Chapter 353: Why Does That Woman, Standing Among the Qi Family, Look so Familiar?
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Initially, Manager Zou really knew nothing about an assistant designer’s scope of work. They had never had such a position in their department before. When asked at that moment, he trembled with a start and nodded hurriedly. “Yes, indeed. Various general work.”
“Hm, then feel free to assign these chores to Ms. Yao. Don’t worry about her identity,” Qi Chenglin nodded.
All the managers sighed silently in their hearts and thought to themselves, ‘Yao Qingzhi’s daughter is really unlucky.’ Out of so many people that she could provoke, it just had to be General Manager Qi’s wife.
They had begun to wonder why General Manager Qi easily agreed to assign another position for Yao Jingfei upon Yao Qingzhi’s request.
Such special treatment was only reserved for Ruan Danchen originally. Yao Qingzhi was just a small shareholder of the company where the Qi family still held the authority. Even if there was a need to vote, those board members did not have any say in fact. Considering the headcount, the Qi family had already occupied over half the seats on the board. Where was the need to vote then?
It turned out that General Manager Qi intended to avenge Ms Yao for his wife.
They could not help but look towards Qi Chenglin, thinking, ‘General Manager Qi’s really petty!’
…
…
Qi Chenglin was staring at the ring on Ruan Danchen’s hand satisfactorily. There were numerous smart individuals in Qilin. As long as they observed attentively, they would be able to notice the couple rings and guessed the identity of Ruan Danchen without needing him to intentionally announce it.
Ruan Danchen glanced at Qi Chenglin before her sight fell onto the distinctive joints of his long fingers. The simple ring that he was wearing had made his hand looked even more elegant and attractive than it already was.
“You told me that you were going out to make a call yesterday. Could it possibly be because of this incident?” asked Ruan Danchen as she recalled.
Qi Chenglin took a glimpse at her and suddenly said, “Time to wake up.”
“…” Knowing that she had guessed correctly from his reaction, she laughed, “Just admit it if it’s true. Why are you so slow to warm up?”
Qi Chenglin who had wanted to get off the bed changed his mind instantly and leaned down on her, that hard rod pressing against her. “Do you want me to have it at you again?”
“…” Ruan Danchen’s face turned red. Why couldn’t she remember that that man was not someone she could easily tease. “Waking up now.”
Qi Chenglin chuckled. He looked at her and squeezed her hand which had the ring on it. “Remember to wear your ring at all times. Don’t remove it.”
“I won’t. It’s from you after all.” Ruan Danchen blushed lightly and dropped her eyes. Her soft delicate fingers threaded through his, holding his hand and bringing it close to her sight. Looking at the ring on his long finger, she said, “You can’t remove it, too. If any other women tried to flirt with you, remember to show them your ring.”
Qi Chenglin raised his brow and looked at her with a faint smile. “Getting jealous?”
Ruan Danchen did not answer. With a heated face, she gazed at his attractive hand attentively. Her soft fingers were rubbing the ring on his finger lightly. “In fact, I think it is rather beneficial to work in the same company as you. This way, I can observe you closely. If I ever catch other women trying to seek your attention in the day, I’ll get back at you when we’re back home at night.”
“Why am I facing the retribution when I’m the one being pestered by the women, not the other way round?” Qi Chenglin could not help but laugh. He was in an exceptionally good mood at her jealousy.
He enjoyed watching her being possessive over him.
“If it’s not for your seduction, do you think that they will pester you?” Ruan Danchen took a faint glimpse at him.
Qi Chenglin laughed, “I’ve seduced you for quite some time in the first place. So, why didn’t you cling on me?”
“Don’t I now?” Ruan Danchen smiled and wrapped herself tightly around him with all her limbs.
Qi Chenglin’s black-colored eyes darkened and burned with faint flames. His lip curled up mischievously. His burning palms slid up her legs and suddenly lifted her up a little before tucking himself in.
Ruan Danchen drew in a deep breath, her eyes foggy with a thin layer of watery tears. Her legs tightened their grip on him. She could not stop herself from using all her energy to hug him tight.
“I love the way you cling on me,” whispered Qi Chenglin huskily. His eyes shone brightly while he brushed his burning thin lips against hers.
…
…
In the past, the little one only woke up so early in excitement on his first day of school. When he had gotten used to his school life, the excitement melted into boredom and he lost interest in going to school. Subsequently, he reverted to his previous habit of lazing in bed. Ruan Danchen had to wake him up and carried him to the washroom to freshen up. It would take a while for him to be fully awake.
