Chapter 192 Why are you here?
"If I wasn't Li Jin'er, would you still be so nice to me?"
The reason she asked this question wasn't for any other reason, but rather that the more Qin Ke treated her well, the more uneasy she felt. She felt like a thief, a thief who was wearing someone else's skin to steal the love and attention that only someone else could receive.
She knew very well in her heart that if Qin Ke knew that she was not Li Jin'er, he would never give up everything for her without asking for anything in return. Although what she was doing now was not her own initiative, she was actually playing the role of a deceiver, and had been using Qin Ke's feelings for Li Jin'er to directly or indirectly protect her own interests.
At this moment, she almost had the urge to blurt out and tell Qin Ke all the truth. Qin Ke was a truly good man, so she really couldn't bear to deceive him like this anymore. Even though he knew there would be unexpected serious consequences in the future, she really didn't want to hurt such a good man anymore.
When Qin Ke heard Zhong Min's question, he was stunned for a moment, clearly puzzled. Then he burst into laughter, staring at her and saying, "Silly girl, how could you say such a foolish thing? I know you don't remember everything in the past, but no matter what, you will always be you in my heart, whether you're called Li Jin'er or Zhong Min, understand?"
"No, that's not what I meant!" Zhong Min was a little anxious. She shook her head and said repeatedly, "Brother Qin, that's not what I meant. I meant that if I'm not the person you know at all, but someone who has nothing to do with me and whom you don't even know, then I..."
"It's getting more and more ridiculous, Min'er, what's wrong with you? Are you feeling unwell or something? Why do you always say such weird things?" Qin Ke didn't think about what Zhong Min said at all. He just thought that Zhong Min had some thoughts in her mind because she suddenly knew it was his birthday today, so he didn't think too much about it.
"I'm not feeling unwell anywhere. I'm fine, and everything I said is true. In fact, I'm not..." She didn't want to deceive this poor man anymore, even if there was no reason to do so. But just as she was about to blurt out the truth, she was abruptly interrupted by Xiang'er's sudden voice outside.
"Sister Min, Sister Min!" Xiang'er shouted as she ran in quickly, addressing Zhong Min and Qin Ke. "Uncle Qin, Sister Min, someone has come down the mountain, saying he's looking for you. My mother asked me to come up first and ask if you recognize him. After we get a reply, we can decide whether to let him up."
Xiang'er's words startled both Zhong Min and Qin Ke. They exchanged glances, then simultaneously turned their gazes to Xiang'er. Zhong Min naturally stopped talking about the previous incident and involuntarily shifted her attention to the person Xiang'er had mentioned who had come from the village to look for her.
She really couldn't imagine who would come here to find her. After all, no one knew that she was here. Who was that person? How did he know where she was now?
"Xiang'er, who was that person looking for your sister Min down the mountain?" Qin Ke was the first to recover from his shock and immediately asked Xiang'er, "Is he a man or a woman? How old are they? Did he say anything?"
"It was a girl, about seventeen or eighteen years old." Xiang'er seemed to be recalling something, and then added: "Oh, she said her name was Xi'er."
"Xi'er?" Zhong Min was overjoyed when she heard it. She quickly said to Qin Ke excitedly, "It's Xi'er, it's actually Xi'er!"
Qin Ke, however, was not as excited as Zhong Min. He just nodded and said, "Don't worry, let me go and see if it's true first. You and Xiang'er stay here. If anything goes wrong, hurry into the mountains."
Seeing Qin Ke being so cautious with Xi'er, Zhong Min initially wanted to say no, but then she thought, this matter is really a bit unclear, so it's better to be cautious. So she didn't say anything more, just nodded and agreed, "Okay, go see if it's Xi'er first. If there's nothing wrong, bring her up."
Qin Ke left quickly, and Xiang'er stared at the longevity noodles and buns on the table. She smiled and said to Zhong Min, "Sister Min, Uncle Qin is so good to you. My mother said she's never seen a man so attentive to a woman. I agree. Even my father never cooked anything for her."
"Silly girl, being good or not doesn't necessarily mean it's reflected in these aspects." Zhong Min couldn't help but smile, patting Xiang'er on the head and saying, "Everyone expresses things differently. Take your father and mother, for example. Aren't they very happy too? As for your Uncle Qin, he's truly a good man. It's Sister Min who feels bad for him."
Although Zhong Min was smiling, his expression was somewhat solemn. Xiang'er, though small, was a sharp person and seemed to have noticed something was amiss. She nodded in understanding, but then said nothing more, just staring at the food. She probably hadn't eaten yet because she had rushed up to report the news.
