Is 53 handsome?

◎So handsome I can't walk away◎

Upon arriving at Cihangzhai, Wen Shuangjing had already prepared a vegetarian feast. Together with Fang Yali, the four of them sat at a table and enjoyed a warm lunch.

Xue Lu placed a cucumber slice in a straw raincoat on Song Qinggui's plate: "This was made by Mom herself, have a taste."

Cucumber in a raincoat is not a rare dish, so Song Qinggui was somewhat surprised that Wen Shuang personally cooked it.

Fang Yali laughed and said, "I've been in China for so many years and I can learn all kinds of home-style dishes, but I just can't make the '蓑衣黄瓜' (a type of cucumber dish) right. Either my knife skills are wrong, or even if my knife skills are good, the marinade is not right."

Song Qinggui put the cucumber in his mouth and nodded in agreement. It was refreshing and crisp, and after the initial sour and spicy flavor, the cucumber itself was sweet.

"It's delicious," Song Qinggui said honestly.

"Then eat more." Wen Shuangjing smiled. "You're too thin. You need to gain some weight to cope with the hardships of life."

Upon hearing this, Xue Lu couldn't help but joke, "Mom is upset that I haven't treated you well and that I've made you suffer."

"You silly child," Wen Shuangjing pretended to be angry, "Now that you've married a wife and have someone to rely on, you dare to make fun of your elders."

Xue Lu and Song Qinggui exchanged a knowing smile.

After lunch, Xue Lu led Song Qinggui to his bedroom.

Upon entering, you are greeted by a huge bookshelf and walls covered with comic books.

Song Qinggui approached and looked at the books inside: "I never expected that you, CEO, are also a fan of anime and manga."

Upon hearing the words "domineering CEO," Xue Lu knew that Song Qinggui was teasing him: "When I was a child, Ms. Wen was very strict with me. She wouldn't let me watch TV or play on the computer."

"So, you can read comics then?"

"Ms. Wen doesn't let me use electronic devices because she's worried I'll neglect my studies; she's worried I'll damage my eyes. I can still get good grades even if I don't study at home."

It was clearly a boast, and Song Qinggui played along, saying, "I know, you're the smartest."

Xue Lu looked at the Demon Slayer manga in Song Qinggui's hand: "It's one of the best manga works of the last decade. Do you like it?"

Song Qinggui put the comic back on the bookshelf: "I've only ever watched Detective Conan in anime. I was in elementary school then, and so was Conan. Now I'm almost as old as Kogoro Mouri, and he's still in elementary school."

"It's not that exaggerated." Xue Lu laughed: "Kogoro Mouri is thirty-eight, and you're not even thirty yet."

Song Qinggui remained noncommittal. She looked around at the other furnishings in the room and noticed a photo wall above his desk.

She walked over, and Xue Lu explained somewhat shyly, "This was arranged by Ms. Wen."

Song Qinggui saw Xue Lu at various ages above.

The first picture is from a kindergarten Children's Day performance. Xue Lu was a chubby little boy back then. He had a red dot between his eyebrows. He was clearly a very cute child, but he had a grumpy face.

The second picture is of a primary school flag-raising ceremony. Xue Lu was a flag bearer, and the three stripes on his school uniform were very eye-catching. He was the head of the brigade.

The third picture is of a junior high school Model United Nations. The Chinese flag in front of Xue Lu is dazzlingly red. The young Xue Lu has lost his baby fat, is wearing a suit, and is beginning to show his talent. He already has the beginnings of a handsome and dashing figure.

The fourth picture is from the high school physics competition award ceremony. Xue Lu's height was similar to his current height at this time. He stood out in the crowd with his handsome appearance, as if he were on a different level from the others.

...

There are many other moments: a Halloween pumpkin costume at fifth birthday party, a tenth birthday party, a Christmas skiing trip at fifteen, and so on...

...

Last but not least, there was a group photo of many people. So many people that each person's head looked about the size of a sesame seed in the seven-inch photo.

Song Qinggui couldn't help but be engrossed in watching. She stretched out her index finger and gently poked Xue Lu's head in the crowd with the tip of her finger.

Of course she recognized the photo. It was a group photo taken by the student council the year she entered university. She was in the lower left corner of the photo, and he was in the upper right corner. They were the two people furthest apart in the photo.

Xue Lu's voice rang out: "This is our first photo together, and also the only photo we have together besides our marriage certificate photo."

Song Qinggui felt a lump in her throat. She wasn't smiling in the photo; she was struggling to make ends meet. Besides paying for Meng Yuxing's medical treatment, she also had to worry about her own tuition and living expenses. She was exhausted and had no reason to be happy.

She didn't smile in the photo on the marriage certificate. At that time, she thought her relationship with Lawyer Xue was just a transaction, and she believed that Lawyer Xue despised and looked down on her. So even though the staff at the Civil Affairs Bureau repeatedly reminded her, she still couldn't smile.

