How could I possibly be confined in a cage?

Chapter 148 Searching for Relatives (2)

After making arrangements, the two embarked on their journey home.

"Why don't we go and see for ourselves?"

“Cheng Ping knows me. Instead of us going to find him, we should wait for him to come to us. I believe he will receive the news soon.”

Yan Ru lowered her eyes and stopped asking about the matter. "Then I'll leave these things to you. As for me, school starts tomorrow."

Lü Peijun smiled and said, "You don't need to worry about things at home anyway, so just focus on your studies."

Qingru, on the other hand, was "leisurely" busy. After the goods were transported back, they were secretly sent to Wushan. She knew that Guo Zixing was secretly training troops.

In fact, Commander Guo knew about this matter. He had squeezed a lot of money out of the Huang and Lü families, and he was all smiles. As a result, the police station had been very quiet these past few days.

After making a cup of tea, Qingru carried it to Guo Zixing's office.

"Knock knock."

"Please come in," Guo Zixing said, his head bowed as he worked at his desk.

"still busy?"

A soft voice rang out, and Guo Zixing looked up. Seeing that it was Qingru, he couldn't help but smile. "Not too busy, what's up?"

"It's nothing." Qingru didn't know why, but she just wanted to see him. Bringing tea was just an excuse.

"fine?"

"No, I have something to do. Well, I'm here to bring tea to the director."

Guo Zixing chuckled, picked up his teacup, and took a sip. "The tea is fragrant and sweet, so refreshing. Do you want me to work a little longer?"

"Thank God, I had no such intention."

As the two were chatting and laughing, the phone rang. Guo Zixing answered, "Hello?"

"Hello? Is this Young Master Guo?" An unnatural female voice came from the other end of the phone, with some coughing and wheezing.

"Miss Zheng?"

"It's me. I don't know what you've been busy with lately. Could you come over to my house and see me?"

Guo Zixing subconsciously looked at Qingru, and seeing that she was looking outside, he lowered his voice and asked, "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing, I just... wanted to see you." Zheng Peilan's voice was tinged with tears, as if she had just cried. And this was the first time that she, who was always proud, had taken the initiative to soften her stance towards Guo Zixing.

“Okay, I’ll go over after I get off work,” Guo Zixing said softly.

Upon receiving the news, Zheng Peilan sobbed a few times and quickly hung up the phone.

Guo Zixing looked somewhat uneasy. Logically, he should have been happy that the number one young lady of Sifang City had taken the initiative to contact him, but in fact, he felt a little guilty in front of Qingru.

Fortunately, he quickly suppressed this feeling and said with a smile, "Qingru, come with me to see Miss Zheng."

"Me? What am I supposed to do?" Qingru felt a little wronged, knowing that Guo Zixing had long intended to marry Zheng Peilan, so what was she still fantasizing about?

"Go and pick out some things that girls like to eat. I heard that Miss Zheng seems to be sick, and it wouldn't be right for us to go to see her empty-handed."

Qingru said in a muffled voice, "You're the boss, so you have the final say."

Qingru rushed out the door, tears welling up in her eyes, but she finally swallowed them back.

“Lu Qingru, you are his subordinate. If you carry this kind of emotion with you, how can you work? Don’t have unrealistic fantasies, stay clear-headed.”

After mentally preparing herself in this way, Qingru finally calmed down.

Just then, Zhang Xun came in carrying a large bouquet of flowers, which immediately caught Qingru's attention.

Why are you buying flowers?

Zhang Xun smiled as he held the flowers in his hands. This cluster of roses, which were in the best bloom, was carefully nurtured in his greenhouse.

“I didn’t buy this. My grandma told me to take it to the street to sell.”

Qingru's eyes darted around. "Then you've come to the right place. You've found a buyer so quickly."

"Buyer? You want to buy?"

“It wasn’t me,” Qingru said, pointing to Guo Zixing’s office. “Our director is going to meet a beauty later, and this bouquet of roses is just what he wants.”

Zhang Xun looked at Guo Zixing in surprise, thinking to himself that if Guo Zixing wanted the money, he definitely couldn't accept it voluntarily.

"You should have said so earlier! If you had, I could have cut another bunch."

Qingru suppressed the bitterness in her heart and said, "No need to say it earlier, it's better to arrive at the right time than to arrive early."

Guo Zixing had just changed his clothes and came out. Seeing everyone talking around a bouquet of flowers, he immediately cleared his throat.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm picking out a gift for you," Qingru said, but her words sounded rather strange.

Guo Zixing accepted the bouquet of roses, which was as large as a round basin. Each rose was blooming brilliantly and had a captivating fragrance. Roses in spring were especially precious.

"A good choice," Guo Zixing praised. He didn't usually care much about these things, but he could still tell the difference between good and bad.

After taking the things, he told Zhang Xun to drive, and without saying a word, he pulled Qingru away.

Zhang Xun suffered in silence; not only did he lose the flowers, but the credit was also pinned on Qingru. However, an outsider's perspective is clearer; seeing Guo Zixing's special treatment of Qingru, he knew who his future leading lady would be.

The air in the car was stuffy, but a bouquet of roses immediately alleviated the stench. The delicate, lingering sweet fragrance, ethereal and gentle, filled the space between them, creating a sudden, intimate atmosphere in the small room.

If Qingru hadn't been rushing to another woman's house, she might have been captivated by the fragrance.

When they arrived at the Zheng family's residence, Qingru didn't get out of the car. She simply said, "Go ahead. I disappeared right here, and I still have some lingering trauma from it."

Guo Zixing didn't force her. He drove the car in, and Qingru and Zhang Xun waited in the side room while Guo Zixing went to the backyard by himself.

The Zheng family's house is a Western-style manor house, and Zheng Peilan's residence is no less luxurious than that of a Western princess.

Inside the large room, a frail figure lay on a European-style palace bed, sobbing softly. Upon hearing a sound, she immediately threw a candlestick out.

"I won't see them, I won't see them, I won't see anyone."

Guo Zixing frowned, somewhat impatient. Wasn't it Zheng Peilan who called him over?

The maid was terrified, thankfully the candlestick didn't hit Guo Zixing. She rushed over and tried to persuade her, "Miss, please open your eyes and see, it's Young Master Guo, not someone else."

Zheng Peilan suddenly raised her head, tears streaming down her face. Like a wronged child who had found her mother, she threw herself into Guo Zixing's arms and sobbed loudly.

Guo Zixing stood stiffly, holding the flowers in front of his chest.

It took Zheng Peilan a while to calm down.

"You're not a gentleman at all. You saw me crying and didn't even hug me." Zheng Peilan, who was usually generous and elegant, became somewhat unreasonable.

"I'm just respecting you. You know, in our country's tradition, men and women shouldn't touch each other."

Zheng Peilan pouted unhappily and said, "Let's not talk about feudal dregs anymore."

When she looked down and saw the flowers, her expression softened. Zheng Peilan blushed when she realized she had rubbed the flower juice onto someone's body.

"Sorry, things just got out of control."

"It's nothing, but you should at least let me know what happened to you, why your personality has changed so drastically, like you're a completely different person?"

Zheng Peilan awkwardly smoothed her hair and said aggrievedly, "My dad brought some crazy woman from somewhere and he likes her like crazy. Does he even care about me, his daughter? Does he even remember what my mom looks like?"

As she spoke, Zheng Peilan became emotional again, and tears streamed down her face.

Guo Zixing was a little annoyed. It turned out that the person had rushed over to him just to coax him. He was immediately displeased.

Through the window, Guo Zixing seemed to see the dejected Qingru, but he patiently listened to Zheng Peilan vent her frustrations.