Chapter 145: A Little Token of My Heart

However, Qiao Ge, dancing with a smile in her eyes, seemed to step right onto his heart with every dance move.

At this moment, Qin Hengzhi was already seriously thinking about marriage.

It was just that Lu Qiaoge was clearly in no rush.

She had never even mentioned marriage to him.

No rush, no rush; she was only nineteen.

He had plenty of patience, and he could afford to wait.

As they turned for the second time with the music, Lu Qiaoge once again saw the gloomy-eyed Cao Lanzhu.

This girl must know by now that she was Qin Hengzhi's partner.

How should she put it?

She didn't seem to see any jealousy or hatred.

Could it be that she was just a small fry, not worth being jealous of?

Was she really that deep?

Lu Qiaoge whispered to Qin Hengzhi, "Keep an eye on Cao Lanzhu; something isn't right about her."

Qin Hengzhi glanced over casually and then withdrew his gaze.

He rarely paid attention to people or things he wasn't interested in.

This naturally included Cao Lanzhu.

Only after Lu Qiaoge's reminder did he notice that the way Cao Lanzhu looked at him was indeed off.

It seemed he needed to investigate what kind of trouble the Cao family was planning to stir up.

However, before Qin Hengzhi could investigate, Cao Lanzhu took advantage of a break to approach Lu Qiaoge on her own.

She stood right in front of Lu Qiaoge, who was sitting in a chair, looking Cao Lanzhu over with a leisurely expression.

Lu Min and her cousin-in-law exchanged an angry look and had no choice but to follow her over.

They had expected Lu Qiaoge to wait haughtily for Cao Lanzhu to speak, but to their surprise, Lu Qiaoge said with a smile, "I know you're Cao Lanzhu; you and Representative Qin are from the same compound."

She turned to look at Qin Hengzhi and blinked, "This must be the little sister from next door, right? Why haven't you said hello?"

It was no exaggeration to say that Lu Qiaoge made people feel as if they were bathed in a spring breeze at that moment.

It felt as if the tense, sword-drawn atmosphere had been instantly dissolved.

Even Cao Lanzhu was stunned, seemingly not expecting Lu Qiaoge to be like this.

An Leilei thought to herself, *You guys didn't see her daring to argue with Zhen Xi this morning; who among you has the guts for that? *

She certainly didn't; she was just a bully at home. When she encountered such things, she would do nothing but cry, never daring to accuse Zhen Xi of being overbearing or unreasonable.

As for Cao Lanzhu, she seemed to be just that.

Qin Hengzhi softened his voice, but he was speaking to Lu Qiaoge: "Saying hello is fine, but 'little sister from next door' is a stretch. Besides, I've rarely returned to the compound in recent years; I didn't expect to run into someone from the Cao family here."

Yes, they really weren't familiar.

He only knew she was Cao Lanzhu because he had a good memory and could remember things at a glance.

Lu Qiaoge cast a sidelong glance at Qin Hengzhi.

This man was quite good with words, too.

Lu Qiaoge looked at the seemingly stunned Cao Lanzhu, feeling a bit of sympathy in her heart.

No matter how much you try to cling on, it's useless, girl.

You've run into Qin Hengzhi and Lu Qiaoge.

"Do you have something to say? If not, I'm taking my sister to dance."

Lu Qiaoge wasn't impatient; she just reminded her with a smile.

By now, many people were looking their way.

It couldn't be helped; Qin Hengzhi and Lu Qiaoge were outstanding in appearance and danced well—it would be strange if no one noticed them.

Cao Lanzhu finally found her voice. Looking at the smiling Lu Qiaoge, a bold idea suddenly surfaced, and she blurted out, "Lu Qiaoge, can I talk to you?"

Lu Qiaoge patted Qin Hengzhi beside her: "Division Chief Xu has been looking at you; do you want to go over?"

Qin Hengzhi stood up obediently, smiled gently at Lu Qiaoge, and then strode toward Division Chief Xu's position.

