The better Cao Yufeng had planned his life and the more laboriously he worked to achieve this goal, the more meticulous and cautious he became. He dared not let anything stand in his way. Consequently, he had a somewhat hard time living in this world. In contrast, Xia Ding, who never acted formally, was addicted to womanizing and was unrestrained. He spent the majority of his time hitting on girls instead of working. It seemed that he was carefree and enjoying his life quite relaxedly.
Everyone had their choice. Qin Sheng dared not judge who was right and who wasn’t. After all, they were all young currently. As for who was right and who was wrong, it would only be revealed 20 to 30 years later. At that time, Cao Yufeng, who had a hard time living now, probably would be living a pretty relaxing life, which would be the opposite of now. As for Xia Ding, he probably would not be enjoying a smooth life.
Currently, Qin Sheng did not have time to bother with others, which could be seen from what had happened today. Though they had avenged successfully, Qin Sheng had owed a favor to both Ma Weiyang and Song Hesheng, which should be paid off sooner or later. So what he could do was make himself strong as soon as possible. Only by doing so could he have more choices.
It was not until Qin Sheng went back to the siheyuan of the Qin Family that he found out the siheyuan, which was fully decorated with red lanterns, looked extraordinary beautiful at night. If he did not raise his head and stare at those tall buildings far away, it would seem to him that he was in an ancient and tranquil courtyard.
Qin Changan did not come back yet. It seemed that as long as he went out at night, he would come back pretty late. In the living room, somebody, who smiled unlike a gentlewoman, was watching a variety show attentively. Of course, it was no one else but Qin Ran.
After Qin Sheng walked in, he saw his sister holding a pillow, snuggling up in the cough and smiling continuously in a cute manner. There were also many fruits and snacks on the table. It was rare to see his sister acting so comfortably, which Qin Sheng found amusing. Consequently, he asked, “Sister, did you come home so early?”
Qin Ran lifted her head and replied, “I only stayed there for a while. Moreover, since you made such a scene, no one was interested in staying there anymore. Consequently, we parted with each other early. They went to a nightclub at Beijing Worker’s Stadium. I found it uninteresting and went home.”
Qin Sheng acted like a child who had done something wrong. He sat by Qin Ran’s side, and asked cautiously, “Was what I did today wrong?”
Qin Ran did not know whether she should laugh or cry as she said, “No. Since your friend was bullied, it would have been wrong for you to just sit by and watch.”
It was not until Qin Sheng heard her words that he felt relieved and said, “Fortunately, I had you, Sister Ponytail, and the guy from the Song Family by my side today. If I had been there alone, I am afraid that I would have landed myself in serious trouble. I did act somewhat impulsively at that time.”
Qin Ran smiled and explained, “Don’t overthink it. This is how the social circle works. You will figure it out eventually. Chen Taihe might not necessarily have fought hard with you for the sake and Du Xuan and Ding Wen. He did so for his reputation and prestige of his circle. The same goes for Song Hesheng. The reason why he stepped out was for his own good instead of helping you out.”
Qin Sheng replied thoughtfully, “Should I show my gratitude to him later on?”
Qin Ran replied with great interest, “You don’t have to act so deliberately. Just say thanks to him randomly next time you see him. However, he probably will not accept it. I guess that he doesn’t have a very good impression of you.”
Qin Sheng asked confusedly, “Why not? Could it be that he will make light of me because of what happened today? I would do the same no matter who was on the scene today. At worst, I will extend a formal apology to him later on even if I need to offer him a kowtow. However, I sure would have done the same at that time.”
As Qin Ran thought of Song Ruyu, she estimated that Song Hesheng would be more unsatisfied with Qin Sheng, who had made such a scene today. Of course, she would not explain it to Qin Sheng. Instead, she said happily, “You will figure it out in the future.”
They talked with each other for a while then went to rest. Qin Ran had told Qin Sheng about the detailed arrangements for tomorrow. They would start going out to pay New Year’s Calls at eight o’clock. They would visit two families first. In the end, they would have lunch at their uncle’s home. After that, they would go home and entertain the guests.
The next morning after breakfast, Qin Ran took Qin Sheng out. Gongsun had prepared the gifts already according to the usual practice. Qin Ran was quite familiar with the families that they would visit soon. They would not visit any elders today. Instead, they would visit two tycoons, who were the same age as Qin Changan and pretty close to Qin Changan. As for the remaining ones, Qin Changan had his plan. Qin Ran and Qin Sheng would only visit the few families that they had to visit. If they were required to visit every family, they would be exhausted to death.
