Inside the house, Fang Yusheng pondered for a moment before saying to Qi Bufan, “You didn’t leave any traces, did you?”
“No,” Qi Bufan answered. “After taking Cheng Ke away from Fang Mu’s basement, I locked him up in an abandoned house. Then, according to what you said, when Fang Mu was caught, I let him go. I didn’t give him the gun directly, but when I imprisoned him, I pretended to unintentionally mention that guns could be bought on the black market. So Cheng Ke himself didn’t know that we were the ones who primed him to get a gun.”
“Are you sure everything’s clean?”
“I’m sure.”
Fang Yusheng was relieved and said, “That’s not a problem then. Bufan, we can’t let the police find out that we gave Cheng Ke the gun.” After a slight pause, Fang Yusheng thought of something and said, “Oh right, pass the child abuse videos that Cheng Ke had filmed in excitement to the police. With these videos, Cheng Ke won’t have a good life in prison.”
Fang Yusheng didn’t want Cheng Ke to have a good life because he was too crazy.
Why did he have to torture children?
Qi Bufan asked, “Amongst those videos, there’s one related to Fang Mu. Do you want to give it to the police too?”
This time, Fang Yusheng remained silent for a long time.
In the end, he nodded and said to Qi Bufan, “Sure, why not?”
“Yusheng.” Qiao Jiusheng’s voice suddenly rang out behind him.
Fang Yusheng turned around in shock and panic.
He quickly regained his composure, put on a relaxed expression, and asked Qiao Jiusheng, “Why did you come down?”
“It’s a little cold. I came down to get more clothes.” Qiao Jiusheng directly walked in and stood beside Fang Yusheng. She first looked at Qi Bufan, then at Fang Yusheng with a warm and indifferent gaze. Fang Yusheng could not see any other emotions in her eyes. He thought that perhaps Ah Sheng had not heard their conversation.
It was good that she did not hear him. That way, she would not know how ruthless he was.
“Yusheng, delete Fang Mu’s video,” however, when Qiao Jiusheng said this, Fang Yusheng’s expression changed.
There were two reasons for his change in attitude. One, Ah Sheng had heard them just now and she must have realized that he had planned Cheng Ke killing Fang Mu. Two, Ah Sheng was pleading for Fang Mu.
Fang Yusheng stopped acting. “Ah Sheng,” he said coldly, “you want to plead for him?”
Qiao Jiusheng could hear the anger hidden in Fang Yusheng’s voice.
She stared at him with a frank and clear expression. “I’m not doing it for him. I’m doing it for you.”
Fang Yusheng frowned, not understanding what she meant.
Qiao Jiusheng held his hand. Fang Yusheng’s body temperature had always been cold. Even if Qiao Jiusheng held his hand, she could not warm him. However, Qiao Jiusheng knew that no matter how cold this person was, his heart would always be warm for her. She said, “He once hurt you, but he was killed by Cheng Ke, who was under your control.”
When Fang Yusheng heard this, he thought: She knows I’m so scheming. Would Ah Sheng hate me?
Qiao Jiusheng said softly, “Yusheng, that video is a pain Fang Mu could never forget for the rest of his life. It was also the source of his twisted personality. He is already dead. It’s better not to release that humiliating video.” Seeing Fang Yusheng remain unmoved, Qiao Jiusheng could only say, “Even Dad and Aunt Xu don’t want to see that video. Think about our child. If our child is treated like that, can you bear it?”
Fang Yusheng’s indifferent eyes finally moved.
“Forget it.” Fang Yusheng looked at Qi Bufan and said, “Cut out Fang Mu’s video.”
“Sure.”
Then, the couple left Qi Bufan’s room together.
On the way back to the master bedroom, Fang Yusheng, who was walking behind, suddenly called out to Qiao Jiusheng in a low voice, “Ah Sheng.”
Qiao Jiusheng stopped in her tracks and turned around to look at him in confusion.
Fang Yusheng’s lips moved as if he were a little uneasy.
“What’s wrong?” Qiao Jiusheng thought that something big had happened. The next moment, she heard Fang Yusheng ask, “Do you think I’m too ruthless?”
Qiao Jiusheng raised her eyebrows and said, “He was the one who was harsh to you first. If you still acted polite to him, then you would’ve been stupid.”
