Chapter 22

Qiao Zhenzhen sensibly sat outside, opened a bag of chips, and ate slowly. Before she was halfway through, Chi Shen had already brought out the soup.
Looking at the rich, fragrant old-fashioned chicken soup, she asked in disbelief, "When did you make this?"
"Last night," Chi Shen answered.
Qiao Zhenzhen leaned in to smell it. "How long did you simmer it?"
"Four hours."
She stared at him, suddenly glad she hadn't ignored his unspoken words earlier. To think he had spent four hours preparing soup only for it to go unused made her almost want to shed a handful of bitter tears.
"There are two more dishes," Chi Shen said, then returned to the kitchen.
Qiao Zhenzhen sighed and clutched her chest, asking herself, "What did I do to deserve this?"
Xiao Ba sighed along. "This is probably the most devoted supporting male character I've ever seen."
"Don't call him a supporting character, he's the main character of his own life," Qiao Zhenzhen immediately protested.
Xiao Ba obligingly changed his wording.
While the two of them, human and system, chatted idly, the two dishes were ready. Qiao Zhenzhen snapped a photo with her phone and sent it straight to Qin Jing.
When Qin Jing saw the photo, she was eating a bowl of porridge by herself. She gave a little pleased hum at the sight of something tasty and was about to put her phone down when she suddenly noticed that the bowls and chopsticks in the picture looked like everyday tableware. She picked up her phone again and messaged: Didn't you go out to eat?
Qiao Zhenzhen replied at once: Chi Shen made it!
Her pride practically overflowed the screen. Qin Jing clicked her tongue and couldn't help remembering that when she and Qiao Jian first got together, she had never been treated like that. Thinking about it, it seemed she had always been the one giving, Qiao Jian had only used sweet words to win her over.
Her mood sank again. Head down, she sent Qiao Jian a message: The company must be on holiday, right? Are you still very busy lately?
Qiao Jian didn't reply for half an hour, then sent back: Mm.
Staring at that single character, Qin Jing felt a chill and put her phone down to sleep.
When Qiao Zhenzhen got home, the place was dark, as if no one was there. She paused, took out her phone and called Qin Jing. When the call connected, the table-side suddenly started ringing.
Qiao Zhenzhen switched on the light and saw Qin Jing's phone lying on the table. She pressed her lips together and tiptoed to the master bedroom door. After hesitating she knocked: "Mom, are you in there?"
After a few seconds the door opened. Qin Jing looked sleepy and lazy as she peered at her: "What is it?"
"You were asleep?" Qiao Zhenzhen asked, surprised.
Qin Jing gave her a sidelong look: "No, I'm on my phone."
"...Liar, your phone's in the living room." Qiao Zhenzhen protested innocently.
Qin Jing mock-patted her on the head: "Could you give an adult some face?"
Qiao Zhenzhen immediately clutched her head and groaned. After a moment, seeing Qin Jing wasn't responding, she let go and asked: "Mom, are you in a bad mood?"
"No." Qin Jing looked down.
"You are in a bad mood," Qiao Zhenzhen frowned, still not letting her give face. "Is it because of Dad?"
Ever since their last argument, because of her, Qiao Jian hadn't come back. Now it was already the National Day holiday, and there was still no sign of him.
"He's been busy," Qin Jing answered.
Qiao Zhenzhen said helplessly, "Mom, how long has it been since he came back? You're just making excuses for him."
After saying that she paused, then casually added, "Could he have another woman out there? I see a lot of men neglect their families for that reason."
Qin Jing frowned at once. "That's nonsense. Don't insult your father like that."
"But..."
"Enough. We'll handle things between your father and me, so stop overthinking," Qin Jing interrupted wearily. "How was your studying today? Any progress?"
"Yes, yes, yes. I learned a lot today." Qiao Zhenzhen immediately followed her lead.
Seeing she wasn't going to press the matter about her and Qiao Jian, Qin Jing quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
The mother and daughter stood in the doorway chatting for a while, then Qiao Zhenzhen went back to her room.
The moment the door closed, the smile on her face faded, leaving only pity in her eyes for Qin Jing. Her mother had been a housewife for as long as she could remember; this family was her reason for being. If she weren't afraid that, as in her previous life, the family would collapse and her mother would wither in an instant, she would have told her the truth right away.
She decided to wait a bit longer. If gentle measures still failed, she'd prepare for the worst. In any case, this time she would not let Qiao Jian and Zhao Ying wander free like they had in her last life.
In the days that followed, Qiao Jian still didn't return and Qin Jing grew increasingly silent. Watching her like that, Qiao Zhenzhen found herself becoming distracted.
After zoning out again during a tutoring session, Chi Shen made her a glass of juice.
His kitchen hadn't had these things before, but after seeing Qiao Zhenzhen drink three or four additive-laden drinks a day, he quietly bought a juicer and started making her drinks every day. Beyond the juicer, he gradually added a lot of other things, and the small kitchen was now full, warm and homey.
Qiao Zhenzhen thanked him for the juice. After a few sips she set it down.
