You're dumping me, huh? Fine, then I'll just pick up the school beauty and make her my wif

Jiang Che followed Su Qinghe's train of thought and continued, "So, according to what you're saying, either Wang Lihua acted on her own, or the other members of the Ye family deliberately used Wang Lihua to try and shift the blame onto Ye Yunjin, sowing discord between you and your daughter?"

After saying that, Jiang Che muttered to himself, "Someone in the Ye family is preventing you from going back to the Ye family? How strange. What's so great about that lousy place like the Ye family? It's not even worth a hair compared to our Jiang family. I wouldn't go even if you invited me."

"That's possible."

Su Qinghe couldn't help but smile at Jiang Che's teasing. She then picked up her chopsticks again and stirred the noodles in the bowl, which had become a bit lumpy. "But maybe Wang Lihua is just working for Ye Yunjin. Who knows what my good mother is thinking?"

"What we can be sure of now is that they will definitely have other tricks up their sleeves."

She spoke in a flat tone, neither angry nor aggrieved, but rather as if she were stating something that had little to do with her.

When soldiers come, we'll block them; when water comes, we'll dam it.

Su Qinghe had already gained experience from dealing with Liu Wei and Jiang Dahe.

While Su Qinghe was still eating, Jiang Che was also busy.

He called Liu Anping, "Uncle Liu, are you busy right now?"

"What are your orders, young master?"

Seeing this, Jiang Che stopped being polite and said directly, "Help me investigate someone."

"Wang Lihua, Ye Yunjin's assistant, runs an MCN company in mainland China."

"I need her detailed background, the company's equity structure, the list of contracted anchors, and the flow of funds in the past six months. I'll dig up whatever information I can find, as much as I can."

After a brief reply on the other end of the phone, Jiang Che hung up.

Su Qinghe had almost finished the bowl of noodles. After taking a couple of sips of soup, she put down her spoon and chopsticks and wiped her mouth with a tissue.

"Are you full?"

Jiang Che glanced at Su Qinghe's bowl and saw that there was still a lot of noodles left. So he moved her bowl in front of him and quickly shoveled the remaining noodles into his mouth.

Because he ate too much at once, his cheeks bulged out, and he mumbled between chews, "Wait for me a minute, I'll be done soon."

Su Qinghe couldn't help but smile again, then rested her chin on one hand and tilted her head slightly to watch him eat.

After swallowing the last bite of noodles, Jiang Che wiped his mouth and then called out to the boss, "Boss, the bill is due."

"Hey, here it comes!"

The noodle shop owner was a middle-aged man in his fifties, wearing a blue apron, wiping the stove.

Hearing the shout, he threw down the rag, chuckled, and took the small notebook from his apron pocket as he walked over: "Two bowls of beef noodles, the large one is eighteen and the small one is fifteen, totaling thirty-three."

Jiang Che took out his phone to scan the QR code and pay, and the shopkeeper took the opportunity to sized up the two of them.

When his gaze fell on Su Qinghe's face, he suddenly paused.

"Hey, are you that...?"

The boss frowned and then relaxed, thinking for a moment before slapping the apron pocket hard. "Right, right, aren't you the one who plays the pianist! My daughter talks about you all the time!"

Su Qinghe didn't react for a moment, blinking, "You mean...?"

"Like that arts festival a while back! The one who played the piano blindfolded!"

The boss's smile widened, his eyes crinkling into wrinkles as if he'd discovered something extraordinary. "My daughter has watched that video over and over again, probably a dozen times. She watches it while eating and walking. Last night she even told me she wants to learn piano too, and that she wants to be as good as the girl in the video when she grows up!"

Su Qinghe was a little unsure of what to say, and the tips of her ears visibly began to turn red.

The boss, oblivious to her embarrassment, continued, "This young lady plays so well. I was shocked when I saw her play the other day. You wouldn't be an exaggeration to call her a top-notch piano master."

Su Qinghe's neck also turned red, and she opened her lips twice before managing to stammer out, "Thank you..."

"Oh, no need to thank me!"

The shopkeeper waved his hand, then suddenly remembered something, turned around and ran to the counter, pulled out two glass jars from it, and cheerfully turned back, shoving the jars into Su Qinghe's hands. "Here, take this. It's homemade chili sauce. Take it home and try it."

Su Qinghe looked down and saw two bright red jars of chili sauce with handwritten labels. The characters were crooked and messy, clearly written by the owner himself.

"I'll also return the money you just paid. This meal is on me."

As the boss spoke, he actually looked down and took out his phone, preparing to refund the money.

Seeing this, Jiang Che quickly reached out to stop him, "No, no, no, Uncle, it's not easy for you to run your small business. How can I let you deliver chili sauce and treat me to meals?"

The boss persisted, his tone firm, "What are you saying, kid? It's not like I give away free meals every day. What's wrong with treating such a talented pianist to a bowl of noodles? Stop arguing with me."

Jiang Che was both amused and exasperated. Seeing the boss's expression, which left no room for negotiation, he could only raise the white flag: "Okay, okay, thank you, uncle. We'll definitely come more often in the future."

The owner nodded in satisfaction, then smiled and gave Su Qinghe a thumbs up: "You can come anytime you want to eat here. I'll make whatever you want, even things that aren't on the menu."

"Back when I was studying at New Oriental, I was an outstanding graduate, you know?"

Holding two jars of chili sauce, Su Qinghe listened to the boss boasting and bragging, and the gloom that had been building up in her heart dissipated considerably.

She glanced down at the jar in her arms, then looked up at the shop owner and sincerely thanked him: "Uncle, thank you so much. I was in a bad mood today, and your affirmation and the gift of sauce are more comforting than any other form of consolation."

The boss chuckled, "Hey, when you're in a bad mood, you should eat more good food. When you're making noodles with chili sauce and think of me, your mood will only improve!"

As soon as he finished speaking, all three of them burst into laughter.

……

In the following days, their lives returned to a brief period of calm.

During this time, they took Xiaoman to the vet for a follow-up check-up. The vet said that the recovery was going well, and it was clear that they had taken good care of Xiaoman.

Su Qinghe was overjoyed that her efforts had been recognized.

From the moment she left the hospital until she returned home, the girl's eyes were always curved in a smile, and she would occasionally hum a cheerful tune.

Jiang Che went into the kitchen to cook, while she sat at the dining table scrolling through her phone.

As she scrolled through her feed, she came across a video posted by the official account of the "Challenge Cup" competition.

Speaking of which, the registration phase for this competition is already complete, and considering the timeframe, they should indeed start preparing for the competition.