Over time, Aunt Zhou had gotten used to buying even the most expensive fruits without batting an eyelid. After all, it was all paid for with Qin Hongying's money. She and her daughter only needed to enjoy the fruits.
"Okay, I got it."
Zhou Qianqian made another suggestion.
"Mom, I remember there are still several boxes of beef in the fridge. Could you cook it and make some sandwiches? I'll take them to share with my classmates after I'm done."
Zhou Qianqian was so afraid that her classmates might have a grudge against her that she wished she could give them all the nice things.
"Sure, sure, sure. I got it."
Aunt Zhou reluctantly agreed to all of Zhou Qianqian's requests. Watching her usually introverted and quiet daughter beaming with excitement, Aunt Zhou felt truly pleased.
"Go back to sleep for a while. I'll wake you up when breakfast is ready."
"No, bring it to my room." Zhou Qianqian disagreed.
She didn't want to have breakfast with Xu Qingqing and the others. It would be too awkward.
"Okay, I'll bring it to your room." Aunt Zhou indulgently smiled and agreed to everything.
Aunt Zhou entered the kitchen. While cooking breakfast, she also made the sandwiches Zhou Qianqian asked for, using almost all the beef in the fridge.
By the time Xu Qingqing and the others got up, Aunt Zhou had already laid out the breakfast.
It was simply fried eggs, toast, and a fruit salad.
Xu Qingqing opened the fridge in the kitchen, pretending to look for a drink. She found that the fridge was much emptier than last night. All the missing items were beef.
And there was no beef in the breakfast.
Xu Qingqing quietly took out the juice, closed the fridge door, and sat down next to Lu Chuanbai, exchanging a look with him.
As they spent more time together, Xu Qingqing and Lu Chuanbai had reached a level of telepathy.
Even without saying a word, they could tell what the other was thinking.
Aunt Zhou separately brought the breakfast with two extra fried eggs into Zhou Qianqian's room. Zhou Qianqian was excitedly talking on the phone with her classmates.
The classmates who were coming to play had taken the night train and would arrive at Penglang Island around 9:00.
The class monitor told Zhou Qianqian to pick them up on time. Zhou Qianqian nodded excitedly, making an OK sign. It felt so good to be the center of attention.
"I've left your breakfast here. Remember to eat it."
Aunt Zhou just left the breakfast on the table and then left the room, not wanting to disturb her daughter.
The alarm clock rang for a long time before Qin Hongying woke up. She rubbed her temples tiredly, feeling that her energy was really not as good as before.
In the past, although it was difficult for her to fall asleep, the quality of her sleep was still guaranteed.
But now, even if she fell asleep as soon as she lay down and slept through the night, her body felt as if it had been run over by a big truck, tired and sore.
Qin Hongying dragged herself downstairs for breakfast without even changing her pajamas. She greeted Lu Chuanbai and the two kids, but deliberately ignored Xu Qingqing.
"Good morning, Lu Chuanbai! Good morning, Yiyi and An'an!"
Xu Qingqing sipped her porridge to cover up the awkwardness of being ignored. Lu Chuanbai, understanding how Xu Qingqing felt, nodded slightly as a response.
Xu Yiyi and Xu An'an firmly stood by Xu Qingqing's side and ignored Qin Hongying completely.
Qin Hongying was in a bad mood and didn't care about any of this. She sat at the head of the dining table, rubbing her temples and complaining.
"I've been sleeping worse and worse recently. I can't get enough rest at all."
Lu Chuanbai remembered the small piece of trash Xu Qingqing had picked up from the trash can last night and asked pointedly, "Then go to the hospital and get some medicine."
"You know I don't take medicine. As long as I believe in Buddha devoutly, I'll never get sick."
Qin Hongying was fanatical about believing in Buddha, just like a cult follower.
She firmly believed that as long as she believed in Buddha sincerely, all misfortunes would be kept away.
Hearing this, Lu Chuanbai ruled out the possibility that the medicine belonged to Qin Hongying.
If that was the case, it could only be Aunt Zhou's or Zhou Qianqian's.
