Shui Qianlan’s brow furrowed, and she gently reminded Mr. Qin, “Dad, do you remember why you invited Shi Ning here?” He had summoned Shi Ning so aggressively, intending to accuse them and demand a divorce! Not to apologize!
Mr. Qin, a bewildered look on his face, turned to Xu Chang. “Why did I ask my granddaughter-in-law to come? I’m old, and my memory isn’t very good.”
Seeing that Mr. Qin genuinely seemed to be suffering from a lapse, Xu Chang dutifully replied, “You invited Miss Shi back to ask them to divorce…”
Mr. Qin’s face suddenly brightened with understanding. “Yes, the pears are ripe. I asked Xiao Ning to eat pears.”
Everyone present stared at Mr. Qin, utterly speechless. That was clearly not the reason.
Shi Ning, seizing the moment, pointed her camera at Xu Chang. Then, she addressed Qin Heye, “That’s him! This bad housekeeper still hasn’t changed his way of calling me Young Madam!”
Qin Heye’s voice from the video purred, “Let Grandpa fire him.”
“No, no,” Shi Ning interjected quickly, “I’ve punished him to write 100 pieces of calligraphy.”
Shui Qianlan and Qin Hongyi exchanged shocked glances. Calligraphy? A punishment?
Shi Ning, a hint of pride in her voice, showed off to Qin Heye, “Punish him to write 100 pieces of ‘Shi Ning is the Qin Family’s Young Madam,’ and paste them all over the conspicuous places in the old house! What do you think, am I very bad?”
“Not bad, my wife is very obedient,” Qin Heye responded, his voice filled with doting amusement. Then, he added, “He should be punished to write 10,000 pieces!”
10,000 pieces? Xu Chang’s hands would break from writing! That was worse than death!
Xu Chang, completely defeated, lowered his head and quickly expressed his capitulation. “I have changed my way of calling you Young Madam, but I’m not used to it yet, and I always call you the wrong name.” He quickly added, “Young Master, you should deduct one year’s salary from me.” Ten years, even! Just not 10,000 words!
Deducting wages felt too harsh, especially since she hadn’t allowed him to use the title before. Shi Ning, feeling a pang of guilt, said to Qin Heye, “You can’t deduct wages; it’s too shameless.”
Qin Heye chuckled, a doting sound. “Well, my wife is right. Then, a punishment of two hundred pieces.”
Xu Chang, thoroughly cowed by Qin Heye’s revised sentence, dared not refute it. Old Master Qin, Qin’s father and mother, and the surrounding servants were all stunned. It was utterly unimaginable that this man, who spoke so gently and patiently, was Qin Heye! Moreover, he was willing to listen to her utterly nonsensical ramblings! This was Qin Heye, the man of few words, taciturn, who wouldn’t utter a syllable of unnecessary talk!
Shui Qianlan’s eyes, fixed on Shi Ning, held a new, scrutinizing intensity. The strength of her gaze was almost palpable. Shi Ning turned her head, looking at Shui Qianlan, wondering if she should complain about her too.
Qin Heye, noticing the subtle shift in Shi Ning’s expression and her eyes darting away in a conflicted manner, his voice immediately turned cold. “Is there anyone else bullying you?”
Shi Ning decided she had complained enough for one day. Too much complaining at once, and she’d become a nuisance. She should handle the mother-in-law relationship herself and avoid putting Qin Heye in the middle. If she truly couldn’t manage, then she’d let Qin Heye step in. Either way, she wouldn’t suffer. She shook her head. “No, with you protecting me, no one dares to bully me.”
Shi Ning looked at Qin Heye on the screen, remembering it was night where he was. She urged him, “Go to bed quickly. Finish your work early and come back soon.” Her voice softened. “I’ll wait for you to come home at the old house.”
“Okay,” he replied.
Shi Ning, determined to convince the Qin family that she and Qin Heye were genuinely together and not divorcing, swallowed her shyness and, with a blush, said, “Come back soon. I miss you very much.”
Qin Heye, lonely in a foreign land, felt his heart instantly warmed by her words. His gaze softened, filled with tenderness and reluctance. “I miss you too.”
