Chapter 738: The Eccentric Mother-in-Law 3

Lao Qi's mouth hung wide open, and he forgot to close it.

This kind of thing wasn't just a matter of having one's worldview shattered; it was a total collapse of one's entire outlook!

Had he traveled through time?

Could such an absurd thing exist in modern society?

"Do you agree?" Ji Yingjie pressed.

He came back to his senses and said sternly, "Are you testing me, or are you serious?"

"I am serious. If you cannot accept it, then stop harboring fantasies about Nianyin. The women of our Ji Family are not people that ordinary men like you can aspire to."

Lao Qi's expression turned very ugly.

This was simply too bullying.

If the old woman in front of him weren't Nianyin's mother, he would have really wanted to beat her up.

But reason still overcame impulse.

He faced Nianyin and said very seriously, "Nianyin, I don't want to hear it from anyone else; I only want to hear you say it. Were those words just now also your intention?"

Nianyin nodded: "Yes."

The last shred of hope in his heart was extinguished. Lao Qi stood up to take his leave: "I'm sorry, I cannot agree to your demands."

After speaking, he stood up, placed a few banknotes on the table to pay the bill, turned, and left.

Nianyin felt very unsettled inside.

She knew she didn't love Lao Qi, but she didn't know why she still felt so uncomfortable; it was probably due to guilt.

Lao Qi walked two steps, then suddenly came back.

A bit of joy stirred in the depths of Nianyin's heart.

She couldn't say why either, but it was joy nonetheless!

He took out that exquisite jewelry box, placed it on the table, and said to Nianyin, "It's our first date, and since I had nothing to give, I chose this. I won't aspire to you anymore, but there is no reason for me to take back something I have given. If you like it, keep it; if you don't want it, throw it away. It's up to you."

After finishing, he turned and left again. This time, he did not look back.

"Bang!"

The door closed, and Nianyin's heart trembled along with it.

She felt it was excessive, but Ji Yingjie didn't care.

She said to Nianyin, "This man won't do; he's too disobedient."

"Yes."

Nianyin answered with her head bowed in submission.

What she thought didn't matter; the first principle Nianyin had ever learned was obedience!

Unconditional, absolute obedience to the Clan Leader.

When the Clan Leader said she wanted to go to Jiangzhou to personally vet Lao Qi, she had already anticipated this result.

As for men in Jiangzhou, as long as they were normal, no one would agree to such an absurd demand.

The clash of values was too severe.

But this was also for the best, as it would keep the Clan Leader from constantly urging her to find a man.

Her own little spark of affection had vanished into ashes before she could even see it clearly.

The Sheng Family.

Lao Qi's expression was poor. When he got home, he locked himself in his room and wouldn't come out.

Fang Jie, Zhang Ma, and Xiao Ya all wanted to knock on the door to ask how the date went.

Shi Youxuan stopped them and told them not to go.

It must have been a failure, or the results were poor; otherwise, he wouldn't be looking so dejected.

Everyone thought this made sense, so they didn't go.

Lao Qi didn't come out for dinner, and when Fang Jie brought food over, he didn't eat it either. It was sent back to the kitchen untouched, while he went to the backyard to hit the sandbag.

"Wham! Wham! Wham!"

He was hitting it so fiercely that it scared Xiaoyang into bleating non-stop.

Upstairs.

The husband and wife were leaning against the window, having watched Lao Qi hit the sandbag for half an hour, with no sign of him stopping.

Sheng Hanyu couldn't bear to watch anymore. He said indignantly to his wife, "You should introduce a girlfriend to Lao Qi tomorrow. There are so many good girls in the world; it's just a breakup, there's no need to act like he's dying. He can just find another one."

People, really.

They always have words for others but none for themselves.

He had long forgotten the pain he felt when he lost Shi Youxuan.

Seeing Lao Qi suffer from a breakup, he felt it wasn't worth it—couldn't he just date a different girl? In fact, what he had done back then was far more excessive than what Lao Qi was doing now.

