Chapter 455: This Week Alone, She Did That Four Times
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Zhao Fengchun closed her eyes in deep thought and patted Wu Qiaoyin"s shoulder to console the girl.
The next morning, Guan Liya donned her sportswear and was about to head out for her morning exercise. As she turned the corner past the Wu family"s villa, she saw Zhao Fengchun and Wu Qiaoyin exiting from the entrance.
Wu Qiaoyin raised her injured hand. The thick bandages were so eye-catching that Guan Liya could not pretend to not see it even if she wanted to.
The night before, her talkative grandson gave him a call and boasted about Qi Chenglin"s good deed.
Guan Liya was therefore well-acquainted with how Wu Qiaoyin got injured.
“Liya!” Zhao Fengchun greeted happily. “Such a coincidence! Going for your morning exercise?”
Guan Liya feigned coincidence and said, “Oh yes, such a coincidence. You guys woke up early.”
Zhao Fengchun saw the opportunity and took it. She immediately raised Wu Qiaoyin"s injured hand and showed Guan Liya. “Qiaoyin"s injured, so I have to bring her to the hospital to change her bandages. You have no idea how shocked I was when she came back. Her hand was completely unrecognizable. She was in so much pain that she cried and couldn"t sleep at night. She just laid down on the bed s.h.i.+vering. Later on, I gave her some painkillers from the doctor, but it didn"t have much of an effect. It was still very painful and she couldn"t sleep the entire night. Looking at her eyebags, I feel so heartbroken.
“You"ve seen her grow up. She"s not the kind who can endure such suffering.” Zhao Fengchun"s body leaned forward unwittingly. “Didn"t you hear any sound last night? That was all her cries. When our housekeeper went to buy vegetables this morning, she found out that everyone along this road heard it.”
The corner of Guan Liya"s mouth twitched. She began to really dislike Zhao Fengchun. Even though she never really thought that Zhao Fengchun was outrageous in the past. She did not know whether Zhao Fengchun changed drastically, or whether she used to be outrageous in the past herself, as that would then lead the two of them to click and be able to hold a conversation. Maybe that was why she thought Zhao Fengchun was a good friend back then.
“I didn"t hear it at all,” Guan Liya smiled on the outside. “We don"t usually go out at night either, and the soundproofing in our house is very good.”
“Hehe,” Zhao Fengchun felt that Guan Liya was playing dumb.
Guan Liya felt that Zhao Fengchun and Wu Qiaoyin were annoying her, so she decided not to be so pa.s.sive. She said, “Chenglin called me and told me everything last night. I told him off for doing something so careless when he"s already an adult. It"s such a shame that he slammed the door on Qiaoyin"s tender hands.”
Guan Liya stepped forward and grabbed Wu Qiaoyin"s injured hand. “Is it still painful now?”
As she asked that, she put on a very caring expression and began poking the bandages.
“AGHHH!” As soon as Guan Liya"s finger landed on the bandage, Wu Qiaoyin let out a scream that was not unlike that of a pig going to the slaughterhouse. It sent waves of pain into Guan Liya"s ears.
She endured it although the shout made her face turn pale. It looked as though she was being worried about Wu Qiaoyin.
“What"s wrong?” Guan Liya touched Wu Qiaoyin"s hand. It was so painful that Wu Qiaoyin was shuddering incessantly. Tears streamed down like a broken tap, and she did not consider whether it was rude or not when she flung away Guan Liya"s hand. Her right hand held her left hand and she was in so much pain that she fell onto the floor and began crying.
“Oh dear, did… did I make it painful?” Guan Liya looked on helplessly and took one step forward as if wanting to take a look at Wu Qiaoyin.
Wu Qiaoyin shuddered in pain and shrieked, “DON"T COME NEAR ME! DON"T COME HERE! It"s painful… It"s too painful…”
“Oh dear, what are we going to do now?” Guan Liya remained where she was and was insistent on inflicting so much pain that Wu Qiaoyin could not walk.
Before their eyes, there were more and more people who came out for their morning exercise. Some of the housekeepers were holding baskets and were heading to buy breakfast, as well as rush to the market and the supermarket. People began increasing in number.
