Xiao Xi tell you?"
"What did you say?" Mu Shaoting was even more confused.
“He ate a cake with me today, and then he said he was going to deliver the cake to Qiu Yue and asked his sister-in-law’s brother to pick him up. I was sleepy at the time, so I waited with him and fell asleep. He then told me to go upstairs to sleep. When I woke up, he had already come back and said that the cake had been delivered and that Qiu Yue liked it very much. She didn’t seem upset at all.”
He even shared half a box of pork floss cakes with her, showing a great appetite.
Mu Zheng: ...
Mu Zheng certainly didn't think there was anything wrong with Ye Qingxi.
He just felt that Ye Qingxi was too well-behaved.
Even though the cake was smashed, they still claimed that they had delivered it and that Qiu Yue liked it.
He didn't want his family to worry.
Such a child is truly heartbreaking.
"Xiao Xi had a little accident on his way to deliver the cake to Qiu Yue. He was running too fast and was afraid the cake would spoil, so he opened it to check. He accidentally bumped into Qiu Yue's younger brother. Qiu Yue's younger brother wouldn't let it go, but he wouldn't let it go no matter what he did, and he yelled at him, so Xiao Xi was a little scared."
Mu Shaoting: !!!
"Why didn't he tell me about something so important!"
"Of course I don't want you to worry," Mu Zheng said. "But you are too. I don't live with Xiao Xi. I only found out from Xiao Cheng. But you're at home. How could you not know? Didn't you notice anything wrong with him? His hand is injured."
"He said he accidentally got it, he didn't know how it happened, it just appeared when he woke up, and I..."
Mu Shaoting tapped his head. "Am I a pig? I'm so stupid!"
"Anyway, you should spend more time with him tonight."
"Mmm." Mu Shaoting nodded quickly. "What about Qiu Lu? Xiao Xi can't have suffered this injustice for nothing, can she?"
“I will take responsibility for this,” Mu Zheng said. “I will make him apologize to Xiao Xi, and I will make up for Xiao Xi’s injuries and the lost cake.”
"That's good." Mu Shaoting said angrily, "Honestly, that Qiu guy is just too much!"
That's true.
After giving her his instructions, Mu Zheng hung up the phone.
Mu Shaoting quickly got out of bed and ran towards Mu Shaowu's room where Ye Qingxi was.
Ye Qingxi is calling Qin Yuan.
Although his plan was completed, Qiu Lu was still the main character, the top.
Ye Qingxi was worried about unforeseen circumstances, so he wanted to maintain a stable connection with Qiu Yue. This way, he could stay informed about Qiu Lu's situation from Qiu Yue and better respond accordingly.
However, he didn't have Qiu Lu's phone number, so he still had to contact Qin Yuan about this.
Ye Qingxi dialed Qin Yuan's number, and Qin Yuan answered after only two rings, "What's wrong, Xiaoxi?"
"Uncle, could you give me Uncle Qiu's phone number?" Ye Qingxi deliberately lowered her voice, pretending to be still grieving.
“I promised to send him a cake, but I didn’t deliver it to him. I want to tell him that it’s not that I’m breaking my promise, it’s his brother, and his brother is not good.”
"I've already talked to him," Qin Yuan coaxed gently. "Xiao Xi, you don't need to worry. He knows. It's not your fault. He's your brother. He doesn't blame you."
“I want to talk to him myself.” Ye Qingxi’s voice was a little pitiful but very serious. “The teacher said that we should do our own things, not run away or push them to others. I will not run away.”
Qin Yuan: ……
Qin Yuan couldn't help but sigh inwardly once again: He really was taught very well.
He is truly a rare child with excellent character.
"Okay," Qin Yuan said, "Your uncle will send it to you."
After he finished speaking, he added, "Your uncle can just give you his WeChat ID, and you can talk to him on WeChat."
"Yes." Ye Qingxi nodded. "Thank you, Uncle."
"You're welcome," Qin Yuan said guiltily.
As soon as Ye Qingxi hung up the phone, Mu Shaoting pushed open the door and walked in.
"Baby!" She ran to Ye Qingxi and sat down beside him. "How could something so terrible happen to you without you telling me?!"
