Chapter 10 She took all the advantages.

Chapter Ten: She Takes All the Advantages

After the meal, Ling Jianwei took the initiative to clear the table and wash the dishes. Li Yue wanted to help, but her great-uncle said, "It's alright, let him wash them. He'll do chores here."

Ling Jianwei said, "If you really want to work, boil some water and we'll make tea later."

Li Yue readily agreed. The charcoal stove where chicken soup had been simmered was already warm with water. Li Yue added a few pieces of charcoal and fanned it with a palm leaf fan to speed up the burning.

The old man sat on a wicker chair under the veranda, watching Li Yue's movements, and said with a smile, "Not bad, quite nimble."

Two birdcages hung under the eaves, their clear chirping filling the air. While waiting for the water to boil, Li Yue took a small, long-spouted kettle to feed the sparrows and play with them. In the small courtyard, a pomegranate tree stood in the corner, and potted plants grew under the eaves. Li Yue suddenly felt that in such turbulent and impoverished times, her great-grandfather's place was like a paradise.

The old man asked with great interest, "Yueyue, how old are you this year?"

“Eighteen,” Li Yue said.

Have you found a partner yet?

"I haven't looked for one, I'm still young."

The old man said, "There's no age limit to finding a partner. Now that you're an adult, you can find someone suitable."

Ling Jianwei had just finished washing the dishes and came out. She put down her sleeves and said, "I've cleaned up the kitchen and mopped the floor."

"Hmm, that looks good."

The water boiled, and Ling Jianwei began to make tea, then brought out the plate of spring rolls.

During dinner, Li Yue ate a spring roll. Ling Jianwei then called her over for tea and snacks, and Li Yue took another one. The chef is truly a master chef; even the spring rolls were incredibly delicious. Li Yue ate while continuing to play with the little sparrows.

The father and son were chatting when the old man suddenly said, "Jianwei, hasn't your dad been whipping you with his belt these past few days?"

Ling Jianwei leaned back lazily in her chair, watching the person teasing the sparrows, a smile on her lips, and replied, "How old am I? Why do you only remember the time when I made a mistake as a child and he hit me?"

“You’re so old and you still don’t listen to him. He told you to go on blind dates but you won’t. Last time your mother brought over two ginseng roots. She gets a headache just thinking about you and asked me to help persuade you. I said, how can I persuade you? I’m too old and I can’t beat you.”

Li Yue laughed as she listened.

My maternal grandfather is quite witty.

She smiled and glanced at Ling Jianwei, who remained nonchalant: "What's the rush to find a partner? I told them to make their own decisions."

"I thought you were definitely going to go on a blind date and settle down this time you came home to visit your family. Now you've almost used up your leave, when will you get your next vacation?"

Ling Jianwei: "It's only been a few days, how could it be used up already?"

"Look at you, look at you, your sense of time is really problematic. You'll be twenty-seven next year, and you'll be thirty in the blink of an eye."

Ling Jianwei: "I'll be twenty-six next year, so please don't calculate my age using the traditional Chinese age reckoning method."

"I'm too lazy to even talk to you."

Li Yue didn't want to interrupt, so she quietly ate her spring rolls and teased the sparrows.

It turns out that Ling Jianwei did arrange blind dates, but he didn't go.

He probably does have his own aspirations.

Ling Jianwei poured tea into her cup and said to her, "Come and have some tea."

Li Yue went over, sat down to drink tea with him, and chatted about other things. The old man didn't mention finding a partner again, but he did talk a lot about his cooking experiences.

When his master came out of the palace, many people were eager to become his disciples. Ling Jianwei's maternal grandfather's family had come to the capital from the south to do business; all his brothers were in business, but only his great-uncle loved cooking, so he used his connections to become his disciple...

At three o'clock in the afternoon, Ling Jianwei said, "We have to go now. I'll come to see you again when I have time."

Grandpa said, "Don't come alone, bring Yueyue with you for dinner."

Ling Jianwei nodded in agreement.

Li Yue exchanged polite words, said goodbye to the old man, and got into the car.

On the way home, Li Yue looked at the street scenes rushing past the car window and thought of Ling Jianwei's father whipping him with a belt. He must have been very strict with him, and he must have been scolded a lot for his personal issues.

For no apparent reason, she let out a soft sigh.

The man driving looked at her and said, "Why are you sighing?"

Li Yue said, "It just reminded me of how your father used to whip you with a belt when you were little. It was quite pitiful."