Everyone could not resist taking a look. People who lived there were usually reserved, so they did not crowd over them. Instead, they slowed their pace down as much as practicable so they can look longer if need be.
Those who brought their dog for a walk began walking only around that area.
“Ah, Qiaoyin! Auntie didn"t do it on purpose,” Guan Liya said nervously. Her voice was a bit loud, so those who pretended to just pa.s.s-by the place—and have, in fact, already circled them for G.o.d-knows-how-long—were sent into a frenzy and looked over in unison.
Guan Liya remained rooted where she was. Zhao Fengchun was completely exasperated and her eyes were seething with evil. Wu Qiaoyin may be stupid not to know what was going on, but Zhao Fengchun knew that Guan Liya did it on purpose!
She used to have such a good relations.h.i.+p with Guan Liya in the past, but in the end, Guan Liya fell out with her and even bullied her daughter in front of her!
Guan Liya however, was so courteous and so caring toward Wu Qiaoyin that no one could say a bad word about her. It was like a lump of blood was stuck in one"s throat.
Zhao Fengchun took a deep breath and did not want to make a fool out of herself in public. She helped Wu Qiaoyin up and said, “We"ll go to the hospital.”
“Yes, yes, yes! Go to the hospital!” Guan Liya exclaimed, but she did not move aside. “Oh, Qiaoyin, please be more careful next time.”
Wu Qiaoyin was shuddering and felt so much pain that she was going to collapse. At that point, she really wanted to give Guan Liya a resounding kick.
“Our Chenglin"s hands slipped, but next time, you shouldn"t stubbornly lay on his office door frame. It"s so dangerous!” Guan Liya advised sincerely. “You see, when Chenglin closed the door, he accidentally clipped your hand!”
Zhao Fengchun was so angry that she nearly fainted. Blood rushed to her brain and she rued not being able to drag Wu Qiaoyin up the car fast enough.
Guan Liya said those words on purpose!
None of the people around them were idiots. Guan Liya"s words enabled them to quickly deduce what had happened, even going so far as to embellish their perceived notion of events.
They did not reveal too much through their expression, but they were already looking at the mother-daughter duo with mockery and derision. Those who resided there were all legal wives; mistresses were all living at the "mistress side of town".
Wanting to become a mistress was all fine and dandy since plenty of people within their circle had mistresses. There were all kinds of interference to a couple"s relations.h.i.+p, from younger women s.n.a.t.c.hing men, to men s.n.a.t.c.hing women. For them, it was a mutual desire to outdo one another.
With those in the older generation, their men kept mistresses and were coveted by even more younger women.
Smarter ones would not grovel in the dirt and become the subject of ridicule since those who wanted to become a mistress would only hit up those who were willing to take them as such. Wu Qiaoyin was different—Qi Chenglin did not want her at all, and even Qi Chenglin"s mother stood up for him and did not spare Wu Qiaoyin"s blushes.
Even if she offered herself to him, he still wanted to chase her out!
If her name was already so tarnished, what was her future going to be like?
Zhao Fengchun was embarra.s.sed and angry at all the stares around her. Without bothering to be courteous and polite, she s.h.i.+elded Wu Qiaoyin and walked past Guan Liya without even saying goodbye.
Guan Liya did not mind that. When the two women got into the car and left, Guan Liya stretched her limbs and loosened her neck before beginning the slow jog.
Within those few days, Chang Zhiyuan"s skepticism toward Chang Jingqiu"s status affected him greatly. He was particularly willing to observe each of Chang Jingqiu"s movements. The more he scrutinized them, the more suspicious he became.
On that day, he arranged to meet with Lao Liang at the Red Roof Club. That was the venue of choice because it was secretive enough and did not simply let outsiders in.
For Chang Jingqiu at least, she could not enter the place because she had no members.h.i.+p card, unless they were really unlucky and she came in under someone else"s prestige. Chang Zhiyuan was confident though, that such a coincidence would not occur.
It was not the first time Lao Liang went there either. As one of the few top-cla.s.s private investigators, many gentries requested for his services and arranged their meetings at the Red Roof Club.
