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Chapter 216: Chapter 216: I Know That Jia Qing Has Been Here
’thump, thump’
There was a knocking on the bathroom door. Si Chen paused in the middle of his bath, "What is it?"
"You forgot your towel. I’m passing it to you," Tong Yao chirped.
"Wait a moment."
Si Chen turned off the faucet, walked to the door, and opened a small crack. Sticking his hand out, he said, "Give it to me!"
Tong Yao found his action amusingly prudish - like a shy girl who only showed her hand. She couldn’t help but tease, "Do you want me to scrub your back?"
Si Chen’s hand, which held the towel, stiffened slightly. In a flat voice, he said, "No need." He then promptly closed the door as if fearing that Tong Yao would barge in.
Outside, Tong Yao’s laughter echoed. Si Chen couldn’t help but crack a small smile at the corner of his mouth.
"Sister-in-law, what are you laughing at the bathroom door for?" Si Xiaohui and Si Boyi returned home from grocery shopping and found Tong Yao chuckling at the bathroom door. It was a peculiar sight.
If anyone didn’t know any better, they’d think she was possessed or something. The moment their big brother came home, their sister-in-law started acting unusual.
"Nothing." Tong Yao’s smile faded, and she headed back into the room.
"Can you come help me cook? Let brother and sister-in-law have some alone time." After entering the kitchen with the groceries, Si Boyi made sure to call Si Xiaohui away, not want her to disturb Si Chen and Tong Yao.
Although Si Boyi was not married, he knew the saying—’distance makes the heart grow fonder’. Despite his brother and sister-in-law keeping a low profile about their feelings, it didn’t mean they couldn’t notice it. Currently, only the living room and the western room were available to sleep in. Where everyone would sleep that night was still a problem. If worse came to worst, he would sleep in the store.
"Are there things you guys can’t talk about in front of us?" Si Xiaohui pouted unhappily. "After big brother got married, there’s only his wife in his heart and not us anymore. They sure are right when they say ’a man always forsakes his family once he has a wife’. It’s absolutely true."
Si Boyi frowned. "Stop spouting nonsense. Go wash the meat."
It was normal for their older brother to favor his small family after getting married. Moreover, Tong Yao, who married into their family from afar, helped them live a better life. They should be grateful. He was satisfied with his current life.
"Didn’t you have a lot to tell me?" After Si Chen had finished bathing, he went straight back to the room and sat next to Tong Yao. His eyes fell on her cute little face, bringing a warm feeling to his heart. During his time in Qing City, he was always worried that Tong Yao might feel scared alone at night.
But, surprisingly, not only had she moved out of their old home, but she had also started a store with Boyi and Xiaohui. Everything was well-arranged, which made her appear more mature and evoked a sense of protectiveness in others.
"I don’t even know where to start." Tong Yao pouted. She choked back her tears right after uttering a single sentence. Since her arrival to this world, she had always been strong. She never got discouraged no matter what problems she faced. However, that didn’t mean she didn’t need anyone to care about her.
Si Chen was not around before, and she had to keep all the feelings of injustice inside. But now that he was back, she let her guard down like a child who had found their family.
"What happened?" Si Chen furrowed his brows, pulled Tong Yao into his arms, and gently rubbed her shoulders with his thumb. He knew that Tong Yao must have gone through something quite unfair, otherwise, she wouldn’t have acted that way. However, instead of hurrying her to talk, he patiently guided her to express her feelings.
Leaning on Si Chen’s shoulder, Tong Yao sniffled for a while before starting, "Jia Qing bullied me. He took advantage of the fact that his aunt, Jia Aizhi, works at the Administration for Industry and Commerce and intentionally made life difficult for me. But then she got fired by the director, and so Jia Qing and his uncle, Liu Xianli, took revenge on me; they brought five to six people to cause trouble in our store."
And as she was beginning to get worked up, Tong Yao suddenly changed the subject. She blinked and said, "Oh, and the director of the Administration for Industry and Commerce is the son of the old man in ward 206. His name is Jiang You. He was the one who helped issue our business license and got Jia Aizhi fired."
As soon as Si Chen heard about Jia Qing bullying Tong Yao, his face turned cold. Caught off guard by the sudden shift in topic, he couldn’t help but feel a bit helpless. But he was more concerned about what happened with Jia Qing. He stroked Tong Yao’s hair and gently said, "Let’s talk about Jia Qing first."
"The mere mention of Jia Qing makes me sick," Tong Yao fumed, having recovered from her moment of weakness earlier. Replaced by wrath, she puffed her cheeks and said, "They even wanted to force themselves on me. They ripped my collar, but luckily, a hive of wasps flew out of nowhere and stung them. That’s how I managed to fend them off. If not, I don’t know how I would have faced you. But don’t worry, I have already sent Jia Qing to the police. He won’t be out for three to five years, and his uncle and others are now under investigation."
Tong Yao’s cheeks hurt from anger, and her arm was shaking slightly. Remembering the scene, she felt a lingering fear.
As she said, if Jing Qing had succeeded, she wouldn’t know how to face Si Chen. Even if Si Chen didn’t hold it against her, she would hold it against herself. Just the thought of Jia Qing being so close to her made her feel sick to her stomach.
Si Chen’s hand around Tong Yao’s shoulder tightened a little. Although she described it lightly, her trembling arm was enough to prove how dangerous the situation was. She was just a young girl, and no matter how smart, she was still helpless in front of a group of big guys.
Just thinking about the scene, Si Chen’s face turned horribly cold, as if he was about to transform into a beast.
It was a look that Tong Yao had never seen on Si Chen before, and it made her feel quite unfamiliar. Believing that she had unnerved him with her story, Tong Yao said, "Don’t worry, it’s all over, nothing happened. I was just scared."
Realizing that Tong Yao might have been frightened by his expression, Si Chen softened his face and said gravely, "It’s my fault for not protecting you properly." His tone was filled with self-reproach.
Feeling slightly guilty, Tong Yao said softly, "Actually Jia Qing came to the residential quarters before, when you were about to leave for Kyoto. I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want to worry you. I was too careless and overconfident. If only I had been more careful."
Having gone through this ordeal, she learned her lesson the hard way. From now on she would be more cautious. She couldn’t have a lucky mindset.
This time, Jia Qing failed thanks to her luck and the timely appearance of the swarm of wasps. Without them, she would have been completely helpless.
Sigh!
Just after she’d arrived in this world, she was quite pleased with her pretty looks. Little did she know that her beauty would bring her so much trouble.
"I knew that Jia Qing had come over." Si Chen’s thin lips tightened as he spoke, "Sister Li told me about it."
Before going to Kyoto, Si Chen was informed by Li Nuanchun that Jia Qing had visited. He chose not to mention it to Tong Yao, waiting for her to tell him about it.
He planned to talk about this issue with Tong Yao after he returned.
Before leaving, he had even specifically asked Dai Liwen to keep an eye out for Tong Yao. However, he didn’t expect the earthquake to happen, and Tong Yao had to move out of the residential quarters.