However, that Friday morning, little Qi Youxuan was again feeling a little excited.
He was already awake when Ruan Danchen entered his room. Despite being overwhelmed by excitement, he was still mentally listless.
Sitting on his small bed, the little round head nodded in a daze.
Although the house was equipped with heaters, it was not as warm as being in bed. The little one wrapped himself under the duvet. He slowly extended a little arm out from the duvet to open the drawer of the nightstand and fish out a pair of new socks. He grabbed the socks and quickly retracted his arm so he could put them on under the duvet.
Ruan Danchen would always prepare the next day attire for the little one and placed the clothes on the nightstand. Therefore, after wearing his socks, Qi Youxuan once again extended his arm towards his fall attire on the nightstand before shrinking back under the duvet.
He took off his pajamas while hiding under the duvet. His fall clothes were left exposed to the cold the whole night, unlike the pajamas that were warmed by his body temperature. As soon as he put on the fall attire, he shivered in cold and let out some ‘ooh, ooh’ sounds.
Chuckling, Ruan Danchen walked towards him and sat on the bed. She took the sweater and school pants to help him put them on, starting with the sweater. The mild electrical current that ran through it had messed up his soft hair.
The little one shivered again while grumbling, “It’s so cold!”
Ruan Danchen pulled him out from under the duvet and helped him to put on his school pants. Then, she grabbed the school blazer and tugged it on him.
Qi Youxuan simply leaned against Ruan Danchen’s arms. Though he did not want to sleep anymore, he was still feeling a bit lazy. So, he closed his eyes and stopped moving.
Since Ruan Danchen moved in, Qi Youxuan felt that his happy life also began. In the past, who would have bothered to help him with petty matters such as waking up in the morning?
During his preschool years, if he lazed in bed in the morning, his father would enter his room and took away his duvet, letting him curled up in cold. If he still refused to wake up, his father would slip his cold, wet hand that he just washed under Qi Youxuan’s pajamas, causing him to jump out of bed from the cold.
His father was not as patient with him as Ruan Danchen, who would let him leaned in her arms comfortably.
Ruan Danchen’s embrace was very soft unlike Qi Chenglin’s. Whenever he was held by Ruan Danchen, the little one could hardly explain why he would be so deeply moved. He only knew that her warm embrace made him teary sometimes.
The little one was rubbing up against Ruan Danchen’s embrace. He let her smoothed out his clothes and carried him into the washroom, placing him on the small stool.
She squeezed some toothpaste onto the electrical toothbrush before giving it to him to brush his teeth.
After freshening up, Qi Youxuan had become fully awake. He stared at Ruan Danchen scooping some hair gel onto her hands to style his hair. Then only she led Qi Youxuan to the dining room for breakfast.
That morning, Qi Youxuan was sent off to school by both Ruan Danchen and Qi Chenglin. As it was the parents’ visitation day, the little one also felt slightly nervous that he rarely spoke throughout the journey.
Parking their car in the car park, they found that Grandmother Qi had not arrived. Qi Chenglin said, “We’ll be waiting here. You go first.”
Ruan Danchen helped Qi Youxuan to put on his hat and gloves before letting him out of the car.
The couple walked Qi Youxuan to the school entrance and watched him entering the school until he was out of sight before returning to the car park.
Not long after they stayed inside the warm car, Grandfather Qi and Grandmother Qi came, followed immediately by Guan Liya. Qi Zhongxun and Qi Chengzhi stayed back in the company while Song Yu was forbidden by Grandmother Qi from attending the event because her belly had grown bigger each day.
Grandmother Qi was wearing the sunglasses that Song Yu bought her when she and Qi Chengzhi traveled to France. She was also dressed in a thick coat and had put on the hat that came with the coat.
“My goodness! It’s really cold today.” Grandmother Qi adjusted her scarf so that it covered her mouth.
The drama, that Grandmother Qi acted in, was already on air and she was concerned about being too famous from the drama. She intentionally chose that outfit not only to withstand the cold weather but also to conceal her face from the public.
Grandfather Qi got out from the car to see Grandmother Qi flaunting herself, and he harrumphed in disdain.
He had been reluctant to go out with Grandmother Qi recently. Every time that old lady left their house, she would act so dramatically like a maniac, making him feel embarrassed.
“Where’s Youxuan?” asked Grandmother Qi when she saw only Qi Chenglin and Ruan Danchen coming out from their car.
“He went into the school first. We were worried that we may hold him back too long from class,” Qi Chenglin explained.
