Despite the surprise on Huang Jingguo's face, he didn't dare to say anything else. He turned around and walked out.
After the door of the CEO's office was closed, Qin Gengxin closed his eyes and pinched the space between his eyebrows, and placed another arm on the table. When the phone rang again, he picked up the phone while looking at the file in his hand.
• • • •
G City, Qin Family Residence
Since Zhou Qingling stayed in the old house of the Jiang Family, people from the Qin Family never came to visit the old house again. Sometimes, they could only hear their neighbors say that the woman who had just moved seemed to have recovered well. It was just that her daughter rarely came to see her before.
When Mrs. Qin returned to the Qin Family Residence, she saw a car parked in front of the house from a distance. Jiang Ruolan was carrying a cute little boy and a girl as she got out of the car.
Mrs. Qin watched from a distance as they entered the Jiang Family's old house. She watched as the two adorable children laughed in their mother's arms. Then Mrs. Qin thought of Qin Wenqian, who would avoid her every time she saw her. Mrs. Qin could not refrain from sighing.
"You're back." The Old Woman was currently sitting in the courtyard, enjoying the freshness of the air, with two pairs of handmade cloth shoes on the table beside her. She put down the shoes and raised her head to look at Mrs. Qin. "Meili, didn't you go to Wuyuan? How is it? Is it fun over there?"
"Mom." Mrs. Qin walked over and sat down. Seeing the cloth shoes on the table, she sighed. "What era is this? Why are you still wearing these shoes? No one wears them anymore."
"This is not for me." The Old Woman rolled her eyes at her while earnestly holding the shoes and saying, "Your father's anniversary is coming up soon. I'm afraid he might not have any shoes there, so I decided to make these shoes and burn them for him."
"Oh right, Meili, did Gengxin say when he returned? On the day of his grandfather's death, he should have come back to pay his respects, right?" As she spoke, the Old Woman pushed the reading glasses on the bridge of her nose.
Mrs. Qin looked at the shoes on the table. She picked it up and looked at it.
After realizing that she was not in a good mood, the Old Woman looked at her seriously. "What happened? Why is your face so pale? Are you arguing with your husband?"
Mrs. Qin laughed, "I just came back from Wuyuan and haven't seen his face yet. How do I have time to argue?"
"Then what happened?" The Old Woman smiled.
"Mom." Mrs. Qin whispered, "All this time, I really didn't understand what it meant to be a distant relative. Now that I'm also a grandmother, I understand it."
Seeing that Mrs. Qin implied something in her words, the Old Woman looked at her and said, "Qianqian is indeed very adorable. She is also very similar to my grandson. What a pity …" The Old Woman sighed and shook her head. "Her mother's last name is Xian."
As she spoke, the Old Woman picked up the cloth shoes on the table and continued to sew on the soles of the shoes. As she sewed, she said, "But the child isn't close to you. It's been a long time since we last met. Why did you suddenly say all this?"
"Mom, I also don't want the Xian Family to have anything to do with us. But now, Gengxin is in a dilemma. They still have a child. As a mother, I really don't know what to do." Mrs. Qin's eyes suddenly turned red. She raised her hand to wipe her slightly red eyes. "Say, why do you think Xian Tingfeng has done so many evil deeds? Our family had never offended him, so why did he secretly trap my father and put him in prison for the rest of his life? And in the end, he even died of old age in the prison."
The needle in the Old Woman's hand pierced her finger. Blood dripped from her fingers and stained the soles of the white shoes. She frowned.
Mrs. Qin looked at her mother. "I didn't know this before, but now I know that Gengxin really cares about Xian Guiying. A few days ago, when I saw him in Wuyuan, he seemed to have lost a lot of weight and Qianqian didn't even know him. She also didn't know me, her grandmother."
Mrs. Qin choked with tears. "Mom, I saw how Gengxin suffered because of that woman. I felt very bad …"
"Why is he suffering?" The Old Woman was silent for a moment, then she said in a cold tone. "It wasn't like Gengxin didn't know how his grandfather died. I had told him when he was young, but he still went to marry that woman from the Xian Family."
"He's never thinking about how our Qin Family can let her in! When they were getting married, I was so angry that I passed out and went to the hospital!"
Mrs. Qin took out a tissue from the bag to wipe the corners of her eyes. She then sighed. "Mom, I remember you went on a tour with a group last year. Did you go to H City?"
As the Old Woman sewed the soles of her shoes, she asked, "Hmm, what's wrong?"
"Nothing, I just heard about it and asked." Mrs. Qin sighed and didn't say anything more. She then stood up and went into the Qin Residence to put her luggage.
Half an hour later, Mrs. Qin changed into a simple set of clothes, gave a call to Qin Xiaowen, and then walked out the door. Outside the Qin Family Residence, she saw Xian Zihao about to drive out and buy something, and in the blink of an eye, Mrs. Qin looked towards the Jiang Family's old house.
Xian Zihao was preparing to buy some daily necessities for Jiang Ruolan's mother. Normally, the housekeeper would take care of it, but she didn't have time to travel too far. Some daily necessities ran out, but she didn't have time to buy them.
Seeing Mrs. Qin, Xian Zihao nodded politely at her through the window. With his relationship with Qin Gengxin, it was natural for him to treat Mrs. Qin with respect.
Mrs. Qin nodded politely, thinking of Xian Guiying. She thought for a moment and wanted to ask Xian Zihao about his sister's divorcement, but before she could walk towards him, the Old Woman's voice came from behind her.
"Meili, when will Xiaowen return?" The Old Woman walked out and saw Xian Zihao. There's no expression on her face.
Mrs. Qin replied, "He'll be back in an hour. He's on the way home."
"Alright, then ask someone to prepare food. I'm hungry." With that, the Old Woman pulled Mrs. Qin inside. "Come here and help me see the flowers I planted a few days ago."
Xian Zihao was in no hurry to leave. Instead, he looked towards the Qin Residence with an indifferent expression.
