Chapter 88 : Thought

The atmosphere instantly fell silent, with an inexplicable hint of intimacy in the air.

Fan Yanxing stared at Liang Qingqing, who swallowed nervously, preparing to explain that it was not intentional. However, he lifted his hand and placed it on her waist, applying a gentle but firm pressure. Smiling faintly, he lowered his voice to a deep, hushed tone, as if sharing a secret that others shouldn’t overhear.

“Thinking about it?”

Just those two simple words, but Liang Qingqing sensed an unusual meaning. What was there to think about? Considering the recent incident, it could only be something embarrassing!

“Shut up. You’re the one who’s been thinking.” Liang Qingqing’s face flushed slightly. Instinctively, she tried to cover his mouth, but he was unabashed, straightforwardly admitting, “Yeah, I’ve been thinking.”

With her hand over his mouth, his words came out muffled, but she understood him clearly.

“I’m not talking about this anymore. Hurry up and pack up so we can go home.” Liang Qingqing, her face still red, pushed him away and turned to take a deep breath, speeding up her packing.

Fan Yanxing moved closer, standing beside her, and suddenly blurted out, “I want to get married soon.”

—

“Get married?”

In the courtyard of a traditional courtyard house in the heart of Beijing, an elderly man in gray suddenly stood up from his rattan chair. He clenched the letter in his hand, his brow furrowing, and began pacing back and forth in the yard. He soon stopped, looking at the letter again with disbelief.

The letter was very clear, his proud grandson would soon be marrying a woman, who turned out to be just a village girl with no background or abilities, whose name and surname were unknown.

No, the letter mentioned her name was Liang Qingqing.

A rather elegant name.

This was unacceptable, he had to make sure the girl was someone he knew well. But… the letter also stated that his grandson promised to bring a great-grandchild back soon after the wedding, which was indeed wonderful news.

Marriage was better than remaining single.

Qu Anming’s fingers tapped nervously on the paper. Before he could make sense of it, a loud voice came from the doorway. The voice arrived before the person did.

“Qu Anming, did Yanxing’s letter arrive? Let me see it quickly.”

As soon as the words were spoken, an elderly woman rushed in from outside. Her hair was meticulously done, and though she was nearing seventy, she looked no older than sixty. She hurried in, a smile on her face, which faltered when she saw Qu Anming hiding the letter behind him.

“Let me see it.”

The cold command made Qu Anming surrender immediately. He coughed awkwardly and slowly brought the letter from behind him. Xiao Jinhua, unable to wait, snatched it and sat down on the rattan chair, quickly reading it from start to finish.

“Yanxing is getting married? Then we need to pack up and go to Changbei Province to meet the granddaughter-in-law. These young people don’t know how to handle the wedding arrangements. As elders, we need to help.” Xiao Jinhua, with her fiery temper, finished speaking and began to prepare her luggage, only to be stopped by Qu Anming.

Xiao Jinhua glanced at the figure blocking her way and narrowed her eyes. “What’s the matter? Are you not happy?”

Hearing this, Qu Anming’s gaze flickered with unease, but he replied, “What’s there to be unhappy about? Yanxing is willing to get married, and I’m overjoyed. The ones who might be unhappy are others.”

“Just say, can Qingying and her husband agree?”

“I don’t care if they agree or not. As long as I’m here, Yanxing will do whatever he wants!” Xiao Jinhua snorted coldly, clearly dismissing the couple Qu Anming mentioned.

Caught between his daughter and his son-in-law, Qu Anming found himself in a difficult position. He had to smooth things over with Xiao Jinhua first.

“They are Yanxing’s parents. Qingying has your temper. It wouldn’t look good if things get messy.”

“What do you mean by she has my temper? What’s wrong with my temper? Qu Anming, if you don’t make this clear today, I won’t let it go.” Xiao Jinhua’s face flushed red with anger as she pointed at Qu Anming’s nose.

“It’s all my fault, my fault. Just listen to me first, don’t be so impatient.”

Qu Anming held Xiao Jinhua’s shoulders, guiding her back to her seat on the rattan chair. He poured her a cup of tea before continuing, “The girl Yanxing is marrying does have a lower status. We don’t know what kind of character she has. What if Yanxing is being deceived…”

“Bah, it’s always your grandson deceiving others.”

At this, Qu Anming touched his nose, thinking that Xiao Jinhua had a point. However, the girl’s background was indeed genuine and could not be faked. She was undoubtedly a match of high standing for their family.

But Xiao Jinhua had her own perspective and did not follow Qu Anming’s line of thinking. Instead, she said, “So what if her status is low? Everyone comes from a rural background. You, Qu Anming, were just a farmer scraping by in the fields. Now that you have a better life, you look down on rural people?”

“Who says that? I’ve never thought like that,” Qu Anming countered, feeling somewhat overwhelmed by the accusation. Though he denied it, only he knew what he really thought.

Xiao Jinhua took a sip of tea to soothe her throat and, after a moment of silence, continued, “You might not think that way, but your daughter and son-in-law do.”

