Still Have This Side – Chapter 28

Are you picking up bad habits from me?

Qiu Baiyu left the Jiang family house with Jiang Zimin and moved into a home that belonged to Jiang Zimin.

There was no one else here, only the two of them.

Their new life would begin here.

The house is very good, in a high-end community with guaranteed property security, fully furnished and equipped, allowing Qiu Baiyu and the two of them to move in and use it normally on the same day.

Jiang Zimin has to attend school during the day and only officially visited the new home at night, so Qiu Baiyu was basically busy alone during the day.

She had nothing to do, so tidying up was good.

When Jiang Zimin came back in the evening, they divided the rooms together, familiarized themselves with the new environment, and studied the route from the new home to Fengyi Primary School.

After finishing all this, Qiu Baiyu lay on the big sofa in the living room, looking at the ceiling, and finally revealed a calm and relaxed expression.

No men, no messy plot lines, this was the new life she wanted.

But that’s not correct; she still has the system.

The system has not yet given up on making her lead Jiang Zimin astray.

Now the system is even more vicious, wanting her to instill the concept “Yi Wanyue took your dad” into Jiang Zimin, so that after she learns bad things, she will go back and seek revenge.

She sneered at this.

Go ahead, go ahead; if she would listen and do missions, then her surname wouldn’t be Qiu.

Jiang Zimin ran out from the new room and saw her lying on the sofa, so she ran over to lie down as well, with their heads touching.

“Auntie, this house is also very big,” Jiang Zimin said. “When you said that day, I thought we would have to sleep by the roadside after leaving Dad.”

Qiu Baiyu found it amusing to hear.

“It’s not so bad that we’d sleep on the street. Auntie still has a little money.”

It’s not the divorce property divided by Jiang Shen, but money she received for taking care of Jiang Zimin.

Although this job has already ended, she hasn’t spent all the money given to her before, which is enough for them to get by for a while.

Now she has even more money on hand.

Spending this money certainly doesn’t give her any psychological burden.

If Jiang Shen dares to give, she dares to use it. What’s the harm in using money obtained openly and honestly?

As for how to use it, she still doesn’t have a plan. There are also shops and vacant properties divided for Jiang Zimin… She must plan all these well, to make a sustainable development, and cannot just spend until there’s nothing left.

They lay on the sofa together, looking at the ceiling.

The night wind blew in from the balcony, cool and very comfortable.

It was a comfort unlike staying at the Jiang family.

After a while, Jiang Zimin softly asked, “Is this our home in the future?”

Qiu Baiyu nodded and said yes.

Jiang Zimin then asked, “Then am I the child of Auntie’s home in the future?”

Qiu Baiyu raised her hand to touch her small face: “Yes, you are my family’s child now.”

Jiang Zimin asked expectantly again: “Then in the future, should I be called ‘Qiu Zimin’?”

Qiu Baiyu turned her head to look at her.

Jiang Zimin turned over to lie on her stomach, her expectant eyes bright: “Our teacher said that we take the surname of whose family’s child we are. I am Auntie’s family’s child, so shouldn’t my surname be Qiu?”

Qiu is the surname of Qiu Baiyu’s grandmother.

She is indeed a child of her grandmother’s family.

Qiu Baiyu sat up and seriously looked at Jiang Zimin, who actively raised the topic: “Do you really want to change your surname?”

Jiang Zimin nodded once, then felt it wasn’t enough and nodded again more emphatically.

“Alright,” Qiu Baiyu reached out and gently stroked the top of her hair, “Tomorrow, Auntie will take you to change your name. From now on, you will be Qiu Zimin, a child of my Qiu family.”

“Great!”

Qiu Zimin happily raised her arm and shouted.

Then she suddenly turned her head and ran toward the room.

Qiu Baiyu: “?”

She didn’t understand: “Where are you going?”

“I want to go change the name on my homework book!”

She is no longer Jiang Zimin; she is Qiu Zimin, Auntie’s family Qiu Zimin!

Qiu Baiyu rested her face on her hand, her gaze gently watching her figure disappear from view.

The next second, the visual doorbell suddenly rang with a ding-dong.

The newly named little Qiu Zimin had just run into the room, and upon hearing the sound, she ran out again and asked, “Is it Auntie Wanyue?”

