Chapter 880: Shadowing

Qi Heng stared at Shi Ran, not blinking once.

Shi Ran had also grown quite a bit, almost as tall as her mother, but she was still more than ten centimeters shorter than Qi Heng.

The two were mismatched in height, and their gazes did not meet, yet she could still feel the fervent look coming from across from her.

She lowered her head and said in a soft, thin voice, "Is there something dirty on my face?"

"No."

He immediately looked away.

"Why haven't you left yet?"

"How about we go together!"

"Huh?"

Shi Ran looked up, their gazes collided, and they instantly pulled apart.

The two of them looked left and right respectively, their gazes extremely unnatural.

"I, I meant going out for a walk; I ate a bit too much at dinner, and I'm afraid I won't be able to find my way back if I go out."

Oh, so it was a walk, a misunderstanding.

Jiangzhou had changed quite a bit in these past few years, and the surrounding roads were all different; if one walked out of the residential complex, it would indeed be easy to get lost.

"Alright, I'll go with you."

Shi Ran used the excuse that it was cold outside to tell Qi Heng to go back to his room to get a jacket, while she herself rushed into the bathroom to splash her burning cheeks with cold water a few times.

……

The two walked out the front gate, only concerned with making sure the younger ones didn't notice them, while ignoring the two pairs of eyes on the upper floor supervising them.

Shi Youxuan: "These two children, they'll never be able to separate for the rest of their lives."

But her husband frowned deeply: "Why are they going out so late? I'll follow them." Sheng Hanyu grabbed his suit jacket, ready to head out.

Shi Youxuan grabbed his arm to stop him: "The kids are just going out for a stroll, it's not appropriate for you to follow."

"No, it's only appropriate if I follow. At their age, it's hard to say; I'm afraid Ranran is having puppy love."

Shi Youxuan: ……

"Go ahead then."

At this age, it's neither like when they were small nor like when they are fully grown.

When they were small, their getting along was called innocent childhood friendship; when they are grown and together, it's a normal romance.

Now is just the puberty phase, a confused and ignorant age; talking about love is too early, and as for friendship... why do they need to be alone together?

So he had to follow, to nip it in the bud.

Qi Heng and Shi Ran did not know that adults were following behind them.

The two children naturally kept a distance of one person between them.

Qi Heng: "Jiangzhou has really changed a lot."

Shi Ran: "Mm, has L Country changed a lot?"

Qi Heng: "Also a lot. Our kindergarten is about to be demolished; they say they're going to build a commercial center."

Shi Ran: "Oh my, what a pity..."

Qi Heng: "If you don't want it demolished, it doesn't have to be."

Shi Ran chuckled: "Does what you say count? The land where the kindergarten is is worth its weight in gold. If they're building a commercial center, it must be a key project for investment promotion, planned at least half a year ago. It's not a matter of just not demolishing it because you say so..."

"It can be saved. L Country's economy has come up, but its cultural foundation hasn't kept pace. The country's next development focus is education. If I use this point to raise an objection, it's very likely to succeed..."

Sheng Hanyu followed not far behind the two; the children were too focused to notice him, but every word they said was heard by him without missing a beat.

The children's words surprised him.

They were only thirteen-year-old children, yet the things they were discussing were things many scholars might not be able to analyze so thoroughly.

……

The two hadn't seen each other for a few years, so they were a bit distant at first, but the sense of distance soon vanished.

They chatted from kindergarten to the relations between the two countries, from commercial construction to international trade, from big data to the future of society...

Sheng Hanyu followed for a stretch of the road and felt it was rather pointless.

Although he was also interested in the content they were discussing, such topics were better discussed in the Study or the living room, over a pot of tea, in a bright and open manner.

Him following behind the children was called eavesdropping!

If word got out, it would damage his reputation.

Sheng Hanyu prepared to quietly retreat and go back to tell his wife not to worry, that everything was fine.

"Ring-ring—"

The phone rang; it was his wife's exclusive ringtone.

Oh no, he forgot to put it on silent.

And so, he was discovered.

Qi Heng explained: "Uncle, I ate too much at dinner, so I asked Ranran to take me out for a walk to help with digestion."

Shi Ran was furious: "You actually followed us? That's too much!"

"No."

His expression remained unchanged, and with a straight face like a thousand-year-old iceberg, he said: "I also ate too much at dinner, so I came out for a walk."

"You're such a grown-up, aren't you ashamed to lie?" Shi Ran was filled with righteous indignation and prepared to not let it go.

Qi Heng quietly tugged at her lapel, not letting her continue.

The young man took the initiative to invite him: "Uncle, Shi Ran and I happen to have some questions to ask you; let's talk as we walk." The awkwardness was instantly resolved.

The three of them went for a walk together, and there was always one person who was particularly bright!

……

When Sheng Hanyu returned, his eyes were shining and his face was full of joy.

His wife asked, "What happened to make you so happy?"

Having been a married couple for so many years, she knew exactly what her husband was like.

"I've discovered a Treasure," Sheng Hanyu said mysteriously.

Shi Youxuan: "Where? What Treasure?"

Her first reaction was not surprise, but a startle.

She thought to herself, has the location of the Ji Family Treasure been leaked?

Her husband: "The Treasure is right beside us; A Heng and Shi Ran, these two children have such unique insights and far-reaching vision now, given time, they will be extraordinary..."

He usually didn't talk much, but today he chattered on and on, recounting everything he had heard on the way to his wife without missing a word.

Shi Youxuan was not very interested.

"That's it?"

"Yes."

"Nothing rare, it's about the same as what they usually chat about online."

Sheng Hanyu:...

"How do you know what they usually chat about online?"

"I saw it by accident. Go wash up quickly, I'm going to see if the twins are asleep."

The term "by accident" was used perfectly.

As a top-tier computer hacker back in the day, it didn't seem like a difficult task for her to secretly hack into her daughter's computer.

She pushed the door open and went out, unwilling to continue this topic.

Even if she didn't say it, he knew.

No wonder she could be so calm and composed; it turned out she knew what was going on.

Qi Heng had been at their home for a week; the time wasn't long, but the influence was quite significant.

Several boys liked him very much, surrounding him all day calling him "Brother" this and "Brother" that, making it too difficult for him and Shi Ran to have any time alone.

And they couldn't show it on their faces.

However, every time the boys pestered Qi Heng, Shi Ran was also by his side, so it wasn't too regrettable.

Happy times always pass quickly, and Qi Heng was about to return to his country.

Everyone went to the airport to see him off, but Shi Ran did not go.

Qi Heng was also used to it; the two of them had grown up together since they were small, and this wasn't the first or second time they had parted.

Shi Ran had a trait: she didn't see people off, and she didn't need people to see her off.

"Ring, ring..."

Wan'er called.

"Wan'er, I was just about to call you. Why don't you and A Ning bring the children over to my place for a barbecue? Yixin's family of three will be here in a while." She set up a barbecue grill on the roof, preparing for the barbecue.

It was still very hot at noon in autumn, but it was already cool in the morning and evening.

At dusk, eating barbecue and drinking some beer or beverages on the roof was very pleasant.

"Oh, then you guys go ahead and eat, I won't come over..."

Wan'er's voice sounded wrong; she sounded unhappy.

"What's wrong with you?"