C21 He Bought It

"Listen, Qin, I don't mean to criticize, but having such a talented daughter should be a joy, right? Yet here you are, looking all gloomy like the sky's falling. Is it really that bad?"

Qin Guangjun took a swig of his drink, savoring the taste. "You haven't had a daughter like mine! She's only fourteen, just in middle school, and suddenly she's all grown up. She's not the little girl clinging to my leg anymore. It's just... something feels off in my heart."

Sunn Jiang pondered for a while, feeling a wave of empathy. He patted his friend's shoulder. He understood that feeling all too well. His own kid was even more of a handful than Qin's.

"Count your blessings, Qin. At least your daughter's a good kid. Look at my little rascal. The stunts he pulled recently, combined with my wife's antics, nearly drove me up the wall. From now on, I have to keep my head down and play it safe. But I've come to terms with it—sticking to the straight and narrow is the way to go."

Pann Minwei took a small sip of his drink, his eyes a bit hazy. He used to have clear eyes and a foggy heart, but now it's the other way around—his vision's blurred, but his heart sees clearly.

How should I put this? Before things went south, he always clung to a false sense of security, spinning a new lie every day. Sometimes it even annoyed him, but he just couldn't let it go.

After the truth came out, though, he actually felt relieved. Isn't it funny how people can be so stubborn?

Once Qin Su wrapped up both the important and trivial matters, half of winter break had already passed. Gao Yan, who had been visiting his grandma, was back from his trip.

His first stop was the Qin family home, and he came bearing a backpack full of local specialties.

"What’s this all about?"

Qin Su was a bit puzzled, watching Gao Yan make himself at home, casually tossing his backpack aside and lounging on the couch like he owned the place.

Gao Yan figured it was just Qin Su at home since Qin Guangjun and Hsing Guizhen were out. He didn't have to worry about much.

"Here, I brought you some treats. They're all local specialties."

Qin Su gave him a curious look. Since when did Gao Yan start thinking about her, going out of his way to bring a backpack full of goodies from afar?

"Thanks, you really went out of your way. Stay for dinner; my mom went grocery shopping and will be back soon."

Gao Yan nodded lazily, accepting the invitation with ease.

"Sure!"

Later, Qin Su couldn't help but wonder why Gao Yan was being so unusually attentive.

Sure enough, after dinner, under the guise of helping her with her studies, he sat on the stool in her room and earnestly asked her something.

"Didn't you say you were going to deal with that woman, Meng? Have you made a move yet?"

Gao Yan's reminder snapped Qin Su back to reality. She had been living so carefree lately that she almost forgot about Meng Xiaoran.

"I almost forgot, thanks to you. How could I overlook something so important? So, Gao, are you looking to get involved, or just here for the show?"

Gao Yan gave a mysterious smile. If he were to get involved, it would have to be entertaining enough.

"So, how do you plan to handle it?"

Qin Su felt a shiver. People really aren't always what they seem. She never expected Gao Yan, who appeared so upright, to have such a cunning side.

Whether it would be beneficial for him to know her "true nature" was uncertain. He wasn't as easy to manipulate as Pan Hao.

The feeling she got from Gao Yan now was completely different from before, with a heightened sense of danger.

"I was thinking of just giving her a simple warning to teach her a lesson. Hire someone to cause a loud confrontation, maybe rough her up a bit so she ends up in the hospital for a couple of months."

Gao Yan gave her a look that said, "That's it?" He seemed a bit disappointed, thinking the once sweet neighbor girl might have come up with something more dramatic for him to witness. Since it was just a straightforward plan, he didn't see the point in getting involved. It wasn't interesting enough.

Just as Qin Su was about to say he didn't plan to get involved, his phone rang.

"Mouse?"

At the mention of this name, Gao Yan's expression soured. From what he knew, Mouse was the guy who used to hang around with Qin Su, always stirring up trouble.

"Shortbread, there's something going on with Mistress Meng."

"Oh? What's happening? Spill it."

Could it be that Mistress Meng is up to her old tricks again?

From what Pann Hao shared, the woman who broke up Hsing Guilan's marriage was none other than Meng Lili's younger sister, Meng Shuangshuang. True to her sister's reputation, Meng Shuangshuang had not only gotten involved with Hsing Guizhen's husband, Jiang Tianming, but was also seeing another married man, juggling both relationships.

