1241 I Am Not Going
As Xia Zhe had to take care of the two children, he did not have time to go out with Xia Yu and Xia Yuan. The two of them ended up bringing Yun Lan to tour around the capital. Whenever Xia Wen had some time off, they would force him to bring them out, not giving him any chance to take a break.

Xia Wan and Xia You were having even more fun. They came back with bags and bags of things daily. Every day, Liu Fen would stand at the door and wait for them to reach home so that she could give them a good scolding. After that, Xia You would go to Qiao Mei to complain about how old-fashioned Liu Fen was.

When Xia He saw everyone going out to have fun, she also did not want to stay at home all day. She also wanted to go out and walk around.

However, Qiao Mei did not feel like doing anything recently. She had no interest in the outside world. If Xia He wanted to bring her along to buy a house though, she would be more than happy to do so.

“I don’t want to go. How about I make you whatever you want? What’s the point of going out?” Qiao Mei said as she pouted.

“Let’s go to the mall to buy shoes! Leather shoes! Although you know how to make clothes, I’m sure you can’t make leather shoes!” Xia He said with her hands on her hips.

Qiao Mei thought about it carefully. What Xia He said made sense. It was not as if she did not know how to make shoes, but the process was really cumbersome. Moreover, leather shoes were hard to deal with. If she had to handle leather at home, it would make the whole house smell disgusting. For shoes, it was still better to go out and buy them.

“Well… well, I guess I’ll go with you then.” Qiao Mei returned to her room to change her clothes and headed out with Xia He. Before they could go far, they saw Qian’e at the neighborhood entrance, leaving in a hurry and looking like she had just cried.

“I hope I’m not seeing things. Qian’e just came from the direction of Uncle Zheng’s house, right?” Xia He could not believe her own eyes. She rubbed them again and took a closer look. The person was really Qian’e.

“Yes, it appears that things have happened as I expected,” Qiao Mei said with a slight frown.

Back then, she had already advised Qian’e to prepare for such a day to come. Although Zheng Peng was a very nice man, Zheng Su definitely would not allow Qian’e to marry into their family. It would be for no other reason than the fact that Qian’e was infertile and could not carry on the Zheng family line. This was something that Zheng Su could not accept.

Qiao Mei and Xia He waited for Qian’e to leave before they slowly got into the car and drove out of the neighborhood. The two of them looked discomforted. Although Xia He did not like Qian’e, it was as if Qian’e had committed any unforgivable sins. She did not deserve to be treated like this.

“I heard from Brother Luo and my mother that Zheng Yuan and Zhuang Hua have returned recently. Both their families have started to discuss the matter of their impending marriage, which was why Zheng Peng became implicated. I think Uncle Zheng had already wanted to break up Zheng Peng and Qian’e for a long time and he’s just using this as an excuse,” Xia He said.

Qiao Mei stared ahead expressionlessly. These things had nothing to do with her. She was more concerned about Qian’e. Could it be that the couple really could not end up together? She really wanted Qian’e to settle down with someone nice.
“Do you hear what I say? Why aren’t you jealous when Zheng Yuan is mentioned? Do you know who Zheng Yuan is?” Xia He asked.

“Xia Zhe’s childhood sweetheart, a woman who liked Xia Zhe for more than 10 years. Moreover, she used to be in the same army unit as Xia Zhe,” Qiao Mei said.

“If you know her, then why aren’t you jealous?” Xia He asked. Given Qiao Mei’s usual temper, her expression would have darkened a long time ago. She would not be as calm and composed as she was now.

“I already know about these things and I’m the one who settled the issue personally , so it’s not particularly surprising to me,” Qiao Mei said honestly.

Xia He silently gave Qiao Mei a thumbs up. There was really nothing that could stump Qiao Mei.

As the two of them chatted on the way, they soon arrived at the shopping mall. As soon as Qiao Mei reached the main door, she did not feel like going in. The scene in front of her was reminiscent of the spring festival shopping chaos. It was so crowded inside that it looked impossible to squeeze in.

Xia He was worried about whether she would be able to buy whatever she needed later, while Qiao Mei was more worried that someone would take advantage of the situation and molest her.

“I’m not going,” Qiao Mei said firmly.

“Don’t be daunted by the sight of the crowd. It’ll be alright once you make your way inside,” Xia He persuaded.

“Either we go somewhere else or I’m going back to the car,” Qiao Mei said.