At that moment, there were already a number of cars in the car park that had become almost full. Those parents were also present to attend the parents’ visitation day.
They could choose to not turn up at any other time, but the parents’ visitation day was a very important event. As long as the parents were free, they would attend the event. That included The Great Eight Families.
The Great Eight Families, such as the Wei family and the Qi family, placed great importance on their children that the other families would go as far as to try their luck if they could catch a sight of anyone from the Great Eight Families. Therefore, no matter how tied down they were, they would always rearrange their schedule to make time for the event.
As a result of such a cycle, the parents’ visitation day would turn out to be a very lively event every time. The Jixia Elementary School had become a stage for the upper-class society to get acquainted with one another.
“Aye, let’s go too,” pushing up her sunglasses, Grandmother Qi said hastily and walked into the school before the others.
“Mom, it has just snowed and the road is slippery. Please slow down.” Guan Liya hurried along to support Grandmother Qi.
They had already met a number of familiar faces along the way.
Usually, any common family would not simply step up to greet them. Instead, they would observe from a distance. In case that their children were just in the same class as Qi Youxuan, they would rejoice. During class, they could take this opportunity to converse with the Qi family.
Nonetheless, it was really unexpected to see such a big group of the Qi family. Even Grandfather Qi and Grandmother Qi were present. That led them to deduced Qi Youxuan’s importance to the Qi family, he could not simply be an illegitimate child.
“Grandfather Qi, Grandmother Qi, auntie.” A voice greeted from behind them.
They turned around to see Li Zhuohui striding towards them.
Grandmother Qi was rather fond of Li Zhuohui. The Li family had always stayed low and did not have many scandals. She could understand that the youngsters would play around and get into affairs occasionally. In their circle, even if they did not initiate it, someone would still try to stick around them. They could not even stop it.
Among the families’ younger generation, Li Zhuohui was considered to possess a steady disposition.
Next to Li Zhuohui were his mother and aunt. They too greeted Grandfather Qi and Grandmother Qi politely.
“Xiao Li, why are you here?” Grandmother Qi asked with a smile.
“I came with my mom and aunt. My cousin just happens to be on a business trip and his wife is still in confinement. Today is the parents’ visitation day. So, I am here on their behalf.”
“I see.” Grandmother Qi laughed while nodding her head.
“Are you here to visit Youxuan?” Li Zhuohui’s aunt, Zheng Yuxia asked.
“Yes,” Grandmother Qi nodded happily.
Li Zhuohui’s mother, Xu Yaomin, was wondering why Grandmother Qi was in such a good mood. Although Grandmother Qi always greeted the others with a smile, she seemed more thrilled that day.
“I heard from Youxuan that he’s in the same class as your Jianyu,” remarked Grandmother Qi, her back straightened suddenly.
Zheng Yuxia agreed with a smile. Her eyes suddenly came across Ruan Danchen and asked curiously, “This young lady is…”
“Hahaha!” Grandmother Qi laughed delightfully. She was waiting for someone to ask her that question. She pulled Ruan Danchen towards her and introduced, “This is my second grandson’s girlfriend. Her name is Ruan Danchen. Our Youxuan loves her very much and we have also considered her a part of our family.”
“Oh! Then I suppose that the good news is in order?” Xu Yaomin’s sight fell on Ruan Danchen before smiling towards Grandmother Qi saying, “The Qi family’s happy occasions come one after another. Isn’t the wife of your eldest grandson going to give birth soon? Your youngest granddaughter has just gotten married and now, a wife for your second grandson. This is really triple happiness coming one after another.”
“Isn’t it true?” Grandmother Qi was stroking Ruan Danchen’s hand softly when she felt something hard and looked down. “Oh, Xiao Ruan! Why’s there a ring on your finger? Has Chenglin proposed to you?”
“We…” Ruan Danchen tried to explain but was not given the chance. Grandmother Qi turned around and smiled towards the Li family in elation.
“Sigh, my second grandson acts really fast. Liya, quick! Make a call to print the wedding invitation, the one that printed the wedding invitation for Chengzhi and the Song girl. Their cards were pretty exquisite.” Grandmother Qi told Guan Liya before turning back to the Li family and said in a smile, “We will send you the invitation later!”
Xu Yaomin and Zheng Yuxia laughed along with her. They felt thankful that the grandmothers from the remaining of The Great Eight Families were not present today. Otherwise, they would have ripped into Grandmother Qi.
The Qi family’s grandchildren had gotten married one after another, getting on the nerves of the other families.