Though she was from another county and they didn't communicate much, somehow the secret got out.

And the result?

The wife of the other man wasn't one to let things slide. She went all out, hiring a private investigator and digging up everything about Meng Shuangshuang's family history.

In the process, Meng Lili got dragged into it too. The two sisters were exposed as homewreckers.

The other woman was relentless, capturing compromising photos of both Meng Shuangshuang and Meng Lili. She plastered them on posters and flyers, causing a huge scandal that spread throughout the county and even reached the city.

"I'm afraid even your dad's heard about it by now. Wonder what Mr. Qin will think!" Qin Su chuckled, engrossed in the flyer Pann Hao had eagerly handed her.

Luckily, she had dealt with it in time, or else the guy in Meng Lili's photo might have been her dad, Mr. Qin, though the odds were just one in ten!

However...

Qin Su was puzzled. In her previous life, she didn't remember anything like this happening. Maybe her dad had squashed it before it got this far.

"Looks like someone else is taking care of that woman for you," Gao Yan joked, squinting with amusement.

"Wow, anything involving Qin Su is always entertaining!"

"So, Shortbread, should we stir the pot a bit more? Those two Meng folks seem like real pieces of work. If we're gonna play, let's go big."

"Oh? How so?" Qin Su asked, raising an eyebrow. Pann Hao rubbed his hands together. "How about hiring some guys to strip them down and toss them onto Main Street, make a real scene?"

"That's a bit harsh," Gao Yan chuckled. It seemed this guy had gotten a bit darker since the last time they met. Maybe he was just picking up bad habits from the company he kept.

"Really? You want those two women to streak? That's pretty low."

Pann Hao snorted, not even bothering to look at him. If it weren't for the fact that he was a friend of Shortbread, he wouldn't have given him the time of day. Acting all high and mighty, what a joke.

"Feeling sorry for those shameless women? Give me a break."

"That's it? Then why bother? Those two are already infamous; they've got nothing left to lose. It's pointless."

Pann Hao was the first to ask, "So how do you want to make it interesting?"

He chuckled, a bit intrigued. Maybe he'd been hanging around Qin Su too much, getting a kick out of these schemes.

"Well... let me think about it."

That afternoon, Qin Guangjun stumbled home, reeking of alcohol. He flopped onto the couch and immediately noticed the poster on the coffee table.

Qin Su, that troublesome girl, always causing him grief. So blatant, so obvious, like she didn't care what her old man thought anymore.

"Come out, I know it was you who put this here. You little rascal, you really dared to bring this home. Aren't you worried your mom will see it?"

Qin Su peeked out from the slightly ajar door, giggling.

"Mom's at her dance class, she's not home."

What? Again? At this hour, not home cooking, always off learning some ridiculous dance. Qin Guangjun felt a headache coming on, blaming it all on his daughter's antics.

A hardworking woman, once so devoted to her family, had been led astray, rarely at home anymore.

"Alright, my dear, I'll cook for you, but you need to tell me, did you have anything to do with the trouble between Lili and her sister?"

"No, why? Are you still hung up on her or something?"

Qin Guangjun was frustrated.

"I'm worried you'll go down the wrong path! Don't you see I'm trying to look out for you? You're so young, do you even understand what's going on here? You could end up breaking the law!"

He didn't want a good girl to make a wrong turn and end up in trouble for nothing. Besides, Lili really disgusted him.

Qin Guangjun wasn't the only one who got the news; Sunn Jiang and Pann Minwei heard it too. They sympathized with Qin for his poor judgment but were relieved for him that he got out early. In hindsight, they had to admit that Qin's daughter was quite impressive!

The thought crossed their minds—could it be that Qin's daughter was behind the whole Lili affair? Sunn Jiang couldn't shake the feeling and decided his own daughter should spend more time with that clever girl from the Qin family.

She's got skills! At least she knows how to turn things to her advantage, unlike his own daughter, who always seemed to get the short end of the stick. It drove him crazy trying to keep up with her messes!

Embracing this idea, Sunn Jiang arranged a few family gatherings.