QTIMP -Chapter 158 Character Persona – Love Brained (Part 29)

As expected, the Zhou family did not step in.

Huang Ziying’s uncle was quickly disciplined under double regulations, and it was incredibly unfortunate timing—this coincided with a wave of strict crackdowns on serious crimes.

Song Jia didn’t hide the fact that she had intervened; in fact, she openly made it clear to the Huang family that they were standing up for Si Qiu.

Soon, Huang Ziying personally came to the school to apologize. She had been pressured by her elder brother and cousin to come. Her apology was clear, and she recounted the entire sequence of events without a hint of ambiguity or falsehood.

Her actions were naturally due to family pressure—after all, if her uncle’s wrongdoing was further investigated, it would implicate both her mother and father.

This was not only urgent for the siblings themselves; even the Huang family was worried. The storm was brewing, and with a breakthrough point, their “ship” could easily be overturned.

So, even though she was extremely distressed, she gritted her teeth and held back tears, taking full responsibility upon herself. She didn’t dare mention Xu Fengluan or the Zhou family.

If even one word of hers had leaned that way, the Huang family might have faced enemies on both sides.

It was inevitable that the incident would soon spread among onlookers. Although she would be sent abroad to study immediately afterward, the humiliation she felt made her want to die.

Si Qiu smiled as she stepped forward and held her hand, tightening her grip so she couldn’t pull it back.

“Huang Ziying, you’ve misunderstood. Zhou Chenyu and I are just ordinary friends. We met through my cousin, Lin Zixiang, who is studying in a closed military school. He asked him to look after me a bit, and that might have led to your misunderstanding. I sincerely apologize to you here and swear that there is absolutely no relationship between the two of us.”

Her last words were overheard by Zhou Chenyu, who had rushed over. In an instant, he felt a chill run from head to toe.

These past few days, his mother had been agitated over her brother’s situation, and he had personally gone to speak with his grandfather and second cousin.

“I hope Grandpa doesn’t intervene to help the Xu family for now.”

Sitting at the head of the study, the grandfather and cousins were stunned by his words.

Only the second cousin raised his eyebrows slightly, as if he understood Zhou Chenyu’s intentions.

Zhou Chenyu quickly lowered his head, not daring to meet those all-seeing eyes.

The grandfather tapped the desk twice. “Xiao Wu, explain your thoughts in detail.”

Zhou Chenyu took a deep breath before speaking. “Mother truly can’t let go of the Xu family. Father, under her persistent nagging and my filial threats, cannot really ignore it either. But intervention needs to be done properly.”

The grandfather sipped his tea and nodded. “Hmm! Continue.”

“Mother is already willing to betray my marriage for the Xu family. I hope that when the matter reaches a critical point, Grandpa can step in and make her give up any involvement in my marriage.”

Hearing this, the grandfather smiled with satisfaction. Zhou Chengyu’s eyes flickered, and when the grandfather looked at him, he slightly nodded.

Then the grandfather said, “You must understand, helping the Xu family this time requires a sacrifice for the family. After all, resolving the Xu family’s affairs is not without risks.”

Zhou Chenyu quickly bent and saluted. “Grandpa, I just don’t want my mother to sell me out. But everything else is up to you, as your vision and judgment are far-sighted and unique. I trust that you will not let your grandson be unhappy.”

Hearing this, the grandfather laughed heartily, then pointed at him and looked toward Zhou Chengyu. “What about the second one? This is the result of your upbringing—so he’s at least achieved something, right?”

Zhou Chengyu smiled but said nothing.

When the Zhou family arranged a child’s future, it wasn’t really just about the family—they also considered the child’s own abilities.

That Zhou Chenyu was entering politics proved he had a talent for it.

And when Zhou Chenyu received this clear answer, he merely thought that once the Xu family matter was resolved, he could go to Si Qiu and everything would return to how it had been.

But now, hearing Si Qiu say that statement openly, he froze in place.

From a distance, Zhou Chengyu and Bai Ye exchanged glances, lit cigarettes, and quietly observed everything.

“That little girl’s got some tricks, but thanks to your behind-the-scenes effort, the Huang family wouldn’t have come to apologize so quickly otherwise,” Bai Ye said.

After speaking, he turned to meet Zhou Chengyu’s deep gaze and quickly mimicked He Shuo’s gesture of zipping his mouth shut.

Zhou Chengyu tossed the remaining half of his cigarette to the ground. “Still too soft-hearted.”

With that, he turned and walked outside, Bai Ye hurrying a few steps to follow.

“Wait, bro, she’s already like this, and you’re complaining she’s soft? Is it because she didn’t crush the Huang family, or because she didn’t crush the Xu family?”

Zhou Chengyu’s light words floated over: “Enemies should be wiped out completely.”

Bai Ye shivered inexplicably, then shook his head with a wry smile. He could handle wiping enemies out, but if the little girl went too far, it might provoke a backlash.

Right now, things were just right. He actually admired the little girl’s measured approach, knowing when to advance and when to retreat.

He felt that his “good bro” was speaking a bit too casually from the sidelines.

But in just a few days, he realized this bro wasn’t just all talk—he was ruthless and spoke little.

First came Huang Ziying’s father and mother, both implicated by her uncle and brought down together. To survive, the Huang family cut ties swiftly.

Huang Ziying, just sent abroad, hadn’t even enjoyed a few carefree days before her family cut off her financial support. Years later, people still spoke of how miserable it had been.

Zhou Chenyu’s second uncle came forward, but within a month he was reported and taken away again, almost dragging Xu Fengluan into trouble.

Though nothing ultimately happened to her, she became a full-time housewife. For the proud Xu Fengluan, who had always wanted to compete with her elder sister-in-law, this was hard to accept.

She couldn’t help returning to her maternal home to complain to her mother. Xu’s mother, upset about her second son’s sentence, scolded her daughter for being useless. Mother and daughter had a complete falling out.

Everyone else who knew about this fared fine; they only sighed at the situation. This round of the crackdown had indeed uncovered many hidden pests.

Only He Shuo and Bai Ye swallowed hard in unison, silently.

Because they were the ones who had helped behind the scenes, they understood the causes and the process better than anyone. They also silently raised Si Qiu’s status in their minds.

The two of them together had 1,802 schemes—and both were formidable. It was the kind of situation that made one want to silence witnesses permanently.

Yet Si Qiu, being thoroughly analyzed in their minds, didn’t care in the slightest.

The moment Bai Ye thought of the word “couple,” he suddenly remembered something. He sat up straight, then looked at Zhou Chengyu, who was still calm and leisurely.

He swallowed hard, unable to speak for a long time. Zhou Chengyu impatiently put down his wine glass and looked at him.

Bai Ye closed his eyes briefly, then finally forced himself to speak.