Jie Jingjue didn’t answer. Instead, he looked at Bai Aiyun. "Aiyun."
"I’m heading back to the song and dance troupe," Bai Aiyun said with a smile.
"I’ll walk you," Jie Jingjue offered.
"No need," Bai Aiyun refused, then turned to the others. "Fourth Brother, Fourth Sister-in-law, Jing Qi, I’m off. See you next ti."
"Sister Aiyun, take care on your way back," Jie Jingshan said with a smile, waving at Bai Aiyun.
Qin i didn’t know Bai Aiyun well, and because of Xu Chunyan, she couldn’t bring herself to be warm toward her. Jie Jingchen’s attitude was even more distant.
"Jing Wu, I’m off," Bai Aiyun said to Jie Jingjue before running in the direction of the song and dance troupe.
Qin i watched her run off. Seeing that Jie Jingjue truly had no intention of walking her, she couldn’t help but ask, "Didn’t you two break up?"
"Hehe." Jie Jingjue rubbed the tip of his nose, a fawning smile on his face. "I wasn’t the one who reached out to make up this ti."
Qin i rolled her eyes. Not bothering with Jie Jingjue, she began pushing Jie Jingshan’s wheelchair.
"Fourth Brother, where are you all going?" Jie Jingjue asked Jie Jingchen.
Jie Jingchen shot him a sidelong glance, the corner of his mouth twisting into a mocking sneer as he strode after Qin i.
"Aren’t you going ho?" Jie Jingjue pressed.
"Second Sister-in-law’s mother and her brother are at the house," Jie Jingshan spoke up.
"They’re here again." Jie Jingjue wasn’t surprised. "Second Sister-in-law injured her face, so she’s definitely using it as an excuse to call her family over to the Jie Family’s ho to cause a ruckus. It’s been almost a year since they last ca to make trouble. It’s a rare opportunity, and her family will definitely seize it."
The thought of Liu Guihua and Xu Chunwang made Jie Jingjue’s head ache. If he and Bai Aiyun were to marry, he would have to call Liu Guihua "Auntie." The very idea made his skin crawl.
"Fourth Brother, take a guess. How much money do you think Liu Guihua will ask Mom for this ti?" Jie Jingjue asked, slinging an arm over Jie Jingchen’s shoulder as they walked.
"Get it off." Jie Jingchen’s brow twitched, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.
Jie Jingjue removed his arm, moved past Jie Jingchen, and fell into step beside Qin i. "Fourth Sister-in-law, do you know Liu Guihua? Second Sister-in-law’s mom. She’s notoriously shrewish. I think she’s coming for you this ti."
"So what?" Qin i asked.
Jie Jingjue froze for a mont. "You’re not scared?"
Qin i glanced sideways at him. "I’m not."
"’Not scared?’ You’re hiding out here, afraid to go ho, yet you say you’re not scared? Fourth Sister-in-law, it’s okay to be scared. Why act so tough?" Jie Jingjue teased. ’Heck, he felt imnse pressure just from having Liu Guihua stand in front of him.’
’She’s huge.’
Qin i raised an eyebrow, looking askance at the teasing Jie Jingjue. "Care to make a bet?"
"What’s the bet?" Jie Jingjue asked.
A faint smile touched Qin i’s lips as she said, "This ti, not only will Liu Guihua fail to get any money from Mom, she’ll end up spitting so back out."
Jie Jingjue thought that was unrealistic. ’Qin i only says that because she’s never experienced how formidable Liu Guihua can be.’ "You don’t know Liu Guihua," he said. "She’s greedy as hell. For money, she’ll throw a fit and roll on the ground without a care for her image. Getting her to spit money back out would be harder than drawing blood."
"So, are we betting or not?" Qin i asked, clearly not wanting to waste her breath on him.
"What are the stakes?" Jie Jingjue asked, his interest piqued.
"Money," Qin i stated practically. "If I win, you give the sa amount of money Liu Guihua spits out. If you win, I’ll give you however much money Mom gives her."
"Can we double it?" Jie Jingjue was eager. ’He was going to win anyway, so it didn’t matter even if he lost. If Qin i could make Liu Guihua cough up even ten yuan, he would be in absolute awe of her.’
"Fine by ," Qin i said nonchalantly. "Double? Triple?"
Jie Jingjue tilted his head back, actually considering it.
"Fourth Sister-in-law, Fifth Brother doesn’t have any money," Jie Jingshan reminded her.
Qin i knew to quit while she was ahead. "Alright, no multiplier then."
"No multiplier it is." Jie Jingjue didn’t insist. He sized up Qin i and asked, "Fourth Sister-in-law, do you even have money?"
"I don’t," Qin i said. She wasn’t in the habit of flaunting her wealth.
Jie Jingchen was speechless. ’What about the money Mom gave her? Isn’t that money?’
Jie Jingshan was also speechless. ’And the one thousand yuan she got this morning? Isn’t that money?’
"Jie Jingchen has money," Qin i said.
"My brother certainly does," Jie Jingjue agreed, then asked in a low voice, "Fourth Sister-in-law, are you sure my brother will give you the money?"
Qin i fell silent and snuck a glance at Jie Jingchen. So far, aside from buying things for her, he hadn’t given her a single cent.
Jie Jingchen fought the urge to ask Jie Jingjue if he was deliberately trying to drive a wedge between them.
The four of them wandered around aimlessly. Qin i took the opportunity to familiarize herself with the area, paying special attention to the neighborhoods around the train station and the hospital.
’If I want to make money riding the wave of the Reform and Opening-Up,’ she thought, ’I have to plan ahead to reap the rewards.’
User Comments
0 comments from readers