Qiao Ying: "It's quite nice, just not very convenient."
Qin Hanyue: "What's not convenient? The transportation or something else?"
They were on the second floor at the moment. Qiao Ying was standing by the window looking at the streets and alleys outside. Upon hearing his words, she turned around and then laughed softly.
She didn't say anything, just looking at Qin Hanyue.
It made Qin Yan next to them feel uneasy.
Qin Hanyue didn't get an answer, but he could see that Qiao Ying was not very satisfied with this villa.
"If you don't like it, I still have several other properties around here that are vacant. We can go take a look," Qin Hanyue then said.
Qin Yan: You've become more fluent at lying, Sir. This villa was just purchased this morning.
When they came, Qiao Ying had taken a look around. This whole area was more or less the same.
There were many people here, but that was fine. When the time came, it would not be convenient for her to dispose of bodies, and the other party would also be deterred. She was out in the open while the other party was in the dark, so this geographical environment worked to her advantage, although she didn't really need it.
Qin Hanyue: "So this place is settled?"
Qiao Ying: "Mm."
Qin Hanyue glanced at his watch: "At this time, shouldn't we go eat dinner next?"
Qiao Ying declined and saw them out directly instead.
Before seeing them out, she handed a bank card to Qin Hanyue: "I bought this villa myself, Mr. Qin doesn't need to pay for it."
Qin Hanyue lowered his eyes to look at the bank card but didn't take it.
The card contained the tenfold compensation money that Li Shiyin's father had given to Qiao Ying, over 230 million yuan.
Qiao Ying went on to say, "If there's nothing else, I hope Mr. Qin comes here less from now on. If something comes up, we can contact each other by phone."
Her phone had been processed so that no one could wiretap it.
Presumably Qin Hanyue's phone was the same. Communicating by phone would be much safer for him.
Qin Hanyue didn't take the card. Not understanding why, he asked, "Is Miss Qiao trying to draw a clear line between us?"
Just yesterday she had called him to come help out at the school, accepted the watch he gifted her, and even had dinner together at night. But today she was telling him to come less often.
Qin Yan: Heartless.
Qin Yan interjected, "Miss Qiao, may I be so bold as to cut in—you and our Boss Qin are friends, aren't you? Why say something like this?"
Qiao Ying: "I'm not trying to distance ourselves. I'm thinking of Mr. Qin's safety. Mr. Qin has helped me so much, and I remember it all."
Qin Hanyue's expression gradually softened. "So you were thinking of my safety. I misunderstood Miss Qiao."
Qin Yan: And you just believed her?
Recalling the scene of Qiao Ying massacring people at the fighting ring, Qin Yan swallowed nervously. Believed!
Qin Hanyue reached out to push the bank card back into Qiao Ying's hand, his fingers brushing hers with a delicate, warm sensation.
With a faint smile, Qin Hanyue said, "Since I have such a good Miss Qiao remembering me, then please remember this villa too."
"Like I said, feel free to cause trouble however you want in the capital city. If you need me for anything, call me anytime." Qin Hanyue continued, "I can be responsible for my own safety. And if Miss Qiao needs it, I can also be responsible for your safety."
Qiao Ying looked at him without saying anything, seemingly lost in thought.
After a while, she took back the card and said, "Be careful yourself."
On the way back, Qin Yan remarked, "Young Master, could Miss Qiao have some enemies? With her fighting skills, she's being so cautious and even worried about your safety—this enemy must be quite formidable."
Qin Hanyue didn't respond.
Qin Yan asked again, "Do we need to arrange some manpower over there?"
Qin Hanyue: "No need. If she needs it, she'll tell me."
If he took matters into his own hands, it would more likely cause trouble for her.
Qin Hanyue added: "Send some extra men over to keep watch around her younger brother."
That very night, Qiao Ying rearranged the villa in several ways—stocking up on ordinary cold steel weapons which were easy to find, installing pinhole cameras and a full security system.
-
Two days later, Qiao Ying showed up at Principal Zhang Chengyong's house.
Zhang Chengyong had invited her to dinner many times, and finally succeeded this time.
He had specifically asked about Qiao Ying's tastes and went to the market himself early in the morning to meticulously select fresh ingredients, then came back and told the kitchen auntie to cook the best dishes with all her skills. He also bought piles of desserts and fruits.
