The first thing I did was to find out

Chapter 486 You don't want to embarrass Zhiweiju either, do you?

Along the way, Qin Huai unusually refrained from watching video tutorials on the plane, instead pondering whether to arrange for Gong Liang to meet everyone after arriving in Shanshi.

Gong Liang was a rare exception among the group of spirits, completely detached from the main group. Although he had met Qu Jing, Wang Gensheng, Chen Huihong, and Shi Dadan, it was only incidentally during meals, with the main purpose being to eat. Of these four, he was most familiar with Shi Dadan, having eaten with him the most.

Gong Liang is a truly intelligent man. His intelligence is evident in every aspect of his life. He is good at business, quick-witted, perceptive, eloquent, adept at extracting information, and adept at reading people's expressions. He possesses all the advantages of a top salesperson, but without the arrogance that often comes with success.

In a sense, Gong Liang is neither like a spirit nor a human; he is more like a human than most spirits and more like a spirit than most humans.

Qin Huai feared that introducing such an unawakened E's Beast to a group of spirits might lead to some unexpected situations.

After all, the composition of spirits and monsters is too mixed now.

There is Bifang, an encyclopedia who appears to be radical but is actually conservative.

There are purely conservative eagles.

There are radicals, but not enough radicals among the whites.

There are overly aggressive mayflies.

There is a neutral faction, seemingly not very smart, but sometimes quite clever, like Dang Kang.

There was a guy named Wen Yaoyu, whose background was unknown. He was obsessed with work and was often offline, but he still managed to organize the tea party on August 20th.

If we add the Evil Beast to the mix...

At that time, Luo Jun's family might really be in complete chaos.

Qin Huai kept thinking about this and that, coming up with 18 different endings. In each of them, he would be burned to ashes by Luo Jun after he woke up, which made him feel desperate.

When they got off the plane, Qin Huai asked Zhao Cheng'an, who had been drinking beverages the whole way, "Have you checked the group messages these past two days? When are Lao Shi and Chen Gong arriving?"

“They arrived a long time ago. Lao Shi arrived last night, and Chen Gong arrived at noon today. Hong Jie has also arranged the rooms. Lao Shi and Chen Gong will share a room. Guess where the room is? It's downstairs from Luo Jun’s house.”

“I saw in the group that Luo Jun owns all the apartments with the same layout from the 9th to the 20th floor of his building, but he doesn’t remember.”

"How many properties does Luo Jun own? How can you not remember? They're all fully furnished and not rented out. I even checked the property prices in your neighborhood yesterday, and oh my god, they're more expensive than the one I live in."

"How much would this cost to rent out for a year, Qin Huai? When you inherit your fortune, could you spare a little for me? I don't ask for much, just enough for me to travel the world. To be honest, I've been investing in stocks all these years hoping to earn enough for a world trip, but..."

"Sigh, the stock market has set me up," Mayfly sighed.

Qin Huai didn't reply, thinking to himself that if he ever became successful, supporting his friend's dream wouldn't be out of the question, except for your dream...

Qin Huai was afraid that the mayfly's journey around the world would be the end of his life. Given Luo Jun's current situation, Qin Huai had reason to suspect that the mayfly would be reincarnated before Xia Murui. So he pretended not to hear Zhao Cheng'an's rambling and took out his phone to check the messages.

“Originally, it was supposed to be Sister Hong who picked us up, but last night Luo Luo sent me a message saying that she hadn’t seen me for several months and missed me a lot, and strongly requested to come to the airport to pick us up today.”

“My dad and Luo Luo are coming to pick us up. I’ll introduce you to them then. Let me see… They’re here already, right at the exit. Let’s go.”

Qin Huai led Zhao Cheng'an toward the exit, and from a distance they saw Qin Luo waving excitedly at him, jumping up and down as if she wanted to leap up.

Qin Huai hadn't seen Qin Luo for several months, and upon closer inspection, he discovered that Luo Luo had indeed... gained weight?
Wasn't this child spending the summer vacation in intensive tutoring? Given Luo Luo's temperament, the tutoring must have been unbearable, causing her to lose her appetite, sigh constantly, and spend every day thinking about how to fake illness to avoid tutoring and go to the amusement park, resulting in her becoming increasingly thin.

