Family House to Express their Gratitude
Qin Sheng liked the little Ke’er very much; she was cute, beautiful, kind, innocent, smart and considerate. If he had a daughter like her in the future, he would certainly spoil her and give her all his love.
However, it didn’t occur to him that Ke’er would live in the same street as him, which was a genuine twist of fate. Qin Sheng could not help sighing emotionally; a lot of things in life had been written in the stars. After some people met for the first time, they would be etched in each other’s mind for thousands of years. However, although some people had passed by each other for tens of thousands of times, they would not be necessarily connected.
“Brother, what’s wrong with you again?” Ke’er saw he was absentminded all of a sudden; she wondered what he was thinking about.
Qin Sheng stroked Ke’er’s hair and smiled as he replied, “If I tell you the truth, you may not believe it. We live in the same street. Don’t you think life is interesting?”
Ke’er burst into laughter as she replied, “Brother, I don’t believe you. I know. You’re just saying that so that I wouldn’t feel awkward. Brother, you are such a nice person.”
Knowing that the more he explained, the more complicated the situation would become, Qin Sheng gave up explaining directly and smiled. He said, “You will know why I said that later.”
Qin Sheng held Ke’er’s hands and Hao Lei pulled her suitcase while Chang Baji and Nan Gong walked behind them. Nan Gong didn’t ask anything about the little girl. However, she was curious about why Lin Su had not returned with Qin Sheng, wondering whether it was because Qin Sheng intended to stop her foster father from seeing his girlfriend in person.
On the way back to Dengshikou West Street, Chang Baji sat on the passenger seat, while Qin Sheng and Hao Lei sat on the back row with Ke’er. It was clear that Ke’er was somewhat drowsy. She leaned in Qin Sheng’s arm and fell asleep, making him simmer with laughter. He thought, “Isn’t she afraid that I could be a bad guy in disguise at all?”
It wasn’t until they reached the street that Qin Sheng woke Ke’er up. She asked dazedly, “Brother, are we there yet?”
Qin Sheng replied happily, “Yes. Have a look. Isn’t it our very same street?”
Ke’er, who did not pay attention to other hidden meanings behind Qin Sheng’s words, said subconsciously, “So quickly. I didn’t get enough sleep yet.” After that, she took out her cell phone and checked whether there were any calls from her parents. However, there were calls registered at all. Ke’er was so unhappy that she puckered her lips high, which could even support the weight of an oil bottle. She thought in secret, “As soon as I see Grandfather, I will certainly complain about Mom and Dad.”
Nan Gong continued driving forward and arrived at the entrance of the Qin Family house soon. After Nan Gong stopped the car stably, Qin Sheng pointed at the siheyuan as he said, “Ke’er, this is my family house. Where’s yours?”
It seemed that it was just until this moment that Ke’er believed what Qin Sheng had said. She mumbled, “Brother, is it true that this is your family house?”
Qin Sheng replied amusedly, “Why would I lie to you?”
As Ke’er heard Qin Sheng’s reply, she danced with joy as she said, “Brother, excellent! Then can I come here to play with you often?”
Qin Sheng burst into laughter and replied, “You are welcome any time.”
At that moment, the main door to the siheyuan of the Qin Family was opened. Everybody got off the car at the entrance. Qin Sheng pulled Ke’er’s suitcase and inquired, “Let’s go. Where’s your family house? I will walk you home.”
Ke’er pointed at a siheyuan which was several households away from the Qin Family house. She said, “Brother, my family house is there. We are so close to each other. By the way, brother, why didn’t I see you before?”
Qin Sheng explained casually, “I was working in a foreign province for a time, so we never got to meet before. All right. Let me walk you home first.”
