Chapter 279: Chapter 279

Qin Xi finished tidying up and saw three people sitting there in silence, while Old Qi was fiddling with a small black box.

Qin Xi approached, and Xianglu whispered something to him. Qin Xi’s expression changed, and he took the black box from Old Qi, made a gesture towards him after inspecting it.

The old man directly snatched it back, wrapped it in a piece of burlap, and said cheerfully, "A listening device, who knows what it was meant for?" Once it exploded, it would be discarded or taken for examination—nothing worthwhile to listen to.

Mr. Li sighed, "They have already listened in." Xianglu pondered. Grandfather did indeed say a word earlier; what did the other party intend to do, confirm if it’s Grandfather?

Soon, someone came to the door. It was Tian Tian who opened it. A person in uniform arrived and took the exploded device and the listening device.

At this moment, Old Qi was sitting at the table, devouring the second melon, with juice all over his mouth, and Xianglu handed him a napkin helplessly.

He wiped his mouth haphazardly and asked, "What’s for lunch? I feel like eating braised pork?"

Looking at all the melon peels around and Qin Xi’s darkening face, and the curious look on Grandfather’s face, Xianglu sighed, "Alright, braised pork. What else?"

The old man unreservedly rattled off seven or eight dishes, nearly all of them meat, and Xianglu nodded and went to cook.

Due to recent events, Sister Xing had gone home to rest temporarily, planning to return after the situation here was resolved.

Xianglu first steamed the rice. There was half a pot of braised pork in the Storage Ring; she took some crispy pork and a bowl of cooked chicken to prepare two steamed dishes, stewed a fish, mixed half a pot of assorted cold dishes, and sliced a whole plate of tomatoes sprinkled with sugar. As Tian Tian was about to come in and help, Xianglu started serving the meals.

Tian Tian was astounded, swallowing saliva at the sight of the full table of dishes, having eaten exceptionally well lately, craving more and more.

Soon a full table was set, and Old Qi, holding a bowl, began scoffing down the meat, continuously eating, ignoring the vegetables and only focusing on the meat dishes. By the time the meat dishes and fish were finished, he poured the soup over his rice and ate another bowl.

Xianglu’s eyes bulged, this appetite almost catching up to Qin Zhen’s; three large bowls of rice, two-thirds of the braised pork ending up in his belly, along with a large bowl of the whole dish. He barely touched the fish and didn’t eat a single bite of vegetables.

Mr. Li was also amazed and asked about Old Qi’s age. He was only in his fifties, although he looked like he was in his sixties, probably looking older due to hardships in past years.

After dinner, Tian Tian and Lin Dongxue took it upon themselves to do the dishes. Xianglu brought over tea, which Old Qi eagerly accepted, slurping loudly and smacking his lips, continuously nodding.

Qin Xi’s mouth twitched slightly in displeasure, frowning, "You can stay."

Old Qi’s eyes brightened: "Will there be meat to eat every day?"

Qin Xi resignedly nodded: "Yes."

Old Qi reluctantly nodded in agreement.

Thus, Old Qi ended up living in the room at the very back. Initially, he was to stay in the middle room, but he moved a lot of stuff afterwards—jars and bottles galore—which made Qin Xi relocate him to the back.

Tian Tian and Lin Dongxue, for some unknown reason, were very interested in Lao Qi. They asked Li Xianglu several times about his background. Li Xianglu truly didn’t know either, and she couldn’t mention the bomb defusion incident, so she only mentioned that she didn’t know him before.

The next few days were extremely peaceful, life went on as usual. Tian Tian and Lin Dongxue were quite skilled in other aspects; even their vegetable chopping was beautiful – if thin slices were needed, it would be as thin as paper, and if triangles were needed, they certainly would be isosceles triangles. However, their cooking was a disaster, not to mention the taste, but the food was also undercooked.

Thus, Sister Xing came back again before the school started, after all, there were four people at home to cook for, and Lao Qi only ate meat, they couldn’t always make do.

On September 3rd in the early morning, the two of them rode their bikes to school. Qin Xi was somewhat worried, so he accompanied them to their dormitory before leaving.

This was the second half of their junior year, with only four major courses left for the rest of the year, and two general education courses, while their senior year had even fewer – just two major courses, after which all other classes would end.

When they reached the dormitory, two beds had always been empty, leaving only the six of them. Xiao Chong’s boyfriend from Northeast had already met her parents this summer. Xiao Chong’s family insisted that the couple could only settle in Shanghai, as Xiao Chong was the only daughter, and her mother made it clear—if Xiao Chong decided to move to the Northeast with her boyfriend, she would disown her.

Xiao Chong was in a tough spot, her boyfriend’s family had two children including a younger sister who was attending university in the Northeast, and they had already secured a job for him in a bank in their town.

Xu Xin and her boyfriend had already gotten their marriage certificate. Everything seemed normal, but Li Xianglu felt like there was always something off between them.

Lu Anna and Iro hadn’t arrived yet while Wang Ke was tidying up her stuff. She cheerfully greeted Li Xianglu when she saw her.

Li Xianglu was surprised to find Wang Ke had cut her long straight hair short and was wearing it in a modern styled bun, even wearing a stylish two-piece dress. Somewhat astonished, she commented: "Wang Ke, you look completely different today."

Wang Ke smiled and said: "I’m getting married!"

What? Li Xianglu’s mouth dropped open, Xiao Chong who had just entered the room heard this too, disregarding the heavy bags in hand and immediately asked: "What’s going on?" Xiao Chong also wanted to get married, but her family didn’t approve and her boyfriend was struggling.

Wang Ke calmly explained: "My family arranged a match for me. I met him when I went back home, he’s pretty good. We got engaged and will marry after graduation."

"But that’s so sudden!" Xiao Chong sat down anxiously and asked: "What does he do?"

Wang Ke smiled and replied, "He’s a teacher, the math teacher in our county’s middle school, currently pursuing his studies in our province’s university, he’s a junior just like us but four years older than me."

Li Xianglu wanted to ask more when the door was pushed open. It was the dorm supervisor, who with a smile said, "Li Xianglu, there’s a call from campus security, saying someone at the gate is looking for you, seems to be your relative."

My relative? Li Xianglu raised an eyebrow.

The dorm supervisor, having learnt from the previous incidents that Li Xianglu was adopted, and recalling the people who had come demanding to trade their daughter for their son’s job, wisely inquired and was told by campus security it was Li Xianglu’s father.

Realizing it was Li Erfu, Li Xianglu packed up some things and walked outside. Campus security personnel told her that the person was standing at the outside road junction.

Li Xianglu saw a figure standing by the trees, it was the stooped back of Li Erfu. As she approached, the person turned around, showing a stranger’s face. Li Xianglu instinctively wanted to run when suddenly she smelled an odd scent, followed by darkness enveloping her vision.

ps: See you tomorrow.