How come she got even rounder after all that extra tutoring?

"Brother! Brother!" Qin Luo shouted excitedly to Qin Huai, rushed over and snatched Qin Huai's luggage, then smoothly handed it to He Cheng beside her. "Brother, you promised me that if I did well on my final exams, you'd make me a big meal, and if I studied hard during the summer vacation, you'd make me a big meal too. I didn't even get into the bottom 15 on my final exams this time, and I've been super serious about my tutoring. Buy two, get one free, so if that's the case, I don't need to go to tutoring starting tomorrow, and I should be able to eat until school starts, right?"

He Cheng was speechless with amazement at Qin Luo's rounding skills, but after only two seconds, he immediately chimed in, "Can we really eat until school starts? Bro, you're amazing!"

Qin Huai then looked at He Cheng and noticed that He Cheng had become two sizes rounder than he had been during the New Year.

Before Qin Huai could speak, Qin Congwen, who was walking up behind him, laughed and scolded, "Alright, stop bothering your brother. Huai Huai has been on a plane for several hours and just landed. He must be exhausted. Huai Huai, it's hot now, so your mother made you a seven-ingredient herbal tea to dispel dampness. Drink a couple of cups of herbal tea when you get home."

Qin Huai: ...

Qin Huai felt he had made a mistake. He should have advised Chen Gong to postpone his vacation by a few months. Luo Jun could have held on and returned on October 20th.

Qin Huai quickly introduced Zhao Cheng'an to the three of them, and Zhao Cheng'an greeted them very politely. Upon learning that Zhao Cheng'an was there for an exchange at the Yunzhong Canteen, Qin Congwen cheerfully suggested that they go back and have some herbal tea together, explaining that the herbal tea was specially brewed by Zhao Rong and was not for sale but reserved for family members.

Zhao Cheng'an, not understanding why, immediately said he wanted to drink two more bowls, which almost moved the three of them to tears.

Qin Huai had reason to suspect that the three insisted on coming to the airport to pick him up so that he wouldn't be drinking herbal tea at home.

He Cheng was sent to Shanshi for tutoring as soon as summer vacation started. It is said that he did very poorly on his final exams last semester. Before coming to the tutoring center, he had a meal at home with his favorite dish, stir-fried bamboo shoots with pork. After arriving in Shanshi, He Cheng stayed at Qin Huai's house and went to Qin Luo's tutoring center during the day. The tutors were the same group of people who had tutored Qin Luo in Suzhou before, and they had been invited to Shanshi by Gong Liang at a high price.

As soon as they got in the car, Qin Huai didn't give Zhao Cheng'an a chance to exclaim, "You're driving a Double R! So you've already betrayed your class!" He went straight to asking about Qin Luo's summer tutoring.

Because He Cheng had gained weight and become a little chubby, he sat in the passenger seat, while Qin Luo, Qin Huai, and Zhao Cheng'an sat in the back from left to right. When Qin Huai asked questions, he turned his head directly to Qin Luo and asked her directly.

Qin Luo had been waiting for this moment.

Qin Luo said almost proudly, "Brother, I'm not afraid to tell you, I've been studying very hard every day and doing practice tests. Every teacher has praised me for studying so diligently this holiday! I'm sure I can improve my ranking by at least 10 places in the upcoming exams. I'm sure I'll get into a prestigious foreign university and bring honor to our Qin family!"

Seeing Qin Luo's pride, Qin Huai was now completely convinced that Qin Luo must have studied hard during the holiday, and asked in surprise, "Are you still Luo Luo?"

Where did my lazy, good-for-nothing sister go?
Hearing Qin Huai's question, Qin Congwen chuckled and explained, "It's true, Luo Luo has been studying very hard this summer." "Didn't Xiao Zheng come before summer vacation? It was fine during the school year; Luo Luo didn't have time to pester Xiao Zheng. But now that vacation is here, it's a different story. She practically camps out in the cafeteria every day, begging Xiao Zheng to cook her something delicious. And Xiao Zheng is easily swayed; if Luo Luo says a few nice words, she can't resist making her snacks. Sometimes it's fine if only Luo Luo is begging, but if Xiao Ou comes too, then it's really..."

