274: Chapter 274 The affairs of Qin Jianren and his wife

"No need to change your shoes, just go and sit in the living room," Qin Jianye greeted them warmly, then turned to walk into the house. "I'll go brew some tea; wait a moment."

Qin Jianren and Su Fangfang were like Granny Liu entering the Grand View Garden for the first time, looking here and there, touching this and that.

"Oh my, Xiao Yi has really made something of himself." Qin Jianren sighed, his Face full of envy. "How much would it cost to buy such a large house?"

"That's for sure." Su Fangfang took over the conversation, her eyes sparkling with longing. "If we could live in a house like this one day, we'd probably wake up laughing from our dreams at night." As she spoke, Su Fangfang glanced at Wu Xiuhua, intentionally or otherwise.

Wu Xiuhua did not take the bait. She knew exactly what kind of person her sister-in-law was. Most likely, having learned that this entire building belonged to her son, she was already harboring some devious thoughts.

Seeing that Wu Xiuhua didn't respond, Su Fangfang smiled awkwardly and changed the subject, asking, "Um, sister-in-law, where is the bathroom? I'll go wash my hands first."

Wu Xiuhua smiled and pointed the way. "Follow me, I'll take you."

At the same time, Qin Jianye finished brewing a pot of tea and returned to the living room.

Seeing this, Qin Jianren hurried forward and took the teapot from Qin Jianye's hand without a word, saying politely, "Big brother, sit down, sit down. I'll handle small things like pouring tea."

Qin Jianye nodded and sat down on the sofa.

Qin Jianren set the teapot aside, arranged four teacups, and poured water into each one.

Seeing his brother being so attentive, Qin Jianye couldn't help but frown slightly. He looked at Qin Jianren, his lips parted as if he wanted to say something. After a moment of silence, he finally spoke, "Jianren, I didn't have a chance to ask you at Third Sister's place. Did you come to Shenjiang because something went wrong with your business in Jingnan?"

Qin Jianren's expression changed slightly, and the teapot in his hand trembled, nearly spilling the tea.

Qin Jianren quickly regained his composure and gave a sheepish smile. "No, no, big brother, you've misunderstood. Fangfang and I came this time mainly to apologize to you. We really didn't do the right thing before. We are biological brothers; when you were facing difficulties, instead of thinking about how to help you, I acted like it was none of my business. Thinking back on it now, I'm truly ashamed."

"Alright. Let's not mention the past anymore." Qin Jianye waved his hand, picked up his teacup, and continued, "Come, come, drink some tea."

Qin Jianren nodded, took a sip of tea, and after setting the cup down, continued, "Also, over the past few days, Xiao Yue has told us everything. She said that during her time in Shenjiang, it was all thanks to you, sister-in-law, and Xiao Yi for taking care of her. You arranged a place for her to stay and even helped resolve her work troubles. Hearing that made us feel truly ashamed."

"Oh, you're being too formal. Xiao Yue isn't an outsider; she's my niece. If I can help, I naturally will." Qin Jianye waved his hand, interrupting Qin Jianren.

"Yes," Qin Jianren nodded, then continued, "So, last night, the two of us talked it over and felt we had to apologize to you and sister-in-law in person. We also know that you, sister-in-law, and Xiao Yi have issues with us and definitely wouldn't want to see us. That's why I didn't tell you or our sister in advance about coming to Shenjiang today."

"Oh, haven't I said it already? Let's not mention the past." Qin Jianye repeated, then directly changed the subject to ask about Qin Jianren's business.

"By the way, how is your office supplies company? Is business okay?" Qin Jianye asked after taking another sip of tea.

"Sigh," Qin Jianren sighed. "I won't hide it from you, big brother. Ever since your steel mill closed down, my business has indeed been getting worse by the day. I estimate that if it continues like this, I might not even last a month."

Qin Jianye nodded thoughtfully, thinking to himself: As expected, my dear brother truly doesn't visit unless he needs something. This time, the apology is likely fake, and wanting my son to save his company is the real goal.

"Sigh." Having figured this out, Qin Jianye sighed silently in his heart. He gestured for Qin Jianren to drink tea, maintaining a calm expression as he continued, "Business is indeed hard to do nowadays. But fortunately, Xiao Yue is now working with Xiao Yi and should be able to earn quite a bit of money. Otherwise, just close the company. You two have worked hard for most of your lives; enjoy some happiness from now on."

Hearing this, Qin Jianren smiled and didn't say anything more. He picked up his teacup and took a sip.

At this time, Wu Xiuhua and Su Fangfang, after touring every room in this super luxury flat, came to the living room chatting and laughing.

"Big brother, in such a large house, is it usually just the two of you? Isn't it a bit too empty? And cleaning such a big place must be very time-consuming and labor-intensive, right? You should have Xiao Yi hire a few servants later." Su Fangfang said with a smile.

Wu Xiuhua smiled gently upon hearing this. "It is. This house is indeed quite large. Xiao Yi usually lives downstairs with his girlfriend. Xiao Yi mentioned to me a couple of days ago that he wanted to hire a few people to help." At this point, she paused and continued, "By the way, do you remember Auntie Liu, who used to work at our house?"

"Oh, Auntie Liu, of course I remember her." Su Fangfang nodded, a nostalgic look appearing on her Face. "Auntie Liu was hardworking and honest. Xiao Yue was in boarding high school back then and often said she missed Auntie Liu's cooking."

