"How could I give the keys to Zhou Tai? This house was left to you by your mother."

Zhou Yuanyuan was taken aback, then reacted, "Wait, are you saying Zhou Tai has been living here?"

Li Ziqing nodded. "Not only did he live here, but he also gave this house to his girlfriend. He even changed the locks."

"That's outrageous! Zhou Tai, that scoundrel, he's becoming more and more unbearable!"

Zhou Yuanyuan gritted her teeth in anger. "No wonder you're so upset! But Ziqing, don't worry, I definitely didn't give him the keys. Your auntie is a woman too, and I wouldn't do something like that."

Hearing this, Li Ziqing finally felt relieved.

To be honest, a house wasn't a big deal to her.

What mattered to her was whether her aunt had betrayed her.

"But Ziqing, your boyfriend beat Zhou Tai up so badly this time, he definitely won't let it go. He'll definitely complain to the old man, and the old man dotes on him the most. This is going to be difficult."

Zhou Yuanyuan said worriedly, then offered Li Ziqing a suggestion, "Ziqing, why don't you just go back? Just skip the old man's eightieth birthday celebration..."

Hearing her aunt's suggestion, Li Ziqing shook her head directly. "No, I will definitely go to Grandpa's birthday banquet, and I'll go openly. I want to see how they're going to retaliate against me. Haven't they bullied me enough over the years?"

"Ah, silly girl, you're all family in the end. Why make it so difficult?"

Zhou Yuanyuan shook her head, her eyes full of heartache.

"Forget it, Auntie, let's not talk about this. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Let's talk about something happier."

Li Ziqing proactively changed the subject.

"Okay!"

Zhou Yuanyuan nodded, then pulled Li Ziqing and said, "Ziqing, come here, I want to ask you something."

As she spoke, she smiled apologetically at Chen Xiao. "Sorry, Xiao Chen, don't mind me."

"It's okay, you two go ahead."

Chen Xiao smiled and shook his head.

Zhou Yuanyuan pulled Li Ziqing into the study next door. She clearly wanted to avoid Chen Xiao and have a private conversation with her niece.

But a mere door couldn't stop Chen Xiao. Even if Chen Xiao didn't want to listen, the whispers between aunt and niece still entered his ears.

Sure enough, as Chen Xiao had guessed, the topic of the whispers revolved around Chen Xiao himself.

It was nothing more than some basic questions, such as what Chen Xiao did for a living, how many people were in his family, and what his family members did, etc.

And Li Ziqing seemed to have already prepared her answers, answering fluently and without revealing Chen Xiao's true identity at all.

Hearing that Chen Xiao was a doctor, Zhou Yuanyuan not only didn't look down on him, but was also very happy. "A doctor is good, with high social status and a wide network of contacts. It's a very promising profession..."

You should know that for a family like the Zhous, if the son-in-law was just an ordinary doctor, then he would clearly be marrying up.

But Zhou Yuanyuan was quite satisfied with Chen Xiao. It was clear that she wanted Li Ziqing to live a simple and stable life.

Little did she know that neither Chen Xiao nor Li Ziqing had anything to do with being ordinary.

The two women chatted for more than twenty minutes, even touching on some sensitive topics that made Chen Xiao feel embarrassed even though he wasn't there...

Finally, the two women came out.

"Sorry, Xiao Chen, I had a little private chat with Ziqing. You don't mind, do you?"

"Not at all, not at all."

Chen Xiao quickly said.

He thought, you've already finished chatting, and now you're asking me if I mind? That's too perfunctory, isn't it?

"Then Xiao Chen, can you come over here for a moment? Auntie wants to have a little chat with you!"

Zhou Yuanyuan said with a smile on her face.

"Sure, no problem."

This time, Chen Xiao walked into the study.

The study was filled with many books, with a strong scholarly atmosphere. And most of them had been read, rather than the kind that were bought to show off, without even opening the covers.

"Xiao Chen, have a seat..."

Zhou Yuanyuan pointed to the chair and said to Chen Xiao.

Chen Xiao didn't stand on ceremony and sat down, then asked, "Auntie, you must have something you want to talk to me about, right?"

Zhou Yuanyuan nodded and got straight to the point. "Xiao Chen, listen to Auntie's advice, you should leave..."

Chen Xiao was slightly taken aback, then smiled and said, "Auntie, didn't we already agree that we're here to attend Grandpa's eightieth birthday celebration? We're not going back."

Unexpectedly, as soon as Chen Xiao finished speaking, Zhou Yuanyuan shook her head directly.

"No, Xiao Chen, I'm not talking about the two of you, but you. I don't think you and Ziqing are suitable..."

Chen Xiao frowned. Zhou Yuanyuan hadn't said anything like this when she was talking to Li Ziqing earlier.

Then Zhou Yuanyuan quickly explained, "But Xiao Chen, don't misunderstand. Auntie doesn't think you're not good enough for Ziqing. It's just that this incident happened today, and our old man will definitely not let it go. No matter what, Ziqing is the old man's flesh and blood, so at least her life won't be in danger, but you... that's hard to say."

Hearing this, Chen Xiao smiled slightly. "Auntie, are you saying that Grandpa will kill me? It can't be that bad, can it?"

"Xiao Chen, you may not know much about the Zhou family, and you don't know how terrifying this behemoth really is. And don't expect Ziqing to be able to save you at the critical moment. After all, even she is having a hard time protecting herself. Alas, what can I say to make you believe me?"

Zhou Yuanyuan was as anxious as an ant on a hot pot.

"Auntie, you don't need to say anything. I believe you."

Chen Xiao said lightly.

Zhou Yuanyuan breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good. After we eat later, I'll take Ziqing to go shopping, and you can take the opportunity to go back. As for the future, we'll leave it to fate..."

Chen Xiao smiled. "Auntie, I think you've misunderstood. I just said that I believe what you said, but I didn't say that I was going back."

"Huh?"

Zhou Yuanyuan was stunned when she heard this. "Xiao Chen, did you really understand what Auntie said? What Auntie means is that you might die, and it's a very real possibility."

Chen Xiao nodded. "Auntie, you don't need to say anything. I understand what you mean, and I won't run away. I was the one who hit him. If I leave, they'll only make things more difficult for Ziqing."

Zhou Yuanyuan stared blankly at Chen Xiao, unable to say a word for a long time.

After a long while, she asked incredulously, "Xiao Chen, are you really willing to die for Ziqing?"

Chen Xiao nodded without even thinking and said, "Of course, if I have to, I'm willing to die for Li Ziqing..."

"Why would you do that? According to Ziqing, you two have only known each other for a few months. Do you really have such a deep relationship?"

Zhou Yuanyuan couldn't believe it.

Chen Xiao smiled and said casually, "Because she has already died for me once."