Inside the room was only Lao Liang and Chang Zhiyuan. Lao Liang took out an envelope that did not look too thin.
Chang Zhiyuan opened the envelope without further ado and took out a stack of photos. There were not too many, so it could not be described as a thick stack, but all of them were on Chang Jingqiu"s latest movements.
Most of it, however, was that of Chang Jingqiu parking her car at Qilin.
Chang Zhiyuan found it odd. If Chang Jingqiu frequented Qilin that often, Lao Liang could have just told him that. Chang Zhiyuan could not possibly doubt what Lao Liang told him.
On closer inspection however, Chang Zhiyuan saw Ruan Danchen in the photograph.
Beside Ruan Danchen was Qi Chenglin, but he believed that Chang Jingqiu"s focus of attention was on Ruan Danchen.
Within the photographs, Ruan Danchen sometimes appeared in Qilin"s entrance, while at other times she pa.s.sed by Chang Jingqiu"s Z4.
“I had someone tail her and noticed that every couple of days, she would go to Qilin"s entrance. She doesn"t do anything though. She just waits for Ruan Danchen and leaves once Ruan Danchen leaves. This week alone, she did that four times,” Lao Liang explained.
Chang Zhiyuan looked closely at Chang Jingqiu"s in-car expression. He did not know whether he was thinking too much because he was biased against her, but he had the feeling that he could see her resentment.
What did Chang Jingqiu seek to achieve by stationing herself at Qilin"s entrance every day? That resentful glance, could it be because she wanted to dispose of Ruan Danchen and ensure that no one else could expose her true status?
Chang Zhiyuan unwittingly found himself feeding a conspiracy theory. Deep within his heart, he had long disowned Chang Jingqiu as his niece."
“These are all I"ve managed to find out recently, but other than that, there are a few personal matters that are slightly problematic. I"ll keep looking,” Lao Liang explained.
After some thought, he decided to divulge what he could. “I"ve looked into her bank account and noticed that there was quite some movement last month. She spent one-point-eight million alone on cheques. Eight-hundred-thousand was cashed in from J City, and the other one million from B City. On J City"s side, it was to an account by the name of w.a.n.g Lixia, but B City"s remained untraceable. Whoever was able to do this must have good resources.”
As soon as Chang Zhiyuan heard J City, his heart skipped a beat and his eyes widened. “Lao Liang, if you still remember, our Chang family used to live in J City. When she was brought to us as a baby, we were still at J City.
Lao Liang heard that and frowned slightly. He nodded and said, “I know. I"ll pay more attention to J City. From the way they took the money, they seem like normal people. It shouldn"t be a problem finding them.”
After bidding Lao Liang goodbye, Chang Zhiyuan was feeling dejected. He unwittingly drove his car to Grandfather Ruan"s house and looked up at the lit windows.
He noticed that pink paper was stuck onto manhole covers, while the character for "double happiness" was pasted on the walls and the electric poles. After taking another look, he noticed that the "double happiness" word was pasted on each door within Grandfather Ruan"s block.
It was then that he remembered Qi Chenglin and Ruan Danchen"s wedding, which was to be held the next day.
Many families received the invitations except for the Chang family. The reasons for that were well-known to everyone.
During the period when invitations were received, the Chang family was made the subject of veiled mockery by the other families.
That night, Ruan Danchen stayed at Grandfather Ruan"s place, as did Ruan Keshan and his family. Ruan Danchen had no elder brother, so Ruan Zeer would be tasked with carrying her the next morning.
At that point in time, she was watching television in the living room with Grandmother Ruan. There was not a shred of nervousness regarding her wedding the next day.
Ruan Danchen felt that there was nothing to be nervous about. After all, they were like an old couple—she had already gotten married to him long ago, and before they registered their marriage, they were already living under one roof for quite some time.
Nevertheless, the old Ruan couple were very content. They did not expect to see a day where they could witness their own granddaughter"s wedding ceremony.
It was enough for them even though Ruan Danchen had already gotten married.
“Where"s Zeer?” Grandmother Ruan looked all around and noticed that her grandson was nowhere to be seen.
Chen Minxia blushed and said awkwardly, “He"s working out in his room.”
