Xian Guiying froze. Even if they didn't say it clearly, she could guess what they meant. "Are you talking about Qin Gengxin?"
Without waiting for an answer, she got up and walked quickly to the door. She looked through the peephole, looking outside. It was so dark that she couldn't make out anything. She immediately reached for the doorknob.
"Guiying, don't be impatient. Whether he is or not, what's the point of you checking it now?" Wei Zhengsheng called to her.
However, Xian Guiying frowned. "Better if it wasn't him. I can't let Qianqian see him."
After saying that, she opened the door and walked out. She walked towards the closed door on the other side and looked closer. Since the corridor was very dark and there was no automatic sensing light, she could only rely on the light of the lamp in her house to look at the door carefully.
The Spring Gala notice affixed to the door for a long time was no longer there. The dust on the door and the front house had also been cleared. She always comes home late and never took notice of it. It seemed the door had been cleaned for a while.
Just when Xian Guiying was hesitating whether she should knock on the door or not, Wei Zhengsheng walked out. He gently put his hand on her shoulder and said in a low voice, "Don't knock."
"I'm not that impulsive." Xian Guiying replied softly. She merely stood at the door and paced back and forth. She didn't knock on the door, but her heart was filled with anxiety.
Wei Zhengsheng knew she didn't want Qin Gengxin to appear in her and her daughter's life again. He put his arm around her shoulders again and pushed her towards her house. "Let's go back first."
Xian Guiying didn't object. As she turned around and took a step forward, the door behind her suddenly opened.
Both of their steps were paused. Xian Guiying was shocked, but she did not turn around to look. Wei Zhengsheng first looked back before glancing at her and patting her on the shoulder.
Xian Guiying understood and turned her head to see an old lady in her fifties walking out with an old mop in her hand. When she saw them, she smiled. "Are you the residents opposite us?"
"Oh, yes." Xian Guiying's heart immediately became at ease as she smiled kindly back at the woman.
"It's already so late, hurry up and enter the house, don't catch a cold. This mop is too old, I have to take it out and throw it away." The woman closed the door and went downstairs.
Xian Guiying watched the woman's back until she disappeared behind the corridor. She smiled, looked up at Wei Zhengsheng, and the two of them laughed together.
The woman with the mop threw the old mop downstairs and bought a new one from the supermarket near the building.
The woman opened the door of the house and entered as she said, "Aiya, Mr. Qin. This house is not like it used to be. I have cleaned it by myself from this morning until now, but don't worry, tomorrow morning, this place will be clean and full of new stuff."
After saying that, the woman walked into the laundry room and grumbled. "But Mr. Qin, if you are so rich, why did you buy this old house? Also, the decor of this house is really too outdated. Why didn't you change it if you plan on staying here?"
"There will be noise from the renovation and it will disturb the child's sleep." Qin Gengxin sat in a bamboo chair by the window, holding a glass of clear water in his hand.
"Child?" The old woman was stunned. "What child? Mr. Qin, do you have a child? Should I pick her up? Should I be her nanny? Not only will I clean this house, but I will also take care of your kid. You don't have to pay too much, only a thousand extra will be charged."
Qin Gengxin only looked towards the bright ancient city and didn't answer the woman's question.
Seeing him ignore her, the woman lowered her head and used a metal brush to scrub the tiles vigorously in the laundry room. She turned to look at the sinking toilet bowl and muttered, "It's weird. He's so rich, yet he chooses to live in such an old area and doesn't like talking to people. It really makes a picky old woman like me want to gossip."
Still, thinking of the high salary he gave to her, she smiled happily and worked harder and harder.
"Was it Qin Gengxin?" Seeing Wei Zhenghseng and Xian Guiying enter the house, Wei Shanyuan got up and asked.
"No." Xian Guiying replied.
She went to the kitchen and walked to the shabby balcony. When she looked down, she saw that the car driven by Qin Gengxin was gone.
"Let's eat." Wei Zhengsheng called to her softly.
"Alright." Xian Guiying walked back, smiling. She sat down at the table and poured a glass of red wine for herself.
• • • •
That night Wei Zhengsheng and Wei Shanyuan went to stay at an inn in the old town. Wei Zhengsheng was drunk and decided to leave with Wei Shanyuan since it's not good for him to stay with her in the house.
Xian Guiying lay on the bed with her head hurting. She washed the towel with cold water and placed it on her head. In the dark room, she looked up at the dark ceiling.
Many thoughts flashed in her mind. Every time she had to go outside to meet her company's partner, sometimes, she would get drunk, and after drinking too much, she always fell asleep. And every time she wakes up in the morning, she will find herself at home, safe and sound. After a while, she learned that Wei Zhengsheng was the one who sent her home.
There were times when both of them went out for a drink, but never once did she see him drunk, unlike tonight. It turned out, all along, he had purposely avoided drinking too much, just so that he could protect her and send her home safely.
Xian Guiying flipped over on the bed and closed her eyes. A tranquil smile gradually appeared on her lips.
An inexplicable sense of security from Wei Zhengsheng made her completely relaxed.
The next day, Xian Guiying got up at six in the morning to make breakfast for her daughter and sent the child to kindergarten at seven. After that, she planned to order some goods from her laptop.
Just as she returned home, she saw that the door to the opposite house was open. The woman from last night came out with some foam plates and boxes.
"Auntie, are you planning on cleaning the house and changing the furniture?" Xian Guiying couldn't help but ask out of curiosity.
The woman pouted and said, "Yes, I also think that this new house is really uncomfortable."
"Why don't you redecorate it?" Xian Guiying asked with a smile.
The woman shrugged her shoulders. "If it is for me, I will. Who knows what he's thinking?"
As she said that, she put the cardboard boxes in the corner of the corridor, saying, "There are a lot of trash collectors fighting for this kind of cardboard boxes, so I will just put them here and save my time from going downstairs."
The word "he" from the woman's mouth made Xian Guiying think she was talking about her husband.
Xian Guiying smiled. Although they were neighbors, she couldn't ask too much about it, so she opened the door and entered her own house.
After ordering everything she needed online, Xian Guiying prepared to go out to her shop. As soon as she went downstairs, she saw Wei Zhengsheng standing at the entrance, looking at her with a smile as if he knew she was coming down.
Xian Guiying was stunned for a moment. She looked at the time on her wrist and walked over with a smile. "Have you been waiting here for a long time? Why didn't you call me?"
