And the next day, Qu Tantan once again found Lou Xiangwen in the hallway, looking completely lost. He stood there in a daze, like he’d just been struck by lightning, and when he saw Qu Tantan return, he just silently stared at her.
Qu Tantan understood and pointed upstairs.
The two of them continued squatting at the stairway entrance in front of the rooftop, each holding a lollipop, and began their usual routine.
But this time was different. Lou Xiangwen had already gone through the shock, so after telling Qu Tantan everything, it was now her turn to be so surprised she nearly bit through her candy.
It all started with what happened yesterday.
After Father Qu agreed to an investment cooperation with a partner, right before signing the contract, the person in charge made a strange request. They hoped someone could stay on site throughout the ongoing collaboration.
Although he didn’t explicitly name anyone, his words repeatedly hinted that since Father Qu would be busy going out for business talks, it’d be better to have one of their own employees keep an eye on the processing plant.
Although Father Qu didn’t understand why such a request was made, he thought it over and decided there was no hidden trap. After all, he’d be focused on business deals and wouldn’t have time to oversee everything, so they really did need someone trustworthy.
And Lou Xiangwen, who was diligent, reliable, and familiar with the family, was the best choice.
So Father Qu agreed and went to find Lou Xiangwen that afternoon to discuss it. Lou Xiangwen was genuinely happy for them, and since Father Qu had made it clear it would only be for a while, he felt obliged to help in return for all the care the Qu family had shown him. He agreed without hesitation.
But when he met the representative sent by the other company, Lou Xiangwen was dumbfounded.
Father Qu had said it was a sharp-tongued but easygoing man, and told him not to be nervous. Lou had mentally prepared himself, only to be met with a familiar face.
It was none other than Wen Qingqing.
Unlike her usual trendy, stylish appearance, Wen Qingqing was dressed this time in a clean, professional outfit, even with her hair neatly tied up. She really did look like a proper and capable person in charge.
But when she saw the dazed look on Lou Xiangwen’s face, her beautiful eyes sparkled mischievously with a hint of challenge. She extended her hand to him proudly, lifting her chin slightly, as if silently saying: See? I told you there’s no escaping me.
Lou Xiangwen, still dazed, shook her hand, and then got taken along to the new factory the Wen family had just acquired, where she explained the upcoming operations. When it came to official matters, Wen Qingqing’s expression was serious. She didn’t act clingy or talk nonsense like Lou had feared.
Her words were crisp and organized, her introduction very professional. She even asked if he had any opinions at the end, looking completely like someone genuinely discussing business.
Lou Xiangwen relaxed at that and adjusted his attitude, walking around the factory with her and offering his own thoughts.
By the time the tour ended, Lou Xiangwen let down his guard. So when Wen Qingqing politely offered to drive him back to the shop, he hesitated a bit. Thinking they’d have to work together regularly from now on, he eventually agreed.
But the moment he got in the car, Wen Qingqing had the driver lock the doors, then grabbed Lou Xiangwen’s collar with a domineering smile and teased, “Lou Xiangwen, keep running. Let’s see how far you can go.”
Realizing he’d been tricked, Lou Xiangwen : “…???”
As for what happened next, Lou Xiangwen couldn’t bring himself to explain under the clear, innocent gaze of the little girl. Covering his face, he stammered and skipped the details, jumping straight to the conclusion: “…Anyway, in the end, she did send me back.”
They never imagined this whole collaboration was actually orchestrated by Wen Qingqing. By the end, Qu Tantan accidentally bit through her candy in shock. She propped her face in her hands and pondered for a while, then suddenly clapped her hands in realization.
She knew something had been off. Even if the juice became popular after development, it was still a new brand with a short registration period. Most companies wouldn’t know much about it yet. Even if interested, they would typically observe for a while longer before acting. Why would a company have more confidence in their future than even they themselves did?
Turns out their family had basically won the lottery while lying down!
And it made sense. Wen Qingqing had sat in their store for an entire week back then, buying juices by the boxful. She would give them away and come back to buy more. She not only understood the flavor advantages of the juice but also knew their shop inside out.
If her family was wealthy, then making a decision like this seemed perfectly logical.
