Chapter 387: It"s Agonizing, I Won"t Walk Alongside You Guys In The Future
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Xiao Muran nodded prudently before going to play with the others.
Wei Ziqi gave Qi Chenglin a complacent look as if trying to say, "See? If your son isn"t as good as me, then don"t even bother to try and court my daughter."
There was only one thing going through everyone"s mind now—childish men!
Qi Youxuan took out a piece of tissue paper from the tissue box to wipe his mouth after he had his stomach full. He then climbed down the chair and ran towards Little Muran. “Mumu, I"m going to treat you well now!”
Qi Chenglin s.h.i.+fted his gaze away from Qi Youxuan slowly before replying to Wei Ziqi. “I have confidence in my son.”
“…” Wei Ziqi was left speechless.
Grandmother Qi was smiling at them, thinking that Qi Youxuan had a bright future ahead of him. If she was fortunate to live long enough, she might even be able to witness Youxuan"s marriage with his future wife!
The lunch ended in an enigmatic atmosphere between the two future families-in-law. Then, they left together to start paying New Year calls.
Qi Youxuan followed them as he would not miss any opportunity to receive more red packets.
Their first stop was the Han family manor. Grandmother Han welcomed them enthusiastically and gave red packets to the three children happily, feeling envious as she fixed her gaze on Little Muche.
“Look at you. Ziqi had two children now and even Muche was getting older,” Grandmother Han glared at Han Zhuoli after giving all the red packets away.
Han Zhuoli did not dare to respond to her. However, Qi Youxuan pa.s.sed the red packets to Ruan Danchen deliberately to show off and said, “Mom, help me take these red packets for safekeeping.”
Grandmother Han was unable to remain calm now. Her initial thunderous voice became even louder as she spoke, “Chenglin, you"ve decided on your marriage, is it?”
“I had planned to marry Danchen all these while,” Qi Chenglin held Ruan Danchen"s hand and answered confidently.
Grandmother Han was getting anxious now. “Han Zhuoli, can you stop being a disappointment and live up to my expectations? Youxuan has a stepmother now but you don"t even have a girlfriend.”
Qi Youxuan was unhappy about Grandmother Han referring to Ruan Danchen as his stepmother. She was his biological mother after all, so he corrected Grandmother Han. “Great-grandma, she is my biological mother, not my stepmother.”
“Ah? Biological mother? What happened?” Grandmother Han raised her voice and asked.
Qi Chenglin then gave her a simple explanation. “It was a misunderstanding from the past. Anyway, I"ve reunited with Danchen now and had explained it to my family and Youxuan.”
Grandmother Han was a fan of Korean drama, and she was especially fond of reading romance novels. However, she could not stare at the screen for too long as it would induce discomfort such as headaches and blurry vision, so she instructed someone else to download audiobooks for her. After that, she would feel nothing but joy and pleasure when she listened to the audiobook of romance novels every single day.
After listening to Qi Chenglin"s explanation, Grandmother Han immediately pictured a reunion after a break-up due to misunderstandings.
“Aiyoh, your child had grown up so much and you even reunited with your wife. That"s good, that"s good. Zhuo"zi, you"re not bad looking yourself too but why can"t you find a girlfriend until now? Even Chengzhi has a child now! Did you know how embarra.s.sed I felt whenever I went out? I always saw the others hugging their grandchildren and playing with them outside, and I didn"t even dare to amuse and play with them because I feared that they"d ask if my grandson has a girlfriend or not. That would make me feel so embarra.s.sed and humiliated.” Grandmother Han glanced at the three beautiful children in front of her, feeling nothing but affection and envy no matter how she stared at them.
Grandmother Han"s nagging made Han Zhuoli uneasy. He kept signaling the others to leave quickly so that he could use that as an excuse to escape from this terrible situation.
“Yes, you"re right,” Chu Zhaoyang, who remained silent all this while, voiced out suddenly. His deep voice sounded especially calm and steady.
Grandmother Han held onto Chu Zhaoyang"s hand as though she finally found a soulmate who understood her and sighed. “Ah, I don"t even know if I can live long enough to see Zhuo"zi marry his wife.”
