As evening approached, Qi Taiguo couldnāt help but call home again. It was Jianguo who picked up, and upon hearing that Cheng Su was back, Qi Taiguo breathed a sigh of relief and asked about Qi Jianguo.
"...Itās a shame you canāt come home, the house is quite lively." Jianguo said with a smile.
Qi Taiguo sighed internally, yes, itās a real shame, but given his current state, itās best not to go back and worry them.
Jianguo chatted with him for a while, then sensibly went to get Cheng Su to come to the phone.
Listening to the indistinct voices through the receiver, Qi Taiguo couldnāt help but smile, almost able to see the bustling scene.
Before long, he heard a quick patter of footsteps, his smile growing even larger.
"Hello, Qi Taiguo?" As expected, it was Cheng Su with a breathless voice.
Qi Taiguo chuckled softly, "Itās just a phone call, why did you rush?"
Cheng Su dragged over a chair and sat down, saying, "I was worried youād be anxious? How come youāre calling back, is your assignment completed?"
"Yes, itās done!" Qi Taiguo replied.
"Have you returned to Qing City? I only came back home today, and I still need to help Xiao Yun with school transfer matters, might take a few days before I return!" Cheng Su said.
Qi Taiguo was about to say he was in the Capital, but changed his words after hearing this, "No worries, you can come back after you finish, I have things to do here too."
"I knew it, you never get a break." Cheng Su pouted, asking, "Was the mission smooth? Did you get hurt?"
"Smooth enough, canāt go into details over the phone, Iāll tell you properly when you get back, anyways I did achieve something big." Qi Taiguo said with a smile, deciding not to mention his injuries, sheād just worry pointlessly when she canāt do anything, better to heal and report back properly.
Cheng Su was indeed delighted, "I knew my husband was the best! Iāll reward you when we get home!"
Qi Taiguo chuckled, teasing her on purpose, "How will you reward me?"
"Whatever you say, thatās how Iāll reward." Cheng Su laughed broadly.
"Alright, Iāll take you up on that!" Qi Taiguo happily asked, "Is everyone at home well? Sounds lively."
"Very lively, let me tell you..." Cheng Su lowered her voice, sharing gossip she had heard.
Qi Taiguo could immediately picture her covering her mouth, sneakily sharing secrets, making him grin widely, his heart melting, and he cooperatively responded with surprises like "Oh, really?"
Sometimes listening to her talk about mundane affairs was a joy, felt like true, lively life, full of fun.
Cheng Su, caught up in the excitement, didnāt notice Mother Qi had been glaring at her for a while.
Seeing more than twenty minutes had passed, Mother Qi coughed heavily, "Does the phone bill cost nothing?"
"Uh, Iāll stop now, Iāll tell you more when Iām home!" Cheng Su sheepishly said, "Mom, do you want to talk to Taiguo? If not, Iāll hang up. The call is quite costly!"
Mother Qi was about to reach out, of course she wanted to talk to her eldest son, but barely extended her hand when Cheng Su hung up the call.
Mother Qiās hand froze in mid-air, staring woodenly at Cheng Su, was she doing this on purpose? Purposefully stopping her from having a private chat with Taiguo.
Cheng Su looked at her innocently, "Mom, whatās wrong?"
"Go wash the dishes!" Mother Qi snapped irritably.
Cheng Su acknowledged with a smile, she had done it intentionally, calls were expensive after all.