Qiao Lanshu and Xiaxia were crouching by the wall outside the convenience store.
The mother and daughter had similar faces, and both wore deeply troubled expressions.
“Mom,” Xiaxia whispered, “aren’t we going inside to find my brother?”
Qiao Lanshu lowered her voice. “At your brother’s age, he’s at the stage when he cares most about his pride. He sneaked out to meet that girl. If we rush in like this, wouldn’t that embarrass him in front of her?”
Xiaxia looked a little shocked. “Mom, you’re already this angry, and you’re still worried about my brother’s dignity?”
Qiao Lanshu fell silent.
After a moment, she sighed.
After all, she was a high school teacher herself, so she understood children of this age to some extent.
They were sensitive and cared deeply about how others saw them.
What mattered to these children was different from what mattered to adults. They cared about their pride, and even the smallest things could seem enormously important to them.
The students in her class sometimes quarreled over a single remark from a classmate for ages.
Qin Yuanzheng had always said that she was too softhearted. Now, she had to admit that she really couldn’t bring herself to be tough.
She was afraid of leaving a bad memory for a child going through adolescence.
She whispered to Xiaxia, “In any case, we still don’t know what’s really going on. Let’s wait a little longer.”
About ten minutes later, Qin Qiao'an and the girl came out of the convenience store. They were eating popsicles and chatting and laughing as they walked away.
Qiao Lanshu cautiously poked her head out and took a look. When she saw that the two of them weren’t holding hands, she instantly let out a sigh of relief.
“They’re not holding hands!” she whispered to Xiaxia. “They’re not holding hands.”
If they weren’t holding hands, that proved they were just ordinary friends.
There were so many students in Qiao Lanshu’s class who had fallen in love at a young age that she had become quite experienced at spotting it.
Xiaxia also relaxed. She whispered, “I don’t think my brother would get into an early relationship. He’s older than me, but he’s even more childish than I am. Does he even understand what dating is?”
Qiao Lanshu was speechless.
She thought Xiaxia made a great deal of sense.
But that didn’t make the situation any easier for her to bear!
Qiao Lanshu was silent for a few seconds before pressing the spot beneath her nose again.
The situation was supposed to be very serious, but Xiaxia nearly burst out laughing at her mother.
She slipped her arm through Qiao Lanshu’s and lowered her voice. “Mom, should we follow them a little longer? Let’s see where they’re going.”
Qiao Lanshu glanced at the sky. It was already past two in the afternoon.
The food she and Xiaxia had packed was still waiting to be picked up.
But they couldn’t worry about that now. She took Xiaxia’s hand and stood up. “Let’s go! We’ll see where they’re headed.”
The two of them followed Qin Qiao'an down another street. Then Qin Qiao'an followed the young girl into a hotel.
Qiao Lanshu: “!!”
Xiaxia: “…”
Qiao Lanshu closed her eyes and raised a hand to her forehead.
Xiaxia stood there dumbfounded, unable to say a word.
They remained under a tree across the street, repeatedly confirming that the sign really did say “hotel”—not restaurant, not some newly opened skating rink, and not an audiovisual shop popular with young people.
This time, Qiao Lanshu genuinely felt as though she was about to faint.
Xiaxia’s expression grew solemn. The mother and daughter stood there for a while. Qiao Lanshu anxiously paced back and forth several times. When she checked her watch, five minutes had already passed, yet that little bastard still hadn’t come out.
Of course, neither had the girl.
Hotels like this had only recently begun to appear. Many were private establishments run out of people’s homes, and management was not particularly strict.
There was no rule saying that minors couldn’t rent a room.
So as long as Qin Qiao'an had money, he could certainly get a room.
The question was, how many times had he done this already?
Qiao Lanshu couldn’t wait any longer. She grabbed Xiaxia and charged toward the hotel.
“Come on. We’re going inside to take a look.”
Just as the mother and daughter reached the entrance, a military vehicle suddenly pulled up outside the hotel.
They turned to look and saw Qin Yuanzheng stepping out of the vehicle in his military uniform.
The mother and daughter were both surprised to see him.
“Why are you here?” Qiao Lanshu asked.
Still, she was relieved that Qin Yuanzheng had arrived. The anxiety in her heart immediately settled somewhat.
Qin Yuanzheng was always reliable. As long as he was there, he could handle any situation, no matter how serious!
