Chapter 18

Han Changfeng was fuming—he had never felt so humiliated before. He had just been insulted right to his face and couldn’t even talk back.

He returned home early from work to find the house filled with celebratory food: roast chicken, duck, and pork belly—dishes usually reserved for special occasions.

The family’s big celebration was about their decision to buy the old courtyard. And all because their grandfather had worked there as a servant when he was young?

Without even adding a set of chopsticks for himself, Han Changfeng sat down and asked, “The courtyard costs 20,000 yuan, but as far as I know, we don’t have that much saved up. How do you plan to buy it?”

His mother replied, “We’ve saved over 10,000 yuan. We need to keep some for emergencies, so we’ll use 10,000 for the purchase. Your uncle also has three small houses that we can sell for another 10,000. I’ve already found a buyer. With our savings and the money from selling the houses, we’ll have enough to buy the courtyard. Not only will this fulfill your grandfather’s wish, but we’ll also save it for your sister as her dowry.”

Han Changfeng slammed the table, causing the chopsticks to rattle off onto the floor. “Who gave you the right to sell Uncle’s house?”

When his uncle and aunt were sent to the countryside during the political purge, they distanced themselves from the family to avoid implicating them. At the time, they stated that the house would go to the only girl in the Han family and had it transferred to his father’s name. But Han Changfeng and his father had already agreed that they were merely holding the property for his uncle, and with the new political policies, they had been actively working to clear his uncle’s name so he could return.

“Your uncle said that house would go to the only girl in our family. Why do you have such strong opinions about it?” His mother was angry at her eldest son, despite him being the most successful.

It was suspicious that they were buying the courtyard now, years after their grandfather’s passing. Han Changfeng had to ask, “Let me ask you something, Qingqing, and I want an honest answer—no lies. Was it you who first suggested buying the courtyard?”

Biting her lip, Qingqing felt a pang of fear and admitted, “Yes, I did mention it.”

Their younger brother Han Yunqing jumped in to defend her, “So what if she suggested it? She’s our own sister. If we don’t care for her, who should we care for? Are you going to fight with her over Uncle’s house?”

“Shut up! Don’t speak to your brother like that,” their mother scolded, knowing that her eldest son’s integrity meant he would never fight his sister over anything.

Han Changfeng pressed on, “Now tell me honestly—why did you suddenly decide to buy the courtyard?”

Qingqing, nervous but needing to explain, spoke up, “I went with a friend the other day to bring supplies to a low-income household. In that courtyard lives an elderly lady, Grandma Huang, who couldn’t even afford her medical bills. My friend, Mu Xuehui, suggested that if someone could buy the house and let Grandma Huang live there for free, she’d have a place to stay and some money to live on. I thought it was a great idea, and since it’s where Grandpa worked as a child, buying it seemed meaningful. Don’t you agree, big brother?”

Though she tried to sound righteous, Han Changfeng, with his sharp eyes as a seasoned detective, could see through her nervousness and personal motives. She was only a teenager, but she was already letting herself be manipulated by others, growing greedy without even realizing it.

“I don’t mind if you buy the courtyard,” Han Changfeng said, “but no one is touching Uncle’s house. Let me make this clear: Uncle is likely to be cleared by the end of this year, and when that happens, we will return his property to him.”

He was alarmed that a high school senior, with her final exams approaching, wasn’t focused on her studies but was instead caught up in petty schemes. Han Changfeng’s instincts told him that Mu Xuehui was a bad influence, so he began investigating her. What he found was shocking: Mu Xuehui had been present during her mother’s affair. The only reason her father had caught her mother was because Mu Xuehui had conveniently fainted at school, and when her father noticed her mother wasn’t at the hospital, he went home in a rage to find out why.

The entire setup reeked of manipulation. Han Changfeng couldn’t ignore it now—not when her influence was reaching into his own home.

If Mu Xuehui ever realized that her petty little revenge plot had attracted the attention of a detective, she’d definitely regret it.

Qin Yan was surprised to have barely passed his pre-exam threshold. He hadn’t expected it at all, given his previous average performance and the fact that less than half of the students passed. The fact that he’d passed with such little effort made him feel ashamed of the time he had wasted.

As for Qin Ao, failing the pre-exam came as no surprise. He hadn’t passed in his previous life either, but since he was the male lead, studying wasn’t his only path. With the help of the female lead, he and his mother sold their courtyard, using the money as capital for Qin Ao to become a millionaire.

Before he and the female lead had officially gotten together, Qin Ao’s path to success had been rocky. After failing his exams, he didn’t want to repeat a year and instead chose to start a business. His grandmother and aunt had their eyes on another small storefront owned by his mother and wanted to use it to open a store for him.

They learned from their mistakes this time, approaching Qin Zhengqing and Miao Shufang first, praising Qin Yan for passing the pre-exam and speculating that he might even become a college student. They then suggested that Qin Ao wanted to start a small business but didn’t have the money, so they proposed using the family’s storefront.

In his past life, his overly filial father and pushover mother had lent out the storefront without asking for rent. Qin Ao, with no real understanding of business, soon lost everything, and the shop was subleased.

Qin Yan had no desire to intervene, especially since Qin Ao had even been beaten up by competitors at one point. Qin Yan had enjoyed watching him suffer.

At the moment, everyone was happily discussing what kind of business to open in the shop, how to decorate it, and when it would be ready.

