Chapter 37

Ruan Qing naturally asked how Nian Qi managed to make the knives look so convincingly aged. Nian Qi replied humbly, “It’s just a little trick I learned from my school; nothing worth mentioning.”

The items they had ordered throughout the afternoon and evening arrived gradually. Some were from the supermarket, while others were delivered by errand services, but they had managed to get everything they needed.

The next morning, when Ruan Qing walked out of the bedroom, she was momentarily taken aback upon seeing Nian Qi. The night before, she had specifically reminded him not to shave, and he had indeed complied. In just one night, his jawline had darkened with stubble. Do men’s facial hair really grow this fast? His clean, handsome face had taken on a rugged look, which added to his charm, and Ruan Qing, ever appreciative of good looks, couldn’t help but steal a few glances. This left Nian Qi feeling slightly uneasy all the way to the car—did not shaving really make him look that much older?

They set out for their trip by car, as Nian Qi still didn’t have an ID, making train travel impossible. Driving was their only option.

“When you get your ID, make sure you take a driving test right away,” Ruan Qing said. “Once you have your license, you can drive whenever we go out, and I can just relax in the passenger seat.” With Nian Qi by her side, already skilled in all household tasks, learning to drive would be an added bonus. She figured even if he didn’t find a job, he could work as her driver, and she’d gladly pay him for it. Household chores could be considered covered as part of her “hosting fee,” but there’d be no dodging the driver’s salary.

In her mind, she imagined a worry-free life, always accompanied by a handsome man who could take care of daily chores and protect her with his martial skills. With Nian Qi around, there would be no place too dangerous for her to go.

Hearing her plans, Nian Qi’s previous uneasiness immediately dissolved, and even the harsh sunlight outside seemed warm and inviting. He eagerly agreed, “Alright!”

Ruan Qing started thinking further ahead. “When the time comes, I’ll move to a new place, maybe a three-bedroom apartment, so you can have your own room.” Moving was a hassle, but it would be worth it for Nian Qi.

“My own bedroom…” Nian Qi smiled and said, “It doesn’t matter to me, with or without one.”

As they drove, Ruan Qing shared stories about her family’s history. “My grandfather left our hometown and moved to the county seat. My dad was born there. Later, he moved to the city, met my mom, and I was born there. Eventually, they both left their jobs and ventured into business, and our family moved to the provincial capital for better educational resources when I was in school. But after I went to university, they returned to the city because their friends and social connections were there. You could say their roots are there, and they simply prefer living in that area.”

She didn’t mention that her family owned properties and storefronts not only in the county and city but also in the provincial capital and even a tier-one city. Ruan Qing had no interest in taking over the family business, and her parents had considered either selling it or hiring a professional manager. However, since their business was in the rural-level manufacturing industry, it wasn’t technically demanding. If a manager became too familiar with the clients, there was a risk they might poach customers and start their own business.

To prevent Ruan Qing from squandering the family assets due to her lack of interest in business, her parents had invested in real estate for her over the years. Even if the family factory couldn’t continue, these assets would ensure she could live comfortably for the rest of her life. That’s the blessing—and the debt from a past life—that her parents carried for their beloved daughter.

Jiangcheng and Ruan Qing’s hometown are located in the same province. The time spent on the expressway was short, and after about an hour, they exited the highway. However, once they got off the highway, their speed slowed considerably. It took another two hours of driving on smaller roads before they finally reached the county town where their hotel was located.

“This isn’t my hometown county,” Ruan Qing explained. “My hometown is in the neighboring county. I deliberately avoided it. Even though I don’t actually know anyone there, better safe than sorry. It’s safer for us to stay here.”

The main reason was that her hometown did have some relatives. While Ruan Qing didn’t know them personally, they knew her, mainly because many of her relatives worked at the family’s factory. This was one of the reasons Ruan Qing didn’t want to take over the family business—too many complications and eccentricities that she, a city-raised girl, simply couldn’t handle.

“The relative I’m mainly going to, uh, visit—let’s call it that—is someone I refer to as Grandpa Qi,” Ruan Qing said. “Now, what kind of relative is he exactly? Let me think…” She struggled to map out the family connection for a while. “My grandfather and he are distant cousins. My great-grandfather and his father were direct cousins. My grandfather’s grandfather and his grandfather were actually brothers.”

Nian Qi quickly clarified the relationship. “Your branch and his share the same great-great-grandfather. That’s five generations removed,” he said.

“Yes, yes, my mom said the same thing!” Ruan Qing said, impressed. “You figured it out so quickly? I always have to work my way backward to sort it out.”

Nian Qi found this puzzling. “Why would that be confusing?” Even if it was five generations apart, they still belonged to the same clan. His relatives in that branch would be considered clan brothers. This was a basic social concept, easy to grasp—even Nian Qi, an orphan, could understand it because the rules of kinship were written in the books.

“It’s because I’m an only child,” Ruan Qing explained. “I’m actually pretty fortunate that my grandfather came from the countryside, where we have many relatives, and we’ve stayed in touch with most of them. That’s why I can still keep track of the majority of family titles.”

She continued, “I had a university classmate whose family has been city dwellers for generations. In their household, at least two generations have been only children, so they can’t even distinguish between ‘paternal’ and ‘maternal’ cousins, or ‘nephews’ and ‘cousins,’ or ‘uncles’ and ‘maternal uncles,’ and ‘aunts’ and ‘maternal aunts.'”