He said dismissively, "What's there to pity? Those kids living in the compound back then were lawless. Who didn't get whipped?"

Li Yue became curious: "Then why were you punished?"

His voice lowered: "He played with his gun."

Li Yue: "..."

Ling Jianwei: "It went off the rails."

Li Yue: "…………"

"Fortunately, it was opened towards the wall, so apart from a hole in the wall, no one was injured. But the old man was furious. He took out his belt and started whipping me. A bunch of people tried to stop him, but it was no use. They told me to run away, but I was honest and knew I had made a mistake, so I didn't run away. I just stood there and took the beating."

Recalling the past, he seemed quite proud: "Actually, compared to the other naughty kids in the neighborhood, I was considered well-behaved, but I did one outrageous thing."

Li Yue looked at him, utterly speechless.

He laughed: "See, you also think I deserved to be beaten, right? And you even sympathize with me?"

"You deserve it, you deserve to get a couple more beatings."

He still had a smile on his face: "If you want to smoke, then you can smoke."

The more she talked, the more outrageous it became. Li Yue said, "Then why don't you go on blind dates?"

Ling Jianwei frowned: "If you don't want to marry the deputy factory director's son, then of course I don't have to go on blind dates."

Li Yue thought for a moment and said, "My situation is different from yours. In families like yours, it's better to listen to your parents."

After hearing this, he laughed dismissively: "Why should we listen to our parents?"

Li Yue said, "Marrying someone of equal social standing is still very important, especially nowadays."

"What's wrong now?" He looked straight at her, his eyes sharp.

Li Yue glanced back at him, lowered her gaze, and lowered her voice: "It's very chaotic and turbulent right now. We should seek stability."

Ling Jianwei scoffed: "You're so young, yet you speak with such maturity. Anyone who didn't know better would think you were seventy or eighty years old."

Li Yue said very seriously, "I am eighteen years old."

Both body and soul.

After exchanging a glance, the two fell silent.

The car was parked outside the machine tool factory's residential compound. Li Yue said, "I'm going back now."

He let out a sigh of relief, and slowly asked, "Have you been in the family compound these past few days?"

"It should be."

"Can I come see you from time to time?"

Li Yue asked, puzzled, "Why did you come looking for me again?"

He smirked, his tone nonchalant as if he'd given up entirely: "I was bored, so I asked you to kill some time. Besides, didn't my great-uncle tell me to take you out to eat?"

“That’s just polite talk, don’t take it seriously.” Li Yue continued to analyze calmly, “Besides, if you come over often, people in our compound will gossip. Some people already know about the wedding, and they’ll be even more certain that we’re dating.”

He looked at her with a smile: "So what if you're sure?"

Li Yue said rationally, "I think the best way to eliminate the impact of this matter and return to normal is for you to stop coming to me. Gradually, no one will mention it anymore. Even if they do, I can just make up a few words and say that it didn't happen and that I was just joking at the time."

This is the most effective way to deal with public opinion on the internet.

It is also the most effective way to deal with rumors and gossip at present.

Hearing her words, he suddenly burst out laughing.

Li Yue asked in confusion, "What are you laughing at?"

Ling Jianwei said with a playful tone, "You're quite serious, but you were the one who said I was your boyfriend in public, and now you're the one who won't let me contact you. Doesn't that count as starting something and then abandoning it?"

"Started with seduction and then abandoned..." Li Yue shook her head and denied it: "Of course not. You asked me to take you to the wedding, but things got out of control later."

In other words, he came up with the bad idea, and he also has to take some responsibility for this period of loss of control.

Noticing the lingering amusement in his eyes, Li Yue understood that he was just teasing her. If they continued arguing, it would probably drag on until dark, so Li Yue cut to the chase, emphasizing her words: "Anyway, you're not allowed to come looking for me again. I'm leaving, goodbye!"

After saying that, Li Yue pushed open the car door, got out of the car briskly, and strode towards the family compound.

Ling Jianwei watched her retreating figure, then glanced at the shoebox that had fallen onto the back seat, but didn't call out to her.

The second hand on the watch went round and round. The man sat in the car for a long time before finally lighting a cigarette.

She was the one who clung to him when he woke up, she was the one who made up stories about him being her boyfriend, and now she's the one who won't let him out and wants to cut all ties with him...

What else could this be but bandits and tyrants?

They also advised him to obey his family's arrangements and go on blind dates to find a partner.

She got all the benefits by herself. What's the difference between that and taking advantage of someone and then leaving them with a cold shoulder?

Tsk.

...

A note from the author:

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