Chi Shen watched her in silence, not asking what was wrong.
Qiao Zhenzhen sat quiet for a long moment, then sighed: "Chi Shen, I have to go out today. I can't do tutoring."
"Okay."
She nodded, slung her backpack over her shoulder and headed out. At the door she turned on a whim and saw Chi Shen sitting where he'd been, watching her intently...like a dog watching its owner leave.
On impulse Qiao Zhenzhen asked, "Want to come with me?"
"Okay." He replied calmly, though his invisible tail seemed to have flicked up.
She immediately regretted asking, but when she saw he was already standing, she resigned herself and took him along.
She went to the residential complex where Zhao Ying lived.
Relying on memories from her previous life, she found the place easily. Just as she was heading toward the underground garage to see if Qiao Jian's car was there, she suddenly saw Qiao Jian supporting Zhao Ying as they walked in the complex.
Seeing the light, carefree smiles on their faces, Qiao Zhenzhen, who thought two lifetimes had taught her calm, was furious in that instant. Chi Shen, sensing her halt, turned to look at her. When he saw the anger in her eyes he paused, followed her gaze, and then saw Qiao Jian with a woman.
He was silent for a moment, then took Qiao Zhenzhen's hand.
Qiao Zhenzhen snapped back to herself and, before Qiao Jian could look over, pulled him behind an advertising board to hide.
Qiao Jian turned back and saw nothing there.
"What are you looking at?" Zhao Ying asked, puzzled.
Qiao Jian shook his head. "I just felt like someone was watching us."
"You must be imagining it," Zhao Ying laughed. "There's no one."
Qiao Jian nodded and kept supporting her as they walked.
Hidden behind the billboard, Qiao Zhenzhen kept peeking after Qiao Jian had turned his head away, and the more she watched the more she realized something was wrong,
Why was Qiao Jian being so careful when he helped Zhao Ying?
Qiao Zhenzhen was startled. Glancing again at Zhao Ying’s flushed face, who no longer looked ill at all, a bad premonition rose in her chest... Impossible! In her last life Zhao Ying only became pregnant near the end of the college entrance exams, how could it happen so much earlier this time?
Not willing to accept it, Qiao Zhenzhen ran upstairs to verify for herself, and Chi Shen followed behind without a word.
They soon reached the Zhao family's floor. Qiao Zhenzhen told Chi Shen to hide in the hallway, then ran to the door and knocked. After several knocks, Zhao Lianqiao’s impatient voice came from inside: "Who is it?"
She hurried back into the corridor and, the instant Zhao Lianqiao opened the door, mouthed, "Stop!"
Time froze.
Qiao Zhenzhen didn’t hesitate. She pushed the door open, squeezed inside, and began to search the room.
At last she found the blood test pregnancy report in Zhao Ying’s bedroom drawer.
When her suspicion was confirmed, she immediately broke out in a cold sweat.
"Host, hurry up, we're about to run out of favor points!" Xiao Ba warned.
Snapping back to herself, Qiao Zhenzhen pulled out her phone to take a picture, but a frozen phone was no different from a crashed one, so she gave up, set her face, and ran back into the corridor.
Time flowed again, and a message appeared in her mind,
[Favor consumed: 180 points. Remaining: 190 points]
Chi Shen's lashes trembled. He looked up at the sweat on Qiao Zhenzhen’s brow; his lips went pale as he silently asked, "Are you all right?"
Qiao Zhenzhen blinked, realizing she had broken out in such a sweat in such a short time in his eyes. She shook her head slightly, ignored Zhao Lianqiao’s muttered curses in the background, and walked downstairs in silence.
Chi Shen knew she was upset, so he followed quietly without saying an extra word.
The two of them strolled out of the complex. Qiao Zhenzhen gradually calmed down. "Whether Mom gets hurt or not, I can't let this go on any longer."
She looked up at the clear sky, already forming a plan. "Come with me to one more place. Before we start, I need to find some outside help."
Chi Shen, as always, nodded in agreement.
This time they went to a high-end villa district, so upscale that security guarded every entrance. They couldn't get in and had to wait at the gate.
Having been busy earlier, Qiao Zhenzhen was parched. She scanned the area and zeroed in on the convenience store. Pulling out her phone she showed a photo: "If you see these two, stop them for me. I'm going to buy a bottle of water."
"Okay." Chi Shen memorized their faces.
Qiao Zhenzhen turned and headed for the convenience store.
Chi Shen stood by the guard booth like a sentry, scanning everyone who entered on foot or by car. On the twentieth car he finally spotted the faces from the photo.
Without thinking, he immediately blocked the car.
The driver, not expecting someone so reckless, slammed on the brakes and stuck his head out to shout, "Who are you? Don't you know where this is? Trying to scam us here?!"
Chi Shen said nothing.
The driver frowned and was about to have security throw him out when the elderly man in the back seat glanced up, froze when he saw him, and abruptly got out: "You, you are..."
Before he could finish, a sweet voice called out, "Grandpa!"
The old man paused, and when he saw who it was his face darkened.