“Plus, modern times are different from the old days when clans existed. Ever since the founding of the country, those clan structures have been dismantled. The government doesn’t allow clan powers to persist. Nowadays, each family lives their own life independently, and in big cities, many families barely maintain contact with their relatives.”

“If it weren’t for my grandfather and father constantly trying to support and stay in touch with our relatives, I’d probably be unable to distinguish between paternal and maternal sides myself.”

Nian Qi’s interest was piqued, and he cautiously asked, “So, if someone is completely alone, with no family ties, is it considered no big deal?”

“Isn’t that a good thing?” Ruan Qing responded. “Who still wants to visit relatives these days? Forget relatives—right now, the trend in home design is to eliminate the living room. No one wants televisions, TV cabinets, or even accent walls for entertainment. It’s as if people don’t intend to entertain guests at home at all.”

“The place I’m living in now is rented, and most of the furniture belongs to the landlord. I’m too lazy to redecorate it, so it still has the traditional layout, including a living room.”

When Ruan Qing first came to Jiangcheng, she never intended to stay for long—it was just a temporary stopover. But time flew by, and before she knew it, more than two years had passed.

“If it came to marriage talks, would the woman’s family mind?” Nian Qi cautiously probed. In ancient times, if he had wealth and could set up a household with a house, land, and servants, he might have been able to counteract the bad fortune of being a lone star with no parents. Although a wealthy family might still reject him, he could at least marry into a humble, respectable family. But now, he had nothing and was living off Ruan Qing’s generosity. As a poor young man without parents or relatives, he worried that Ruan Qing’s parents might not approve of him.

Though she hadn’t said it explicitly, Nian Qi could sense that Ruan Qing not only made a good living herself, but her family’s circumstances were quite well-off, maybe even very well-off. Because of this, he felt too embarrassed to bring up the idea of marriage.

“Why would they mind?” Ruan Qing said casually. “Girls nowadays might even prefer their boyfriends to have no parents.” It was a blunt and unconventional view, perhaps one that could upset a traditionalist, but Nian Qi wasn’t a conventional person, and to him, this was good news.

“But what about the girl’s parents?” he asked cautiously. “Wouldn’t parents still have some concerns?” If he were a father, and a poor boy with an unclear background showed up wanting to marry his beautiful daughter, he wouldn’t hesitate to send the boy packing. Yet, now that he found himself in the role of the poor boy, he hoped Ruan Qing’s parents would be lenient.

Ruan Qing finally caught on and glanced at him in surprise. “Are you talking about yourself? Are you thinking about marriage?”

“Ahem.” Nian Qi quickly took the opportunity to state his intentions. “Since I’m here, I should settle down and live a steady life.” He felt that he was being very sincere. Any family would want a son-in-law with this kind of attitude. After all, there were plenty of cases where men married into the family only to run off after a couple of years, and the woman’s family was always wary of such types. He knew he needed to prove that he was serious about building a future together.

“Tsk, such an old-fashioned way of thinking,” Ruan Qing mused to herself. “Typical of someone from the past, always thinking about getting married and having children. You’ve traveled all the way to the future, and you’re still not dreaming about traveling the world or marveling at beautiful landscapes? All you think about is marriage—so boring.”

She was just having a good daydream, and he had pulled her back to reality. After all, not getting married wasn’t the end of the world.

“Who knows,” Ruan Qing shrugged dismissively. “I’m not from my parents’ generation. How would I know if they’d mind or not?” Her words left Nian Qi even more uncertain.

As they drove into the county town, they stopped for lunch before continuing on toward Ruan Qing’s ancestral village. The roads were mountainous but still navigable, and Ruan Qing followed the GPS until they reached a high spot by the roadside. She pointed into the distance. “There! That village should be my hometown.”

Ruan Qing’s plan was for them to scout the area in advance and find a suitable spot to stage their performance. The plot wasn’t too complicated: the next day, Ruan Qing would visit her Granpa Qi alone and, in his presence, pretend to go hiking in the mountains. Nian Qi, of course, would be waiting at a prearranged location to meet up with her, so they could actually wander around together. As evening approached, she would call her Grandpa Qi and tell him she was lost, but had been taken in by a local mountain resident.

To make the act convincing, it would be best to call once or twice to say she was still searching for the way, creating the illusion of being genuinely lost. Then, in the last call, she would say that a mountain resident had taken her in and that she was safe, so there was no need for her Grandpa Qi to come looking for her.

The next day, she would bring this “mountain resident” down from the mountains and introduce him with a backstory: a young man raised by an elderly monk in a remote mountain temple, now living alone after his master passed away. The key to pulling off this story was finding a place for this “mountain resident” to plausibly live. Ruan Qing’s idea was to find a cave, set up a few campfires, and leave traces of daily life to make it look like someone had really been living there. That way, if the villagers demanded proof, they could show them the place to confirm the story.

The only thing Ruan Qing worried about was whether the act of getting lost might be too convincing and whether her Grandpa Qi’s heart could handle the scare. Since her family had helped his in the past, they had always maintained a close relationship. She was concerned that he might get overly anxious. When she saw him the next day, she would discreetly ask if he had any history of heart problems, assess his tolerance for surprises, and then decide whether to add more drama to the act.