Watching the designated driver drive up, Luo Qianqian couldn’t believe her eyes, and the other person’s eyes were just as disbelieving.
"Luo Qianqian, what are you doing here so late? And who is this?!"
"Lin Jiayou, how could you come out to play so late at night? Do you believe I’ll tell Uncle Lin?!"
They both roared out loud.
After the shouting, they both paused. Lin Jiayou extended his hand threateningly toward Elvis, "Car keys."
Elvis helplessly handed over the keys, feeling like in Lin Jiayou’s eyes he was some criminal who had kidnapped his daughter. Right, his daughter, not his sister—especially not a sister who was already in college.
Once in the car, Lin Jiayou demanded fiercely, "Where were you planning to go?!"
"Brother Jiayou, are you thinking too much?" Luo Qianqian spoke with a face full of incredulity, "To the school area."
"Thinking too much? In the dead of night, alone together as man and woman in this quiet and deserted parking lot, what do you think you two are up to?" Lin Jiayou started the car and turned on the air conditioning, quietly turning to look at Elvis in the passenger seat, "What time is it? Good kids are already asleep, and you’re still outside, and you have the nerve to ask if I’m thinking too much?"
"Brother Jiayou, which parking lot is this? What can we do here?" Luo Qianqian rubbed her forehead.
Which parking lot? Lin Jiayou paused in realization, "The airport..." Then it dawned on him, "Who left?"
"A teacher," Luo Qianqian said calmly. "So my dear Brother Jiayou, can you explain what you are doing here in the middle of the night instead of sleeping in your dorm?"
Lin Jiayou looked a bit embarrassed, "Isn’t it just to make a little extra money?"
Luo Qianqian frowned. She knew about Lin Jiayou’s part-time job, but wasn’t it always during the day? Why would he need to find work in the middle of the night? Could something have happened?
"What’s going on?" Her face showed utmost seriousness.
Facing Luo Qianqian’s gaze at the moment, Lin Jiayou somewhat cowered, his momentum immediately dropping from three meters to just one, "It’s just earning some money... that’s right, isn’t Aunt An’s birthday coming up soon?"
Luo Qianqian rolled her eyes; the excuse was clearly made up on the spot. Did he take her for a fool?
"Spit it out!" Luo Qianqian yelled furiously.
Looking at Lin Jiayou’s obvious dark circles and his rugged beard that hadn’t been shaved for who knows how many days, what stood out was that his hair wasn’t even washed!
This was completely out of character for him, as he usually washed his hair whenever he went out.
Elvis quietly passed his phone over, displaying a message from someone else: "Designated driver, drinker, fighter, if the price is right, time is not an issue."
The phone number attached was clearly Lin Jiayou’s.
Luo Qianqian narrowed her eyes, "You better tell me now, or it won’t be so nice when I find out myself."
Even Elvis shrank back a bit; Luo Qianqian could be quite intimidating at times.
Despite being just a kid, she could make someone feel a chilling threat.
...Lin Jiayou turned back to the front and didn’t speak.
"I have money if you’re short," Luo Qianqian said, squinting at Lin Jiayou. "But you have to tell me what’s really going on, right?"
Lin Jiayou’s eyes brightened at the mention of money, but then he lowered his head again and shook it, "No need..."
"Lin Jiayou! You’re my brother, is there anything you have to hide from me? Or would you prefer if Uncle Lin came to ask?" Luo Qianqian glared, pretending to make a call.
"Stop!" Lin Jiayou looked panicked.
"Out with it!" Luo Qianqian stared directly into Lin Jiayou’s eyes, holding up the phone with a clear intention to call if he didn’t speak.
Lin Jiayou sighed deeply, "I didn’t want to ruin the image of big brother in your eyes, can’t you just let me keep a bit of dignity as a brother?"
"Is the image of my brother more important in my eyes, or is it more important that you’re exhausted and something really happens to you?" Luo Qianqian frowned, "Even if you don’t tell me, now that I’ve discovered the problem, give me a day and I could figure it out."
Lin Jiayou was stunned, then gave a bitter smile, as if she was indeed right.
"Well, since that’s the case, lend me five thousand yuan," Lin Jiayou said.
Luo Qianqian frowned, how could just five thousand yuan push Lin Jiayou to this state?
"First, tell me." Luo Qianqian didn’t immediately fork over the money but looked calmly at Lin Jiayou.
Lin Jiayou paused for a moment, then gave a bitter smile, "You know about my ex-girlfriend, right? The one who cheated on me."
Luo Qianqian nodded.
"I was at home watching Xiao Yu, right? Just so happened that I ran into her that day, and then I invited her for a meal; somehow, we ended up having a few drinks," Lin Jiayou’s face was full of regret, "and then, somehow, we ended up in bed."
Luo Qianqian frowned, "Is she pregnant?"
Lin Jiayou nodded in distress.
Luo Qianqian counted the days on her fingers and raised an eyebrow, "And then?"
"A few days ago, she told me she was pregnant, then she was expelled from school, and came to seek refuge with me..." Lin Jiayou rubbed his head, "I really don’t know what to do now."
"Uh... I’m more curious about another issue right now..." Luo Qianqian looked somewhat conflicted.
Lin Jiayou lifted his head to look at Luo Qianqian, "What?"
"Zhang Yun, does she know?"
Lin Jiayou’s distress deepened as he hung his head, "How could I dare tell her? My head is spinning!"
"Where is she now?" Luo Qianqian hesitated for a moment before asking again.
"The small hotel by the entrance to our school," Lin Jiayou said blankly.
"Is your money for her surgery fee or..." Luo Qianqian remembered Lin Jiayou had about one or two ten thousand yuan, didn’t he?
Lin Jiayou gave a bitter smile, "Where would I have money? I bought things for An Hao and Aunt An, as well as for Zhang Yun. There wasn’t much left, and you know how I spend, always been lavish..."
"Do you have a rough idea in your head of how much money you gave her?" Luo Qianqian frowned, interrupting him.
"Two or three thousand? Roughly that much," Lin Jiayou hurriedly said, hearing the disapproval in Luo Qianqian’s voice.
Luo Qianqian thought for a moment, "Didn’t she ask you to take her to the hospital to get rid of the baby or something?"
Lin Jiayou was taken aback, "She just said I should take responsibility..."
"Take responsibility? How? Doesn’t she have a boyfriend? What’s the situation now? Does she want you to pay for the surgery, or does she want you to marry her and take responsibility? Haven’t you figured it out yet?" Luo Qianqian was about to explode, what was Lin Jiayou even thinking?
"...This..." Could Lin Jiayou say that when he heard about this, he had been dumbstruck? How could he think about anything else?
"Did you pay for her travel expenses over here?"
"No," Lin Jiayou shook his head.
"So she’s penniless now? No luggage?" Luo Qianqian frowned.
"She said she didn’t have any, just brought a suitcase with clothes," Lin Jiayou honestly replied.
Luo Qianqian paused for a moment, "Elvis, show the way, let’s go to your place first, let him get some sleep before we talk."
"Okay," Elvis agreed promptly.