Fang Yusheng was surprised. “Aren’t you afraid of me?”
Qiao Jiusheng was puzzled. “Why should I be afraid of you?”
“To kill Fang Mu, I have been plotting for a long time. Every step I took was carefully planned. Aren’t you afraid of such scheming people like me?” Fang Yusheng had always been afraid of letting Qiao Jiusheng know what he had done behind his back.
Qiao Jiusheng was surprised. “If you didn’t kill him, he would’ve killed you! Do you think I’d have been happy if he killed you?” Qiao Jiusheng gave him a look and continued, “From your point of view, what you did was not wrong. It was Fang Mu who did not treat you well at first. He made you suffer so much. Even if you caused his death, you didn’t do anything wrong, right? To be honest, you did very well. You killed him without spilling a drop of blood, and you even earned sympathy by being a victim.”
Fang Yusheng could not understand whether Qiao Jiusheng was being sincere or sarcastic. He chose not to speak.
Qiao Jiusheng recalled what Fang Yusheng had done in her previous life and suddenly sighed. “You can still be considered kind now, really.” Fang Yusheng could be considered merciful for not killing Fang Mu’s two sons.
Fang Yusheng did not understand why Qiao Jiusheng looked at him with such a comforting gaze.
From the looks of it, Ah Sheng seems to think that I am not ruthless enough and instead am quite pure and kind?
However, Fang Yusheng liked Qiao Jiusheng’s performance.
Just as he was about to reach out to hug her, Qiao Jiusheng suddenly tiptoed and bit him on the mouth. Then, she patted his elegant and handsome face in a rough manner and said, “In this world, no other man is as important as my child’s father.”
Her words cleared the haze in Fang Yusheng’s heart.
Like a child being commended by a teacher, he smiled brightly, bent down, and hugged her. Then, they went straight to his room.
Was she cold? If she was cold, she could just take off her clothes. He could just use his body to give her warmth. Why did she need to add clothes?
Qiao Jiusheng was very fond of this way of doing things whenever there was a disagreement.
After that, Fang Yusheng took out the jade carving from the bedside table and placed it on his desk. Since no one else was here, he could admire it as he wished.
***
On the third day, Qiao Jiusheng prepared the jade cicada and put it in a small brocade box. In the afternoon, she went shopping with Aunt Jin.
Even though they had known each other for so long, this was the first time Qiao Jiusheng had gone shopping with Aunt Jin.
Aunt Jin was rather chubby and had worn a black coat.
Qiao Jiusheng said that black was too serious and did not make her look lively and young and that she only looked good in bright colors. Aunt Jin only said four words in a reply.
“Black makes me thin.”
Those words successfully shut Qiao Jiusheng up.
Qi Bufan’s family lived in the countryside. Qiao Jiusheng had never lived in the countryside before, so she did not know how living in the countryside was different from living in the city. She wanted to buy some gifts for Qi Bufan’s old mother that he could take with him. Fortunately, Aunt Jin was born in the countryside, so she knew these things.
“Nowadays, a lot of rural areas are better off. The kind of places you see on television where children go to school by having to cross iron bridges and wooden bridges are few. Bufan’s family is just an ordinary rural family. They are neither rich nor poor. You should buy practical gifts.”
After hearing Aunt Jin’s words, Qiao Jiusheng especially went online to search for useful items in the countryside.
Qiao Jiusheng then entered the supermarket and went straight to the food ingredients area and bought food.
She bought rice, oil, specialty cured meat, and other items.
When Aunt Jin saw this, she covered her mouth and only laughed. “The things you bought are truly practical. Doesn’t he still have an adopted daughter at home? That day, I heard Bufan talking to his mother on the phone. I think that the days of the elderly in the family are numbered. I reckon that after some time, Bufan might bring his adopted daughter to Binjiang.”
“That’s fine. She will be taken care of when she comes.” Qiao Jiusheng agreed with this. She always felt that the girl would be better suited to studying in Binjiang City.
Aunt Jin said, “The elder in Bufan’s family doesn’t know how to buy clothes, and Bufan is a simple man. If you want to buy something, Madam, why not buy a few sets of clothes and shoes for his adoptive daughter? Even if he comes to Binjiang City, she’ll look good wearing them.”
Qiao Jiusheng felt that Aunt Jin’s words made sense. “That’s right!” Girls nowadays love to look pretty. As a man, Qi Bufan would definitely not think of this.
