Chapter 15 I lied to you
"Um, I went to see a friend and we talked a bit late. I'm really sorry."
He maintained his aloof expression. "What does it matter to me who you go to see?"
"..." Qiao Xing was silent for a while. The atmosphere was still not right. She pretended to bend down to change her shoes. "Have you eaten?"
"No."
Qiao Xing paused, then looked up at him in surprise. "Didn't you see the WeChat message I sent you?"
"No."
"..."
"Grandpa Qin didn't eat either, did he?"
Qin Ce didn't reply to her, remaining in his original posture. He was wearing a black wool sweater, which made his already cold face appear even more ruthless.
"I'll go make you a bowl of noodles," Qiao Xing sighed.
Grandpa Qin should already be asleep by now; she can't very well wake him up for dinner.
She quietly went to the kitchen, took out eggs and noodles, and made Qin Ce a bowl of tomato and egg noodles.
Qiao Xing brought out a bowl of noodles and placed it in front of him. "Eat up."
Qin Ce stared at her intently, as if trying to see right through her. Qiao Xing felt a chill run down her spine. Had she done something to offend him today?
"After a while... the dough clumped up," she said sheepishly.
Qin Ce finally looked away, glanced down at the bowl of noodles, then picked up the bowl and chopsticks, and put a string of noodles in his mouth.
Qiao Xing secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
He ate noodles with extreme elegance, turning a simple bowl of noodles into a Western-style meal. His fingers were long and slender, making the chopsticks seem too short in his hands.
"Is it good?" Qiao Xing stared at him expectantly.
"generally."
He said that, but he ate the whole bowl of noodles.
Qiao Xing felt bad for him, since he ate everything even though it wasn't tasty, without wasting any food.
A few days after their marriage, she finally discovered one of his outstanding qualities.
Thinking of this, Qiao Xing wasn't so upset about his opinion anymore. She smiled and took the empty bowl from his hand. "If you don't like it, I'll make you something else next time. Go to sleep now, you still have to look for a job tomorrow, right?"
After Qiao Xing finished speaking, she took the bowl and went to the kitchen.
Qin Ce stared at the direction of the kitchen, his expression softening slightly. He had actually eaten in the afternoon, but he didn't know why he had inexplicably said he hadn't eaten.
I feel a bit uncomfortable from being so full right now.
When Qiao Xing came out, he was still sitting in the living room playing on his phone. Qiao Xing ignored him and took her pajamas to take a shower.
Qin Ce had just sent out the message when the phone rang.
He answered the phone, and heard a noisy commotion on the other end, including a man's voice saying, "Old Qin, want to come out and have some fun? You've been back for so long, and every time I call you, you never come. What's so great about your lousy company?"
Qin Ce frowned. "Where are you?"
"Hey, wanna come to the bar? I'll send you a reservation."
Qin Ce didn't say whether he would go or not, but asked, "Aren't you married? Why are you going out so late?"
"Why can't I run away after getting married? I'm getting married, not going to jail. You're really asking such a strange question!"
Qin Ce remained silent for a while, still processing what the other person had said.
"Is it you coming or not?"
"You're going out so late, where's your wife?"
"...You're at home, aren't you? Something's not right with you. Oh, I know, your dad's pressuring you to get married again, right? Want to learn about the ways of getting along in marriage beforehand? Come over here, and I'll slowly pass on my experience to you."
"No need, you can play." Qin Ce hung up the phone expressionlessly, and when he looked up, he saw Qiao Xing coming out of the bathroom.
She was wearing fluffy pajamas, her wet hair hanging loosely behind her head, and she was wrapped up very tightly, even more formally than when she went to work.
Qiao Xing glanced at Qin Ce, hesitated for a moment, and then walked over and sat down opposite him.
"Qin Ce, there's something I need to tell you."
"What is it?" Qin Ce put away his phone and stared at her intently.
Qiao Xing bit his lip, feeling a little uneasy, but he knew he would find out about this sooner or later.
She mustered her courage and said, "Well, my uncle and his family are coming back next week. I don't know if you met them when you were little."
Qin Ce didn't react. "And then?"
“This house belongs to my uncle, not me.” After saying this, Qiao Xing lowered her head and said with a determined look, “I’m sorry, I lied to you before.”
After she finished speaking, she waited quietly for Qin Ce to speak.
After waiting for a long time without him saying anything, Qiao Xing looked up at him, puzzled, "Don't you have anything to say?"
"say what?"
"...Aren't you angry?"
Qin Ce picked up a piece of fruit from the table and slowly peeled it. "Why would I be angry?"
His reaction surprised Qiao Xing. She continued, "They originally wanted to sell this house to my cousin for his wedding. I wanted to buy it, but I was short a lot of money, so I asked you for a dowry of 200,000 yuan."
Qin Ce paused, raised his eyelids, and glanced at her.
Since things had already come to this point, Qiao Xing decided to just tell the whole truth.
“I was planning to put your name on the deed after the house was transferred, but I haven’t been able to raise the money yet. Now that they’re coming back, I wanted to tell you.”
"If you're angry, or feel like I lied to you, just consider this money a loan, and I'll pay you back slowly in the future."
Qin Ce remained silent for a long time before finally speaking: "So, you married me just to buy this house?"
Qiao Xing nodded reluctantly, "I guess so. If you're angry, we can get a divorce."
Qin Ce ignored the last two sentences and asked, "You mean you'd marry anyone as long as you get 200,000 yuan?"
Qiao Xing was stunned, not understanding why he suddenly asked such a question. She scratched her cheek, feeling that there was something ambiguous about his words.
It's as if they're saying anyone with money can marry her, treating her like a commodity.
"I...maybe."
"In your eyes, are these things more important than marriage?"
Qiao Xing felt increasingly uneasy as she listened. Staring at his indifferent face, she cautiously said, "Didn't you say the same thing? That it doesn't matter who you marry?"
When they first started dating, Qin Ce said that it didn't matter who she married, which is why she decided to marry him. At least that way she wouldn't feel guilty.
Her words left Qin Ce speechless.
He realized what kind of stupid question he had asked, and looked away with an unnatural expression. "Yes, I did say that, so we each get what we need, and you don't need to explain it to me."
"Then what about the money?"
"The betrothal gifts given to you are yours to do with as you please."
Qiao Xing secretly breathed a sigh of relief. "That's true, but if I buy this house, I'll put your name on it. I won't take advantage of you."
"Whatever." Qin Ce didn't want to argue with her about it and continued peeling the unfinished orange.
Qiao Xing stole a glance at his expression and, seeing that he didn't seem angry about the matter, she mustered her courage and said, "There's one more thing."
"explain."
"If my uncle and his family come back, they might stay here. You're staying in... my cousin's room."
"Then I'll stay in the other room."
“That belongs to my uncle.”
Qin Ce paused again, slightly raising his head and staring at Qiao Xing with an inscrutable expression.
"Then I..."
"Why don't you go stay at Grandpa Qin's house?"
The two spoke at the same time, but Qiao Xing was one step ahead, and the atmosphere suddenly became quiet after she finished speaking.
Qin Ce's face also darkened.
She actually wants to kick him out?
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