It was rare for Qi Zhenbai to come home. Grandpa Qi was in a good mood tonight as he sat in the living room and drank the tea which Shuyan had given to him. The more he drank, the more energetic he became. His mouth was still filled with the taste and he was very satisfied. In addition, every sip of tea made his body feel very comfortable. Grandpa Qi thought of how Zhenbai’s wife had given these tea leaves to him as a token of filial piety, and he was overjoyed. He didn’t know how Zhenbai’s wife had gotten these tea leaves, but he thought of the good stuff which Shuyan had given to the Qi family before – when hadn’t it been some rare thing? So, Grandpa Qi treasured these tea leaves very much.
Thinking of how Old Master Zhou had snatched some of his tea leaves in the afternoon, Grandpa Qi’s heart ached even more. Fine, it was a good thing he had a filial granddaughter-in-law. When he saw Zhenbai, the old man immediately asked, “Zhenbai, you’re back so late? When are you going to bring Shuyan home for a meal? Don’t forget your wife!”
Now that he had this considerate granddaughter-in-law, the old man disliked Zhenbai even more.
Qi Zhenbai paused, and it was Mother Qi next to him who spoke up to say that the two children were getting along well. She had seen how the young couple got along; they were more clingy than newlyweds. So, as a mother, she wasn’t worried at all about the two children.
Grandpa Qi thought of how Shuyan had come to the Qi residence today, and didn’t think much of it. He just told Zhenbai to treat his granddaughter-in-law well, and told him about how she had brought good tea today to show filial piety. He pretended to be cold and said, “Zhenbai, I’ve decided on Shuyan. If you treat her badly, see how I deal with you!”
It was Father Qi who spoke up when he saw that his son’s eyes were bloodshot. The latter probably hadn’t rested well recently, and Father Qi explained to Grandpa that Zhenbai needed to get some rest.
Qi Zhenbai’s initially pursed lips suddenly curved up when he heard his grandfather’s words, especially when he heard that his wife had specially brought tea leaves to show filial piety in the afternoon. He was in an unusually good mood and said to his grandfather, “Grandpa, I understand!”
“It’s good that you know!” Worried that Zhenbai might not be sensible enough, and would value work over everything else, Grandpa Qi emphasized, “You may be busy on a daily basis, but don’t forget your wife. You know that there is no end to the work.”
Grandpa Qi didn’t make things difficult for Zhenbai. Seeing the exhaustion in his eyes, he waved his hand and let him go upstairs to rest.
Qi Zhenbai pinched the space between his eyebrows and nodded at the old man. He went upstairs first. Qi Hao had long heard the commotion from the second floor and lay in wait for him. As soon as he saw him, Qi Hao called out excitedly, “Cousin, you came back so late. Did you pick Sister-in-law up? How was it? Was she beautiful tonight? I specially chose the gown for her. What do you think? Not bad, right?”
Qi Hao looked smugly at his cousin and wanted to know if he had been struck speechless by Sister-in-law’s appearance. However, he was still intimidated by his elder cousin, and didn’t dare voice the thought.
He didn’t notice that the face of the imposing and serious man in front of him changed drastically when he heard the latter half of Qi Hao’s words. Thinking of the gown his wife had worn and how it had revealed her white back, his face was ugly and serious no matter how one looked at it, and his expression became more and more stern and gloomy.
Qi Hao didn’t notice and continued to say that actually, Sister-in-law’s most stunning appearance wasn’t in that gown. His sister-in-law had looked the best in a fully backless black dress, which accentuated her figure especially perfectly.
Qi Zhenbai already couldn’t accept that his wife had exposed a small bit of skin tonight. When he heard Qi Hao’s words, Qi Zhenbai’s face turned gloomy and livid again, and was as black as the bottom of a pot. His dark eyes suddenly narrowed dangerously. “You saw it?”
Qi Hao was about to nod and praise his sister-in-law’s figure again, when he met his cousin’s incomparably cold gaze. He shuddered in fright and immediately remembered his cousin’s jealousy and possessiveness toward his sister-in-law. He immediately swallowed his words and hurriedly shook his head hard. He swallowed his saliva and stuttered, “No… no… really, Cousin!”
Qi Zhenbai didn’t have time to waste on Qi Hao. Before he left, he warned coldly, “It’s best if you didn’t see it. If you did, forget it. If I find out next time that you picked out a revealing dress for your sister-in-law again, don’t blame me for not warning you in advance!”
With that, he turned around and went back to his room. His sudden anger scared Qi Hao so much that his limbs turned to jelly. When he saw his cousin go back to his room, Qi Hao screamed and ran away.
When Qi Zhenbai returned to his room, he felt that it was terribly empty. He thought of how his wife had always lived with him in the past, and then of how cold she had been to him recently, and his eyes were filled with disappointment and gloom.
Ever since his wife left, Qi Zhenbai hadn’t slept well, and his eyes were filled with exhaustion. He rubbed his face and simply went to the bathroom to take a shower. After taking a shower, he wrapped himself in a towel and walked to the balcony to lie back in a rocking chair. Not long after, he thought of his wife’s beautiful and alluring appearance tonight. It had been a while since he had found release, and it was hard to control his physiological needs.
But compared with his physiological needs, he wanted his wife’s company more.
Qi Zhenbai ignored his lower body’s reaction and his eyes fell on the phone on the table. His mind was filled with thoughts of his wife. There were a few times when he almost couldn’t control himself and wanted to call her, but his wife had shown him a rare pleasant face tonight – he was worried that if he pushed his luck, his wife might suddenly ignore him and be especially cold to him after that.
Qi Zhenbai also never thought that he would feel so conflicted and morose one day. Before he could dwell on it, the phone on the table suddenly rang. Qi Zhenbai subconsciously sat up. When his eyes swept over the screen, he saw that it wasn’t his wife who was calling him, but someone else. Qi Zhenbai suppressed the disappointment in his heart, picked up the call and said coldly, “What is it?”
“Chief, I found out that this Zhuang woman not only has a close relationship with your fourth uncle, but also seems to be guided by an expert. I’m afraid the other party has ill intentions and ulterior motives. I haven’t investigated the details yet, but the expert behind your fourth uncle appears to be deep in hiding. It was because of Zhuang Yanru that both sides were able to make contact. Also, you asked me to investigate her background, and I did. However, her background seems too simple and clean, as if it was specially prepared for anyone investigating her!”
