Pei Ge’s lips curled into a smile. “Still, I feel that uncle must be planning something. I think it is quite impossible for him to admit defeat so easily, and he he won’t be this—”
“Why are you two still not coming in when you’re already here? What are you doing at the door?”
Qu Xiujie’s loud and bright voice came from inside the house.
“Coming; coming,” hurriedly answered Ji Ziming, finally shutting the older man’s mouth as he waited for the both of them to enter.
“Uncle, what were you discussing with my mom?”
Once they walked in, he saw Qu Xiujie half-squatting on the floor, while his mother was lying on the sofa with her eyes closed, clearly resting. It seemed that the two were getting along well.
“I was asking your mom which one she wants to use,” replied the older man earnestly. Still, Ji Ziming’s mother ignored his good intentions. “Why don’t you just say that you want to use it? Why must you say that I am the one who wants to use it?”
“That’s not sincere. I’m clearly preparing it for your use.”
Qu Xiujie held the VIP gift that Gucci had specially sent over. What Madam Ji received were two specially customized leather bags, with prices in the seven digits. It was considered pricey even among luxury goods.
“Then, since I am the one using these items, why do you look as if you can’t take your hands off them?”
Madam Ji suddenly sat up and looked at Qu Xiujie. She had a smug gaze which revealed how she had already seen through his intentions.
“Aren’t I just helping you pick out one?”
The latter still insisted on finding a reason for himself, refusing to admit that he had taken a liking to the bag in her hand.
“I’ll give it to you if you like it.”
Seeing the evident love and liking in his eyes, she could only take a step back.
“Really?”
His eyes twinkled upon hearing this and he immediately picked out the khaki-colored one, then turned around to look at his niece. “Ge Ge, do you think your mom will like this bag?”
It was then that the whole family was enlightened. This was the reason he wanted the bag.
“Uncle, you want to give this bag to my mom?”
Pei Ge was surprised. Seeing the certainty in his eyes, she then continued. “Uncle, my mom actually doesn’t use these.”
She felt a little conflicted and could only give him this excuse, though she was still afraid that he would not accept this reason.
Before Zhang Manhua went overseas, she was a frugal person who placed family first. After going abroad, despite living a more prosperous life, she did not become a spendthrift. She was still as frugal as ever.
“Isn’t this a good gift for a first meeting?”
Qu Xiujie felt smug and was very satisfied with his taste, yet he did not know that Madam Ji’s name was already carved on the inside of the Gucci bag. As a Gucci VVIP customer, this was a privilege she had.
He might not know this, but his niece was very clear on this.
“Are you afraid that your mom won’t like this present?”
Qu Xiujie looked at her silently, with a gaze filled with hurt, yet he did not continue speaking.
“It’s not that, uncle. I did not mean that. You’re overthinking it.”
She stood still and looked at him, saying that in a gentle voice.
“Uncle, you really did misunderstand Ge Ge. What she meant is that if you want to give her mother a gift, you can consider something else. After all, this is a free gift my mom received from Gucci, and it’s not exactly a respectable item to give.”
Ji Ziming stood beside her and looked at the older man insistently yet calmly.
“So that’s what you guys meant?”
After the misunderstanding was resolved, Qu Xiujie was finally enlightened that it was not because his niece was unwilling to accept the gift but because this ‘first-meeting gift’ was too cheap. It was a bag that he had obtained shamelessly from Madam Ji.
When he thought about it, he realized that it was indeed his carelessness for not understanding a woman’s heart.
“Uncle, actually, once you meet my mom, you will know that she is someone who is easy to get along with,” said Pei Ge softly, wanting to break him out of his awkwardness.
“Okay. I understand.”
He looked at the bag in his hand and returned it to the coffee table by Madam Ji’s side. His voice was tinged with a hint of disdain. “You guys should’ve told me earlier. How could I possibly bring much money out after leaving the Qu family? This is all because of your mom. She didn’t even buy me a present in R City.”
Qu Xiujie’s voice became more aggrieved the more he spoke, and he even glanced at Madam Ji a few times, as though all the grievances he had suffered were her fault.
“Why are you looking at me like that? What you just said… Are you implying and blaming me for not buying you presents, or—”
Before she could finish speaking, Qu Xiujie suddenly stood up from the carpet. He had a look of slight impatience as he looked at her. “It’s all because of you, woman, who was unwilling to! If not, I wouldn’t have bothered about your bag.”
“Old thing, what kind of words are you saying? You even said that you want to thank me for my bag, yet now, are you trying to kick me to the curb since that I’ve outlived my usefulness?”
Her eyes were filled with fury. She glared at him with her round eyes and continued. “Old thing, I dare you to touch any of my things another time. I will assure you that you will be chased out of this house to sleep on the streets tonight.”
Madam Ji also started raging. She had not seen anyone as shameless as this fella before.
“Old woman, I won’t touch your things. I can find other things. Also, do you think that I will leave just because you tell me to? That’s too shameful!”
He shot back. Standing beside them, the couple looked upon the bickering elders with cold sweat. It seemed that the most silent and scariest moment in this house would be when there was no quarreling at all.
Madam Ji did not fear Qu Xiujie’s loud voice at all and wanted to berate him back. However, before she could say anything, her anger was instantly extinguished by her would-be daughter-in-law’s one request.
“Mom, can you please just not mind my uncle?”
Pei Ge’s voice was filled with some sorrow, not knowing if her persuasion would be useful.
“I won’t mind him anymore; I will not stoop to his level!”
The older woman originally intended to chase him out to sleep on the streets tonight, but after hearing her would-be daughter-in-law’s request, she decided against it. Moreover, she had not truly intended to do that in the first place.
