"I really don't know what your father was thinking. Even if you two are getting married, you should find her a different job," Qin Hongying said, subtly and overtly belittling Xu Qingqing's job. As a devoted husband-to-be, Lu Chuanbai naturally had to defend Xu Qingqing's reputation.
"Auntie, it's the 21st century. There's no need for such feudal superstitions. Besides, Xu Qingqing has used her knowledge to help me authenticate many antiques. There's no problem," Lu Chuanbai said. Just like the first time they met, Xu Qingqing had helped him determine the authenticity of an antique, which had impressed him greatly.
However, Qin Hongying was lost in her own world and couldn't listen to Xu Qingqing and Lu Chuanbai's explanations. She told Aunt Zhou, who had just served the juice, to go to her room and fetch the holy water.
"Aunt Zhou, go and get the holy water that Master Guangyao bestowed on me last time. Let her use it to ward off bad luck. I don't want it affecting me," Qin Hongying said bluntly and unreasonably. Even Aunt Zhou thought her words were too much. She smiled faintly and spoke up for Xu Qingqing.
"Madam, Miss Qingqing looks like a lucky person. Those evil spirits wouldn't dare to follow her," Aunt Zhou said.
Qin Hongying's face darkened, and she waved her hand. "Just go and do as I say. Don't talk so much nonsense," she said.
Aunt Zhou didn't dare to disobey and had to go upstairs reluctantly to get the holy water.
Xu Qingqing heard Qin Hongying's veiled remarks about her bad luck. A look of displeasure flashed across her eyes. Archaeology was a legitimate profession. If there really were evil spirits, considering the dangerous tombs she had been to, she would have lost her life long ago. Her parents had also traveled all over the world with archaeological teams to authenticate cultural relics, and their family's fortune had only improved. This was nothing but feudal superstition!
Lu Chuanbai sensed Xu Qingqing's unhappiness and patted her hand, telling her to be patient for a while. Qin Hongying had taken good care of him when he was young, and he couldn't forget her kindness.
Xu Qingqing also knew that Lu Chuanbai was caught in the middle and in a difficult position. She forced a smile and nodded at him. Forget it. It was just this one meeting. She would never come again.
Qin Hongying was completely triggered by Xu Qingqing's profession and started chattering about the origin of the holy water.
"This holy water was obtained from a very famous Buddhist monk in Thailand. It can remove impurities and keep away unclean things," she said. "I specifically asked for it and told Lu Qi to sprinkle a little on his forehead every morning, but he only agreed but never did it. He really wants to make me angry!"
The angrier Qin Hongying got, the more she disliked Xu Qingqing.
Lu Chuanbai finally understood why the relationship between Qin Hongying and Lu Qi had become so tense. Before coming to Penglang Island, he had invited Lu Qi to come with them, but Lu Qi had refused. If Lu Qi had really come with him, he would probably have been scolded again.
Aunt Zhou fetched the holy water from upstairs and respectfully handed it to Qin Hongying. Qin Hongying opened the jade bottle containing the holy water, gently fanned the smell out of the bottle with her hand, and took a deep breath.
"The smell of purified life," she sighed after taking a breath.
Xu Qingqing looked embarrassed and a little nervous as she looked at Lu Chuanbai. Lu Chuanbai also didn't expect Qin Hongying to be serious. He could only use his eyes to comfort Xu Qingqing and tell her to go with the flow. It was just some holy water. It wouldn't have any negative effects on her body.
After smelling the holy water, Qin Hongying told Aunt Zhou to go outside and water the roses. Then she got ready to help Xu Qingqing drive away evil spirits.
As soon as Aunt Zhou went outside, she saw her daughter walking out of the back door of the villa with a very unhappy look on her face. Aunt Zhou thought Zhou Qianqian was coming to help her with the work and smiled, telling her to go back quickly.
"Why did you come out? Go back and study hard. I'll take care of the work outside," she said.
Unexpectedly, Zhou Qianqian snorted, and her face became even uglier. Her tone was full of complaints.
"Mom, didn't you say there wouldn't be any outsiders in Aunt Qin Hongying's house? Why are there so many people here today? What if they decide to stay?"
If there were outsiders staying, how could she be free in the house? Because of Qin Hongying's illness, she either ate or slept in her room or took a walk with Aunt Zhou in the sun. When Hai Lu wasn't at home, Zhou Qianqian could do whatever she wanted, whether it was eating snacks, watching TV, or video chatting with her classmates and pretending the villa was hers. But if outsiders stayed, she wouldn't be able to do whatever she wanted and would have to be sensitive to other people's emotions. This wasn't a holiday; it was more like a punishment!
Aunt Zhou thought her daughter's worries were unnecessary and smiled to persuade her.
"There are only four people. Besides, this is their house. They can come and go as they please. We can't just drive them away. And they haven't said they're going to stay," she said.
Zhou Qianqian still wasn't happy and pouted. "But what if they do? They're here for a vacation on the island. What if they decide to stay?"
"Mom, please think of a way to drive them away," she said, pulling on Aunt Zhou's arm stubbornly.
Aunt Zhou saw that her daughter was being so unreasonable and said such arrogant words. The smile on her face disappeared, and she started to scold her.
"Qianqian, how can you think like that? We're already very lucky to be able to live in this villa. And you want to drive the owners away! I've really spoiled you too much!"
"They asked you to be a caregiver, so of course they'll provide accommodation. Do you think I want to live here?"
Zhou Qianqian angrily said something against her will and then turned around and ran away.
Aunt Zhou looked at her daughter's back and thought Zhou Qianqian was becoming more and more unreasonable. At first, when Qin Hongying came to the island to recuperate, she wanted to dismiss Aunt Zhou and told her to take good care of her child at home. But Aunt Zhou couldn't bear to give up her high-paying job and insisted on coming. She never expected her daughter to misunderstand things like this!
Aunt Zhou sighed and walked up to the rose bushes. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the blue-and-white sightseeing car parked outside the villa. Zhu Lulu was lying in the car with her legs on the steering wheel, playing a game.
Aunt Zhou was startled. She had forgotten that Lu Chuanbai's tour guide was waiting outside. She wondered if she had heard the conversation between her and her daughter. If she had and told Lu Chuanbai, it would definitely cause unnecessary misunderstandings.
Thinking of this, Aunt Zhou tentatively walked up to the door and spoke to Zhu Lulu through the iron gate.
"Do you want to come in and have a glass of water? It's too hot outside," she said.
Zhu Lulu didn't even look up and just casually replied, "No, thanks. I'm quite comfortable outside."
Then she continued playing her game and ignored Aunt Zhou.
Aunt Zhou was relieved to see Zhu Lulu like this. She comforted herself in her mind. With Zhu Lulu's lazy attitude, she probably hadn't heard anything. And their voices hadn't been very loud.
Thinking like this, Aunt Zhou turned around and continued her work.