CH 13.1

Jiang Shenghe stayed at his aunt’s house until nine o’clock, admiring the moon in the yard with her and eating moon cakes. He and Qin Moling each drank two glasses of red wine and had wanted to drink more, but their aunt refused to let them, so they had to put away the wine.

Everyone was not busy tonight, so Jiang Shenghe called a few friends over to play cards with him.

On the way, Qin Moling suddenly remembered something and asked, “What’s so special about December 18?”

Jiang Shenghe was looking out the window, chin resting on his hand. He answered without turning his head, “It was a special day when you were beaten twice by our head teacher in the second grade.”

Qin Moling: “….” He said lightly, “You are sick.” With the effects of the red wine buzzing in his head, he closed his eyes and rested his mind, too lazy to talk to Jiang Shenghe.

Jiang Shenghe only opened his eyes again when the car turned into his villa community.

There was a car across the gate of his villa. Qin Moling thought that some friend was deliberately playing tricks and parked their car in front of the door to prevent Jiang Shenghe from entering.

But after getting out of the car, intending to raise a ruckus, Qin Moling saw the license plate clearly: the car belonged to Jiang Shenghe’s father.

The rear window slowly lowered, and the person inside the car glared at him.

“Uncle Jiang, happy mid-Autumn Festival,” Qin Moling greeted in a friendly voice.

Jiang’s father cast a sideways glance at Qin Moling, “Don’t say things you don’t mean, just say hello. You probably only know how to scold me in your heart.”

Qin Moling was not angered by this provocation at all, and he only smiled to defend himself, “… Uncle Jiang, you wrong me.”

“I didn’t wrong you at all. Neither you nor Jiang Shenghe are good people.”

Well, the more you talk, the more you’ll get scolded.

So Qin Moling stepped aside, keeping as far away from Jiang Shenghe as possible to avoid further association.

Father Jiang didn’t get out of the car, but his eyes were piercing, “Didn’t you say you are abroad? You came back with wings?”

Jiang Shenghe lit a cigarette and said unhurriedly, “I don’t have any wings. I have practiced the method of teleportation in the past few months.”

Father Jiang: “…”

Qin Moling laughed silently, still trying to be unobtrusive, thinking in his heart, well done.

Father Jiang thought that this useless son was deliberately angering him, and he really couldn’t suppress his anger. He only had time to eat a few meals at home in a year, and when he finally came back this time, this useless son actually said that he was going on a business trip abroad and had no time to go home.

If going abroad, then just go abroad. Even if he didn’t actually go abroad, he should at least restrain himself—but instead he blatantly asked in the Jiang family group chat who was free tonight to play cards at his home!

Put anyone else in Father Jiang’s place and see if they would not be angry.

“Jiang Shenghe, if you have the ability, go abroad and don’t come back to China for the rest of your life! I’ll admire you like Jiang Sixun! But since you still can’t bear to leave the shade of this big tree at home, be honest when you’re here! Don’t be just using me without respecting me!”

Jiang Shenghe took a puff from his cigarette, “Don’t overthink things, I really haven’t made money in your name.” 

If it wasn’t for Luo Qi, he wouldn’t even have come back to China.

… …

Suzhou City at this time.

Every Mid-Autumn Festival, Luo Qi’s family, as well as the third uncle’s, all go to the eldest uncle’s house for dinner. Luo Qi’s wedding was approaching and nine out of ten sentences at the dinner table were about weddings.

The eldest aunt asked someone to calculate the suitable date for receiving the certificate and urged Luo Qi to get theirs then.

Luo Qi was exhausted from dealing with it all. After dinner, using the excuse to call Jiang Yueru to escape, she took her mobile phone and hid in the pavilion in the yard. There was finally some peace and quiet.

[Qi, Happy Mid-Autumn Festival.] Pei Shixiao sent a message.

Then he sent her a photo of him waiting at the Newark airport.

[I’ll go back to Shanghai first to finish up some work, then I’ll go to Beijing to see you after the festival.]

Luo Qi didn’t reply. She set her phone to ‘Do Not Disturb’.

“Why are you hiding here? I’ve been looking for you for a long time.”

She heard her cousin’s voice come from behind, and Luo Qi turned around sharply, “Eldest brother.”

