Heart Stealer

Ever since Qiu Xue got married, Qiu Rongyao and Mrs. Qiu have been worried about their precious daughter all the time, worried that she has been wronged in the Xiao family.

They specifically asked Sister Zhen to go to the Xiao family to take care of Qiuxue, hoping to give their daughter more love and protection.

Sister Zhen is a hardworking and kind person. She does her best to help Qiuxue with housework so that Qiuxue doesn't have to get up early every day to light the fire and cook.

Qiuxue is a sensible and filial child. She knows how good her mother-in-law is to her, and hopes to make her mother-in-law and father-in-law more satisfied through her own efforts.

Even with the help of Sister Zhen, Qiu Xue would still take the initiative to learn from her mother-in-law how to cook the home-cooked dishes that Xiao Tuobang likes.

She carefully thought about the preparation of each dish, hoping that he would enjoy the meal and feel the warmth of home.

In her spare time, Qiuxue often accompanies her parents-in-law to visit various famous attractions in the city.

She took good care of the two elderly people, sharing the little joys of life with them to ease their loneliness.

Whether at work or at home, Xiao Tuobang and Qiu Xue always appear to be in love, and there is nothing wrong with them.

They care about and support each other, like a model couple.

However, whenever they returned to their own wedding room, they immediately became expressionless, as if they were strangers.

This situation has been going on for some time, and Xiao's mother began to realize that something was wrong with her son.

One night, Xiao's mother couldn't help but talk about this with her husband: "Old Xiao, I recently found that there seems to be something wrong with our Tuobang."

Father Xiao asked in confusion: "What's going on? What's wrong?"

Mother Xiao frowned and said, "This child seems to be worried lately, and his attitude towards Qiu Xue is also strange."

After a moment's thought, Father Xiao replied, "Maybe it's because of too much work pressure. Young people are bound to be in a bad mood sometimes."

Mother Xiao shook her head and said worriedly, "But I don't think things are that simple. Weren't they doing well when they first got married? Why do they feel like strangers now?"

Father Xiao comforted his wife, "Don't worry too much. Maybe the couple is having a quarrel. It will be fine after a while."

Mother Xiao sighed and said helplessly, "I hope so... But I always feel that there must be something wrong here. We have to pay more attention."

Father Xiao nodded in agreement.

The couple decided to secretly observe their son and daughter-in-law's actions to see if they could find a solution to the problem.

After breakfast, Xiao's mother and father sat in the living room drinking tea.

Qiu Xue changed into a new set of clothes and went downstairs carrying a brown backpack.

She smiled and said to her parents-in-law, "Dad, Mom, I'm going to celebrate my grandpa's 80th birthday today. If you have anything, please call me and Tuobang."

Mother Xiao put down her teacup, stood up, walked over to Qiuxue, took her hand and said, "Qiuxue, why don't you take Tuobang with you when you go to celebrate your grandpa's birthday?"

Qiu Xue smiled and replied, "Mom and Dad, Tuo Bang said he has to meet an important client today, so I can go alone."

Not long after Qiu Xue left, Xiao Tuobang came downstairs dressed in home clothes. He poured himself a cup of hot tea and sat on the sofa to savor it slowly.

Xiao Tuobang picked up the remote control and casually turned to the sports channel. The TV was broadcasting a CBA basketball game.

Mother Xiao shook her head helplessly, sighed softly, then turned to look at her husband beside her, drank tea with him and chatted.

At this moment, Xiao's mother suddenly seemed to remember something and asked in confusion, "Tuobang, didn't your wife tell me that you had a very important client to meet today? Why are you still at home now?"

Xiao Tuobang was shocked. Oh no! His lie was exposed by his mother.

However, he did not panic, but quickly adjusted his mentality and prepared to cover up the lie.

Xiao Tuobang cleared his throat and replied calmly, "Mom, that client just called and said their flight needs to be rescheduled due to weather conditions. There's nothing urgent at the company today, so I decided to take a day off."

Father Xiao seemed to see through Xiao Tuobang's lies. He said to his son earnestly, "Tuobang, you can fool anyone, but you can't fool us. After all, we know you best. I can tell from your eyes that you seem to be hiding something. You and Qiuxue just got married not long ago. Did something unpleasant happen between you? Why do you always stay in the study until late at night?"

Xiao Tuobang's heart tightened, and he quickly explained, "Dad, Mom, you misunderstood. Actually, there is no problem between Qiuxue and me. We went out for our honeymoon some time ago, and the work piled up. I was worried that it would affect Qiuxue's rest, so I chose to go to the study to deal with these things at night."

Father Xiao frowned and said to Xiao Tuobang in a serious tone, "Tuobang, if you really have so much work to deal with, then you should have finished it in the past few days, right? Starting tonight, you can't enter the study anymore, understand?"

Xiao Tuobang lowered his head and remained silent.

Mother Xiao said worriedly, "Son, Qiuxue is a good daughter-in-law. She is gentle, kind, and considerate. Our family is blessed to have a daughter-in-law like her! How could there be any deep hatred between husband and wife? You two should stop quarreling. I saw Qiuxue didn't seem to drive when she left the house just now. Go find her quickly, take her home, and apologize to her."

Although Xiao Tuobang was somewhat reluctant, when he thought of his parents' eager eyes, he couldn't refuse.

He nodded slightly, turned around and slowly walked upstairs, opened the wardrobe, changed into a brand new suit, carefully adjusted himself in front of the mirror, and prepared to go out to look for Qiu Xue.