Ye Qingxi: Huh? ???
Mu Shaoting pulled him into her arms. "It's all my fault. I should have gone with you. When you came back, I didn't even notice you were upset."
Ye Qingxi: ...
No? How did she know?!
Who told her?!
After thinking it over, Ye Qingxi felt that it was most likely his uncle.
Neither Qin Cheng nor Qin Yuan seemed like the type to discuss this matter with Mu Shaoting.
He didn't say it himself.
That could only be his uncle, who knew about this and was afraid he would be upset, so he wanted someone to comfort and keep him company.
Ye Qingxi: ...
Ye Qingxi felt a headache coming on.
He never intended for anyone outside of Mu Zheng to know about this.
After all, other people would definitely worry if they found out, but they are either celebrities or students and there's nothing they can do, so Ye Qingxi felt there was no need for them to worry about her.
Ultimately, his target is the Qiu family, and Mu Zheng alone can achieve that.
Then it's fine to only let Mu Zheng know.
But who would have thought that his uncle would be so attentive to his affairs, even specifically instructing his aunt to comfort him.
Ye Qingxi was both amused and exasperated, and could only say, "I'm fine, Auntie."
"Don't give me that. I know everything. Your uncle said you were really upset and wronged. He's the one who caused the injury on your hand, isn't he? You bastard, just you wait. Your uncle will definitely not let him get away with this."
Ye Qingxi: ...
Ye Qingxi silently put away her right hand, so that her aunt wouldn't feel sorry for her again.
However, Mu Shaoting was not someone who would forget about something just because he put it away.
She pulled Ye Qingxi's hand out from behind his back, and looking at the small wound on his hand, she felt more and more heartbroken.
His hands are so small and soft, how could anyone be so cruel! How could they do this!
Mu Shaoting was furious!
I wish I could hire someone to beat Qiu Lu up!
"Baby, what would you like to eat? I'll ask Aunt Zhang to make it."
"Either is fine," Ye Qingxi said.
He was eager to add Qiu Yue on WeChat, so he said, "Auntie, could you go and see what we're having for dinner tonight? And could you bring me a few cream puffs? I'm a little hungry."
"Okay, I'll go right away," Mu Shaoting said hurriedly.
Ye Qingxi breathed a sigh of relief when she saw her leave, and then looked down to open her WeChat.
Qin Yuan had already sent Qiu Yue's WeChat contact information.
Ye Qingxi sent the application.
A car was parked on the side of the road, and Qiu Yue, who was waiting for him, passed by almost instantly.
Qin Yuan just called suddenly, saying that Ye Qingxi wants to add him as a friend.
"He didn't deliver the cake to you because he was afraid you'd think he broke his promise, so he wanted to explain it to you," Qin Yuan said.
As Qiu Yue listened, he felt that the differences between people were truly vast!
Compared to Ye Qingxi, his 25-year-old brother is practically a giant baby!
Like a naughty child who only knows how to cause trouble!
They're not as polite or as ashamed as a five-year-old!
Looking at Ye Qingxi's cat avatar, Qiu Yue thought he really did look like a cute little cat.
Now, the kitten is injured.
While Mu Shaoting was still away, Ye Qingxi quickly sent him a voice message: "Uncle Qiu, I'm sorry, I didn't break my promise. I went to find you, but I ran into your brother and the cake was gone, so I couldn't give it to you."
After he finished speaking, he also sent an apologetic kitten emoji.
Hearing the guilt in his voice, Qiu Yue wished she could reach through the phone screen and pat his sad little head.
“No need to apologize, it’s not your fault,” he said.
After saying that, he asked again, "Xiao Xi, where are you now? Can you send me your location?"
Ye Qingxi: ? ? ?
Is this... to see him?
Ye Qingxi thought it was fine, since he still had some time.
With Qiu Yue's arrival, he can further fuel Qiu Yue's ambition to seize power, making him take control of the power as soon as possible, and preventing Qiu Lu from using the Qiu family's money and resources to give the protagonist a cheat code!
So he sent his location to Qiu Yue.