He strode over and put an arm around Qiao Lanshu’s shoulders. In a low voice, he said, “Didn’t I say last night that I’d keep an eye on him? Someone reported to me as soon as he met that girl.”
Qin Yuanzheng had also wanted to know what Qin Qiao'an had been doing lately, but he didn’t have time to watch him himself. So he had arranged for a guard to keep an eye on Qin Qiao'an and find out what he had been sneaking out to do these past few days.
And now, the surveillance had turned up something.
Of course, Qin Yuanzheng also knew that Qiao Lanshu and Xiaxia had been following Qin Qiao'an.
That was why he had hurried over.
After all, Qin Qiao'an had taken a female classmate to stay at a hotel. This was no longer something they could simply overlook.
Qiao Lanshu didn’t even know what to say.
She was a little flustered. Grabbing Qin Yuanzheng’s hand, she whispered, “Come on, let’s go inside and take a look. But stay calm, okay? Until we know exactly what happened, don’t hit him. We need to ask him first.”
Qin Yuanzheng looked at her, finding her current appearance somewhat amusing.
To be honest, he had never seen Qiao Lanshu look like this before.
If she hadn’t become a parent, she probably would never have been this flustered in her entire life.
He said quietly, “Don’t worry. I’m perfectly calm. You need to calm down too. Don’t be nervous.”
Qiao Lanshu took a deep breath!
She felt that there was no way she could keep from being nervous!
Qin Yuanzheng took her hand, and the family of three entered the hotel.
The hotel owner was a woman in her forties. She was sitting behind the front desk listening to the radio, nodding off, when she looked up and saw a soldier in a military uniform and cap walking toward her. A gun was even tucked at his waist.
The hotel owner was so startled that her drowsiness vanished instantly. She hurriedly stood up and looked past the soldier.
Outside the hotel entrance, a car was parked, with two imposing guards standing beside it.
The guards also had rifles slung over their backs.
The hotel owner was speechless.
For a moment, she wondered if she had committed some unforgivable crime.
Why else would soldiers come after her with guns?
She was so frightened that she nearly stammered. “C-Comrade, what… what’s going on?”
Qin Yuanzheng walked up to her expressionlessly and asked, “Excuse me, did two children just come in? A boy and a girl. Middle school students. The boy was wearing a black top, and he was about this tall.”
He gestured roughly to indicate Qin Qiao'an’s height.
Qin Qiao'an and his female classmate had only just entered. As soon as Qin Yuanzheng described them, the hotel owner immediately understood.
So it wasn’t her who had caused trouble. It was that child.
She instantly relaxed, and her speech became fluent again.
She quickly said, “Yes, yes, there are! Two children like that are staying here. Comrade, are you looking for them?”
After a pause, she added, “If you don’t mind me asking, what’s your relationship with these two children?”
Although Qin Yuanzheng was wearing a military uniform and had a guard with him, which was certainly intimidating, the hotel proprietress couldn’t simply take strangers to a child’s room and open the door without asking any questions, could she?
Qin Yuanzheng wasn’t angry. He explained, “That boy just now is my son. He’s been upset with the family lately and hasn’t been coming home. I had no choice but to track him down here. Could you show us the way and open the door? I’d like to talk to him and take him home.”
Of course, Qin Yuanzheng couldn’t say that he had come to catch his son dating behind their backs.
In any case, just as Qiao Lanshu had said, before they knew the whole story, they had to preserve the boy’s dignity.
When the proprietress heard this, she immediately took out a spare key and said courteously, “So that’s what’s going on. Oh, these children nowadays are all being led astray by the things outside. Video games, pop singers, and all sorts of other nonsense… Back in our day, we didn’t have any of that. The children are being ruined, and there’s really nothing we can do about it.”
Qin Yuanzheng and Qiao Lanshu exchanged a glance and silently sighed to themselves.
They really were almost at their wits’ end.
Ah, until you raise a child yourself, you’ll never know how difficult it is to raise one to adulthood.
The proprietress walked ahead with the key, smiling as she said to Qin Yuanzheng, “Come along, comrade. I’ll show you upstairs. Your child’s room is on the second floor.”
Qiao Lanshu followed her upstairs. On the way, she couldn’t help asking, “Boss, how long have these two children been staying here? When did they check in?”
The proprietress replied, “Oh, if you want the exact truth, the boy isn’t actually staying here. It’s just the girl who’s been living here. She’s been here for… five or six days, I’d say. The boy comes to see her from time to time during the day and often brings her delicious food. They’re practically inseparable—the two of them are very close.”