When Qiuxue arrived at her grandfather's house, Mrs. Qiu immediately pulled her aside and asked anxiously, "Qiuxue, why didn't Tuobang come back with you? Look, those relatives are all pointing and talking behind us."

Qiu Xue's heart skipped a beat, and she explained with a guilty conscience, "Mom, Tuobang said he was going to meet an important client..."

Qiu Rongyao frowned and asked in confusion, "Meeting clients? That's not right. I don't remember meeting clients being part of the company's schedule for today."

Qiu Xue's expression became even more awkward when she heard this, and she stammered, "Um... maybe I remembered it wrongly. Mom and Dad, Tuobang has been really busy lately, so..."

Just when Qiuxue was at a loss, she suddenly heard a loud shout from the door: "Mr. Tuobang is here!"

Qiu Xue was delighted and quickly turned to look at the door, only to see Xiao Tuobang walking in with big strides.

He stood tall and straight, dressed in a suit and tie, with a gentle smile on his face, like a bright ray of sunshine, instantly dispelling the haze in Qiu Xue's heart.

Xiao Tuobang smiled and greeted Qiu Rongyao and Mrs. Qiu, then walked over to Qiu Xue and patted her shoulder gently: "I'm sorry, honey, I'm late."

Qiu Xue looked at Xiao Tuobang gratefully, tears glistening in her eyes. Her lips trembled slightly as she whispered, "Thank you, Tuobang."

Xiao Tuobang smiled gently and said softly, "You're welcome. I will always be with you."

Seeing this, Mrs. Qiu smiled with relief and said to the relatives around her, "Look, Tuobang is here. Some people were saying that Qiuxue and Tuobang were having a conflict, but now it seems that they are doing well."

Qiu Xue looked at Xiao Tuobang gratefully, and then the two smiled at each other, but soon avoided each other's gaze tacitly.

The moment their eyes met, it seemed as if thousands of words were flowing between them, but they both tacitly chose silence.

Qiu Xue and Xiao Tuobang walked towards their grandfather hand in hand, wishing him a happy birthday and greeting him.

Grandpa looked at their loving appearance and showed a satisfied smile on his face. He wished them happiness and longevity.

After wishing grandpa a happy birthday, Xiao Tuobang and Qiu Xue took a car home together.

Along the way, both of them were silent, each immersed in their own thoughts.

Xiao Tuobang was thinking about what happened at the birthday party today, and Qiu Xue's performance made him a little dissatisfied.

He felt that Qiu Xue was not serious enough when acting, and his family almost saw through the conflict between them.

He couldn't help but break the silence: "Qiuxue, can you act more seriously in the future? You almost got caught today! And my parents can see that there's a conflict between us."

When Qiu Xue heard what Xiao Tuobang said, she felt a little aggrieved.

She felt that she had tried her best, but still failed to meet Xiao Tuobang's requirements.

She replied helplessly: "Tuobang, what do you say we should do?"

Xiao Tuobang sighed. He knew his tone was a bit harsh, but he also hoped Qiu Xue could understand his concerns.

"What else can we do? We should do the same thing now as before."

The car soon arrived at the door of the house. After getting out of the car, Qiu Xue took the initiative to hold Xiao Tuobang's arm and a bright smile appeared on her face.

She knew that they had to appear loving in front of their family.

As soon as she entered the house, Qiu Xue saw that Xiao's mother and father had prepared a table full of sumptuous dishes.

She said happily, "Wow, it smells so good!" Then she pulled Xiao Tuobang to sit at the dining table.

While eating, Xiao Tuobang and Qiu Xue deliberately acted like they were in love.

Xiao Tuobang kept picking up food for Qiuxue, and Qiuxue cooperated and ate it all.

Seeing this scene, Xiao's mother and father showed relieved smiles on their faces.

After dinner, Xiao Tuobang played chess with his father, while his mother sat on the sofa, holding Qiuxue's hand and chatting.

Mother Xiao asked Qiuxue, "Qiuxue, have you two been having any trouble lately?"

Qiu Xue smiled awkwardly. She didn't know how to answer Xiao's mother's question.

She didn't want to worry her mother-in-law, but she didn't want to lie. She thought for a moment and said, "Mom, don't worry. We've reconciled."

Xiao's mother nodded. She knew that there would inevitably be some friction between husband and wife, but as long as it could be resolved in time, it would be fine.

She said to Qiu Xue, "That's good. Husband and wife should understand and tolerate each other."

Qiu Xue nodded obediently: "Yes, Mom, I understand."

At this time, Xiao Tuobang came over and said to Qiu Xue, "Wife, it's getting late, let's go to bed."

Qiu Xue stood up and walked into the bedroom with Xiao Tuobang.

After entering the room and closing the door, Xiao Tuobang breathed a sigh of relief and said to Qiuxue, "Qiuxue, thank you for your cooperation just now."

Qiu Xue smiled and said, "Why thank me? This is all for the sake of reassuring my parents."

Xiao Tuobang waited until his parents had rested, then stood up gently and prepared to go out to the study.

When he reached the door, Qiu Xue suddenly sighed and asked, "Tuo Bang, are you really going to keep going like this?"

Xiao Tuobang stopped, lowered his head, and said slowly: "Qiuxue, Junior Sister is still alive. Now... now I just want to find her as soon as possible."

After saying that, Xiao Tuobang gently pushed the door open and slowly closed it.

Qiu Xue stared blankly at the closed door, her heart filled with sadness and loss.

She murmured silently, "Tuobang, I know there are problems between us, but I firmly believe that we still love each other. If you can't let go of your concern for Sufang, then I am willing to wait. No matter how long it takes, I will be here to protect you silently. Because I love you, Tuobang."