Almighty Genius

New book uploaded, seeking recommendations and favorites~~~

...

"I think... this matter... it's best if you talk it over with Boss Chen..."

Despite being somewhat tempted by Xiao Muxue's request, after much deliberation, Qin Fang still felt it wasn't quite appropriate and could only think of this compromise.

"I won't go back!"

Xiao Muxue's attitude was very resolute, firmly refusing to return.

Qin Fang could only be speechless about this. Chen Pangzi had indeed acted very despicably in this matter, pushing his own distant niece into the fire and not bothering to help. If Chen Pangzi were standing in front of Qin Fang right now, Qin Fang probably would have slapped him with a brick already.

But on second thought, Xiao Muxue had more than ten thousand yuan from Chen Pangzi. Even in a big city like Ninghai, that amount of money, if spent frugally, might last a year, which somewhat eased Qin Fang's worries.

"If you don't want to go back, then don't. Stay at my place tonight, and tomorrow you can look for an apartment to rent or stay at a hotel, whichever you prefer..."

Having come to this conclusion, Qin Fang let go of the matter. He and Xiao Muxue were neither relatives nor friends. He had saved her today purely out of a pitiful sense of justice, but it had brought a little trouble upon himself.

"Mm!"

Xiao Muxue nodded obediently, her head down, the sky growing dark, and Qin Fang did not notice the blush on Xiao Muxue's fair cheeks.

Before long, the two of them arrived at the small courtyard where Qin Fang rented a place. The moment they stepped inside, they saw Sister Pan in her pajamas, sleepy-eyed, probably having gotten up to use the bathroom, and they just happened to bump into her.

Initially, Sister Pan didn't pay much attention and was about to go back to her room to continue sleeping. But as soon as she took a step, she suddenly stopped. Qin Fang had been watching Sister Pan's reaction all along. Seeing her pause like this, he immediately thought to himself that something was wrong.

"Xiao Qin..."

Sure enough, Sister Pan turned around, glanced at Qin Fang's somewhat embarrassed face, and then at Xiao Muxue, who was following with her head down, and started to speak.

"Sister Pan, you haven't slept yet, huh!"

Qin Fang forced a smile but still greeted Sister Pan.

"About to go back to sleep! And this young lady is..."

Clearly, Qin Fang's tactic didn't work on Sister Pan, a worldly woman. She immediately took the initiative to attack. As a woman, she could see Xiao Muxue's shy demeanor even though her head was lowered and immediately sensed something was fishy.

For the past half month, she had been freeloading at Qin Fang's noodle stand every day. Her relationship with Tang Feifei was truly not just ordinary. If she hadn't been a whole generation older than Tang Feifei, she might have even wanted to become her sister.

As for Qin Fang's relationship with Tang Feifei, it was somewhat ambiguous. Since she was an outsider, she didn't want to intervene. But now, here was Qin Fang, bringing a pretty young girl back in the middle of the night, clearly to stay overnight... This was not a trivial matter.

"She is..."

Qin Fang forced another smile, about to explain Xiao Muxue's identity to Sister Pan, but unexpectedly, Xiao Muxue, who had been rather silent, spoke up first, "Sister, my name is Xiao Muxue, I am Qin Fang's... friend!"

Perhaps unsure of how to precisely define her relationship with Qin Fang, Xiao Muxue hesitated for a moment before settling on the word "friend."

Of course, that's what Qin Fang thought. As for whether Xiao Muxue saw it the same way, or whether Sister Pan believed it, was another question.

"Oh, girlfriend, right... Xiao Qin, you've kept it quite hidden, huh!"

When Xiao Muxue said so, Sister Pan seemed to have an epiphany, displaying no signs of disapproval. Instead, she chuckled and teased Qin Fang.

"It's not like that..."

Qin Fang became anxious. If this was taken seriously, not even jumping into the Yellow River could cleanse his name. He tried to deny it.

"Alright! Alright! No need to explain, I understand! It's late, and I'm tired. I'm off to bed..." Sister Pan knew exactly who she was. Her mouth could be quite vicious. Seeing that Qin Fang seemed to be denying it, she immediately waved her hand to confirm the matter as true, then turned around and went back inside to sleep.

"It's over..."

Watching Sister Pan disappear behind the door, Qin Fang could only give a wry smile of helplessness.

Everyone nearby knew Sister Pan's personality. Aside from her love for taking small advantages, she was known for her gossiping. Qin Fang bringing a young girl home in the middle of the night would likely be the talk of the neighborhood by morning.

"I'm sorry..."

Xiao Muxue was evidently a very smart girl. Seeing Qin Fang's expression, she realized she had caused him trouble. Already hanging her head low, now she drooped even further with her shoulders trembling slightly, as if she were on the verge of crying.

"Hey, don't cry, don't cry... It's not your fault, it's mine!"

Qin Fang had never dealt with this before; he seldom interacted with girls and couldn't stand to see one cry. As soon as he saw Xiao Muxue like this, he immediately panicked.

"I'm sorry..."

Seeing how anxious Qin Fang was, Xiao Muxue held back the tears in her eyes and repeated her apology.

"Forget it, just come inside quickly. If we're seen again, I..."

Qin Fang felt quite helpless. As he spoke, he hurriedly fished out his keys and started unlocking the door. But before he could finish, someone spoke from behind, "Hey, Xiao Qin, you're back late tonight..."

Clearly, this voice was not Xiao Muxue's but Qin Fang's neighbor's. "Yes, Uncle Wang, something came up, so I got back late!"

"Hehe, you young man... Hmm, not bad!"

Uncle Wang merely glanced at Xiao Muxue briefly, not probing like Sister Pan did. He gave Qin Fang a knowing look and then went on his way, leaving Qin Fang with a look of pure misery.

"I'm sorry..."

Qin Fang truly hadn't anticipated this turn of events, and Xiao Muxue apologized once again.

"Sigh, let's go inside..."

Qin Fang could only sigh, having opened the door of his small house, leading Xiao Muxue inside. Whatever gossip would spread wasn't something he could control anymore.

Qin Fang's small room was indeed very tiny. Besides a bed, there was just a small table in the corner and barely enough space left to stand.

"The place is a bit small, I hope you don't mind. You can sleep on the bed, and I'll make do on the floor..."

Still, Qin Fang was rather open-minded. Since he had already brought her home, he couldn't treat the girl poorly. He pulled out a mat to lay on the ground, took down his own quilt, and found a clean sheet to spread on the bed. Though it was all quite simple, it was summer, and at least there was no need to worry about it being cold.

This arrangement was the best Qin Fang could think of. After all, the two of them couldn't possibly sleep together on one bed, could they?