Chapter 59 p2
“Sister Li Wan, why are you here so late?” Shen Yiqiu walked over, curious.
Li Wan glared at her. “Not ‘here,’ I was just leaving.”
Hmm?
“Qianrou needed a document for her training, so I came to find it and send it to her.”
Shen Yiqiu nodded as she walked towards the door, preparing to unlock it. “Do you want to come in for a late-night snack?”
It was late, and Li Wan had made a special trip to help Jiejie, she must be tired. Shen Yiqiu wanted to repay this favor on Jiejie’s behalf, this was the least she could do.
Li Wan waved her hand dismissively. She was exhausted after a long day at work and wanted nothing more than to go home and sleep.
Then, as if remembering something, she turned back with a knowing smile and stood before Shen Yiqiu. “Where did you go on your date tonight?”
“It wasn’t a date.” Shen Yiqiu immediately denied it, the thought of a date with her cousin was repulsive.
“Oh? Not a date? Then what about the man who just dropped you off?”
A man? Could Li Wan have seen her cousin?
The panic on Shen Yiqiu’s face didn’t escape Li Wan’s notice. Annoyed, she snatched the key, unlocked the door, grabbed Shen Yiqiu’s collar, and pushed her inside.
As soon as the door closed, Shen Yiqiu was pushed against the coat rack, and Li Wan, her usual playful expression gone, looked at her seriously.
“What are you doing?”
“Shen Yiqiu, tell me honestly, who are you seeing right now?”
Shen Yiqiu froze, then shook her head. “I’m not seeing anyone.”
“Then how do you explain that man just now? Don’t tell me he’s your classmate, or just an ordinary friend. An ordinary friend wouldn’t be worried about whether you messaged him as soon as you got home, an ordinary friend wouldn’t care if you were properly covered with a blanket, and an ordinary friend wouldn’t be concerned about your safety at home alone.”
Shen Yiqiu sighed, her cousin’s drunken ramblings had been overheard.
Shen Yiqiu bit her lip, hesitant about what to say, when her phone started ringing incessantly in her pocket, the sound piercing the silence of the apartment.
Shen Yiqiu awkwardly took out her phone and, seeing her cousin’s name on the screen, inwardly groaned.
She hesitated, not answering the call, and Li Wan looked over, seeing the character “Yuan” flashing on the screen, her annoyance growing.
“Answer the phone.”
Shen Yiqiu had no choice but to answer. Before she could even speak, the person on the other end started chattering.
“Xiao Qiu, what’s going on? Are you home yet? It’s been so long, why haven’t you messaged me to let me know you’re safe?”
“I…”
“You child, you promised, and you didn’t even do it. Do you know how worried I was? I asked you to move in with me, and you refused, now I have to worry about your safety every day, living alone like this.”
“No, actually I…”
“Aiya, stop with the excuses, you just don’t care about me, that’s why you ignore everything I say. I know you think I’m nagging, all young people your age are like that. Just consider moving in with me, so I can see you every day, then I can finally relax.”
Li Wan heard everything clearly. A man’s voice, definitely much older than Shen Yiqiu.
Oily, incredibly oily. Thinking he could deceive a young girl with a few sweet words and expressions of concern? His true intentions were finally revealed, wanting Shen Yiqiu to move in with him. Such a delicate flower, how could she be subjected to such a thing?
Infuriating! This is absolutely infuriating!
Li Wan couldn’t tell whether she was more angry at Shen Yiqiu for going out with someone so late at night, or at this disgustingly oily older man. Without hesitation, she snatched the phone.
“Listen, calling a young girl this late at night, saying these things, aren’t you disgusted with yourself? This isn’t concern, this is harassment!”
Yuan Qi had a headache and had forced himself to call Shen Yiqiu, just to make sure she was safe before going to bed. The sudden angry outburst on the other end startled him, sobering him up slightly.
“Who… who is this?”
Li Wan, hearing his surprise, scoffed. “I’m Shen Yiqiu’s older sister. Don’t think she’s some helpless orphan with no one to care for her, there are plenty of people who love and cherish her!”