Division Chief Xu had also been waiting for a long time. Seeing Qin Hengzhi walk over, he said, "I just got back from a meeting in Beidu. I saw your grandfather."

Qin Hengzhi curled the corner of his mouth. He and Qiao Ge had only been dating for a little over a week.

His grandfather knew, and his family knew, but they hadn't had the chance to ask him about it yet.

"Your grandfather is in good spirits. He told me that he was unhappy with himself for interfering in your private affairs last time. He reflected on it for a long time and said that from now on, he will follow your wishes."

Qin Hengzhi looked at Division Chief Xu in surprise. Did he mean that the Cao Lanzhu matter had nothing to do with the Qin family?

Meanwhile, Lu Qiaoge stood up and said to Cao Lanzhu with a smile, "It's not impossible for us to have a good talk, but this occasion isn't appropriate. How about this: I have to go to the Foreign Trade Section tomorrow morning; you can wait for me there."

After saying this, she gave Lu Min a subtle wink, then pulled up Lu Lu Qiaoling, who had been watching her eagerly. The moment the music started, she pulled her sister into the dance floor.

Lu Lu Lu Qiaoling had just been learning to dance from An Leilei, and with her sister's guidance at home, she had learned enough after being led through two dance tracks.

But dancing with her second sister still felt different.

She thought her second sister was amazing.

Although she didn't know what had happened, it was clear her second sister hadn't taken it to heart.

Cao Lanzhu was pulled by Lu Min back to the seat she had just occupied. For some reason, her belly full of courage, and even her belly full of schemes, dissipated like a soap bubble with a *pop*.

And now, even if she went crazy, what good would it do?

With so many young people around, she still wanted to keep some dignity.

Besides, Lu Qiaoge was different from the Lu Qiaoge she had imagined.

In front of her, she couldn't even bring herself to throw a tantrum; she felt that doing so would strip away her last shred of dignity.

At this moment, Secretary Xiao Su rose from a nearby seat and quietly came to Qin Hengzhi's side.

It was strange, too; no one had noticed he was there just a moment ago.

He was worthy of being a former scout.

Secretary Xiao Su came to Qin Hengzhi's side. Division Chief Xu, seeing this, didn't know what to say.

He was the chief of the Provincial Security Division, responsible for the security work of the Hong Kong people this time.

Not to mention that Cao Lanzhu wouldn't dare to cause trouble; even if she wanted to, she wouldn't be able to.

Did she really think everyone was just here to dance?

He hadn't expected Qin Hengzhi to be so nervous about his partner, but he had to admit, that girl was quite extraordinary. He had learned that much this morning, though he hadn't known then that she was Hengzhi's partner.

He joked, "Do you want me to step aside?"

Qin Hengzhi: "Uncle Xu, you are not an outsider."

Division Chief Xu had been the leader of his grandfather's guard squad in his early years; even after transferring to civilian work, they had kept in touch all these years.

Division Chief Xu smiled and said nothing more.

Xiao Su said, "... Cao Lanzhu hasn't been allowed to go to the military factory for the past few days. She isn't staying at the hotel either; she's staying at her cousin's house, the one who is Deputy Director Duan of the Provincial Resource Department."

Qin Hengzhi knew this.

He had called his grandfather the night he got back, asking specifically why Cao Lanzhu had come with the inspection team.

Old Master Qin didn't handle the economic side of things, so naturally, he didn't know.

The excuse Cao Lanzhu used for coming was research, representing the Beidu University Student Union.

That was indeed a reason.

But that was also easy to solve; it was just a matter of a phone call.

Xiao Su then relayed what Lu Qiaoge had just said to Qin Hengzhi.

Division Chief Xu pondered for a moment and couldn't help but praise, "This girl is someone who does big things." Then he said to Qin Hengzhi, "Don't worry about it anymore. Just remember that this matter has nothing to do with your grandparents. I'll handle the rest." ===== CHAPTER 146 =====