Chapter 28

Paparazzi

In front of Qi Shanglan’s house, Lin Qianyou took several deep breaths to calm herself. Noticing this, Qi Shanglan teased, “Are you really that nervous?”

She let out a long exhale and replied, “Yeah, I’m so nervous.” She stomped her feet a few times, her brows furrowed in distress.

“Tsk, how about we skip this and just elope?” He chuckled.

“Huh?” Lin Qianyou actually believed him for a second. “You mean getting married first and telling them later?”

“Yeah.” Qi Shanglan suddenly thought it wasn’t a bad idea. “Wanna get the marriage certificate tomorrow?”

“No way!” Lin Qianyou still felt it was too hasty. “It’s better to tell our families in advance.”

“Alright, whatever you say.” Qi Shanglan laughed and ruffled her hair, only for Lin Qianyou to push him away in annoyance. “Hey! You messed up my curls!”

“You still look good even if it’s messy.” He chuckled helplessly and carefully smoothed her hair back into place.

“Qi Shanglan, my heart is beating so fast… What if your parents don’t like me?” Lin Qianyou looked up at him with wide, pitiful eyes.

“How could they not like you? Are you doubting my taste?” Qi Shanglan pinched her cheek, trying to help her relax. “Even if they don’t approve, we’re not breaking up. Worst case, we move out and live in the apartment I rented. How about that?” He was seriously thinking ahead.

“That’s not realistic, Qi Shanglan. Your parents would beat both of us up. We’re past the rebellious phase—we can’t act like this anymore.” Lin Qianyou corrected his thinking.

“Beat us?” Qi Shanglan couldn’t help but laugh. She actually believed that. “I’ll shield you. They won’t be able to touch you.”

“Ah, no, I’m still so nervous!” She still couldn’t relax, even with his reassurance.

“Then how about a kiss? One kiss and you won’t be nervous anymore.” Qi Shanglan pinched her chin and leaned in the next second.

Lin Qianyou pushed him away with effort. “I just put on my lipstick!”

Inside the house, a family of three had been watching their flirting scene unfold outside through the floor-to-ceiling window.

Zou Ying had been excited ever since she received the news that morning that Qi Shanglan was bringing his girlfriend home. She had been so full of energy that she cleaned the house from top to bottom and even tidied up Qi Dongjun and Qi Shangxing, as if she wanted to throw them into a tub of bleach to freshen them up.

About ten minutes ago, Qi Shanglan had messaged her, saying they were almost there. So she had pulled the father and son to stand by the window, waiting anxiously. She had to admit, watching young people in love was quite entertaining.

“Mom, my brother’s girlfriend really is a celebrity.” Qi Shangxing recognized Lin Qianyou.

“Watch your mouth. Don’t go spreading rumors at school,” Zou Ying warned seriously.

“I know, celebrities can’t publicly announce their relationships.” Qi Shangxing pouted. “But my brother’s way too pitiful. He doesn’t even get an official title.”

Hearing this, Zou Ying didn’t hesitate to smack Qi Shangxing on the head. “What do you know, kid? Stop talking nonsense!”

Reminded by her younger son, Zou Ying actually started to feel that her eldest really was in a pitiful position. A relationship that couldn’t be made public—wasn’t that just being someone’s secret lover?

Qi Dongjun, who had been silent for a long time, furrowed his brows even tighter. He had never been in favor of Qi Shanglan dating a celebrity, and now they couldn’t even announce it? Wasn’t that the same as hiding in the shadows?

“Hey, hey, hey! They’re coming in! Go to the door and welcome them!” Zou Ying pushed the father and son toward the entrance, grabbing a red envelope and an old-fashioned wooden box from the table on the way.

As the door opened, Qi Shanglan walked in holding Lin Qianyou’s hand. Zou Ying immediately pushed Qi Dongjun forward, greeting them with a bright smile.

“Hello, Uncle and Auntie.” Lin Qianyou greeted them with a shy smile and handed over a few gift boxes respectfully. “These are gifts I brought for you.”

