Since Qin Yuanzheng had already gotten to the bottom of the matter, there was now a definite conclusion.
Qiao Lanshu told Qin Qiao'an about it.
When Qin Qiao'an heard, he was rather surprised. He remained silent for a long while before asking, “Yuan Zhi’s parents were spies?”
Qiao Lanshu lowered her voice. “Apparently, she has Japanese ancestry. Her father may be descended from Japanese people who remained in China. I’m not sure about the details, but she definitely has some connection to Japan.”
Although Si Zhemao had given Qin Yuanzheng some information, the case was confidential, so even Qin Yuanzheng wasn’t allowed to know everything.
He only knew the general outline, but that was enough.
After clarifying the matter, Qiao Lanshu came to tell Qin Qiao'an. She said to him, “As I’ve said before, I have no objection if you want to help her financially. But I still hope you’ll keep your focus on your studies.”
Qin Qiao'an’s expression was complicated. He nodded and said, “I understand, Mom. Don’t worry.”
Seeing that he understood, Qiao Lanshu said no more about it.
Qin Qiao'an went to the hotel again the next day, but this time he returned before dark. He acted perfectly normally afterward, and he didn’t go out for the next few days.
Little by little, Qiao Lanshu relaxed.
As long as he wasn’t getting involved in some puppy love, everything else could be discussed.
Time passed slowly. Qiao Lanshu kept an eye on Qin Qiao'an for a while. He continued to go to school and come home as usual. When he didn’t have classes, he followed Qin Yuanzheng to the army base to play, train, and practice boxing. He also enjoyed hiking, swimming, and riding motorcycles.
Unfortunately, there was no motorcycle at home. Qin Qiao'an could only stare enviously at other people’s bikes, yet he was too embarrassed to ask Qiao Lanshu to buy him one.
After all, he was spending all his money on Yuan Zhi.
Yuan Zhi had indeed been sent to an orphanage.
There were many children in the orphanage, most of them girls. Some were around Yuan Zhi’s age as well. Under national regulations, these children were entitled to a compulsory education, with the government covering their tuition. But if they wanted to attend high school or a vocational secondary school, they had to earn the money themselves.
Yuan Zhi’s parents were never coming back.
The Women’s Federation had contacted her parents’ distant relatives. Only a rural great-uncle on her mother’s side was willing to take her in.
Yuan Zhi refused to go.
She wanted to stay in the city and continue her education. She didn’t want to go to the countryside.
She didn’t have much money, so Qin Qiao'an gave her his allowance. As a result, he didn’t have a single cent left in his own pockets.
Qin Qiao'an also began tinkering with little things to sell for money. Back when Han Ye was in junior high, he had made money by reselling cassette tapes with some young people from the neighborhood. Qin Qiao'an had accompanied Han Ye several times and knew a few of the channels.
So, in order to earn Yuan Zhi’s tuition, he started working too. He resold DVDs and all kinds of novels—pirated copies, naturally.
But in those days, no one paid much attention to whether something was original or pirated, and even fewer people cared. As long as the content was good, that was all that mattered.
Many of the discs sold in audio and video shops were copies the owners had burned themselves.
Those discs and videotapes were profitable, and plenty of people were willing to buy them.
Every day after school, Qin Qiao'an went out with those people to sell things, returning home after dark.
Qiao Lanshu and Qin Yuanzheng both knew about it.
One night, while the couple lay in bed, they had a serious discussion about the matter.
Qiao Lanshu said anxiously, “What should we do? Should we stop him?”
The reason Qiao Lanshu had previously forbidden Han Ye from doing this kind of work was that his grades had been terrible—so terrible that she had needed to find him a tutor.
But Qin Qiao'an probably knew that, which was why he studied so diligently. At the very least, his grades had remained excellent, and he would have no problem getting into high school.
Besides, selling these things wasn’t illegal. Many people did it, and many made money from it.
If she forcefully stopped Qin Qiao'an, it didn’t feel entirely appropriate either.
Lying on the bed and staring at the ceiling, Qin Yuanzheng said, “Leave him be. There’s nothing wrong with selling things to make money. Recently, I’ve seen plenty of young people going to dance halls, skating rinks, and arcades. Compared with them, he’s actually quite worry-free.”
Qiao Lanshu fell silent.
She sighed. The couple lay side by side for a long while without speaking.
After some time, Qin Yuanzheng suddenly said, “That rascal. He’s figured things out early, hasn’t he? He’s actually thinking of earning money to support her education. Has he already decided that she’s the one?”
Qiao Lanshu said nothing, but she felt much the same way.