Yi Wanyue had said she would come tonight.

Guessing it’s about this time.

Qiu Baiyu raised her chin: “It should be, go check.”

Qiu Zimin immediately ran to the visual doorbell, pressed the button, and when the opposite face clearly switched to the screen, she immediately shouted excitedly: “Auntie!”

She then neatly helped Yi Wanyue open the door.

Qiu Baiyu also got up and walked toward the entryway.

She saw Yi Wanyue gently push the door open and walk in.

Today, Yi Wanyue was wearing a light, thin white T-shirt with black stripes, the collar slightly open, and the sleeve cuffs rolled up a few times. She paired it with khaki wide-leg shorts, cinched with a dark brown belt.

Her black, slightly curly long hair was smoothly draped over her shoulders, looking simple and elegant, clean and refreshing.

In her hand, she held a very large white gift bag.

“Congratulations on moving to your new home,” she said with a smile, handing the gift to Qiu Baiyu, “I hope you will like it.”

Qiu Baiyu was slightly surprised: “Why did you still bring a gift?”

The gift was quite heavy when received.

Yi Wanyue said: “I should, don’t be polite with me.”

Qiu Baiyu didn’t dampen the spirit by declining, placing slippers in front of her: “Come in quickly.”

Yi Wanyue agreed, lowering her eyes to change her shoes.

While she was changing her shoes, Qiu Zimin happily shared about changing her name.

“Auntie, I changed my name!”

“Oh? What are you called now?”

“I’m called Qiu Zimin!”

“Oh, so you changed your surname, did you?”

“Mm-hmm!”

“Qiu Zimin sounds very nice.”

Receiving affirmation, Qiu Zimin was all smiles.

Qiu Baiyu just stood by the side watching them talk, her eyes unconsciously carrying a hint of a smile.

Yi Wanyue finished changing into slippers and was immediately pulled by Qiu Zimin to go see the bedroom: “Auntie, come see my new room~”

The child’s strong desire to share couldn’t be stopped.

With a smile, Yi Wanyue was pulled along: “Alright, Auntie will take a look.”

Qiu Baiyu watched them enter the room, and casually placed the gift carefully on the dining table. The gift landed on the table with a slight, crisp sound, as if containing some porcelain.

Porcelain?

What did Yi Wanyue gift?

When Yi Wanyue and Qiu Zimin came out of the room, Qiu Baiyu directly asked: “What’s inside, and why is it so big?”

With a smile in her eyes, Yi Wanyue walked to the dining table: “Open it and you’ll see.”

Qiu Baiyu then cautiously began to unwrap the gift.

Qiu Zimin also curiously came over to look.

Opening the large white gift box, a brand new set of bowls and plates was presented in front of them.

The whole set of bowls and plates is matched with new green and milky white colors, clear and moist, fresh, tender, and gentle, like early spring’s grass and trees, so lovely that one can’t bear to put them down.

“Wow~ so beautiful!” Qiu Zimin exclaimed.

It is indeed very pretty.

Qiu Baiyu held up a new green bowl and carefully examined it.

The fresh, natural color is something she really likes, and she has to say Yi Wanyue is truly great at giving gifts.

“Really very pretty.”

Yi Wanyue saw from her face that she liked it, and finally felt relieved: “As long as you like it.”

With a smile, she gently touched Qiu Zimin’s hair: “If our Xiaomin likes it, then use these bowls to eat more rice.”

Qiu Zimin nodded her head vigorously: “I will eat a lot of rice, eating rice gives strength, and with strength, I can learn Sanda!”

When she spoke of this matter, a layer of worry suddenly floated in her eyes, and she turned her head to ask Qiu Baiyu: “Auntie, can I still learn Sanda?”

She knew the money for learning Sanda came from her dad, and now she was no longer her dad’s child, so could she still continue to learn Sanda?

What about the registration fee?

Was her saved pocket money enough?

Qiu Baiyu put down the bowl, her tone calm: “You can, as long as you want to learn, you can learn. No need to worry about the other things.”

She now considered herself a wealthy single woman, so what was it to continue registering the child for a Sanda class?

Sanda can both protect oneself and strengthen the body, so learn it!

