"Don’t worry, Second Daughter-in-law Jing is a smart woman. She won’t do anything that harms her own interests," Mr. Xie said with conviction. "She made a wise choice when it ca to that business with Zhang Hongying."
Mrs. Xie fell silent. She couldn’t deny Xu Chunyan’s role in this. While Xu Chunyan had acted out of self-interest, at least that self-interest had led her to wisely switch allegiances. If Xu Chunyan had helped Zhang Hongying, the family might have truly fallen apart.
Looking refreshed after his shower, Qin Xiang stood at the doorway and called out to Qin i, "Little sis."
Qin i opened her eyes and turned to look at Qin Xiang. He was waving at her, gesturing for her to co over.
"My brother’s calling ," Qin i said to Jie Jingchen.
"Go on," Jie Jingchen said, stopping his massage and patting her on the shoulder.
Qin i stood and walked over to Qin Xiang. After a mont’s thought, Jie Jingchen followed her.
"What’s up?" Qin i asked.
"I’ve got sothing for you." Qin Xiang turned and went inside. Qin i glanced back at Jie Jingchen, who had followed them, before stepping over the threshold into the room.
"What is it? Don’t tell it’s money," Qin i asked casually. ’Ever since I ca back to the Xie family with Jingchen, all I’ve gotten is either cash or savings passbooks. My mother-in-law and sister-in-law are like a pair of cash-dispensing gods. With money to spend and savings in the bank, I don’t even feel like working hard anymore. I just want to lie flat.’
’But considering what the future holds, if I lie flat now, I’ll fall behind the tis and be completely washed up.’
The corner of Qin Xiang’s mouth twitched. ’Has her mouth been blessed by a psychic or sothing?’ he wondered. ’She guessed it right on the first try.’
Qin Xiang pulled a thick wad of ten-yuan bills from his army-green bag. "This is your dowry from Grandpa and Granny."
Qin i was stunned. She took the money numbly. ’Experience tells this is a thousand yuan. People from Yangcheng City are notoriously patriarchal, obsessed with having sons, especially elderly folks like Grandpa and Granny. For a granddaughter’s wedding, even a single ten-yuan bill as a dowry wouldn’t have seed stingy to .’
’But a thousand yuan? That’s completely unexpected.’
’A thousand yuan in this day and age, especially from the countryside! It’s a fortune!’
’People earn work points just to barely have enough food and clothing for the year. Saving money is basically impossible. How on earth did the original Qin i’s grandparents manage to save this much?’
’I’m reminded of Jie Jingchen’s grandpa and granny. Did they also swindle their daughters-in-law? Jie Jingchen’s granny scamd his first aunt out of her money to give it to her grandson, Jie Anlin. I can understand that kind of patriarchal favoritism. But the original Qin i’s grandparents giving money to *her*, a granddaughter? That I don’t understand.’
For the first ti, the money in Qin i’s hands felt incredibly heavy. ’This is money my grandparents saved by pinching every penny. I don’t feel right taking it.’
"Brother, I can’t take this," Qin i said, trying to hand the money back to Qin Xiang. "I appreciate the thought from Grandpa and Granny, I really do, but I can’t accept this money. Please take it back to them."
"Stop being so dramatic." Qin Xiang shoved the money back into her hands. "Just take it. You’ve been conning them out of their money since we were kids. Acting all polite now just feels hypocritical, even to ."
Qin i glared at Qin Xiang. ’Hypocritical? I’m being completely sincere, okay?’
"I don’t want Grandpa and Granny’s money," Qin i insisted, tossing the cash at Qin Xiang.
Qin Xiang caught it and started stuffing it into his pocket. "If you don’t want it, I’ll take it. When I get ho and they ask, I’ll just tell them you accepted it with a big smile."
Qin i was not about to let that happen. Seeing the money already halfway into his pocket, she lunged forward and snatched it back. "Gim that!"
"I thought you didn’t want it?" Qin Xiang said, grinning at her.
"I don’t want it, but letting you get it for free? Dream on." Qin i glared at Qin Xiang. ’Since he’s going to tell them I took it anyway, I might as well actually take it.’
Qin Xiang shrugged nonchalantly and pulled out two more wads of bills from his bag. "This is your dowry from Mom and Dad."
Qin i accepted it gleefully. ’Money from Mom and Dad? I can take that with a clear conscience. Two thousand yuan, just like that. They’re so generous!’
"This is your dowry from our eldest brother and sister-in-law." Qin Xiang then handed Qin i two more wads of cash from the bag.
Qin i was taken aback. ’Eldest brother is giving two thousand yuan? Doesn’t his wife have anything to say about that?’ "Please thank our eldest brother and sister-in-law for ."
