Chapter 142: Two Mu

Half an hour later, Lin'er was still snuggling in Qin Xuan's arms and whining softly. Nan Zhiyi looked at Liu Ruoxi in confusion.

"Stop putting on an act. Don't I know you by now?" Liu Ruoxi reached out and poked Lin'er's waist.

Lin'er immediately flinched, and her pitiful expression vanished instantly in a flash.

"Sister Xi~" Lin'er called out to Liu Ruoxi somewhat awkwardly, yet she still refused to leave Qin Xuan's embrace.

"Seriously, don't you two feel hot sticking together like that?" Nan Zhiyi asked, looking curiously at their intertwined hands.

Qin Xuan tested the temperature in their palms: "It's fine... not sweating at all."

Mostly because Lin'er's body temperature was quite low, making her feel pleasantly cool to the touch.

After chatting for a while, Qin Xuan finally let go of Lin'er and went to the kitchen to cook.

Once Sunday passed, the final week before the holiday flew by in a blur.

Qin Xuan had already booked the plane tickets the moment Nan Zhiyi mentioned the trip. At a little past 8:00 AM on the very first day of the holiday, Qin Xuan and the three girls headed straight for the airport.

It had to be said that this was easily the most crowded holiday of the first half of the year aside from the Lunar New Year. Seeing the bustling crowds all around, Qin Xuan tightly gripped Lin'er's small hand, terrified that she might get lost.

And then... Nan Zhiyi, walking along behind them, gradually realized she couldn't find them anymore...

Nan Zhiyi bewilderedly patted her pants pockets, only to remember that she seemed to have left her phone in Qin Xuan's shoulder bag before they left the house...

Qin Xuan walked for a short while before turning back, only to be stunned to discover that Nan Zhiyi had vanished somewhere.

Nan Zhiyi was wearing a sky-blue dress today, which should have made her quite conspicuous, yet Qin Xuan scanned the crowd for a long time without seeing a trace of her.

Eventually, Qin Xuan ran up to a set of stairs and searched around for a long time before finally spotting Nan Zhiyi wandering around near the entrance.

Finding her, Qin Xuan let out a sigh of relief and led the other two girls back against the tide of the crowd.

Nan Zhiyi stood by the entrance, boredly playing with her fingers, and brightened up happily when she saw Qin Xuan approaching.

Ignoring the anxious looks from the others, Nan Zhiyi threw herself straight into Qin Xuan's arms.

"How on earth did you manage to get lost?" Qin Xuan asked, unable to help himself as he looked at the smiling Nan Zhiyi.

"There were just too many people," Nan Zhiyi said, holding onto Qin Xuan's hand and refusing to let go.

Qin Xuan gave Nan Zhiyi's hand a firm squeeze: "Hold on tight. Don't go getting lost again."

"It's fine, I knew you'd find me anyway!"

Qin Xuan's expression froze for a moment, and he nodded at her: "Yeah! I would have."

This delay didn't take long, and by the time they sat down in the boarding lounge, there was still half an hour left before ticket inspection.

Lin'er leaned wearily against Qin Xuan's shoulder, her eyes half-closed as if she could fall asleep at any second. It was all Qin Xuan's fault for keeping her up a bit too late last night!

Qin Xuan reached out to wrap an arm around Lin'er's shoulder and gently patted her.

Liu Ruoxi and Nan Zhiyi, sitting nearby, felt a sudden urge to lean over as well, but after noticing the increasing number of passengers around them, they thought better of it. Forget it, forget it.

As boarding time approached, Qin Xuan helplessly woke up the already sleeping Lin'er.

"Time to go. You can sleep once we're on board," Qin Xuan said as Lin'er woke up with a frown.

"Mm..." Lin'er sighed and nodded helplessly.

Once on the plane, Qin Xuan still sat next to Lin'er. Since it was a three-seat row, the four of them had no choice but to split up, with Nan Zhiyi and Liu Ruoxi sitting directly behind them.

Dozily leaning against Qin Xuan's shoulder, Lin'er felt a piece of chewing gum being popped into her mouth. Without even opening her eyes, she knew it had to be Qin Xuan. Worried that she might get motion-sickness again, he had specifically bought her a box of gum to chew on during the journey.

