"An acquaintance? What acquaintance? How come I've never heard you mention this before?"
Xu Tingyu zeroed in on the keyword from her mother's rant about the Qi family.
Zhang Qiu was caught off - guard for a moment, then redirected her anger at her daughter. "I'm talking about you getting beaten up. Does it really matter who this acquaintance is?"
"Of course it does. The Qi family has been keeping this whole thing under wraps. How could just anyone know about it?"
Xu Tingyu wasn't distracted. She was determined to find out about this acquaintance.
After all, even if the news had somehow leaked, no one would be stupid enough to tell Zhang Qiu and risk the Qi family's retaliation.
This was a direct confrontation, not just idle gossip.
Zhang Qiu got even more irritated.
"I've already said it's just an acquaintance. She used to live next door. You don't know her. She's really close to me. You don't need to be suspicious."
"As for you, you didn't even tell me about such a big thing. You're so spineless. This can't just end like this."
"If you're too scared to negotiate with the Qi family, then I'll do it. You can't just take that beating for nothing. At the very least, they should give you some money for your recovery."
By now, Xu Tingyu finally understood the real purpose of her mother's call.
She felt both ridiculous and pitiful.
All the words got stuck in her throat, making it hard to breathe.
Noticing her silence, Zhang Qiu stopped her ranting and asked warily, "You don't agree?"
Xu Tingyu was exhausted. "Mom, it's not that easy to take money from the Qi family."
Moreover, if she took the money, would it mean that money could solve everything, no matter what happened?
This time they whipped her and then paid her off.
What about next time?
Would they just pay her and beat her up again whenever they were in a bad mood?
"How could I have given birth to such a coward like you? You got hurt and you're too scared to ask for compensation. You deserve to be bullied."
"Wait a minute. You got beaten up and you're not even willing to ask for money. Did you do something wrong to make them angry?"
Hearing her daughter's refusal, Zhang Qiu's mind started to wander.
In the end, she blamed everything on Xu Tingyu.
In her daughter's near - suffocating silence, she thought she had guessed right and felt heartbroken.
"I've always told you to have a baby earlier. Once you have a child, they'll at least think about the kid."
"Tingyu, I'm begging you. Don't be so stubborn. Think about Jiajia before you do anything, okay?"
"Listen to mom. Hurry up and get pregnant. When Jiajia graduates, Shifeng, as a father, will surely help his brother - in - law."
Zhang Qiu had no idea that her daughter on the other end of the phone was too heartbroken to say a word.
She had also forgotten that the original purpose of this call was to care about her daughter.
She even forgot that when she first heard about Xu Tingyu getting beaten up, her first thought was to feel sorry for her daughter.
The bankruptcy of the Xu family had made her a nervous wreck, and her thoughts had become more and more extreme.
It seemed that Xu Jia was the only chick she needed to protect, and both she and Xu Tingyu had to pave the way for him.
After what felt like an eternity, Xu Tingyu couldn't listen anymore.
"Mom, I'm really tired. If there's nothing else, I'll hang up."
She no longer wanted to ask her mother why, when she had just been discharged from the hospital, her mother was asking her to reflect on herself and please the Qi family.
Zhang Qiu was about to say something else, but Xu Tingyu had already hung up.
She couldn't count on her family of origin, she was afraid of the in - laws, and her husband didn't love her.
She sat on the edge of the bed, looking out at the sky.
Even though the sun was shining brightly, she felt cornered.
But she couldn't fall apart. She had to keep going.
After a quick tidy - up, she headed to the dance studio.
To her surprise, she ran into Qi Ye at the door.
"Big brother, what are you doing here?" she asked in surprise.
Qi Ye was wearing a khaki trench coat over a white sweater and long pants. Leaning against the wall, he looked as clean as a fresh graduate.
But there was also an air of nobility in his every move.
It was the innate aloofness of the Qi family.
But when he saw her, his eyes immediately filled with a smile, and that aloofness faded a bit.
"I'm so glad you're here. I was worried about you, but I didn't dare to go to your place."
He walked towards her and stopped at a proper distance. He looked her up and down, his worry showing.
Xu Tingyu felt a bit sad but also really touched. "I'm fine. Thank you, big brother."
In her messy life, these kind words made things seem a little better.
She opened the door of the dance studio and invited Qi Ye in.
"Sorry, there's no place to sit here. How about we go downstairs for a cup of coffee?"
She looked around the studio but couldn't find a single chair. Embarrassed, she invited him to the coffee shop instead.
Qi Ye waved his hand. "No, it's okay. I'm glad you're safe. I have something to do, so I'll be leaving."
He left, but came back soon and handed her a bag of snacks.
"You've lost so much weight. Don't forget to eat while you're practicing."
Xu Tingyu had just finished warming up. Her eyes were shining like stars.
She was tired of saying "thank you", so she took the snacks and said, "Thank you, big brother. I'll treat you to dinner tonight."
Qi Ye laughed. "I'm not available tonight. I'm going abroad for a month. But you can find Xixi. She's taking a flight tonight."
Qi Ruixi was the youngest daughter of the Qi family, the sister of Qi Ye and Qi Shifeng. She had just finished her graduation trip.
Xu Tingyu's eyes lit up even more. "Really? She didn't even tell me."
She got along quite well with Qi Ruixi.
In fact, Qi Ruixi was the only one in the Qi family who openly showed her affection for Xu Tingyu.
She would sweetly call her "sister - in - law" and say, "I like sister - in - law so much."
Qi Ye then handed her two gift bags.
"This is for Xixi. It's a graduation gift. I won't have time to see her. I'm afraid she'll be even more angry when I come back. Could you please give it to her for me?"
"The other one is for you. You did so well in the show. I haven't congratulated you yet."
He was like a doting older brother, caring for both his sisters.
After leaving the gifts, he was picked up by someone.
Xu Tingyu opened the gift for herself. It was a necklace with a delicate little moon pendant. It was really beautiful.
She smiled, put the gift away, and got back to her practice.
In the evening, Qi Ruixi finally sent her a message, saying she wanted to come and have dinner with her. She specifically emphasized that Xu Tingyu wasn't allowed to bring Qi Shifeng.
It seemed that she was still angry that none of her brothers had shown up at her graduation ceremony.
Xu Tingyu agreed. On the way to the restaurant, she went to the mall to buy a gift and a bouquet of flowers.
She just wondered if Qi Ruixi would still call her "sister - in - law" after she found out about the unpleasant incident between Xu Tingyu and Liu Ning.