Chapter 17: Qin Sui’s Waterloo
Chapter 17
Sheng Jun was at a loss for words, then proceeded to educate him: "You still can\'t talk like that. It\'s disrespectful to the little girl."
Sheng Yuxiao didn\'t respond to his father\'s words.
In his heart, he was actually considering taking Li Xiaoya away from that small mountain village... but it wasn\'t the right time to say that.
Li Qingqing, standing nearby, was also very anxious. She hadn\'t expected Sheng Yuxiao to care so much about Li Xiaoya.
She lowered her head, hiding the changing emotions in her eyes, then softly asked, "Did brother get hurt protecting Li Xiaoya?"
Sheng Yuxiao sat back on the bed, glancing sideways at Li Qingqing. His tone turned cold, a stark contrast to his previous anxiety: "Who told you that?"
This cold, even slightly superior tone immediately reminded Li Qingqing of Xu Qiulai.
This mother and son were equally arrogant.
Li Qingqing\'s heart tightened as she said, "That\'s what everyone is saying."
Sheng Yuxiao suddenly turned to look at Sheng Jun: "Do you think so too?"
Sheng Jun shook his head: "That\'s your own business. What does it have to do with the little girl? Of course, if you really did protect her, that\'s a good thing. It shows you\'re finally growing up a bit, having a sense of responsibility and knowing to protect the weak."
Sheng Yuxiao\'s expression softened a little, and he asked Sheng Jun in return: "Then are you willing to let me go back and continue protecting the weak?"
Sheng Jun said, "First, call your mother. She\'s very worried about you."
Sheng Yuxiao paused for a moment, then immediately asked the staff for a phone.
As he dialed Xu Qiulai\'s number, while waiting for her to answer, he didn\'t forget to turn back to Li Qingqing and say, "Don\'t call me brother."
Li Qingqing clenched her hands, almost unable to control her expression.
She could only turn to look at Sheng Jun, hoping the mild-mannered and elegant Mr. Sheng would speak up for her. But Sheng Jun didn\'t say anything, just beckoned to her, and then the two of them walked out of the hospital room, leaving Sheng Yuxiao alone to talk with his mother.
"This is just Yuxiao\'s temperament. He\'s always drawn clear lines between people, not allowing anyone to cross the boundaries he\'s set," Sheng Jun said.
[What a godly father! So tolerant of his son\'s personality and preferences]
[Actually, it\'s good that Young Master Sheng is like this. When he grows up, he won\'t become a player, and he won\'t break girls\' hearts]
[+1, I hate those men who can\'t control themselves whenever a girl calls them \'brother\'. Why make so many \'sisters\'? *rolls eyes*]
[Li Qingqing seems a bit tactless]
[Well, she\'s young]
Li Qingqing, trying her best to control her trembling body, asked Sheng Jun, "Then what should I do for brother to like me?"
Sheng Jun narrowed his eyes slightly: "Why do you insist on him liking you?"
Li Qingqing felt flustered under his gaze, but she still maintained a careful, pitiful expression and said, "I hope everyone likes me. I\'m afraid... afraid of people not liking me."
[Oh, so it\'s a people-pleasing personality? That\'s quite pitiful]
Sheng Jun nodded: "I understand how you feel, but... given Yuxiao\'s personality, it\'s probably very difficult."
Why? Li Qingqing gritted her teeth secretly.
Meanwhile, Xu Qiulai quickly persuaded her son: "It\'s best to let the wound heal until it\'s no longer visible before you go back."
"Mother, I\'m not that weak."
"Have you considered Li Xiaoya?"
"What do you mean?"
"When you were injured, she must have been very upset, perhaps blaming herself. If you go back now, your visible wounds will be a constant reminder to her that you were hurt. Have you considered how heartbroken she would be?"
"..." Sheng Yuxiao sighed, "I understand. I\'ll heal up before going back. But that idiot Qin Sui, he can\'t take good care of Li Xiaoya at all."
Xu Qiulai didn\'t correct his choice of words, only reminding him of one thing: "In the years before you came, Li Xiaoya made it through on her own."
Sheng Yuxiao was at a loss for words.
After a while, he couldn\'t help but say, "I just care about her, that\'s all."
"Has your father arrived?" Xu Qiulai asked.
"Yes, and he brought a kid with him. It\'s so annoying, she keeps calling me brother."
"Be a gentleman to girls." Xu Qiulai paused, then continued, "If you\'re really worried, ask your father to buy some gifts for you to take back to Li Xiaoya. She\'ll be very happy."
Sheng Yuxiao finally relaxed completely: "Mother, I understand."
He put away the phone and no longer mentioned going back.
At this point, the audience was also stunned.
