Chapter 25: Cohabitation
Chapter 25
The time went back more than ten minutes ago.
"Dresses are not convenient for moving. You should change your clothes first," said Qin Zhao as she took out a set of dark blue sportswear and a pair of black sneakers from her backpack and handed them to Nan Yue.
Nan Yue took them and praised, "You are quite thoughtful."
Qin Zhao was not polite at all. "Of course."
Nan Yue blinked and said, "Then I'll change my clothes."
At this time Qin Zhao still didn't understand what Nan Yue meant by saying this, so she replied, "Okay, you change."
Nan Yue turned around and started taking off her long dress, startling Qin Zhao to hurriedly cover her eyes.
Qin Zhao then vaguely realized that Nan Yue was reminding her to look away.
But Nan Yue still took it off without her looking away.
Did that mean Nan Yue was allowing her to watch?
Thinking like this, Qin Zhao opened her fingers wide, preparing to sneak a peek.
Anyway, the two were in a romantic relationship, and they would see each other sooner or later, so it was fine to see a little earlier.
What she saw was Nan Yue who had already changed her clothes.
Seeing her like this, Nan Yue knew she must have thought of something indecent, and teased, "Do you need me to change again and show you?"
Qin Zhao pursed her lips and denied, "No fun, I won't watch anymore."
But Nan Yue suddenly came over to Qin Zhao's ear and whispered something.
It made Qin Zhao blush instantly from head to toe!
Nan Yue was very satisfied with Qin Zhao's reaction, pinched her cheek, and said, "Okay, okay, I won't tease you anymore, let's go quickly."
Hearing this, Qin Zhao immediately regained her composure and said solemnly, "Later if we run into people blocking our way, just keep running forward, and I will catch up with you. Once we get out of the manor, we'll be safe. My car is parked outside."
Nan Yue nodded, "Okay."
She was a little worried that she might drag Qin Zhao down.
Qin Zhao tied the climbing rope to the metal railing, then walked to the front of Nan Yue and squatted down halfway, saying, "Come on up."
Nan Yue leaned over Qin Zhao's back. Although Qin Zhao's back was not very wide, it gave her a full sense of security.
Qin Zhao had gone through all kinds of dangerous and tricky tasks, and had long practiced excellent skills. Carrying Nan Yue was of course feasible.
The only problem was that her original body was delicate and soft, which might cause some abrasions.
But it was all within controllable range.
Carrying Nan Yue on her back, Qin Zhao grabbed the climbing rope, squeezed the rope with both legs at the same time, and slowly slid down.
Two minutes later, the two landed safely.
Just as she was about to breathe a sigh of relief, she suddenly heard Nan Yue scream softly!
Then another voice rang out, "Miss, where are you going?"
Qin Zhao looked in the direction of the voice, and saw a man in a black suit squinting at Nan Yue.
"Miss, don't make the boss angry. You should just..."
Before he could finish speaking, a black shadow flew over quickly, followed by a heavy punch in the eyes, hitting him hard so that he saw stars!
Before he could react, there was pain below, and the man immediately fell to the ground moaning!
Qin Zhao's movements were like flowing water, in one go, falling into Nan Yue's eyes, making her feel that she was about to be stunned by the coolness...
Qin Zhao looked back and saw Nan Yue's shocked expression. She couldn't help but smile and pretended to be humble, "Just a small scene, let's go."
She pulled Nan Yue and ran towards the gate. They had been exposed and people would come to chase them soon.
Sure enough, not yet running a hundred meters away, there came the sound of dogs barking behind them!
Some were real dogs, some were lackeys.
"Come on, surround them!"
"What are you guys doing?! If you don't catch the miss, you'll be punished by the boss. Idiots!"
...
Since they had pulled away for a distance, the men in black had not caught up for the time being.
But Nan Yue rarely did aerobic exercises, and it wasn't long before she felt a little out of breath.
"Zhao, I'm so tired, can't run anymore. Or you go first..."
Her voice sounded like it was coming out of a broken bellows. Qin Zhao felt as if she could feel Nan Yue's exhaustion from it.
Qin Zhao stopped pulling Nan Yue. Nan Yue almost lost her balance. Qin Zhao reached out to support her.
Qin Zhao just said, "I'll carry you."
Looking at the sweaty Qin Zhao, Nan Yue suddenly felt a surge of strength in her body.