Qiu Zimin’s face lit up with joy, and she immediately asked: “Then can I also continue learning the piano?”

“I want to continue learning with Auntie, I don’t want to learn with others…”

Qiu Baiyu and Yi Wanyue exchanged a knowing look.

Qiu Baiyu was the first to look away: “As long as Auntie Wanyue agrees, it’s fine.”

Yi Wanyue generously said: “No problem, I can continue teaching.”

Qiu Zimin said: “But we don’t have a piano at home.”

Yi Wanyue replied: “Auntie’s home has one.”

Qiu Zimin immediately turned her head to look at Qiu Baiyu, her eyes shining brightly.

Qiu Baiyu said: “Then you can continue learning with Auntie.”

“Great!”

The little friend was so happy that the corners of her mouth almost reached her ears.

Then she paused for a moment, scratching her face in confusion.

“Did I forget to do something…”

Qiu Baiyu glanced at her, while carefully putting away the new bowls and plates, and said: “You need to go change all the names on your homework book.”

Qiu Zimin suddenly realized: “Right!”

Then she ran back to the room to continue her modification project.

Changing the names is a matter that cannot be delayed!

Yi Wanyue watched her bustlingly run back to the room and couldn’t help but laugh, saying: “She has become a lot more lively.”

Qiu Baiyu nodded in agreement.

Today, Qiu Zimin was very excited overall, completely different from her time at the Jiang family.

Probably because the Jiang family did not fully accept her, she did not belong there, so she could never freely run around.

At that time, she was trying to please her father, so she did everything very properly.

Fortunately, all that is in the past, and she has also learned to let go of “dad.”

“Children should be more lively,” Qiu Baiyu said.

Yi Wanyue asked: “What do you plan to do next?”

A very big question, vast and boundless, it can be about the future or the present.

Qiu Baiyu thought for a moment and truthfully said: “First, think of a way to make money. Although the divorce gave me a substantial amount, doing nothing and only spending money will eventually lead to spending it all.”

Yi Wanyue gently nodded: “What do you want to do?”

Qiu Baiyu touched her chin: “Hmm… collect rent?”

“Jiang Shen allocated several shops to Xiaomin. I don’t like entrepreneurship because it’s too risky, so I won’t use them, but leaving them empty is a waste. It’s better to rent them out and collect rent every month.

“The collected money can be half saved, half used, and later given to Xiaomin, since these are shops under her name.

“Also, those few vacant apartments can be rented out too.”

After listening, Yi Wanyue laughed and said: “You’ve actually thought it all through.”

Qiu Baiyu said, yes.

She had almost finished thinking it through. In fact, she had already considered it when Jiang Shen was conducting the division and inventory, though she still found it a little hard to believe.

Collecting rent, a dream job for many people.

She had previously daydreamed about this with friends, but it always ended with “let’s just wash up and sleep early.” She never expected it to actually happen in this way.

Suddenly, she felt that the world wasn’t so hard to accept after all.

“I can’t believe I can actually become a landlady…”

Yi Wanyue looked at her expression of both emotion and disbelief, inexplicably finding it funny and cute, so she smiled and said: “Then when you need help, you can come to me. I can help you find out who needs to rent a house or shop, and I can also find someone to help you draft the contracts.”

Qiu Baiyu’s eyes brightened upon hearing this.

Yi Wanyue’s family’s background is actually not any worse than Jiang Shen’s, and her ability to leverage connections can greatly help Qiu Baiyu avoid the many troubles faced by outsiders.

“Really?”

“Yes,” Yi Wanyue said, “because we are friends.”

Because they are friends, she is willing to help her.

There is no need for formality between them.

Qiu Baiyu gazed into her eyes, her pupils shining brightly.

We are friends.

This is the first friend of the same age she made here.

Her eyes slowly curved into a smile: “Thank you, Wanyue. I’m really happy to be friends with you.”

Yi Wanyue returned the smile: “Me too.”

She was very glad she didn’t miss out on an interesting her.

“Oh, right,” Qiu Baiyu suddenly remembered something important, “tell me the fee for your piano lessons first.”

Yi Wanyue blinked: “I can teach for free.”