A tall figure approached.

Luo Yuli gave her a mooncake, “Eat it while it’s warm.”

Luo Qi loved fresh baked mooncakes the most, but she had no appetite tonight. “I’m trying to lose weight. I can’t finish one.”

“Eat as much as you can, then give me the rest.” Luo Yuli sat down at the other end of the bench.

Luo Qi broke less than one-third of the mooncake and gave the rest to her cousin.

In the eldest uncle’s house, she was closest to this eldest cousin who protected her and Luo Yu the most when they were young. Now that they’ve grown up, they were busy with their own matters so there were not many opportunities to get together anymore.

When she handed the mooncake back to her cousin, she noticed that he was holding an opaque file envelope in his hand.

Luo Yuli took the mooncake and stuffed the envelope into her hand, “This is your wedding gift.”

Luo Qi opened it and inside were a real estate certificate, an access control card, and a contract. The real estate certificate was in the name of her eldest cousin—a small apartment of a little more than 30 square meters.

Luo Yuli took a bite of the mooncake. He really disliked mooncake the most, but he nevertheless swallowed it, “When you have the qualification to buy a house in Shanghai, the property will be transferred to your name.”

Luo Qi put the access card back in and zipped up the file envelope.

This wedding gift was too expensive for her to accept, “Thank you, eldest brother.” She was truly touched, and the gratitude she felt in her heart was beyond words, “You give me a nice bag, and I will accept it.”

But not a house.

To her eldest cousin, this apartment was a drop in the bucket. But for her, it would take two years of salary without paying for food, drinks, or any debt repayment. It was too expensive to give her as a wedding gift.

She gently placed the file envelope back on her cousin’s lap.

Before giving the gift, Luo Yuli already anticipated that his cousin would refuse, “I didn’t get you a big house, I just gave you a place to stay.” He frowned and finally finished eating the mooncake he didn’t like. “No matter how good you and Pei Shixiao are, it’s impossible not to quarrel after marriage. He bought the marriage house. Where will you go after a quarrel?”

Luo Qi didn’t speak and moved over to sit next to her eldest cousin, with her elbows on her knees and her chin resting on her hands, just like when she was a child. The full moon was in the sky, and in the bushes in the yard, the chirping of unknown insects stopped.

“As long as the second uncle and the second aunt are capable, it’s not my turn to buy you a house,” he tells her.

However, in reality, the second uncle was still struggling, and he couldn’t even pay the down payment.

Luo Yuli gave her the file bag again, “Take it first, and return it to me when you have the money to buy a house.”

Luo Qi shook her head, “If it becomes really necessary, then I will just borrow a place to stay from you.”

Luo Yuli knew that his cousin had strong self-esteem, “I have prepared two sets, the same building, but on different floors. One set for you and one set for Luo Yu. You have a high salary, and in a few years you can afford even the best house, but Luo Yu can’t. With her little salary, after deducting her own expenses, there is not much left, and if she wants to buy her own house, she can’t afford the down payment even if she saves for ten years.”

He persuaded in a roundabout way, “If you don’t accept it, Luo Yu will be even more embarrassed to accept it. Just treat this as doing something for her.”

For Luo Yu, Luo Qi loosened her grip and took the file bag. “I’ll keep it for you first.”

The truth was she no longer needed a house in Shanghai.

Luo Yuli reminded her, “Put those in the car later.”

“I will.”

Luo Qi understood her eldest cousin’s advice: this small apartment was a gift from her cousin without the knowledge of her eldest uncle and aunt.

“I’m going to find Luo Yu.” Luo Yuli stood up and left with his customary long strides.

T/N: I love Luo Yuli. He doesn’t get much screen time, but when he does, he makes my heart squeal with delight. But that Qin Moling and Jiang Shenghe—they’re like two troublemaker peas in the same unruly pod.

A quick recap of Luo family relations. Luo Qi’s dad’s generation has 3 brothers. The eldest uncle is the wealthiest; he’s married to eldest aunt (which nobody seems to like) and has a son, Luo Yuli. Luo Qi’s father is the second. Third uncle is the dad of Luo Yu and her twin Luo Xin (a.k.a. Heartless).