Chapter 5
The medications themselves were probably perfectly good. The problem was that Qiao Nian came into contact with flowers and plants every day and never completely avoided her allergens. As a result, no matter what medication she used, it eventually stopped working.
Even so, Old Madam Qiao still asked Zong Hui to bring Qiao Nian some allergy medication and administer a nasal spray.
Rhinitis was uncomfortable, after all. She still needed to use the appropriate medication rather than simply giving up.
Old Madam Qiao felt Qiao Nian’s forehead and reminded her as though she were a child, “Don’t forget to have Aunt Zong rinse your nose with saline solution when you go upstairs later. You’ll feel better afterward.”
“Mm.”
Old Madam Qiao gazed at her granddaughter with heartache. The longer she looked, the more beautiful she found her. Of course, her granddaughter’s beauty probably had something to do with the excellent genes she’d inherited from this beautiful little old lady.
Old Madam Qiao suddenly remembered something. “Oh, right! Didn’t you take some photographs and videos of me when I was square dancing a few days ago? Why haven’t you sent them to me yet?”
Qiao Nian: “…I haven’t finished editing them. I’ll send them to you when they’re ready.”
The little old lady loved looking beautiful and enjoyed posting on WeChat Moments. Qiao Nian had to retouch the photographs to make her look especially lovely and edit the videos to resemble cinematic masterpieces. Then the little old lady could spend the entire day happily admiring her posts on WeChat Moments.
The little old lady reminded her, “Nian Nian, remember to make me look beautiful! I want fair skin and long legs, and my silk scarf has to look especially dreamy!”
Qiao Nian chuckled softly. “I know.”
·
Old Madam Qiao returned to the living room and replied to Chu Tianhua, telling her that she would be available anytime after one in the afternoon. That way, once the ultraviolet rays weakened around four or five, they could go outside for a leisurely walk.
The following day, the three members of the Chu family arrived at the Qiao family’s lakeside villa at two in the afternoon.
Chu Jingzhi disliked traveling on highways, so Chu Tianhua accompanied her on the high-speed train. Meanwhile, Wen Zi drove to City A with the gifts they had prepared for the old madam and Qiao Nian, picked up the mother and daughter at the high-speed railway station, and then drove all three of them to the lakeside villa.
When they reached the estate’s main gate, Chu Tianhua called the old madam, who sent Tan Meiju to meet them in a car.
The Qiao family’s lakeside villa was a private estate enclosed by walls that extended along the lakeshore. Even after passing through the main gate, they still had to drive another hundred meters before reaching the villa itself.
When they finally arrived, Chu Tianhua and Wen Zi got out of the car first. Old Madam Qiao had been waiting at the villa entrance for quite some time and hurried forward to welcome them warmly.
Chu Tianhua exclaimed, “Aunt Qiao, your home is enormous!”
Old Madam Qiao smiled. “It’s all the result of the hard work Nian Nian’s mommy and Alpha mommy put in when they were young. But Nian Nian likes peace and quiet, so we bought this place afterward.”
Qiao Nian didn’t actually suffer from social anxiety. She wouldn’t become nervous when meeting strangers or entering unfamiliar social situations, and she could handle such occasions with ease. However, her personality was indeed solitary and aloof, perhaps somewhat similar to an avoidant personality. She disliked wasting time on meaningless socializing with neighbors, which was why Old Madam Qiao had purchased this estate.
Chu Tianhua asked, “Then Nian Nian’s Alpha mommy and mommy live here too, right?”
They had deliberately prepared plenty of additional gifts. If the two women lived here, they could give the gifts to them as well.
Old Madam Qiao replied without any change in expression, “They’ve both passed away. It’s just Nian Nian and me living here now.”
“Oh, dear,” Chu Tianhua murmured.
The three of them were standing near the front of the car. Afraid of upsetting the old madam, neither Chu Tianhua nor Wen Zi asked any further questions. After exchanging a few brief remarks, they shifted the conversation to the estate and its scenery.
Chu Jingzhi had been taking a call from the acupuncture clinic in the back seat. After making the necessary arrangements, she picked up a box of Changbai Mountain ginseng and a box of Malaysian bird’s nest, opened the door, and stepped out.
“Grandma!” Chu Jingzhi greeted her with a delightful laugh, sounding even more enthusiastic than her two mothers. “I’ve come to visit you too!”
Old Madam Qiao looked toward Chu Jingzhi and felt as though the brightest splash of color had suddenly appeared out of nowhere against the lush green lawn.
