Chapter 403: Photos

Having dealt with Xiong Tianzhi, Zhang Ping'an did not let his guard down. He had six people monitoring the Zheng Family, and he also sent two people to Xiong Tianzhi's hometown; he was truly a bit uneasy.

In fact, Zhang Ping'an's original plan was to have Xiong Tianzhi simply disappear, but after thinking about it, he decided against it.

Either way, if he were handed over, he would face the death penalty, but at least it would be a fair trial and not an unjust death. Xiong Tianzhi's son should not be able to hold a grudge against him. Of course, Zhang Ping'an would not gamble on it; he sent two people to monitor, and if there were any unusual movements, he would nip the trouble in the bud.

"Brother Ping'an, is the matter resolved?"

"Mm, it's resolved. From now on, you can play however you want."

"Yay! I've been bored to death at home."

"Still bored? Isn't such a large courtyard enough for you to play in?"

Zhang Ping'an's Sijinyuan covered nearly four mu of land, enough for hide-and-seek, yet Wanqiu and the other girls still complained it was too small.

"Ring-a-ling, ring-a-ling."

"Hello? How are you?"

"Hello, I'm looking for Zhang Weiping."

"Hm? Okay, please hold on."

"Weiping, there's a call for you. It's a woman, and not from the company."

"A woman? Who is it?"

Zhang Weiping looked bewildered; he didn't have any female friends. Zhang Weiping picked up the phone with curiosity, and Wang Xiaoling and the other three girls, along with Wanqiu, also curiously gathered around.

"Hello? This is Zhang Weiping."

"General Manager Zhang, it's me, it's Zhang Qingwan, that teacher from the school."

"Oh, oh, it's you. Is there something you need?"

"That, the photos."

"Ah, right, right. Look at me, I got so busy at the end of the year that I forgot. I'll pack them up and mail them to you."

"Mm, okay. Happy New Year."

"Oh, oh, you too."

"Beep, beep..."

The onlookers all stared at him in disbelief. A girl says Happy New Year to you, and you reply with "you too" and hang up the phone—a true sigma male indeed.

"What's wrong? Mother, why are you all looking at me like that?"

"Weiping, you won't have a girlfriend if you act like this."

"What girlfriend? That's my niece; I'm going to mail her photos." Zhang Weiping stood up to leave.

"???" X5

"Explain things clearly before you go." X5

"It's my father..." Zhang Weiping, feeling helpless, recounted what had happened in Quancheng.

"No, what does your father calling people brothers have to do with you? And 'niece' this, 'niece' that. You really... why didn't you inherit half of your father's glib tongue?"

Zhang Ping'an had just reached the doorway when he heard someone slandering him behind his back, and his face immediately darkened.

"What glib tongue? That's high emotional intelligence. What are you all talking about?"

"Your good son was in Quancheng..." Wang Xiaoling repeated Zhang Weiping's story again.

"Oh? Brother Zhang's granddaughter? Qingwan, that girl is indeed quite good. Weiping, go ahead and mail the photos to her first."

"Oh, okay."

After his son went out, Zhang Ping'an spoke up.

"Don't go around playing matchmaker. Weiping is a bit slow when it comes to feelings; let him take his time."

"Wait until Weijun comes back and let him give Weiping a lesson."

"Where would we need Weijun? Isn't there a ready-made teacher right here?"

"..."

Hearing Zhang Ping'an's words, the women not only didn't restrain themselves but instead began to discuss it with great interest, and even he himself was maliciously slandered.

Zhang Weiping went into the room and gathered a set of photos he had taken in Quanzhou, placing them into an envelope.

"Li Ge, I'm sorry to trouble you to take a flight to Quancheng and deliver this envelope to this address, to a teacher named Zhang Qingwan at the home of someone named Zhang Weiping."