Qiu Yue clicked on the navigation, turned the car around, and headed towards the Mu family's old residence.
At this time, Mu Shaoting returned to Ye Qingxi's room again.
"Aunt Zhang said we're having Thai food today: Tom Yum soup, curry shrimp, chicken in bread, mango sticky rice, a salad, and coconut cake."
"Okay," Ye Qingxi said with a smile, "I like mango sticky rice."
"Then eat more." Mu Shaoting walked over and sat down next to him, handing him a cream puff.
Ye Qingxi ate her cream puff while waiting for Qiu Yue.
He didn't have to wait long; Qiu Yue arrived before Aunt Zhang finished preparing dinner.
He made a voice call to Ye Qingxi, saying, "I'm at your door."
Ye Qingxi feigned surprise, "Huh?"
"Xiao Xi, can you come out for a moment?"
"Oh," Ye Qingxi replied.
He hung up the phone and turned to look at Mu Shaoting, who had been with him the whole time. "Auntie, I need to go out for a bit."
Mu Shaoting paused the animation. "I'll go with you."
Ye Qingxi shook her head. How could he continue acting with Mu Shaoting around?
"Auntie, you stay here. I won't be back for a while."
"That won't do," Mu Shaoting disagreed. "Who are you going to see? What if you get bullied again?"
"No, it's Uncle Qiu Yue. Uncle Qiu Yue wouldn't bully me."
Upon hearing this, Mu Shaoting became even angrier.
"It was him! He dared to come?! Does he even know what his brother did today?! You wait, I'm going to get my tennis racket right now!"
Ye Qingxi: ? ? ?
Ye Qingxi quickly stopped her, "Auntie, his brother doesn't listen to him, he's had a hard time too."
"But he's his brother too! If a brother can't take care of his younger siblings, that's his incompetence!"
Ye Qingxi: ...He's just his brother, he's not his father.
Not every family has brothers and sisters like ours!
After much persuasion, Ye Qingxi finally managed to convince Mu Shaoting to stop.
It's okay if I don't go out with him, but staying in the room is not acceptable.
Mu Shaoting insisted that he would at least stay in the courtyard to ensure that Ye Qingxi would be safe.
Ye Qingxi: ...
What could Ye Qingxi say? He could only nod in agreement and go downstairs with Mu Shaoting.
Once outside, Ye Qingxi told Mu Shaoting to wait for him at the door, then turned and walked forward.
The instant he turned around, he effortlessly changed the lighthearted look on his face into one of grievance and sadness, yet feigned strength.
"Action!" Ye Qingxi mentally activated the command.
He opened the courtyard gate and went outside.
Then I saw Qiu Yue standing next to the car with a cake in his hand.
Upon seeing him come out, Qiu Yue immediately walked up to him.
"Does your hand still hurt?" he asked with concern.
Ye Qingxi shook her head.
Qiu Yue handed him the cake. "I just bought this. It might be a little different from the one you broke, but it's chocolate."
He asked Qin Yuan and specially bought a cake with the same flavor as the one Ye Qingxi wanted to give him.
Ye Qingxi looked at him, but did not answer.
Qiu Yue took his hand and handed him the cake.
Ye Qingxi lowered her head, and tears fell.
"Don't cry." Qiu Yue was so frightened that she quickly reached out to wipe his tears.
Ye Qingxi stubbornly raised the back of her hand and wiped her eyes. "I didn't cry."
Looking at his tear-streaked face and hearing his aggrieved voice, Qiu Yue immediately said, "I will definitely make Qiu Lu apologize to you. Really, he was wrong today. I am his brother. I will apologize to you first, and then I will have him come to apologize to you tomorrow."
Ye Qingxi shook his head and said, "Uncle Qiu, it's not your fault. You don't need to apologize to me."
"It's just..." Ye Qingxi pouted, "Uncle Qiu, I might not be able to visit you anymore."
Qiu Yue asked instinctively, "Why?"
Ye Qingxi's tears flowed even more profusely.
Qiu Yue quickly took out a tissue to wipe him.
Ye Qingxi sobbed, "He's so fierce! He even tried to hit my brother. I don't want my brother to get hit."
