This seems to be the villa of Lu Chuanbai's family...
The first thought that popped into Xu Qingqing's head when she heard Qin Hongying's serious voice was this.
But she didn't dare to say it out loud, fearing it would make Qin Hongying even angrier.
"Auntie, I'm sorry. It won't happen again."
Xu Qingqing bit her lip and forced a smile, but her mouth just wouldn't turn up. Her teeth even bit off the dry skin on her lips.
"I'll forgive you this time."
Qin Hongying stared at Xu Qingqing with a hostile look in her eyes. "Come out with me to soak up some sun and get rid of your bad luck."
Just like that, Xu Qingqing's plan to take a good look at the hairpin was nipped in the bud by Qin Hongying.
She had no choice but to put down the hairpin and reluctantly follow Qin Hongying for a walk on the beach.
Although the afternoon sun was still quite strong, it wasn't as scorching as at noon. A sea breeze was blowing.
The calm sea surface, as smooth as glass, was now ruffled with waves. The waves, carrying a peaceful aura, crashed onto the beach.
Lu Chuanbai, who was teaching the two kids to fly a kite, saw Xu Qingqing being dragged out for a walk by Qin Hongying.
He was worried that Xu Qingqing would be scolded by Qin Hongying. So he told the two kids to keep playing and went to accompany Xu Qingqing.
"Auntie, you've brought Xu Qingqing out for a walk?"
Lu Chuanbai naturally walked beside Xu Qingqing, with a gentle and warm smile on his face, like the gentle spring breeze and soft rain.
This made Qin Hongying, who was about to complain about Xu Qingqing, swallow back her dissatisfaction.
"Yeah."
Qin Hongying replied unhappily. Having experienced so much in the workplace, how could she not see that Lu Chuanbai was trying to protect Xu Qingqing.
Qin Hongying felt a bit sad. She had taken care of Lu Chuanbai for so long, but now he didn't even want to hear her say a few words about his wife. Really, once a child grows up, he becomes independent.
With Lu Chuanbai by her side, Xu Qingqing felt much more at ease. She gave Lu Chuanbai a sweet smile.
The two kids were so small that the kite was even bigger than the two of them combined. They ran back and forth on the beach with the long kite string but still couldn't get the kite up in the air.
Xu An'an was so tired that her little face was bright red and covered in sweat. She stuck out her tongue like a puppy to cool off.
"Brother, I'm so hot."
Xu Yiyi struggled to hold the kite above his head and told Xu An'an to wind up the kite string.
"Let's go home and have a drink of water and then come back to fly the kite."
"Okay." Xu An'an replied listlessly as she wound the string and walked towards the villa.
Zhou Qianqian, who had been locked in her room all this time, was playing with her phone gloomily. After everyone had gone out, Aunt Zhou cut up a fruit platter and took it upstairs to her daughter.
Knock, knock, knock!
Hearing the knock on the door, Zhou Qianqian got out of bed. She only opened the door after seeing that it was Aunt Zhou.
"Mom, why are you here?"
"I'm bringing you some fruit."
Aunt Zhou smiled and placed the fruit platter on Zhou Qianqian's bedside table. The brightly colored fruit slices, exuding a fragrant smell, were evenly spread on the cool, transparent ice cubes.
All the fruit slices were of expensive fruits like mangosteens, cherries, and durians.
If it were in the past, Zhou Qianqian wouldn't even dare to think that she could eat such fruits.
But on Penglang Island, it was different. These were all the fruits that Qin Hongying liked to eat, and the mother - daughter pair could also share some.
"I know you like mangosteens the most, so I sliced up all the remaining mangosteens in the fridge and brought them up."
Aunt Zhou smiled and handed her daughter a fruit fork.
Zhou Qianqian stabbed a cold slice of mangosteen and put it into her mouth. Thinking that this was something Qin Hongying liked to eat, she was a bit worried.
"Mom, if you give me all these mangosteens, won't Mrs. Lu be angry?"
Aunt Zhou also picked up a fruit fork, stabbed a piece, and said nonchalantly,
"She lives a life like a fairy all day long. She has no idea how much fruit and food there is in the fridge.
"Moreover, there are four more people in the house. Naturally, the consumption of fruits and vegetables is quite large. It's inevitable that they're eaten quickly."
Zhou Qianqian thought Aunt Zhou was right, so she started to eat the fruit without worry.
Guessing from her mother's bold actions that everyone else must have gone out, Zhou Qianqian regained some energy. She picked up the fruit platter and was about to go downstairs.
"I'm going downstairs to watch TV while eating."
Zhou Qianqian said happily.
All the VIP memberships for the TV in Qin Hongying's house were activated, but besides watching Buddhist scriptures on TV, Qin Hongying didn't use the TV much.
Anyway, she had nothing to do. It would be a waste if she didn't watch it.
"Okay, go ahead and watch."
Aunt Zhou nodded in agreement, looking at her daughter with a loving smile.
"You didn't come downstairs for lunch just now. There's still an Australian lobster in the kitchen. I'll cook it for you."
Hearing that there was still lobster to eat, Zhou Qianqian cheered and hugged Aunt Zhou, blinking her eyes and acting coquettishly.
"Thank you, Mom."
Since coming to Penglang Island, all the luxury that had only existed in her dreams had come true.
It was either expensive fruits or precious seafood.
Living in such a luxurious and beautiful house made Zhou Qianqian and Aunt Zhou feel like they were also people of high status.
Aunt Zhou and Zhou Qianqian went downstairs together. Aunt Zhou went to cook the lobster, while Zhou Qianqian happily sat cross - legged on the sofa and watched TV.
The kitchen where Aunt Zhou was located was at the very front of the villa.
Once Qin Hongying and the others came back, Aunt Zhou would be able to spot them immediately and tell Zhou Qianqian to put away what she was holding.
Xu Yiyi and Xu An'an were so tired carrying the kite that they could barely lift their legs. When they were in front of the villa, Xu Yiyi felt a gust of wind. He immediately stopped and said excitedly to Xu An'an,
"Sister, there's wind here. Let's try flying the kite one more time."
"Okay."
Xu An'an wiped the sweat off her forehead with her chubby, white little hand and unfurled the kite string.
Xu Yiyi held the kite above his head with both hands again and started running quickly.
The wind was quite strong this time, and the kite took off smoothly.
While cheering, Xu Yiyi and Xu An'an found that the kite was flying higher and higher. The two kids couldn't hold it at all. Instead, they were being pulled around by the kite string.
Xu An'an was starting to feel overwhelmed. She stood on her tiptoes with her little legs to try to control the kite.
Afraid that she would fall, Xu Yiyi pulled the kite string with her and they went to a place with a tree and hugged the tree trunk.
"Now we won't be pulled around by the kite."
Xu Yiyi felt a bit relieved hugging the tree trunk. Xu An'an looked at the kite flying higher and higher and praised Xu Yiyi with a beaming smile.
"Brother is so smart!"
But the two little kids didn't have time to be happy for long. A cold gust of wind blew, and the kite string got tangled in the tree branches and couldn't be separated.
"Oops, the kite string is tangled in the tree!"
Xu Yiyi exclaimed that something was wrong. He tugged at the kite string, trying to pull the tangled string off the tree. As a result, his soft and delicate palm was cut by the taut and sharp kite string.
"Ah, my hand!"
Xu Yiyi cried out in pain. Xu An'an saw that Xu Yiyi's hand was injured, and the blood that flowed out even dyed the snow - white kite string red.
"Brother, your hand is hurt!"