Li Ge was Li Jianxin, the security guard who usually followed him. Zhang Weiping felt embarrassed; he had promised to mail a set of photos, but he had been too busy and forgotten. Fortunately, it wasn't the New Year yet, so there was still time.

"Understood, General Manager Ping."

At home, there was only one General Manager, which was Zhang Ping'an; the other sons were all addressed by the last character of their names.

It was still morning, so Li Jianxin took the envelope and rushed to the airport; a single day was plenty for a round trip.

At eleven o'clock, Li Jianxin arrived at the entrance of the Textile Factory Family Quarters in Quancheng and found Building 1, Unit 1.

"Knock, knock, knock."

"Who is it?"

"Delivering mail."

"Delivering mail?"

"Is this the home of Zhang Weiping? This is for Teacher Zhang Qingwan from our General Manager Zhang."

"Oh, oh, that's right."

Zhang Guangzong instinctively reached out to open it, but was stopped by Li Jianxin.

"There might be some privacy inside; it's best to let Teacher Zhang open it herself."

"Oh, oh, right. Look at me." Zhang Guangzong patted his head in embarrassment.

"What should I call you, brother? Come in and sit, stay for lunch at home."

"No need, I have to rush back to Sijiucheng later. I'll leave this letter with you."

"Alright, I am Zhang Qingwan's father, you can rest assured."

"Alright, goodbye."

"Good, good, good."

Zhang Guangzong chuckled as he saw Li Jianxin off, hesitated for a moment, but ultimately did not open it.

At 11:30, Zhang Qingwan and her mother returned from shopping, and she immediately saw the envelope on the living room table, which clearly had "To be opened personally by Zhang Qingwan" written on it.

"Dad, what is this?"

Zhang Qingwan had a vague guess in her heart, yet felt it was unlikely; sending a letter usually took ten days or half a month, how could it arrive the next day?

"Oh, it was sent by Yida for you, and he was all mysterious about it, not letting me see."

"Ahem, what are you looking at? Our daughter is all grown up, doesn't she need privacy? Qingwan, hurry back and see what Yida wrote."

"Hmm..."

At this moment, Zhang Qingwan no longer felt the gloom from having her call hung up yesterday; she took the letter and returned to her room.

Inside, besides photos, there was a letter in which Weiping explained the reason for his forgetfulness.

The first photo was of her smiling like a flower in the sunset; it had to be said that Weiping hadn't wasted his time playing with cameras, as the candid shot was spot on.

"Is this me?"

Zhang Qingwan rarely took photos, and she hadn't expected herself to be so photogenic; she looked through several more, seeing herself looking shy and annoyed, pouting, expectant, and even her disappointed expressions, all captured clearly.

Zhang Qingwan suddenly felt her face burning; she had never imagined her expressions were so rich and that they had all been captured.

"Hmph hmph."

Casually glancing at the other photos, Zhang Qingwan discovered that almost all of Weiping's photos were candid shots; the scenic spots, the passing crowds, the bustle of the market, all appeared before her eyes like a living scroll.

She even felt that if Weiping's photos were sent to a photography exhibition, they would definitely win a good ranking.

"Qingwan, stop looking for now, it's time to eat."

"Oh, coming!" Zhang Qingwan hopped and skipped out of the room.

"Qingwan, what did Yida send you?"

"Nothing much, just some photos."

"Oh? After we finish eating, bring them over for me to see."

"Sure."

Zhang Qingwan thought about it and figured there were no secrets, at worst she could just put her own photos away later.

As it turned out, while she and her mother were clearing the dishes, her grandmother had already taken all the photos to the living room.

"Yo, Qingwan, what was happening that made you smile so happily here?"

"And this one, look everyone, Qingwan is even angry here."

"And there's..."

When Zhang Qingwan returned, she saw her grandparents and father holding the photos, commenting on them while wearing knowing, doting smiles.

"Dad, Mom, what are you all laughing at?"

"Mother of our child, come over quickly and look at our Qingwan; I've never seen her smile so happily."