Qin Changan had informed two tycoons about the visit of Qin Ran and Qin Sheng in advance. Consequently, everything went on smoothly. The two tycoons showed great concern for Qin Sheng and inquired about his well-being. The tycoons were not ordinary ones at all. After all, Qin Changan had his reason to ask Qin Sheng to pay a New Year’s Call to them.
In the end, they arrived at a military courtyard before noon, where their uncle’s house lay. Since Qin Ran was quite familiar with the surroundings, they walked inside with ease after asking the guards to inform the people there.
On the second floor, except for Zhu Weiguo, who did not show up, others were waiting for Qin Sheng and Qin Ran. Wu Yajun cooked in person today. Her two daughters-in-law acted as her assistants. The maidservant had gone home to celebrate the Spring Festival Holiday. However, she had gotten whatever she needed to prepare ready in advance.
After Qin Sheng and Qin Ran walked inside, Zhu Qingyuan picked them up in a hurry. Zhu Fengyuan ran into the kitchen and informed his mother as he said, “Mom, Ran Ran and Little Sheng are here.”
Wu Yajun put down the chores in her hand in a hurry and went out quickly. She smiled and said, “You are quite punctual. Lunch will be ready soon. Sit in the living room for a while and your two cousins will talk with you first.”
Qin Ran smiled and said, “Auntie, let me help you.” After that, she was about to walk into the kitchen.
Wu Yajun replied roughly, “Are you sure it won’t be the other way around? Ever since your childhood, how many times have you been in the kitchen? The first time you helped me with cooking, you almost burned the kitchen. I know you quite well.”
Qin Ran burst into laughter and said, “Auntie, you know me the best. In that case, we will sit idle and enjoy lunch.”
Qin Sheng, who did not forget to stab his sister in the back, said, “Sister, it turns out you had such an awesome history. It is polite of Auntie to allow you to enter her house. Should I teach you how to cook later on?”
Qin Ran glared at Qin Sheng, snorted, and said, “You get out of my way. Are you awesome because you know how to cook? I just need to find a husband who knows how to cook in the future and everything will be fine.”
After they sat down, Zhu Qingyuan poured two cups of tea for them. Their second cousin’s wife walked out of the kitchen and served them some fruits that she had washed. Qin Ran asked randomly, “Cousin, where is Uncle? Could it be that he went out to make some greetings?”
Zhu Qingyuan smiled and said, “He set out early yesterday morning, which had been scheduled this year. He had not come home for the New Year’s Eve dinner the last two years. Consequently, I said that we should rub off your and Qin Sheng’s luck this year.”
Qin Ran sighed and said, “Oh. I thought Uncle would accompany us to pay a New Year’s Call to Grandma in Shanghai this year.”
Zhu Fengyuan smiled and said jokingly, “It just so happens that the old man was in Jiangsu before the Spring Festival Holiday. He found time to go to Shanghai to visit Grandmother, which our Grandmother was already accustomed to. You two are the most important leading roles this year. Consequently, it does not matter whether the old man will show up in Shanghai or not.”
Qin Ran stared at Qin Sheng, covered her mouth, and smiled cutely as she said, “I am not a leading role. Grandmother does not keep me in mind. I am afraid that we need to prepare the antihypertensive drug for her in advance.” Following that, she asked, “Who will go there with us?”
Zhu Qingyuan replied, “Your auntie must stay at home and entertain the guests. Fengyuan will go back to the military camp this afternoon since he only enjoys three days off. Someone must stay at home to help with the chores. Consequently, only your sister-in-law and I can accompany you there along with my children. We have not seen Grandma in several months.”
Qin Ran could understand why her eldest cousin had said so. Rarely was there an opportunity for them, who were born in such a family, to have a reunion. It was almost the same for most of the families in Sijiu City. As the saying goes, it is rare to attend to both the loyalties to the nation and the devotion to the family. She sighed and said, “Then I will send a car to pick you and sister-in-law up tomorrow morning.”
At this time, Zhu Fengyuan’s wife walked out of the kitchen and said, “Lunch is ready.”
After that, everybody walked into the dining room.
The atmosphere over lunch was quite warm-hearted. They were family members to each other here, who did not need to keep social status in mind. Moreover, Zhu Weiguo was not here. Those juniors did not have any pressure at all, saying whatever they liked and playing various jokes. Qin Sheng drank some wine with his two cousins. Knowing his second cousin would go back to the military camp this afternoon, Qin Sheng drank moderately.
After they finished lunch, they stayed there for a while. After that, Qin Ran and Qin Sheng went back to the siheyuan. There were several guests in the loft of the Zhu Family, who turned out to be Wu Yajun’s nephew and niece.
