When Jiang Si said this, her tone was light, as if she were mentioning someone entirely insignificant.
But the other end of the phone line fell silent for a moment. Even without seeing it, Jiang Si could guess—someone’s heart was undoubtedly in turmoil right now.
Sure enough, when Huo Tingzhou spoke again, his voice was noticeably deeper.
He didn’t ask when Qin Shian had returned.
Nor did he ask why Qin Shian had come back this time.
Instead, he zeroed in on the most critical point: "He went to see you?"
Jiang Si didn’t deny it. Instead, she neutrally explained the sequence of events.
"That courtyard house I had my eye on was bought by him. This afternoon, he came to apologize and recognized Third Uncle. After that, Third Uncle invited him to stay for a simple meal. He just left a little while ago."
Huo Tingzhou fell silent again.
"Don’t you have anything to say?" Jiang Si waited for a while, but when he didn’t respond, she couldn’t help but ask.
"Not exactly." Huo Tingzhou admitted that hearing about this man’s return had stirred some emotions in him.
But after listening to Jiang Si’s account, all he felt now was concern.
One coincidence could be just that—a coincidence.
But when so many coincidences piled up, it was no longer accidental.
It was deliberate scheming.
The question was—was Qin Shian after her, or something else? Huo Tingzhou couldn’t be sure yet.
"Aside from apologizing and reminiscing, did he say anything else?"
"No." Jiang Si thought carefully.
She didn’t remember much from their childhood. Many things only came back to her after Third Uncle mentioned them.
"His personality seems to have changed a lot. He’s quieter now, more composed."
"He didn’t say much about his family, only that he came back for work and plans to stay for about two years."
After a pause, she added, "I feel like there’s more to it than that."
Huo Tingzhou was silent for a moment before suddenly asking, "Is he still as chubby as before?"
Jiang Si was caught off guard, then laughed. "No, not at all. He’s tall and lean now, wearing gold-rimmed glasses—very refined."
"Oh." Huo Tingzhou responded.
Jiang Si wasn’t sure if it was her imagination, but his tone sounded distinctly distracted.
She could practically picture his expression right now.
Unable to resist teasing him further, she added, "He’s quite the gentleman now, very polished—"
But before she could finish, Huo Tingzhou sighed, cutting her off.
"Sweetheart—"
"Alright, alright, I’ll stop joking." Jiang Si relented, her tone turning serious.
"I know he’s deliberately getting close, but..."
"But what?" Huo Tingzhou pressed.
"I can’t put my finger on it."
Huo Tingzhou didn’t rush her, giving her all the time she needed to think.
She waited so long that the phone cord was nearly twisted into a coil in her hands before she finally spoke, thoughtful.
"Don’t you think he’s… strange?"
"Strange?"
"Yes, exactly that."
Jiang Si pursed her lips and continued, following her train of thought.
"If I were him, I wouldn’t have gone out of my way to apologize today—at least, not today."
"The two courtyards are just a street apart. It’d be easy to bump into each other at the market or the supply co-op."
In other words, he had better options.
Yet he chose the approach that made his intentions most obvious.
After a pause, she added, "He also brought a lot of pastries today."
Since she’d started, she might as well be blunt.
"Most of them were my favorites. But those shops are pretty far apart."
"I’m usually too lazy to go that far, yet he managed to get them all in one go."
The extent of Qin Shian’s effort surprised even Huo Tingzhou.
But that wasn’t the issue.
Anyone could tell those pastries were deliberately chosen.
Did Qin Shian not realize that?
That was exactly the problem!
Jiang Si had only realized it on her way home.
Qin Shian was clearly trying to get close to her, but his approach was full of holes.
That was why she was so puzzled.
Something about it felt… off.
Lowering her voice, she added, "I already told Dad about it. He said he’d look into Qin Shian’s activities abroad."
"Mm." Even if she hadn’t mentioned it, Huo Tingzhou would have done the same.
Still, he couldn’t shake his worry. "Investigations take time. Until then, be careful when you go out. Don’t go alone."
Jiang Si nodded, then remembered he couldn’t see her and smiled. "I know. Don’t worry."
She was about to say more when a sudden knock at the door woke the two little ones.
Hearing their mother on the phone, Suisui and Zhaozhao instinctively toddled toward her on their chubby little legs.
"Someone’s at the door," Jiang Si said hurriedly, hearing the urgency in the knocking. "Suisui and Zhaozhao are up, so I’ll have to go."
Huo Tingzhou hummed in acknowledgment, then added, "Take care of yourself. I’ll be back by the end of the month."
Long-distance calls had their drawbacks—the longer they went on, the more interference crept in.
Between the static and the twins’ antics, Jiang Si didn’t catch his last words.
"What did you say? Hello? Hello—?"
She called out a few times, but when only crackling static answered, she had no choice but to hang up.
Listening to the dial tone, Huo Tingzhou felt a pang of melancholy.
Perhaps Qin Shian’s sudden reappearance had unsettled him more than he realized.
That night, for the first time in his disciplined routine, Huo Tingzhou lay awake, unable to sleep.