Although Qin Qiao'an kept saying that he and Yuan Zhi were good friends, brothers even, and that he couldn’t stand by while his good brother was in trouble, in his parents’ eyes, it was obvious that he had feelings for Yuan Zhi.
If two people went this far for each other, claiming there was nothing between them would simply be a lie.
Qin Yuanzheng continued, “That girl must be very touched, right? She’ll probably be devoted to him for life.”
Qiao Lanshu glared at him. “How old are they? They’re just teenagers.”
“Teenagers aren’t that young,” Qin Yuanzheng replied. “My grandmother married my grandfather when she was thirteen. And you married me when you were eighteen, didn’t you? Kids of fourteen or fifteen already understand plenty of things.”
On this matter, Qin Yuanzheng was much more open-minded than Qiao Lanshu.
He said, “I’ve been paying close attention to An'an these past few months. Ever since he started earning money, he seems to have become much more mature. As expected, love makes people great.”
Qiao Lanshu angrily smacked him. “You’re still joking at a time like this!”
She couldn’t laugh at all, could she?
Qin Yuanzheng grinned and pinned her down, saying in a low voice, “That girl’s grades are pretty good too, aren’t they? I heard she’s in the top three in her class. The teachers all like her and say she has a bright future. Looking at it that way, our An'an isn’t losing out either.”
Qiao Lanshu was speechless.
She thought about it. Teenagers were at the age when their feelings first began to awaken.
Who hadn’t liked someone at that age?
So Qin Qiao'an and Yuan Zhi…
Qiao Lanshu tossed and turned, unable to sleep for most of the night.
In the end, she decided to continue observing them. As long as they didn’t do anything inappropriate, she would endure it for now.
…
Qin Qiao'an was extremely busy these days. Every day, he rode the old twenty-eight-inch bicycle Han Ye had left behind, weaving through the streets and alleys to resell small goods.
Yuan Zhi’s house had already been returned to her. She lived there alone, and after school, she went out selling things with Qin Qiao'an.
When night fell, Qin Qiao'an would ride his bicycle and take her home, each of them with a popsicle in their mouth—sometimes a piece of bread instead.
Then he would ride back to his own home.
As long as he got home before seven every evening, Qin Yuanzheng wouldn’t say anything, so Qin Qiao'an made sure to arrive right on time every day.
Still, Qin Qiao'an did have a conscience. Whenever he made money, he remembered to buy books and stationery for Xiaxia, as well as food and useful things for Qiao Lanshu and Qin Yuanzheng.
When Han Ye went to serve in the army, Qin Qiao'an even bought him a bag to carry his belongings.
Qiao Lanshu felt that this son of hers still had some conscience. At least he hadn’t given every last penny to Yuan Zhi.
…
As time went on, Qiao Lanshu gradually stopped bothering with Qin Qiao'an’s affairs.
Now that she was on vacation, she rode her bicycle to visit Zhong Mei all by herself.
Ever since Zhong Mei had moved to Wencheng, Qiao Lanshu had often come to see her.
Zhong Mei’s general store had two floors. The first floor sold food, while the second sold household goods.
The store was quite large, with more than a dozen employees, and business was booming.
Zhong Mei had made a great deal of money running the store. She had even brought her two younger sisters over to help, putting them in charge of management and purchasing.
Zhong Mei wore her hair in a perm, along with a dress, makeup, and a pair of sunglasses perched on her head. She was dressed in the height of fashion.
When Zhong Mei saw Qiao Lanshu approaching, she walked to the entrance of the store and looked behind her.
“Oh, my godson and goddaughter didn’t come again today?”
“They’re both busy,” Qiao Lanshu replied grumpily. “One is busy dating, and the other is busy writing novels. Neither of them was willing to come with me.”
Zhong Mei was astonished. “Oh, Xiaxia has started writing novels? What a capable girl!”
Then she added, “But you know, Xiaxia might become a great writer someday—someone like Lu Xun, perhaps?”
Qiao Lanshu: “…”
Zhong Mei’s teasing made Qiao Lanshu laugh. She said, “Stop joking around. Lu Xun? I can’t believe you actually said that.”
Then she continued, “Xiaxia is writing fiction. She submitted her work to several newspapers last time, but every one of them rejected it. She even received three rejection letters yesterday and hid in her room crying.”
Xiaxia had previously submitted some pieces to magazines and had several accepted, earning a few dozen yuan in royalties.
That had encouraged her to start writing a novel. Unfortunately, the first one she completed was rejected.
Zhong Mei pretended to be angry. “Those newspaper editors clearly have no taste! Their aesthetic sense is terrible! Our Xiaxia writes so well, and they still failed to recognize her talent. Once she becomes famous, they’ll come begging her, but it’ll be too late.”
