“Zhou Weiqi is my colleague at work! We work in the same department.” Zhan Qiuhe explained and smiled at Zhou Weiqi. She turned toward Master Cai and continued, “I was just with uncle because he seemed like he needed some help. However, my presence did nothing but complicate matters for him, that’s why I’m back.”
“It’s very boring here, go be with your uncle.” Master Cai felt sorry for his sister, who lost two young grandsons at once.
The Zhan family was left with Zhan Qiuhe as the only remaining grandchild. Losing her family like that, she had been feeling depressed for some time. As Grandmother Zhan knew that there was an event going on tonight at the Purple Orchid Garden, she asked her brother to bring Zhan Qiuhe along. Perhaps the fresh air and human interactions could cheer her up.
“Master Cai, I can look after Qiuhe for you! I’ll make sure she’s having fun!” Zhou Weiqi said as he approached Zhan Qiuhe with his hands out wanting to hold her hand.
Jiang Yao noticed Master Cai’s expression, took a few steps back and pulled Lu Xingzhi along with her. Just as expected, Master Cai’s booming voice was heard. “Get away from her! Qiuhe, look at him, he is a playboy! Get as far away as possible. You might get pregnant just by holding his hand.
Zhou Weiqi was flabbergasted. He looked at his hand and shook his head. “That can’t be right, Master Cai, that’s not possible.”
“Let’s go.” Lu Xingzhi grabbed Jiang Yao’s hand, and gave Chen Xuyao a signal. They left immediately, abandoning a distraught Zhou Weiqi.
Jiang Yao could not hold her laughter in anymore. She roared.
“Serves him right!” Jiang Yao had been hearing Zhou Weiqi’s rumors since she came over. According to the gossip, Zhou Weiqi was a lustful male with a different female partner for each day of the week.
Yet, Jiang Yao had never seen Zhou Weiqi together with a woman even after knowing him for so long. Every so often, she would catch a whiff of women’s perfume from his body or would catch a glimpse of a lipstick mark on his neck.
Frankly speaking, Zhou Weiqi himself was not a womanizer. He was pressured by the Zhou family to act in a certain way, allowing others to think that he was a good-for-nothing playboy with no ambitions. He did this to cover for himself, so that Mrs. Zhou and the rest would not see him as a threat.
It was tiring having to live his life like that.
After leaving the compound where Master Cai was located, Lu Xingzhi led Jiang Yao and Chen Xuyao to a different compound they passed by on the way here. It was much crowded and more spacious than the previous one. Upon entering, they could see numerous stones, or more accurately rough emerald stones, placed around the compound.
“Are you going to show us your skill, Brother Lu?” Chen Xuyao got very excited. “Or perhaps you could give me some tips?”
He rubbed his hands in glee, looking intently at every stone he passed by. In reality, he was a complete beginner.
“No, I’m just showing Jiang Yao what’s going on.” Lu Xingzhi shook his head. He had no plans to buy them as he did not bring his tools along.
Everything looked new and fascinating to Jiang Yao. Everyone present here had a flashlight and some other tools in their hand. They would stand in front of a stone and give it a rub, or maybe look at it using a flashlight or even check out the details using a magnifying glass. It was a solemn affair as the expressions of the enthusiasts were serious.