There were people living quite an ordinary life, while there were also some with power working in the government. Different people had different lives, but most of them would agree that in this world, keeping a low profile and being kind to others would never be bad things. Maybe you had suffered losses, but you would get repaid in the end. And those evil behaviors would also bring about retribution.
The owner of the Land Rover was lucky to come across Qin Sheng and Qin Ran, who were not arrogant coxcomb. If he had had a conflict with someone who was much more evil, the result would be probably unacceptable to him. What’s more, the situation today was special for Qin Sheng and Qin Ran. After all, tomorrow was New Year’s Eve and they were going to leave Xi’an. They wouldn’t stay long with Auntie Wang and Xin Xin, so they were unwilling to waste their time on these trifles.
But as for how the person that Qin Ran had called would deal with it, that was just another matter.
After they parked downstairs in front of the building of the Lin Family, Auntie Wang and Xin Xin got out of their car quickly. They first unloaded the goods for the Spring Festival they had bought today, while Qin Ran and Qin Sheng also unloaded the gifts they had carried for the Lin Family. Soon, stuff was piled up on the ground.
Qin Sheng was amused by them and said, “Auntie, how many things have you bought?”
“We’ll go visit some relatives during the Spring Festival, so we have to buy gifts. And Xin Xin has just come back the day before yesterday. We finally had the time to buy these things today.” Auntie Wang was explaining with a smile. She had been wondering these days where Qin Sheng would spend the Spring Festival this year. She’d been really worried about him, as he had not come back during the Spring Festival for a couple of years in succession.
Qin Sheng stared at Xin Xin and said, “Xin Xin, why did you come back so late? Are you dating someone?”
“I’d been waiting for you in Hangzhou!” Xin Xin pouted and complained, her eyes full of grievance. She had called Qin Sheng first, wanting to tell him that she wanted to take a trip to Hangzhou for a few days, but she couldn’t contact him. Then she called sister Lin Su, who had also not answered her call. At last, she contacted Hao Lei helplessly, finally finding out that Qin Sheng had gotten into trouble. But, Hao Lei wouldn’t tell her the details, so she could only go to Hangzhou to find Han Bing, and then kept waiting for Qin Sheng, until there was no news from him in the end. She had no other choice but to come back to Xi’an.
Qin Sheng rubbed her head and said, “Xin Xin, I’m sorry. Really!”
At this time, Qin Ran had already put the things away. Auntie Wang said helplessly, “What are you doing? I’m very happy that you come back. There is no need to bring so many things. It’s too inconvenient to take them.”
Qin Ran explained with a smile, “Auntie Wang, it’s not inconvenient. We want to express our gratitude to you. Compared with the kindness you’ve shown to Qin Sheng, these things are really nothing. If my father didn’t have so many things to deal with before the new year, he would have come here himself to express his gratitude. So, he can only come to Xi’an after the Spring Festival.”
Hearing what she said, Auntie Wang didn’t know what to say. She was happy, but also a little bit sad. Therefore, she just said they should go home first and then have a chat.
They all took some of these things, and finally brought everything upstairs. Of course, Qin Sheng had carried most of them.
When he entered the house, he was immediately overwhelmed by the familiar feeling that was so comforting. Qin Sheng lay leisurely on the sofa and sighed. “It’s always feeling good at home!”
Every room had been cleaned up. The living room and dining room were decorated with ornaments full of the festive atmosphere. There were the Chinese character “Fu” and paper cuttings on the windows. Several small lanterns were also hanging in the balcony.
It had been years since the last time he’d spent the Spring Festival at home. He felt really comfortable with this familiar feeling, so what he had just said was heartfelt.
However, Qin Ran, Auntie Wang, and Xin Xin had different feelings at his words. Auntie Wang and Xin Xin surely felt relieved. After all, they had lived together for 20 years, and had a great affection for him. Well, Qin Ran just sighed, as she could see that during the time that Qin Sheng was in Beijing, he had never regarded that siheyuan as his home, as if he were just a guest. But, when he came back to the Lin Family, his affection for this place naturally showed. But Qin Ran was not upset. Anyway, it was not long since Qin Sheng had come back to the Qin Family. He just needed time to adapt.