Without saying anything more, she took Qin Zhao's hand and continued running forward!
The two ran wildly in the dark, with only each other's breathing beside them. Although the speed was not fast, they still managed to get out of the manor before being caught up by the men in black!
"Hurry up, everyone! Don't let them get away!"
The voices of the men in black grew nearer and nearer.
Qin Zhao sprinted to the bushes outside the gate, pushed out a motorcycle, and threw a helmet to Nan Yue, "Get on!"
Nan Yue got on unsteadily behind Qin Zhao's position.
Qin Zhao reminded, "Put on your helmet, I drive very fast."
"Okay." Nan Yue did as told.
The roar of the motorcycle echoed in the dark night, drowning out the shouts of the men in black. Nan Yue hugged Qin Zhao's waist, resting her face on her shoulder, and her heart gradually settled down.
Glancing at the bodyguards chasing closely behind, she was no longer afraid.
She simply turned her head the other way, out of sight, out of mind.
The motorcycle darted out like an arrow from the string!
Leaving Nan Chenghui's lackeys far, far behind, they stopped chasing one by one and began cursing out of their mouths.
But no one cared anymore.
Just when Qin Zhao thought it was safe, a gate in front opened. This was the south gate of the manor.
A figure appeared in the middle of the road, arms wide open. Qin Zhao saw the person's face in the light of the motorcycle...
It was Li Shuyun!
Qin Zhao slammed on the brakes, and the motorcycle barely stopped twenty meters away from Li Shuyun!
The road was not wide. If they just drove past like this, if the other party was determined to stop them, even a detour, the two sides might still collide.
Qin Zhao didn't care about Li Shuyun's life or death, nor did she have any moral burden. The reason she stopped was that she wanted to give Nan Yue the choice.
Nan Yue felt something was wrong. She looked up ahead and also found Li Shuyun.
Li Shuyun met Nan Yue's eyes and shouted, "Yue'er, come to Mom, come home with Mom!"
Her tone seemed full of tenderness.
But whether it was true or false, Nan Yue was not fooled.
Based on Nan Yue's understanding of Li Shuyun, stopping the car was not in line with her personality.
She glanced around. Nan Chenghui must be hiding in some shadow, watching secretly.
She guessed that the scene Nan Chenghui wanted to see most right now was the confrontation between mother and daughter. It would be best if he could see her face covered in tears, looking haggard and unable to part with her mother.
Huh, how could she let him have his way?!
She closed her eyes and said softly to Qin Zhao, "Let's go."
"Are you sure it's okay?" Qin Zhao asked.
"Yeah, she never took care of me anyway."
Nan Yue spoke lightly, but Qin Zhao keenly heard a trace of loss in her tone.
Qin Zhao didn't start the motorcycle right away. There were some things Nan Yue found awkward to say, but she had no concerns.
"Mrs. Li, on what grounds are you blocking our way?" Qin Zhao asked loudly.
Nan Yue also opened her eyes and looked at her.
Li Shuyun replied, "Of course as Nan Yue's mother. I gave birth to her and endured ten months of pregnancy and labor pains for her. She should listen to me!"
"How ridiculous," Qin Zhao mocked. "Did you ask her opinion before bringing her into this world arbitrarily?
You endured the pain because it was your choice to give birth to her, so you should take responsibility for your own choice, which is the most basic quality an independent person should have.
Forget it, hearing you say that, I know there are some things you will never understand!
It's not that you gave birth to her that gives you the right to be her mother. Feelings need to be cultivated, managed, and cherished.
You do nothing, so to her, you are just a stranger who happens to be a blood relative."
Li Shuyun lowered her arms, seeming to be greatly shocked, her body trembling slightly.
Qin Zhao went on, "With this kind of identity, you can't get any reward from her.
Giving birth without love is unfortunate for Nan Yue and pathetic and foolish for you.
You are a stupid woman, please recognize this."
Li Shuyun suddenly raised her head, her eyes red, and refuted, "No, you're talking nonsense! On what basis can you accuse me? You..."
Qin Zhao shook her head. She had nothing more to say to such a stubborn person.
The motorcycle started up and quickly circled around the fallen Li Shuyun.
Nan Yue didn't even glance at Li Shuyun again.
Nan Chenghui walked out from the shadows to Li Shuyun's side and said, "Go to France for a while, don't come back."