Qin Yuanzheng’s face turned black when he heard the phrase “practically inseparable.”
Qiao Lanshu had wondered earlier how Qin Qiao’an could be so hungry after skipping just one meal at night when he clearly had pocket money.
So he had been spending all his money on someone else.
He was going hungry himself while bringing food to that girl every day. What a little gentleman he was, always eager to play the romantic hero.
Qiao Lanshu could only hope that things hadn’t reached the worst possible outcome.
The family of three followed the hotel proprietress to a room on the second floor. She was just about to take out the key when Qiao Lanshu quickly stopped her hand and said softly, “Boss, there’s no need yet. Let’s knock first.”
Opening the door with a key and walking straight in would be rather disrespectful, and Qiao Lanshu didn’t want to do that.
Qin Yuanzheng said nothing. He raised his hand and knocked several times.
Soon, Qin Qiao’an’s loud voice came from inside. “Who is it? Who’s knocking?”
As his footsteps approached, his voice grew louder. “Who’s knocking? Is something wrong?”
The hotel rooms of that era weren’t particularly soundproof. Qin Qiao’an’s voice was so loud that it sounded grating even through the door.
Qin Yuanzheng was already fuming, and hearing his son’s voice only irritated him further.
With a dark expression, he called out, “Your old man. Open the door, now!”
The room fell silent for two seconds. Then Qin Qiao’an opened the door, his face full of shock.
Along with the shock came panic, and beneath the panic was a guilty conscience.
His expression was all wrong. He stared at his father, mother, and Xiaxia standing outside, stumbling over his words. “Dad, Mom, Xiaxia… why are you all here?”
Qin Qiao’an was genuinely frightened.
He had been coming here from time to time over the past few days and had never been caught. How could he have known that his father and mother had followed him?
When Qiao Lanshu saw that he was willing to open the door and that he was fully dressed—not bare-chested or anything like that—the weight in her heart finally lifted.
Qin Yuanzheng, however, was still furious.
His face dark, he shoved the door open with force, grabbed Qin Qiao’an by the collar, and hauled him straight out of the room.
Qin Qiao’an didn’t resist. Like a drowned rat, he was dragged out by his father and dumped into the corridor. When Qin Yuanzheng let go, he crumpled to the floor like a puddle of mud, sliding down with a pathetic, limp little thud.
Qin Yuanzheng glared at him, his face dark with anger. “Qin Qiao’an! Stand up straight!”
Qin Qiao’an immediately sprang to his feet, puffed out his chest, and shouted nervously, “Yes, sir!”
Qin Yuanzheng: “…”
Qin Yuanzheng took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment.
If this had been one of the soldiers under his command, he would have kicked him without hesitation.
But this was his own son. His body was still developing, and his physical condition was far from adequate. If he kicked Qin Qiao’an, the boy would probably end up flat on his back.
Besides, Qiao Lanshu wouldn’t allow him to hit the child.
After holding himself back for quite some time, he finally punched Qin Qiao’an in the shoulder and said in a low voice, “Get your ass home!”
Qiao Lanshu and Xiaxia looked into the room and saw the girl standing there, tense and uneasy. When she met their eyes, she quickly looked away, standing awkwardly and at a loss.
Qin Qiao’an said to Qin Yuanzheng, “Dad, can I go home a little later? I want to say a few more words to A-Zhi.”
Qin Yuanzheng’s expression remained grim. “You have one minute.”
Qin Qiao’an knew that his father was truly angry this time.
And his mother was angry too.
That meant there was no one left in the family to save him.
So he became timid and obedient, not daring to argue. He hurried into the room and, under the watchful eyes of his family, walked over to Yuan Zhi. In a low voice, he said, “A-Zhi, just keep staying here. I paid for ten days in total, and they won’t refund the room charge if you leave early. I… I’ll go home with my parents first. I’ll come see you again tomorrow.”
Yuan Zhi looked at him, then glanced at Qiao Lanshu and Qin Yuanzheng standing outside the door. She nodded and said softly, “All right. If you’re busy tomorrow, you don’t have to come.”
Qin Qiao’an whispered, “I’ll sneak over to see you. I’ll definitely find the time. Don’t worry.”
Although the two of them spoke very quietly, Qiao Lanshu, standing in the doorway, heard every word.
Her expression turned gloomy as well. Without saying anything, she studied Yuan Zhi, her thoughts impossible to read.
