“Of course. But who exactly did you bury?”
Qiuyun stressed the point. “While the Eldest Young Master still has feelings for me, we should cover this up together. But if we drag it out too long, it’ll be too late to do anything! Our place is in a pretty good location, after all. What if Jiang Corporation doesn’t demolish it this time, but Huayao Corporation comes along and tears it down another day? Wouldn’t we still be finished?”
The logic was sound.
Qiu Fuyang hesitated for a moment before defending himself miserably. “Sweetheart, your mother and I really had no choice!”
He explained, “The person we buried was our landlord. He went abroad decades ago. Your mother and I rented the house from his ex-wife, and we paid the rent every quarter.”
“Eight years ago, that bastard came back and claimed he hadn’t received a single cent in rent all these years. He demanded that our family pay him everything!”
Fang Fang added, “Your father and I have lived there since before we got married. Where were we supposed to get that kind of money?”
Qiuyun fell silent for a moment. “So you just…”
Qiu Fuyang hurriedly cleared himself of blame. “We didn’t kill him! He fell by himself!”
At most, he had fallen in the courtyard. They had been afraid he would extort money from them, so they hadn’t dared help him up. Several hours later, when they went to check whether he was breathing, they discovered that he was already dead.
All right.
Qiuyun had gotten the deceased man’s identity. After making a couple of perfunctory remarks, she quickly hung up.
Then she called Assistant Qian and asked him to investigate who owned the house.
Qiu Ze watched as his sister finished acting out the entire drama, changing expressions as easily as flipping a page.
The sense of incongruity in his heart grew even stronger.
Could a person really become a completely different person in just half a year?
“What is it?” Qiuyun asked after hanging up. “Why are you staring at me like that?”
Qiu Ze came back to his senses and instinctively concealed the truth. “Nothing. I was thinking about training.”
“Oh, right. Doesn’t your company have a survival audition show? Did you get selected?”
Qiu Ze nodded. “I did. After the New Year, I’ll be going to an island for closed-door training.”
“An island?”
“Yeah. The theme this time is set on an island. It’s kind of like a battle royale.”
Tsk, tsk.
That sounded brutal.
“Then do your best. Try to debut.”
Qiu Ze shook his head. “I heard a lot of people have joined this time, including trainees who have already debuted in groups, as well as contestants with previous audition-show experience and established fan bases.”
“That is a lot of pressure.”
“And according to the instructors, the show is being taken extremely seriously this time. They want to choose a boy band with no weaknesses in either looks, singing, or dancing.”
He had only been training for a little over half a year. How could he possibly compete with people who had been dancing since childhood?
Qiuyun thought for a moment about the producer of the audition show, then couldn’t help nodding.
Not bad, not bad. A strong woman really could get things done.
“It’s fine.” Qiuyun comforted her younger brother. “Just get your face out there first. You can try again next time. Then you’ll be one of the comeback contestants.”
Qiu Ze: “…”
His sister didn’t actually think “comeback contestant” was a compliment, did she?
New Year’s Eve.
Since fireworks and firecrackers were prohibited in downtown Jing City, every household could only turn up the volume on the Lunar New Year Gala.
Qiuyun and Qiu Ze made dumplings together, then received a steady stream of New Year’s calls.
The Mister and Madam each sent her a red envelope containing fifty thousand yuan. She passed the favor along by sending Miss a New Year’s gift of 28,888 yuan.
Jiang Chuling wanted to give Sister Xiaoqiu one too, but Qiuyun refused. She told the girl that once she came of age, she would definitely accept the red envelope.
When the New Year’s bells rang, an unfamiliar number sent Qiuyun a message wishing her a Happy New Year.
She checked the call history for the number and discovered that it belonged to Pei Cizhou’s backup phone.
After thinking it over, she replied with a simple “Happy New Year.”
Tsk, tsk. How miserable.
He still hadn’t been taken off house arrest even for the New Year.
