When the office door reopened, Qi Chengzhi strutted out of the office. He had the same conserved expression without any telltale signs on his face about what was going on.
Yu Zixiu was behind him, standing at the door after Qi Chengzhi stepped out from the office. He remained standing motionless, not looking so good. His lips were tightly sealed, and his chin taut as if he was having constipation.
Qi Chengzhi nodded lightly at Yu Zixiu, but Yu Zixiu had a stoic expression and did not return the gesture.
Qi Chengzhi seemed like he did not care much about it. His hands were inserted in the pockets while he straightened up and left in long strides.
Yu Zixiu went back to his office and closed the door before calling Yu Zidong. “Zidong, bring Lihua and Keyao over to my place tonight for dinner. I have something to announce.”
…
…
Qi Chengzhi exited the main entrance of Yuli Company. Chang Lai was already waiting there in front of his Range Rover.
Qi Chengzhi got into the car and glanced at the Yuli building before calmly saying, “Head back to Viewpark Residence right away, no need to go to the company.”
When he entered and did not find Song Yu on the first floor, Aunt Yang said, “Song Yu’s arranging stuff upstairs.”
Qi Chengzhi nodded and went upstairs quietly. He saw Song Yu arranging the things that they brought back from France while she muttered something under her mouth.
They brought back a lot of things, including those for Ruan Danchen, the Qi family, and Song family. There was also dirty laundry that accumulated throughout the trip.
Even though Qi Chengzhi tried not to make any noise, it was as if there was some sort of telepathic communication between them.
Song Yu could feel his presence when he appeared at the door of the bedroom. She stopped whatever she was doing and turned her head around to see Qi Chengzhi reclining against the door.
He was wearing a neat formal suit, but the way he reclined on the door gave him a certain sense of unruliness.
His left leg was extended vertically with his right leg crossed behind it. This position made his extraordinary long legs look even longer than before.
There was a faint smile hanging at the corner of his mouth, “How did you know it was me?”
“I can feel it whenever you appear.” Song Yu looked at Qi Chengzhi’s charming face while walking over to him fondly.
Her hair was a little messy as she was arranging the things. There was also a thin layer of sweat on her face.
Qi Chengzhi stood up straight and fixed her hair with both of his hands and wiped away the sweat on her hairline.
“Why didn’t you rest for a few days before doing this, we’re not in a hurry.” Qi Chengzhi kissed the corner of her mouth.
“I thought we’re going to the old mansion today? I’m thinking to organize the gifts we bought in Paris and bring it over,” Song Yu said. She had already organized the gifts accordingly and laid them out on the floor. She asked, “Why are you back home so early?”
“I don’t have anything important today,” Qi Chengzhi looked at her red puffy face after a busy afternoon and could not resist lowering his head to approach her. He went in for her cheeks and sniffed her scent from her face, “Why are you always so fragrant?”
“I’m sweating, where did you smell that fragrance from?” Song Yu was embarrassed by his sniffing and tried to step back and shun away from him, but he kept closing in and continued sniffing her cheeks. His lips grazed over them from time to time.
“Stop sniffing, it tickles,” Song Yu cracked up and said. She felt itchy and wanted to scratch it.
Qi Chengzhi tightened his embrace around her. She smelled so nice and soft, he was not satisfied no matter how much he kissed her. He still had the urge to hug her tightly and knead her.
Song Yu was helpless in his arms. She felt like he was treating her as his toy. Was he reminiscing his childhood?
Qi Chengzhi took a deep breath on her neck and pecked on her skin before releasing her.
“How’s your progress?” he asked while he put her down and cocked his head to look at the things on the ground.
“I’ve organized them accordingly, and only left with packaging. I also separated the laundry for dry and machine wash,” Song Yu said.
Qi Chengzhi felt a warmth in his heart. It felt good to have a wife at home.
Even though Aunt Yang also took care of him in the past, she was already quite old. There were some things that she could not really understand. It took awhile for her to differentiate them.
To prevent those clothing that required dry washing to be accidentally thrown into the washing machine, she just sent everything to the laundry shop for dry washing.
Qi Chengzhi did not mind about that, but he felt very grateful for a wife to arrange all these things at home.
“We’ll go over to the old mansion once you’re done. I’ve informed them earlier today. Grandmother Qi was delighted when she heard that I’m bringing you. She told us to go there earlier,” Qi Chengzhi said. “Anything that I can help with?”
