Lou Xiangwen naturally had no idea what had happened yesterday, so when he heard Wen Qingqing’s accusations, he panicked at first. But after thinking it through, he felt he hadn’t let anything slip, then the only possibility was that she was bluffing.
So he forced himself to put on a calm expression. “What do you mean, lying to you? What did I lie about?”
Wen Qingqing got even angrier at his evasive attitude. “You clearly aren’t even married, and those two kids aren’t yours, right? Why did you lie to me like that? Do you really hate me that much? Enough to ruin your own reputation just to avoid me?”
“W-Who says that?” Lou Xiangwen stammered, his voice rising with guilt. “You heard Tantan call me ‘Dad’ that day, right? Th-Those two kids are mine!”
Wen Qingqing rolled her eyes and let out a cold laugh. “Cut the act. I know everything.”
Lou Xiangwen : ?
“I’ve already looked into it. You’re not married at all, you don’t even have a girlfriend,” the young miss huffed, glaring at him. “You just got dumped by your ex not long ago, how could she treat you like that?!”
She had originally meant to ruthlessly expose him, but the moment she mentioned the ex, her temper flared. Even she had to tiptoe around Lou Xiangwen, so what right did that ex have to be so arrogant and actually bully him?!
That ex better hope she never runs into Wen Qingqing, or she’s in for it!
“……” Lou Xiangwen’s face turned numb, awkward and bewildered. “It’s one thing for you to investigate me… but this too?”
“How I investigate is none of your business! You’re the one who lied to me first!” Wen Qingqing kept glaring. “And that kid, he’s your boss’s, isn’t he?”
Thoroughly exposed, Lou Xiangwen : “……”
The young lady was truly about to be infuriated to death. She jabbed his chest with her finger again and again. “You really are something, Lou Xiangwen. Pretending to be the father of two kids just to avoid me, even spreading ridiculous rumors in the neighborhood. You think I’d back off just because I found out you’re supposedly in the underworld and once slashed someone?”
The pretty girl lifted her chin proudly. “Then you’ve miscalculated. I absolutely won’t!”
“……?”
Just finding out he was not only famous in the community but also on the street, Lou Xiangwen backed away under her pressure, a question mark slowly rising above his head.
How did the rumors get this outrageous? He could live with the gang stuff, but slashing people?
Suddenly, he remembered how Qu Tantan had pushed him forward to break up a fight, even wildly claiming he was a gangster who’d ‘knives go in white, came out red.’ He went silent.
…Well, that couldn’t be helped either.
Forget it, forget it.
As Wen Qingqing watched Lou Xiangwen’s expression constantly shift and eventually settle into resignation, she raised an eyebrow and tapped his chest again, her beautiful eyes filled with teasing. “Just keep hiding from me, Lou Xiangwen. Let’s see how long you can last.”
After saying that meaningfully, she turned and walked away without giving him a chance to speak, not even lingering in the shop like she used to.
This made Lou Xiangwen breathe a sigh of relief, but also filled him with unease. He had no idea what scheme she’d come up with next.
Because he couldn’t stop thinking about it, Lou Xiangwen couldn’t focus on his book. Restless and anxious, he kept imagining all sorts of scenarios. He sighed heavily. How did she find out the truth so quickly?
No, more importantly, after suffering such humiliation, how did she still have the energy to go and investigate?
Lou Xiangwen truly couldn’t understand. He sighed in frustration again, already sure he wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight.
So when Qu Tantan came back, she immediately spotted Lou Xiangwen squatting in the stairwell in a daze.
Because it had been snowing constantly, for safety reasons, Father Qu had told Lou Xiangwen to close the shop early in the evenings. Lou Xiangwen had agreed with a smile, but in truth had continued to follow his usual closing hours.
This was the first time he’d voluntarily closed the shop and come home so early.
It was obvious something had happened. His whole face screamed ‘Help, I need to vent,’ making Qu Tantan shake her head and sigh.
She patted his head with practiced ease. “What’s wrong, Brother Lou? Did a customer give you trouble?”
Lou Xiangwen, finally meeting his spiritual confidante, almost burst into tears. He stared at Qu Tantan with a pitiful expression until the girl indulgently opened her arms to allow a hug. Only then did his mood lift slightly, and he hugged her as they headed up to the rooftop.
A cold wind was blowing outside, so they decided not to go all the way up, just stayed in the stairwell. Lou Xiangwen even pulled out two thick seat cushions with practiced ease and laid them down for Qu Tantan.
She sat on the step, rummaged through her pocket, pulled out two lollipops, and handed him one.
Then Lou Xiangwen began to chatter away about what had happened during the day. Overcome with emotion, he angrily crunched the lollipop, completely missing the increasingly guilty expression on his little friend’s face.
When he finally finished and looked up, he saw the girl cupping her face in her hands, head down in deep thought.
Thinking she was trying to come up with a plan for him, Lou Xiangwen was touched. “But it’s really no big deal. I just wanted to talk to you a bit. Keeping it all bottled up was making me miserable.”
Qu Tantan didn’t look at him, only gave a half-hearted response with her head down, then waved her little hand at him, “You go on.”
So Lou Xiangwen continued.
“Tell me, how did she find out so fast? She even figured out you’re Uncle Qu’s kid!”
Qu Tantan : “……” She quietly shrank back a little.
