The gift was from Youyou, but it was Qi Shifeng who paid for it.
Xu Tingyu cast a somewhat complicated look at the man.
He had already resumed his usual dignified and cold - looking self, the one in charge of the Qi family.
He nonchalantly sat down at the dining table. "It's our son's intention. I couldn't refuse."
Just as Xu Tingyu was about to say something, Youyou gave her a kiss on the cheek and nodded. "Yes, Mom, you must accept it."
She had no choice but to accept it first, then sat down at the table with Youyou.
Youyou had already had breakfast after waking up. Now sitting beside Xu Tingyu, he was eager to show himself. "Mom, I'll peel the egg for you."
He peeled the eggshell seriously.
Xu Tingyu looked at Qi Shifeng and said seriously, "You should go to the hospital for another check - up today."
He had already recovered from the fever when he woke up this morning, but she would only feel relieved if he went to the hospital.
"Are you concerned about me?"
Qi Shifeng paused in the action of spreading jam on the bread, then looked at her with a half - smile.
Xu Tingyu glanced at Youyou. Seeing that he was still seriously peeling the egg with his head down, she felt relieved and rolled her eyes at Qi Shifeng. "I'm worried that you'll infect Youyou."
Of course, she knew it wasn't contagious, but she just wanted to retort to him.
But Youyou heard it and shook his head to speak up for Qi Shifeng. "Dad caught a cold because he took care of me."
It was true that Youyou got sick first. After Qi Shifeng came back, he stayed in the children's room to take care of him. After staying up late for several days in a row, he finally fell ill due to exhaustion and catching a cold.
Xu Tingyu's sense of guilt resurfaced. "I'm sorry, Mom shouldn't have said that."
Youyou put the peeled egg on the plate in front of Xu Tingyu.
"It's not Mom's fault. Mom just didn't know. Try the egg quickly. I'll peel one for Dad too."
He loved his parents equally, but since Mom was a lady, she had the priority.
Xu Tingyu took a bite of the egg and thanked Youyou. "Thank you, son. You peeled it so well. It didn't break at all."
"Because I've practiced many times. At first, I always couldn't do it well, but Dad said practice makes perfect."
Youyou said in a childish voice and continued his egg - peeling task.
Xu Tingyu couldn't help but glance at Qi Shifeng.
He really had taught Youyou very well. He loved his son but didn't spoil him. He gave him all - round protection and also a lot of freedom.
Qi Shifeng also looked at her.
Their eyes met, and he smiled faintly.
Of course, he wouldn't tell Xu Tingyu that every egg their son peeled didn't come for free.
For each egg he peeled, he would "blackmail" Qi Shifeng for a gift.
All the jewelry in that suitcase came in this way.
Now, in order to make Xu Tingyu happy, he not only gave her the whole suitcase of jewelry but also his most precious bank card.
And he was still so happy while peeling the eggs.
The three of them had a happy breakfast. Xu Tingyu had an appointment with a friend. Seeing that it was almost time, she said goodbye to Youyou.
Qi Shifeng also changed his clothes. "Where are you going? I'll give you a ride on the way."
It was not easy to get a taxi here, so Xu Tingyu didn't stand on ceremony with him.
After saying goodbye to Youyou one by one, the two got into the car together.
They weren't sitting very close, but Xu Tingyu remembered the whip and the situation this morning, and she felt a tingling sensation on her scalp.
So she took a deep breath and decided to remind him again.
"I really appreciate you for taking care of Youyou, but I hope you understand that our son is one thing, and we are another."
Qi Shifeng glanced at her indifferently. After a long while, he said, "You lack confidence in yourself."
She was stunned by his words and involuntarily asked, "What?"
Qi Shifeng silently curved his lips, his eyes burning.
"You lack confidence in yourself. Even though you have many doubts and hatred for me, you are still involuntarily attracted to me."
"You're afraid of falling in love with me again. So nominally, you're reminding me not to confuse the relationship, but in fact, you're reminding yourself."
He had seen a psychologist and, on countless sleepless nights, realized that she had feelings for him back then.
Maybe her initial purpose of marrying him was impure and not voluntary.
But during those three years of getting along, she must have fallen in love with him.
Just like him.
It was just that he was too slow to react.
And he didn't know how much of that affection was left in her now.
Xu Tingyu was annoyed that her secret had been exposed and raised her voice to refute. "Don't be so self - affectionate and self - righteous."
The man stared at her with great interest, not missing any expression on her face.
After noticing her flickering eyes and slightly red earlobes, he silently smiled, quite satisfied.
Xu Tingyu couldn't stand his gaze on her. In the end, she asked to get off the car in advance and ran away without even daring to look back.
Qi Shifeng watched her back for a long time until it disappeared.
Did this mean they had made up?
Neither of them was sure.
But Xu Tingyu was sure that Qi Shifeng had nothing to do with Xie Yu's incident.
This man had many bad habits.
Especially his well - known "cold - bloodedness".
But now Xu Tingyu thought he was actually very affectionate.
At least, he had really gone to extremes in the matter of Xie Zhen.
She had once seen a financial statement of the Qi Group from a few years ago. The means of obtaining it were not very honorable, but the content was quite eye - opening.
Qi Shifeng, this "profit - seeking" businessman, had actually suffered an 80% loss on his investment in Xie Yu.
If it had been any other project, it would have been axed within three months.
At that time, she couldn't understand it either. Qi Shifeng was a businessman after all!
So after Xie Yu's accident, Xu Tingyu suspected Qi Shifeng because she thought there was a conflict of interests between them.
For example, Xie Yu knew the truth about Xu Jia's death.
And Qi Shifeng, for the sake of the family's interests, didn't allow her to reveal a single bit of it, so he tacitly allowed the Qi Group or the old mansion to take action against her.
But after knowing the real reason for their estrangement, she was sure that Qi Shifeng's kindness to Xie Yu was truly from the heart.
The reason for their estrangement was a broken relationship, not a loss of interests.
Most importantly, Xu Tingyu suddenly realized that if the Qi family really wanted to cover up the truth, it would be easier to solve her rather than Xie Yu.
If she died, there would be no one in the world to investigate what had happened back then.
After thinking this through, she began to be unsure of the real reason for Xie Yu's accident.
The person she was meeting today was a friend of Xie Yu's in the group. She had established this connection through Chen Chunyao.
When she arrived at the appointed teahouse, Chen Chunyao and the makeup artist were already there.
"Tingyu, this is the makeup artist Qiu I told you about. Just call her Yunyun."
As soon as she saw Xu Tingyu, Chen Chunyao warmly hugged her and introduced the two of them.
Xu Tingyu reached out her hand and smiled at Qiu Yun. "Hello, I'm Xu Tingyu. I invited you here today mainly to talk about Xie Yu."