novelI Saw A Familiar-Looking Man Staring at Me Through the Window
| ← Ch.260 | Ch.262 → |
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Grandfather Qi huffed and threw the newspaper onto the coffee table, saying, "Can you two keep a low profile? You let the entire city know that you were getting a room! I went for some Taichi this morning and when people saw me, do you know what they said? They said, 'Hey Lao Qi, you should tell those youngsters to control themselves so they won't injure your great-grandson. ' Oh, the shame!"
He was so ashamed to bring it up that his entire face was red.
Song Yu's pregnancy was a piece of good news, even more so since the child was a boy. After three months, there was no restriction on letting outsiders know about it. The old lady resumed her plaza dancing and flaunted off the pregnancy to her neighbors. Practically everyone in the neighborhood knew that Qi Chengzhi's newly-wedded wife was pregnant.
"You're the one who's too sensitive and gets too easily embarrassed compared to others. This is a married couple getting a room, right? It's not like he got a room with some other woman. Why are you acting all ashamed for? Speaking of which, it's probably bad luck that the reporter caught a picture of them. As for that reporter, he's probably so bored that he didn't have anything better to do, but even so, why did he have to poke his nose in someone else's marriage? This is unacceptable. I'll make a complaint to the news company." As soon as she said that, she put on her presbyopia glasses, took out her phone, then dialed Han Zhuoli's number."Xiao Han, I want to ask you something. Do you have the number of Jingdu Daily's person-in-charge? Ah, okay."
The old lady hung up and said, "Xiao Han said he'll text me once he finds out."
She had just finished talking when Han Zhuoli messaged her with the phone number. It was a personal number that belonged to the boss of the newspaper publishing company.
In truth, the news was not actually that big of a deal, but since the old lady had made her decision, no one else attempted to stop her.
She held the phone and went into the room to give the old director a call.
Qi Youxuan sat alone in one corner with Qi Chenglin's phone in his hand. He pouted and seemed to mutter something to himself. It was the first time he was not watching some cartoon.
After some time, the old lady came out with the phone in her hand. As she walked, she asked, "Chenglin, Xiao Han just told me that you kicked him and Xiao Gui out of the group because of some girl?"
Qi Chenglin kept quiet.
It seemed that Han Zhuoli was becoming more and more of a loudmouth.
The old lady hurried over and sat down. She leaned forward excitedly and asked, "You've had your heart set on someone? Which family is she from? What's her name? Where is she living and what's she doing? Has Youxuan met her before? Is he satisfied with her? What kind of person is she? Does she have a good attitude? What about her character? Is she kind? She's not pretending to be nice to Youxuan right?"
Grandmother Qi was very anxious for Qi Chenglin to get married of course, but what made her even more worried was if the future wife did not treat Youxuan too kindly. If the stepmother treated Qi Youxuan badly, Qi Zhongxun and Guan Liya would not just sit around and let that happen. If worse comes to worse, they would be the ones to take care of Qi Youxuan. Nevertheless, being raised by one's own parents was a different experience, and the old lady was worried that Qi Youxuan might suffer childhood trauma. A child's hurt heart would not be easy to cure.
Her heart ached when she thought of Qi Youxuan. She turned to see that little boy sitting on a rocking horse all by himself in the corner. He was holding Qi Chenglin's phone and mumbling to himself.
Qi Chenglin looked at his son and said, "I can't answer you if you ask me too many things at once, Grandma. All I can say is, she is genuinely nice toward Youxuan. I can swear on my life."
The old lady was shocked. She did not expect Qi Chenglin to make such a firm statement. Saying that he could swear on his life was a very serious matter indeed. She looked at Qi Chenglin's solemn expression and felt surprised that he would take it that seriously. Her emotions were at crossroads: on one hand, she was worried whether the woman was as good as Qi Chenglin made her out to be, but on the other hand, she was glad that her second-eldest grandson had finally gotten rid of the single life.
Still worried, the old lady asked, "How about you bring her back for us to meet someday? You know that our family isn't like last time. We don't place too much importance on her background and whatnot as long as she's a good person."
"That's right, Chenglin. The most important thing now is peace in the family as well as Youxuan's happiness. If you like her that much and you're serious, then bring her home and introduce her to us. That'll also make her less worried, " Guan Liya added.
Qi Chenglin glanced at Qi Youxuan, who was typing on the phone and looked over to them.
Qi Chenglin then said, "Youxuan's talking to her right now. He may be young, but he's an exceptionally good judge of character. He wouldn't be so friendly toward someone who's just faking it."