She wore a glossy, flowing dress with tiny red flowers scattered across a white background. Her lustrous curls were a vivid color, and a red silk ribbon was tied in her hair. Her long hair, red dress, and ribbon all fluttered in the summer breeze, and the sight brought such delight to Old Madam Qiao that she couldn’t stop smiling.
How beautiful.
But Old Madam Qiao was also a little concerned. When Chu Jingzhi approached, she asked, “Dr. Chu, why are you wearing a mask? Have you caught a cold?”
Chu Jingzhi’s eyes curved in a smile. “No. I just haven’t been eating regularly these past two days, and I’ve been staying up late studying patients’ medical records. I’ve broken out in pimples, and they don’t look very nice, so I’m wearing a mask.”
Wen Zi: “…”
Her daughter’s face was obviously fair and smooth, without a single pimple.
If she wanted to wear a mask, she could simply wear one. Yet she just had to slip in that remark about “staying up late studying patients’ medical records.”
This child had been finding ways to make herself look good since she was little.
When Old Madam Qiao heard this, she was both impressed and distressed. “Dr. Chu works so hard! But a few pimples won’t make you any less beautiful. Why don’t you take the mask off? It must be terribly hot.”
Chu Jingzhi laughed. “No, I’ll keep it on. I care about my appearance, you know. I want you to remember me at my cutest when I was little and at my prettiest now that I’m grown up.”
“Oh, my!” Old Madam Qiao adored how affectionate the young woman was toward her. Laughing repeatedly, she said, “All right, all right! Then you can take it off when we have dinner tonight!”
Chu Tianhua was still thinking about Qiao Nian and asked, “Aunt Qiao, where’s your granddaughter?”
Old Madam Qiao immediately began sighing. “Nian Nian’s rhinitis has flared up. She even told me yesterday that she would definitely come and entertain you properly, but now she’s sneezing so much she can barely speak! She specifically asked me to apologize on her behalf and hoped you’d understand. She truly doesn’t mean to be rude.”
Before Chu Tianhua could say she understood, Old Madam Qiao suddenly looked at Chu Jingzhi with hopeful eyes.
“Oh, right! Dr. Chu, can acupuncture cure rhinitis?”
Chu Tianhua immediately answered before anyone else could. “Yes!”
Chu Jingzhi: “?”
Chu Jingzhi responded cautiously, “…It depends on the circumstances. But I didn’t bring my acupuncture needles today.”
Wen Zi suddenly started rummaging through Chu Tianhua’s bag.
Chu Jingzhi’s eyelid twitched violently.
Here came the award-winning acting performance.
Working together, Wen Zi and Chu Tianhua quickly produced a box of disposable sterile acupuncture needles.
Chu Tianhua exclaimed in amazement, “Would you look at that! What a coincidence! We really do have a spare box! Zhizhi, why don’t you give it a try?”
Old Madam Qiao hurriedly expressed her gratitude. “Then thank you so much, Zhizhi!”
Chu Jingzhi: “…”
Old Madam Qiao pointed toward an auxiliary building on the other side of the villa’s connecting corridor. “Our Nian Nian is in the greenhouse over there. She usually likes growing flowers and blending perfumes. Perhaps that’s why she suffers from rhinitis. I’ll take you over, Dr. Chu.”
Smiling, Chu Jingzhi handed the two gift boxes to Old Madam Qiao. “There’s no need. It’s terribly hot outside. You should stay here and chat with my mothers. I can go over by myself.”
·
Chu Jingzhi understood that many younger people didn’t show their true personalities when their elders were present. So after accepting the acupuncture needles, she headed over alone.
The auxiliary building was a small two-story structure with its entrance standing open. Chu Jingzhi walked inside.
It was pleasantly cool. At first glance, the interior resembled a library. There was a restroom on the left, while the right side had sofas, books, and a beverage bar.
After walking another twenty or thirty meters, she reached a set of double doors with a square glass window. She tried opening them, but they wouldn’t budge. Only then did she notice the keypad and fingerprint lock beside them.
The doors were locked.
Chu Jingzhi stood before the doors and curiously peered through the glass.
The greenhouse was so enormous that she couldn’t see where it ended. Screens and water curtain walls divided the interior into separate sections. The area currently visible to her covered roughly three to four hundred square meters and was separated into different growing zones. Some contained only green foliage, while others overflowed with blooming flowers.
