Perhaps it was because of Qi Weiran's words, or perhaps for some other reason, Yi Qingju eventually agreed to it.
Then, as evening approached dinnertime, she noticed that someone had added her to V Message, which she hadn't had a new contact on in ages.
"Huh?"
"What's wrong?"
Her sudden exclamation drew the attention of Qi Weiran, who was walking beside her.
Yi Qingju looked up and realized that Qi Weiran had been standing beside her at some point, and the two of them had stopped on the stairs.
She thought for a moment, then handed him her phone. "Sir, someone has added me on V Message."
Qi Weiran leaned towards her and looked at her phone.
The profile picture was a rabbit eating a carrot, with the username 'Frosty Icy Yu'.
"I think it's Miss Yu," she analyzed.
Then she looked up at Qi Weiran and asked, "Sir, are you familiar with Miss Yu? What kind of gift would be appropriate when I meet her?"
Qi Weiran immediately grew serious. "Not acquainted, not familiar, never had contact."
Three sentences, his attitude was extremely cold.
Yi Qingju blinked.
[Why are you so worked up? I was just asking casually. Don't tell me you two used to have a thing. If I'm not mistaken, Miss Yu is around your age, isn't she?]
Qi Weiran swore there was nothing, at most he had rejected her love letter in high school.
Of course, that was something he wouldn't say.
So Qi Weiran, as steady as an old dog, changed the subject. "I don't have your V Message."
Yi Qingju's attention was immediately drawn to this. She smiled gently, her eyes sparkling. "Sir, but you have my phone number. More than V Message, I hope you'll call me so I can hear your voice."
[I don't want to have to block you again in the future when I post on my Friend Circle.]
Qi Weiran deadpanned, "Phone calls are expensive."
Yi Qingju: "???"
[Are you kidding me? Aren't you the owner of Hua Country's largest telecommunications company, not me?]
"For convenient communication regarding work in the future."
Hearing this, Yi Qingju obediently showed him her QR code.
[I may be a difficult catch, but I can't be a stubborn donkey.]
The degree to which Qi Weiran was speechless when he saw Yi Qingju's username reached its peak.
'Monkey Butt in the Mountains.'
Qi Weiran: "......" He had discovered that animals were an inseparable part of Yi Qingju's life.
"Oh my, what are you two lovebirds chatting about over there so heatedly? Come eat dinner quickly." Auntie Zhang glanced back and forth between the two of them teasingly.
Qi Weiran: Love, donkeys, monkeys, and fish.
"Don't talk nonsense, Auntie Zhang." Yi Qingju lowered her head in feigned modesty.
Then she said to Qi Weiran, "Sir, let's go eat."
After dinner, Yi Qingju accepted the friend request from the supposed Yu Mu.
But after accepting, the other person didn't send her a message, and Yi Qingju soon forgot about it.
"Qi Weiran is probably in the study. At this time, I should go serve him tea to show my care." She mumbled to herself.
But when she opened the door, she nearly bumped into something.
She took a closer look—
A little bundle dressed in a frog onesie was crouched by her door, hugging its knees. When it saw her come out, the little bundle looked up at Yi Qingju with pitiful grape-like eyes.
Yi Qingju promptly closed the door. "No way."
Qi Xinian: ?
"I haven't said anything yet!"
He stamped his feet in frustration, then tiptoed to press the door handle, pushing the door open himself.
Behind the door, Yi Qingju sat on the sofa, legs crossed and arms folded, looking at him sternly. "Out with it, what did you do this time?"
Qi Xinian pouted, plopping down on the carpet by her feet and hugging her legs. "I forgot to tell you something..."
"What is it?" She picked up the child and sat him on the sofa.
Pinching the soft onesie fur, Qi Xinian said in a small, embarrassed voice, "The teacher wants you to go to the kindergarten on Monday."
Yi Qingju's eyes widened. "You're already dating in kindergarten?!"
Qi Xinian grew indignant upon hearing this. "It's not because of that!"
"So you did do something wrong," she said coldly.
The originally arrogant bundle immediately lowered his head.
"What did you do? Did you get into a fight with classmates or make a girl cry?"
Qi Xinian shook his head. "Neither... It's about studying."
Yi Qingju was taken aback. His level was advanced enough to breeze through elementary school, so how could there be a problem with his studies? But truthfully, she had been too busy lately to pay much attention to him.
Feeling guilty, she pulled the child into a hug and kissed his soft cheek. "What happened?"
Qi Xinian took the opportunity to hug her neck and said in a firm tone, "If I tell you, you're not allowed to blame me, woman."
Yi Qingju: "...What kind of nonsense TV show have you been watching again? Don't worry, I won't blame you."
The little bundle let out a sigh of relief before finally explaining what had happened—
Apparently, during story time, he misread a word and made a mistake.
Yi Qingju frowned slightly. "Just this one thing?"
Wasn't the teacher overreacting a bit?
"How did you misread it?" she asked.
Qi Xinian looked at her, then said, "The book said: The fox finally revealed its flaw."
"How did you say it?" Yi Qingju shifted her body.
After a two-second pause, Qi Xinian said in a small voice, "The fox finally revealed its butt."
Yi Qingju: "...I'm not going."
She couldn't show her face after that.
Hearing this, the little bundle immediately clung to her neck and started wailing, "You can't do that! You promised me."
"I said I promised not to get angry!"
"Besides, why don't you ask Qi Weiran to go?" Yi Qingju said with a headache.
Qi Xinian sniffled and pouted, "It's too embarrassing."
Yi Qingju: ?
You know that too?
In the end, after much pleading, Yi Qingju agreed to this unreasonable request.
[But 'flaw' does kinda look like 'butt'...]
Qi Weiran accepted the tea she handed him, only to unexpectedly hear that remark.
"......" Whose butt was she talking about?
"Sir, have you figured out who tried to assassinate you?" Yi Qingju suddenly asked.
Qi Weiran didn't hide it from her. "Yes, it was Yi Bingmei."
Yi Qingju: !?
[What the hell, has she gone mad?]
[What is she doing, trying to salvage a hopeless situation or making a last desperate struggle?]
"How do you plan to deal with her?" she asked tensely.
[Shouldn't she get a hand chopped off or a leg broken?] If she remembered correctly, didn't the Qi family have ties to the underworld?
[Provoking the ruthless business tycoon would have horrific consequences!]
Qi Weiran glanced at her, his gaze stern. "I plan to—"
Yi Qingju unconsciously took a step forward.
"Use legal means to protect myself." The powerful, wealthy man who exuded dominance and authority uttered those words while calmly taking a sip of hot tea.
Yi Qingju: "...?"