Both the old lady and Guan Liya looked over. Qi Youxuan looked at them as well. He got off the horse and turned his back toward them immediately, as if they were going to take the phone away from him. Then, he began to whisper something into the phone.
He really was fond of that woman.
"As for the introduction, I'll definitely bring her back, but not so soon. I'll bring her over when the time comes." Qi Chenglin's voice was so serious that neither his mother nor grandmother dared to press on.
"What's her name and what does she do? You can at least tell us that, right?" Guan Liya sat in front of him and was desperate to find out more.
Qi Chenglin snickered."If I tell you, Grandma will definitely drag me to meet her."
"Why, you little— Is that how you think of your own grandmother?" The old lady's face was fierce, but the truth was that she felt very guilty.
Qi Chenglin smiled and said, "I just don't want to give her too much pressure, or else she'll get nervous."
"When did you become so understanding toward others?!" Guan Liya exclaimed in shock.
Qi Chenglin, "..."
Song Yu knew that Qi Chenglin was talking about Ruan Danchen, but did not expect him to be so serious. She turned around and looked at Qi Chengzhi in shock.
Qi Chengzhi simply smiled and held her hand.
The couple respected Qi Chenglin's decision not to mention her, at the same time, Song Yu also felt that it was too soon to be putting pressure on Ruan Danchen. It was only right that she kept quiet about it.
Since it was a failed attempt to get information from Qi Chenglin, the old lady turned to Qi Youxuan.
She went over and saw Qi Youxuan speaking with a woman on WeChat. However, the other party was using a nickname, and because the old lady's eyesight was not that good, she could not see it clearly.
Qi Youxuan had lightning-fast reflexes. Once he saw his great-grandmother leaning closer, he locked the screen immediately with his tubby fingers, showing rapid reflexes.
"This child. Why are you so much like your father? Always doing all sorts of sneaky things." The old lady looked helplessly at Qi Youxuan. She knelt down and asked softly, "Youxuan, have you met your dad's girlfriend yet?"
She did not expect little Qi Youxuan to pout his mouth in disdain. He lowered his voice and said covertly, "Great-Grandma, don't talk about it anymore. My dad hasn't even managed to get her yet. I heard everything you said just now and actually, it's not that he doesn't wanna bring her back. He can't bring her back."
The old lady fell silent.
She could not help but glance over to Qi Chenglin. He was born handsome, so why was it difficult to attract that woman?
"Then, do you like her?" the old lady asked a second question.
Qi Youxuan lowered his gaze and rubbed his fingers repeatedly on the phone screen. He twisted his barely noticeable waist and said bashfully, "Yeah. I want her to be my stepmother."
"What do you like about her? Is she good to you?" The old lady was feeling happy and worried at the same time. It was not easy for Qi Youxuan to accept a woman. Qi Chenglin's job would be easier but the old lady was still afraid that Qi Youxuan would be hurt. Then again, she thought about how Qi Youxuan really wanted Song Yu to be his stepmother. He may be young, but he had an excellent understanding of good and bad.
"Mm, she's really nice to me." Qi Youxuan got happy whenever he thought about it. His little face turned red and he looked very much like an apple."I actually think I look a bit like her. If you tell everyone that she's my real mom, everyone would believe it."
The old lady did not take his words too seriously. Ever since Qi Youxuan began to understand things, he set about on his quest to locate a suitable stepmother for himself. If he really did like the woman, then the power of suggestion may have had been at work there.
She patted Qi Youxuan's little round head and left him be.
...
...
On Monday, Qi Chengzhi brought Cheng Dongge along with Chang Lai for a business trip to Li City. The agenda was Qilin's movie-themed amusement park as well as the hotel.
Song Yu's parents were still finding it hard to accept Qi Chengzhi, and when he was present, he would insist on going back with her. Her parents though, would not let him in the house, so he would have to wait at the door for her, thereby increasing her anxieties. She decided that she might as well go home when Qi Chengzhi was not around, at least that would help Yu Qianying ease up on the anger, and Song Yu was able to try and coax her mother a little more.
Song Yu informed the old lady of her decision, and the old lady immediately ordered their driver to send Song Yu home.
Yu Qianying's mood was much better without Qi Chengzhi around but her attitude was still rather stiff. Although she was unable to accept it, she also could not bring herself to pull a long face. Song Yu was pregnant was Qi Chengzhi's son, therefore there was no way Yu Qianying could ask them to get a divorce.
