When they had hot pot for lunch, the two girls were initially quiet and reserved. Yangyang was no longer the Yangyang who ate heartily, and Qin Yiyi was no longer the Qin Yiyi who tore apart the divine beef in the wilderness. They even used their chopsticks with delicate, orchid-like fingers.
"Stop pretending," Qingchen said with a sigh.
Yangyang laughed and said, "Don't you like us like this, brother? Then we won't pretend anymore!"
Qin Yiyi waved and called out, "Boss, another order of tripe, beef aorta, dried bamboo shoots, hydrangea mushrooms, and two more orders of hand-cut mutton!"
As they spoke, Yangyang and Qin Yiyi immediately let loose, dumping tripe, duck intestines, beef, and mutton into the pot like hail. Qin Yiyi added, "I've been hiking in the wilderness for so long, and I've finished all the divine beef I brought. After entering the city, I rushed to exchange it for gold bars and buy new clothes. I haven't had time to eat anything yet."
Yangyang also wolfed down her food and said, "After Da Yu told me that Qing Chen was on a blind date, I immediately rushed here. I flew non-stop the whole way and had to avoid Qing's air defense facilities. I was exhausted."
Qing Chen seemed to be deep in thought: "Da Yu..."
Yangyang looked at Qingji: "Uncle Qingji, how many blind dates does Qingchen have this afternoon?"
Just then, Qing Ji received a message on his phone. He looked up at the two girls and said, "No more blind dates. All the remaining blind dates are canceled."
"Huh?" Now it was Yangyang and Qin Yiyi's turn to be puzzled: "Why?"
The next second, outside the hot pot restaurant, a mute servant hurriedly carried in a wooden box. He came to Qing Ji's side and used sign language: "A gift from the old master to the two girls."
Qing Ji was surprised after taking a look. He took the wooden box and said to the mute servant, "Go back and see the boss. Tell him I know what to do."
Qingchen looked at him as if he were speaking in riddles: "What riddle are you talking about?"
Qing Ji solemnly opened the wooden box: "These are two little trinkets that Qing Chen's mother collected before she passed away. They are very interesting."
Qingchen was stunned for a moment. Mother?
In his life, the only mother he knew was a woman named Zhang Wanfang, but he had never met his biological mother.
The contents of the box in front of him somehow stirred up some emotions within him.
Yangyang and Qin Yiyi looked at them and found that they were a pair of jade thumb rings, each one a crystal clear imperial green.
What's rather strange is that while most thumb rings are designed for men, these two thumb rings are exceptionally delicate, so they wouldn't look out of place even on a girl's wrist.
Qing Ji took out the left one and gave it to Yang Yang, and the right one to Qin Yi Yi: "Take them. Although the boss hasn't met you yet, this is his gift. He likes you."
“They’re too valuable. If these two jade thumb rings were on the market, each one would probably sell for hundreds of millions,” Yangyang said.
Qing Ji smiled and shook his head: "They are not real jade, but forbidden objects extracted from a pair of sisters. Yang Yang's is called Forbidden Object ACE-104, which is called 'Blinding the View with a Leaf.' As long as you cover your eyes with your hands, no one can detect you. Even if you stand in front of him, he will subconsciously ignore you, and even radar cannot detect you. You are a force field awakener, so you don't need to open your eyes when flying. If you have this, you don't need to worry about phased array radar anywhere."
Qing Ji then looked at Qin Yiyi: "The one in your hand is called the Forbidden ACE-105, a self-deceptive device. As long as you plug your ears, no one can hear the sounds you make, sonar equipment can't find you, and the screams of the people you kill won't be heard. Huotang is good at jungle warfare. The leaves and weeds in the jungle are your best friends, but also your greatest enemies. Even the best stealth will be exposed by the friction of their leaves, so this one is also suitable for you."
"What kind of weird names are these..." Qing Chen complained.
It's quite normal for the wife of the head of the Qing family to have two interesting forbidden items in her collection. After all, with the financial and human resources of a conglomerate, finding a few forbidden items wouldn't be difficult.
However, the only ones in the world who would give a forbidden item as a gift are probably the Knights and the Qing Clan.