Having figured it out, Qu Tantan, as a direct beneficiary, felt it would be ungrateful to complain. So she patted Lou Xiangwen’s shoulder with a serious little face and said earnestly, “Dad was so happy yesterday, it turns out it was all thanks to you, Brother Lou!”
But Lou Xiangwen, who had been waiting forever just to be met with this kind of praise : “…”
His face fell.
He consoled himself silently: investment cooperation and all that, Tantan probably didn’t understand. She was just vaguely aware that her Dad was happy, and after hearing it was Wen Qingqing behind it, naturally assumed he deserved the credit.
It wasn’t the child’s fault.
…But it wasn’t his fault either!
When Lou Xiangwen thought about how he’d have to work with Wen Qingqing every day for the foreseeable future, everything went dark. He was filled with despair.
Tantan added softly, “We also have to thank Brother Lou. Dad was still worried yesterday, afraid you wouldn’t understand a lot of the technical stuff and might not handle it well.” She patted his head gently and smiled, “But Dad and Mom have decided to take the risk. And if you’re helping and Sister Wen is overseeing things, I really don’t think there’s anything to worry about.
“After all, Brother Lou is so amazing. There’s no way it’ll go wrong, right?”
Meeting her gaze filled with confident dependence, Lou Xiangwen felt a rush of heat to his head and instantly clenched his fists with renewed motivation.
“Yes! No problem at all! I’ll give it my all!!”
Uncle Qu trusted him so much, and Tantan also had such strong faith in him, how could he even think of giving up over such a small setback? They had always cared for him without expecting anything in return. If Tantan hadn’t accidentally let it slip yesterday, he wouldn’t even have known that Uncle Qu’s whole family had been quietly supporting his dream all along.
This time was finally his chance to repay them. He couldn’t back down now!
After connecting with the Wen family, ‘Tantan Juice’ quickly spread across major shopping malls and convenience stores, with the juice brand rapidly gaining popularity in Jincheng.
Now, even the way Father Qu walked seemed full of confidence. It could be said that he was riding high on success. However, with Mother Qu always around to keep things grounded, he didn’t dare show off too much even though he was clearly happy. He became even more cautious and meticulous in his business negotiations.
The couple, in unspoken agreement, chose not to tell the relatives back in their hometown for now. Father Qu figured that if the company was really established in the future, then they could tell his mother. By that time, no one would be able to object anyway.
Mother Qu, on the other hand, understood her younger brother-in-law’s greedy nature all too well. If he found out now, asking for money would be the least of their worries. There was no telling what he might do to deliberately sabotage their collaboration just to spite them.
As for the old lady, she didn’t like going out anyway. In the past, she’d only come visit because Younger Qu coaxed her into it, and those visits always ended on a sour note.
But ever since last time, perhaps influenced by what Tantan said to her, her mind had become clearer. She no longer blindly listened to the youngest son’s stirring of trouble.
Most importantly, she had finally learned to say no to all of the younger son’s unreasonable demands, which had left him quite frustrated lately.
Later, during their weekly phone calls, though the old lady still acted indifferent, she would ‘accidentally’ start chatting with Qu Tantan. But when Father Qu tried to speak, she would complain and tell him to get out of the way, saying long-distance calls weren’t free.
The old and the young actually got along surprisingly well.
One time, Mother Qu overheard Tantan comforting the old lady through the receiver, saying : “Grandpa must be at ease now. That’s why he doesn’t show up in your dreams anymore. He’s afraid you’d miss him too much.”
It sounded like the old lady had been complaining that her late husband hadn’t appeared in her dreams recently.
Mother still remembered how tense they all were the first time the old lady requested to talk to Tantan on the phone.
But the old lady had happily shared that her husband really had visited her in a dream. Her tone had been light and cheerful, saying they had talked for a long time.
The couple had exchanged confused looks, a bit skeptical. Whether it was just a psychological effect or something real, the fact remained. The old lady’s mindset had clearly improved, and that made them happy.
Tantan continued to gently coax her, voice sweet and soft : “But as long as Grandma doesn’t forget him, Grandpa will definitely visit you again. After all, he cared about you so much. So Grandma has to eat well every day, stay cheerful, and treat yourself even better, so Grandpa won’t have to worry.”