After putting the stuff down, Auntie Wang warmly served them all kinds of food, while Xin Xin also poured tea for Qin Sheng and Qin Ran. Qin Ran was a guest, so she just took everything politely. But Qin Sheng was family and he wouldn’t let them serve him, so he hurriedly stood up and helped Auntie Wang.
After finishing these things, they finally could sit down and chat freely. Auntie Wang and Xin Xin stared at Qin Sheng and Qin Ran, not knowing how to start.
Qin Sheng was amused by them and said, “Auntie, just ask me what you want to ask directly. I know you have a lot of questions. I’ll tell you everything you want to know.”
Auntie Wang asked tentatively, “Sheng’er, are the two of you really siblings?”
Qin Sheng smiled. He looked at his sister and said, “Yes. We have the same parents. Auntie, you must be curious. I’ve been living with my grandfather when I was little, but you have never heard about my other family and always thought that I’m an orphan. But now, I suddenly have a sister. Well, you are not the first one who is surprised by this fact. When I was told this, I just couldn’t believe it. Later, I got to know that it was related to some feud of our family with other people in those years. I was born in Beijing and our family has been living in Beijing for generations. When I was a kid, a misfortune happened to our family, so my grandfather took me to Xi’an to take refuge. He never told me anything about our past, even when he was dying. It seemed that he wanted to totally forget about everything from before. But, my family never stopped looking for me in these years, until they finally found me not long ago, and we recognized each other.”
“Oh, I see. I was just curious about how you could have a sister. I thought that she was probably your new girlfriend!” Auntie Wang now understood everything, so she just blurted it out. But then she immediately realized that it was inappropriate to say that.
As expected, Qin Ran smiled and asked, “Auntie Wang, how many girlfriends did Qin Sheng used to have?”
Auntie Wang looked at Qin Sheng with an expression of being sorry, not knowing how to answer her. She wished that Qin Sheng wouldn’t blame her. She hadn’t said that deliberately.
Xin Xin didn’t think that was a big deal and said innocently, “Sister, you should ask him yourself!”
Qin Ran had never asked Qin Sheng about his love life. She only knew that his girlfriend right now was Lin Su. Although she was also clear that he also connected with several other women, she had no idea what kind of relationship they had. Therefore, in this situation, she just stared at Qin Sheng playfully.
Qin Sheng immediately said, “Sister, let’s not talk about this now.”
Auntie Wang also tried to help Qin Sheng get out of this, saying, “Sheng’er, then you’ve been in Beijing all this time? Will you settle down there?”
Qin Sheng said, “Yes. I will stay in Beijing during this period, but for the future, I haven’t decided yet.”
Xin Xin glared at Qin Sheng and asked, “Then why did you disappear without telling us? I asked Brother Lei, but he wouldn’t tell me.”
Qin Sheng said with a sigh, “Something happened at that time, and I had to leave Hangzhou, as did Lao Chang and Hao Lei. If my family hadn’t found me, I might still be wandering around or have gotten into big trouble. And later, I just surprisingly met my family. I thought I was an orphan, so I needed time to accept these changes. That’s why I haven’t come back until today.”
Auntie Wang pulled Xin Xin and said, “Xin Xin, don’t blame your brother. He’s had a hard time outside, and many things are not like what you are thinking.”
Qin Sheng was moved by Auntie Wang, and Xin Xin also mumbled, “Mom, I know you care about him the most. I didn’t really mean it. Of course I know that he has had a hard time outside in these years.”
In order not to make Qin Ran feel left out, Auntie Wang turned to look at Qin Ran and was about to ask her some questions, but she just didn’t know how to address her. Qin Ran was smart enough to get that, so she immediately said with a smile, “Auntie Wang, you can just call me Ran Ran. From now on, we are all family. I will treat you the same way as Qin Sheng. You are also my auntie, and Xin Xin is also my sister.”