Yangyang: "If it's a forbidden item, then it's even more valuable than jade."
Qin Yiyi chimed in, "Indeed, jade has a price, but forbidden items are priceless, especially those that suit one's own taste."
Qing Ji said, "You don't need to be so polite, the old man is giving them to you..."
Before he could finish speaking, he saw that Yangyang and Qin Yiyi had already put on their thumb rings. Yangyang held out her hand to Qin Yiyi and asked, "Do I look good in this?"
Qin Yiyi nodded: "It looks good. Your skin is already fair, and green makes it look even fairer. It suits you. But it doesn't look so good on me, my skin is too dark..."
Yangyang said with a smile, "It looks good on you too!"
It was only then that Qing Ji realized that his politeness towards the two girls was completely unnecessary...
Neither of the girls are pretentious!
Qingchen asked, "What kind of person is my mother?"
“Your mother has a bad temper,” Qing Ji said with a smile. “People of my generation, including your brother, are all quite afraid of her.”
Qingchen was stunned; he had always thought he had a gentle birth mother.
Even as he searched his memory palace, he never saw his mother's figure again, as if she had already disappeared the moment he opened his eyes.
But Qing Ji recalled, "My aunt was a very decisive person. My grandfather didn't like to talk, didn't like to sunbathe, and didn't like to go out. He was a complete homebody. Then my aunt would force him to go out in the sun and take a walk... At that time, my grandfather was already the head of the family, and I was his personal bodyguard. Every time we saw my aunt approaching my grandfather's little house, we would tactfully avoid her. Because of this, my grandfather complained to us many times, saying that we hadn't protected him well. Back then, my grandfather wasn't as silent as he is now."
Qing Chen suddenly asked, "When did he become like this?"
Qing Ji glanced at Qing Chen: "Since Ning Xiu passed away."
"How did my mother die?" Qingchen asked.
“Your mother has always had a heart condition. Her health has been poor ever since you were born,” Qingji said. “She had a heart transplant, which lasted for more than ten years. When she was pregnant with you, the doctor said that her heart was not strong enough to support childbirth, but she still did not abort you.”
Qing Chen said calmly, "Stop talking."
He had grown accustomed to a life without family affection; he could live perfectly well without a father or mother. Qing Guozhong and Zhang Wanfang were merely figures he had forgotten and abandoned.
Apart from Qing Zhun, Qing Chen had given up all illusions about family ties, but Qing Ji suddenly told him that his mother was willing to risk her life to give birth to him.
He couldn't quite accept it.
Qing Ji didn't say anything more. He looked at the two girls and smiled, saying, "There won't be any more blind dates. I'll adjust your schedules with Qing Chen. You're free to do whatever you want until the plans are finalized. Oh, and here are two black cards from Qing's Bank, with no spending limit. We'll pay for whatever you buy."
“No need for that, I have money now,” Qingchen said, standing up.
Yangyang and Yiyi smiled and pushed the black card back: "We'll listen to Qingchen."
"What are you planning to do next?" Qing Chen asked. "Where do you want to go? I'll go with you."
“Let’s go buy some clothes,” Yangyang said with a smile. “We only have this one outfit each, and we’re staying here for more than ten days. We can’t do without a change of clothes.”
In the afternoon, Qing Ji didn't follow them anymore. Qing Chen accompanied the two girls to the mall, and they didn't seem tired at all after visiting hundreds of shops.
The two girls saw clothes they liked and tried them on. Then they walked out of the fitting room together and twirled in front of Qingchen like princesses, asking him if they looked good.
Both girls were natural clothes hangers, leaving Qingchen dazzled.
But aside from when they were trying on clothes, the two of them walked hand in hand ahead, ignoring Qingchen completely...
Qing Chen suddenly realized that even an A-level expert gets tired when shopping with a girl...
As evening approached, Qingchen said, "The best hotel in City 5 is called Cloud Top. I'll take you there now and then pick you up tomorrow morning."
Yangyang tilted her head, looking at Qingchen who was covered in clothes and shopping bags: "Where do you live?"
“I live in a small house of about 30 square meters left by my brother. It only has one bedroom and one living room, which is too big for you to live in,” Qingchen said.