—
The first, second, and third days of the Lunar New Year passed.
Qiuyun grew bored staying at home, so she found several classic wuxia films to watch. She wanted to learn more about different martial-arts worlds and look for inspiration for the sets and visual design.
It wasn’t until the evening of the third day that Miss called her.
“Sister Xiaoqiu, are you free tomorrow?”
“I am. What’s wrong?”
Jiang Chuling sounded miserable. “Tomorrow I have to go to my grandmother’s house with my mother. Could you come keep me company?”
“Of course. What happened?” Qiuyun had been worrying about how to pass the time anyway.
“Ugh, it’s hard to explain in just a few words. You’ll understand when you get here.”
Jiang Chuling sent her a location and told Sister Xiaoqiu to arrive at seven thirty the next morning to meet them at the pickup point.
Coincidentally, the fourth day of the New Year was also the day Qiu Ze was gathering with the others to go to the island for filming. Neither sibling would be delayed.
The next morning, Qiuyun arrived at the meeting point right on time. Before long, the Jiang family’s car pulled up.
“Sister Xiaoqiu.”
Jiang Chuling waved her into the back seat.
“Happy New Year, Miss.”
“Happy New Year to you too, Sister Xiaoqiu. Have you eaten breakfast?”
“I have.” Qiuyun got in and fastened her seat belt. “I remember you went to your mother’s parents’ home with Madam during last summer vacation. Nothing happened then, did it?”
Jiang Chuling shook her head. “Last time, Grandma accidentally broke her leg after falling. Mom and I were both at the hospital with her.”
She paused. “This time is different. We’re actually going to Grandma’s house, and Dad can’t make the long journey because his wound hasn’t healed yet.”
Without her father there, the people going today included her mother and her two older brothers. There really wasn’t a single person capable of keeping her aunt-in-law under control.
The car drove along the expressway toward the toll station, and Qiuyun suddenly realized she had forgotten to ask.
“By the way, where is Madam’s family from?”
“Quan City.”
Qiuyun checked her phone. It would take four hours by car, which explained why they had set out so early.
Every time Miss mentioned her relatives, she looked deeply apprehensive. Unable to resist, Qiuyun asked, “What kind of person is your aunt?”
Jiang Chuling struggled to describe her. “She’s very… quirky. Ugh, I can’t really explain it. Sister Xiaoqiu, you’ll understand when you meet her. But you absolutely have to protect me!”
“Don’t worry.”
Hearing Miss put it that way, Qiuyun was genuinely starting to look forward to meeting the woman.
Four hours later, they arrived in Quan City.
After leaving the expressway, the car headed toward the outskirts and stopped in front of a spacious, impressive self-built house.
Qiuyun had seen plenty of houses along the way, but this one was exceptionally grand.
It had everything from Roman columns to upturned eaves and a huge courtyard.
You couldn’t find another self-built mansion this luxurious for miles around.
“Oh, the Yu family’s daughter is back!” a neighbor called out loudly when she saw the convoy. “The family’s young mistress has returned!”
The cars came to a stop, and Qiuyun followed everyone out.
She hadn’t noticed when they got into the cars, but now that they had arrived, she realized that the drivers had probably brought out the cheapest cars in the family’s garage.
At that moment, the tightly closed gate opened a crack, and an elderly woman with graying hair came out.
“Sweetheart, you’re finally back! Come, come, come—the food’s ready. We were just waiting for you to return so we could start the feast.”
Yu Xiang smiled as she supported the old woman. “Mom, didn’t I tell you not to fuss? Is your leg feeling better?”
“It’s much better. The doctor you found is truly wonderful—an absolute miracle worker!”
Jiang Lin’an and the others stepped forward to greet her. “Happy New Year, Grandma.”
“Yes, yes! Happy New Year to all of you. Come inside, wash your hands, and get ready to eat.”
Although the traveling party had already been pared down, there were still more than a dozen essential personnel, including drivers, bodyguards, and assistants.