"Are you hungry? Eat some birthday buns first." Zhong Min said as he picked up a big birthday bun and handed it to Xiang'er.
Xiang'er saw this and honestly took it and began to chew it calmly. She ate two or three in a row before stopping and looking at Zhong Min and said, "Sister Min, why don't you eat it? It tastes pretty good."
"I've eaten." Zhong Min touched Xiang'er's head again, but his mind was filled with the news of Xier's arrival, so he had no time to think about eating.
She knew better than anyone that if Xi'er were to find her on her own, there was absolutely no way she could find her whereabouts. This left only one possibility: Xiao Mingzheng was involved. After all, the only person who could find her and tell Xi'er to come was Xiao Mingzheng.
But what had happened? Why had Xier come at this time? Did she come on her own initiative, or did Xiao Mingzheng ask her to? A myriad of speculations suddenly filled her mind, and her heart, which had finally settled down a bit in the past few days, was once again in turmoil.
She had a vague feeling that something might have happened to Xiao Mingzheng. To be honest, she knew how dangerous it was to rebel against the court, so she was naturally well aware of Xiao Mingzheng's situation.
Rewards and risks have always coexisted and are directly proportional. It's unknown how long this war will last or how many people will be affected. Qin Ke chose this place because it's remote, so both the court and Muzhou can avoid the intrusion of war. But even if the person can avoid it, can the heart really avoid it?
Just as she was lost in thought, Xiang'er beside her gently pulled Zhong Min's hand and said, "Sister Min, what's wrong with you?"
Xiang'er was a little anxious. She had called Zhong Min twice but there was no response, so she tried to pull her.
"Ah?" Zhong Min suddenly realized and looked at Xiang'er. "It's okay, I'm fine. Xiang'er, have you finished eating?"
Xiang'er nodded obediently: "I'm done eating."
"Then let's go outside and take a look. I guess your Uncle Qin should be back by now." Zhong Min said as he stood up and pulled Xiang'er out.
Just as they reached the fence, they saw that Qin Ke had indeed returned, and following behind him was Xier.
"Xier? It's really you!" Zhong Min was overjoyed. As he spoke, he opened the bamboo gate of the yard and walked quickly to greet her.
When Xier saw Zhong Min, her face was also full of excitement. Her nose felt sore and she couldn't control her tears, which fell without a sound.
“Jin’er!” Xi’er yelled as she quickly ran to Zhong Min. Without caring about anything else, she hugged her tightly, crying, “I finally found you, I finally found you!”
It was strange to say that even Qin Ke had changed his way of calling Zhong Min "Min'er," but Xi'er was still used to calling her Jin'er. But for Zhong Min, it didn't matter; a name was just a nickname. Seeing a friend she hadn't seen in a while was too much for her to care about anything else.
"Alright, alright, stop crying! You're crying like a kitten! It makes me want to cry too." Zhong Min patted Xier's back and soothed her with a smile, "You've already seen me, you should be happy. Stop crying."
After a while, Xier finally stopped, loosened her hand, and wiped her tears. She glanced at Qin Ke and Xiang'er beside her and said sheepishly, "I am happy, I am happy!"
"Silly girl, you're so happy you're crying like this!" Zhong Min said jokingly, "What would you be like if you were sad?"
When Xier heard this, she burst into laughter and couldn't help but pat Zhong Min.
"Okay, let's go inside first. Xier is tired too. Go sit inside, have a drink of water and rest for a while." Seeing this, Qin Ke was the first to break the excitement of the two and meet at the gate of the yard.
When Zhong Min heard this, he finally reacted and hurriedly helped Xier take the bag and pulled her inside.
"Uncle Qin, Sister Min, if there's nothing else, I'll go home first. Mom is waiting for me at home!" Xiang'er said goodbye to Zhong Min and Qin Ke and prepared to go home first. Sister Min was meeting her friends again after a long time, and she must have a lot to talk about.
Zhong Min nodded and said to Xiang'er, "Well, Xiang'er, go back quickly and be careful on the road. Sister Min will take you out to play next time."
"I'll take Xiang'er down the mountain. I can also ask Second Aunt to help prepare some bedding and other daily necessities." Qin Ke glanced at Zhong Min and Xi'er and said with a smile. He knew that these two girls were so close and hadn't seen each other for half a year. They must have a lot of private things to say. It wouldn't be convenient for him, a grown man, to be there. So he took the initiative to step away and give them some space.
Zhong Min was grateful from the bottom of her heart for Qin Ke's attentiveness and consideration. She didn't say anything, but just nodded, with deep gratitude in her eyes.
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