After shopping in the supermarket, the two of them went to buy clothes for Qi Bufan’s adopted daughter.
Aunt Jin said that students should wear plain and clean clothes. They did not need to be fashionable. Instead, their clothes had to be comfortable and convenient to move around in. They could not be too ugly either. Qiao Jiusheng bought a few sets of clothes, all of which were new designs from teen fashion brands. There were skirts, pants, and two sets of sportswear.
However, she chose the colors according to her preference. Most of them were gorgeous colors.
Aunt Jin also said that girls would look good in these clothes.
After returning home, Qiao Jiusheng threw the spoils of war that she had bought into Qi Bufan’s room. Qi Bufan looked at the girls’ clothes and felt his heart turn warm. “Thank you, Madam.” He was grateful to Qiao Jiusheng. After raising his daughter for so long, Qi Bufan had realized for the first time that the sportswear he had bought for his daughter in the past was already outdated.
“What are you thanking me for? We’re family.” Qiao Jiusheng sat on Qi Bufan’s desk chair. As she interacted with the babies in her stomach, she asked Qi Bufan, “Are you going back tomorrow morning?”
“Yeah.”
“Here!” Qiao Jiusheng threw something at Qi Bufan.
Qi Bufan quickly grabbed the object and opened his palm. It was a car key for the Cayenne car.
“It’s easier to drive back with more stuff.”
“Thank you.”
Qi Bufan politely bowed.
Qiao Jiusheng stared at him and felt a lot of emotions.
The ace soldier in the army had been reduced to being Fang Yusheng’s assistant. It was really mocking him.
***
The next day, Qi Bufan drove home in the Cayenne.
In the afternoon, Aunt Jin’s daughter went into a difficult labor and had to undergo a C-section at the local county’s People’s Hospital. Aunt Jin was anxious. She wanted to go back to take a look. Qiao Jiusheng thought about the price and effort required to hire a car and asked a driver to send her there.
When Fang Yusheng heard this, he said, “I’ll send her there.”
Aunt Jin had taken care of him for many years. From the moment Fang Yusheng was born, Aunt Jin had been responsible for taking care of him. To him, Aunt Jin was like his real aunt.
Qiao Jiusheng thought about it and felt that Fang Yusheng was indeed considerate.
It was boring to stay at home alone, so she decided to follow them along.
“I’ll go too.”
Fang Yusheng didn’t want to leave her alone at home, so he agreed.
Hence, that afternoon, the three of them quickly packed their things, locked up the small house, and drove to Aunt Jin’s hometown. Aunt Jin’s hometown was in a county in Binjiang City called Anyang County. Her daughter lived in that county.
The trio arrived at the county hospital when it was almost dark. By the time they arrived, the surgery of Aunt Jin’s daughter had ended.
Fortunately, both the mother and the baby daughter were safe.
Qiao Jiusheng saw Aunt Jin’s daughter, the pitiful woman who had just gone through a cesarean section. She was lying on the bed, motionless as the anesthesia had just worn off. Her face looked a little weak. However, when she heard her daughter’s cries, she felt happy.
This was Aunt Jin’s daughter’s second childbirth. Her first child was a son. Later on, the second child policy was established, and the couple had a good life. So, they wanted a second child. Originally, the expected date of delivery was next month, but who knew that her amniotic fluid would suddenly break out at noon today. When she and her husband had arrived at the hospital, there was not much amniotic fluid left. The doctors could only perform a cesarean section.
Qiao Jiusheng glanced at Aunt Jin’s granddaughter. She had just been born, and her wrinkled skin was still a little red. Her hair was thin but soft. She was wearing a small cotton shirt, wrapped in a blanket, and sleeping soundly.
Fang Yusheng also really liked this baby. He really wanted to hug her, but he was too embarrassed to ask.
Aunt Jin saw Fang Yusheng constantly rubbing his legs with both hands. She understood him very well and knew at a glance that he wanted to carry the child. So, she said, “Young Master Yusheng, you’re going to be a father soon. Why don’t you carry the child and practice?”
Fang Yusheng had been waiting for her to say that!
The moment Aunt Jin finished speaking, Fang Yusheng stood up and walked to the crib. He bent down and carefully picked up the little girl.
