Chapter 103 : Visiting

“You room has been cleaned regularly, and I’ve also kept the drawings you made for Songzi. They’re stored in a box. Come on, I’ll show you where they are.”

Ma Xiuzhi said as she began to head towards Liang Qingqing’s room. Liang Qingqing quickly stopped her, a hint of guilt and urgency flashing in her eyes. She shifted her gaze and hurriedly said, “That’s not urgent. Mom, I haven’t eaten much this morning, and I’m a bit hungry now. Could you make something for me to eat?”

This request successfully halted Ma Xiuzhi’s steps. She nodded and headed towards the kitchen, “Of course, I’ll make you a bowl of noodles and a fried egg. You can eat that for now, and I’ll have your father check if there’s any meat left at the supply and marketing cooperative. We’ll have a better meal later.”

“I knew Mom was the best,” Liang Qingqing said with a grin, hugging Ma Xiuzhi’s arm and following her happily, glancing at the closed room door and secretly breathing a sigh of relief.

“Where’s Dad? Is Dad not good to you?” Liang Xueyong grumbled with a huff but obediently followed the mother and daughter.

“Oh, Dad is great too, everyone is great,” Liang Qingqing said, turning back to hug Liang Xueyong’s arm, making sure to balance things out. This made Liang Xueyong’s face finally show a smile.

After they all entered the house, the two previously sneaky individuals came out from their hiding spots, made eye contact, then quickly averted their gazes and nonchalantly went their separate ways.

During dinner, everyone gathered at home, and Liang Qingqing handed out the gifts she had prepared in advance.

For Ma Xiuzhi, there was a maroon jacket, for Liang Xueyong, a pair of leather shoes, for Liang Shuqiang, a set of books by his favorite author, for Wang Xiaomei, a warm white sweater, for Songzi, a box of colorful watercolor pens, for Liang Junqiang, a military green tank model, and for Huang Yali, a beautiful fluffy hat.

Everyone was thrilled with their gifts, examining them closely and savoring them.

After dinner, the family sat in the living room chatting, and naturally, the topic turned to the upcoming wedding banquet.

“The banquet will be held at your new home. Your uncle and the others will come to help with cooking and hosting the guests. You can borrow tables and chairs from the neighbors, everyone does it that way.”

“I’ll have your eldest brother prepare the guest list. You can adjust it as needed. Yanxing, will anyone from your family be coming?”

At this question, everyone’s eyes turned to Fan Yanxing with curiosity. Fan Yanxing rarely mentioned his family, and because of the great distance, they seldom had any interaction, so it didn’t matter much whether they were mentioned or not.

But now, with the children getting married, even if the parents couldn’t make it due to the distance, they should at least make a statement, right?

“My grandparents will come, but as for my parents, they’re busy with work and might not be able to make it, so it’s still uncertain.” Fan Yanxing naturally could tell.

As for what couldn’t be said, that was naturally about his mother’s attitude.

Ever since Fan Fangming returned to Beijing from Changbei Province, there had been no news at all. No one answered the phone, and Fan Yanxing had no idea what Qiu Qingying thought about the matter. Did she agree with Fan Fangming’s views or stubbornly disagree? No one could guess.

“Oh, oh.” Hearing this, Ma Xiuzhi finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Meanwhile, in Beijing,

The door of the Qu family residence was being banged on loudly.

The commotion was so great that the neighbors around peeked out of their homes.

When they saw it was the Qu family’s young lady, they hurriedly shut their doors, afraid of provoking her.

“Mom, Dad, open the door, I know you’re home!” Qu Qingying, who had been holding back her anger the whole way, finally erupted after the prolonged silence. She kicked the front door with a forceful blow.

This violent behavior was in stark contrast to her otherwise refined appearance, showing just how furious she was.

“If you don’t open the door, I’ll find someone to take it off.” She made a harsh threat. Seeing no movement inside, Qu Qingying sneered and turned to leave, but just as she took a few steps, she heard the door creak open behind her.

“Oh, Qingying, when did you get back? I thought I was dreaming when I heard the knocking while I was napping.” Qu Anming greeted her with a forced smile. “Why the angry face? Who upset you? I’ll go deal with them!”

“……” Qu Qingying looked at Qu Anming’s performance with a blank expression, saying nothing.

Under her intense gaze, Qu Anming felt a bit embarrassed. There was a flicker of awkwardness in his eyes, and he silently slapped his thigh, feeling like he could cry. He wondered what sins he must have committed in his past life, as every woman in the family seemed more formidable than the last. He was caught in the middle, struggling to keep up. What kind of life was he living!

“Dad, did you already know about Yanxing?” Qu Qingying, having wasted enough time, decided to get straight to the point without beating around the bush.

Qu Anming, mindful of his wife’s advice, shook his head without hesitation. “Did something happen to Yanxing? I don’t know anything about it.”