“If she hadn’t said it, I wouldn’t have known that the rumors about me had gotten so outrageous, saying I’ve stabbed someone! Everyone should’ve known what my job is ever since that time I was… well, surrounded by onlookers. So how did this kind of rumor get started? And it’s gotten to the point that when Wen Qingqing had people ask about me, they actually believed it!”
“……” This time, the little girl even covered her eyes.
“You know… Um, actually, it’s my fault.”
Afraid that if he kept talking, she wouldn’t be able to sleep at night, the little girl solemnly raised her hand and simply confessed, “You know, right? About how we went to the forest park yesterday?”
Lou Xiangwen paused, then nodded.
He did know about that. Father Qu had even kindly invited him along, saying closing the shop for a day wouldn’t be a problem. But he’d heard there would be another family, and not being great with strangers—not to mention feeling a bit guilty about skipping work—he declined.
So hearing her say this now… could it be?
Seeing Lou Xiangwen seemed to have caught on, Qu Tantan nodded to confirm his guess. “We saw Sister Wen there. She probably realized that Lin Zhenmo and I aren’t your kids. But I didn’t think… that she’d really come to find you.”
Wen Qingqing looked like one of those proud, high-born young ladies. Qu Tantan had thought enough time had passed for her to have given up. Who would’ve guessed not only did she have the courage to seek him out, but she even came the very next morning?
Thinking about it, Qu Tantan couldn’t help but admire the young lady’s courage.
No matter how it turned out, Wen Qingqing was truly brave.
“And also…”
“—Also?!”
Lou Xiangwen was still stuck on the disbelief of ‘How could you bump into her there?’ When he heard there was more, he looked up in panic and gritted his teeth, “Fine, just tell me. I can take it.”
Qu Tantan scratched her cheek, “It’s not that bad. I just wanted to apologize.”
Lou Xiangwen : ?
“It’s about the rumors. They should’ve already died down, but I said some things that might’ve stirred them up again and made people gossip about you more.
“I dragged you into that fight and didn’t handle the aftermath well. I’m sorry.”
She told him the full story from before, earnestly apologizing, “I thought people would only know there was some ‘Brother Lou’ around, I didn’t think they’d actually connect it to you, and even believe it too.”
And to think she hadn’t even known who it was when her Mom brought it up.
Qu Tantan cupped her face in frustration.
But Lou Xiangwen wasn’t mad, nor was he as troubled as when he heard about the earlier rumor. In fact, he let out a breath of relief. “Oh, it’s that? I thought it was some other disaster. You gave me a scare.”
He scratched his head and gave the surprised Qu Tantan a sheepish smile, “Honestly, I’m not that bothered. Even before you guys moved here, people said all kinds of things behind my back. I can’t go knocking on every door to explain those weird rumors about me, can I?”
Not that he had the guts to, anyway.
Saying that, he even chuckled to himself, “They used to say all sorts of stuff. If I took it all seriously, I’d never be able to keep living here. I mean, I am kind of strange. If I think about it from other people’s perspective—I’m not good at socializing, I barely go out, I always come home with injuries… and when they greet me, I just nod stiffly and walk away in a hurry.
“Anyone would think I’m weird. They’d probably even suspect I’m a criminal.”
“That’s not weird at all,” Qu Tan-tan interrupted seriously. “Even though the Grandpas and Grandmas around here are warm-hearted and nice, it doesn’t change the fact that this time, they’re in the wrong.”
Lou Xiangwen’s self-deprecating words were abruptly cut off.
He fell silent, slowly putting away his awkward smile, his expression stiffening.
“When we just moved in, my Dad heard those rumors and told me and my mom. Mom got worried, but Dad just said they were just words, those people don’t really know you.”
As Lou Xiangwen’s eyes flickered uneasily, Qu Tantan repeated her Dad’s words with full sincerity, “We’ve never actually met the neighbors or seen anything with our own eyes. We can’t judge someone based on rumors. Only by getting to know someone can we form a fair opinion.”
She gave the young man a bright smile and counted on her fingers, “I think my Dad was absolutely right. Because it’s only after really getting to know Brother Lou that we find out—he’s gentle, amazing, knows all kinds of things we don’t, takes his work seriously, and treats everyone with so much patience.
“My Dad, Mom, and I all like Brother Lou a lot.”
Looking into Lou Xiangwen’s slightly reddened eyes, Qu Tantan said slowly and clearly:
“And we’ve always believed that Brother Lou will become an excellent screenwriter. We’re looking forward to watching your dramas one day.”
Lou Xiangwen couldn’t hold back this time, he actually started crying. He wiped his face in embarrassment, but still forced a smile at the little girl.
To him, these words touched him even more deeply than the comfort she had given him when they first met.
Although Lou Xiangwen always said he wouldn’t give up on his dreams, he was really just pushing forward with a stubborn heart, refusing to give in. In truth, he couldn’t see a clear future. Sitting in the shop every day, he would occasionally wonder—would there come a day when he’d think this kind of life wasn’t so bad after all, and just give up on his dream?
This path was just too hard.
Sometimes, he even doubted whether he truly had any talent, but he didn’t dare tell anyone that.
What he hadn’t expected was that, apart from himself, there was an entire family, who—even without saying it out loud—firmly believed he could succeed, and were genuinely looking forward to the day his dream would come true.