Shi Youxuan nodded in agreement: "Alright, I'll arrange it tomorrow."

Nianyin had already told her about their "date."

She had only just learned that her aunt had come to Jiangzhou.

Her aunt, Ji Yingjie, was the most hardline representative of feminism. Hearing that her aunt had participated in this "date," Shi Youxuan knew there was no chance for the two of them.

Her aunt was too extreme.

Even Shi Youxuan was left tongue-tied hearing those demands. It was expected that Lao Qi couldn't agree; no normal man would agree to share his wife with others!

Another half hour passed.

Their legs were numb from standing, so they brought over two chairs to sit and watch, but Lao Qi was still hitting the sandbag, his movements only having slowed down.

He nearly fell several times; he hadn't eaten dinner, and even an iron man couldn't endure such high-intensity exercise.

Sheng Hanyu said to his wife, "You go and persuade him; I don't know how to persuade people."

He only knew how to speak in a commanding tone, but he felt toward Lao Qi like a brother.

"Alright, I'll go."

Shi Youxuan listened to her husband and went down to persuade Lao Qi: "Stop thinking about her; you two are not people from the same world. This matter is also my fault; I shouldn't have let you go through with it back then."

She felt a bit of self-reproach.

When Lao Qi was pursuing Nianyin, she had already had concerns in this regard.

But she still had a wishful mentality, thinking that since Nianyin was studying abroad in Jiangzhou, she would accept the culture and customs here.

Even if she kept the habits of the Ji Family, it wouldn't be too excessive, right?

However, she had overlooked a very important figure—Ji Yingjie.

Nothing good ever came of Ji Yingjie getting involved.

Lao Qi was sweating profusely, and he stopped: "Madam, please don't blame yourself. It's just that Nianyin and I aren't meant to be; I can't blame you."

"How can I not blame myself when you're like this? It's all my fault, it's just me being bad. Just now upstairs, Hanyu lost his temper, saying that I didn't handle this matter properly..."

Shi Youxuan made up lies effortlessly, without even needing to think.

The next day.

Shi Youxuan kept her word and truly arranged for Lao Qi to meet several girls.

The girls were all excellent and of a similar age.

But Lao Qi didn't take a fancy to a single one.

If they weren't too fat, they were too thin.

If they looked sentimental, he was afraid they might be depressed.

If they were cheerful and sunny, he would say the girl seemed to lack depth!

If one batch didn't work, then he would switch to another.

Within three days, Lao Qi met no fewer than thirty young women, but he didn't fancy a single one.

His reasons for being picky were bizarre; some were simply nitpicking, looking for bones in an egg.

Everyone said Lao Qi's standards were too high, and according to his requirements, perhaps only a fairy from heaven could be a match for him!

But only Shi Youxuan knew that he was looking for a girlfriend according to Nianyin's standards.

Nianyin had already walked into Lao Qi's heart.

Although he knew it was impossible, he couldn't forget her!

They say the best way to cure a broken heart is to throw yourself into the next relationship.

This saying, for Lao Qi, was likely to fall through.

His heart's door was only open for Nianyin, and he refused to let anyone else in; how could he throw himself into the next relationship?

The bedroom.

At night, the couple lay in bed, and the topic was Lao Qi and Nianyin.

Shi Youxuan felt that the two of them could still try a bit harder; it would be a pity if they just separated like this.

Sheng Hanyu did not agree.

With a mother-in-law like Ji Yingjie, even if the two of them overcame numerous difficulties to be together, there would be no shortage of conflicts in the future.

Speak of the devil.

The night before, the couple had chatted about Ji Yingjie, and the next day, Ji Yingjie arrived.

Although she wasn't the mother-in-law, an aunt was still considered family.

Wang Yinghao entertained her warmly, with perfect etiquette.

Yet Ji Yingjie gave Wang Yinghao a cold look, eyeing her askance: "You are Sheng Hanyu's mother? Who is in charge in your family?"