Mentioning this, Qiqi felt a bit annoyed—what was wrong with Qin Chen? Why didn't she like him? Even though Qin Chen had broken up with her before, and she had felt sad and hurt, even harboring some resentment toward him, that resentment was her own business. Now, hearing someone else speak ill of Qin Chen made her extremely displeased—it was like a child of your own: you could scold or hit them however you wanted, but if someone else so much as touched a hair on their head, that was unacceptable.
She asked, "Mrs. Zhou, do you think Qin Chen is no good?" Mrs. Zhou quickly shook her head. "No, that's not it. Qin Chen is a good kid, and he's very filial to his mother. I just don't want Zhibi to marry him. After all, Zhibi is a daughter of the Zhou family, and she'll inherit the MD Group alongside her brother in the future... I hope she can have a better match, and clearly, Qin Chen doesn't meet that standard..."
She paused, then spoke earnestly, "Besides, you and Qin Chen have always been childhood friends, close as can be. He's more suited for you... Qiqi, how about you help Auntie persuade Qin Chen to let go of our Zhibi?"
Though Mrs. Zhou's wording was as tactful as possible, it still made Qiqi furious—Qin Chen wasn't good enough for Zhou Zhibi? Lady, are you blind?
Her tone turned icy. "Mrs. Zhou, I can't persuade him. I only have one request now—please cure Qin Chen's mother's illness. If you do that, I'm fully willing to let bygones be bygones regarding what happened in the Lu family garden that day. As for the rest, sorry, I'm not interested, and I can't help."
Mrs. Zhou looked a bit awkward. "Fine, if you let Zhibi go, I'll treat Qin Chen's mother."
But she still couldn't give up and continued to tempt her. "Qiqi, won't you reconsider Auntie's suggestion? Go back to Qin Chen, and Auntie will send you both to study abroad, okay?"
What did this woman take her and Qin Chen for? Was love something you could just buy and sell on demand?
Qiqi was so furious she was practically fuming, nearly smashing her bag in the other woman's face.
The negotiation between Qiqi and Mrs. Zhou hit an awkward impasse because of Mrs. Zhou's absurd proposal. Just then, Xia Liu, growing impatient on the sidelines, stepped forward to grab Qiqi. "Sis, why bother wasting words with her? Just 'invite' her into the car, we'll leave here, and then 'slowly' discuss it with her."
Hearing this, Qiqi was startled and scrambled to her feet—What? Kidnap me again? Are all you Zhou family members experts at this?
Nervously, she grabbed her bag, backed up a few steps, and pressed her back against the wall.
Mrs. Zhou hesitated for a moment, as if considering Xia Liu's suggestion. But when she saw the look of fear on her daughter Zhibi's face, she quickly stopped her cousin. "Xiao Liu, don't do anything rash, you'll scare Zhibi."
Xia Liu glanced at Zhou Zhibi, who glared back at him with obvious disgust, and he reluctantly backed off.
Qiqi, her back pressed against the wall, her eyes darting around, was ready to bolt at any moment.
At that point, Mrs. Zhou turned to Qiqi and said in a very gentle tone, "I think Qiqi and I have reached an agreement, haven't we?"
Seeing the situation, how could Qiqi dare to argue? She nodded frantically like a pecking chicken. "Yes, yes, yes!"