In the end, Qi Chengzhi remained loyal to his friends and said that they needed to pay other families a New Year call. Han Zhuoli then quickly left alongside them in relief.
Han Zhuoli pointed his finger at Chu Zhaoyang angrily the moment they stepped out of the house. “Lao Chu, you"re not loyal to your friends at all!”
Chu Zhaoyang gave him a haughty stare with his deep eyes. “Ha ha.”
Chu Zhaoyang normally would not act spitefully to others if he was not provoked. Song Yu was well aware of his behavior so she took a glance at Yan Beicheng, who was laughing at the side. It was obvious that he knew what was going on between Chu Zhaoyang and Han Zhuoli.
“Lao Chu"s family was urging him to get married too and they introduced a lady for him to go on a blind date. However, that lady commented that he was too boring. He was silent throughout the whole meal and the most that he mentioned was “Alright”. So, the lady went back home and complained, saying that he shouldn"t go on a blind date without the intention to do so. Wasn"t that humiliating? Auntie went straight to the company after hearing the complaint and coincidentally, Zhuo"zi was there too and gloating at the side,” Chu Zhaoyang grinned as he explained to them.
Han Zhuoli had forgotten completely about this matter. Now that Yan Beicheng reminded him, he immediately pointed at Chu Zhaoyang and lashed out. “Dang, you"re a cunning b*stard! It was just a miniature matter and yet you"re bearing the grudge now. You"re such a narrow-minded person!”
“Ha ha.” Chu Zhaoyang straightened his tie in a decorous way before moving his long, slender legs, entered the car and drove away.
Whenever when they visited a family, Qi Youxuan would always find opportunities to call his mother. It was obvious the reasons why he called his mother were just excuses; he merely wanted to show off that he had a mother.
Even when they were outside and met with anyone, disregarding whether they were acquaintances or strangers, Qi Youxuan would call out to his mother deliberately.
Ruan Danchen would lower her gaze and reply to him every single time tirelessly.
The kid was out of excuses in the end. He called out to his mother again and when Ruan Danchen lowered her gaze and asked him what was going on, he hesitated for quite some time, trying desperately to come up with a new reason but failed. He blushed and answered, “Nothing.”
Qi Chenglin pouted. To be honest, he was getting annoyed at Qi Youxuan"s constant yelling which made him feel like there was callus formation in his ears now.
Ruan Danchen grinned instead and lifted Qi Youxuan. “You can call me as many times as you want, I love hearing it.”
“He"s heavy.” Qi Chenglin frowned.
“It"s okay, I want to carry him.” Ruan Danchen smiled.
The kid felt embarra.s.sed instead and said, “Mom, put me down, I can walk on my own.”
Ruan Danchen noticed that the kid"s gaze kept s.h.i.+fting towards Little Muran who was lying in Wei Ziqi"s embosom and understood his concern, so she put him down on the ground.
Qi Chenglin then received a phone call from Jiang Yuan. Other than “alright”, Qi Chenglin remained silent throughout the call and hung up.
Qi Chenglin lowered his head and explained to her, “I instructed Jiang Yuan to visit the Shen family and pa.s.s them a cheque. That cheque was considered as payment for the university"s tuition and foster fees for these past few years. Didn"t Shen Jialiang think that you owe him money? The debt is paid now. Since Liu Ronghua didn"t take much responsibility in raising you, we don"t owe her anymore after they received the cheque.”
Ruan Danchen realized that the last sentence Qi Chenglin mentioned was meant to release her burden, so she nodded after understood his intentions. She was not particularly curious regarding her biological parents since she had a home and lived a prosperous life now.
She did not inquire regarding the sum of that cheque but guessed that it would be a humongous amount since Qi Chenglin wanted the Shen family to keep this matter as a secret.
She felt apologetic towards Qi Chenglin since he had to give such a huge amount of money to the Shen family for free. Even though the money was considered little for Qi Chenglin, she felt utterly disgusted.