The child inside Song Yu's stomach was not just Qi Chengzhi's son—he was also Yu Qianying's grandson. Yu Qianying felt at odds with herself. On one hand, she did not particularly enjoy the idea of Qi Chengzhi's son, but on the other hand, it was her grandson, and she could not bear to have those thoughts.
Leaving aside Song Yu's deep love for Qi Chengzhi, Yu Qianying knew that the Qi family would not just let them divorce, since Song Yu already had a baby and it was a boy. Divorce would be a headache with all that custody battles. The Qi family would never let go of the baby but Yu Qianying wanted to hold him as well. What if the court decided that the baby was to be given to the Qi family? By that point, she would definitely abhor any relations with the Qi family, so what about the baby then?
Moreover, Song Yu was practically inseparable from Qi Chengzhi. With a baby binding them, Yu Qianying felt unreconciled, unaccepting, and helpless.
She watched as Song Yu's stomach grew bigger day by day. The baby bump was becoming even more prominent, like a balloon slowly filling up. Yu Qianying felt that Song Yu's stomach was much bigger than the previous Saturday.
Song Yu went into the kitchen and watched Yu Qianying. A burst of fishiness entered her nose as soon as she entered and when she looked into the sink, she saw a bloody fish.
She pinched her nose and ran to the bathroom where she threw up in the toilet bowl.
Yu Qianying saw that and shouted for Song Donglin, "Lao Song! Watch the fire, I'll check on Song Yu."
She took a glass of water and went to the bathroom just in time to see Song Yu wiping her mouth with a paper towel.
"It's been four months. Why is your nausea still so strong?" Yu Qianying passed Song Yu the water so she can gargle.
"I just couldn't take the fishy smell." Song Yu finished gargling and drank a couple of mouthfuls to ease her throat. It had been quite painful when she vomited earlier."I'm okay with other kinds of seafood, but I just can't stand fish."
"Then what about the fish soup I gave you on Saturday? You couldn't drink it too, right?" Yu Qianying patted Song Yu's back.
Song Yu came out of the bathroom and walked into the living room but Yu Qianying's words caused her to freeze.
"I drank some but I couldn't take it toward the end." Song Yu's voice was becoming quiet, as she felt that she did not truly appreciate Yu Qianying's sincerity.
"What about the rest of it?" Yu Qianying cocked a brow.
"I let Chengzhi finish it." Song Yu's voice was even quieter than before.
Yu Qianying pursed her lips, knowing that such things were inevitable. She kept quiet and placed the fish back into the refrigerator.
...
...
Qi Chengzhi reached Li City. Earlier, Cheng Dongge had requested the company there to send over two cars, one of which would be driven by Chang Lai. That way, none of the employees from Li City would be beside them, thereby facilitating discussions in the car and preventing others from listening to them.
A piece of news caught Qi Chengzhi's eye when they were on the road: B City's police officers managed to cripple a group that smuggled unlicensed motor vehicles. A significant number of important figures within the group had been nabbed but the group's leader, Wang Qingyi—nicknamed 'Brother One'—was still at large, along with his assistant and a few other subordinates.
"Read this news." Qi Chengzhi passed his phone to Cheng Dongge, who was sitting on the front passenger seat.
Cheng Dongge read it and returned the phone. He made a call to ask about it without needing any further instruction from Qi Chengzhi.
After hanging up, he turned to Qi Chengzhi and said, "The police managed to round up the group two weeks ago, but they only made it public now. They had been very cautious all this while. The police tried to go undercover but they never managed to succeed. The reason they were caught this time was because of Jian Yi. Wang Qingyi found out and wanted revenge. He sent word that he wanted Jian Yi captured. Wang Qingyi knows that there's nothing left on the line. He's on the run and doesn't have resources, but even if he's resigned to being caught, the least of his wishes is to get revenge on Jian Yi. Jian Yi must have been warned by someone since he's gone into hiding now. He never resigned from the company that he was working for, but it's been a week since he last went to work. He didn't even go home, and no one knows where he is."
There was nothing Jian Yi could do anyway. The police honed in on him all of a sudden, and there was evidence that he bought the smuggled car. They not only took the car; they also wanted him to aid in police investigations, saying that it was the moral obligation of a citizen to do so.
Jian Yi needed only a moment to figure out that it was some goons that acted under Qi Chengzhi's orders. Qi Chengzhi might not have any evidence that that may have implicated Jian Yi in the accident, but he knew for sure that Jian Yi was behind it.
Jian Yi knew he could not talk since he would be done for if Wang Qingyi knew about it. It would not end well for him since betrayal was the one thing those people truly hated. Nevertheless, he could not stand the throng of uniformed policemen going to his house all the time.