"Yes." A flash of satisfaction appeared in Wu Xiuhua's eyes. "I've already contacted Auntie Liu. She'll be coming over next Monday. By then, there will be someone to help take care of the house, which will make things much easier."

"That's great!" Su Fangfang chimed in with a smile. "We're all familiar with Auntie Liu and know her well. We'll be much more at ease with her here."

"Oh, I'll give Xiao Yi a call to ask if they're finished. It's about time they came back." As she spoke, Wu Xiuhua reached for her phone.

Just then, the sound of a door lock clicking open came from the entrance, interrupting the conversation inside. Everyone looked toward the sound and saw the door slowly being pushed inward.

"Oh, speak of the devil." Wu Xiuhua chuckled, put down her phone, stood up, and walked quickly toward the door.

She hadn't told her son about Qin Jianren and his wife's arrival. If they met unexpectedly, given her son's temper, things might get unpleasant again. Wu Xiuhua decided to give Qin Yi a heads-up to avoid an awkward scene later.

The door swung wide open. Qin Yi was about to step in while holding Xu Qian's hand, but he was surprised to see his mother coming toward them, actually blocking the two of them outside the door.

"Mom, what's this about?" Qin Yi looked at his mother with some confusion.

"Hello, Auntie~" Xu Qian, being well-behaved and sensible, immediately greeted Wu Xiuhua politely.

Wu Xiuhua gave Xu Qian a kind smile, then turned to Qin Yi with a slightly troubled expression. "Xiao Yi, listen to me. Your second uncle and second aunt are here. I'll tell you the details later. When you see them, please don't Life Qi. Just do it for your father's sake and give him some Face, okay?"

Hearing this, a flash of astonishment appeared in Qin Yi's eyes, followed by his Face darkening.

Xu Qian stood to the side. Although she knew something about the Qin Family's affairs, as an outsider, all she could do was remain silent and stand by Qin Yi's side.

Seeing the change in Qin Yi's expression, Wu Xiuhua added, "Xiao Yi, regardless of their purpose this time—whether it's a sincere apology or they want something else—he is your father's biological brother. You can choose not to forgive them, but your father can't. So, just give your father some Face and make him feel better."

"Fine. Mom, I understand what you mean. However, I'm just back to pick up some things. There's a cocktail party tonight, and I have to leave as soon as I've got them." Although Qin Yi's tone was somewhat cold, he tried his best to restrain his emotions.

"Uh~ I see. Alright then, it's not too late to go in and say hello before you leave." Wu Xiuhua nodded understandingly, secretly breathing a sigh of relief.

Thus, the three of them walked into the house together. Although Qin Yi's expression wasn't great, he didn't show any obvious displeasure.

At this moment, Qin Jianye, Qin Jianren, and Su Fangfang had already stood up. They knew full well that Wu Xiuhua had stopped Qin Yi at the door to explain the situation.

When Qin Yi walked in leading Xu Qian, Su Fangfang immediately greeted them warmly with a gentle smile. "Xiao Yi is back! This young lady must be Xiao Yi's girlfriend, right? My, she's just like a celebrity—so tall and beautiful."

Qin Yi didn't respond, while Xu Qian nodded slightly in greeting and gave Su Fangfang a proper smile. "Hello, Second Uncle and Second Aunt. My name is Xu Qian, and I'm Young Master Qin's girlfriend." After speaking, she turned her gaze to Qin Jianye and greeted him politely again, "Hello, Uncle Qin."

"Haha, good, good." A flash of satisfaction appeared in Qin Jianye's eyes, but he then asked in confusion, "Why did only the two of you come back? Where's Xiao Yue? Isn't she with you?"

Qin Yi responded, "Oh, I have a cocktail party tonight and need to come back to change clothes. Xiao Yue is with Fatty and the others, having dinner with the school leaders and teachers. She'll probably be back a bit later."

"Oh, I see." Qin Jianye nodded.

"Yeah," Qin Yi said, opening a drawer near the entrance and putting the cullinan's car keys inside. Then, he took out the keys for the convertible Bugatti Veyron and continued, "Dad, Mom, no need to wait for us tonight. The party will probably go quite late. Xiao Yue will come back with Fatty and the others, and Qianqian's younger brother will also be coming over. You don't need to worry. It's almost time, so Qianqian and I will go downstairs to change first."

After Qin Yi finished speaking, he took Xu Qian's hand and walked out the door.

From beginning to end, Qin Yi didn't even spare a glance at Qin Jianren and his wife, as if the two were transparent.

Watching the two of them walk out hand-in-hand, Qin Jianye's throat moved as he cleared it, finally giving an awkward smile. "This kid... he's so busy all day he hardly stays home."

"Sigh," Qin Jianren sighed, a flash of guilt in his eyes. "It seems Xiao Yi still resents us. He did suffer a lot of grievances back then. It's all my fault as his uncle."

"Alright, alright. Young people have strong tempers, and their Qi is quite strong. Give him some time, and he'll eventually come around." Wu Xiuhua quickly smoothed things over. "Since the kids aren't coming back for dinner, why don't we go enjoy a meal at Shenjiang Old Restaurant? The card Xiao Yi topped up last time hasn't been used yet."

"Sure. It's not far; we can just walk there." Qin Jianye agreed.

"Haha, okay. We'll follow your lead then." Su Fangfang also smiled and chimed in.

...

Meanwhile, Qin Yi and Xu Qian had returned to the apartment downstairs. There was still about an hour and a half before the evening banquet, enough time for Xu Qian to freshen up and get ready.