[Madam Xu\'s tactics are impressive]
[She\'s so good at persuading people]
Soon after, Sheng Jun returned.
Sheng Yuxiao roughly conveyed his mother\'s message to Sheng Jun.
Even for a big shot like Sheng Jun, after hearing this, he just smiled good-naturedly and said, "Alright, I\'ll go buy them. What do you want to send to Li Xiaoya?"
"New clothes, new shoes, she should have a hat or two, otherwise her ears will freeze when winter comes. New umbrellas, buy two. Her lunchbox needs to be replaced too. Install electric lights for her, she should have a heater, right? New stationery, new schoolbag, that cloth bag of hers is all washed out and has holes..."
Sheng Yuxiao leaned lazily against the headboard, rattling off his list.
Sheng Jun listened with a throbbing vein on his forehead: "Are you trying to move an entire street to her?"
"Just two stores will do."
"..."
Although Sheng Jun was speechless, he still went to buy everything his son mentioned.
Of course, Sheng Jun didn\'t go shopping personally, but assigned the task to his subordinates.
Li Qingqing followed behind, still in shock.
Who was Sheng Yuxiao?
An invincible young lord.
Yet he could remember every detail, even that Li Xiaoya\'s cloth bag had holes, and cared so much about it!
The intense jealousy made Li Qingqing\'s earlier joy disappear completely.
The audience couldn\'t help but sigh:
[Sheng Yuxiao is a bit too doting]
[No way, he really cares about Li Xiaoya?]
[Uh, but he\'s so harsh to Li Qingqing... This, this, Li Qingqing was the one who made the exchange, after all]
[Li Xiaoya better appreciate Young Master Sheng\'s care]
[She appreciates it too much! Quick, go see Li Xiaoya\'s side]
Some confused audience members hurried over.
Li Xiaoya had just finished sorting different types of mushrooms and tidying up the eggs, then stared blankly at the large basket.
She rested her chin on her knees and mumbled softly, "Can\'t go to the city anymore."
[Oh right, Sheng Yuxiao said he\'d take her to town to sell mushrooms. Now that he\'s not here, um, why doesn\'t she ask Qin Sui?]
[Wait, look closely at the mushrooms she\'s sorted out. Chanterelles, porcini, termite mushrooms... These are all rare wild edible mushrooms! They sell for a lot in the market! And you\'re telling me the vegetable buyer only offered three yuan for these?]
[Ah, Li Xiaoya, don\'t sell them! Wait for young master Sheng to come back!]
The bullet comments were still buzzing with excitement when Qin Sui suddenly entered from outside.
The environment here was terrible, but for Qin Sui, it wasn\'t unbearable yet. He had found a large rock outside to sit on and read for the entire afternoon, until his stomach growled with hunger.
"Where do you eat?" Qin Sui asked.
Li Xiaoya looked up at him and pointed to the ground beneath her feet.
Qin Sui frowned. Eat right here? He had never experienced such a poor dining environment in his life.
"What do we eat?" Qin Sui asked again.
Li Xiaoya told him: "You have to find your own food."
Qin Sui suddenly felt a sense of absurdity. "Find it myself?"
Li Xiaoya didn\'t say anything more, only leaving him with a view of her cold but fluffy head.
The bullet comments were shocked:
[She\'s really ignoring Qin Sui completely!]
[Li Xiaoya, you\'re doing Sheng Yuxiao proud. If he knew you weren\'t giving Qin Sui any face, wouldn\'t he be thrilled?]
[Come to think of it, is this the first Waterloo in Qin Sui\'s smooth-sailing life?]
For Qin Sui... it really was.
Although he had a gloomy personality, his personal charm had always been strong, with many followers around him. Otherwise, how could he compete with Sheng Yuxiao?
When Qin Sui came, he had good intentions. He didn\'t plan to bother with anyone in the village, not being stupid like Sheng Yuxiao, taking care of some little girl...
But he didn\'t expect that the little girl wouldn\'t want to bother with him either.
Qin Sui frowned. Well, going hungry for a meal or two wasn\'t a big deal.
Soon, the moon hung on the treetops.
The little girl was crouching at the doorway, counting... money in the moonlight?
Qin Sui walked over and asked, "Is this your money? Or money given by the show? Can\'t we use money to buy food?"
Li Xiaoya didn\'t even turn her head: "No."
Qin Sui changed his approach: "What if I borrow it? I can pay you back tenfold."
Li Xiaoya was unusually firm: "No, I can\'t afford to feed you." She paused, then said: "This money is for taking care of Sheng Yuxiao."
Qin Sui\'s throat tightened.
[Hahaha, savage!]
[Qin Sui: Why do I suddenly feel a bit jealous of Sheng Yuxiao?]