Although Zhang Qian envied Xue Yue and the others, she still planned to stay with Xue Xingzhou and Zheng Guofeng for a while before even thinking about moving out. Besides, they hadn’t even found a place yet.
Zhang Qian’s heart went out to him. Her father-in-law was already fifty-six, and it was a bit sad seeing him co ho to an empty house every day. The only problem was that it was inconvenient for their studies; they had to wake up an hour earlier every morning.
Back in their room that night, Zhang Qian sighed to Xue Xingzhou, "It’s so sad seeing Dad all by himself. He cos and goes alone every day. We won’t be living here forever, either. What if we leave too? He’ll be completely alone. If he gets a headache or a fever, there’ll be no one to help him."
Xue Xingzhou looked at Zhang Qian. "You feel sorry for him? Does that an you’ll stop complaining about waking up early?"
Zhang Qian sighed and sat on the edge of the bed. "You have a point. Isn’t there so way to have the best of both worlds?"
"There is. We move out, and he moves out with us."
"But what about this house? Wouldn’t it be a waste to leave it empty? Besides, Dad has lived here for so many years. Would he even want to co with us?"
Xue Xingzhou spread his hands toward Zhang Qian. "Then there’s nothing we can do."
"Okay," Zhang Qian said, flopping onto the bed in resignation.
The next day was also a day off, so Zhang Qian slept in. When she ca downstairs, she saw Xue Xingzhou and Wang Shumin in the living room. With them was a middle-aged woman, exquisitely dressed, who radiated a ’I’m rich’ attitude from head to toe. The room was silent, and the atmosphere was incredibly awkward.
Zhang Qian tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and walked toward them. When Xue Xingzhou saw her co down, he said softly, "There’s breakfast warming for you in the kitchen. Go get sothing to eat."
Zhang Qian nodded and glanced at Wang Shumin. Wang Shumin looked just as helpless; they had only exchanged a few words after arriving before the situation had beco like this, and she couldn’t understand why.
Li Wanqing watched Zhang Qian disappear into the kitchen before turning to ask Xue Xingzhou, "And who was that?"
Xue Xingzhou replied flatly, "None of your business."
Li Wanqing looked at Xue Xingzhou coldly. "Well, you claim to be my sister and Brother Zheng’s child. Do you have any proof? That *is* my business."
The corner of Xue Xingzhou’s mouth twitched. He leaned back against the sofa and crossed his legs. "Do I need to provide you with any proof?"
Wang Shumin’s heart pounded in fear as she listened. She shrank back, watching them, not daring to say a word.
Li Wanqing sneered. "Of course. If every Tom, Dick, and Harry who crawls out of so corner claims to be my sister’s child, am I supposed to just accept it? Besides, you say you’re Brother Zheng’s son, but who can prove it? I bet you have ulterior motives. We all know what you’re really after."
Hearing this, Xue Xingzhou chuckled. "Ulterior motives? I’m not really sure I have any. Why don’t you tell what they are?"
Zhang Qian leaned against the kitchen doorway, straining her ears to listen to the conversation in the living room. ’So this must be Wang Shumin’s mother,’ she thought. ’But why do I get the feeling she’s not here on friendly terms?’
Fearing they would really start fighting, Wang Shumin said, "Mom, he really is my cousin. He’s Xue Yue’s biological brother."
Li Wanqing shot Wang Shumin a look that made her imdiately clamp her mouth shut and lower her head.
Li Wanqing stared coldly at Xue Xingzhou. "Until there’s proof, I will not acknowledge you."
Xue Xingzhou shrugged. "Suit yourself."
Li Wanqing was so infuriated by his nonchalant attitude that she shot to her feet and glared at Xue Xingzhou. "You have absolutely no manners."
With that, she stomped fuming toward the door. Seeing this, Wang Shumin didn’t have ti to say anything to Xue Xingzhou and quickly got up to follow her.
Only after they had left did Zhang Qian co out of the kitchen. She asked Xue Xingzhou, "What was that all about? Isn’t that Wang Shumin’s mother? Doesn’t that make her your aunt? The way you two were talking, it sounded like a high-stakes negotiation. It was terrifying to listen to."
Xue Xingzhou chuckled lightly. "It’s nothing. She wasn’t here for anyway." The woman had asked who he was the mont she walked in. She clearly hadn’t known he existed.
anwhile, as soon as they were out the door, Li Wanqing confronted Wang Shumin. "You said he’s Xue Yue’s biological brother. Why didn’t you tell sooner?"
Wang Shumin touched the tip of her nose. "I forgot." She really had forgotten to tell her mother that Xue Yue had a brother. Besides, she herself had only found out today that Xue Xingzhou was also in Beijing City. After all, when she returned to the city, Xue Xingzhou hadn’t received his acceptance letter yet.
"You forgot sothing like that? What is that head of yours even for?" Li Wanqing scolded, pointing at Wang Shumin’s head.
Knowing she was in the wrong, Wang Shumin hung her head and mumbled, "It’s not like I did it on purpose. You rarely ask about Xue Yue and her family, so it just slipped my mind. Besides, didn’t I tell you that Xue Yue got into a university in Beijing City? Her brother took the college entrance exam too. Now that he’s here, he probably got in as well."
Li Wanqing shot her a sideways glance and said disdainfully, "You think getting into a university in Beijing City is that easy? That just anyone can get in? Look at him, with that devil-may-care attitude. You can tell at a glance he’ll never amount to anything."
Wang Shumin couldn’t agree with what her mom was saying. "How can you say he won’t amount to anything? He’s a police officer."
"Hmph. A police officer in a place like that? What kind of future is there in that?"
Wang Shumin retorted, "Mom, how can you talk about him like that? No matter what, he’s still my cousin."
"Cousin, my ass. For all we know, he’s so bastard who’s co to swindle Uncle Zheng out of his money." Li Wanqing was truly furious now, even starting to curse.
Li Wanqing’s head was starting to ache. She never would have imagined that besides a daughter, Li Wan Yi also had a son.
"By the way, do you know how old he is?"
Wang Shumin thought for a mont, then shook her head. "I don’t know. Around thirty, I guess."
Li Wanqing was silent for a few seconds, then decided to go and ask Zheng Guofeng for clarification.
She said to Wang Shumin, "You go on ho. I have sothing to take care of."
Wang Shumin didn’t dare ask any more questions. Her mother rarely told her about her affairs, and her father always let her mother do as she pleased.
"Okay. Then please co back early."
Li Wanqing took a car straight to Zheng Guofeng’s workplace.
When Zheng Guofeng heard a woman was there to see him, he was taken aback for a mont, wondering if it was Zhang Qian or Xue Yue. But when he saw Li Wanqing walk in, his expression instantly soured.
"What are you doing here?"
Li Wanqing stared at Zheng Guofeng for a long mont before smiling. "Brother Zheng, we haven’t seen each other in years. If Shumin hadn’t ntioned it, I wouldn’t have even known you were back."
Zheng Guofeng looked down at his docunts and replied dismissively, "There’s nothing to see. Besides, our relationship isn’t close enough for that."
Li Wanqing found a chair and sat down herself. She smoothed her clothes and said languidly, "Isn’t our relationship intimate enough? We’ve already shared a bed."
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