Chapter 25: Uncle Bullies Sister

It was past seven in the evening when the door was knocked.

Du Qiu put down the pen in his hand, tidied up the materials he had written, and then walked out of the studio to open the door.

Sure enough, it was Zhang Mingliu at the door.

“Have you not eaten yet? Let’s go have hotpot together?”

As she entered, Zhang Mingliu spoke while adeptly placing the car keys on the nearby shoe cabinet and walking into the living room.

Du Qiu frowned slightly and said, “I’m busy writing a program…”

“You have to eat. Not eating on time is bad for your health. Besides, you lent me your car this afternoon, I should treat you to a meal to say thanks.”

While speaking, Zhang Mingliu looked around as if she wanted to see the changes in the apartment since she last visited.

“Oh, what’s this? Made of crystal?”

Zhang Mingliu first touched the crystal pillow on the Bogu shelf, then picked up a crystal block keychain that was placed beside it, looking curious.

Du Qiu glanced over and immediately remembered that these were the free gifts from the crystal merchant, with the crystal block attached to the keychain.

After unpacking, he had casually placed them next to the crystal pillow.

“Oh, it’s just a crystal ornament. If you like it, I’ll give it to you.”

“Really, can you give it to me?” Zhang Mingliu asked.

“Mhm, it’s yours! Since we are going to eat, let’s hurry.” Du Qiu said casually.

“There are two of them, so let’s each take one!” Zhang Mingliu happily picked up one of the crystal block keychains and put it into her bag.

Just as the two reached the door, Zhang Mingliu suddenly said, “Wait for me a second, I need to use your restroom.”

Zhang Mingliu darted into the adjacent restroom after speaking.

However, she soon ran out and said, “How long has it been since you’ve cleaned your restroom? I’ll use the other one.”

“When did you become so particular about cleanliness? I just cleaned both restrooms a few days ago!”

Du Qiu shook his head, this woman was becoming more difficult to serve. When she lived here before, she wasn’t so fussy. Good thing they broke up.

After a while, the sound of water flushing came from the master bedroom’s restroom, and Zhang Mingliu walked out wearing high heels, a smile she couldn’t hide on her face, “Let’s go. We should head to the food street near the plaza next to the complex, I wonder if that Xin Yi Hot Pot store is still there.”

Once the two were seated at Xin Yi Hot Pot, ordering their food, the smile on Zhang Mingliu’s face had yet to fade.

“Did you stumble upon a treasure?” Du Qiu asked curiously.

“What treasure?” Zhang Mingliu looked at Du Qiu in surprise.

“You’ve been smiling the whole way here, and didn’t stop even when ordering. If it’s not a treasure, then you’ve certainly gotten a promotion or a raise.”

“Yeah yeah, I found a treasure!” Zhang Mingliu couldn’t suppress the joy in her heart.

Since reuniting with Du Qiu, Zhang Mingliu’s thoughts were reinvigorated and later, even her sister-in-law advised her.

This afternoon, after Xue Ningmei learned about her situation with Du Qiu, she encouraged her to recapture the lost love.

She specifically checked both restrooms earlier, and neither contained any women’s toiletries, clearly indicating Du Qiu was still living alone.

In other words, she and Du Qiu had a foundation to rekindle their old feelings.

“Du Qiu, are you really going to start your own business?”

“Mhm.” Du Qiu, feeling somewhat embarrassed after ordering the food, nodded subconsciously when he heard Zhang Mingliu’s question.

“Then… do you have enough seed money?”

“Of course not. Don’t tell me you have money to invest in me?”

“Pfft. Although I’ve worked a year longer than you, I haven’t saved much money. How could I invest in you?”

Du Qiu shook his head and sighed, “Ah, I was just about to give you a chance to be an angel investor. Did you not see that Xue Dongtong valued my unregistered company at 2.5 billion? You’re passing up a great opportunity to get rich.”

“What does Xue Dong like about you? Is it the software you’ve been developing all along?”

“That software is one factor, but mainly, she’s taken a liking to me.”

“Pfft. Are you planning on being a kept man for a rich lady?” Zhang Mingliu said unhappily, taking slight offense at the remark.

“What are you thinking?” Du Qiu said somewhat speechlessly, “I’m talking about her appreciation for my talent! As long as I’m around, what new product can’t we develop?”

“Tsk tsk, self-praise much?”

