Xu Tingyu didn't react at first. She even turned her head and glared at him. "Why do you always speak ill of him? You..."
When she finally realized what he meant, she immediately fell silent and looked at the man in disbelief.
Qi Shifeng, however, stopped talking. He just lowered his head and smiled. Then he picked up a piece of fish for her, removed the bones, and put it on her plate.
Xu Tingyu didn't press for details. Instead, she eyed him suspiciously several times before resuming the conversation with Secretary Qian and the others.
The meal lasted quite a while. They only talked about Xu Tingyu's childhood anecdotes or Youyou's school affairs, keeping a good sense of propriety.
After the meal, Qi Shifeng took Youyou to the restroom.
When only Secretary Qian and Xu Tingyu were left in the private room, Secretary Qian said, "It's obvious that General Manager Qi has changed a lot."
"Yes, Youyou has added a lot of humanity to him."
Xu Tingyu picked up the teacup in front of her. Her fingertips painted with brown nail polish gently held the handle, squeezing it slightly.
After a pause, she added with a hint of sarcasm, "Sometimes a child can really change a person."
She was also referring to Xu Jianmin.
For the sake of an illegitimate son, he even abandoned the dignity he had maintained for a lifetime.
Secretary Qian understood what she meant. His eyes felt a bit sore. "Is he good to you now? Will you remarry?"
Actually, asking this question was a bit overstepping.
But he didn't know when they would meet next time.
Secretary Qian truly felt sorry for Xu Tingyu. So even though he knew it might make her uncomfortable, he still asked.
However, Xu Tingyu didn't get angry as he had expected.
She still looked calm, and even the smile on her lips remained unchanged.
"He's not bad to me, but I don't really care. I don't care about his attitude towards me now because I don't need his approval to prove my worth."
Her breathing was a bit unsteady, just like her heart, which was not as calm as it seemed.
"As for marriage, I don't have the intention to enter into a marriage for the time being. I'm going back to the head - office early next month."
Secretary Qian understood what she meant.
She had no intention of getting back together with Qi Shifeng for now.
So he sighed and then spoke again, his tone sincere and serious.
"You're already amazing now. I believe any decision you make is well - thought - out."
"But please remember, Miss, no matter what you choose, I'll always be on your side."
He knew his abilities were limited, so he couldn't say that he would always be her backer.
But in fact, he was her backer.
When the Xu family was in trouble, it was him who accompanied her through many things. He was the one who negotiated with those creditors.
If it weren't for Secretary Qian, Xu Tingyu might not have survived the initial chaos.
She was always grateful.
So she smiled. "I know, Uncle Qian. I'll always know that I'm not alone."
Hearing her say this, Secretary Qian's sense of guilt welled up again.
"I'm really sorry about General Manager Xu. I..."
Actually, he regretted telling her about the illegitimate son right after he said it.
He should have kept this secret and taken it to his grave.
After all, the person was already gone. Knowing this would only add to Xu Tingyu's troubles.
Xu Tingyu interrupted his apology in time.
"I know, Uncle Qian. It's not your fault. I was a bit hard to accept it this afternoon."
"But I still thank you for being willing to tell me this."
This matter was actually very important. At least, it solved many of her doubts.
Because of the illegitimate son, the wrong decisions Xu Jianmin made in the later period could be reasonably explained.
Maybe he was too eager to give something to that child.
Or maybe he thought he could do it again after having a new son.
So he wanted to earn more money.
As a result, everything went wrong.
Secretary Qian carefully observed her expression and knew she wasn't lying.
Her recovery speed far exceeded his imagination.
He realized once again.
The girl in front of him was no longer the one who could only lie helplessly in the rain and cry after her father jumped off the building.
After dinner, Secretary Qian went back to his room.
Xu Tingyu and her family of three went for a walk in the garden downstairs.
Youyou bounced ahead. Suddenly, Xu Tingyu asked, "Was it you who helped me climb the tree back then?"
Qi Shifeng reached out and held her hand. Not satisfied enough, he deftly intertwined his fingers with hers.
After doing this, he said leisurely, "Yes. I had a piano teacher who lived there at that time."
That teacher was very famous in the industry.
Most of the time, the teacher came to his home to give lessons to him and Xixi.
But occasionally, they would go to the teacher's home.
That day, Xixi was sick, and the teacher was also a bit unwell. Normally, they could skip the lesson.
But the old man believed that perseverance was the key to everything, so he asked him to go to the teacher's home.
The driver took him there. When he saw the teacher, he knew she was seriously ill.
Qi Shifeng thought it was too cruel to let a seriously ill person force herself to give him a lesson.
So he told the teacher that he didn't want to learn today.
The teacher had always liked him. Coupled with her lack of energy, she agreed.
She also specifically told him that he could play at home for a while.
But if he stayed at the teacher's home, the teacher would always be distracted to take care of him. So he could only say that he was leaving first.
In fact, he avoided the driver and slipped out through the back door.
After wandering around the neighborhood for a while, he saw a bird's nest in the corner of a tree.
He climbed up directly and saw two little birds inside. He felt that he was just like them, having no freedom because his wings were not yet full - grown.
Just as he was entranced, there was a pink and adorable little girl under the tree asking him what he was looking at.
He usually played with boys. Except for the still - young Qi Ruixi in his circle, there were no other girls.
And Qi Ruixi cried too much when she was a child, which made him not like little girls very much.
But that day, when he met Xu Tingyu's big, black, and watery eyes, he didn't feel impatient at all.
"I'm looking at the little birds. Do you want to take a look?"
He thought she would refuse. After all, she looked like a delicate little girl.
But who would have thought that when she heard there were little birds, she got even more excited. Without thinking, she wanted to climb the tree.
But she didn't know how to climb a tree. She tried several times but failed. She could only call out to him, "Brother, can you help me?"
Even after all these years, Qi Shifeng still thought that Xu Tingyu at that time was extremely cute.
He helped her climb the tree. The two of them sat on the branches on either side and stared at the little birds for a long time.
Qi Shifeng's lesson was three hours long. He originally thought it would be difficult to kill these three hours.
But with Xu Tingyu's company, it was actually not difficult at all.
The two children chatted occasionally around the two newly - hatched little birds, and the time passed quickly.
Finally, he had to go home lest the driver find out that he didn't have the lesson.
And Xu Tingyu was very obedient. When she heard that he was leaving, she also said that she wouldn't look anymore.
But she was a bit scared to get down. He still protected her.
"You called me brother when we first met. Why do you only call me by my full name now?"