Shen Yiqiu’s face flushed crimson with embarrassment, but Li Wan’s hand was firmly on her arm, preventing her from struggling too much.
Yuan Qi immediately knew it wasn’t Qin Qianrou’s voice; that tone couldn’t possibly belong to that ice queen.
Even after years of no contact, he couldn’t forget Qin Qianrou’s chillingly indifferent tone.
“I haven’t heard Xiao Qiu mention having so many older sisters, I’m starting to worry about my Xiao Qiu, suddenly having an unidentified woman by her side so late at night.”
Yuan Qi’s shamelessness surprised Li Wan. She had thought he would have some sense of decency and hang up.
Now she understood why Xiao Qiu had been entangled with him. A naive university student wouldn’t be able to resist such a shameless person.
“Then let me formally inform you, you are to stay away from Shen Yiqiu from now on. She’s just barely an adult, so you better keep your dirty thoughts to yourself. If I find out you have any inappropriate intentions, don’t blame me for being ruthless.”
Yuan Qi’s long-dormant memories resurfaced tonight, amplified by the alcohol, his senses heightened.
This tone, this aura, it seemed so familiar…
Yuan Qi’s soft chuckle sounded like mockery, like a challenge, to Li Wan.
She gritted her teeth and glared at Shen Yiqiu, as if asking, Where did you pick up this pest? No wonder Qin Qianrou had repeatedly told her to look after Shen Yiqiu before leaving.
At the time, she had jokingly said Qin Qianrou was becoming more and more like a parent, worrying unnecessarily. Now she understood, Qianrou’s worries hadn’t been unfounded.
She was about to launch another, even more forceful attack when the man on the other end suddenly changed his tone, a hint of amusement in his voice as he said, “Li Wan, after all these years, you haven’t changed at all.”
Li Wan: ???
She remained silent, and Yuan Qi, anticipating her reaction, stopped beating around the bush and revealed his identity. “It’s me, Yuan Qi.”
My god, the sudden appearance of this long-forgotten name startled Li Wan.
Her hand, holding Shen Yiqiu’s arm, loosened in surprise, and Shen Yiqiu, her face flushed, was finally free, but the chances of retrieving her phone seemed slim.
“You… when did you come back?” She had heard Qin Qianrou asking about him recently, but she hadn’t expected him to actually appear.
“I’ve been back for a while, I didn’t expect to have a reunion with you over the phone.”
Yuan Qi sighed, and so did Li Wan. However, this wasn’t the main point.
The main point was that Yuan Qi had returned to Meng City quietly, without contacting any of his old acquaintances, yet he had somehow become close to Shen Yiqiu.
Was he trying to get revenge on the Qin family? Then why take such a roundabout approach? He should settle his scores with the person involved, what did this have to do with Shen Yiqiu?
Her guard was up again, she wasn’t interested in reminiscing with Yuan Qi.
“Yuan Qi, I’m happy to hear from you again.” She paused, then said seriously, “But I still stand by what I said earlier, Shen Yiqiu is still a child, you should know your boundaries.”
Knowing he was an acquaintance, her tone was slightly more polite this time.
Yuan Qi, however, couldn’t help but burst out laughing, almost infuriating Li Wan.
“Yuan Qi, don’t think I’m joking.” Li Wan enunciated each word carefully, feeling that the once pure and bright young man had also been tainted by the passage of time.
Even his… preferences seemed to have changed.
Shen Yiqiu, afraid Li Wan might throw her phone off the balcony in anger, held out her hands protectively, wanting to take it back, but not daring to. This was a gift from Jiejie after she was discharged from the hospital, it mustn’t be damaged.
“Li Wan, you’ve been at the TV station for too long, all you think about are news stories.” Yuan Qi’s calm and unconcerned tone was infuriating.
Before she could explode, Yuan Qi casually said, “I’m Shen Yiqiu’s cousin, if I don’t care about her, who will?”
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