Seeing Qi Chen, Jiang Ning was somewhat surprised, but she didn’t bother with pleasantries and swiftly pulled open the car door to get in.
In contrast, Qi Xingzhou’s face showed some resistance upon seeing his big brother.
Only after Jiang Ning got into the car did he move, following her and sitting side by side with her on the spacious back seat.
The interior of the car was spacious and comfortable. Jiang Ning took the initiative to break the silence, "Big Brother Qi, what brings you here?"
"I just got back from a business trip, saw your live stream and knew you were here, so I waited," explained Qi Chen.
Jiang Ning responded, "What a coincidence!"
She had thought it was already quite a coincidence to run into Jing Pengfei right after getting off the plane, but unexpectedly she also encountered an acquaintance.
Qi Chen also found it quite coincidental.
With both hands on the steering wheel, he drove away from the airport and couldn’t help asking, "Have you had dinner? Where are you planning to go?"
"We ate before we took the flight," replied Jiang Ning, "Haven’t you had dinner yet, Big Brother Qi?"
"I’ve eaten too," said Qi Chen.
Jiang Ning glanced at her wristwatch—it was already past eight in the evening.
She and Qi Xingzhou had been on the move all day, and though she hadn’t felt it before, now that she relaxed, she began to feel tired.
Glancing sideways at the quietly sitting Qi Xingzhou beside her, Jiang Ning couldn’t help but feel a bit guilty.
Qi Chen had watched her livestream and surely knew about her dragging Qi Xingzhou all over the place to nab scalpers today.
Though having Qi Xingzhou join her on the task was meant to help treat him, the Qi family members weren’t privy to the whole story.
To Jiang Ning, it felt like she had sneakily lured away someone’s well-behaved child into mischief and then got caught red-handed by the child’s parents.
Speaking of which, Jiang Ning was somewhat amazed by the Qi family’s willingness to let Qi Xingzhou follow her around without worry, unsure if they were just overly confident or indeed had boundless trust in her.
"We’re not planning to go anywhere else. If we hadn’t run into you, we’d probably have just taken a cab home," Jiang Ning briefly mentioned that her car was still being transported and wouldn’t return until tomorrow.
After entrusting his little brother to Jiang Ning, Qi Chen had become her staunch follower online. He followed her on every social media platform and even signed up for alerts when Jiang Ning started her broadcasts.
During his free time, he occasionally watched Jiang Ning’s livestreams.
That afternoon, as Jiang Ning was streaming, Qi Chen had seen it too and naturally knew that the pair had traveled far and caught several people.
He readily responded, "Then I’ll drop you off first. Are you still living in the same community?"
"That’s right, I’m not planning on moving yet," Jiang Ning confirmed.
Qi Chen recalled where Jiang Ning lived, and it inevitably brought back the memory of that time when Qi Xingzhou had called him over urgently, "About that incident last time, when someone tried to scare you with a bloody package, what happened in the end? Did they catch the person?"
"They caught them. The police found the masterminds behind it and dealt with them according to the law," Jiang Ning’s expression turned cold when she spoke of this matter.
In this incident, the most innocent and most harmed was the kitten that had been cruelly killed and packed into the delivery box.
However, due to the lack of animal protection laws, when the court sentenced the culprit, it was based on the severity of the incident and the fright and psychological harm caused to her, rather than seeking justice for the deceased kitten.
Listening to this, Qi Chen also felt relieved. With the culprit caught, such an incident shouldn’t happen a second time.
"If there’s anything else you need help with, just let me know," he said.
About twenty minutes later, Jiang Ning got out of Qi Chen’s car.
The drowsy Qi Xingzhou instantly became alert the moment Qi Chen stopped the car.
He immediately sat up straight and turned to look at Jiang Ning, his gaze fixed on her as he watched her say goodbye and then get out, his beautiful, clear eyes brimming with a reluctant emotion.
If it wasn’t for Big Brother Qi sitting in front, if it had been a regular taxi, he would have followed her out without hesitation the moment she got up.
Jiang Ning, standing at the entrance of the community, smiled and waved at the two in the car, "Bye."
Qi Chen nodded slightly and offered Jiang Ning an invitation to visit the Qi Family again before starting the car and slowly driving away.
Jiang Ning turned and walked into her community.
Being an internet celebrity, the security guards enjoyed watching Jiang Ning’s livestreams and recognized her early on. When they saw Jiang Ning, they greeted her excitedly. If not for the employee manual restrictions, they probably would have rushed out from the security booth to ask Jiang Ning for an autograph.
Jiang Ning briskly walked to the bottom of her apartment building and then took the elevator upstairs.
Stepping out of the elevator, she used her fingerprint to unlock the front door.
The room was pitch-dark; it felt more quiet and desolate after she turned on the light.
Looking at the empty living room, Jiang Ning couldn’t control her thoughts from drifting to Qi Xingzhou who had just unwillingly let her go.
Even after she had gotten out of the car, he had rolled down the window to earnestly keep watching her.
His eyes, full of sorrow and unwillingness to part, were like those of a large dog abandoned by its owner.
He hung on to every emotion he had for Jiang Ning, as if a single word from her could make him happily race to her side.
Jiang Ning, who was accustomed to being independent, never having playmates as a child, and never truly connecting with anyone as she grew up, for the first time thought it would be nice to bring him home.
On the other hand, Little Qi, unaware of being in someone’s thoughts, wasn’t happy either.
Once Jiang Ning got out of the car, there was only him left alone in the back seat.
Qi Xingzhou’s face spelled out withdrawal, his body radiating a gloomy air, like a little mushroom gone moldy in a dark corner.
As joyful as he had been trailing behind Jiang Ning during the day, he now felt just as dispirited and wilted, as though he had been abandoned by the entire world.
Even Qi Chen’s several attempts to talk to him were selectively ignored.
After trying to start conversations without getting a response several times, Qi Chen said, "..."