Chapter 73:

In April of the new year, the month-old celebration for young Shen Xuan finally took place, albeit late. While the parents bustled about, Shen Xuan lay in her stroller, face-to-face with her newly met older brother, both staring blankly at each other. Shen Xuan gazed vacantly at Shen Ning, her expression drowsy and confused.

Xiao Ning stood beside the stroller, holding Du Xinling’s hand, observing his little sister with a hesitant and curious expression. His hand, neatly clasped by his side, kept fidgeting, wrinkling his tidy little trousers, which did not escape Du Xinling’s notice.

“Hey kid, what’s on your mind? Why so nervous?” Du Xinling squatted beside him and asked.

Xiao Ning exhaled and cautiously glanced at his parents welcoming guests by the door before whispering to Du Xinling, “Uncle Du, is this really my little sister?”

“Yeah,” Du Xinling smiled. “What do you think? Is she pretty?”

Xiao Ning nodded vigorously, “Of course she’s pretty! How could my sister not be beautiful? She’s really gorgeous.”

Du Xinling suddenly felt playful and said meaningfully, “Since you think she’s so pretty, would you be willing to marry her when you grow up?”

Xiao Ning wasn’t Shen Qingzhou’s biological son, but the child’s understanding of such matters was still shallow. He only knew that an adult named Qi Zheng once tried to take him away from his father, without fully grasping the implications. So when Du Xinling asked this, he immediately frowned.

“Uncle Du, how can you joke like that? She’s my sister, and I’m her brother. How could I marry her?” Xiao Ning scolded him like a little adult, “Don’t say such things, or you’ll influence my sister.”

Du Xinling looked at him in surprise, “Wow, you actually know that.”

“Of course I do,” Xiao Ning scoffed and changed the subject, “Can I touch my sister’s face?”

Du Xinling stood up. His well-tailored trousers had wrinkled slightly at the knees from squatting. He nodded, “Sure, but don’t press too hard. Babies’ skin is delicate and easily hurt.”

Xiao Ning nodded slightly, cautiously reaching out to gently touch his sister’s cheek. The baby blinked, opened her mouth as if to bite him, and before he could react, his finger was in her mouth. She didn’t bite hard, nor did she hurt him, but she drooled quite a bit.

“Uncle Du, Uncle Du, give me your handkerchief. My sister drooled,” Xiao Ning quickly pulled his hand back.

Du Xinling took out his handkerchief while asking curiously, “How do you even know I have one?”

Without looking back, Xiao Ning took the handkerchief and said, “Of course I know. Last time that nurse was crying after being scolded by the head nurse, didn’t you wipe her tears? Oh, wait—” He suddenly turned to look at him, “You didn’t reuse it, did you?”

Du Xinling’s face darkened slightly, “You sure think a lot for your age. Don’t worry, it’s a new one.”

Hearing this, Xiao Ning grinned, obediently saying, “Thank you, Uncle Du.”

Du Xinling patted his head, then crossed his arms with a slight smile, looking around at the guests. He saw Shen Qingzhou and Lin Qiao welcoming people together, and looking at their pair of children, he felt a sudden longing for marriage. It was a strong feeling, so strong that his hormones went wild. The young girls attending the month-old celebration couldn’t flirt with the married man Shen Qingzhou, so their attention turned entirely to him.

After finishing his tasks, Lin Weiming went to Shen Qingzhou and took Lin Qiao aside. The father and daughter walked to a corner to whisper.

“What’s up, Dad?” Lin Qiao asked, puzzled.

Lin Qiao’s father replied, “Nothing much. You know Uncle Liu, right? The one in electronics? He has a daughter, twenty-five this year. She saw Xiao Du briefly when you and Qingzhou got married, and she saw him again today. She asked me to introduce you two.”

Lin Qiao blinked, glancing at Du Xinling, who was playing with Xiao Ning and Xiao Xuan, and asked, “Is it Uncle Liu who’s interested in Xinling, or his daughter?”

Lin Weiming couldn’t help but glare at her, “You silly girl, of course it’s his daughter! Uncle Liu is a man, and men can’t be together like that! Nonsense!”

Lin Qiao sighed helplessly, “That’s not what I meant, Dad. I meant, is it Uncle Liu choosing for his daughter, or did she choose Xinling herself?”

Lin Weiming looked slightly embarrassed and coughed lightly, “It’s his daughter. She’s too shy to come herself, so she asked you to help set things up. Be a dear, won’t you? After all, Mr. Du doesn’t have a girlfriend. He’s already grown up, so we’re just trying to help him out. You’ve seen Uncle Liu’s daughter before. She’s beautiful and a top student. They’d make a great match.”

Lin Qiao nodded, “Alright, but I need to talk to Qingzhou first. After all, Xinling is Qingzhou’s friend. He should know first before I approach him.”

Lin Weiming naturally understood her meaning and waved her off to go, then went to report to Uncle Liu.

Thus, this month-old celebration, though late, was a unique and successful event. Du Xinling, who had practically been Shen Qingzhou’s full-time caretaker, was summoned for a blind date. While he wasn’t against it, being a grown man, he felt awkward being introduced to someone like this.