The police stopped by his company as well as his home.
Neighbors began suspecting if he was up to no good. They knew he was hiding far away. He was not concerned with that though, since he did not deal much with those neighbors anyway.
The company suffered the most. Clients thought that the company was involved in some illegal business and the company's reputation was brought down. Their revenue suffered a steep decline and many clients were lost. Having had enough of all that, the company head told Jian Yi that his employment would be terminated if things continued that way.
Left with no other choice, Jian Yi cooperated. He originally wanted to just give them half-truths, but his bluffing skills were weak and paled in comparison to the police. In the end, he spilled the beans, allowing the police to track the clues and raid Wang Qingyi's den.
When the ruckus erupted, Jian Yi went into hiding without needing anyone to warn him.
Qi Chengzhi's vision sharpened and he nodded.
Qi Chengzhi was alone once he reached the hotel. He called Song Yu, who had just left her parents' house and was on the way back home.
"You've reached?" Song Yu sat in the back seat and looked at the mist-shrouded scenery through the window.
The mist was too thick, so the windows were shut and the air-conditioner was switched on instead.
"Mm, I'm already in the hotel room." Qi Chengzhi stood beside the window and looked at the scenery below."What are you up to?"
"Just visited my parents. Going back to our home now, " Song Yu said softly. She could not help but smile when she heard his voice, and deep down, she felt very comforted.
Qi Chengzhi felt warm when he heard her say 'our home'. He felt a peace of mind, and even his expressions turned warm. However, he still felt worried."You went alone? How did you go there?"
"Don't worry. I spoke with Grandma. She asked Xiao Fan to send me, " Song Yu said. The car stopped at a red light and was near the side of the road. Song Yu looked at the bustling flow of pedestrians.
"You're afraid that I'll wait outside if I follow you?" Qi Chengzhi smiled, knowing that he had made the correct guess.
"Mm. I'll feel uneasy if you wait outside. I can't stay long at home and I just feel like wanting to be with you outsi..." Song Yu said softly, but before she could finish her sentence, she saw a man beside the car. He was walking rather closely to the car.
It was a hot day, so the man wore short sleeves. However, he also wore a baseball cap that had the bill titled far downward. He wore a mask as well.
The car tint was not too dark, so those from the outside could still see clearly.
The man turned around and made eye contact with Song Yu through the window. Feeling startled, she noticed that the eyes looked familiar. Apprehension crept within her heart and she did not like the man's gaze at all.
Then, the man lifted his hand and grabbed his mask, pulling it down to reveal his nose bridge. He was going to reveal his entire face soon, but the red light turned green and the car sped away.
Song Yu looked back immediately and saw that the man was also looking at the rear of the car. He stopped his action of taking down his mask however, and after looking at the car for a while, he turned around and left swiftly.
"What is it?" Qi Chengzhi frowned after hearing a profound silence from Song Yu."What happened?"
"Nothing." Song Yu shook her head. She wanted to tell him that everything was fine, but after some thought, she decided to tell him because she did not feel too comfortable about hiding it from him."The car was close to the sidewalk at the red light just now. I saw a man standing outside the car staring at me through the window. He looked familiar but he wore a cap and a mask, so I couldn't see his face. I just felt that I knew him somehow but I didn't have a good feeling about him. He just kept staring at me as if he wanted to take off his mask. But the car sped off before I could see his face. When I turned back, he didn't take off his mask anymore. He just turned around and left."
Qi Chengzhi stared out the window and his expression sank. He frowned but didn't say much so as not to worry her."Since you didn't see his face, then just let it be. It's just a coincidence."
Song Yu nodded and answered him.
Qi Chengzhi made a mental note of the event and changed the topic so she would not dwell on it."How were Mom and Dad's feelings when you went back today?"
"Dad's still calm. Mom is getting better. She's not as angry as last time. She'll come around." Song Yu thought about it and smiled."I told her you drank all the fish soup that I brought home last Saturday. She didn't say anything about it."
Qi Chengzhi smiled and his expression softened. With one hand in his pants pocket, he said, "Be careful when you're at home. Take care of your body."
"You're coming back tomorrow, right?" Song Yu looked out the window and smiled."Don't worry. I'll be okay at home."
"I'm coming back tomorrow night. There's an officiating ceremony tomorrow morning to mark the start of the project. I'll show up for a while at the dinner party at night and leave after that." Having had enough of Li City's scenery, Qi Chengzhi went to the sofa and sat down. His thumb began caressing the joints of his middle finger.
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