After they arrived in the siheyuan, they found out that compared with the situation yesterday, there were many guests at their home today. The courtyard was crowded with endless visitors, which was quite noisy and lively. Facing so many guests, Qin Changan looked somewhat exhausted. Moreover, he had come home pretty late last night and had not rested well. Fortunately, Qin Sheng and Qin Ran were here at this time, which freed Qin Changan up.
At dinner, as for those staying in the Qin Family for the meal, they were the descendants of Qin Changan’s several bosom friends, whom Qin Changan needed to drink with whenever it was the Spring Festival Holiday.
Consequently, in the end, Qin Sheng got tanked due to this group of men. After all, the relationship between men became stronger via drinking. Qin Ran could not help Qin Sheng with anything when it came to drinking since she needed to take care of two women. The dinner party was over at nine o’clock. After Qin Sheng walked them out and saw them get in the car, he directly fell into his sister’s arms, passing out. Qin Ran felt so sorry for him.
After Qin Ran and Gongsun supported Qin Sheng into his room, Qin Sheng puked his guts out soon after, which made Qin Ran feel so angry that she almost intended to break through the door of Qin Changan’s room. She intended to say, “You are free because my brother is suffering for you.” Fortunately, Gongsun stopped her.
As the saying goes, the third day of the Chinese Lunar New Year is suitable for a long journey.
Though Qin Sheng had taken a hot shower and enjoyed two bowls of porridge, he still did not recover from his drunkenness and had a headache and felt exhausted and powerless. Qin Changan sat on the sofa of the living room and educated Qin Ran about the things she needed to pay attention to while visiting their grandmother in Shanghai, such as which gifts were for their grandmother and which ones were for their small aunt and uncle. Of course, they had other tasks while visiting Shanghai this time. Qin Ran glared at Qin Changan gruffly, who had not forgiven him yet. Qin Changan was accustomed to it. So he completely ignored her.
After Qin Changan got everything arranged, he smiled and said jokingly, “After you are in Shanghai, don’t say bad things about me in front of your grandmother. Originally, your grandmother does not think highly of me.” Though he knew what he had said would be in vain, he was trying to reduce tensions and ease the relationship with his daughter.
Qin Ran sneered and said, “Since you won’t go with us, how can you know I won’t tell Grandmother anything?”
Qin Changan sighed and said, “I do intend to go there with you. However, she probably is unwilling to see me.”
Qin Ran gloated as she said, “Well. It is not definite this time. Uncle even celebrated New Year’s Eve at our house. You can give it a try.”
“Hahaha. I will see how it goes after you see her in person and ask for her opinion. Then I will think about it.” Qin Changan would not fall into Qin Ran’s trap since he had been denied entrance at the door many times. Moreover, he was quite occupied during the New Year Holiday.
It was not until Qin Ran had been talking back to Qin Changan for a while that she said complacently, “All right. I will plead for you in front of Grandmother. It’s time that we should go now.”
Qin Sheng, who had been silent, did not have time to listen to their conversation. He had a headache. His stomach hurt. Consequently, he needed to adjust his condition as soon as possible. Otherwise, he would be greatly disgraced after they arrived in Shanghai and went on drinking at night.
At this time, Qin Changan walked to the front of Qin Sheng and said sincerely, “Grandma will be very happy to see you. You are her most beloved grandson. You can stay in Shanghai for a few more days so that you can spend more time with her. After all, more than 20 years have passed.”
Qin Sheng felt somewhat heavy-laden. During this period, he had heard a lot of his interesting deeds from his childhood, most of which were related to how his grandfather and grandmother had loved him dearly. Consequently, he felt somewhat nervous about seeing his grandmother. He was afraid that his grandmother would be disappointed.
As they set off and headed for the airport, Qin Changan had arranged for two bodyguards to go with them. After all, it was Shanghai. Moreover, the threat of the Yan Family was still there. Consequently, Qin Sheng could not be too cautious.
He and Gongsun went home after seeing them off. If Qin Sheng saw his grandmother, it would be time for the debt of gratitude between the Qin Family and Zhu Family, which had been ongoing for more than 20 years, to come to an end.
They arrived at the airport at 11 o’clock. Zhu Qingyuan and his wife had been waiting there for some while with their kids. After they met each other, they went through security and got on the plane. Soon the plane took off.
As Qin Sheng saw Beijing City getting farther and farther away from him, he thought of the old stories in Shanghai and could not help squinting as he said, “Shanghai, I am back.”
