Chapter 338 - 125: Granny Borrows Money from Qin Mei
A satisfied smile touched Qin Xiang’s lips. He walked up to Mr. and Mrs. Xie’s bedroom door and knocked. A few seconds later, Mrs. Xie opened it. Seeing them, her cold expression instantly broke into an elegant smile. "Xiao Xiang, Xiao Mei, please, come in."
"Mr. Xie, are you all right?" Qin Xiang asked with concern.
"Dad, are you all right?" Qin Mei asked, also concerned.
"I’m fine." Mr. Xie tried to sit up, but the slightest movement made him wince in pain.
"Mr. Xie, please don’t move," Qin Xiang urged. Mrs. Xie invited them to sit, then shot a sidelong glance at Jie Jingchen, who was standing in the doorway.
"Here, Mom." Qin Mei handed a small medicine bottle to Mrs. Xie. "Have Dad take one of these in a little while."
"Alright." Mrs. Xie accepted it. Qin Mei offered no further explanation, and Mrs. Xie asked no questions.
"Mrs. Xie, Mr. Xie, this is a gift for you both." Qin Xiang got straight to the point, taking out two red paper envelopes and handing them both to Mrs. Xie.
"Oh, you shouldn’t have. Why are you giving us gifts?" Mrs. Xie accepted them with a beaming smile, though her feelings were complicated. She was usually the one handing out red envelopes.
"It’s the proper thing to do," Qin Xiang said casually.
Mrs. Xie’s expression grew solemn. Qin Xiang might have said it offhandedly, but she couldn’t treat it so lightly.
"Speaking of propriety, our family has been the one that’s been remiss," Mrs. Xie said. "When Xiao Mei married into our family, we didn’t make any formal gesture. And Jing Si... getting married is such a momentous occasion, yet he didn’t discuss it with us at all. They just went off and secretly got their marriage license. And fine, if they got it, they got it, but they didn’t even tell us. He only brought Xiao Mei home for the first time in the last two months, catching us completely by surprise. Xiao Xiang, let me make our stance clear to you. Even though they’re already married, we will make up for every single traditional courtesy that’s owed when one’s son gets married. We won’t skip a thing."
Qin Xiang was taken aback. Others might not know the story behind their marriage license, but he knew it perfectly well. This wasn’t something you could blame Jing Si for; it was entirely his little sister’s fault. It was a blessing her in-laws treated her well after the marriage. Qin Xiang wouldn’t have even been surprised if they couldn’t stand the sight of her.
Qin Xiang explained, "Mrs. Xie, you’ve misunderstood. That’s not what I meant. My parents aren’t that traditional. To them, these formalities are just for show, and they don’t really care about them. As long as my sister and Jing Si are happy, nothing else is important."
"Xiao Xiang, I’ll clear my schedule as soon as I can. You should stay here for a while longer, and we can all go to your home together. I intend to prepare extravagant gifts and formally ask your parents for their daughter’s hand. I want them to be able to marry their daughter off in grand style. I promise you, your parents will be able to hold their heads high in your village," Mrs. Xie pledged.
Qin Xiang’s composure crumbled. If they went to his home, the fact that this was his sister’s second marriage would be exposed. He would much rather his parents come to Shijiu City than have Jing Si’s parents go to Yangcheng City.
"Mrs. Xie, please don’t. Your work is more important, there’s no need to rush. My parents feel that since the wedding has already happened, it’s best to dispense with any formalities they can," Qin Xiang said.
"Some formalities can be waived, but others can’t. Especially when it’s about giving a daughter away in marriage," Mrs. Xie stated.
"Mom, if you feel like you owe my in-laws, just give my wife more money to spend," Jie Jingchen cut in. "My father-in-law and mother-in-law are very busy. They don’t have time to host you, so don’t go making things difficult for them."
Mrs. Xie nearly stumbled when she heard Jing Si’s words. Her expression darkened as she snapped, "If you don’t know what you’re talking about, then keep quiet! Do you think this is something that can be solved with money?"
A faint smirk touched Jie Jingchen’s lips. "Solving problems with money is your usual way of doing things," he said, his tone still flat.
A harsh glint flashed in Mrs. Xie’s eyes. "Some things can be solved with money," she retorted, "and some things can’t."
Qin Mei’s eyes narrowed. Judging by what Jie Jingchen said, he didn’t want their parents to meet. ’Why, though?’
"Mom, when you go to Meimei’s family home to formally propose, what would you be doing if not giving them money?" Jie Jingchen asked.
When Qin Xiang heard Jie Jingchen call his sister "Meimei," a flicker of light crossed his eyes, and he shot Qin Mei a meaningful glance.
’When his sister had come to visit the base, he’d dragged Jing Si to the train station to pick her up, and Jing Si had called her Meimei back then. But ever since she drugged Jing Si, he had switched to calling her by her full name.’
’When he’d arrived this time, he’d heard Jing Si using her full name and knew he hadn’t gotten over what happened. Now, he was calling her Meimei again. Did that mean he had finally let it go?’
Qin Mei rubbed her forehead. ’So he doesn’t just call me that in private.’
Mrs. Xie was left speechless. He was right—she had intended to give them money. It was the simplest solution. Since Qin Xiang was there, her expression only faltered for a second before she turned to him and said, "Xiao Xiang, he doesn’t know any better. Don’t listen to his nonsense."
"Mrs. Xie, if you give my parents money, they’ll just turn around and give it to Xiao Mei. You might as well give it to her directly." Qin Xiang sided with Jie Jingchen. Their objective was the same: prevent their parents from meeting. To be more precise, prevent Jie Jingchen’s parents from going to their village.