The entire atmosphere was breathtakingly beautiful, like an oil painting from a fairy tale.
Interested, Chu Jingzhi looked around and spotted two figures in the far-right corner.
The person standing behind was lowering her head to take notes and appeared to be an assistant.
The person in front stood among the roses, bending over a flowerpot to dig through the soil. Although she was wearing gloves, some dirt had still gotten onto her arms.
The young woman was dressed in a countryside-inspired outfit, with a sleeveless, ruffled-collar crop top and dark blue jeans. Instead of a belt, she had tied a silk scarf tightly around her waist. Another scarf of the same design held back her long hair, its soft fabric draping forward over her shoulder.
Her expression was calm, and her eyes were focused.
…So the photograph Grandma Qiao had brought really had been an unedited original.
She looked almost exactly the same as she had at eighteen. The only difference was that she had been brighter and more radiant at eighteen, while at twenty-three, she possessed a more composed and mature air.
Qiao Nian suddenly lifted her head and looked toward a nearby pot of roses. She seemed to have just noticed that one of the buds had blossomed, and a smile gradually spread across her lips.
That smile, which seemed even more beautiful than the blooming roses themselves, entered Chu Jingzhi’s eyes, and her heart unconsciously skipped a beat.
As though possessed by some inexplicable impulse, Chu Jingzhi raised her phone and quickly pressed the shutter.
After secretly taking the photograph, she realized her behavior had been inappropriate. She closed her eyes for a moment, lowered her phone, and looked inside again.
Qiao Nian had suddenly started sneezing, one sneeze after another. The assistant behind her hurriedly handed her some tissues.
So she really did have rhinitis?
Chu Jingzhi noticed a doorbell beside the entrance and raised her hand to press it.
Inside, Qiao Nian lifted her head and immediately frowned. The slight furrow between her brows clearly revealed her displeasure.
Chu Jingzhi: “?”
What had she done?
She’d only pressed the doorbell, hadn’t she?
Qiao Nian rubbed her nose and turned away. Her assistant, Ai Xianxian, quickly walked over, stepped outside, and promptly shut the door behind her.
“Hello,” she said. “I’m Teacher Qiao’s assistant.”
Chu Jingzhi smiled. “Hello. I’m a doctor. Old Madam Qiao asked me to come and take a look at Miss Qiao’s rhinitis.”
Ai Xianxian looked Chu Jingzhi up and down. As an Omega herself, she could keenly sense that the woman before her was also an Omega.
And a remarkably attractive one at that, with beautiful eyes, a lovely voice, and an alluring figure.
Ai Xianxian pressed her lips together, an idea stirring in her mind. Deliberately making Qiao Nian’s instructions sound harsher than they actually were, she said in an artificially calm voice, “I’m sorry, but Teacher Qiao said she doesn’t need any incompetent quacks, nor does she wish to be disturbed by any incompetent quacks.”
Chu Jingzhi: “??”
She nearly let loose a string of curses!
After delivering her message, Ai Xianxian didn’t return to the greenhouse. Instead, she switched off the doorbell’s ringing function and walked straight away.
Chu Jingzhi was so furious that her temples throbbed.
Suppressing the urge to kick the door, she stood there gritting her teeth and taking deep breaths for an entire minute before calling Chu Tianhua directly and asking her to get the door code from Grandma Qiao.
Grandma Qiao said the code was 526482.
Chu Jingzhi entered the code, unlocked the door, and went inside.
But at first glance, there wasn’t a single person in sight.
Still, she could faintly hear the sound of someone sneezing.
Qiao Nian was still somewhere in the greenhouse.
Wearing slender high heels, Chu Jingzhi strode cold-faced onto the tiled pathway running between the flowers. Loose soil scattered onto her fair, delicate toes, dirtying them, but she didn’t even bother looking down.
She marched forward at a furious pace, her heels clicking sharply against the tiles. She passed one water curtain wall and two decorative screens without seeing anyone.
Only after walking farther did she suddenly hear a door closing somewhere ahead.
Apparently, the greenhouse had another exit.
Chu Jingzhi immediately quickened her steps and followed the sound.
At last, she reached the door and pushed it open.
Qiao Nian was still nowhere to be seen.
Instead, she found herself facing the beautiful blue lakeshore.
Then a white sports car sped past right in front of her.
Chu Jingzhi: “??”
Not only had that woman called her an incompetent quack, but she’d actually run away, too?!
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