"These two don't need to eat meals all day, they just eat snacks."

"Your mom thought this wouldn't do. Usually, Luo Luo has to pay for your snacks, and Xiao Zheng is too shy to accept money. Luckily, Xiao Cheng came up with a solution. They're both taking tutoring classes, right? They can only get snacks if they listen attentively and complete their homework correctly."

"To prevent them from favoring each other and covering for each other, your mother still uses a competitive system. The first and second place winners get different snacks. There are extra rewards for reporting each other for cheating or not studying hard."

Hearing Qin Congwen say this, Qin Huai could already imagine what would happen next, and asked, "Who reported whom on the first day?"

He Cheng, sitting in the passenger seat, turned around and revealed a chubby smile.

"Hmph." Qin Luo snorted coldly, clearly annoyed.

Clearly, the cousins ​​who were once inseparable, sharing meals and even getting beaten up together, have now turned against each other over snacks, spending their days diligently studying and reporting each other.

There's an old saying that two peaches can kill three warriors, but nowadays, Ms. Zhao Rong doesn't even need two peaches; a plate of snacks is enough.

No wonder the two of them barely spoke at the airport. Apart from a brief moment when He Cheng started a group chat, he didn't say a word to Qin Luo.

Qin Huai inquired about Qin Luo's studies and found that Zhao Rong's method was indeed effective. Since Qin Luo was born and started school, he had never been so proactive and effective in his studies.

It seems our Qin family is really going to produce a scholar!
Qin Huai felt very gratified.

Qin Luo and He Cheng's tutoring was originally scheduled to continue until tomorrow. They had been taking tutoring classes two days a week with one day off, not to the point of spending the entire holiday in tutoring. Along the way, Qin Luo kept chattering about how Qin Huai Zhi Wei Ju was, whether it was really as legendary as it was, gathering the world's best pastry chefs, a daily martial arts tournament where the master chefs would duel over their favorite dim sum, and the diners eating until their mouths were greasy. Even Zhao Cheng'an, a pastry chef from a legitimate Zhi Wei Ju background, was bewildered and quietly asked Qin Huai where Qin Luo had heard such false rumors.

Qin Huai subtly told Zhao Cheng'an that Qin Luo and Tan Weian had a good relationship.

After arriving at Yunzhong Community, Qin Luo and He Cheng went back to catch up on their studies. Qin Congwen dragged Qin Huai's suitcase home to help him pack. Qin Huai accompanied Zhao Cheng'an to the house that Chen Huihong had arranged for him, showing Zhao Cheng'an around the community and his future work environment.

As soon as they separated, Zhao Cheng'an couldn't help but ask, "Isn't Luo Luo attending an international high school? Unless she wants to study engineering, business, or medicine in the future, it shouldn't be too difficult for her to study abroad as long as she's willing to spend the money, right?"

"It's not a big deal. Although Luo Luo's grades weren't good before, her English grades have always been good. Besides, Sister Hong will cover Luo Luo's tuition fees for studying abroad. As long as she wants to, she will definitely be able to study."

"Then why do we still need to..."

"Because my mother thinks we can't let her develop the habit of getting something for nothing," Qin Huai said. "Even if she will definitely have a chance to study in the future, our family is getting richer and richer now, so she should still study when she needs to and work hard when she needs to."

“My parents are very fair parents, sometimes even a bit too much in their pursuit of impartiality. They don’t think that because I inherited my biological parents’ wealth and can now earn a lot of money a year with my skills, Luo Luo will be able to live a life of ease and comfort in the future. They only think that I am me and Luo Luo is Luo Luo. It’s my business if I have money, and it’s Luo Luo’s business if she studies hard and gets a good job in the future.”

"It's just that Luo Luo... has never really had any talent for studying. My parents don't really expect her to achieve anything in her studies. Their only requirement for her is that she doesn't go astray."