“Oh, you didn’t have to bring anything! Just coming over is enough.” Zou Ying took the gifts with a smile and immediately pulled Lin Qianyou inside, her tone full of undisguised admiration. “You’re such a beauty!”

She set the gifts aside and handed Lin Qianyou a red envelope from her other hand, speaking in a tone that left no room for refusal. “This is a little gift from us. Take it.”

“Huh?” Lin Qianyou stared in shock at the thick stack in Zou Ying’s hand and quickly waved her hands. “I can’t accept this, Auntie! Please take it back.”

“What do you mean you can’t take it? You bought so many gifts for us, and now we can’t give you one in return?” Zou Ying insisted on stuffing the red envelope into her hands.

Lin Qianyou looked to Qi Shanglan for help, but he only smiled mischievously and mouthed, Just take it. Left with no choice, she accepted it and kept thanking them sincerely.

“Dongjun, what are you standing there for? Hurry up and give Qianyou the family heirloom!” Zou Ying nudged the serious-looking Qi Dongjun, who finally took out a wooden box and held it out to Lin Qianyou. “Qianyou, take this too.”

Seeing how slow he was, Zou Ying snatched the box and opened it for Lin Qianyou. Inside was a smooth, round, flat white jade ring. It was difficult to tell exactly what it was—it didn’t look like a jade bracelet. Could it be a bi? Or maybe a yuan or a jue?

“Qianyou, this is the Qi family’s heirloom, meant for the future daughter-in-law. Take it.” Zou Ying once again tried to push it into her hands.

But such a valuable gift—how could Lin Qianyou dare to accept it? She quickly refused, “Auntie, I really can’t take this. It’s too precious.” She once again turned to Qi Shanglan for help, but he simply mouthed the same response: Take it.

In the end, with no way to decline, Lin Qianyou had no choice but to obediently accept it.

At the dining table, most of the conversation was between Zou Ying and Lin Qianyou. The three Qi men barely got a word in and could only eat in silence. This, however, made Zou Ying dissatisfied. She nudged Qi Dongjun’s elbow and whispered, “Why aren’t you saying anything to Qianyou?”

Prompted by Zou Ying’s impatient reminder, Qi Dongjun set down his chopsticks and made a symbolic effort to chat with Lin Qianyou. However, the moment he spoke, Zou Ying became even more dissatisfied.

Qi Dongjun said, “Uh… Qianyou, how’s work been lately?”

Zou Ying nearly slapped him on the spot. Who asks their son’s girlfriend about work? He’d been an official for so long that he’d lost touch with personal matters—he couldn’t even separate family from business!

Fortunately, Lin Qianyou handled it well. She answered each question politely, without being vague or dismissive.

By the end of the meal, it was clear that Zou Ying had taken a strong liking to Lin Qianyou. Her simple white dress looked clean and modest, her personality was pleasant, and she spoke gently. No wonder their eldest son was so taken with her.

As they were about to leave, Zou Ying told Lin Qianyou to visit often with Qi Shanglan whenever she had time. Lin Qianyou smiled and agreed.

Once they had walked some distance away, Lin Qianyou finally relaxed. She clutched Qi Shanglan’s arm with both hands and stomped her feet in relief. “Ahhh! We finally got out of there!”

“Still nervous?” Qi Shanglan held her hand. “I think they really like you.”

“What do you mean? It’s your mom who likes me. I feel like your dad was so cold toward me—he’s really serious.” Lin Qianyou shook off Qi Shanglan’s hand and started opening the wooden box to check the jade ring inside. “Does your dad not like me? He even asked about my job. Does he disapprove of my profession?”

“You’re overthinking it. That’s just his professional habit—he asks everyone about their work. I think he was actually nervous and didn’t know what else to ask, so he blurted that out,” Qi Shanglan explained rationally.

“Is that so?” Lin Qianyou looked at him with some doubt, “But I feel like I’ve seen your dad somewhere, he looks so familiar.”