Qiu Baiyu: “No, you are very valuable, don’t work for free.”

Yi Wanyue laughed: “You want me to charge?”

Qiu Baiyu nodded honestly: “Yes.”

“Being friends doesn’t mean getting things for free; even blood brothers need clear accounts.” Qiu Baiyu was very upright, “This is your professional value, you should charge.”

Even if they are friends, they must respect each other’s labor contributions.

If it were just asking Yi Wanyue to teach once or twice, it would be fine if she didn’t charge, but this is long-term teaching, and it’s one-on-one at home, requiring Yi Wanyue to invest a lot of time and energy, so it’s necessary for her to receive appropriate compensation.

Friends cannot be taken advantage of excessively, causing their relationship to become distant.

Yi Wanyue looked at her serious demeanor, her eyes gently curving: “Alright then, I have no choice but to earn this money from Miss Qiu.

“Since we are friends, I’ll give you a friendship price, fifty per lesson?”

Qiu Baiyu didn’t understand the market rate in this field, but recalling the piano awards Yi Wanyue had won, with her professional skills and fame in the piano world, even a fool would think fifty is an incredibly steep discount.

“That’s too low, it feels like freeloading.”

“Then how about one hundred?”

“Wait a moment.”

Qiu Baiyu took out her phone and searched how much a piano lesson costs per session.

“Two hundred.”

Yi Wanyue said amusedly: “Who bargains upwards?”

Qiu Baiyu: “Afraid you’ll suffer a loss.

“Two hundred is actually very low for you.”

Considering Yi Wanyue’s professionalism, hiring her for a lesson is definitely not cheap.

Qiu Baiyu has worked for so many years and is unwilling to work for free, nor does she want her friends to work for free — money is really very important!

Yi Wanyue smiled: “It’s no problem, I’m not afraid of losing out, I don’t lack money to spend.”

Qiu Baiyu suddenly fell silent.

That poor working-class heart was unexpectedly pierced.

She used to live each day fighting hard for one or two hundred, really envying Yi Wanyue who could so easily say such things; having money is really nice…

Yi Wanyue suddenly sensed some hurt in her expression, not knowing where she might have said something wrong, but she hurriedly said: “Alright, alright, two hundred it is.”

Qiu Baiyu restored her calm expression and nodded: “Just two hundred, without the five insurances and one fund, make sure you pay your own social security.”

She’s not running a company, how could she hire a teacher and also pay the five insurances and one fund?

She herself doesn’t even have the five insurances and one fund now!

Yi Wanyue paused for a moment, her eyes instantly lighting up with a smile.

Qiu Baiyu’s way of speaking is really very interesting.

After agreeing on the fee, Qiu Baiyu suddenly became curious: “How much did Jiang Shen pay you to come and teach Xiaomin one lesson before?”

Yi Wanyue raised two fingers.

Qiu Baiyu: “Two thousand?”

Yi Wanyue: “Twenty thousand. It was originally higher, but I brought it down; he insisted on giving this price.”

Qiu Baiyu gasped.

Can being a piano teacher really earn so much money?!

The male lead is really willing to pay!

Yi Wanyue calmly withdrew her fingers.

Although she and Jiang Shen aren’t particularly close friends, they have known each other for many years; she originally didn’t want to take so much money, and the first lesson was still a free trial.

However, when she learned that Jiang Shen used Qiu Zimin as an excuse and didn’t consider the child’s opinion, she got a bit angry and simply took it.

After her sister found out about this matter, she also advised her not to be at odds with money and to just focus on teaching the child well when the time comes.

So, she took the money, taught the child well, and didn’t lose anything at all.

At this moment, she suddenly heard Qiu Baiyu ask: “Can I watch when you teach Xiaomin?”

She was puzzled: “For what?”

“To audit, to learn a bit; having many skills doesn’t weigh one down, just in case it becomes useful for making a living later.” Qiu Baiyu said seriously.

Yi Wanyue was slightly stunned upon hearing this, then her eyes curved as she gently laughed.

“That comes with an additional price.”

Qiu Baiyu: “…?”

She couldn’t help but look at her, her tone slightly surprised: “Are you picking up bad habits from me?”

Yi Wanyue didn’t respond and laughed even more happily.

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