Lin Qiao didn’t inquire further about the outcome of the blind date. Matters of fate were unpredictable. If they liked each other, they’d be together; if not, she wouldn’t force it. It wasn’t really her concern anyway.

After the month-old celebration for his daughter, Shen Qingzhou left Beijing for a distant trip because the court had uncovered new evidence against him. A real estate company in Zhoushan City was willing to testify for Xu Boqin, claiming that Shen Qingzhou had once made a verbal agreement with them. According to the agreement, if Xu Boqin purchased a piece of land there, Shen Qingzhou would receive fifty percent of the profits. Located near a scenic area, the land was valuable, and fifty percent was a substantial amount. This meant the fraud case had become even more serious.

Back home in Beijing, Lin Qiao couldn’t accompany Shen Qingzhou, but her heart remained with him. Every day, she called to inquire about the progress, checking if he had met the real estate company executive providing false testimony. She silently prayed for his safety and success, but fate wasn’t on their side. The company owner seemed to have vanished into thin air—nobody could find him except the court, making the situation very tricky.

Due to these unexpected developments, Shen Qingzhou extended his originally planned one-week stay in Zhoushan to two weeks. At home, Lin Qiao was busy taking care of the baby. The child was young and clingy, only allowing Lin Qiao and Xie Jiayi to hold her. Lin Qiao couldn’t even get a full night’s sleep—sometimes she had to get up at two or three in the morning when the baby woke up. As a result, she became increasingly exhausted, and dark circles under her eyes grew darker.

Xie Jiayi noticed her daughter-in-law’s fatigue. On weekends, she took over the baby’s care, encouraging Lin Qiao to go out and buy something. In reality, she hoped Lin Qiao would go out for a walk, clear her mind, and stop staying home worrying herself into exhaustion.

Understanding her mother-in-law’s intentions, Lin Qiao didn’t refuse. She changed clothes and headed out.

Because of Zhao Chunjun, Lin Qiao had stopped going to the nearby supermarket in her neighborhood and switched to a slightly more distant one. She originally thought this would prevent her from running into him, but although she didn’t meet him in the supermarket, she saw him on the road.

The red light was on, and Lin Qiao waited impatiently. A red light lasting a minute and a half made her restless, so she opened the car window and looked outside aimlessly. Her gaze fell on the person sitting in the car beside hers.

Zhao Chunjun was driving a spotless white Porsche, his window open, wearing sunglasses, gazing casually ahead.

Although Lin Qiao immediately looked away upon seeing him, Zhao Chunjun still noticed. When he saw the person in the half-closed window of the other car, he smirked slightly, removed his sunglasses, glanced at the remaining half-minute of red light, and leaned out the window to call, “Miss Lin, long time no see!”

Lin Qiao ignored him as if avoiding a plague, shutting her window and pretending not to hear. As soon as the green light came on, she quickly drove away. While driving, she kept checking the rearview mirror, watching for when the Porsche would turn off. For ten minutes, the car followed her closely, going wherever she went, showing no sign of turning elsewhere.

Lin Qiao began to suspect something. It seemed he was deliberately following her, no matter where she went.

Her mind racing, Lin Qiao quickly made a decision. She signaled and turned, speeding toward her home. The white Porsche behind her also turned, still showing no sign of stopping the tailing.

Lin Qiao grew anxious, her hands sweating on the steering wheel. She prayed desperately to get home soon—after all, Xie Jiayi was there. She believed that woman could handle any problem, even Zhao Chunjun.

It wasn’t far from her home, and she arrived in about ten minutes. She used her key to open the garage, parked the car inside, and immediately closed the garage door without getting out. After everything was secured, she took out her phone to call Xie Jiayi.

Unfortunately, whether Xie Jiayi didn’t hear or was too busy taking care of the baby, she didn’t answer.

Lin Qiao waited a while in the garage, thinking Zhao Chunjun must have left. She assumed he wouldn’t dare cause trouble right in front of her house. Besides, the house was equipped with surveillance cameras outside, so if he wanted to do anything, he’d have to think twice.

With this in mind, Lin Qiao got out of the car and cautiously approached the side door, peeking around the corner before slowly stepping out.

As she stepped out, she could see the entire scene outside—and to her shock, Zhao Chunjun was still there. Leaning casually against his car, he was watching her with a relaxed expression. When he saw her emerge, he waved and said, “Miss Lin, don’t be afraid. I mean no harm. I just want to talk.”

They weren’t far apart, maybe three or four meters, so she could clearly hear his words.

Lin Qiao stepped out from the side door with mixed feelings of doubt and caution. She frowned at him for a moment, keeping a distance of about two meters, and said, “I have nothing to say to you. There are cameras here, and my mother-in-law will come out soon. If you don’t want trouble, leave now.”

Zhao Chunjun was completely unfazed by her warning. With his hands in his pockets, he straightened up and slowly walked toward her, saying, “Trouble? Do you really think I’m afraid of trouble? The truth is, I am trouble itself.”

Lin Qiao truly hated him at that moment, but she couldn’t help agreeing with his words—Zhao Chunjun was indeed a big troublemaker.