When Xu Zhiyi and Xu Zhilǐ arrived, Principal Zhang was sitting on the sofa getting his head acupunctured and chatting with Qiao Ying.
Qiao Ying wasn't surprised to see the two brothers since Principal Zhang had mentioned he had two grandsons who also attended the school, and she had seen them before too.
So Qiao Ying had guessed it already.
"Qiao schoolmate." Xu Zhilǐ was very happy to see Qiao Ying.
He had specially dressed up a bit and changed his clothes before coming over.
Xu Zhiyi didn't talk much, and moreover he used to be a bit biased against Qiao Ying. All the way here he had been thinking about how to greet her, but still hadn't figured it out by the time they arrived.
He was just about to blurt out a customary "hello" when he heard his younger brother sidle up to their grandfather and ask, "Grandpa, is Dr. Ming here today? Does your head hurt again?"
Zhang Chengyong said, "He's not here today. Qiao schoolmate did it for me."
Xu Zhilǐ was shocked. "Huh?"
Only then did Xu Zhiyi notice those seven or eight needles poking out of his grandfather's head. He looked at Qiao Ying as well.
"These are my two grandsons I told you about, Qiao schoolmate," Zhang Chengyong enthusiastically introduced the brothers to Qiao Ying.
Very few professors at Peking University knew that the principal's grandsons were actually these two brothers. The other people who knew were Huo Chengdong and Su Qingyu.
The two brothers usually addressed the principal as "Principal" on campus like everyone else did.
This was at Zhang Chengyong's own request.
The Zhang and Xu families were also prestigious clans in the capital city. Especially Principal Zhang—his reputation was very high both as the Zhang family patriarch and as Peking University's principal.
He hoped that the two brothers would learn to be low-key instead of picking up the bad habits of those spoiled rich kids.
"Qiao schoolmate was the one who saved me when I fainted at the mall entrance last time and almost had a stroke," Zhang Chengyong told the brothers.
The two looked at Qiao Ying simultaneously.
Xu Zhilǐ was baffled. "Qiao schoolmate, you also know traditional Chinese medicine and acupuncture?"
Qiao Ying: "I know the basics."
Zhang Chengyong guffawed. "Don't be so modest. As an old-timer like me, I'm in the best position to vouch for your medical skills!"
Xu Zhilǐ blurted out, "But you're so young! Skillful traditional Chinese medicine practitioners are usually all old men in their 60s and 70s, right? Who did you learn it from? Do you have a master teacher? If you studied medicine, why didn't you apply for the medical school?"
Zhang Chengyong waved him off. "Stop asking so many questions."
Xu Zhilǐ shrank back.
Zhang Chengyong added, "As I told you guys, traditional Chinese medicine and mathematics aren't Qiao schoolmate's strong suits."
Xu Zhilǐ's face reacted dramatically again. "Mathematics isn't your forte either? You were the one who solved all those difficult problems on the school forum too!"
Xu Zhiyi had kept silent this whole time, just watching Qiao Ying.
Smiling, Zhang Chengyong asked Qiao Ying, "What do you think of my two grandsons here?"
Although Xu Zhilǐ didn't understand the specific implication behind his grandpa's words, he instinctively stood up straighter upon hearing that.
Glancing stealthily at his older brother as well.
Qiao Ying looked over the two brothers briefly before making her habitual, faint upward quirk of the lips. "Do you really want me to say it?"
Zhang Chengyong waved both hands hastily. "Never mind, forget it, forget it..."
He'd better not compare them to Qin Hanyue again, lest it crush the brothers' self-esteem.
Xu Zhilǐ thought to himself: That must mean we're both not that great?
Xu Zhiyi sat down on the sofa.
"Qiao Lingling said it took her two months to solve that math problem. Can you tell me how long it took you?"
That day at the lab, he clearly remembered Qiao Ying standing there writing solving steps over four whole blackboards nonstop.
With Qiao Ying's powerful brain, it probably didn't take her two months.
Qiao Ying took a look at Xu Zhiyi and answered truthfully:
"About 10 or 20 minutes?"
She hadn't deliberately kept track of time back then. She had also told Qiao Yi it was within half an hour, but she hadn't been fully concentrated on the problem either since she was still in her room and typed on the computer intermittently too.
Xu Zhiyi sucked in a light breath. "What... how long?"
Zhang Chengyong instantly sat up straight and stared at Qiao Ying.