Song Yu did not let this opportunity go to waste. Since laundry was not his forte as he never had to worry about it, she pointed on the floor to the gifts that were meant for the two families and said, “This side is for Grandfather and Grandmother, this side is for your parents and your uncle and aunt. The other side is for my parents. The skincare products are for Ruan Danchen. Can you go and ask for a few bags from Aunt Yang to put these in?”
Qi Chengzhi glanced at her humorously before taking off his coat and loosening his tie. He folded his sleeves up and went down to ask for bags.
After he was done bagging them, Qi Chengzhi changed into his casual clothes before carrying three big bags and leaving with Song Yu.
Aunt Yang sent them off at the doorstep. She observed the way Qi Chengzhi carried the baggage, not allowing Song Yu to help. The elegance of Qilin’s director was gone, he had transformed into a family man in a blink of an eye.
…
…
After Grandmother Qi found out that Yu Keyao went to Paris, she was afraid that Song Yu might be upset by it and quarrel with Qi Chengzhi. If they broke up because of that, her plans of having a great-grandchild would be ruined.
When she heard that Qi Chengzhi was going to bring Song Yu over for dinner after they came back, Grandmother Qi immediately called both of her sons and told them to come over earlier.
Qi Chengzhi had left the company in the afternoon, but Qi Zhongxun and Qi Zhongliang were still occupied by work and could not come earlier. Instead, Xia Wenna and Guan Liya came over early. Guan Liya even took Qi Youxuan out from the kindergarten before class ended.
Ever since the charade caused by Liang Lihua, Xia Wenna started to detest their family. When she compared Yu Keyao to Song Yu, she felt that Song Yu was so much better than the former.
In fact, she was rather fond of Song Yu, or else she would not have allowed Song Yu to be engaged with Qi Chengji. However, she could not accept them fully because of her history.
Nevertheless, Xia Wenna was so annoyed by Liang Lihua and her daughter that she was contemplating whether to accept Song Yu. Qi Chengzhi would not find a second one if Song Yu left. She would rather accept Song Yu than give those two an opportunity to writhe their way in.
Why not let Qi Chengzhi marry a wife as soon as possible to extinguish any hope from the mother-daughter pair. She could also avoid their incessant pestering.
This was also the reason why Xia Wenna’s attitude was much nicer this time when Song Yu arrived.
Song Yu took out the gifts they bought from Paris. There were skincare products, perfume, and a box of Pierre Herme macarons for each family.
She heard that Grandmother Qi was going into the set for filming. Based on Song Yu’s observation of Grandmother Qi’s personality, she bought a pair of sunglasses resembling those worn by megastars.
Grandmother Qi took one look and put it on happily before posing in front of the mirror while she admired herself from head to toe.
“This sunglasses suit me too well. Once Xiao Han’s drama aired on television, it’ll definitely be a bomb with the help of my acting skills. I’ll need to stay low profile when I go out on the streets then. These sunglasses will help me prevent from being recognized by others,” Grandmother Qi was so happy and could not resist looking at the mirror. She held the glasses and asked, “Do I look like Meryl Streep?”
“…” all of them were speechless.
Grandmother Qi gleefully kept the sunglasses and said, “I’ll be wearing it to the set once they start shooting. Song Yu, you should come to visit one day. If it were up to me, you’re much prettier than the female lead. Who knows, the director might notice you and choose you to be the female lead in the next drama. What about I just tell Xiao Han directly to let you be the female lead.”
Qi Chengzhi scoffed. He would never allow Song Yu to be exposed on television or be tainted by the filthy scene of the entertainment industry.
Song Yu heard him and knew that he was being petty again. She was afraid that it might upset Grandmother Qi when she saw it and hurried over to stop Qi Chengzhi. She told Grandmother Qi, “Grandmother, I have zero talent in acting. I panic whenever I’m in front of a camera. I feel that you need to have talent if you’re in this industry regardless of passion or work. It’s useless to just have a pretty face.”
“True,” Grandmother Qi said with a boastful expression and continued, “I had a knack for acting since I was young. I joined the Army Cultural Troupe when I was only seventeen years old, performing all around the country. I even performed on the Chinese New Year Gala. Never once I’ve experienced stage fright. I started acting in theatres at twenty-six years old. Even though I haven’t explored that area, but it came to me very naturally and I nailed it. If it was not for marrying your grandfather later on, I would’ve entered the film studio.”