After Qin Sheng asked Chang Baji, Hao Lei, and the others to go enter the siheyuan first and wait for him, he took Ke’er with him and continued walking forward. It seemed that he had some impression of the very “family” whose house door was regularly closed tightly, just like the Qin Family did. However, during the Spring Festival Holiday, the entrance of their family house had been crowded with visitors and vehicles. Qin Sheng had noticed that many car plates of the vehicles were quite special. Moreover, the security officers, who were dressed in military uniforms, and the bodyguards dressed in uniforms had shown up there too. It was clear that the “family” was certainly not ordinary at all, making Qin Sheng quite curious about Ke’er’s identity. Even so, Qin Sheng could understand that Ke’er’s family had to be prominent since many retired officials were living in the area. Moreover, every household there belonged to distinguished families and secluded clans.
They soon arrived at Ke’er’s family house since it was only about a hundred meters away. Qin Sheng asked Ke’er to ring the doorbell. A young man soon walked out. He was somewhat surprised once he saw Qin Sheng; however, he naturally paid more attention to Ke’er.
“Alas, my little lady, why are you here all of a sudden?” The young man was dressed handsomely, who looked quite energetic as well. It seemed that he should be 24 or 25 years old.
Ke’er pouted her lips and replied with an aggrieved tone, “Mom and Dad didn’t pick me up at the railway station. I’m so unhappy about it. I will talk with my Grandfather and complain about it.”
The young man asked surprisedly, “Then, how did you get here?”
Ke’er pointed at Qin Sheng and explained, “It is this brother who sent me here. He’s so nice.”
Feeling somewhat confused, the young man said politely, “Brother, I wonder how should I address you. Thank you so much for what you did.”
Qin Sheng smiled gently and said, “It’s OK. It just so happened that I live nearby. That was the reason why it was convenient for me to bring her here. However, I need to point one thing out: it is easy for a little girl traveling alone to run into an accident, more so if there aren’t any adults to pick her up in the railway station.”
What Qin Sheng said struck terror in the young man’s mind. He thought in secret, “If this little lady were lost, the whole Li Family would make a ruckus. I need to report what happened to Grandfather.”
“What you said makes sense. We did act carelessly.” The young man was quite modest; he didn’t act like a rich playboy at all. Instead, he was all smiles while he talked to Qin Sheng.
Since Ke’er was at home, Qin Sheng would not stay there any longer. After all, Lao Chang and Hao Lei were still waiting for him in the Qin Family house. After a moment, Qin Sheng said sensibly, “I won’t bother you anymore since Ke’er is now safe at home. Excuse me for taking my leave first.”
The young man replied sincerely, “Alas. Brother, I can’t let you go. Please come in and rest for a while. I haven’t expressed my gratitude to you yet.” The way the young man talked was not pretentious at all. He wasn’t even as cold as other members from the distinguished families, who kept others at arms’ length.
Qin Sheng replied with a smile, “It’s a small act. You don’t need to be that polite. Moreover, I live on this street and Ke’er knows where my family house is. We can see each other in the future if there is a chance.”
After Qin Sheng finished speaking, he turned around and left. Ke’er said in a hurry, “Brother, see you soon!” It was clear that Qin Sheng held a superior and mighty position in her mind.
By the time Qin Sheng returned to the siheyuan of the Qin Family, Nan Gong had taken Chang Baji and Hao Lei inside. Since neither Qin Changan nor the veteran housekeeper, Gongsun, were at home, it was Auntie Xue who was mainly in charge of all the internal affairs of the Qin Family. Gongsun was more in charge of external affairs.
Chang Baji was amazed by how glorious and majestic the siheyuan was, even though he had traveled around and gone through many ups and downs, let alone Hao Lei who was green and inexperienced. It wasn’t until this moment that they realized how powerful the Qin Family behind Qin Sheng was.
Along the way, the house servants or the bodyguards they encountered all politely addressed Nan Gong as Second Lady. After all, Nan Gong was Qin Changan’s foster daughter. Of course, Qin Ran, Qin Changan’s biological daughter was the First Lady of the Qin Family. Hao Lei had been curious about Nan Gong, whom he had seen for the first time at the Beijing South Railway Station; he saw her as beautiful, sexy, yet with a sort of homicidal intent. However, Qin Sheng had not introduced her at that time. Hao Lei had greeted her politely and was overlooked as expected. After that, Hao Lei could not help but guess about Nan Gong’s identity.