“Good night, husband,” Shi Ning chirped, leaning into the camera to give Qin Heye a goodnight kiss.
“Good night,” he responded.
Shi Ning wasn’t satisfied with such a simple reply. She frowned. “I gave you a goodnight kiss, but you were so perfunctory, just saying good night? Not even a kiss back?”
Qin Heye looked at the screen. Not just Shi Ning, but Old Man Qin, his parents, and even the servants were staring, their eyes wide with amazement, as if they wanted to pull him through the phone and dissect him. Qin Heye wanted to refuse. But how could he refuse his sweet and soft wife?
Qin Heye blushed, faced the camera, pouted, and gave Shi Ning a goodnight kiss. “mUa.”
Old Man Qin and the others, witnessing this unprecedented display, felt as if they’d been struck by lightning—crispy on the outside, tender on the inside.
Satisfied with her goodnight kiss, Shi Ning happily ended the video call. Turning around, she was met with a chorus of scrutinizing, perplexed, and amazed gazes.
Grandpa Qin, now in an utterly cheerful mood, beamed at Shi Ning. “Yes, my granddaughter-in-law is truly good. Her fate is a perfect match for our Qin family!” He said to her very seriously, “As long as you maintain your current personality, be flexible, and coax He Ye, Grandpa will listen to you in everything.”
Indeed! Qin Heye had just looked like a real human being, full of emotions. Otherwise, he was cold and emotionless, like a robot. He was indifferent even to his own relatives and family! It was truly bizarre.
Grandpa Qin mused that Shi Ning was probably just pretending, but if she was willing to pretend for a lifetime to coax Qin Heye, he would be satisfied. After all, without a mentally healthy grandson, all the money in the world was useless.
Shui Qianlan looked at Grandpa Qin, whose attitude had shifted so drastically in less than an hour. She frowned. “Dad, what Shi Ning did…”
Old Master Qin’s gaze turned cold. “He Ye has his own limits. The company is under his control. As elders, we should not worry about it.” He added, “Also, don’t be so strict with He Ye, and don’t target Xiao Ning. With our family’s strength, and no need for marriage alliances, why do we need such a perfect young lady?”
Shui Qianlan’s objections died in her throat. She said nothing more, turning her head to stare intensely at Shi Ning. Qin Hongyi, initially displeased with Shi Ning, now saw her ability to influence Qin Heye, and his opinion of her changed dramatically. “Dad is right,” he murmured, leaning towards Shui Qianlan. He whispered, “Don’t care too much about the younger generation.” Shui Qianlan simply turned away, pointedly ignoring him, unable to hide her disgust for Qin Hongyi.
Qin Hongyi’s eyes deepened slightly as he turned to Mr. Qin, feigning concern. “Dad, I just heard from the servant that you weren’t feeling well and seemed to have fainted. You haven’t been well; let Dr. Hu check you out.” Dr. Hu was the Qin family’s highly authoritative family doctor.
After a thorough checkup, Dr. Hu announced, “The old man looks energetic now, but his emotions were greatly stimulated just now, and there is a risk of cerebral infarction.”
Mr. Qin’s eyes widened. “It shouldn’t be. I don’t feel uncomfortable now.” He merely felt a bit breathless sometimes.
Dr. Hu reassured Mr. Qin, “It’s okay now, but you have to take medicine to prevent it, especially when your emotions are stimulated. You have to take it now.” He instructed Xu Chang, “Go get the old man’s medicine and have him take it now.”
Xu Chang quickly retrieved the medicine, returning with two or three kinds of traditional Chinese patent medicines. Mr. Qin, who valued his life dearly, obediently took the first pill, then the second. Shi Ning observed, noting that he seemed fine.
But as Xu Chang brought the third pill to Mr. Qin’s lips, the barrage erupted again, a massive, thickened red alarm!
[Grandpa can’t take this medicine! This is a banned drug! If you take it, you’ll die! The plot has changed!]
[Grandpa can’t die yet. He said that the villain told a joke and he crawled like a turtle. He hasn’t crawled yet! He can’t die!]