The Road Home

Chapter 7

These words took Gui Xiao aback for a moment.

He leaned against the vehicle door, face to face with her, the snow staining his shoulders. His eyes carried no emotion as they looked at her, but when he opened his mouth to speak again, his manner was even more suppliant. "Please help with this favour." It was like he had been switched out for another person and had forgotten how, less than twenty minutes ago in that little restaurant, he had acidly thrown out words to scorn her and even his apology afterwards had been perfunctory and gruff.

More than ten years had passed already. She could not keep behaving more and more immaturely the longer she lived and be like she had been in the past, getting sulky and indignant at him.

And plus... it was not like they had a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship. He had apologized already, so she should just leave it at that.

"I'm going back to Beijing the day after tomorrow." Gripping the steering wheel tightly, she purposely slowed her voice and relaxed its tone. "This task is not as simple as you think and needs to be discussed in detail. Bring the child to Beijing as soon as possible. While it's the winter break, get all the procedures and formalities done. Don't delay him from going to class."

"Let's discuss it now." He was not shy about taking her up on her help.

She was astounded. "Now?"

Qin Mingyu seized this opportunity to jump in and add his words. "Just look at you guys doing this huge favour. It should be me, as the dad, thanking you. It's better if you come on in and have a drink. Commander Lu isn't drinking tonight. He'll take you guys back!"

So eventually, Gui Xiao, by everyone's joint urgings and persuasion, went back inside.

It was still that same small table. Qin Mingyu rolled up that curtain that hung to the floor, tied a knot in it, and stuffed it into the gap between the radiator heater and the wall. With that, the space was considered tidied up somewhat. Lu Yanchen's attitude had completely shifted from earlier, and he personally pulled a chair over for Gui Xiao.

He gave a succinct explanation of the entire situation.

As Qin Mingyu still had some time until his discharge from the armed forces and Qin Xiaonan was alone in Erenhont, attending school here as an out-of-region student and in quite a piteous state with no one to take care of him, he wanted the child to go back to Beijing and study there for a few years.

"I did this one time for Xiao Cai, just last year," Gui Xiao explained, "but your situation is different from hers. You don't have any proof of relocation of permanent residence for the guardian or proof of a job transfer for the guardian. In fact, you're not even the guardian. Give me some time. You're going to need to get a home address for him first."

"So what that means is, I have to buy a home first?"

It was not that easy to buy a place in Beijing!

Gui Xiao was surprised. "Buy a home? Your hukou[1] [registered permanent residence] still hasn't been transferred back to Beijing yet, right? I can help you rent a place."

He flicked a glance at Gui Xiao. "I'll take care of it."

He would take care of it himself? He had not been back there for eleven years. It would likely take him quite a bit of time just to resolve his own issues.

But these things seemed to have nothing to do with her—or at least Lu Yanchen's stance on that was very clear.

They were nearly finished with the discussion. There was only one thing that could not be settled upon, which was the timing of bringing the child to Beijing. Gui Xiao's opinion was that, with the Lunar New Year period fast approaching, they absolutely needed to hurry and bring him there before the New Year so he could meet the principal of the school.