Li Shuyun was silent for a moment and asked, "Why?"
Nan Chenghui squeezed out a few words with difficulty, "I'm finished."
Losing Nan Yue as a bargaining chip, Nan Group was completely hopeless.
Li Shuyun suddenly laughed, "Hehe, Nan Chenghui, oh Nan Chenghui, you've schemed for half your life, but in the end you left nothing behind, how laughable and pathetic you are, how could I marry someone like you!"
Slap!
Li Shuyun covered her numb right cheek, looking at Nan Chenghui in disbelief!
"Anyone can say I'm a failure, but you're the only one who can't. If it wasn't to marry you, I wouldn't have done those things back then!"
They hurled vicious insults and accusations at each other like madmen!
Suddenly, as if recalling something, Nan Chenghui stopped and picked up the fallen wig, laughing loudly, "Hahaha... I forgot about her, I'm not done yet, I still have someone I can use!"
When Qin Zhao brought Nan Yue back home, it was already four in the morning.
The two did a simple wash up, changed into pajamas, and fell into bed together, sleeping in each other's arms.
After going through this ordeal, their relationship had unknowingly become much more intimate.
In her half-asleep, half-awake state, Qin Zhao heard Nan Yue whisper, "Zhao Zhao, thank you."
Qin Zhao thought she must be thanking her for what she said to Li Shuyun.
So in her groggy state, she murmured, "Mm, good night."
"Good night."
The next day, they didn't get up until noon.
Citing her hand injury, Qin Zhao asked Manager Pei for a week off.
She and Nan Yue turned off their phones, paid no attention to worldly affairs, and spent five days leading a degenerate life of eating, sleeping and gaming in the house.
On the afternoon of October 28th, Qin Zhao made three dishes and a soup. After the two finished lunch, they curled up on the sofa watching anime.
Nan Yue leaned on Qin Zhao's shoulder, occasionally squeezing her biceps and abs, distracted, unable to remember what was even happening in the anime, always asking questions.
Qin Zhao helplessly shrugged, the image of Young Miss Nan in her heart gradually becoming more fleshed out.
Elegant, lazy, simple, smart - a series of seemingly contradictory words could all find their shadow in her.
"So, the white-haired female lead is the prize of a student duel, and the red-haired female lead won the fight.
When she questioned whether two women could be together, the redhead said this classic line, 'Martians sure are old-fashioned huh.'" Qin Zhao explained.
Although Nan Yue wasn't watching the screen seriously, she listened attentively to Qin Zhao's explanations.
Her phone notification tone rang, and Nan Yue casually unlocked the screen to see a text from the bank.
She felt a momentary loss, but this was within expectations.
All her cards had been frozen.
Nan Yue let out a breath and put down her phone, calmly saying, "Zhao Zhao, looks like I'll have to rely on you to support me from now on."
"What, did Nan Chenghui take all your money?" Qin Zhao asked.
"Clever, you got it in one guess," Nan Yue said.
Qin Zhao readily replied, "No problem, I have money anyway, from now on you can just hang with me, big sis will treat you to fine food and fun."
Nan Yue chuckled, got up and pecked Qin Zhao on the cheek, saying, "Forgot to tell you, I still have a few tens of millions in private funds.
Also, I'm older than you, you should call me big sis."
Ah, life is hard. Qin Zhao sighed.
Her dream of supporting a rich lady shattered, she slumped down on Nan Yue's lap and said, "I'm tired from watching TV, gonna take a nap."
Nan Yue massaged her temples, "Sleep."
Enjoying Nan Yue's gentle massage technique, Qin Zhao quickly fell asleep.
When Qin Zhao woke up, it was already evening. The orange sunset shone in through the floor-to-ceiling windows, enveloping her in its warm glow.
Yet she only felt a chill over her whole body, perhaps because it was almost November, and the weather had turned cool...
Or maybe because Nan Yue was no longer by her side!
After spending these days together, Qin Zhao had gotten used to having Nan Yue around. So now that she was gone, she felt extremely uncomfortable.
She got up and looked around. Nan Yue's things were still there, but she somehow felt that she had left.
Qin Zhao tentatively called out, "Nan Yue?"
No response.
She then picked up her phone and dialed Nan Yue's number...
Unavailable!
Staring at the string of digits on the screen, Qin Zhao sank into thought.
Where did she go?