Looking at the high spirited Grandmother Qi, Ruan Danchen was unable to explain any further. She could not refute Grandmother Qi, embarrassing her in public. She could only explain when they were back home later.
Li Zhuohui, his mother and aunt then took their leave and started towards the school building ahead of the Qi family.
The others who saw the occurrence glanced towards the Qi family. Although they might not be qualified enough to greet the Qi family, they were also curious about Qi Chenglin’s girlfriend.
If she could attend Qi Youxuan’s parents’ visitation day with the Qi family, she must have already been accepted into the family. Thus, they could not help but stare at her a little longer.
They noticed that Qi Chenglin’s arm was wrapped around Ruan Danchen’s waist protectively. He seemed to dote on her very much. Ruan Danchen also appeared to be a lot younger than Qi Chenglin. The two Qi young masters had both gotten themselves young wives.
Checked out Qi Chenglin’s warm gaze on Ruan Danchen. That was the first time they have ever seen it.
In the past, when Qi Chengzhi took off his sunglasses, those sharp eyes softened when they met Song Yu. Now, Qi Chenglin who looked at everyone else impatiently would become full of patience when his sight fell onto Ruan Danchen.
They wondered which family did that lady come from for she could firmly attract the attention of the second young master of the Qi family.
Looking back at Grandmother Qi and Guan Liya, their mood seemed lifted and they gleamed happily at Ruan Danchen. Their sincere smiles revealed their acceptance of Ruan Danchen as their granddaughter-in-law. It seemed that a wedding was in order for the Qi family.
…
…
“Zhijing, why does that woman, standing among the Qi family, look so familiar?” When Gu Ziyao and Shen Zhijing walked into the school ground, they saw Grandmother Qi holding onto Ruan Danchen’s hand affectionately while conversing with the Li family.
Shen Zhijing was accompanying Gu Ziyao to the parents’ visitation day. Her brother, Shen Zhenghong, was in Z City. Gu Ziyao was unable to care for their two children at the same time on her own. Hence, she asked Shen Zhijing over to help her out.
Shen Zhenghong and Gu Ziyao had a boy and a girl. Their nine-year-old son, walking next to Gu Ziyao, was in the third year of Jixia Elementary School. Their younger daughter, Shen Manman, whose hand was held by Gu Ziyao, was in the same class as Qi Youxuan.
Gu Ziyao would attend her son’s parents’ visitation day and leave Shen Manman’s to Shen Zhijing.
“That auntie is Qi Youxuan’s dad’s girlfriend,” said Shen Manman all of a sudden.
“What did you just say?” Shen Zhijing stopped in her tracks and glared down at Shen Manman.
Shen Manman was intimidated by Shen Zhijing’s intensive glare and hid behind Gu Ziyao. Shen Zhijing’s expression at that moment was really frightening, her eyes opened wide as if they could gobble her up anytime.
Gu Ziyao was displeased with that and shielded Shen Manman from Shen Zhijing’s sight. She advised, “Calm down. Don’t get too agitated. You’re scaring the child.”
“Why didn’t you say so earlier?” Shen Zhijing ignored Gu Ziyao to glare at Shen Manman.
Frightened, Shen Manman took another step backward, “Why are you being so mean to me, auntie?”
Shocked and enraged, she could not be bothered about Shen Manman’s feeling but pushed on instead, “You said that she’s Qi Chenglin’s girlfriend. Is she the one whose hands are clasped by Grandmother Qi?”
Shen Manman nodded perturbed.
“Zhijing, what’s wrong with you? You are scaring the child.” Gu Ziyao frowned at Shen Zhijing while shielding her daughter.
“Didn’t you ask why that woman seems so familiar? She is Ruan Danchen.”
Stunned into silence, Gu Ziyao blinked and her face changed after recalling her memory.
“Ruan Danchen? Could you possibly be mistaken? Perhaps they only look similar. It has been seven years after all. It’s perfectly normal to not remember clearly.” Gu Ziyao frowned, looking towards Ruan Danchen.
Fortunately, the Qi family’s attention was on the Li family and did not notice them.
“Impossible! I met her at the entrance of Shengyue a few days ago. At that time, she was with Mu Huaisheng’s assistant and I thought that they were going out together. How did she end up with Qi Chenglin?” Shen Zhijing was driven mad with rage.
She already abhorred the sight of Ruan Danchen when she saw her again after seven years. She hoped that Ruan Danchen would vanish and never appear in her life ever again.
Looking at Ruan Danchen among the Qi family, she was not only shocked. She could not accept it at all!
