109: Chapter 109 Xu Qian Arrives at the Door, Qin Yi's Parents Are in a Hurry

Hearing the doorbell suddenly ring, Qin Jianye and Wu Xiuhua exchanged a glance, a flicker of surprise crossing their eyes. They wondered to themselves who could be knocking just after their son had left.

Wu Xiuhua instinctively lowered her voice, her face filled with curiosity and her eyes betraying a hint of speculation. She looked at Qin Jianye and asked softly, "Could they be looking for our son?"

"Probably. We just arrived in Magic City, and besides my third sister Jian Ge and Xiao Yue, we don't know anyone else here. Those two would definitely call before coming over," Qin Jianye said, his brow furrowing slightly in confusion. He shook his head and walked toward the door with hurried steps.

At this moment, the person standing outside was none other than Xu Qian.

She was taking deep breaths, trying to steady her breathing while constantly smoothing her hair, clearly very nervous. In her other hand, she held two exquisite gift bags. She stared unblinkingly at the door, her eyes shimmering with anticipation and unease.

She could have actually entered by scanning her fingerprint, but considering this was her first time meeting Young Master Qin's parents and it was at his home, she felt it would be too abrupt to just barge in. Moreover, she didn't know if Young Master Qin had mentioned her to his parents; after all, she had only just told him over the phone about her decision to meet them. To avoid making this first meeting too awkward for everyone, she chose to knock, which felt more polite and reserved.

Qin Jianye quickly reached the door and looked through the monitor screen. Seeing a young lady standing outside, his eyes lit up immediately. He beckoned Wu Xiuhua over to take a look, his face full of curiosity.

Seeing this, Wu Xiuhua also hurried over. Through the monitor, she carefully scrutinized Xu Qian's appearance, a hint of curiosity and speculation flashing in her eyes.

Qin Jianye lowered his voice, as if afraid the girl outside would hear him, and whispered in Wu Xiuhua's ear, "Could this girl be our son's previous girlfriend?" His eyes were full of expectation, as if seeking confirmation from her.

"You mean, she's Su Mo?" Hearing this, Wu Xiuhua's brow furrowed instinctively, her voice laced with uncertainty. She shook her head and replied, "I don't know... I've never seen what that girl looks like..."

Outside, Xu Qian waited for a moment. Seeing that no one had answered the door, she didn't think much of it, assuming Qin Yi and the others simply hadn't heard. After all, the house was so big; there was no telling which room they were in, so it was normal not to hear the doorbell. Thinking this, she pressed the doorbell again, her eyes showing more determination, as if she had made up her mind to see Qin Yi's parents.

The doorbell rang once more. Seeing this, Qin Jianye hurried to lower his voice and motioned for Wu Xiuhua to open the door. "Xiuhua, since it's a girl, you... you should be the one to open it..." Saying this, he stepped back, leaving the spot at the door to her.

Hearing this, Wu Xiuhua gave Qin Jianye a look, waved him aside, and then stepped forward to open the door just a crack. With a warm smile on her face, she looked at Xu Qian and asked, "Young lady, who are you looking for?"

The moment the door opened, Xu Qian was taken aback. She had expected Young Master Qin to open the door, but the scene before her was unexpected. The person who opened the door was a middle-aged woman with a gentle face and eyes full of curiosity and friendliness.

Xu Qian was only dazed for a split second before reacting quickly. Her face immediately shifted into her professional smile as a luxury car salesperson, and her voice was full of warmth. She looked at Wu Xiuhua and greeted her enthusiastically, "Hello, Auntie. May I ask, are you Young Master Qin's mother?" As she spoke, she bowed politely, appearing very respectful.

"Uh, h-hello. I am Qin Yi's mother." Seeing how enthusiastic the girl was and hearing her call her 'Auntie' and knowing she was Qin Yi's mother, Wu Xiuhua's guard dropped slightly. A friendly smile appeared on her face, though curiosity still flickered in her eyes. She looked Xu Qian up and down and asked curiously, "Young lady, are you a friend of Xiao Yi's?"

"Yes, Auntie. My name is Xu Qian, I'm a friend of Young Master Qin, and I live downstairs," Xu Qian said with a nod, a slightly shy smile appearing on her face. "I knew you and Uncle had come to Magic City, so I wanted to come by and visit you both." She didn't directly say she was Young Master Qin's girlfriend; after all, this was her first time meeting a boyfriend's parents. She thought to herself: The 'girlfriend' part should be said by the man; it felt inappropriate to say it herself.

Perhaps due to nervousness, Xu Qian's smile was instinctively a bit stiff as she spoke. At the same time, she was thinking: Why hasn't Young Master Qin come over yet? He needs to hurry up and bail me out. With that thought, her gaze involuntarily drifted toward the inside of the house, and she asked with a hint of confusion, "Auntie, is Young Master Qin not here?"