However, these two photos are actually the only photos of her and Xue Lu together.

After a moment's hesitation, Song Qinggui spoke up: "Want to take a selfie?"

"Hmm?" Xue Lu was taken aback, but joy and anticipation quickly surfaced in his eyes.

Song Qinggui picked up her phone, and Xue Lu naturally leaned closer. Song Qinggui pressed the shutter button on her phone camera, and her third photo with Xue Lu was born.

The perfect distance and the perfect smiles between the two highlighted their intimacy without being overly sweet.

Song Qinggui opened his WeChat Moments, edited the caption for the picture—"Having the privilege of visiting the domineering CEO's boudoir during his student days"—and clicked send.

Xue Lu saved the picture and posted it on his WeChat Moments with just four simple words: "Feeling happy".

Song Qinggui and Xue Lu are people who don't usually post on WeChat Moments. On New Year's Eve, when everyone was resting, these two completely ignited WeChat, with likes surging in a short period of time, reaching more than ten lines.

Song Qinggui's comment section was relatively restrained, mostly filled with praise from "family members" for Xue Lu.

Xue Lu's WeChat Moments were a scene of fierce battle:

"Damn, they're such a perfect match! I hate it!"

"You managed to date such a stunning beauty!"

“Lawyer Xue, I know you deserve good things, but that doesn’t mean you deserve this much!”

The most agitated was Xue Lu's roommate, who had previously tried to matchmake "Qinggui Jielu": "Xue Gou! Didn't you say you weren't interested in your junior sister?! You're kidding me?!"

Xue Lu chose this one to reply: "I'm stubborn, you're easily swayed, we're even."

Song Qinggui watched with amusement. Xue Lu put down his phone, turned to look at her, and said, "Song Qinggui, I'm not lying. At this moment, I feel happy."

"I understand." Song Qinggui kissed his forehead: "Lawyer Xue, from now on, I will try my best to make you happy every moment."

...

As dusk fell, the two left Cihangzhai, preparing to go to the main hall to have a reunion dinner with Old Master Xue.

As I passed through the courtyard of the three houses, I saw a figure walking out from afar.

Song Qinggui frowned. Although the man was wearing a black down jacket, his figure and walking posture seemed familiar.

Xue Lu felt the same way. The two exchanged a glance and fell into thought. Where exactly had they met before...?

...

In the main hall of the Xue family's old house, Xue Qielu sat on the sofa, next to a man who looked slightly younger than the old man. Judging from their expressions as they talked, their familiarity was self-evident.

Upon seeing Xue Lu and Song Qinggui enter, the man stood up and said, "Oh, Little Fourteen is here."

"Uncle Su." Xue Lu greeted him with a smile, then turned to Song Qinggui and introduced him: "This is Ya Lin's father, and also an old friend of my father's."

“What old friend?” Su Guangsen corrected, “He should be called an old subordinate. Without your father, there would be no Su family today.”

Xue Qielu reached out to interrupt Su Guangsen: "Don't flatter me. If you don't understand things, even if I give you mountains of gold and silver, you still won't be able to manage them well. You have earned everything you have today through your own hard work."

Seeing Xue Lu talking to the two elders, Song Qinggui walked to the sofa and sat down next to Su Yalin.

Su Yalin naturally started chatting with Song Qinggui: "Uncle Xue has been a great help to my father. He was just discharged from the hospital, and he got very angry because of Xiaomeng's father. My parents wanted to come and spend the New Year with him and chat with him to relieve his boredom."

"By the way, how's Xiaomeng's situation?" Song Qinggui asked.

"The verdict is expected to be delivered after the New Year," Su Yalin said. "I asked around, and Zhuang Zhong is estimated to get at least twelve years, while Xiaomeng will get around two years."

Song Qinggui couldn't help but feel a little sad. Her relationship with Zhuang Xiaomeng was certainly not good, and she was indeed the one who administered the drug at that gathering. But if she hadn't still had a conscience, it wouldn't be Lao Wang lying in the ICU, covered in tubes, and ultimately left to fate. It would have been her, Song Qinggui, who would be the one lying there now.

Zhuang Xiaomeng was not a bad person, and Song Qinggui felt sorry for her.

At eight o'clock in the evening, the food was ready, and the Spring Festival Gala was on TV. The whole family gathered at the dinner table, except for Xue Tan.

"Why didn't Xiaoqi come back? Is she this busy even during the New Year?" Su Guangsen asked.

“This is his first year taking over Xue’s. I’m stepping down, so naturally he has to take over.” Xue Qielu put a piece of smoked fish on Su Guangsen’s plate. “Besides, you know the situation at Xue’s. Some of the older employees aren’t so easy to manage.”