Zhang Mingliu gave Du Qiu a white look, “Your technical skills are good, but can you manage a company? Since Xue Dong likes you so much, why don’t you just cooperate with her, focus on the technology side, and make money without the hassle.”

The smile gradually faded from Du Qiu’s face, and he said, “You, as a media person, should have seen enough of capitalists driving out founders for short-term profits, right?”

“Are you worried that Xue Dong will take over the entire company and drive you out? Doesn’t she appreciate you a lot?” Zhang Mingliu was somewhat surprised.

Du Qiu shook his head, “She appreciates me now, but who knows if that will still be the case when profits reach a certain level in the future. I haven’t had much contact with Xue Ningmei, but my mentor once warned me that Xue Ningmei and her Huading are bound to run into trouble. That’s why I initially refused Xue Ningmei’s invitation. Unexpectedly, she still acquired Tianqi in Magic City and has grown it so quickly.”

Zhang Mingliu was taken aback, asking with some concern, “In that case, why are you willing to work with her again, and have agreed to let her invest in the future if you seek investments?”

Du Qiu said indifferently, “Regardless of her problems, there won’t be any issues if my company and hers are engaged in normal business cooperation. As for letting her invest, that’s if the situation calls for external investments. My company is not an internet enterprise; as long as we have a good product, we shouldn’t be short of money.”

“But don’t you lack the startup capital?”

“That was just teasing you. The money I have is more than enough for a small company, though not for a large one. I’m not greedy; I don’t need to gamble 1 billion like ‘Big Rice’ did. I just need to make quick and steady progress.”

“Du Qiu, you’ve become bad!” Zhang Mingliu pouted.

“Yeah, so you’d better stay away from me, to avoid being cheated by me!”

At that moment, the waiter brought the hotpot soup base and all the dishes they ordered, filling the table.

“Du Qiu, try this duck intestine, it’s cooked just right!”

“Du Qiu, the tripe is ready, quick, take some!”

……

“Eh, why are you eating so little and giving everything to me?” Du Qiu was somewhat surprised, recalling that Zhang Mingliu always used to fight with him for food when they came here in the past.

“Um, I’m trying to lose weight, you eat more.”

“I can’t stand it, your figure is just fine, what’s there to lose? It’s only harming your health.”

“Are you concerned about me? Tell me, can we go back to the way things were before?” Zhang Mingliu looked at Du Qiu with hopeful eyes.

“Go back to before for what? To argue with you? Honestly, your temper really makes me worried that you won’t be able to get married off.”

Zhang Mingliu’s face changed at the comment, but she retorted, “How could I not get married? I’ve had plenty of suitors these past two years.”

“That popular, huh? Why don’t I see a boyfriend, then? I bet it’s your temper that’s scared them all away.” Du Qiu took a jab and then continued to enjoy the beef in the pot.

“Du Qiu, what do you mean by that? Am I really that scary?”

“Well, as a buddy, definitely not bad, but as a lover, a bit exhausting. If we were to be a couple for life…”

“What would happen?” Zhang Mingliu’s eyes already had a hint of anger.

Du Qiu, not noticing that Zhang Mingliu was on the verge of erupting with rage while he was busy eating the beef, continued teasingly, “The man would probably have his life cut short.”

“Du Qiu, you bastard!”

Zhang Mingliu, infuriated, slammed her chopsticks on the table, stood up, grabbed her bag, and stormed off.

“Hey, are you really leaving? There’s so much left uneaten!”

Du Qiu was taken aback, watching Zhang Mingliu’s retreating figure, wondering why she was getting so angry when he was just telling the truth. They weren’t dating right now, was there really a need for such a fuss?

“So much food wasted if we just leave. Well, she’s not my girlfriend. I can’t waste it.”

Du Qiu had stood up instinctively, thinking of chasing after her, but looking at the spread still on the table, he sat back down.

As he was swishing lamb slices in the broth, the clacking of high heels approached, and Du Qiu looked up to see Zhang Mingliu standing at the table again.

“What are you, having a fit over? Sit down already, it would be a waste to leave all this!”

“Eat, eat, eat. Why don’t you just eat yourself to death!” Zhang Mingliu, in a huff, grabbed the crystal block keychain that she had been admiring on the table before and stormed off again.

“Hey, really lost it, huh?”

But since she came back for the crystal block keychain, she mustn’t be that mad, right? Probably…maybe?

“Daddy, that uncle is bullying sister!”