He said, "Uncle Qiu, why do you have such a brother? You are clearly a good person. Your parents are really confused. How could they let you have such a brother?"
Qiu Yue hugged him tightly, feeling a pang of heartache. He also wanted to ask why he had such a younger brother!
What did he do wrong in his past life?
I'm so lucky to have a brother like Qiu Lu in my life!
"If only you were the CEO, Uncle Qiu," Ye Qingxi continued, sobbing. "Then you could tell him not to stay there, and I could keep looking for you."
Qiu Yue: ...
Qiu Yue silently hugged him even tighter.
"I'm sorry, Uncle Qiu, I can't... I can't play with you anymore."
He handed the cake back to Qiu Yue, saying, "This cake was originally meant to be a gift for you. I'm giving it to you now."
After he finished speaking, he lowered his eyes and let a tear fall, which happened to land on Qiu Yue's hand.
"It's a pity that the cake I wanted to give you today was ordered by my aunt. It has a little black chocolate cat on it, which is very cute. I picked it out specifically."
His voice grew softer and softer until it finally sank into tears.
Qiu Yue felt a pain in her heart.
The tear that fell onto his hand felt scalding hot, burning his heart.
He wanted to wipe away Ye Qingxi's tears.
Ye Qingxi wiped her hands haphazardly a couple of times, then smiled at him, "Uncle Qiu, you should go back now. It's getting late, time for dinner. I'm fine, really."
Qiu Yue: ...
Looking at his forced smile, Qiu Yue wished she could tear his good-for-nothing brother apart right now.
He looked at Ye Qingxi, wanting to say something but unable to, feeling a surge of anger that made him feel suffocated.
They shouldn't have done this.
At this point, he should have received Ye Qingxi's cake, shared a piece with her, and they could have eaten together, perhaps even having dinner together that evening.
Just like last time.
Instead of now, Ye Qingxi stands in front of him with red, tear-filled eyes, yet she still has to smile at him and say she's alright so he won't feel guilty.
They're all Qiu Lu!
It has always been Qiu Lu!
How much more will he have to pay for Qiu Lu's affairs?!
How much more angry does Qiu Lu want to make him!
How long will his parents continue to show favoritism?
We can't live like this forever!
He's already thirty-three!
Does he expect to remain the same at forty-three?!
Qiu Yue felt his mind was in complete turmoil, and his chest felt tight.
“Xiao Xi, I’ll come see you another day,” he said. “I will definitely give you an explanation.”
Ye Qingxi shook her head, "Goodbye, Uncle Qiu."
"You don't believe me?" Qiu Yue asked with some difficulty when he saw him shake his head.
Ye Qingxi shook his head again and said, "I believe you, but you are just my brother, not my father."
Qiu Yue: ...
Qiu Yue fell silent.
He thought he was really smart.
The kind of intelligence that's very insightful.
He's just the older brother.
Above him was his father.
Qiu Yue stood up, turned around, and walked towards the car.
There are some things he needs to think about carefully.
Ye Qingxi finally breathed a sigh of relief after he left.
He rubbed his face, patted his cheeks, and then checked his eyes with his watch.
Fortunately, I didn't cry for long, and only shed a few tears, so my eyes weren't very red.
Ye Qingxi turned around and cheerfully entered the room.
"Auntie, I'm back."
However, as soon as he ran to Mu Shaoting's side, he heard Mu Shaoting exclaim dramatically, "How could it not be serious?! Qiu Lu slapped Xiao Xi across the face, knocked his cake to the ground, and even grabbed his clothes! You didn't see it, Xiao Xi's hand was all red, his knuckles were rotten, such a big wound, all bloody, it broke my heart."
"Anyway, he won't be accompanying you to your tutoring class tonight. I'll watch cartoons with him instead. I'm letting you know."
Ye Qingxi: ? ? ? ?
Ye Qingxi looked at her fair and delicate hands. Where were they red from being slapped?
The knuckles of his fingers were rotten! Such a huge wound! Completely bloody!
Where is it rotten? Where is it so big? Where is there blood? And it's dripping wet?!
No, is this how you guys just pass things around?!
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