Like Qin Ran had said, regarding what Qin Sheng owed the Lin Family, he might not be able to repay it all within a short time, so she would help him repay it.
“Sister, besides sister Lin Su, you are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met,” Xin Xin said cleverly with a smile.
Qin Sheng intended to expose her lie and said, “It seems that you’ve said that to a lot of people!”
“What did you say?” Xin Xin asked angrily.
Qin Sheng immediately looked up at the ceiling and said, “Eh? What happened? I don’t know.”
Qin Ran was made speechless by them, but she could tell that Qin Sheng and Xin Xin really had a deep affection for each other. Apparently, Qin Sheng was less close to her, so she needed to do her best to draw Xin Xin over to her side. Then she could ask her about Qin Sheng’s history.
Auntie Wang ignored the fooling around between Qin Sheng and Xin Xin, and continued to ask, “Ran Ran, who else is in your family?”
In order to make Auntie Wang at peace, Qin Ran would tell everything about the Qin Family to her, because she knew that Auntie Wang would surely worry about Qin Sheng when he went back to Beijing, afraid that he might be treated badly there.
“Auntie Wang, you knew my grandfather, so I won’t talk about him. My father has his business in Beijing, and he has made some achievements, but he is actually just a businessman.” Qin Ran started telling them about the Qin Family. If Qin Changan could hear what his daughter had said about him, he would feel really sorry for himself, as his daughter didn’t think highly of him at all.
Qin Ran continued, “My mother died when Qin Sheng and I were little. And that’s why my grandfather took Qin Sheng away.”
Auntie Wang and Xin Xin were shocked to hear that. At the same time, they also felt sorry for Qin Sheng and Qin Ran.
“I also have an Eldest Uncle, who used to work in the government, but afterward, he became a monk. My First Lady went far away to Canada, and hasn’t come back during these years. About my mother’s home, my Grandpa died a few years ago. My Grandma is in poor health. I have an uncle who serves in the army and a Small Aunt who got married in Shanghai. She has been taking care of my Grandma all the time.” Qin Ran spoke truthfully. It was a simple introduction of the family, but whoever heard that would immediately realize that her family was not common at all.
“It sounds complicated.” Auntie Wang smiled bitterly, but she could think it through. After all, the Qin Family had lived for generations in Beijing, which was the capital of the country.
Qin Ran was afraid that Auntie Wang would misunderstand her, so she continued saying, “Actually, my family members are all good people. They’ve been worried about Qin Sheng all these years. So, Auntie Wang, you don’t need to worry about him. When he goes back with me, no one will give him a hard time. If it still bothers you, you could go to Beijing later and take a look for yourself.”
“It does not bother me. It’s just that this kid has suffered so much in these years…” Auntie Wang said sorrowfully, but then she realized that what she said might spoil the mood, so she stopped talking right away.
Xin Xin changed the topic at the moment and said, “Brother, are you still going back to Beijing? It’s been years since the last time I spent the Spring Festival with you. And you also owe me a lot of lucky money!”
Hearing her words, Qin Sheng found it hard to tell her the truth, but he still gritted his teeth and said, “Auntie, Xin Xin, I might not be able to spend the Spring Festival with you this year either. We have to go back to Beijing tomorrow morning, but I’ll be back right after the festival, because it’s time to solve the case of Uncle Lin.”
Auntie Wang and Xin Xin were feeling upset upon hearing that Qin Sheng had to leave tomorrow morning, but their attention was immediately drawn by Qin Sheng’s last words.
“What does that mean, brother?” Xin Xin asked subconsciously.
Qin Sheng narrowed his eyes and said while gritting his teeth, “Those who have framed you when I was not at home, I have remembered them all. I had no power before, but now, I’m going to make them pay the price!”