"Go to sleep. I'll wake you up when we arrive," Qin Xuan murmured softly, pulling Lin'er close.

The heads of the two girls behind them were nearly touching as they peered through the gap at the couple leaning on each other. Nearby passengers watched their actions with curiosity: What on earth are they doing?

In his boredom amidst the quiet, Qin Xuan overheard two strangers chatting next to him.

An ordinary-looking middle-aged woman sitting by the aisle leaned over to chat with her neighbor: "Hey sister, are you heading back from a trip?"

"Yeah, haven't been home in half a month. The dust at home has probably piled up by now."

"Tell me about it. My son bought a two-hundred-square-meter place last year, and every time we go out for a trip, it takes forever to clean up afterwards. Such a pain." The woman grew animated discussing this topic, shaking her head with a sigh.

Qin Xuan couldn't help glancing sideways at her. Just what are you flexing about?

The neighbor in the adjacent seat shared the exact same thought, though she ignored her.

Clearly feeling quite energized, the woman pressed on: "Still, no matter how expensive they are, you have to buy one. Hey sister, did your family buy a house?"

"We did."

"How big is it? Let me tell you, make sure you don't buy a small one, or you won't have enough space to live in later."

"Two mu."

The surrounding onlookers and the talkative woman all froze in shock. Lin'er even lifted her head from Qin Xuan's shoulder, biting her lip to suppress a laugh. What kind of demonic statement was that?

After dropping that line, the woman said no more, pulled down her eye mask, and leaned back in her seat to take a nap.

Lin'er, however, could no longer sleep. As the plane climbed higher, she gripped Qin Xuan's hand tighter and tighter.

Hours later, the plane landed in Pengcheng. For the first time, Lin'er didn't suffer from motion sickness, though she had chewed through an entire box of gum.

The group hailed a cab and returned home, arriving a little past two o'clock.

Qin Xuan assumed his parents would have already eaten, but upon opening the door, he found them still sitting on the sofa waiting, with the dining table piled high with untouched dishes.

"You're back. Wash your hands and let's eat," Wang Manshu said as she hurried over to greet them. Brushing past Lin'er, she reached out to ruffle Liu Ruoxi's and Nan Zhiyi's hair.

Lin'er angrily changed into her slippers, only to spot a rattan cane in the corner of the wall. Wasn't this the very one that had accompanied Qin Xuan throughout his childhood? Weren't they supposed to have thrown it away? Why was it still here?!

Thinking quickly while her parents' attention was elsewhere, Lin'er stealthily reached out, grabbed it, and hid it behind her back.

"Dinner's ready, where are you going?" Wang Manshu asked with a trace of annoyance as she watched Lin'er sneakily dart toward her bedroom.

"Coming right now!" Lin'er pattered back to her room, shoved the cane under her bed, and clapped her hands in satisfaction. Let's see what you do now!

Enjoying Auntie Wang's cooking once again, Nan Zhiyi smiled happily at Wang Manshu: "Auntie Wang's cooking is so delicious!"

"Then whose cooking do you like better, mine or Qin Xuan's?" Wang Manshu asked Nan Zhiyi with a beaming smile.

This instantly put Nan Zhiyi on the spot.

"Of course Auntie Wang's cooking is better!" Nan Zhiyi said after a moment of careful deliberation.

"Then eat more," Wang Manshu said with satisfaction, placing a piece of fish on her plate.

Ever since they walked through the door, Qin Jianguo hadn't given Qin Xuan or Lin'er a single pleasant look, merely nodding at Liu Ruoxi and Nan Zhiyi when they greeted him.

As Lin'er picked up a piece of cold tossed chicken, she leaned over to whisper worriedly in Qin Xuan's ear: "Is Dad planning to beat us up? He's not even smiling."

Qin Xuan glanced speechlessly at his old man and muttered back to Lin'er: "He's probably charging up his ultimate. Make sure you run fast after we finish eating."

Though they spoke quietly, Qin Jianguo still caught fragments of their conversation. The hand holding his wine glass tightened fiercely! If I don't give you a thrashing today... I'll change my last name to yours!