CHAPTER 81: CHAPTER 77: WAITING FOR A CALL

Qiao Yuxian stayed at the Qiao Family’s house that night.

After dinner, she went to Qiao Lechu’s room and stayed with her for a while. It wasn’t until Chen Hui arrived that she left.

As soon as she stepped out the door, she saw Qiao Zhiang crouching outside.

Qiao Zhiang heard the noise and looked up at her. His big eyes blinked innocently: "Sis, is sister really okay?"

Qiao Yuxian squatted down too, looked at him, and softly said, "She’s really okay."

"Then why won’t you let me see her?" Qiao Zhiang pouted, a bit aggrieved.

Qiao Lechu came back wearing a mask, and Qiao Zhiang, being short, didn’t see the injury on her face.

Fearing to scare him, they hadn’t let him see her since.

"Sister needs to rest." Qiao Yuxian patted his little head and said, "Once she’s rested, she’ll see you."

"Bad people hurt sister." Qiao Zhiang’s little face turned fierce, "I want to avenge sister."

Qiao Yuxian smiled a bit, her eyes warm: "Then grow up quickly and protect sister."

"Mm!" Qiao Zhiang’s expression turned firm again, he patted Qiao Yuxian’s shoulder with his little hand, "I’ll grow up to protect you all, to be your support."

Qiao Yuxian chuckled.

"Finish your homework first, then we can talk about you being our support." Qiao Yu’s voice suddenly came from behind.

Qiao Zhiang flinched, turning to look at Qiao Yu, his little face immediately fell, losing all his momentum.

Qiao Yu had been there for a while, watching the siblings squatting at the door. He came closer, looked at Qiao Zhiang, then at Qiao Yuxian: "Do you need to change the bandages on your hand? We have medicine at home."

Qiao Yuxian glanced at the injury on her hand: "No need, it’s nothing serious."

"That’s good," Qiao Yu said, then looked at Qiao Zhiang, "When do you plan on doing your homework?"

Although it was a holiday, young Qiao Zhiang’s days were filled with tasks he needed to complete.

Qiao Zhiang lowered his head, shoulders drooping, as he trudged toward the study.

Watching his sad little back, Qiao Yuxian couldn’t help but smile.

Seeing her smile, Qiao Yu smiled too, "You’ve had a long day, go and rest."

"Okay," Qiao Yuxian replied, "Dad, you should rest early too."

...

Qiao Yuxian returned to her room and pushed the door open; inside was pitch black.

She hardly ever came back, but the room was always cleaned.

She didn’t turn on the light after entering the room. After closing the door, she leaned against it.

From standing and leaning against the door, she crouched down, and finally ended up sitting on the floor.

She leaned against the door, one leg stretched out, the other bent, her wrist resting on the bent leg.

Her gaze lowered, as if she merged with the night.

An aura of invisible pressure and danger surrounded her.

Like a leopard that had quieted down, yet remained ever vigilant to its surroundings.

Yet, it was filled with a sense of loneliness.

As if nothing in this world truly belonged to her.

After an unknown amount of time, the phone in her pocket buzzed twice.

Qiao Yuxian ignored it.

It wasn’t until much later that the phone rang, piercing the silence of the night.

She took out her phone and saw it was a call from Liu Zhou.

She answered the call without a word.

Liu Zhou spoke directly: "Sister Xian, everything has been resolved. Everyone who knows about it won’t appear in Capital City again, and they’ll keep their mouths shut."

The light from the phone illuminated Qiao Yuxian’s face. She stared ahead, her eyes lazy and indifferent, yet sharp as a blade, cutting through the darkness, looking down on everything.

"How about the Jiang Family?" Qiao Yuxian asked in a calm voice.

"Jiang Shouzhuo’s mother returned. The whole family is at the hospital," Liu Zhou replied, "People from the police station are also there, as well as Yuan Wei. He’s keeping a close watch, so nothing will go wrong."

"As for the Jiang Group..." Liu Zhou paused, "We hadn’t made a move yet, but the Gu Group struck first against them."

Qiao Yuxian’s eyelashes fluttered.

Liu Zhou continued: "They did it very discreetly. Everyone knows the Jiang Family was hit hard in just a few hours, but no one knows who they provoked. The Gu Family took ruthless measures, aiming to bring down the Jiang Family with one blow."

"Cover things up a bit," Qiao Yuxian said.

Though the actions were hidden, since Liu Zhou could discover it, others might too.

Although there shouldn’t be any major problems.

But since it involved Qiao Lechu, Qiao Yuxian wanted to erase every trace of it completely.

"Understood," Liu Zhou agreed, "There shouldn’t be any issues. It was because I thought of Gu Yan... Mr. Gu, that I traced it back to the Gu Group."

They hadn’t made a move, yet the Jiang Family was struck at this time.

Liu Zhou thought of the Gu Family first, which led him to uncover some clues.

"Let the Gu Group handle it," Qiao Yuxian’s voice was a bit hoarse, "We shouldn’t act, but be extra cautious."

"Understood," Liu Zhou replied.

After hanging up, Qiao Yuxian casually checked her messages.

She realized that nearly an hour ago, Gu Yanjing had sent her a message.

This was the first time Gu Yanjing had initiated contact with her.

She opened it.

Gu Yanjing: [Where are you tonight?]

Qiao Yuxian bent her other leg as well, the sense of loneliness around her fading slightly. She typed a reply on her phone.

[Here...]

After typing these three words, Qiao Yuxian deleted them, then directly made a call...

When Gu Yanjing received the call, he was drinking tea at the Chu Family’s house.

Chu Zhengran eyed this individual who had suddenly come to drink tea half an hour earlier.

After arriving, he only said, "I’m here to drink tea."

Hearing those three words, Chu Zhengran was stunned. He even checked the time, it was past nine.

At nine in the evening, someone came to his house to drink tea.

Then his tea cakes, worth seven figures, were opened.

After that, this person didn’t speak to him again.

Chu Zhengran, in home attire, exuded an elegant and gentle aura even more than usual.

Sitting across from Gu Yanjing, after trying multiple times to start a conversation without a response, he said, "Did your wife kick you out?"

Gu Yanjing glanced at him and ignored the comment, shifting his gaze to his phone on the side.

Chu Zhengran always had a good temper, especially since he knew Gu Yanjing so well. He chuckled, "Yanjing, I’m curious, what’s it like to be pressured into marriage?"

"I can let you experience it," Gu Yanjing finally uttered a sentence.

But the tone of this sentence was cold enough to be chilling.

Chu Zhengran took a slight breath, recalling the scene where his mother had matchmakers surround him, causing his head to throb.

But Gu Yanjing didn’t let him off and asked, "I’m also curious, what’s going on between you and that Miss Qin?"

Chu Zhengran’s expression froze for a moment.

Their gazes met across the tea table, as if sparking something between them.

And at that moment, Qiao Yuxian’s call came in.

Both looked at the phone.

Chu Zhengran saw the name "Qiao Yuxian" displayed prominently.

Then, he distinctly noticed the oppressive tension in the tea room dissipate.

Chu Zhengran: "......" Was waiting for a call necessary?