Qi Shanglan raised an eyebrow, “On the news.”

“Ah?”

“He’s the Party Secretary of the Municipal Committee, you must have seen him on the news.”

“Party Secretary?!” Lin Qianyou was stunned, “Why didn’t you say it earlier!”

“What’s the point of saying that?” He chuckled, “It would make you even more nervous.”

With a ‘duang’ sound, Lin Qianyou punched him again, “It’s all your fault! I should’ve just said that my work is going really well!”

Qi Shanglan didn’t feel pain, he just looked at her and smiled softly. She was so cute, even when she was angry.

Lin Qianyou opened the box. The jade pendant gleamed with a special luster, round and full, probably made of high-quality jade.

“Your parents just gave me the family heirloom like this? Isn’t that too casual? What if we break up?” Lin Qianyou carefully stroked it. “What is this? A Heshi jade disk?”

“No, it’s a jade pendant.” Qi Shanglan replied. He glanced at it and was somewhat surprised, “I didn’t expect them to just hand over the family heirloom like this.”

“A jade pendant?” Lin Qianyou studied it for a few seconds, “But it doesn’t look like one.”

“The middle part is missing. Originally, it was a double-ring jade pendant, with a large one on the outside and a smaller one inside.”

“Wow, what happened to the small one?”

“I don’t know, it probably got lost when it was passed down. I heard from my mom that this jade pendant has been passed down for dozens of generations. It’s probably been around for a thousand years.”

“A thousand years?! That’s incredible?” Lin Qianyou was amazed. She carefully closed the lid and put it into her bag. Then she took out the stack of red envelopes, squeezed them to feel the thickness, and said, “Your parents gave me so much! It’s so thick. Let me count how many there are.” She started opening them one by one, discovering there were even coins.

“Ten thousand and one! That’s a lot!” Lin Qianyou paused, “Why are they giving me so much?!”

“A lot?” Qi Shanglan didn’t understand whether that was a large or small amount, he just knew that when bringing his girlfriend home, his parents would give a red envelope, but he had no concept of how much should be in it.

“This is a lot! It’s enough for several months of rent!” Lin Qianyou glared at him and stuffed the money back into her bag. “So your parents must like me, otherwise, why would they give me so much?” She speculated, then continued, “Wait, no, your mom probably likes me. As for your dad, I’m not so sure.”

“Who cares?” Qi Shanglan said nonchalantly.

“What do you mean ‘who cares’? That’s your dad, how can you talk like that?” Lin Qianyou complained.

“Tch, fine, then let’s care about him.” He smiled, “It’s best if he likes you, but if not, just report him and force him to like you.”

“Report?”

“Uh, report him, report that he accepted your bribe, took your gift and still doesn’t like you,” he explained casually.

“Qi Shanglan!” Lin Qianyou punched him again, “No wonder your dad wants to beat you, you’re so annoying.”

“Annoying?” He pinched her face with one hand, forcing her to look up at him. “I’m just trying to figure things out for you, hmm? Girlfriend.” He lowered his head and kissed her.

One kiss wasn’t enough to satisfy him, he directly pulled her waist with one arm and held the back of her head with the other, deepening the kiss, “When will you take me to meet your brother?” he asked in a low, hoarse voice, his breath warm and tickling against her cheek, making her feel weak again.

“I… my sister-in-law is about to give birth… I’ll take you after she gives birth…” Her lipstick was completely wiped off from the kiss.

“Alright, now let’s go to the supermarket.”

“Go to the supermarket for what?” She was still out of breath, pushing his face away as she asked him.

“To buy something.” He replied, his tone heavy with desire.

“Qi Shanglan!”

After disappearing from the roadside, two stunned paparazzi in the distant greenery looked at each other in disbelief.

One of them lowered his camera and, dumbfounded, said to the other, “Did you see that? They just disappeared out of nowhere! I told you that video was real, not AI-generated! Now do you believe me?”

The other one’s eyes were wide open in disbelief, saying, “I—I can’t believe it!”