"And this is your dowry from our second brother and his wife." Qin Xiang handed her another two wads of bills.
Qin i accepted it, feeling a bit numb now. "Please thank our second brother and his wife for ."
"This is your dowry from our third brother and his wife." Qin Xiang placed yet another two wads of cash into her hands.
"Thank our third brother and his wife for ," Qin i recited chanically.
Now holding nine wads of cash, Qin i couldn’t manage them all and asked Jie Jingchen for help.
Jie Jingchen took off his jacket without a word. Qin i piled the money into it, then turned to stare at Qin Xiang and asked bluntly, "And yours?"
"You little money-grubber." Qin Xiang produced two more wads for her. "Here. This is my part of your dowry."
"Thanks," Qin i said, beaming as she took it and imdiately handed it over to Jie Jingchen. She then looked back at Qin Xiang. "Anymore?"
"That’s it," Qin Xiang said, shaking his head.
Qin i did a quick calculation. Eleven thousand yuan. A very auspicious number, symbolizing that she was "one in a million."
Qin i pulled Jie Jingchen back to their room, leaving Qin Xiang to shake his head in resignation.
Back in the room, Qin i stashed the money away and admired her little personal treasury with satisfaction.
"ii," Jie Jingchen called out.
Qin i paused in the middle of locking up the money. She turned to look at Jie Jingchen, who was standing right behind her. "What did you just call ?"
"ii," he replied, then asked, "Is there a problem?"
Qin i raised an eyebrow. "Don’t call that. I’m not used to it. Just stick to Qin i."
"Alright, ii." ’I don’t want to call her by her full na,’ Jie Jingchen thought. ’We’re supposed to grow old together. I want to call her by an affectionate na, ii.’
Qin i stared at him, speechless. ’Fine, whatever. It’s just a na. He can call what he wants.’
"ii." Jie Jingchen wrapped his arms around her from behind, resting his chin on her shoulder. "ii, you shouldn’t call by my full na, either. If other people hear you, they’ll think we’re not on good terms."
Qin i rolled her eyes. ’As if we’re on such great terms.’ "What do you want to call you, then?"
"Anything, as long as it’s not my full na." His standards weren’t high. He nuzzled the side of her neck suggestively with the tip of his nose.
Qin i thought about it seriously. "Jing Chen?" she asked.
"That works," said Jie Jingchen.
"Or maybe Jing Si?" Qin i asked.
"Either is fine," Jie Jingchen replied.
"Jie Jingsi," Qin i called out.
Jie Jingchen’s brow furrowed, and he gave her neck a gentle nip.
"Jie Jingsi," she repeated, shrinking away. It didn’t hurt, but it tickled.
"ii," he said, clearly displeased. Qin i, however, was quite pleased with herself.
Just as Jie Jingchen was about to punish her, a knock sounded at the door, followed by Qin Xiang’s voice.
"Sis."
"Jie Jingsi, let go! My brother is calling ." Qin i tried to push him away, but he didn’t budge.
Jie Jingchen held her fast, spinning her around to face him with a swift movent. He bent down and gave her red lips a quick peck before reluctantly letting her go.
"Sis, can I co in?" Qin Xiang asked from outside.
"It’s not locked," Jie Jingchen called out in a low voice, taking a step back to put so distance between himself and Qin i.
Qin i raised an eyebrow at him. ’Was that really necessary? He’s making it look like we were having so secret affair.’
Qin Xiang pushed the door open, grinning at Qin i. "Sis, I still haven’t given your parents-in-law their first-eting gifts."
"You don’t need to give them anything," Jie Jingchen said.
Qin Xiang ignored him, stepping inside and grabbing Qin i’s arm to go with him.
"Are you rolling in it or sothing?" Jie Jingchen asked, catching up to them.
"That’s right, I am," Qin Xiang retorted, pulling Qin i along faster. It was his first visit to his sister’s new ho, and even though he and Jing Si were best buds, he couldn’t skip the proper etiquette.
He’d thought about buying presents, but he had no idea what to get, so he decided to just give them cash in red envelopes instead.
A small smile played on Jie Jingchen’s lips. "If you’re so rich, give so to ."
"In your dreams," Qin Xiang shot back, glancing over his shoulder to glare at Jie Jingchen. "By all rights, you’re the one who should be giving ** a big red envelope."
"You’ll get one, I promise." Jie Jingchen wouldn’t dream of shorting his brother-in-law. After all, Qin Xiang was practically the one who set him and Qin i up. If it hadn’t been for Qin Xiang, he never would have t her.
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