When the aunt dared to ask for money to invest in the business, Jiang Ruan suddenly spoke up, “This isn’t right!”

Everyone turned to look at the young nanny, including Qin Yan, who was eagerly waiting for the day when Qin Ao would get beaten up again.

Old Lady He would never tolerate a nanny getting involved in family matters. “Who do you think you are, speaking up while I’m discussing things with my son and daughter-in-law? What right do you have to interrupt?”

Afraid that the nanny might say something outrageous and ruin their plan, the aunt added kindly, “You silly girl, you’ve done your chores, now hurry along. You’re getting in the way here.”

But Jiang Ruan didn’t back down. She turned to Qin Yan and said, “I’ll leave if you say so,” and started walking out.

Qin Zhengqing, however, was curious about what the nanny had to say. “Mom, Aunt, let’s hear what she has to say. Aren’t you curious?”

“Someone who threatened her own mother with a beating can’t possibly have anything good to say,” Old Lady He scoffed.

Qin Yan finally spoke up, “I want to hear what she has to say. Dad, what do you think?”

“Let’s hear her out,” Qin Zhengqing said with a smile.

Jiang Ruan licked her lips nervously. “Okay, but if I say it, you can’t fire me.”

“Go ahead,” Qin Zhengqing encouraged.

Jiang Ruan blurted out, “The storefront you want to borrow is Aunt Miao’s property, not yours. You Han family members keep talking as if it belongs to you. Have some shame. Do things within your means. Why are you so shameless as to take someone else’s property?”

With that, she ran out the door, making sure to remind them they couldn’t fire her because of what she’d said.

She ran all the way to the street corner, regretting speaking the truth. If she lost her job because of this, it would be such a waste. But when she thought of Qin Yan’s smirking, mocking face, she couldn’t hold back her words.

Just as she was about to leave, she saw Qin Ao returning. Despite the fact that he and Qin Yan looked quite different, their tall frames and handsome features bore some resemblance.

Jiang Ruan didn’t care about looks—pretty faces were far less important than her 50-yuan monthly salary. She was furious at Qin Ao, knowing he was the source of all this trouble.

She couldn’t resist hurling an insult as she passed him. “Shameless!”

Qin Ao: “…”

Why was the nanny insulting him out of nowhere?

“Stop right there!” he called.

“What?” Jiang Ruan wasn’t afraid of him. After all, he wasn’t the one paying her salary.

Qin Ao blocked her path, demanding, “Explain yourself. Why did you just call me shameless? What did I do?”

Jiang Ruan scoffed, “If you can’t afford to rent the shop, then save up enough money first. Why do you have your mom and grandma go ask Aunt Miao for her shop?”

“I didn’t!” Qin Ao denied, but he felt guilty. He knew his grandma and mom were perfectly capable of pulling such a stunt.

“If you don’t believe me, go to Qin Yan’s house. Your mom and grandma are still in the yard cursing at me. If I lose my job over this, I’ll punch you to vent my frustration.”

Qin Ao: … No point in arguing with a fool.

He went to his uncle and aunt’s house, where he overheard his grandmother loudly demanding that his uncle fire the nanny.

If they really fired her, what kind of person would that make him?

Qin Ao’s academic performance had always been better than his cousin Qin Yan’s. Qin Yan barely passed the preliminary exams, while Qin Ao hadn’t even made it through. Qin Yan had been out of commission for over two months due to an accident, yet he still managed to pass. Qin Ao felt a crushing sense of defeat.

But life isn’t just about the college entrance exams. Living in the city, he had personally witnessed the flourishing changes brought by the reform and opening up. He had plans to start a business but had never intended to take over his aunt’s shop.

Arriving at his uncle’s house, Qin Ao greeted everyone politely and then expressed his determination to make money through his own efforts, making it clear that he would never take the shop.

To put an end to his grandmother’s scheming, Qin Ao swore, “Grandma, if you insist that Uncle fire the nanny, I’ll be too ashamed to stay here. I’ll leave for Pengcheng to work. If you don’t want me running off to some faraway place, then stop bothering Uncle and Aunt, and quit going around making a fuss about a nanny. You all may not mind embarrassing yourselves, but as a grown man, I care about my reputation.”

…

After passing the preliminary exam, Qin Yan stopped dwelling on it and focused on his studies. He didn’t want to have any regrets when it came to the college entrance exam.

Jiang Ruan had told him that Qin Ao’s business idea was to ride a bicycle to rural areas to buy eggs at five or six cents each, then sell them in the city for seven cents. On one trip, he bought 500 eggs and took three days to sell them all, making a total of 7.50 yuan.

Qin Yan: … He was thoroughly unimpressed. Without the help of the female lead, is this really all Qin Ao is capable of?

After Jiang Ruan had prepared a medicinal bath for him, she took ten eggs to sell. Qin Yan then asked her to do another task: to follow Han Qingqing.

“Brother, you want me to follow her? Is she up to something bad?”

“It’s just a suspicion. I want to know where she goes, who she meets, and if possible, listen in on what she says. But don’t let yourself be seen.”

“Okay, I’ll follow her after I sell the eggs.”

Selling only ten eggs a day was why others thought she might be stealing them. Qin Yan said, “You can take an advance of ten days’ worth of eggs to sell, and spend the rest of the time following Han Qingqing.”

As Qin Yan sat in his study reviewing his exam materials, he felt a sense of urgency. What kind of discoveries would Jiang Ruan bring back?