Chapter 8: So Her Name Is Luo Qiu
992 Words
Tingting was finally dragged out by Aunt Wu, half pulling and half carrying her away.
The living room fell silent.
“Yuanyuan, apologize to Qiuqiu.” Qin Anxu’s voice was calm but carried the weight of authority. Having spent decades in the business world, he could see exactly what had happened. If he couldn’t, all those years would’ve been for nothing.
What surprised him was that this quiet, seemingly docile girl—Luo Qiu—could be so sharp-tongued and composed.
But Qin Siyuan refused to back down. “Why should I apologize to her? Who does she think she is?”
“Yuanyuan!” Qin Anxu’s tone deepened. He had always cared about his family’s reputation, and this little act of framing and slander, especially in front of Shen Yiqing, made him lose face completely.
Luo Qiu spoke again, her voice calm and steady. “Uncle Qin, my things were thrown all over the floor. I’ll have to trouble Second Miss to pick them up for me.”
Qin Anxu was momentarily surprised—he hadn’t expected her to make such a demand. He glanced at her, and though she looked delicate and soft, there was an undeniable strength in her composure.
“Yuanyuan, pick up Qiuqiu’s belongings,” he ordered. “You’ve been spoiled since you were a child. This will be a good chance to teach you some humility.”
Then, turning to Chen Lingxi, he added, “Starting today, no pocket money for her for a month.”
Qin Siyuan’s eyes widened in disbelief. Her father was defending Luo Qiu—that outsider—and even punishing her for it? Tears welled up in her eyes. “She’s not even your real daughter! Why are you taking her side? I’m going to tell my sister you’re bullying me!”
With that, she burst into tears and ran upstairs.
“Yuanyuan…” Chen Lingxi quickly stood up. “Anxu, really—this wasn’t Yuanyuan’s fault. Why are you punishing her?”
Even now, she was still twisting the truth to defend Qin Siyuan. As she spoke, she shot Luo Qiu a fierce glare.
What a jinx of a girl.
Chen Lingxi bent down, gathered Luo Qiu’s scattered belongings, and stuffed them back into the canvas bag. Then, suppressing her irritation, she lectured, “Yuanyuan is still young. As her older sister, you should learn to give in to her more, not always challenge her.”
The implication was clear—if Qin Siyuan disliked Luo Qiu, it was because Luo Qiu, as the elder sister, didn’t know her place and refused to yield.
Shen Yiqing glanced at Chen Lingxi, his brows furrowing slightly. Her tone toward Luo Qiu was nothing like how a mother should speak to her own child.
Luo Qiu took the bag calmly, her expression unreadable—clearly used to this kind of unfair treatment.
“Mom, Uncle Qin,” she said quietly, “I’ll head back to school now.”
After such a scene, there was no reason for her to stay for dinner.
She went to the bathroom to change out of the borrowed clothes. When she came back out, both Qin Anxu and Shen Yiqing were gone from the living room, and Chen Lingxi was nowhere to be seen either—probably upstairs comforting Qin Siyuan.
Stepping out of the villa, the night wind brushed against her face. Under the dim yellow streetlight, her shadow stretched long across the ground—slim, solitary, and quietly resilient.
On the third floor, in the study, Shen Yiqing sat on the sofa by the window, his gaze falling on the slender figure downstairs.
The Qin residence glowed with brilliant lights, yet in that brightness, her retreating silhouette looked all the lonelier.
Moments ago in the living room, a workbook had fallen open on the floor. On the title page, written in neat, confident strokes of black ink, were two characters — Luo Qiu.
So that was her name.
“President Shen must’ve found tonight quite a spectacle,” Qin Anxu said, leaning forward as he poured tea, his tone tinged with guilt. “Yuanyuan was far too reckless. I’ll be sure to discipline her properly.”
Shen Yiqing took a slow sip of tea, his voice unhurried. “Miss Qin has a straightforward temperament. If she keeps that up when she steps into society, she may suffer for it. You really should guide her more, President Qin.”
Qin Anxu froze for a moment. He had only meant his words as polite courtesy; he hadn’t truly intended to reprimand his youngest daughter. After all, she had lost her mother at birth—his heart had always ached for her, and he had spoiled her endlessly.
But Shen Yiqing, a man who had seen the world and could read people like open books, clearly caught the hollow courtesy behind the remark.
Under ordinary circumstances, Shen Yiqing would’ve brushed it off with a faint smile.
Could it be that, because of the engagement between his eldest daughter and the Shen family, Shen Yiqing now regarded him as one of his own—and felt entitled to speak more candidly?
As the saying goes, “When one prospers, all prosper; when one suffers, all suffer.”
Since the Qin family was now tied to the Shen family by marriage, if Qin Siyuan didn’t correct her temper in time, she might one day cause serious trouble—and that trouble could very well spill over to the Shen family.
Thinking of this, Qin Anxu’s thoughts cleared. He nodded earnestly.
“President Shen, rest assured. I’ll make sure to teach Yuanyuan properly and help her change that bad temper of hers.”
Shen Yiqing’s lips curved slightly at that. He didn’t respond, merely turned his gaze toward the window again.
The slender figure downstairs was already gone.
He picked up his phone and sent a short message to He Heng.
- Writer