“Big Brother,” Su Guangsen said solemnly, “If Xiao Qi finds something difficult, I can help him. I can talk to those old fogies. If they really feel a sense of loss, they can go to the Su family first…”

Xue Lu interrupted, "Uncle Su, your relationship with Dad shouldn't be used for this. Once people become greedy and acquire ill-gotten gains, it's hard for them to stop. They dared to do this in the Xue family, do you think they'll restrain themselves in your Su family?"

Xue Qielu nodded, and Su Guangsen sighed, "Yes, just like Zhuang Zhong. We were brothers who fought side by side back then. Who would have thought he'd end up like this? Never mind, by the way, isn't Xiao Qi planning to get married yet?"

Ever since Xue Lu, the youngest son of the Xue family, got married, Xue Tan has become the sole focus of the family's attention as a bachelor. Whenever this is mentioned, Old Master Xue shakes his head.

Su Guangsen glanced at Su Yalin: "I heard from Yalin that he has a girl he likes, doesn't he?"

"Dad, that's all gossip from two years ago?" Su Yalin rolled her eyes at her father: "That girl got married last year."

"Oh," Li Jinghe said at this moment, "Someone actually abandoned our Xiao Qi to marry someone else. These young girls nowadays are really something else."

After saying that, Li Jinghe glanced at Song Qinggui, seemingly unintentionally. Song Qinggui thought to himself, "Here we go again..."

Su Yalin wasn't going to tolerate Li Jinghe: "His fiancé is also very outstanding. He's a famous architect in China, Uncle Xue. He designed your new Xue Group building."

"Oh, him? I know him, his name is Xu..."

“Xu Du,” Su Yalin said, “He is capable on his own, and the investors behind him are also very powerful, the Meng family.”

"The Meng family?" Xue Qielu suddenly realized: "Meng Bo is an art investor and antique collector with a keen eye. The people he is willing to cultivate are bound to be good."

The Meng family is one of the five major families in Lancheng, but because they have only been settled in Lancheng for a short time and their business is in a different field than the other four families, they do not have much contact with the Xue family.

Xue Qielu asked with some curiosity, "Ya Lin, how do you know so much about Xu Du?"

Su Yalin swallowed the braised pork in her mouth: "Oh, I chased after him, but I didn't succeed."

This frankness made Song Qinggui turn to look at Su Yalin. He hadn't realized before that Su Yalin's personality was so likable.

Xue Can asked with a gossipy look, "So, the guy you couldn't get, and the girl Seventh Brother couldn't get, got married?"

Li Jinghe couldn't help but roll her eyes at her son. He was good for nothing but watching the drama unfold.

Su Yalin admitted, "Yes, we got married. Seventh Brother and I even attended the wedding and gave gifts, especially Seventh Brother, who gave such a thick dozen."

Su Yalin gestured with her hand to show the thickness of the red envelope.

Xue Rao also became interested: "What are they like? How could they refuse Seventh Brother and you?"

Su Yalin answered seriously: "The woman has a good temperament, and the man is handsome. In the whole of Lancheng, the only one who can rival Xiao Shisi in looks is probably Xu Du."

Xue Qielu comforted Su Yalin: "What's the use of being handsome? Anyone who's blind and bullies our Yalin is no good."

“That’s right, that’s right.” Li Jinghe also smoothed things over: “We don’t want Ya Lin anymore, there will be better ones in the future.”

It was another scene of joy and harmony.

Only Song Qinggui curiously leaned closer to Su Yalin: "Is he really that handsome?"

"Super handsome!" Su Yalin said confidently, "With those silver-rimmed glasses on, he looks like a refined scoundrel. The first time I saw him, I was so handsome that I couldn't even walk past him."

Upon hearing this, Song Qinggui's eyes gradually filled with longing.

On the other side, Xue Lu couldn't help but reach out and pinch the soft flesh on her waist, and whispered, "Wife, if you like, I can be a refined scoundrel too."

Song Qinggui snapped back to reality, recalling Xue Lu's tricks in bed, and said sincerely, "No need, you're already a scoundrel, there's no need to improve."

Before Xue Lu could say anything more, Song Qinggui's phone rang. It was Xiaoqian.

Song Qinggui's heart sank instantly. Xiaoqian never called her when she was resting unless it was an emergency.

Song Qinggui got up, went outside the main hall, and answered the phone: "What's wrong, Xiaoqian?"

"Sister...something happened."

A moment later, Song Qinggui returned to his seat and looked at Xue Qielu: "Dad, I have an urgent matter to attend to and need to go back to Jingtian Hospital."

"What's wrong?" Xue Lu and Xue Qielu asked in unison.

Song Qinggui: "Do you remember that blood type dispute in Mumbai a while ago?"

“Hmm,” Xue Lu replied.

"Yang Ailin committed suicide."

[Author's Note]

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