“This summer, my mom will force Luo Luo to attend extra classes, mainly because she received a large sum of lucky money from Gong Liang during the Spring Festival, and now she has too much money. My mom is afraid that she will spend the money recklessly and go astray during the summer vacation. Before, my mom might only have to worry about her going to illegal internet cafes with her classmates to play games during the summer vacation, but now my mom has many more things to worry about. She can now invest all the money she has in illegal internet cafes.”

"Anyway, tutoring can help her learn something, so it's not a bad thing. From childhood to adulthood, whenever I have tutoring, Luo Luo has to have tutoring too. I treat everyone equally, so she's used to it. I guess she also sees my trip to Zhiweiju as a kind of tutoring. This summer, my cousin is coming to accompany her during her tutoring, which is great."

Now it was Zhao Cheng'an's turn to be dumbfounded: "Your family... is... quite special."

"Really?" Qin Huai genuinely didn't think there was anything wrong. "Actually, it's quite normal. You'll know once you've been here for a while. My parents and Luo Luo are all very nice people. My dad's only problem is that he's not very good at making steamed buns, and my mom's only problem is that she makes a little unpleasant herbal tea."

"We're going to the Yunzhong Canteen later for Seven-Flavor Dampness-Removing Tea. Drink more of it; it's good for your health."

Zhao Cheng'an: ? ? ?

Qin Huai led Zhao Cheng'an to his place, which was across the street from Qu Jing's house. Qin Huai guessed that this was Chen Huihong's intentional arrangement, so that Zhao Cheng'an could ask Qu Jing directly if he had any questions, which would be convenient.

The two had just entered the house and hadn't even found the kettle when the doorbell rang. When they opened the door, Qu Jing, still wearing an apron, was there.

"Qin Huai, Sister Hong told me to wait for you at home. Once you've put your things away, we'll go to Mr. Luo's house for a tea party." Qu Jing smiled and nodded at Zhao Cheng'an.

Qin Huai glanced at Qu Jing's clothes. She should be off today, as she was wearing a floral long dress with short sleeves, exposing half of her arms. Her arms were covered with dense, gruesome scars, all old wounds, with no new ones.

Seeing Qin Huai glance at her arm, Qu Jing immediately raised her hand to show him the scar: "I went to the hospital for a consultation, and they said that the area of ​​my scar is too large and it has been there for too long, so scar removal is very troublesome and the effect may not be ideal. I simply decided not to do anything about it."

“When I’m at work, I still wear long sleeves and gloves to cover up so as not to scare the patients, but my colleagues in the department know about it. I told them that it was because I was under a lot of pressure when I was studying that I had some mental problems and liked to self-harm. Our department head even introduced me to a very good psychologist.”

"Sister Hong was always worried that I would fail to transcend the tribulation again, but I don't think I will. After waking up, I realized that I had never really experienced this world before, and everyone was actually very tolerant and could accept all kinds of strange people, just like everyone could accept that Qin Huai's mind was not quite normal and that he felt like he had a game system."

Qin Huai: ...Alright, stop talking. I really do have a game system. Sometimes when I tell the truth, nobody believes me.

"Do you cook at home?" Qin Huai changed the subject.

“Yes, I’m making rice cake soup at home. Sister Hong said that since everyone is here this time, we should each bring something to Mr. Luo’s house, so that we don’t just go to Mr. Luo’s house to get fruit every time, otherwise Mr. Luo will get unhappy in the long run.”

"Huh? I only brought a change of clothes this time, I didn't bring toothpaste or a toothbrush, and I didn't bring any gifts or local specialties. I know that Bi Fang people have a bad temper. If I go to Luo Jun's house empty-handed, will he kick me out?" Zhao Cheng'an was shocked.

"Of course not," Qin Huai reassured him. "Luo Jun's kitchen is very large, with complete cooking utensils and a wide variety of ingredients."

“I used to be the one making the pastries, but now that you’re here, it’s time to show off your real skills.”

"Given Luo Jun's temperament and personality, he will never leave Yunzhong Community in his entire life, let alone go to Zhiweiju to eat freshly made Zhiweiju pastries. You don't want to embarrass Zhiweiju, do you?"

Zhao Cheng'an: ? ? ?

(End of this chapter)