The lad did not need to immerse himself in books, so when she sent some fruits over to Ruan Zeer, she wondered what her son was doing inside. When she finally went in, she saw that he placed his cell phone on top of a cell phone stand, and the entire setup was then placed on the table. Ruan Zeer was on the floor doing push-ups.
The phone was on a video call, with the fat little Qi Youxuan on the other end of the line. He was very focused on counting for Ruan Zeer.
“Why does he want to work out all of a sudden?” Grandmother Ruan mumbled while getting up from her seat. She headed to his bedroom to have a look.
Her grandson was a slim yet handsome young man with a personality that stood out prominently. Could he be thinking of training his body into a muscle man?
After knocking on the door, she heard her grandson"s voice panting from inside, “Come in.”
Grandmother Ruan went in to see her grandson catching his breath on the side of the bed. He held his phone in front of him and was speaking with Qi Youxuan.
Despite their age gap, they seemed to have much to talk about.
“Grandma.”
“Great-Grandma Ruan.”
Both kids greeted the old lady.
Grandmother Ruan gleefully acknowledged them and asked Ruan Zeer, “It"s so late. Why do you suddenly want to work out?”
“Uncle needs to carry Mom tomorrow, so we have to work out in advance!” the little boy said from the video chat.
“Oh dear, does working out for one night have any effect?” Grandmother Ruan looked at her grandson"s bony figure.
Ruan Zeer pulled him his sleeves and flexed his muscles. “There"s some muscle.”
Grandmother Ruan looked at those rather unnoticeable bulges and did not have the heart to put down her grandson. She looked at it and looked away, as she did not have the heart to look at it any longer.
“Uncle, how about you try it now? It"ll be good for you to try and lift Mom so you can know her weight. Just in case you"re not prepared for it and you can"t carry her tomorrow.” He appeared to suggest that his mother was heavy. It was quite embarra.s.sing.
Ruan Zeer thought it was quite logical to do so. He nodded and handed the phone over to his grandmother without saying a word. The little boy voiced out his opinion, “Great-Grandma, please help to hold up the phone so I can see.”
Grandmother Ruan flipped the phone screen outward and followed Ruan Zeer out.
Ruan Zeer smiled bashfully at Ruan Danchen, making her smile back in some confusion. She placed her apple down and asked curiously, “What"s up?”
“Big Sis, how about I try and carry you up tonight?” Ruan Zeer blushed and asked.
Ruan Danchen regarded it as no big deal, so she agreed happily. She moved to the edge of the sofa and thought a bit before saying, “Is the sofa a bit too low? Is it a bit too troublesome?”
Ruan Zeer nodded, to which everyone returned to the bedroom once more. Ruan Danchen sat on top of the bed and waited for Ruan Zeer to crouch down.
“I"m going up now, get ready,” Ruan Danchen reminded.
Ruan Zeer nodded, but Ruan Danchen was still somewhat embarra.s.sed. She said, “I"ve gained some weight because I"m pregnant.”
“It"s okay, your Lil" Bro can do the job.” Ruan Zeer nodded earnestly at him.
Ruan Danchen took it a deep breath and tried to minimize her weight as much as possible before attempting to get onto Ruan Zeer"s back.
The handsome young lad"s face turned red immediately. She was heavy, and her weight made it hard for him to straighten his back.
Ruan Danchen could see that, so she coughed awkwardly. “Um, Zeer, if you can"t do it, you have to tell me. Last time, Song Yu let Qi Chengzhi carry her up. I can tell Chenglin to do the same for me.”
The handsome lad shook his head determinedly. “The bride"s family must carry you.”
Consequently, Ruan Zeer held in his breath and carried Ruan Danchen around the house. Having circled the house, success was within reach, so he finally released his breath.
With great effort, he brought her to the sofa. Ruan Keshan and Chen Minxia prudently, but immediately helped Ruan Danchen sit down. They were afraid that Ruan Zeer"s strength would not be insufficient, thus causing Ruan Danchen to fall or knock onto something.
Before he could even breathe a sigh of relief, he heard some raucousness from the phone.
