Back to the 1980s: Becoming the Villain's Lucky Wife

”It must be because Little Xingxing is useful to her. She wants to accomplish something by using her. I told you last time—when Little Xingxing suddenly had Zijin Xiao You and the others start calling her ’big sister,’ it must have been because Lin Nian, or someone, had already contacted her.”

”Lanlan, the reason I wanted to talk to you today is, first of all, don’t do anything rash. Confronting them directly will be useless and might even cause trouble for you. But I do hope you’ll keep a close eye on Little Xingxing and not let her out of your sight. Don’t give Lin Nian any opportunity to take advantage of the child.”

”Little Xingxing is a very precocious and intelligent child. Sometimes, she’s so mature that it breaks my heart.”

During her last birthday, the little girl made a point of cutting the first slice of cake and handing it to Meng Lanlan.

The little one had said, ”Mom, they all say you’re not my birth mother, but I hope and truly believe that you are.”

”Because of you, I have a home.”

”I’ll be good and well-behaved, and I’ll take care of you when I grow up.”

Qin Jiao’s heart ached as she listened. ”Children are the most innocent ones,” she said. ”It’s fate that she’s with you now.”

”Yes, I don’t have any feelings for Lu Jiuan anymore. All I want now is to watch over Little Xingxing and for the two of us to live a good life together as mother and daughter.”

What Meng Lanlan wanted wasn’t much, really.

It was just a shame that the pair had made such a high-profile return to North City. While it was unclear what Lu Jiuan was thinking, Lin Nian was almost certainly planning to use Little Xingxing for something.

「In the blink of an eye, it was time for school to let out.」

Qin Jiao went with Meng Lanlan to pick up the children from kindergarten. They were a little early, so a crowd of parents had already gathered by the gate.

It was impossible to drive right up to the gate, so Qin Jiao parked farther down the road. She and Meng Lanlan walked over, and it was there, at the kindergarten entrance, that they spotted a familiar face.

Meng Lanlan had calmed down by this point. She was a clever woman to begin with, and after everything she had been through, she had become much more composed.

She asked curiously, ”Qin Jiao, isn’t that Qin Xiaolan over there? Oh, and the man with her must be Gao Yuan.”

Meng Lanlan and Qin Xiaolan were colleagues—both of them teachers. Gao Yuan often came to the school to see Qin Xiaolan, and since he worked in the education department, Meng Lanlan naturally recognized him.

Qin Jiao saw them too.

She hadn’t heard anything from Xiao Lan in the past few days, but she trusted that her younger cousin was no fool.

If Gao Yuan hadn’t done anything wrong, then that was one thing.

But if he really had, Xiao Lan would surely sense it, no matter how much she liked him.

Nevertheless, Qin Jiao was still worried about Xiao Lan.

Over on their side, Qin Xiaolan spotted Qin Jiao and Meng Lanlan. She said something to Gao Yuan, then pulled him along to join them.

”Sis!”

The young woman always seemed to be brimming with energy, but Qin Jiao knew her cousin too well. She sensed that the smile on Xiao Lan’s face wasn’t completely natural.

Fortunately, no one else seemed to notice.

Qin Xiaolan made the introductions.

After they exchanged greetings, Gao Yuan said politely, ”Xiao Lan is always telling me about her older sister. She says you’re her idol, the person she admires most in this world.”

Qin Jiao gave a faint smile. ”This girl, she exaggerates. Are you here to pick up a child, Mr. Gao?”

”Yes.”

The group chatted for a few minutes, and Qin Jiao was surprised to find that this Gao Yuan was truly impressive. With just a few words, even as a stranger, he could make you lower your guard and trust him completely.

It was no wonder Xiao Lan had fallen for him.

It seemed Gao Yuan applied principles of psychology to his conversations. A person like that was both impressive and terrifying.