Saying so, Qin Hongying rushed into the kitchen. Aunt Zhou panicked and rushed in to stop her, feeling a chill down her back and breaking out in cold sweat.
"Madam, the kitchen is filled with oily fumes. Watch out for your health..."
Qin Hongying stopped in her tracks. With a glare from her, Aunt Zhou didn't dare to stop her anymore. She cowered in place, watching helplessly as Qin Hongying lifted the lid of the pot on the stove.
The chicken soup Qin Hongying was going to drink had just been put on to simmer. There were no other cooked dishes.
"Is this what you call saving time to make dinner! What were you thinking!"
Qin Hongying was furious at the sight. All the imposing manner she used to manage lazy employees in the past was unleashed. She stared coldly at Aunt Zhou.
Aunt Zhou didn't dare to move under her gaze and didn't even dare to breathe loudly.
While Qin Hongying was scolding Aunt Zhou, Xu Qingqing carefully treated the wound on Xu Yiyi's palm. Looking at the wound that was about an inch long, Xu Qingqing felt her heart break. She became even more gentle, afraid of hurting Xu Yiyi.
After putting a Band - Aid on Xu Yiyi's wound, Xu Qingqing was so nervous that her forehead was covered in cold sweat. She let out a long, deep breath.
Xu An'an leaned on Lu Chuanbai and hugged his arm, acting coquettishly.
"Dad, our kite accidentally got stuck in the tree. Can you get it down?"
"Okay."
Lu Chuanbai held Xu An'an in his arms with a solemn face. He rubbed against Xu An'an's soft cheek and kissed Xu Yiyi on the forehead.
"Yiyi, I'm sorry. It's all Dad's fault for not watching over you."
If he had been with the two children all the time, Xu Yiyi wouldn't have gotten hurt.
Xu Yiyi understandingly showed a big smile, like the warm sun in the early morning.
"It's not Dad's fault. I'm a little man. A wound on a man is a symbol of honor!"
Saying so, Xu Yiyi took the initiative to hold Xu Qingqing's and Lu Chuanbai's hands.
"Let's go and get the kite down from the tree."
Seeing such a sensible Xu Yiyi, Xu Qingqing felt both heartache and touched. She hugged Xu Yiyi in her arms and rubbed against his little face. She hugged him for a long time before getting up and walking outside.
In the kitchen, Qin Hongying was still scolding Aunt Zhou loudly.
Aunt Zhou had been with Qin Hongying for so many years, and this was the first time she had been scolded so severely that she lost all her dignity. She couldn't help but shed tears.
Seeing Aunt Zhou crying, Qin Hongying, as a Buddhist with a soft heart, couldn't bear to scold her anymore. She waved her hand helplessly and told Aunt Zhou to continue making dinner.
"Don't do this again in the future."
Leaving this sentence behind, Qin Hongying dragged her tired body upstairs.
Today, in order to deal with Xu Qingqing, she had exercised more than in a normal week. Her body ached all over, and her legs were so tired that she could hardly lift them.
Zhou Qianqian, who had been eavesdropping upstairs, saw Qin Hongying going upstairs. She quietly hid on the stairs to the third floor. After Qin Hongying entered her room, she went downstairs to the kitchen to comfort Aunt Zhou.
"Mom, are you okay!"
Seeing Aunt Zhou's red - rimmed eyes, Zhou Qianqian hugged her mother lovingly and whispered angrily about Qin Hongying.
"She's being too much. Just because she has a bit of stinky money, how dare she bully people like this! You're just a caregiver, not a nanny for the kids. Why should she scold you just because you didn't help her watch the kids!"
The more Zhou Qianqian talked, the more aggrieved she felt. She thought that she and her mother were really pitiful.
"Qianqian, stop talking. It's our lot in life."
Thinking of Qin Hongying's bossy attitude just now, Aunt Zhou cried sadly again. She wiped her tears upwards and looked at her indignant daughter with hope in her eyes.
"You must study hard and get into a good university. Mom will rely on you to live a good life in the future."
Thinking of her academic performance, Zhou Qianqian was stunned for a moment, but she still nodded firmly.
"Mom, don't worry. I will surely work hard and make something of myself. Then I'll give this family a good beating in the face!"
"Okay."
Seeing her daughter so sensible, Aunt Zhou felt a little comforted. She patted her daughter's hand on the back and pushed her out of the kitchen.
"You go back to your studies. Mom has to prepare dinner."
"Okay."
Seeing that her mother's mood had improved a bit, Zhou Qianqian dragged her feet out of the kitchen.
At this time, Zhou Qianqian's phone received a video call. The initiator was the group leader of their class group, and all the classmates in the class were participating in this video call.
In the past, if someone in the group made a video call, Zhou Qianqian would hang up without hesitation because of her family's environment. But this time was different. She was now living in a magnificent villa with a beautiful sunny island under her feet. There was nothing to be ashamed of.
Zhou Qianqian's vanity rose. Looking around and seeing no one, she answered the call.
The class monitor was surprised to see that Zhou Qianqian, who usually didn't answer calls, answered this time and the background was very beautiful. He couldn't help but ask,
"Zhou Qianqian, are you at home now?"
The class monitor's question made the other classmates participating in the video call all focus their eyes on Zhou Qianqian.
As a nobody in the class, Zhou Qianqian suddenly received so much attention.
Her vanity was greatly satisfied. She smiled slightly and nodded, then turned the camera around to show the villa to her classmates.
"Yes, this is my home." Zhou Qianqian said without batting an eyelid.
"Your home is so beautiful." A female classmate said enviously.
But another classmate questioned, "I remember your home was a bungalow in the old city area. How did it become a villa?"
Hearing the classmate expose her, Zhou Qianqian rolled her eyes disdainfully and told an even bigger lie. "That's my hometown. I lived there because I was studying there. But during long holidays, I always go back to my new home. This is my new home!"
To make her lie more believable, Zhou Qianqian held up her phone, opened the villa door, and pointed it at the vast sea in front of the villa.
"My new home is on Penglang Island. It's too far away, so I don't come back often. That's why you don't know about it."
"I see!" The classmate who had tried to expose Zhou Qianqian suddenly understood.
"Your villa is so big. Your family must be very rich. It's not like what Qian Lili said that your family is very poor."
Qian Lili was like a bully in Zhou Qianqian's class. She hated going to class and usually just hung out with hooligans, drinking and fighting.
A nobody like Zhou Qianqian became her target of bullying. She always made Zhou Qianqian do her duty in the classroom.
When Zhou Qianqian refused, Qian Lili asked the big brother she knew outside school to follow Zhou Qianqian.
After finding out that Zhou Qianqian's family lived in the old city area, Qian Lili spread the word in school that Zhou Qianqian's family was very poor.
Hearing Qian Lili's name, Zhou Qianqian's heart skipped a beat. Looking at the people participating in the video call and seeing that Qian Lili wasn't there, she rolled her eyes and pretended to be disdainful.
"What she said isn't true. I don't care about those gossips."
After saying that, Zhou Qianqian changed the topic and started showing off her wealth.
"Do you want to see the scenery of Penglang Island? I can live - broadcast it to you on my phone."
Most of the classmates readily agreed to Zhou Qianqian's suggestion. So she held up her phone and went to the beach to film the sea for her classmates.