Qi Chenglin squeezed her hand just as the thought crossed her mind. She lifted her gaze and met his gentle, bright eyes and nice, vaguely smiling nice lips. His facial expression then appeared mischievous and made his initial stern features looked younger instantly.
“I"m not buying a wife,” came Qi Chenglin"s soft answer, a little croaky but relaxed nonetheless.
Ruan Danchen grinned. “I rather you don"t spend even a penny, I"ll sell myself to you for free.”
“That won"t do. My wife is priceless,” Qi Chenglin said with a smile on his face.
“Ah, this couple is too much for me to handle!” Wei Ziqi was fed up with Qi Chenglin and Ruan Danchen. Absent-mindedly, they had been showing their affections publicly since they exited the Wei family manor and as they walked toward the parking lot.
Han Zhuoli nodded his head indignantly. “Three pairs of couples came out today. It"s agonizing, I won"t walk alongside you guys again in the future!”
It was too unfair for him. In front of him were Qi Chenglin and Ruan Danchen whose actions could make bachelors suffer in agony, whereas behind him was Wei Ziqi who loved his daughter a little too much like she was his dear life. He could not live in peace and quiet now!
Ruan Danchen blushed upon hearing their playful teases and she sheepishly avoided direct eye contact with them.
Qi Chenglin fought the urge to lean forward and kiss her blus.h.i.+ng cheeks.
When Ruan Danchen accompanied Qi Youxuan to buy new clothes for the New Year festival, she bought a red-colored trench coat as he insisted her to buy the same colored outfit as him.
Ruan Danchen normally wore a simple and plain outfit with makeup so light that no one would be able to notice it and thought that she did not wear any makeup at all.
Now, she used a brighter lipstick to match the red colored outfit, which made her appear beautiful and glamorous. One would describe her as pretty and flirtatious with her current fas.h.i.+on.
Qi Chenglin was a man without scruples and he certainly did not care whether the bachelors behind him could handle their affections or not, but Ruan Danchen was a very bashful woman. He was thick-skinned enough to endure the criticism or playful teases made especially by Han Zhuoli and the gang, but he feared Ruan Danchen would be too embarra.s.sed to appear in front of the gang again, so he had no choice but to contain his urge.
Qi Chenglin entered the car and saw Ruan Danchen and Qi Youxuan sitting at the back of the car. His annoyance toward his son was unrestrained when he took a peek at the back through the rearview mirror.
Qi Chenglin would certainly yank Ruan Danchen into his embosom for some lip-dancing if they were alone without that little third wheeler"s presence.
Ruan Danchen felt his gaze and noticed his annoyed glare toward the unknowing Qi Youxuan. Then, he s.h.i.+fted his gaze to meet hers after feeling her stare on him, which radiated a burning heat immediately upon eye contact.
Ruan Danchen was scorched by his burning gaze which resulted in rosy cheeks. Then, she glared back at him before avoiding his gaze in embarra.s.sment, but she kept recalling it and wanted to take a look at him again. Moreover, she was curious and wanted to know if he was fixing his gaze on her.
True enough, she noticed his burning stare lingered still when she eventually lifted her gaze. His gaze was scorching hot as though wanting to swallow her whole, and it made her body tremble.
Heat seared through her body as she was fully immersed in his burning gaze. She suddenly jumped in shock at the sudden loud, blaring car horn sound.
She turned her head and saw Han Zhuoli stopped his car beside theirs. He slid down the car window and asked, “Are you leaving or not?”
He drove away right after.
“Let"s leave now,” insisted a fl.u.s.tered Ruan Danchen.
Though Qi Chenglin was reluctant to s.h.i.+ft his gaze away from Ruan Danchen"s pinkish face, he eventually started driving away.
After their visits to pay a New Year call to every family and Qi Youxuan grabbing every opportunity to show off that he had a mother, Grandmother Qi received a lot of phone calls to congratulate her at home in the evening. This induced exhilaration in Grandmother Qi and she even promised to deliver countless wedding invitation cards to each family who called.
Grandmother Qi then made some calculations with her fingers and realized that Grandmother Han had not given her a call to congratulate her, so she took the initiative and called Grandmother Han personally. “Xiao Han, did my two grandsons bring their wives and children to pay you a New Year call?”