Qiao Lanshu: “…”
Qiao Lanshu sighed. “She’s still too young. She ought to spend a few more years studying and gaining experience—at least until she’s in high school. I think her writing will be much better by then.”
Zhong Mei and Qiao Lanshu went into the office at the back of the store.
As the owner, and having made quite a bit of money over the years, Zhong Mei had developed an imposing presence. These days, Guan Wenjun didn’t even dare raise his voice at home.
Whenever he spoke a little too loudly, Zhong Mei would raise her voice even higher and suppress him completely.
To make matters worse, their two sons also took their mother’s side. Guan Wenjun felt deeply aggrieved and would go to Qin Yuanzheng to complain whenever he had the chance.
Qiao Lanshu and Zhong Mei went out for a meal together. Afterwards, they spotted Qin Qiao'an on the street.
Qin Qiao'an was riding a bicycle with Yuan Zhi sitting on the back. The backpacks they carried were stuffed full. Anyone could tell they had gone out to set up their stall again.
Standing outside the restaurant, Zhong Mei folded her arms and offered her verdict.
“What a pair of lovey-dovey little waifs.”
Then she added, “Would you call them childhood sweethearts?”
Qiao Lanshu: “…”
By now, Qiao Lanshu was completely calm and thoroughly accustomed to Zhong Mei’s remarks.
She said, “They’re enjoying themselves. How are they pitiable?”
Zhong Mei smiled. “Yuan Zhi really is lucky. At the lowest point in her life, she happened to have a male classmate willing to lend her a hand—someone who would even earn money to pay her tuition and support her education. The two of them have gone through hardship together since childhood. I imagine their relationship will be very strong in the future.”
She sounded a little envious. “Too bad no one helped me when I was young. Well, I suppose everyone has their own fate.”
The two sisters sighed over the young couple for a while, then continued strolling and chatting happily.
Sitting behind Qin Qiao'an, Yuan Zhi suddenly said, “Qiao'an, I think I just saw your mother.”
Qin Qiao'an grew tense and glanced around. “My mother? Where is she? Where?”
Yuan Zhi pointed toward a street corner in the distance. “Over there. We’ve already passed it.”
Qin Qiao'an let out a breath of relief. “It’s fine. My mother’s easygoing. She’s known about us for a long time.”
Yuan Zhi lowered her head shyly, her face flushing. “Known about what? There’s nothing going on between us.”
“How could there be nothing?” Qin Qiao'an said casually. “What’s going on between us is a very big deal!”
Yuan Zhi lowered her head even further, embarrassed. “Don’t say things like that. What big deal could there possibly be between us?”
Qin Qiao'an clicked his tongue and lowered his voice. “The fact that we’re working together to make money—doesn’t that count as a big deal? All our classmates say we’re business partners, bound together and sharing the risks. Doesn’t that count as a big deal?”
Yuan Zhi: “…”
Qin Qiao'an gave nearly all the profits to Yuan Zhi. In truth, he kept very little for himself, because Yuan Zhi needed the money for school and daily living expenses.
Yuan Zhi had initially harbored a faint hope, but after hearing him describe their relationship that way, she was left speechless.
So she said nothing.
Qin Qiao'an continued talking to her. “Yuan Zhi, have you thought about what you want to do in the future?”
Yuan Zhi shook her head. “I don’t know. For now, I’ll just focus on my studies. I’ll think about the future when it comes.”
Then Yuan Zhi suddenly asked, “Are you planning to join the army?”
Qin Qiao'an nodded as he pedaled, sweating heavily from the exertion. “Of course. My eldest brother is waiting for me in the army. He said he’d look out for me once I got there.”
Yuan Zhi’s mood darkened at those words.
If Qin Qiao'an joined the army, wouldn’t that mean she would hardly ever see him again?
Would they still have any chance to meet in the future?
She probed cautiously, “Couldn’t you not join the army? I’ve heard military service is very hard. Why not go to college instead, then become a teacher after you graduate?”
“No way,” Qin Qiao'an said seriously. “I like being a soldier.”
Yuan Zhi grew angry.
She felt that Qin Qiao'an was as dense as a block of wood. No matter how clearly she hinted at things, he seemed incapable of understanding what she meant.
And yet he treated her so well. At school, he barely spoke to any other girls, but he was always talking to her. They ate together, attended classes together, studied together, and he even helped her earn money for tuition and living expenses.
He was so good to her. Could it be that he truly saw her only as a brother?
Yuan Zhi didn’t want Qin Qiao'an to join the army. She felt that once he left, she might lose her chance to hold on to him.
Fortunately, he still had two or three years before he enlisted. She could afford to wait.
Once their relationship changed, she would try to persuade him.
