Chapter 19: Shen Qingci, You’re Too Cool!
“What are you doing!” Lin Shanwan instinctively demanded, forgetting to hold back.
“What am I doing? Can’t you tell?”
Shen Qingci stepped forward, grabbed Xi Xiaoshan, and smacked him twice again.
“See it now?”
Lin Shanwan trembled, unable to recover for a long time. Finally, she shivered as she snatched the child and poured him onto Xi Zhenghao. “Master…”
Xi Zhenghao was furious. “This is your mother-in-law! She’s been running around all day, and this is how you treat your elders? Has your and Xi Xingye’s upbringing gone straight into the trash?!”
“Upbringing?” Shen Qingci laughed. “My mom died early, my dad being alive is no better than being dead, so I have no upbringing—what about Xi Xingye? Why doesn’t he have any upbringing?”
She spoke slowly and clearly: “Because of you, being alive is no different from being dead.”
“You—!”
“Don’t be so hasty.” Shen Qingci turned, her eyes sharp, aiming at Xi Xiaoshan. “Tell me, when you just clung to Xi Xingye’s thigh, what exactly did you do?”
Xi Xiaoshan cowered in Lin Shanwan’s arms, his cheeks swollen, crying and too scared to speak.
“Not telling me, huh? Fine.” Shen Qingci stepped forward and grabbed Xi Xiaoshan by the collar again.
Lin Shanwan hurriedly hugged him tighter. “Shen Qingci! Don’t go too far!”
Terrified, Xi Xiaoshan kicked wildly and shouted, “I—I pinched my brother’s thigh secretly! I didn’t do it on purpose! Mom told me to do it! She said I’d get candy if I did!”
“Xiaoshan!” Lin Shanwan yelled.
Xi Zhenghao stared at Lin Shanwan in disbelief. “Is what Xiaoshan said true?”
“Of course it is!” Lin Shanwan’s eyes reddened, trembling. “You don’t believe me?”
Xi Zhenghao pursed his lips, visibly shaken.
Shen Qingci sneered. “No acting needed. Xi Xingye is reckless, but he doesn’t hit women, and he certainly wouldn’t lay a hand on a child for no reason.”
She picked up a plate from the table, flipped it over, and dumped all the food onto the table, oil spilling everywhere.
“She’s the current lady of the Xi family. Without her permission, would anyone dare cook like this in the kitchen?”
“Xi Xiaoshan toasted and deliberately spilled wine on me.”
“From the moment she entered, this woman’s been fanning the flames. Anyone with eyes could see whether she was genuinely concerned for you two or trying to ruin your relationship.”
“Too bad you didn’t notice.”
With that, she pulled Xi Xingye and headed toward the door.
She signed the marriage contract with Xi Xingye, not with this brainless Xi Zhenghao.
No need to hold back.
Xi Xingye was dazed as she dragged him out.
In his eyes reflected Shen Qingci’s slender figure and the hand clutching his coat. His mind went blank, hearing nothing.
After the car had driven for a few minutes, Shen Qingci realized something:
It was too quiet.
The usually loud person now sat with his head down, holding a box of his mother’s belongings, still trembling slightly.
Angry?
Shen Qingci raised an eyebrow.
Makes sense.
Back then, she had argued with Song Qi and his relatives. She thought she was standing up for him, but in the end, she got a scolding.
Song Qi said the thing he hated most was her being impulsive and overbearing, not respecting him.
She had been meddling in matters that were none of her business—just like this. These were Xi Xingye’s family affairs, so why should it concern her?
Thinking this, Shen Qingci spoke: “Sorry about earlier. I was meddling. But I’ll do it again next time, so if you don’t like it, don’t bring me along…”
“Shen Qingci.” Xi Xingye lifted his head like a Super Saiyan, his teeth gleaming as he could no longer hold back a laugh. “You’re awesome!”
Shen Qingci froze.
Xi Xingye’s eyes shone as he took a deep breath to steady himself.
Then he clapped wildly. “Wow, too cool! Seriously, too cool!”
Shen Qingci opened her mouth, speechless for a moment. Finally, she asked, “You…don’t think I’m disrespecting you?”
“Respect? You bringing them tea and snacks is respect?” Xi Xingye said seriously. “Then don’t respect me—insult me properly!”
Shen Qingci: “…”
For the next half hour, she listened to his wild praise nonstop.
His words of admiration never ceased.
In a daze, Shen Qingci’s mind echoed Song Qi’s words: “Shen Qingci, before you interfere in my affairs, do you ask for my opinion? I really hate it when you’re impulsive and reckless.”
Every time she made a decision or ignored his feelings, Song Qi would look at her with that same disappointed expression. But now…
Xi Xingye’s boisterous laughter slowly overlapped with Song Qi’s cold face.
Across from her, Xi Xingye, tired of laughing, pulled out a cigarette, glanced at Shen Qingci, then put it back.
Shen Qingci noticed from the corner of her eye, recalling something.
Whether it was curfew, no smoking, or teasing his friends, Xi Xingye grumbled but ultimately followed her decisions…
Shen Qingci was slightly stunned.
After a moment, she suddenly said: “Go ahead and smoke—just this once.”
Xi Xingye froze and squinted.
“Trap!” His long fingers jabbed. “You set a trap! You’re going to use this as an excuse to hit me later, right? Dream on!”
He threw the cigarette pack and stomped on it twice.
Shen Qingci was left completely speechless.
The brief warmth earlier vanished instantly.
She continued to take him to the entertainment city entrance, then brought Xi Xingye’s mother’s keepsake home.
Xi Xingye chased after her, shouting: “Be careful! That’s my mom’s jewelry—don’t lose it!”
“Got it.” She stepped on the gas and drove off.
Xi Xingye strolled into the entertainment city, whistling and greeting people, feeling completely pleased.
Actually, besides curfew and smoking, Shen Qingci hadn’t really controlled him much.
She had even helped him deal with that mother-and-son duo earlier.
Looks like Shen Qingci isn’t bad at all!
This fake marriage isn’t so bad either—it’s better than actually marrying someone and having to supervise him every day!
Shen Qingci carried the wooden box home. The housekeeper hurriedly approached, offering to help.
Shen Qingci drew her hand back.
“I’ll carry this myself.”
This was given to her by Xi Xingye; losing it would surely anger him.
The photo on the box was conspicuous. The housekeeper clearly recognized it.
“This must belong to the late madam, right?” he said cheerfully, accompanying Shen Qingci toward the shrine. “Master’s life hasn’t been easy. Now that the current lady is here, finally someone cares for him.”
“Really? His life hasn’t been easy?” Shen Qingci asked skeptically.
The housekeeper walked and spoke.
“Yes. Ever since Second Madam entered the house, Master’s situation has been difficult.”
“Not just the servants—you’ve seen it too. They spoiled him, and many of his friends were arranged by Second Madam.”
“Now that Master’s grown, it’s fine. But as a child…”
The housekeeper sighed and shook his head.
“When I first arrived, it coincided with Second Madam entering the household. I often found Master in the kitchen’s freezer. Every time, he was shivering and told me Second Madam was playing hide-and-seek and hadn’t found him.”
“Another time, Master went missing for two days and was finally found in an abandoned cabinet in the warehouse. After two days with no food or water, he couldn’t even speak.”
“Later he told me it was Second Madam asking him to help find something valuable. When he crawled in, the cabinet door was locked.”
“Master developed claustrophobia because of this.”
“There were countless such incidents. Later, one event made Master fully realize Second Madam’s nature, which is why he became so rebellious.”