Grandmother Han held the phone at home, gritted her teeth out of annoyance and took a bite at the apple with all her might. Grandmother Qi had been showing off persistently since Qi Chengzhi finally got married.
It would be fine if Grandmother Qi showed off to everyone equally, but she aimed all firepower purposely at Grandmother Han after all her cannons roared at the same time. Qi Chengzhi and Qi Chenglin came out directly from the Qi family manor with their families, right? However, Grandmother Qi had to emphasize that two of her grandsons brought their wives and children.
These two grandmothers were compet.i.tive even though they were good friends; comparative and would argue every single time they met. They had known each other for a long time, and they started bickering and complaining when they were students, but for some reason, their friends.h.i.+p was not affected at all until now. The friends.h.i.+p between them was perceived as a miracle by others.
Grandmother Han chewed the apple for quite some time deliberately before replying, “They came, and left for quite a while too.”
“Hahahahaha…are you surprised? I didn"t inform you before so are you alright after hearing Youxuan calling out to his mother?” Grandmother Qi asked happily.
“Hahahahahahaha.” Grandmother Han gave up responding to her.
Grandmother Han had been showing off for the past decades that she got married earlier than Grandmother Qi, and even her son"s marriage was earlier than Grandmother Qi"s son too. She did not expect that she would lose when it came down to her grandson!
“Hahahaha! I was thinking that it"d be extremely difficult for my second grandson to find a wife and feared that my future granddaughter-in-law would be unkind to Youxuan since she wasn"t Youxuan"s biological mother, right? Even though my grandson was acting restrained normally and there wouldn"t be a second time when he was introduced to a lady, he was actually thinking about his son"s mother! Look at him, finally marrying his wife and reunited with his family. Extremely good news!” Grandmother Qi laughed complacently.
Grandmother Han hung up the call after listening to Grandmother Qi"s constant bragging for quite some time and called Han Zhuoli"s father.
Han Xianghui was paying a New Year call at the Qi family manor when he picked up the call. He only had time to say “Mom” before Grandmother Han bombarded him with a roar through the phone. “I"m telling you, don"t play around with those virtually nonsenses of properly-matched-marriage. Find a lady for Zhuoli now, I want to hug my great-grandchild!”
Grandmother Han hung up the phone angrily after yelling through the phone. She was in a better mood now after releasing all her melancholy that acc.u.mulated in her heart.
However, Grandfather Qi and Grandmother Qi heard her clearly since her voice was thunderous enough to penetrate through the phone.
Han Xianghui felt so awkward and embarra.s.sed in an instant, especially when Grandmother Qi who sat opposite him grinned proudly while munching through the sunflower seeds.
It was the fifth day of the lunar month when Qi Chenglin and Ruan Danchen were having a lie-in at home. Then, her phone rang; it was the reminding alarm of her memorandum. Her curiosity led her to turn on the phone, and she suddenly recalled that she had a senior high gathering in the afternoon.
Since Ruan Danchen had promised to attend the gathering, naturally she would not renege at the last minute, so she put her phone down to get off the bed.
Qi Chenglin was awakened by the alarm too. He opened his eyes slightly and his arm around Ruan Danchen tightened. Then, he was on top of her, burying his face directly beside her neck and asked while exhaling, “What happened?”
His voice was lazy and sleepy as if acting coquettishly, which sounded especially intoxicating to her. His warm breaths were caressing the most sensitive spot on her neck which made her whole body flush pink in an instant.
Qi Chenglin tried his best to pull Ruan Danchen as close to his embosom as possible, and he then a.s.sumed a lateral sleeping position and rested his palm on her back. The fact that his palm was merely running up and down her spine coaxed s.h.i.+vers out of her as heat engulfed her body.
“I love the pinkish look on you,” Qi Chenglin mumbled with a deep and croaky voice as if not fully awakened yet.
When Ruan Danchen was not in her sound mind during his gentle caressing, he lifted her and inserted himself into her.
Ruan Danchen let out a quivered moan and held onto him tightly as her lips pressed against his shoulder firmly.