"Oh, so you're the neighbor from downstairs. Hello, hello." Hearing that her name wasn't Su Mo, Wu Xiuhua's guard was completely gone. She then hurried to explain, "What a coincidence. Qin Yi just stepped out a moment ago, probably right before you arrived." She shook her head, looking a bit regretful.

During the conversation, Wu Xiuhua noticed that Xu Qian was tall and slender, quite beautiful, and lived right downstairs from her son. Driven by a mother's concern for her son's love life, she immediately became interested. She thought: I was just worried that my son would get caught up in his emotional entanglements with Su Mo again and wouldn't be able to move on. Isn't this a perfect match? As the saying goes, 'The best way to get over someone is to start a new romance.'

Thus, Wu Xiuhua immediately stepped aside with a face full of smiles and warmly invited Xu Qian inside. "Come in, young lady, don't just stand at the door."

However, hearing that Qin Yi wasn't home, Xu Qian couldn't help but feel a bit frustrated.

After buying the gifts, she had driven the porsche 718 her boss rewarded her with back to the community's underground garage. Seeing that rolls-royce cullinan parked in its spot, she assumed Qin Yi was at home. So, she had rushed home, changed her clothes, and taken the elevator to the top floor, only to realize she had missed him.

This was great. The main person wasn't here, and judging by his mother's reaction, Young Master Qin probably hadn't mentioned her to his parents yet. This was getting awkward. Xu Qian stood at the door, hesitating whether she should go in.

Beside her, Qin Jianye's heart settled when he heard the girl wasn't Su Mo. Seeing Xu Qian's awkward hesitation, he poked his head out with a beaming smile and warmly invited her in, "Come in, young lady. I'll call that boy Qin Yi right now and tell him to get back here quickly."

"Uh, hello Uncle. You must be Young Master Qin's father?" Xu Qian couldn't afford to be awkward now and hurriedly nodded to Qin Jianye, greeting him warmly.

"Haha, what a polite girl. Come inside."

Faced with the warm invitation from Young Master Qin's parents, Xu Qian couldn't refuse any longer and walked in with a smile.

Wu Xiuhua led Xu Qian to sit on the sofa in the living room. Qin Jianye, holding his phone, gave Xu Qian an awkward smile and said somewhat helplessly, "Haha, sorry Miss Xu, that boy Qin Yi isn't picking up."

"It's alright, Uncle. Please have a seat. Young Master Qin might be busy with something and can't answer the phone right now," Xu Qian replied with a soft smile.

As she spoke, she realized she was still clutching the gifts she bought for Qin Yi's parents. She quickly stood up and respectfully handed the two gift bags to Wu Xiuhua. She looked at Qin Yi's parents awkwardly and then smiled, "Auntie, I didn't know what you and Uncle liked, so I bought a necklace for each of you. It's just a small token, I hope you both like them."

Wu Xiuhua was about to take them when she caught a glimpse of the 'Lao Feng Xiang' logo on the bags. Her eyebrows shot up instinctively, and she declined with a hint of surprise in her voice, "Oh, I couldn't possibly. Miss Xu, this is only our first time meeting, and we aren't related. How can we accept such a heavy gift?"

Seeing Young Master Qin's mother decline, Xu Qian hurried to respond, "Auntie, this is just a small gesture from me. To be honest, Young Master Qin has helped me a lot lately, and I'm very grateful to him. Knowing you two were coming gave me a chance to repay him, so you and Uncle must accept these gifts no matter what."

As she spoke, she didn't wait for Young Master Qin's mother to refuse again and directly took the jewelry boxes out of the bags, opening them one by one and presenting them to the parents. Then, with a glimmer of expectation in her eyes, she continued with a smile, "The one for you, Auntie, is a platinum necklace set with emerald, and for Uncle, it's a Hetian Jade 'Ping'an Wu Shi' plaque." After saying that, Xu Qian explained with a bit of awkwardness, "Actually, I don't know much about jade and stones. I originally wanted to buy gold necklaces, but I thought giving gold to you and Uncle might be a bit tacky, so I bought these two instead. Please take a look and see if they're real; if I bought fakes, I'll have to go back and argue with them."

What Xu Qian said was actually seven parts truth and three parts lie. When she went to the gold shop to choose, even the more expensive gold necklaces were only a few tens of thousands of yuan. Recalling the gifts Young Master Qin had bought for his parents that night, Xu Qian felt that something worth only a few tens of thousands seemed a bit underwhelming. Besides, Young Master Qin had given her so much, and since this was her first time meeting his parents, she felt she should buy more expensive and exquisite gifts. Thus, under the enthusiastic introduction of the shop assistant, she bought these two jade necklaces that looked low-key but were actually very valuable.

Wu Xiuhua didn't know much about emeralds and jade, but Qin Jianye was quite knowledgeable.