“The boy doesn"t have enough strength!” Grandfather Qi"s voice resounded.
“How about parking the car at the entrance of the building? Even if you"re using the elevator, you still have to stand there for quite some time. Can you take it?” Qi Zhongxun"s voice was heard too.
“His slim arms and legs are worrying,” said Grandmother Qi.
“Uncle, how about you have a bit more to eat tomorrow morning?”
Ruan Zeer was thoroughly embarra.s.sed to see the entire Qi family on the screen. At some point, they were all looking at him panting and gasping for air.
Ruan Danchen consoled embarra.s.sedly, “Well, it"s all because I"ve put on weight.”
“You"re pregnant. Isn"t that supposed to happen?” Guan Liya asked. “I really can"t see the weight gain at all.”
“When Song Yu got married last year, her stomach was big already. Chengzhi still carried her without breaking a sweat.” Xia Wenna shook her head and looked at Ruan Zeer in encouragement.
"Young lad, you need to work out even harder!" she thought.
“When I carried Danchen, I didn"t think it was heavy at all,” came Qi Chenglin"s calm voice.
Ruan Zeer blushed. “I… I"ll eat more tomorrow. It"ll be okay!”
Through the phone screen, the entire Qi family was making statements one after the other. It was Qi Chenglin that remained quiet as he looked through the screen and quietly watched Ruan Danchen.
She had gone to stay with her family because the wedding was the next day.
Other than the necessary business trips, Qi Chenglin had never been separated from his wife before. He was in so much pain due to not being able to see Ruan Danchen that night.
Even if he was with the whole Qi family, he would still be missing her if she was not beside him.
Whenever there were gatherings at the old manor every Sat.u.r.day, she always sat beside him. A simple stretch of the hand was all it took for him to reach her waist, and if he exerted a bit more strength, he was able to pull her into his embrace.
“Mom! I miss you!” Qi Youxuan was at the foreground of the screen. He said those words pitiably, full of emotion.
“You"ll see me tomorrow and you"ll even be my flower boy,” Ruan Danchen smiled and said. “Sleep earlier. You need to wake up early tomorrow. If you sleep now, you"ll see me first thing tomorrow.”
The little guy felt that it was quite logical to do so. He nodded and complained about his troubles—he ate very little that day just so he could look good in his suit.
Ruan Danchen yearned to caress the boy"s face. “Be good. You"ll have a feast tomorrow at the wedding.”
The little boy immediately realized that it was a good opportunity to eat lots of meat, as his father would be too busy being the groom.
Qi Youxuan was too unwilling to part with Ruan Danchen. He went to sleep only when Ruan Danchen hung up.
Grandmother Ruan urged Ruan Danchen to sleep as well. “You need to wake up at four o"clock tomorrow morning.”
Ruan Danchen tidied everything up and went to the room to lie on her bed, but the instant her head hit the pillow, her phone rang.
She saw that the caller was Qi Chenglin and he even used the video calling option.
Ruan Danchen smiled and picked it up. She saw Qi Chenglin sitting on the bed, and it was certain that he rushed to the bedroom after just hanging up.
When Ruan Danchen was with the Ruan family out in the living room, she really did not feel nervous at all. She was not at all self-conscious that she was going to be in a wedding ceremony the next day.
After lying down on the bed alone, nervousness began to creep in.
She was used to sleeping with Qi Chenglin on one bed, so it was hard for her to fall asleep when she was alone.
She was so used to Qi Chenglin"s embrace at night even if she could not sense it during her slumber. When she woke up, her back would be facing him and she would be at one end of the bed, but her back still felt incredibly warm because it was pressed to his chest. Being tightly locked in his arms made her feel like she was surrounded by a ball of silk.
Even if it was summertime, Qi Chenglin would rather turn down the temperature on the air-conditioner so she would not feel hot. She would feel cold instead, and that would necessitate him bringing her into his embrace.
If Qi Chenglin was on the occasional business trip, Qi Youxuan would bring his pillow over to sleep with Ruan Danchen.
She did not sleep alone too frequently ever since she moved into Prestige Residence.
It became ma.s.sively uncomfortable for her.