“Who says there’s not enough room?” Yangyang said. “The two of us can share a bed in the bedroom. You can sleep on the sofa.”
Qing Chen: "..."
Chapter 770, Open and Covert Struggles
"The cabin isn't very big, only about 30 square meters in total. Why do you insist on squeezing in here instead of staying in a nice hotel?" Qingchen explained from inside the cabin.
Qin Yiyi suddenly said, "We also want to see the place where Brother Shadow lived before he died."
Qing Chen asked, "Have you ever seen my brother?"
“I’ve seen him. He often comes to the Fire Pit. We have an agreement with him to regularly supply the Shadow Force with Divine Beef and Fengjun Flower pollen. He always comes to collect them in person,” Qin Yiyi said. “However, he always wears a mask when I see him.”
Yangyang added, "I've seen it too."
Qin Yiyi looked around the room. She first went to the wardrobe, took out the brand-new bedding, and spread it on the sofa. Then she smiled and said to Qingchen, "This way you can sleep more comfortably. It's only April, and it's a bit chilly at night. By the way, I found some new toiletries and towels in the wardrobe; they're very soft. Oh, and there are also some fresh vegetables and raw meat that were just put in the refrigerator today. What would you like to eat? I can cook for you; I'm a great cook."
Qin Yiyi took advantage of Yangyang's inability to do housework, and insisted on showing her gentle and virtuous side.
Yangyang looked around the room curiously: "It's so cozy. It's a bit like your home on Biaoshijie Xingshu Road, but smaller, but just as cozy."
Qin Yiyi's expression darkened.
For Qin Yiyi, the biggest regret in life is that Qing Chen is a time traveler, while she is not.
She was very clear about one thing: the life of a time traveler is divided, and time is also divided equally between the outer world and the inner world.
When Qingchen returned to the surface world, her time was frozen in the inner world.
Qing Chen turned on the holographic projector as if he hadn't heard, trying to distract the girls with the TV programs shown on it.
Qin Yiyi got up and went to the kitchen to cook, while Yangyang said with a smile, "Thank you!"
As she spoke, she moved closer to Qingchen to watch TV together.
Before she could even look for two seconds, Qin Yiyi came over and pulled her up: "Let's go, Sister Yangyang, let's cook together, cooking is a lot of fun."
"Hey? Hey? Let me go, let me go..." Yangyang said helplessly.
The next moment, Qingchen watched as Qin Yiyi dragged Yangyang by the wrist from the floor into the kitchen.
Yangyang slid across the floor, looking at Qingchen with a helpless expression.
With a bang, the kitchen door slammed shut.
Qingchen breathed a sigh of relief; finally, he had some time to himself.
A short while later, Qin Yiyi and Yangyang came out with a late-night snack: scrambled eggs with tomatoes and stir-fried pork with green peppers—simple and simple.
Qin Yiyi smiled and pointed to the scrambled eggs with tomatoes: "I made this."
Qingchen looked at the stir-fried green peppers and pork: "What about this?"
Qin Yiyi smiled and said, "I made this too."
So Yangyang didn't do anything; she just watched from the sidelines.
Yangyang: "..."
After the meal, Yangyang took her toiletries and headed to the bathroom: "Brother, I'm going to take a shower, brother."
Qingchen gave a soft "hmm" through his nose, his eyes fixed on the holographic projection.
Qin Yiyi smiled and moved closer to him. Then the same scene unfolded. Yangyang looked at Qin Yiyi and asked, "Aren't you going to take a shower? You've been sweating today too."
Qin Yiyi said, "I'll wash later... Hey, let go of me!"
Finally, Qingchen got up and went out, sitting alone on the edge of the rooftop of the 89th floor. He looked down at the lights below, which shone like a galaxy, and saw pure electric cars driving by like comets in the city.
The people on the street were busy and lively.
Sometimes Qingchen still feels lost. There are still so many enemies, so many things to think about, and it seems like life will always be rushed by without any chance to stop.
After what seemed like an eternity, the rooftop door behind him opened, and Yangyang and Qin Yiyi walked up carrying beers: "We knew you'd be here. What, are you getting annoyed with us now?"