He used to be a boss worth tens of millions, after all. Although he wasn't particularly interested in jade, some of the officials and clients he had dealt with in the past were, so he had picked up some knowledge along the way.

So, without waiting for Wu Xiuhua to speak further, Qin Jianye had already put down his phone and taken out the milk-white 'Ping'an Wu Shi' plaque, which had an oily luster and was free of any flaws. He felt the texture and hand-feel of the jade plaque carefully.

A moment later, he looked at Xu Qian in surprise and asked, "Miss Xu, this plaque couldn't have been cheap, right? This is genuine Hetian Jade seed material." As he spoke, he weighed the jade plaque in his hand and continued, "This must be over 100 grams? With this quality, I'm afraid it's worth three hundred thousand?"

The corners of Xu Qian's mouth curled into a beautiful arc. Looking at Qin Jianye, she complimented him with a smile, "Uncle has such a sharp eye. However, it wasn't quite that expensive—just under two hundred and sixty thousand."

Receiving Xu Qian's compliment made Qin Jianye very happy. In truth, he only knew a little about jade and was far from an expert. He had just learned about the characteristics and prices of Hetian seed material years ago—ordinary ones could be tens or hundreds per gram, better quality ones could be hundreds or thousands, and top-tier ones couldn't even be priced by weight. He also saw that the brand was Lao Feng Xiang and figured the goods sold there wouldn't be fake, so he estimated a price based on the weight. He hadn't expected to actually guess correctly.

However, before Qin Jianye could be humble in front of Xu Qian, he heard his wife's voice ring out.

"Two hundred and sixty thousand?! Miss Xu, this gift is far too precious. One should not accept rewards without merit; you should take it back quickly..." Hearing that this uncarved jade plaque cost two hundred and sixty thousand, Wu Xiuhua felt that Xu Qian must have some favor to ask of her son. Thus, she didn't even care about the price of the platinum emerald necklace in front of her and tried to push both jewelry boxes back to Xu Qian, her tone laced with urgency.

Qin Jianye also realized this and hurriedly placed the 'Ping'an Wu Shi' plaque back into its box with great care. He then pushed it back as well, echoing with a sheepish smile, "Yes, Miss Xu. This gift is too precious; we would be too embarrassed to accept it."

Seeing Young Master Qin's parents returning the meeting gifts again, Xu Qian grew anxious. With a voice full of shyness and nervousness, she explained, "Uncle, Auntie, I... I'll tell you the truth. Actually, actually I am Young Master Qin's... Young Master Qin's girlfriend..." After saying this, Xu Qian lowered her head shyly, her hands nervously interlaced. A flush immediately appeared on her face, quickly spreading even to the tips of her ears.

"Huh?" Hearing this, Wu Xiuhua's hand jerked back as if it had been burned. She sat back on the sofa and immediately locked eyes with Qin Jianye, both of them filled with astonishment. A flash of surprise crossed Qin Jianye's eyes, but it was quickly replaced by a smile.

"Ahem..." He gave a light cough and then looked at Wu Xiuhua, hurriedly instructing, "Hey, Xiuhua, the young lady has been here for so long, you should pour her a glass of water..." As he spoke, he signaled her with his eyes to go to the kitchen.

Wu Xiuhua also reacted immediately and hurriedly replied, "Oh, oh, right, ahem, look at me, how could I forget. Miss Xu, wait for me a moment, I'll go pour it now..." Saying this, she stood up and walked toward the kitchen in a fluster. At the same time, she was muttering in her heart: That rascal Xiao Yi, he got a new girlfriend and didn't even tell his own mother! This really caught her off guard!

Xu Qian wanted to stand up and be polite, but as soon as she looked up, she saw that Qin Yi's mother had already entered the kitchen. She could only lower her head again, feeling too embarrassed to look at Qin Yi's father sitting across from her. Her heart raced, and the flush on her cheeks became even more apparent.

At that moment, Wu Xiuhua's voice came from the kitchen, her tone laced with urgency and prompting, "Old Qin, hurry up and call Xiao Yi again to urge him. What could be so urgent that he had to do it today? Tell him to get back here right now!"

"No, no need Uncle..." Xu Qian looked up shyly at Qin Jianye and said something she didn't mean, her voice trembling slightly.

"It's fine, it's fine, young lady, just sit..." Qin Jianye replied with a smile, his expression very sincere. Then, he picked up his phone, stood up from the sofa, and left the living room for the kitchen.

Now, Xu Qian was the only one left in the living room, along with the two opened jewelry boxes.

With things suddenly quiet, Xu Qian felt like she could hear her own heart thumping.

Taking advantage of the fact that Qin Yi's parents weren't there, she quickly pulled out her phone and opened WeChat. Her fingers tapped rapidly on the screen, and she soon sent a message to Qin Yi: 'Young Master Qin, why aren't you home... I've already met Uncle and Auntie. What should I do? It's so awkward, come back and save me...'

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