Ye Qiu and Qian Duoduo hurried over to Qian Shiyu’s side.
“Cousin, what’s wrong?” Ye Qiu asked.
Startled by his voice, Qian Shiyu jumped, quickly wiped her tears, and turned around, saying, “It’s nothing.”
“Sis Shiyu, has someone been bullying you? Tell me, I’ll sort them out,” Qian Duoduo said loudly.
“I’m fine.”
Qian Shiyu didn’t want to talk, and Ye Qiu could see that. He comforted her, “Cousin, if you’re in trouble, you’ve got to tell us, we’re family.”
Her eyes reddened with emotion at his words.
“Really, it’s nothing, thanks, you two.”
With that, Qian Shiyu hurried back into the hall.
Once she was gone, Qian Duoduo said, “Sis Shiyu’s definitely got something going on, and it’s big.”
“How do you know?” Ye Qiu asked.
Qian Duoduo replied, “Don’t let her gentle look fool you, she’s tough inside.”
“Growing up, I’ve hardly ever seen her cry.”
“Since she got married, this is the first time I’ve seen her in tears, something’s definitely up.”
Ye Qiu asked, “Speaking of which, what’s her husband up to? Grandpa’s seriously ill, and he’s nowhere to be seen?”
He’d been meaning to ask this for a while.
A couple of days ago, when Old Man Qian was hit with that curse and hanging by a thread, all the close relatives came back—except Qian Shiyu, who arrived last, and only with her daughter, no husband in sight.
Qian Duoduo said, “Her husband’s called Gao Fei, used to work at a state-run research unit, made it to section chief by his thirties, proper bright future ahead.”
“But then, out of nowhere, two years ago, Gao Fei quit, said he wanted to start his own business.”
“That caused a right row—Uncle gave him a proper dressing-down, and Grandpa was fuming, even told Gao Fei never to set foot in the Qian house again.”
“Grandpa had high hopes for him, figured after some time at the unit, he’d pull strings to get Gao Fei a local government post.”
“If it’d gone Grandpa’s way, Gao Fei could’ve been a big-shot regional governor by fifty.”
“But then this curveball hit.”
“Gao Fei acted like he was under a spell, dead set on starting a business, and that’s why things got so tense with Grandpa and Uncle.”
“Since then, Gao Fei hasn’t stepped through the Qian family door.”
“Last year, on the second day of the Lunar New Year, Shiyu brought Gao Fei and the kid to pay respects, but Grandpa wouldn’t let him in—Gao Fei stood outside for over an hour.”
What a stubborn old git! Ye Qiu thought, inwardly griping about Old Man Qian.
But he could see where it came from.
The Qian family was a centuries-old scholarly clan, and in Old Man Qian’s mind, he still clung to the Confucian hierarchy of scholar, farmer, artisan, merchant—traders were bottom rung.
That said, even without Old Man Qian’s stance, anyone would’ve been miffed.
Think about it—Gao Fei, young and already a section chief with a golden future, chucking it all to start a business? That’s like a donkey kicked his head.
Ye Qiu said, “Duoduo, that reminds me, your dad’s in business too—how’d Grandpa agree to that?”
“Ugh, don’t blame Dad, it’s just his rotten luck,” Qian Duoduo said, “He’s not as learned as Uncle, but he still graduated from a proper top uni.”
“After graduating, he stayed on as a lecturer, but that year, a student in his class jumped off a building, and the school suspended him over it.”
“He took a break, then went to teach at another uni, but a couple in his class killed themselves over a breakup.”
“He got suspended again.”
“Later, Grandpa got him a job at Suzhou-Hangzhou University, stuck him in logistics, thinking surely nothing could go wrong there.”
“But then, during a sports festival, a student died moving stuff from logistics—tripped, cracked his head open, and that was it.”
“Dad was there, saw it happen, said the kid just fell and was gone.”
“After that, Dad quit for good and went into business.”
“Grandpa reckoned he was cursed when it came to teaching, so he stopped bothering.”
Qian Duoduo sighed, “If Dad had stayed in academia, he might be a principal by now, and I’d be a principal’s son.”
Ye Qiu thought to himself, Second Uncle’s lucky he left—his fate’s a jinx to students, who knows how many more would’ve died if he’d stayed?
“By the way, Cousin, you took out a bunch of folks at the Green Wolf Gang last night—will that cause trouble?” Qian Duoduo asked quietly.
It’d been gnawing at him.
Last night, stuck at the scene with all those corpses and blood, he’d chickened out and bolted with the girl.
Ye Qiu grinned, “Relax, I only killed those who deserved it, no worries.”
“Good,” Qian Duoduo breathed easier, then asked, “Cousin, now that Sister-in-law’s here, you planning to show her around Suzhou-Hangzhou for a few days?”
“What, got any good ideas?” Ye Qiu asked.
“I grew up here, know it like the back of my hand—how about I take you and Sister-in-law sightseeing later?”
“Alright.”
After breakfast.
Qian Duoduo drove Ye Qiu and Lin Jingzhi around.
They hit a few spots during the day, and after dinner, Qian Duoduo asked, “Cousin, fancy me showing you Suzhou-Hangzhou’s nightlife?”
“Not interested,” Ye Qiu shot down flat.
Qian Duoduo figured it was because Lin Jingzhi was there and chuckled, “Sister-in-law, ever since you showed up, Cousin won’t go out with me.”
“So it’s my fault, is it?” Lin Jingzhi said gently to Ye Qiu, “Go have some fun.”
“Don’t want to—”
“You’ve been swamped with work these past few months, plus all that other stuff, your nerves are wound too tight, you need to unwind,” Lin Jingzhi said, “A bit of relaxation can ease the stress, go on!”
“I really don’t want to,” Ye Qiu insisted.
“How about I come with you?” Lin Jingzhi winked.
That got Ye Qiu asking Qian Duoduo, “Where you taking me?”
“A place to drink,” Qian Duoduo said.
“Let’s go then.”
Seeing Ye Qiu agree, Qian Duoduo started the car, and half an hour later, they pulled up to a bar called “Charm Dance.”
The bar was in a buzzing area, its entrance lined with luxury cars—proper upscale.
“We’re a bit late, parking’s a nightmare,” Qian Duoduo grumbled, circling for ten minutes before spotting a space. Just as he moved to park, a red Ferrari zoomed in, pulling a flashy drift to nab the spot.
“Bloody hell, stealing my parking space? You’re done for,” Qian Duoduo fumed, about to jump out, when the Ferrari’s door opened and a young bloke stepped out.
Instantly, Qian Duoduo froze, fear creeping onto his face.
The guy had red-dyed hair, an earring, and trendy gear. He got out, flipped Qian Duoduo the bird with a cocky grin, then swaggered into the bar.
“Pretty full of himself, who’s this kid?” Ye Qiu asked.
“Ma Dong, son of Suzhou-Hangzhou’s richest man!”
