SAG -Chapter 47 Gifting the Orchids

“Big Brother, Sister-in-law, I’m here to visit!” Qian Li called as she walked in.

“You came, that’s enough. Why did you bring gifts?” Liu Lu said hurriedly, using what had practically become the standard Chinese greeting whenever friends or relatives visited.

“It’s nothing much.”

Qian Li set down the gifts before turning to the two children who were playing.

“Susu, Taotao, did you miss Auntie Qian?”

The moment Qian Li spoke, Susu immediately looked over.

As soon as she heard her name, the little girl ran straight over.

Watching this, Zhang Ran couldn’t help feeling a little jealous.

Even now, Susu had never shown this much affection toward him, her own grandfather.

But he knew why.

It was because Qian Li had always treated Susu so well.

“Auntie Qian, I missed you.”

“Did you miss me?”

Susu hugged Qian Li’s leg and asked softly.

Qian Li crouched down and wrapped her arms around the little girl with a pained expression.

“Of course I did.”

“Auntie Qian thinks about Susu every single day.”

Taotao also came running over.

Standing on Susu’s other side, he hugged Qian Li’s other leg and looked up with his little face raised.

“Auntie Qian, I missed you too.”

“Good boy, Taotao.”

“Auntie Qian missed you too.”

The three of them spent quite a while laughing and playing before finally calming down.

“Big Brother, why does your house smell so nice?”

“The fragrance is wonderful.”

Zhang Sicheng pointed toward the three flower pots on the balcony.

“It should be those three Qingxiang orchids.”

“Qingxiang orchids?”

“I’ve never heard of them.”

“But they smell amazing.”

“If someone made perfume from this scent, I bet it’d sell really well.”

Qian Li remarked casually.

Zhang Ran smiled.

“You like the fragrance?”

“If you do, take one home.”

“No… take two.”

“Keep one where you live, and bring the other to your parents.”

“These orchids aren’t famous, but their fragrance is quite pleasant.”

“They also help improve sleep.”

Naturally, Zhang Ran wasn’t going to be stingy toward Qian Li.

Everything she had done for Zhang Siyan was more than enough to earn his lifelong gratitude.

“Is that really okay?”

Qian Li genuinely loved the scent and found herself tempted.

At that moment Zhang Sicheng chimed in.

“You know…”

“Ever since we got these three orchids, we’ve really been sleeping much better.”

“And whenever we’re stressed or irritated, smelling these flowers helps calm us down.”

As he spoke, Zhang Sicheng seemed to realize something himself.

Lately, he’d been under constant pressure.

First because of work.

Then because of family matters.

But every time he came home…

His irritation gradually melted away.

He’d never paid much attention before.

Thinking about it now…

It really did seem to be because of the Qingxiang orchids.

“How about you just tell me where you bought them?”

“I’ll go buy two myself.”

Qian Li suggested.

Zhang Sicheng awkwardly glanced at Zhang Ran.

He had no idea where they came from.

Zhang Ran answered, “They’re from the flower and bird market.”

“But they’re not easy to find.”

“You’d probably spend quite a while searching.”

“They aren’t worth much anyway.”

“Just take them.”

“I’ll buy more in a couple of days.”

“You all have work.”

“I’m the only one with plenty of free time.”

Hearing that—and since she’d never heard of Qingxiang orchids before, making them sound like nothing particularly valuable—Qian Li finally agreed.

At dinner, everyone chatted casually.

The apartment was small.

But the atmosphere was warm.

Eventually the conversation turned to what had happened that afternoon, especially Sun Gaixin getting beaten up.

“Hahaha!”

“Big Brother, Sister-in-law, look at this video.”

“That Sun guy got beaten so badly.”

“He may look big and strong, but he couldn’t fight back at all.”

As she spoke, Qian Li took out her phone.

“Ahem…”

“Taotao, Susu.”

“Are you two full yet?”

Instead of responding to Qian Li, Zhang Sicheng looked worriedly toward Susu.

After all…

Sun Gaixin was still Susu’s father.

He didn’t want these things affecting her.

Qian Li immediately realized her mistake.

She’d gotten too excited and forgotten Susu was still there.

Being naturally absent-minded certainly hadn’t helped.

What they didn’t know whether to feel relieved or saddened about…

Was that Susu showed absolutely no reaction upon hearing that Sun Gaixin had been beaten.

It was as though he were a complete stranger.

“Dad.”

“I’m full.”

Taotao spoke up.

Although the two children hadn’t eaten much fried chicken earlier, it had filled them up enough that they didn’t eat much dinner.

“Then why don’t you take Sister Susu into the room to play?”

Zhang Sicheng suggested.

“Mhm!”

“Sister Susu, let’s go play!”

Taotao grabbed her little hand and happily ran into the bedroom.

“I’m sorry…”

Qian Li apologized after the children had gone inside.

Zhang Siyan smiled.

“It’s alright.”

“Susu understands more than we think.”

“Don’t worry.”

Zhang Sicheng added,

“Susu doesn’t have any feelings for that man anymore.”

“You don’t need to blame yourself.”

“By the way…”

“Where’s the video?”

“I want to see it.”

“If it weren’t for Siyan, I would’ve wanted to beat him up a long time ago.”

Everyone understood that Qian Li hadn’t meant anything by it.

Neither Zhang Sicheng nor Zhang Siyan blamed her in the slightest.

Zhang Sicheng and Liu Lu squeezed together to watch the video.

The moment they recognized Meng Mingxuan, they froze.

Then they noticed Zhang Ran standing nearby among the crowd.

Everything immediately became clear.

“It was you who asked Meng Mingxuan to do it?”

Zhang Sicheng asked hesitantly.

“They got into a conflict themselves.”

“It had nothing to do with me.”

Zhang Ran replied.

Although he said that…

Everyone understood perfectly well.

He had obviously been the one behind it.

After finishing the video, Liu Lu quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

All day she’d been wondering how she should tell Zhang Siyan about the house.

She had no idea what Zhang Ran’s intentions were.

Nor did she know whether she should tell Zhang Siyan that Zhang Ran had bought them a house.

She was worried Zhang Siyan might become resentful toward Zhang Ran…

Or even toward Zhang Sicheng.

That sort of thing happened often enough.

She couldn’t help overthinking it.

But after seeing this video…

She knew Zhang Ran wasn’t someone who favored sons over daughters.

Perhaps…

He already had a plan for how to handle everything.

And if things really did go badly…

If Zhang Siyan became upset…

Liu Lu had already made up her mind.

She would add Zhang Siyan’s name to the property’s ownership certificate as well.

“By the way, Siyan…”

“What’s your plan regarding Sun Gaixin?”

Since the topic had already come up, Zhang Sicheng decided to ask.

It was something everyone in the family cared about.

Especially Zhang Ran.

He simply hadn’t found a good opportunity to ask himself.