Chapter 227 - Xiao Han’s Plus One (1)
Qiao Yuhan had been diligently taking care of the goldfish Su Xiaofei had won for him on their first meeting. He had made sure that his fat cat wouldn't be able to bully the fish and requested his mother to buy him a larger fishbowl he could use to house them.
However, a single mistake on his part and he ended up coming home from school only to find his fish floating in the water of their fishbowl.
Qiao Yuhan had already told Su Xiaofei over their video call about it, and the latter had assured him that she would replace the goldfish on his next visit. Still, Qiao Yuhan felt guilty of not being able to pay more attention to his smaller pets.
"Auntie said that they gave them an honorable funeral." The young boy sighed dejectedly. He didn't even get a chance to bury those fish himself. It was the first gift he received from Su Xiaofei, but he failed to protect them from his naughty cat.
Xi Qian bit her inner cheek to stop herself from laughing. She doubted that Qiao Yuhan's nannies had truly given the fish a 'proper' funeral. They probably flushed the poor fish down the toilet without Qiao Yuhan's knowledge.
Su Xiaofei caught the slight glint in Xi Qian's eyes and she could tell what was on her best friend's mind. She gave Xi Qian a pointed stare, gesturing for her not to say anything that could make the young boy cry.
"Eh? Didn't I tell you that Snowbell would turn them into his lunch? I knew that it would happen!" Xi Qian exclaimed, but she tried to suppress the smile on her face, given that Qiao Yuhan was almost in tears upon remembering what happened to his goldfish.
"Snowbell bit them to death." Qiao Yuhan complained, but he couldn't learn to hate Snowbell since the white cat had been his pet ever since he was an infant. It was a gift from his father when he was born. "I should have taken good care of them."
Su Xiaofei didn't say anything and consoled her little brother. Qiao Yuhan was still young, and she wanted to spoil him a little, now that she had the chance. Maybe Lu Qingfeng's suggestion wasn't so bad after all, and she could still be part of Qiao Yuhan and her father's lives, not knowing that they were blood-related to her.
This was enough for Su Xiaofei and she didn't want to divulge the truth; that she was Qiao Fengying and Bai Qingyue's daughter. It was enough that she was able to meet her father now. As for her mother, well, regardless of the lifetime she was in, Yun Qingrong would be the only person she would acknowledge as her mother.
"Maybe it's not a good idea to have goldfish as another pet, Xiao Han." Xi Qian commented, while Su Xiaofei agreed with her. "What brings you to Qiying City again? Another business trip?"
Qiao Yuhan furrowed his brows, then glanced at Su Xiaofei.
"Fei Jie hasn't told you yet?"
"Is there something I need to know?" Xi Qian asked in return, looking at her best friend with confusion.
"It's nothing serious, Qian. Xiao Feng and I are going to invest in Qiao Tech's latest project. I just didn't expect that he would be able to set a meeting this early." Su Xiaofei gave Xi Qian an apologetic look.
"Sorry, Qian. I should have told you earlier." There were things that she wasn't ready to share with Xi Qian yet, and Su Xiaofei hoped that her best friend wouldn't hold it against her.
"There's no need to apologize for something like this, Feifei. Regardless of the reason why Xiao Han is here, I'm happy that I could spend time with him like this." Xi Qian brushed off her best friend's apology. She wasn't that sensitive anyway. She understood that there were things that Su Xiaofei wasn't ready to share with her, and she respected her best friend's decision as long as it wasn't too serious.
"Why don't you join us for dinner, Qian Jie?" Qiao Yuhan suggested. "I'm sure that they all will be talking about work again."
"I don't mind, Xiao Han, but would your parents agree to it?" Xi Qian replied. "I don't want to go uninvited. That's disrespectful. I don't want to impose."
"But you would be my guest, Qian Jie." The young boy pouted. "I'm sure Mom and Dad won't mind it. We can also have a sleepover if you want."
"Qian, you should go with us. It's rare for you and Xiao Han to see each other and I bet with our preparation for the entrance exams, it would be hard to meet him again anytime soon." Su Xiaofei agreed with her little brother.
Xi Qian groaned upon being reminded of her upcoming entrance exam at the med school next week. The money she got from selling her house had helped her pay for the cram school, but she still needed to study on her own late at night. Thankfully, her sole part-time job had given her a week off to prepare for her exams, and this was the only day she gave herself a break from it.
"If you put it that way, Feifei… then I suppose that's okay. Xiao Han and I can play some games while you and Lu Qingfeng are discussing business over dinner." Xi Qian conceded. She really wanted to relax and take a break from studying, even for a while.
"Great!" Qiao Yuhan beamed them a wide smile and pulled out his phone. "Qian Jie, you can't back out now. I'll inform Mom about your visit tonight."
While Qiao Yuhan was making a call to his mother, away from Su Xiaofei's table, Lu Qingfeng entered the café with Nine. He glanced at the young boy and understood what was happening.
"I'm Xiao Han's plus one tonight, just in case you are wondering.." Xi Qian grinned at him.
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