At that moment, Hao Lei asked in a low voice, “Lao Chang, have ever seen this girl before? Is she also Qin Sheng’s sister?”
“To be more exact, she is Qin Sheng’s junior sister,” Chang Baji explained to Hao Lei casually, “However, she’s not connected to Qin Sheng by blood, since she is the foster daughter of Qin Sheng’s father.”
Hao Lei, who finally figured out Nan Gong’s identity, nodded with a smile and wondered whether this so-called Second lady had a boyfriend or not. Although he did like the aggressive temperament of this beautiful lady, he feared that the Qin Family might be out of his league.
The siheyuan of the Qin Family had courtyards with three entrances and three exits. It wasn’t until Chang Baji and Hao Lei walked into the intermediate courtyard that they realized how genuinely glorious and majestic the siheyuan was. Hao Lei couldn’t help sighing emotionally as he said, “According to hearsay, the price of any random siheyuan in Beijing could easily exceed a hundred million dollars. Lao Chang, in your opinion, how much is the siheyuan of the Qin Family worth?”
Hao Lei was still silent, overwhelmed by what he had seen. Since Chang Baji had overcome his initial shock, he answered casually, “I don’t know. However, it certainly costs a lot.”
Hao Lei continued sighing emotionally as he spoke, “I am dying to know what the Qin Family does, since it is so wealthy. In the end, it turns out that Lao Qin is the richest brother around me.”
Nan Gong led Chang Baji and Hao Lei into the living room and ordered the house servants to bring them tea. After that, she said, “Wait here for a moment. He should be back soon.”
After Nan Gong finished speaking, she went out and called Uncle Gongsun to ask if there were any social arrangements for the evening. Although she had fought together with Chang Baji, she had barely communicated with him, let alone Hao Lei. She thought that Qin Sheng’s social circle, were not much related to her at all.
Qin Sheng soon returned to the siheyuan. After he walked into the living room, he smiled and said, “It didn’t occur to me that the little girl’s family house would be this close. However, her parents were so careless that they even forgot about picking up their own child, which is such an important task.”
Hao Lei asked, “Did you send her home?”
Qin Sheng nodded and said, “Yes. I handed her over to her brother.”
Hao Lei said half-playfully, “Grand Young Master, I never expect your family to be so rich. I will certainly ride your coattails in the future. Never think of abandoning me.”
Qin Sheng snorted and said, “F**k off.”
After Nan Gong finished her call, she went inside. Qin Sheng asked, “Where’s the old guy?”
Nan Gong replied honestly, “He’s at the corporation. According to Uncle Gongsun, the old guy will be quite occupied tonight. He will be home pretty late due to a very important dinner party. That’s why he won’t be having dinner with you.”
Qin Sheng nodded quietly and didn’t express any dissatisfaction at all. That was because back when he was in Shanghai, he had sensed that something had gone wrong. It was clear that something had happened. Otherwise, all the workers in both Shanghai and Beijing wouldn’t have been so busy.
The chef prepared lunch since Qin Sheng’s group had not yet eaten. However, Qin Sheng did enjoy many snacks that Ke’er gave him.
In the afternoon, Qin Sheng asked Chang Baji and Hao Lei to stay in the siheyuan and ordered Nan Gong to arrange a place for them to stay at the same time. It wasn’t that he was unwilling to let Chang Baji and Hao Lei live in the siheyuan; he thought the existence of his father would certainly make everybody feel ill at ease. Moreover, it was clear that the atmosphere of the Qin Family had not been harmonious in recent days.
At dusk, Qin Sheng met Ke’er again, who was brought by her parents to visit him in person to express their gratitude…