Looking at the confused Qu Anming, Qu Qingying nearly ground her teeth in frustration. She walked past him directly into the house. “Dad, stop pretending. Fangming told me everything.”

“Fangming knows?” Qu Anming reflexively asked, his voice rising in disbelief.

This question revealed his earlier pretense completely. Qu Qingying gave him a meaningful look. “Didn’t you say you didn’t know anything?”

“Yes, I don’t know anything.” Qu Anming regretted his actions but continued to play dumb on the surface.

Qu Qingying realized she wouldn’t get much out of him, so she continued walking inside until she saw Xiao Jinhua sitting in the yard eating persimmons. When Xiao Jinhua noticed her, she nearly choked on the fruit and, once she recovered, shot a sharp glance at Qu Anming.

Wasn’t I supposed to persuade her to leave?

I didn’t have a chance to persuade her, she barged in on her own. What could I do?

After exchanging a look, Xiao Jinhua, exasperated, turned her gaze back to Qu Qingying and casually waved her over. “What brings you here today? Isn’t the office busy?”

“Busy, indeed. But I came to ask you something, so I took special leave to come over.” Qu Qingying sat down on the stone bench next to Xiao Jinhua. At this point, she wasn’t in a hurry and even enjoyed the chance to chat with them. “These persimmons look good. Where did you get them?”

“They’re quite sweet. Would you like to try one?” Xiao Jinhua offered a peeled persimmon to Qu Qingying, who shook her head. “I don’t eat persimmons.”

Xiao Jinhua wasn’t offended and continued answering her earlier question. “The young man from the Chu family was transferred back to Beijing. He’s close with Yanxing and thought of me, so he came to visit a few days ago. These persimmons are a gift from him.”

At this point, Xiao Jinhua’s eyes lit up, and a smile tugged at her lips. She knew that Chu Qi’s previous military district was adjacent to where Fan Yanxing was stationed, so she subtly asked some questions about Fan Yanxing and his partner.

This young man, lacking guile, answered her questions openly. According to him, the girl was exceptional beautiful and kind-hearted, perfect in every way, a rare gem.

Qu Qingying couldn’t help but recall the photo of Fan Yanxing and the girl. The picture was there, but there hadn’t been a phone call in response!

“I heard that Yanxing helped him get transferred back to Beijing. Didn’t you two put in a lot of effort?” Qu Qingying’s mind lingered on Chu Qi’s face. The young man was polite and considerate, and she had a good impression of him.

“It was just a phone call,” Qu Anming waved his hand dismissively, not taking it seriously.

Qu Qingying twitched her lips. His words sounded casual, but one phone call required a lot of effort from those beneath him to get things done.

That’s why everyone wants to climb the ladder—the temptation of power is too great.

But Qu Anming had used his life to earn a position where he could brush off such matters with ease.

“I heard from Fangming that he went on a business trip to Changbei Province recently and met with Yanxing. I heard he’s dating someone out in the countryside.”

“Ah?” Xiao Jinhua and Qu Anming exchanged surprised glances.

“That’s impossible.” The child wouldn’t be that foolish he wouldn’t be so determined to hide things and then voluntarily reveal them.

Qu Qingying scoffed, “Why is it impossible? Fangming told me directly. Is he lying?”

“This…” Xiao Jinhua frowned and tentatively said, “The child is still young. What’s the big deal about having a partner?”

“It’s more than just having a partner, they’re about to get married!” Qu Qingying’s emotions flared uncontrollably at this point. “What do you think sneaking around and getting married without telling the elders is about? Have they grown wings and plan to fly off?”

“Actually, it might not be sneaky,” Qu Anming coughed and couldn’t help but defend Fan Yanxing.

Upon hearing this, Qu Qingying shot a look at Qu Anming and said with a forced smile, “Dad, don’t side with Fan Yanxing. We don’t know about it, and you call that not sneaky?”

“Who says we don’t know?” The words slipped out, and the next moment, his foot was stepped on hard. The pain shot through his entire body, and Qu Anming’s face twisted in discomfort.

Xiao Jinhua, frustrated with the old man, pulled her foot back. She thought to herself how this old man seemed to be regressing. He was so smart in his youth, skillfully navigating the political arena. How had he become so muddled with age?

“So you’ve known about this all along?” Qu Qingying narrowed her eyes and threw the persimmon back into the basket.

Xiao Jinhua looked sadly at the persimmon and said, “Be careful, those are the only persimmons we have. If you break them, you’ll have to replace them.”

Seeing Xiao Jinhua avoiding the issue, Qu Qingying was furious, “Mom!”

“Alright, stop shouting. What’s wrong with the child starting a family? I think it’s fine. It’s much better than dragging it out and never getting married,” Xiao Jinhua said, slapping the table. Qu Qingying bit her lip but still looked dissatisfied.