Qi Chenglin noticed that she was already lying down, so he followed suit as well. He used his bent arm as a pillow and chuckled s.e.xily. “Miss me?”
“I"m not used to sleeping alone now. I never felt that way before,” Ruan Danchen answered honestly. “I"m glad it"s only for tonight.”
“Husband and wife need to be separated just for a wedding. It"s not good at all.” Qi Chenglin"s thick brows frowned. He felt that such a move was inhumane. “Do you want me to go there now?”
Ruan Danchen rolled her eyes at him. “It"s not like I"m living alone now! If you come, you"ll be stopped. Are you going to climb through the window? It"s ten floors up!”
Qi Chenglin pursed his lips and thought to himself, "Thank Heavens it"s only one night."
He applied for leave and tossed all of his work to Qi Chengzhi and Jiang Yuan. After the wedding was done, he would bring Ruan Danchen on a honeymoon immediately and leave their little boy at the old manor.
As he thought of that, he remembered how Qi Youxuan did not even attempt to conceal his happiness. Evidently, it was because the little boy was finally freed from continuous surveillance and could eat meat as much as he wanted.
Qi Chenglin"s frigid gaze swept over and made Qi Youxuan turn his expression into one that was reluctant to part with them.
When that happened, Qi Chenglin chuckled. No one would believe the little boy!
“Let"s hang up. Sleep earlier. You need to come over early tomorrow morning,” Ruan Danchen blushed slightly and said.
Qi Chenglin smiled. All of a sudden, Ruan Danchen took the phone and placed it to her lower face. “Let this be your goodnight kiss for now.”
Once she said that, her screen turned black, and after some time, the image cleared up again to reveal Qi Chenglin"s face. It was obvious he had copied her and placed the screen to his lower face.
He was smiling particularly warmly and handsomely then.
After saying goodnight, Qi Chenglin hung up only after Ruan Danchen hung up.
Instead of sleeping, he sat back up and narrowed his eyes in deep thought. He ran to find some paper and quickly wrote something down. He then took the paper and went to the living room.
He then saw the supposedly-asleep, pajamclad Qi Youxuan coming out of the room and complaining to the old lady that he was hungry.
Qi Chenglin sn.i.g.g.e.red, and Qi Youxuan then shook his fatty stomach. “I… I came out…to go to the toilet!”
“You came out at just the right time.” Qi Chenglin waved the A4 paper in his hand. “I consulted a nutritionist and this is the menu that was given. During the ten days that we aren"t here, eat according to this. I heard it can make you lose five kilos after ten days. When we"re back, I"ll weigh you. If you are five kilos lesser, I"ll let you have three days where you can eat meat in normal portions. If you put on more weight instead of losing it, HEHE…”
Qi Youxuan shuddered. His miserable life flashed before his eyes. His dad was going on a honeymoon but did not let him take it easy. At that exact moment, he felt as though he suffered much more than Little Cabbage.
“Youxuan, Youxuan, won"t know when he"ll go hungry or have food,” the little boy sang the theme song from The Adventures of Sanmao, but changed the lyrics slightly and ran off crying.
Qi Chenglin, “…”
Everyone else in the Qi family, “…”
“He knows a lot of old songs,” Qi Chenglin remarked leisurely. “When I went to the hospital, he sang Little Cabbage. Now he"s singing Sanmao and even knows how to change the lyrics.”
The enabler—Grandmother Qi—was particularly proud. “My grandson is truly smart!”
Qi Chengzhi, “…”
QI Chenglin, “…”
The next morning, Qi Chenglin—along with Yan Beicheng and the others—came to the Ruan family home with gusto.
The challenges were easily overcome and they soon went in to meet the bride. Qi Chenglin looked at Ruan Zeer"s arms and was worried about Ruan Danchen"s safety. He decided to let Ruan Zeer carry Ruan Danchen out of the room only and he would take over from there.
Ruan Zeer breathed a sigh of relief after finally having the pressure lifted from his shoulders.
Qi Chenglin pressure on his waist after taking Ruan Danchen onto his back. He noticed that she put on some weight indeed, and it was unfair to blame Ruan Zeer for not being up to the task.