My whirlwind marriage partner is a wealthy CEO

Chapter 288 Agree to be my girlfriend

Zhu Ziqing was taken aback by Xiao Qingqing's sudden question, and a wave of heartache washed over her. She knelt down beside Xiao Qingqing, cupped her little face in her hands, and said earnestly, "Qingqing's mother has flown to heaven and may never come back. But Mom will definitely be watching over Qingqing from heaven, watching her grow up healthy and happy."

"Will Mommy see Qingqing?" Little Qingqing's eyes lit up, and she asked excitedly. In her memory, her mother's appearance was blurry; she only knew that other children had mothers, and she should have one too.

"Yes, it will." Zhu Ziqing nodded, picked up Xiao Qingqing, and gently comforted her, "Besides Mommy, Qingqing also has Daddy, Auntie, Uncle, and many, many people who love Qingqing."

“Qingqing has a little sister and a brother Lie…” Little Qingqing said, turning around to look, and sure enough, she saw her brother Lie following behind her. Her brother Lie had told her that he would always protect her and help her fight off all the bad guys. With him by her side, little Qingqing was not afraid of anything.

Zhu Ziqing saw through Xiao Qingqing's thoughts and asked considerately, "Qingqing, do you want to play with Brother Lie?"

Little Qingqing nodded vigorously and said in a soft, sweet voice, "Qingqing wants to play with Brother Lie."

Zhu Ziqing released Xiao Qingqing, patted her head, and said gently, "Then go ahead."

"Okay." Little Qingqing turned and ran towards Brother Lie, her short legs moving quickly. Brother Lie opened his arms, caught Little Qingqing steadily, gently rubbed her head, and carried her away.

Zhu Ziqing was staring blankly in the direction where Xiao Qingqing and Brother Lie had left.

"What are you thinking about?" Tan Haoyu's deep and sexy voice, like a gentle breeze, quietly pulled her thoughts back.

Zhu Ziqing turned around, a sweet smile blooming on her face: "Where did you find such a big boy? I can tell he's genuinely good to Xiao Qingqing."

Since moving into Jiayuan, Zhu Ziqing had seen Lie a few times. In the past, Lie always had a cold expression, never speaking or smiling. But just now, she clearly saw Lie smile at Xiao Qingqing, though the smile was fleeting, it didn't escape Zhu Ziqing's eyes. "It's fortunate that Xiao Qingqing has someone like him protecting her," Zhu Ziqing murmured to herself.

Tan Haoyu shook his head slightly and explained, "I didn't find him; Xiao Qingqing 'discovered' him herself." He paused, then continued, "At first, I wasn't comfortable entrusting Xiao Qingqing to someone of unknown origin, so I sent people to observe her secretly. After a while, I discovered that Lie indeed had no other intentions; he stayed by Xiao Qingqing's side simply to repay her life-saving grace. I didn't expect my daughter to have such a keen eye, finding such a loyal protector so quickly. Now I can save myself some trouble."

"Xiao Qingqing found it herself? She's so young, where could she have found it?" Zhu Ziqing asked with a puzzled look, completely unaware that she seemed to be meddling a bit too much.

"Let's not talk about Xiao Qingqing anymore." Tan Haoyu reached out and gently took Zhu Ziqing's hand, his voice as gentle as water, "Will you walk with me for a bit?"

Zhu Ziqing shook her head, looking tired. "I'm so sleepy, I want to rest early." Strangely enough, she had taken a two-hour nap at noon, and it wasn't late, yet she felt incredibly sleepy and weak. The sudden irritability and anxiety she felt last night were gradually returning. However, thankfully, Xiao Qingqing and Tan Haoyu were by her side, allowing her to barely suppress the fear and anxiety in her heart.

"It's still early, let's rest later." Tan Haoyu didn't give up. He knew Zhu Ziqing's situation well and wanted to distract her by taking a walk to alleviate the pain of withdrawal. He knew that quitting drugs was by no means easy, and Zhu Ziqing still had a difficult period to endure.

“Zhu Ziqing—” Tan Haoyu suddenly grabbed Zhu Ziqing, who was about to leave, and pulled her into a tight embrace. “Stay with me.”

"Tan Haoyu, we... we're not officially dating yet." Zhu Ziqing's cheeks flushed, and she muttered to herself, "Dating shouldn't be this fast." But for some reason, she couldn't resist Tan Haoyu's embrace. Moving into his house and being hugged by him—it all seemed to exceed the bounds of what a "good girl" should be like.

Tan Haoyu released his embrace, placed his hands on Zhu Ziqing's shoulders, and looked at her intently: "Zhu Ziqing, will you be my girlfriend?"

Ugh—how could this man be like this! She had just said they weren't officially dating yet, and he immediately asked her to be his girlfriend. Zhu Ziqing was extremely conflicted. Should she say yes or no? Before she could figure it out, her body reacted first, and she involuntarily nodded heavily.

As soon as Zhu Ziqing nodded, Tan Haoyu eagerly leaned down and kissed her passionately. Their lips met, and Tan Haoyu led her into a sweet world of their own. Zhu Ziqing instinctively wanted to pull away, but then she remembered that she had already agreed to be his girlfriend, and it would seem coy to pull away now, so she cautiously responded to him.

After the kiss ended, Tan Haoyu looked at Zhu Ziqing's flushed cheeks and felt great. He lowered his head and kissed her on the cheek again, then pulled her into his arms once more: "Zhu Ziqing, you're mine again."

"Again?" Tan Haoyu's use of the word "again" acted like a key, instantly unlocking the door to Zhu Ziqing's doubts. A series of coincidences surfaced in her mind. Not long ago, Tan Haoyu had mentioned his deceased wife, saying that when he returned from a business trip, she was no longer alive, leaving only a box of ashes.

A bold conjecture arose in Zhu Ziqing's mind: Could it be that Tan Haoyu's wife hadn't died, but had lost all her memories and been taken away by her father to live under an assumed name, which was why Tan Haoyu hadn't been able to find her? Her own memories began precisely at the time of Tan Haoyu's wife's disappearance, and the scar on her abdomen strongly resembled that of a cesarean section. Could she really be "Zhu Ziqing," the woman Tan Haoyu thought was long dead?

If that were truly the case, then why did she leave Tan Haoyu? And who made her leave? These questions swirled in Zhu Ziqing's mind, becoming increasingly confused and giving her a growing headache. She patted her head, deciding to put it off for now. Once she found clues and verified the truth, she would naturally discover her identity.

Zhu Ziqing broke free from Tan Haoyu's warm embrace and said, "Mr. Tan, it's getting late, I need to go and rest."

“Then I’ll go with you.” Tan Haoyu followed without hesitation; he absolutely couldn’t bear to let Zhu Ziqing face everything alone.

"Mr. Tan, I just agreed to date you..." Zhu Ziqing blushed, thinking that things were developing too fast and she wasn't mentally prepared.