Chapter 113: Return to South City

“That’s good. I also spoke to the property management and asked them to keep a closer eye on things and not let any suspicious people near here,” Lu Qi’an said.

Cao Xiuhua was sharp; her grandson would not usually bother to warn her so carefully.

“What, are you going to make a move against the Li family?”

If something were not about to happen to the Li family, Old Madam Li would never have come here to trouble her.

Lu Qi’an shrugged. “It’s not that I’m going after the Li family. They’re the ones with ambitions. I’m only striking back. But not right now. Let’s see what they do next.”

Cao Xiuhua closed her eyes. “It’s hard on you.”

If Lu Qi’an and his grandfather did not get along, things would be much easier. He would not need to consider the old man’s face.

But the grandson and the old man were on good terms, and the old man was willing to protect that one from the Li family. Now that the grandson was in charge of the family, if the old man made things difficult for him over the Li family, then that would truly be...

Lu Qi’an did not mind. He would naturally still show his grandfather due respect, but that did not mean he would let those disgusting people run wild.

Besides, he was close with his grandmother as well, so it was only natural that he held no fondness for the Li family.

“Grandma, just rest and recover in peace. Don’t worry about me. I know what I’m doing.”

Cao Xiuhua knew very well what her grandson was capable of. Since he said that, she felt much more at ease and did not speak further on the matter.

After having lunch at his grandmother’s place and sitting a while longer, Qin Miaoyu and Lu Qi’an left.

In the car, Lu Qi’an asked Qin Miaoyu why she had suddenly thought of coming here to see her grandmother. After all, they had agreed a few days earlier that they would visit her grandmother over the weekend.

“I’m going back to Nancheng tomorrow. I haven’t seen Second Brother and Second Sister-in-law in a long time, so I thought I’d come to Grandma’s place a little earlier instead.”

Seeing the brighter-than-usual smile on Qin Miaoyu’s face, Lu Qi’an had a feeling there was something else going on.

“Something good happened with Second Brother’s side?”

“Mhm. Second Sister-in-law is pregnant. More than two months along.”

Lu Qi’an was also somewhat surprised. “That is indeed good news. I can’t get away for the time being, so help me bring a gift along when you go.”

Qin Miaoyu was a little surprised that Lu Qi’an and her second brother had become so close, but after thinking about it, she decided it was probably just the give-and-take of business relationships and agreed.

She had no idea that Lu Qi’an was planning something else in his heart.

Qin Miaoyu had Lu Qi’an send her to the studio. After arranging the follow-up work, she went home.

When Lu Qi’an saw the message Qin Miaoyu sent him, he felt a little helpless.

He had originally planned to have Qin Miaoyu take a gift for him as well, and his purpose was not merely to send congratulations.

Seeing how happy she was because her second brother and second sister-in-law were having a child, he understood one thing even more clearly: if he wanted things to go smoothly with Qin Miaoyu, then this “future brother-in-law” absolutely had to be won over.

Moreover, he had heard a little news that Liang Siyuan seemed to be looking for promising young men, as though he wanted to introduce someone to Qin Miaoyu.

So if Miaoyu brought his congratulatory gift to Liang Siyuan, Liang Siyuan would know that he and Miaoyu had been in contact again, and that their relationship was still quite cordial.

If that were the case, Liang Siyuan would probably slow down on the idea of introducing young men to Miaoyu.

Who could have predicted that plans would never keep up with changes? However well he had thought it through, he had never expected Miaoyu to return to Nancheng first...

Thinking of the people Liang Siyuan favored, Lu Qi’an rarely felt a touch of agitation.

If they had been like the ones previously chosen by the Qin family, they would have been easy enough to deal with. But the problem was that Liang Siyuan truly doted on Qin Miaoyu as though she were his own sister. The men he had his eye on were genuinely all quite good. If Lu Qi’an set aside his prejudice and looked at them fairly, he had to admit that they were indeed not bad.

But then again, Lu Qi’an wanted to win Qin Miaoyu back too.

After thinking it over, Lu Qi’an made up his mind.

Qin Miaoyu saw Liang Siyuan’s assistant as soon as she came out of the airport.

“Miss Miaoyu, are you going to Dongshan Villa?”

“Yes. Let’s go to Dongshan Villa.”

If she were going to stay in Nancheng for a while, she would have asked the driver to take her to the place where her second brother had lived before he got married. But this time she would only be in Nancheng for about a week. She was here mainly to visit her second brother and second sister-in-law, so there was no need to make the round trip.

When Qin Miaoyu arrived at Dongshan Villa, neither her second brother nor her second sister-in-law was there. They were both busy with work and usually did not get home until after seven on weekdays.

The villa maid led Qin Miaoyu to the room on the second floor.

When Qin Miaoyu opened the door and looked inside, she found it was exactly the style she liked.

Her eyes filled with a smile.

The maid said again, “The small room next door has been turned into a study, specially prepared for you, Miss Miaoyu.”

Qin Miaoyu’s heart settled all at once.

Although she had known her second brother and second sister-in-law for less than two years, she seemed to be experiencing once again what true family affection felt like.

After putting away her things, she went downstairs. The maid had already placed her favorite fruit and snacks on the coffee table.

“Please have these first to take the edge off your hunger, Miss Miaoyu. If nothing unexpected happens, Sir and Madam should be home by six-thirty today.”

“All right. You go ahead and take care of your work, Auntie. I’ll call you if I need anything.”

At six-twenty, the sound of a car came from outside the villa. Qin Miaoyu went to the door and saw her second brother and second sister-in-law sitting in the car as it drove in.

She walked out and gave each of them a hug after they got out of the car.

“Second Brother, Second Sister-in-law, it’s been so long!”

The two of them looked at Qin Miaoyu and smiled warmly as well.

Zheng Suning took Qin Miaoyu’s hand and led her into the villa.

“We told you to come back to Nancheng first before, but you refused. It’s been three or four months since we last saw each other, hasn’t it?”

Qin Miaoyu explained, “The studio was about to open, so I was eager to go see how things were going there. That’s why I didn’t come back to Nancheng first.”

When Liang Siyuan heard her mention the studio, he asked about how things were going there.

Qin Miaoyu gave a brief account and left out the troubles she had encountered.

But even without her saying anything, Liang Siyuan could tell something was off. If the studio had been running smoothly, his younger sister would certainly have had much more to say.

The more one spoke, the more likely one was to make mistakes. Since she had said so little, it was probably because she was afraid of bringing up other matters, so she simply chose not to say them at all.

He did not ask right away, planning instead to call his younger sister into the study later and have a proper talk.

After she finished speaking, Qin Miaoyu shifted the topic to her second sister-in-law’s pregnancy.

Zheng Suning was rather slim, and since she was still early in her pregnancy and exercised quite a bit as usual, there was not the slightest sign of pregnancy in her appearance.

“Does it feel tiring to be pregnant, Sister Suning?”

Zheng Suning shook her head. “Not really. I don’t feel much yet. My belly hasn’t even started to show, and I’m not experiencing morning sickness either, so it doesn’t interfere with anything I do.”