He needed to observe for a while longer to figure out whose it was.
After breakfast, Qin Hongying forced herself to sit on the yoga mat and meditate.
Lu Chuanbai, Xu Qingqing and the others were going to continue their trip on Penglang Island. They were going to take a yacht to go fishing for seafood and go diving today, so they went upstairs to get ready first.
Qin Hongying still remembered what Aunt Zhou had said last night about her little fans coming today. She wanted to make a good impression on her fans.
Qin Hongying stayed in the living room all the time. Aunt Zhou didn't dare to give the sandwiches she had made to Zhou Qianqian. Seeing Qin Hongying dozing off like a chick pecking at rice, she advised her to go upstairs and take a nap.
"Madam, if you're really tired, go upstairs and take a nap. Don't force yourself."
"I'm not tired."
Qin Hongying slapped her cheeks with her hands, trying to stay awake.
Zhou Qianqian, who had deliberately changed into a nice dress, saw that Qin Hongying insisted on staying in the living room and wouldn't leave. She made gestures to Aunt Zhou from a blind spot where Qin Hongying couldn't see.
"How can I get the sandwiches if she doesn't leave?"
Aunt Zhou pointed at the kitchen window and made a gesture of opening the window, meaning to pass the sandwiches out through the open window.
Zhou Qianqian then made an OK sign with relief and quietly slipped past Qin Hongying and opened the door to go out.
Qin Hongying thought Zhou Qianqian was rude in her heart. She didn't even know the basic courtesy of saying hello.
Zhu Lulu, who had taken a day off, resumed work, driving the sightseeing car. She just happened to see Zhou Qianqian bending over and looking around furtively.
Seeing that there was no one around, Zhou Qianqian pushed aside the thorny rose stems growing in front of the window.
Taking the risk of getting scratched, she crawled up to the window and took the bamboo basket full of sandwiches that Aunt Zhou had passed out.
"Thank you, Mom."
Zhou Qianqian gave Aunt Zhou a big smile and then hugged the bamboo basket and walked towards the dock, passing by Zhu Lulu who was sitting in the sightseeing car.
Zhu Lulu was a bit suspicious of the strange behavior of the mother and daughter.
A normal person would just go back home to get something if they forgot it. Why pass it out through the window? It wasn't like they had forgotten their keys.
Moreover, the little girl looked so sneaky. It looked as if she was stealing something.
"Is this nanny really reliable?"
After overhearing the mother and daughter not wanting Xu Qingqing to stay in the villa last time, and now seeing this sneaky behavior, Zhu Lulu thought the mother and daughter didn't seem like good people at all.
Xu Qingqing, who was applying sunscreen in her room, saw Zhu Lulu with blond hair driving the sightseeing car and stopping in front of the villa through the French window.
Xu Qingqing wiped her face and opened the window to say hello to Zhu Lulu. Just then, she saw Zhou Qianqian skipping along with a big bamboo basket in her arms.
"What's that in Zhou Qianqian's hands?"
Xu Qingqing frowned when she saw this scene, a hint of doubt flashing in her eyes.
She remembered that Zhou Qianqian had only carried a small backpack when she went to the living room just now. Where did the big basket come from?
Xu Qingqing remembered the missing beef she had noticed when she checked the fridge. Her intuition told her that the missing beef must be in the bamboo basket Zhou Qianqian was holding.
She never thought that the mother and daughter would play tricks right under their noses, taking things bought with Qin Hongying's money for themselves. They really had thick skins.
Although Qin Hongying wasn't very nice to her, she had been very kind to this mother and daughter.
Although they were just caregivers, they ate and lived together. Qin Hongying never treated them badly.
As the saying goes, good people are easily bullied, just like good horses are easily ridden.
She had endured Qin Hongying's mistreatment for Lu Chuanbai's sake, so Qin Hongying took advantage of her.
And because Qin Hongying was nice to the mother and daughter, they took advantage of her.
Xu Qingqing sighed. By the time she realized that she had forgotten to record the scene, Zhou Qianqian had already disappeared from her sight.
If there was a confrontation in the future, the video would be useful evidence.