Grandmother Qi grabbed Song Yu’s hand when she got excited. She turned around and wanted to tell her from the beginning of her career, but her hand made contact with something sharp.
“Hmm?” Grandmother Qi lowered her head puzzledly and saw the big diamond on her ring finger.
“This…” Grandmother Qi’s eyes widened and stared at the rock for quite some time. She was not stunned by the size of the rock, but the position of the ring on her hand.
It was sitting on the ring finger of her left hand. This means marriage…
Grandmother Qi was too overwhelmed that the reaction of her shock was delayed since she was slightly doubtful.
Sometimes, happiness would happen at the most unexpected moments.
This was what Grandmother Qi felt at this moment.
She looked at Song Yu and Qi Chengzhi, based on her understanding of her grandson, she did not jump straight into conclusion.
Grandmother Qi just stared at Song Yu with a shocked expression and lifted her head to look at Qi Chengzhi.
Qi Chengzhi sat beside Song Yu calmly and extended his arm casually around her waist. His clean fingertips played with her waist subconsciously.
“From now onwards, Song Yu will be your granddaughter-in-law,” Qi Chengzhi said gently.
“You… you guys…” Grandmother Qi was lost for words.
“I brought her here today to break the news to the family. I planned to announce it when everyone arrived, but since you discovered it already, I’ll tell you first. I proposed to Song Yu in Paris. You can start preparing for our wedding,” Qi Chengzhi said.
Qi Zhongliang was not planning to hold a grand wedding. However, he did not tell Grandmother Qi that he only wanted a small banquet, hence she had no idea about it.
Frankly, Grandmother Qi did not care about those things. There was only a single thought in her mind, the wedding of her eldest grandson must be spectacular. She wanted everyone to know that her eldest grandson who had been single for the past thirty-five years finally got a wife!
Grandmother Qi’s face was glowing in red. “This is the one thing you did that make me the happiest after all these years!”
Grandmother Qi slapped her thigh and looked at Song Yu with a different gaze.
She was Qi Chengzhi’s girlfriend before, now she would be her granddaughter-in-law soon.
“We haven’t told Song Yu’s parents since we came to you first. My mother-in-law requested a proper wedding with all the formal procedures,” Qi Chengzhi said.
“Certainly!” Grandmother Qi was so excited that she missed the fact that Qi Chengzhi shamelessly addressed Song Yu’s mother as his mother-in-law before even marrying her. She said, “Song Yu is also treasured by her parents. We’re marrying their only daughter, of course, we won’t disappoint them. It’ll definitely be a grand ceremony.”
Song Yu did not mind. If it were up to her, she would prefer to get their marriage license and invite their close friends for a meal. The most important thing was for Qi Chengzhi and her to live together and be his wife.
Nevertheless, her mother, Grandmother Qi and Qi Chengzhi all wanted to have a grand wedding celebration. She did not want to let them down.
“Wenna, we’ll have to search for a reliable wedding planner. It has to be the best! We can book the bouquet at Dynasty. It’ll be fine if we just inform Xiao Yunqing. We also need to use Xiao Yan’s Red Roof, we shouldn’t waste such a good place, right?” Grandmother Qi planned enthusiastically.
“Mother, let’s take one step at a time,” Xia Wenna said. Even though she was no longer opposed to Song Yu marrying Qi Chengzhi, she was not very interested in the idea of a huge wedding since they had not discussed it with Qi Zhongliang. She was just entertaining Grandmother Qi’s idea.
Grandmother Qi was not aware of the lack of enthusiasm in Xia Wenna and stood up in excitement.
“They’re not back from work yet. I’ll bring you out for a walk and meet some people around this area,” Grandmother Qi said. It was obvious that she just wanted to show Song Yu off to the others.
Before Song Yu could say anything, Grandmother Qi yanked her out of Qi Chengzhi’s arms and headed towards the outside.
Song Yu got dragged along by Grandmother Qi to a park nearby.
The park was rather lively. There were some obstacle course on one side and some kids with helmets on were skating away. There were even some folks who were practicing Tai Chi and line dance.
At the very end of a corner, there was a bunch of old man crowding over, observing a chess game.
Grandmother Qi took Song Yu and went straight across the park to the other side. They were still a few steps away before she shouted laughingly, “Lao Zhou, Lao Yu!”
