Chapter 199: Chapter 199

Qin Xi stared at the golden key in his hand in amazement, examining and gently tracing its edges with his fingertip before he could ask, only to see Li Xianglu fiddling with the Ice Cracked Bowl and laughing, "What are you doing? Can’t get enough of it?"

Li Xianglu placed the bowl on the Treasure Grid and cheerfully ran over to squeeze in front of Qin Xi, puckering her lips to kiss him.

Seeing this, Qin Xi’s eyes filled with tenderness as he lightly kissed her rosy lips. He chuckled when he saw her smiling proudly before he drew her into his embrace. "What is this?" he asked, holding the golden key in his left hand.

Li Xianglu took it and naturally said, "This is my treasure."

Qin Xi laughed and replied, "You have so many treasures. I’m asking where this came from."

Li Xianglu settled comfortably into Qin Xi’s arms, finding a good position before she began to tell the story of the key.

Listening, Qin Xi thought back to the time when he had gone out and found those things. He then asked, "Was it not long after you had been officially adopted? Just about a month?"

Li Xianglu nodded, "Yes, that’s right. I found it inside the camphor wood box."

Qin Xi lamented. He felt that perhaps he and this girl were truly destined by the heavens. So he shifted her upwards to lie comfortably on his chest before asking, "Do you also remember that one time I came back carrying a large bundle?"

Li Xianglu’s eyes lit up as she suddenly recalled, "The red sandalwood box?"

Seeing the girl’s sparkling eyes before him, Qin Xi couldn’t help but lean in to kiss her lips and said, "So you even know about my red sandalwood box!"

Li Xianglu bashfully shared the story of her sneaking peeks at the box.

Qin Xi laughed, "That box, I came upon by chance. But it’s locked and it can’t be opened without a key."

Upon hearing it couldn’t be opened without a key, Li Xianglu showed an expression of disappointment, overlooking the sparkle in Qin Xi’s eyes.

Qin Xi, however, shook the key in his hand with a smile, "This key looks like it could be for the red sandalwood box."

What! Li Xianglu’s mood, which was just deflated, suddenly surged with excitement, and she began examining the key from all angles with fervor.

Since Qin Xi had no choice but to sit up, he also readjusted the person lying on him to rest on his shoulder in a comfortable position. Clearly satisfied with this position, she continued to investigate, her head tilted.

After a while, Li Xianglu asked, "Does that red sandalwood box have a forced mechanism that triggers and incinerates or crushes the contents if the wrong key is used?"

Qin Xi didn’t know; he wasn’t familiar with such things, but he knew that this box had been possessed by someone else in a previous life, and he had simply acted earlier to secure it this time. He heard it contained many treasures and that it wasn’t forced open - it should be opened with a key.

That meant the key must have been in their possession in the previous life, and now that Grandpa Li had adopted Li Xianglu, the ownership of the key had changed hands.

Since the key was also found in the camphor wood box, the items found in the Shanghai Jiao Tong University sewers in the past life must have been obtained by another person.

Qin Xi couldn’t help but shake his head with a laugh. Everything had changed in this life, and without the financial backing from last time, could those people still wield the same influence as they did in the past?

Watching the little treasure hunter in his arms getting excitedly chatty, Qin Xi couldn’t resist leaning down to kiss her.

Only after kissing her until she was breathless did he let go. She was truly a lucky star.

Li Xianglu reproachfully said: "What are you doing? We were discussing serious matters here."

Qin Xi smiled and said: "Alright, I’m listening. You can continue talking about the serious matters."

Li Xianglu then got back to it and said: "Where did you put that box?"

Qin Xi said: "I left it in the county, hidden away."

After thinking for a while, Qin Xi finally decided: "How about I make a trip back to pick up those things? There’s quite a lot, and I can also go see Uncle He."

Li Xianglu thought it over and asked: "Do you want me to come with you?"

Qin Xi had already considered it and shook his head: "No need, you stay at home. If you’re bored, help Qin Zhen collect some junk, like some books or vases, and see if anyone has them. We’ll leave the furniture for now. I’ll be back in at most a week."

Li Xianglu nodded in agreement.

After they finished talking, both of them went back to their rooms to sleep. Last time, when Su Yan was here, the two of them slept in the same room. The next day when they came back, Grandpa Li found Qin Xi to talk, and since then, they had always slept separately.

The next morning, Qin Zhen got up groggily only to find that breakfast hadn’t been eaten yet. It was already past nine o’clock. On asking, he learned they weren’t going today, and that Qin Xi had to make a trip to Guanzhong. Qin Zhen perked up and insisted on going too.

With a sharp look from Qin Xi, Qin Zhen immediately ate his breakfast as obedient as a little kitten.

Li Xianglu had made mung bean porridge in the morning, prepared roujiamo, and a simple cold dish of cucumber, onion, and tomato, when the home phone started ringing.

Li Xianglu ran in to answer it, probably Lu Anna’s call. They had talked about going to Beidaihe together for a trip during the summer vacation, probably to set the date.

But to her surprise, it was Li Jianqing calling. Excitedly, Li Xianglu shouted: "Jianqing, why is it you? Oh my, I’m so happy."

Hearing his sister’s still cheerful voice, Li Jianqing also smiled and said: "Little sister, how have you been recently?"

Li Xianglu cheerfully said: "I’m doing great, we’re all doing well. I’m on summer break, and Qin Zhen is back too. We’re all here except for you. Once you return, our group of four will be together again!"

Li Jianqing laughed and said: "It’s alright, I might head to the capital in September!"

What! A while back, Li Jianqing wrote saying he had taken the university entrance exam, but there had been no letter discussing the results since, and Li Xianglu, thinking he hadn’t done well, didn’t dare to ask. Now hearing him mention coming to the capital, she couldn’t help but get excited: "Jianqing, did you get accepted?"

Li Jianqing laughed and said: "The score was decent, I got 340 points. I should be able to go to a university in the capital, it’s just that the admission notice hasn’t arrived yet."

points, indeed that should be sufficient. Li Xianglu happily said: "Then congratulations, Jianqing!"

Li Jianqing chuckled and after a pause said: "It’s about Daddy, he broke his leg. That woman sent me a telegram saying he doesn’t want to go to the hospital for treatment, fearing he’ll end up disabled. If you have time, can you take a trip back for me?"

Li Xianglu fell silent for a moment, sighed, and said: "That’s fine, I’ll go back and take the opportunity to visit Grandma too."

Hearing his sister agree so readily, Li Jianqing was stunned, feeling a bit guilty, and it took him a while to say: "Jianqing isn’t asking you to forgive them, just help me check on Daddy, and don’t bother with anyone else."

Li Xianglu nodded in agreement, and so, the number of people heading to Guanzhong became two.