"What Auntie said wasn't scolding you."
Lu Chuanbai walked back to the sofa, pulled down Lu Qi's hands covering his ears, his expression gentle.
"Auntie said she's sorry. She now knows that your profession isn't as disgraceful as she thought. It was all her fault."
Lu Qi's tightly closed eyelids suddenly flew open. He stared at Lu Chuanbai in disbelief. "Impossible. My mom is more stubborn than a duck. This can't be what she said!"
Lu Qi couldn't believe that the woman who had once pointed at his nose and told him to get out would come all the way to apologize.
"It's true."
Seeing Xu Qingqing come out with a wet rag, Lu Chuanbai immediately pointed at her and asked her to back him up.
"Qingqing, tell him. Didn't Auntie ask me to apologize to Lu Qi before she left?"
Although Xu Qingqing didn't hear what Lu Qi and Lu Chuanbai had talked about, she whole - heartedly trusted Lu Chuanbai. She nodded in agreement and spread out the wet rag to wipe the table.
"Yes, Auntie did say that. She said she was very sorry."
Seeing the sincere expressions on the couple's faces, Lu Qi was a bit skeptical.
"You two aren't teaming up to lie to me, are you? I'm warning you, my fragile heart can't take any more hurt."
"Really not lying to you. If you don't believe me, you can go to Penglang Island and see her."
After Lu Chuanbai said that, he snatched the rag from Xu Qingqing's hand and threw it at Lu Qi.
Lu Qi narrowly dodged it and let out a scream. "Lu Chuanbai, what are you doing? This rag is so dirty and you're throwing it at me!"
"I'm already so miserable. Do you have no compassion?"
"The sofa is so dirty and you've been sitting and lying on it. Wipe it properly with the rag."
After Lu Chuanbai said that, he pushed the door open and left.
Lu Qi picked up the rag dejectedly, scoffed, and said impatiently to Xu Qingqing, who was snickering beside him, "He just didn't want you to do any work, so he found an excuse to give it to me."
"I even felt touched when he defended me just now."
As Lu Qi said this, he angrily wiped the table, imagining the table as the face of the migrant worker and rubbing it hard.
"Once I find that migrant worker, I'll make him pay the price!"
He had been so badly deceived. He wasn't someone to be bullied!
After Lu Chuanbai went out, he received a call from Qin Hongying. Her voice on the phone was full of worry and a bit of anticipation.
"Chuanbai, did you deliver my message?"
Lu Chuanbai knew that Qin Hongying was asking about Lu Qi's reaction. He answered truthfully and finally concluded.
"Auntie, if you want to reconcile with Lu Qi, I think it's necessary for you to come back and talk to him face - to - face."
"Just relying on me to pass on messages won't work. Lu Qi doesn't believe in your sincerity either."
Qin Hongying took Lu Chuanbai's words to heart, but asked in a helpless way.
"His business is booming now. What can I do for him when I go back... He'll definitely think that I'm just trying to find someone to support me in my old age and that's why I'm apologizing."
While recuperating, Qin Hongying had watched a lot of family ethics dramas and couldn't help but project herself into the current situation.
Hearing Qin Hongying's self - deprecation, Lu Chuanbai couldn't help but laugh.
"Lu Qi is facing a problem now. It'd be just right for you to come back and help him."
"What problem?" Qin Hongying quickly asked. "How can I help?"
By now, Lu Chuanbai had reached the end of the antique street. He turned into a nearby restaurant and started ordering.
"Please wait a moment. I'll tell you in detail after I finish ordering."
Lu Qi cleaned up the room as quickly as possible until it was barely presentable. Then he collapsed on the sofa, exhausted.
"Ugh, I'm so tired!"
"Quickly sit up. The sofa is dirty." Xu Qingqing reached out and pulled Lu Qi up.
Lu Qi self - deprecatingly shook off Xu Qingqing's hand and rolled around on the sofa carelessly.
"I don't care about my image anymore. Let it be dirty."
Hearing this, Lu Chuanbai, who had just pushed the door open, clicked his tongue softly. Then he placed the takeout food on the table.
"Get up and eat."
Hearing this, Lu Qi couldn't wait to open the rice box. The rich aroma of the rice made his mouth water.
"I never knew I could be this hungry after two days without eating."
Lu Qi picked up his chopsticks and shoveled the rice into his mouth eagerly.
Seeing Lu Qi gobbling his food, Lu Chuanbai shook his head. He took the food containers out of the bag, opened the lids, and pushed them in front of Lu Qi.
He said disgustedly, "Eat slowly. No one's going to fight you for it."
"You'll understand how I feel now if you go two days without eating." Lu Qi mumbled with a mouthful of rice.
Xu Qingqing washed a glass and poured Lu Qi a glass of warm water. She gently chided him, "Even if you're busy with work, you have to remember to eat. Otherwise, you'll damage your stomach."
Lu Qi snorted, picked up the food container, and shoveled another mouthful of food into his mouth. "You should tell that to your husband. After all, he won't even sleep when he's working."
"Now that there are two kids at home, he leaves work early every day." Xu Qingqing sat down with a smile.
"Alas, it's really blissful." Lu Qi shook his head and continued to shovel rice into his mouth.
After Lu Qi was full, he leaned back on the sofa and patted his stomach contentedly.
"I'm full." Lu Qi let out a burp.
Lu Chuanbai gave him a disgusted look, then dutifully collected the takeout boxes and threw them into the trash can.
Lu Qi joked with a smile, "Chuanbai, you're becoming more and more like a househusband since you got married. You're so virtuous."
"Shut up." Lu Chuanbai snorted and cleaned the table.
If Lu Qi just lay there after eating, Xu Qingqing would surely reach out to clean up. But Lu Chuanbai couldn't bear to let her do the work, so he had to do it himself.
"Stop lying there. Go find that migrant worker."
"Okay."
Lu Qi used the toothpick that came with the takeout to pick his teeth and lazily sat up.
Lu Chuanbai and Xu Qingqing went out first to wait for him. Lu Qi turned off all the lights in the store, locked the door, and got into Lu Chuanbai's car.
Lu Qi entered the destination address on the navigation. Just thinking about the migrant worker made him grit his teeth.
"That guy lives on the construction site. We'll definitely find him."
Seeing Lu Qi's angry look, Lu Chuanbai gently advised him, "Don't be impulsive when you see him. If you hurt him, it'll be even more difficult to handle."
Hearing that he couldn't fight, Lu Qi deflated like a punctured balloon and slumped against the car seat, his head resting on the window. "Got it."
"Okay."
Only when Lu Chuanbai saw that he had listened did he feel relieved. The car sped towards the destination.
Rare happy laughter echoed on the construction site. Delicious dishes were laid out on the abandoned wooden boards.
The workers, wearing safety helmets and green camouflage uniforms, were sitting around the tables, chatting and laughing loudly.
A thin and sharp - tongued man picked up an old iron bucket and knocked on it with a steel bar, making a loud noise.
"Everyone, attention! Brother An is going to speak!"
As he said this, the short man stepped aside, and a middle - aged man in a brand - new leather jacket with a big belly emerged from behind him, looking extremely pleased with himself.
"Everyone, I've struck it rich. Don't be polite. Eat as much as you want. It's all on me."