Two guys from the bunch of people observing the chess game turned their heads around and answered in surprise, “Eh, I heard Lao Qi that your grandson is coming home today. Why are you out here?”
“Heh heh, I’m just showing my granddaughter-in-law around and also to call my old man home to have dinner at the same time,” Grandmother Qi said casually while she walked over, holding hands with Song Yu.
After Lao Zhou heard what she said, he looked at Song Yu and commented, “This is your granddaughter-in-law? Wow, she’s a charming lady, which grandson of yours have such an honor?”
“It’s my useless eldest grandson. I thought that he would never have a wife in this lifetime. I never expected him to bring me a granddaughter-in-law after being single for thirty-five years!” Grandmother Qi raised Song Yu’s left hand purposely while she said that to let them have a closer look at the ring on her hand.
Song Yu was so embarrassed by Grandmother Qi’s blatant gloating. She lowered her head to hide her blushing face and greeted them shyly.
“Aiya, we’ll have to congratulate you then. When’s the wedding going to be?” Lao Yu was Grandfather Qi’s old chess mate for many years. He knew Grandmother Qi’s character so well that he immediately flattered her vanity.
As expected, Grandmother Qi was so high up on cloud nine that she did not bother about how her face wrinkled the way she was smiling. “Very soon. My grandson brought my granddaughter-in-law home today to discuss their marriage. I’ll send the invitation to you guys then!”
While they were happily chatting away, Grandfather Qi remained very focused on the game. He was so engrossed that he did not hear what Grandmother Qi said.
Grandmother Qi glanced at him and said without disturbing him, “We’ll head back first!”
Grandmother Qi ushered Song Yu to another group of friends that was practicing line dance, stopped in front of them and started chatting away with a huge smile on her face. After seeing that, Lao Zhou and Lao Yu looked at each other speechlessly. Wasn’t she here to call Lao Qi home for dinner?
Why did she leave without saying a word to Lao Qi?
The old woman had quite a reputation here. Those aunties stopped dancing when she brought Song Yu over.
“Aunt Qi, why are you here?”
“Ha ha ha ha, my granddaughter-in-law heard that I like line dancing, so she followed me to have a look,” Grandmother Qi said casually before holding up Song Yu’s left hand and tapped on the back of her hand while she “accidentally” exposed the diamond ring on her ring finger.
“Granddaughter-in-law? Congratulations! Which grandson is getting married?” One of the ladies asked in surprise.
“Ha ha ha, it’s my eldest grandson. He had been single until now. I’ve never heard of him having a girlfriend before, most of the people thought that he was gay. Not so long ago, he brought a girlfriend home suddenly and was serious about getting married,” Grandmother Qi smiled until her eyes closed. “My eldest grandson’s temperament is like that. Since he was young, he had always kept a low profile, but when he’s set on something, he would go all-in for it. The whole family was shocked by his announcement. However, I’m very fond of my granddaughter-in-law, remember to attend their upcoming wedding!”
“Of course!” The group of ladies nodded in agreement. Then, they proceeded to praise Song Yu with all kinds of compliments, making Grandmother Qi felt so gratified.
Just like that, Grandmother Qi brought Song Yu around. She did not literally boast to everyone in the neighborhood, but she purposely walked slowly until it was already time where people got back from work so that they could meet on the street.
She would actively greet those who did not notice her. Throughout the whole journey, Grandmother Qi repeated the same old story relentlessly. It was as if she wishes to use a loudspeaker and attach it on the roof of a car to spread the news like the ones they used during the election.
It was only when Grandmother Qi got tired of it after finishing an entire round that she brought Song Yu home.
When she entered the house, she could hear them chit-chatting. Qi Zhongliang and the others had returned.
Grandfather Qi was sitting on the main seat. He scoffed in disdain. “You left quite sometime before me, but I’m already home for more than half an hour after I finished the game. Why are you only back now?”
Grandmother Qi waved her hand without much thought. “I just had a small chat with a few neighbors that I met on the way back.”
At this moment, Qi Chenglin reached too.
Aunt Liu opened the door for him. He then entered, with the chilliness of the night still lingering on him. He took off his jacket and asked, “What’s going on? On my way home, the neighbors I met were all congratulating me saying that our family is having a new member.”
“Heh heh,” Grandfather Qi laughed in disdain. “Who else could it be? Your grandmother must have been showing off just now.”