“The Fan family does have a high status. Our Qu family also married up back then.”

“Qingying has been around them for so long that she’s learned to play dirty, using her child’s marriage as a bargaining chip. I absolutely dislike it!”

As she spoke, Xiao Jinhua slammed the teacup onto the table. “If Yanxing didn’t have anyone he liked, I might have turned a blind eye, but now that he does, as his future grandmother, I’m definitely on his side. Whoever dares to stop him, just try it!”

After saying this, Xiao Jinhua suddenly softened her fierce expression, curling her lips into a half-smile as she glanced at Qu Anming. “Old man, which side are you on?”

“Of course, I’m on your side.” Qu Anming smiled ingratiatingly, showing no hesitation.

Satisfied with his response, Xiao Jinhua nodded approvingly. “I trust Yanxing’s judgment. Common folks wouldn’t catch his eye. This child has deep thoughts, so the person he likes must be a good one.”

Then, Xiao Jinhua abruptly changed the topic. “What kind of gift should I prepare for Yanxing’s bride? And for the great-grandson and great-granddaughter as well. We need to think carefully about this, can’t just throw something together.”

“You handle it as you see fit. I don’t know much about these things,” Qu Anming said, wiping sweat from his forehead. He tentatively asked, “What about Qingying and the others?”

“Of course, keep it a secret from them. We’ll act first and report later. Do they really think they can tear the couple apart?” Xiao Jinhua gave Qu Anming a warning look. “Keep this under wraps. If I find out you’ve betrayed us, you can forget about ever seeing the great-grandchildren.”

Since Yanxing hadn’t informed them, he must be thinking the same way, they couldn’t lag behind.

Qu Anming’s eyes widened. Knowing Xiao Jinhua was serious, he composed himself and firmly made his choice. “Don’t you trust me? I can keep a secret.”

“Ha ha.”

Xiao Jinhua smiled without directly answering Qu Anming’s question. Instead, she instructed, “Write a letter to Yanxing later, asking him to send us a photo of his bride. It would be even better if he could call us when he has time. Once the wedding date is set, we’ll go visit. Otherwise, arriving too early might just add pressure on them.”

“Alright.”

The couple reached a consensus and quickly wrote and sent out the letter.

—

As soon as work ended, villagers began returning to their homes in groups. Today, Ma Xiuzhi was especially enthusiastic. She entrusted her tools to someone else for return and hurriedly made her way home.

The reason was simple, her beloved daughter was coming back today!

Naturally, others knew about this news too, and many people teased Ma Xiuzhi along the way. She didn’t get angry and responded with a smile.

When they finally returned to the Liang family home and saw Liang Qingqing sitting in the main hall, Ma Xiuzhi’s heart truly settled. She smiled and said, “Qingqing, you’re finally back.”

“Mom.” The moment Liang Qingqing saw Ma Xiuzhi appear in the yard, she stood up to greet her, hugging her tightly and not letting go. “I missed you so much.”

“I missed you too. If I hadn’t been tied up in the fields, I would have come with Yanxing to pick you up.” Noticing that Yanxing was missing, Ma Xiuzhi looked around and asked, puzzled, “Where is he? Didn’t he come back with you?”

“He came back, but he went to the new house to help out after dropping me off.”

“Why didn’t you go with him to have a look?” Ma Xiuzhi couldn’t believe Liang Qingqing wouldn’t be curious about the new house.

“I was waiting for you to come back. I was afraid you’d be worried if you came back and didn’t see me,” Liang Qingqing said with a playful smile. Her mischievous expression nearly brought tears to Ma Xiuzhi’s eyes, though she managed to compose herself in time, avoiding any embarrassment in front of her daughter.

“Let’s go, I’ll go with you to see it.”

“Okay.”

The two women walked hand in hand toward the new house. The distance wasn’t far, and they arrived quickly. From afar, they saw a group of shirtless men working under the sun, sweating profusely.

The house was in the process of having its foundation laid, with piles of dirt and large pits everywhere. Many building materials were scattered around the open space.

The sight attracted the attention of passersby, who couldn’t help but glance back.

Liang Qingqing was choked by the dust and had to cover her mouth and nose while coughing a few times before she recovered. She quickly scanned the men present and soon spotted Yanxing among them. He, too, was shirtless, wearing only a pair of liberation shoes and black shorts. His lean body was exposed to the air, making him quite noticeable among the crowd.

His strong and muscular upper body, with broad shoulders and a narrow waist, was even more defined with sweat making his muscles appear smoother. He had tanned quite a bit recently, exuding a strong, masculine charm that was both sexy and attractive.

Liang Qingqing’s gaze shifted downward and suddenly stopped at his wrist. The pink hair tie stood out starkly against his dark skin, making it hard to miss. She instinctively touched the hair tie on her own wrist, and her lips couldn’t help but curl into a smile.

He wore the hair tie she had casually given him last time, showing he cared.

Perhaps she had been staring for too long, as Yanxing eventually noticed her gaze. She expected him to be happy, but instead, his brow furrowed slightly.