The old lady’s voice was too soft for Mother Qu to hear clearly, but just from the tone, she could tell the old lady was happily responding.
Sometimes when Mother Qu listened to their conversations, she even felt a bit ashamed. To be honest, even now she still felt nervous around the old lady, and in the beginning, that fear had even made her reluctant to date Father Qu.
If Father Qu hadn’t been so thick-skinned and persistent, they wouldn’t have ended up together.
She had always thought her mother-in-law was eccentric and hard to get along with, that no matter how much she tried to please her mother-in-law, she would just be ridiculed and sent away.
She never considered whether she had truly figured out the old lady’s preferences, or whether the old lady had long since seen her fear and deliberately kept her distance because of it.
Only after watching her daughter coax the old lady into happiness did she realize.
The old lady wasn’t actually that hard to deal with. She, too, got lonely and wanted company. She had once been someone cared for and doted on.
All these years, it turned out she had never forgotten the old man.
And it was Qu Tantan who had noticed this, and spoken every word that resonated with the old lady’s heart, making her feel like only Tantan truly understood and cared for her.
As her daughter-in-law, Mother couldn’t help but feel guilty.
But whenever they suggested the old lady come live with them, she would respond in her usual cryptic way, saying she was perfectly fine at home and didn’t want anyone looking down on rural folks.
Mother Qu, who hadn’t meant that at all : “…”
It seemed she was destined to never have a smooth relationship with her mother-in-law in this lifetime. But thankfully, she had a thoughtful, sweet daughter who could be the bridge between them and keep both sides happy.
As for the company registration, they could hide it from the folks back home, but not from the people around them who knew them well.
Meng Jiajia’s father even came by to remind them, asking if they had all the necessary permits and helping double-check everything to ensure there were no issues. After that, the two families got together and had a nice meal.
And lately, the kids at the kindergarten were all especially eager to share with Qu Tantan, happily saying they drank ‘Tantan Juice’ the night before.
Although Qu Tantan occasionally complained a little about constantly hearing ‘Tantan’ and not being quite used to it, she was still happy for their family’s early success.
After enjoying a period of popularity, Lou Xiangwen suddenly approached Father Qu with a proposal. Now was the perfect time to take the next step and expand outward. If possible, why not work with a TV station to advertise ‘Tantan Juice’?
He even prepared a lengthy analysis and plan. Whether it was something ordinary people might think of or things completely unexpected, he wrote down every point in extraordinary detail.
It made people feel at a glance that development was not only necessary, but full of potential.
At first, Qu Tantan knew nothing about the discussions between Lou Xiangwen and her Dad. She only found out later when she overheard her Dad talking with her Mom at home. She couldn’t help but be amazed, Lou Xiangwen really had a sharp eye.
And many of his insights were quite unique and even ahead of their time. Qu Tantan dared to say that if he hadn’t wanted to be a screenwriter and instead went into business, he might have already squeezed his way into the ranks of the wealthy.
Sure enough, her father accepted the proposal. When negotiating new partnerships, he would now bring Lou Xiangwen along to get his input on whether things were feasible.
Yet despite being trusted and appreciated, Lou Xiangwen was still the same socially anxious person in daily life—slow-moving and shy, always giving a bashful smile when he saw them, unchanged in the slightest.
After finishing his daily work, he still continued to write his screenplay at night, never once thinking of giving up. But he didn’t tell anyone about it. Only after finishing a portion would he secretly read it to Qu Tantan.
When she praised him, he would beam with joy and gain more motivation to continue.
Seeing the dark circles that had appeared under the young man’s eyes recently, Qu Tantan seemed to see again the moment they first met, when he introduced himself as a screenwriter with a sparkle of brilliance in his eyes.
“Brother Lou, you’ll definitely achieve your dream,” she repeated seriously again. “You’ll absolutely succeed. Brother Lou, you have to believe in yourself.”
Lou Xiangwen gently patted her head, his expression earnest and resolute. “Thank you, Tantan. Don’t worry, I won’t give up. And I believe you’ll achieve your dream too.”
Qu Tantan: “……” He actually still remembered that she once said her dream was to get into Tsinghua University?