Chapter 56 Exclusive Release Chapter 56 Even if you have a...
She paused, then lowered her voice, "And you did a particularly good job. Look at my grandfather, his eyes were practically closed from smiling."
The atmosphere at the banquet grew increasingly lively. The elders began to include Elias more often in their conversations, and despite the language barrier, a peculiar kind of communication developed.
Elias occasionally responded with short sentences, and his earnest attitude towards food and his effort to understand subtly bridged the distance between them.
After several rounds of drinks and several dishes, most of the elders moved to the adjacent tea room to continue enjoying tea and conversation, while the younger generation naturally gathered on the riverside terrace, enjoying the damp evening breeze.
As soon as Yuan Ning sat down, several of her cousins gathered around her. The atmosphere was subtly quiet and filled with curiosity, with everyone's attention focused on her fashionable but not overly extravagant dress, her exquisite makeup, and her clearly well-maintained curly hair.
The first to break the silence was my younger cousin, who is studying at university in Shanghai. Her eyes sparkled, and she asked a very practical question: "Sis, is New York City full of skyscrapers? Are the streets really like in the movies, with yellow taxis everywhere?"
Yuan Ning smiled and patiently replied, "There are many high-rise buildings, especially in Midtown. The taxis are indeed yellow, and there are many of them."
The conversation naturally turned to everyday life. My cousin, who works as a sales clerk at a local department store in Nancheng, asked, "Nini, could you bring me an LV bag next time you come back? I heard it's cheaper there."
After he finished speaking, there was a subtle pause in the atmosphere at the table.
In 2001, for most working-class families in Nancheng, LV was still an unattainable, exorbitantly priced symbol that existed only in Hong Kong and Taiwan magazines and rumors.
When her cousin said that, Yuan Ning thought to herself, she wasn't a personal shopper. It wouldn't be worth making an extra trip just to save a little money and bring back a bag for someone. Besides, if she only brought back bags for her cousin, what about her other sisters, aunts, and cousins?
She sighed softly, her tone carrying just the right amount of helplessness and intimacy: "Sis, LV bags aren't cheap anywhere! The price difference between the New York City boutique and the Hushi City department store isn't that much. How about this, let's go to Hushi City together in a few days. There are so many things I'm waiting to buy when we get back."
“However,” Yuan Ning changed the subject, smiling, “I brought gifts for everyone when I came back this time. They are all cosmetics, including perfumes and lipsticks. You can come to my room to pick them out later.”
Just then, Jiang Jianzhou walked over from the direction of the tea room. He smiled at the group of people at the table and said to Yuan Ning, "Nini, my father and two uncles who are old friends would like to invite Mr. Van der Berg over for a cup of tea and a chat."
Yuan Ning understood immediately and gave Elias a look.
“Go ahead,” Yuan Ning said softly.
Elias nodded to her, then got up and followed Mr. Jiang away.
After everyone left, her cousin leaned close to Yuan Ning and whispered, "Nini, is your foreign boyfriend super rich?"
As soon as she finished speaking, several pairs of eyes looked at Yuan Ning with undisguised curiosity and a certain secret excitement.
In fact, Qiao's relatives are all ordinary people. Qiao Yiya is good at finding rich men, which makes Yuan Ning's standard of living better than her cousins since childhood.
The crowd was not convinced. They were all from the Qiao family, and later they learned that Yuan Ning was an illegitimate child. Strictly speaking, the class leap had not been successful.
But the mother and daughter kept finding rich men, as if poverty would never be their turn.
It's normal for relatives to feel jealousy and resentment towards each other.
"Rich?" Yuan Ning repeated, a hint of amusement and helplessness in her voice. "Sis, this question has stumped me. How much is considered extremely rich?"
My cousin waved her fingers: "Back in our hometown, having 10,000 yuan was considered wealthy. Times have changed. Now, anyone who can come up with 100,000 or 200,000 yuan is considered rich. I bet your boyfriend's net worth is... a million? Ten million?"
My cousin, who is studying at a university in Shanghai, said, "Sister, that's all you've got. A million yuan can only buy two apartments in the capital. What's that?"
My cousin gasped, "That's ten million! He has ten million in money?"
Yuan Ning smiled without saying a word. She didn't know exactly how much money Elias had; she was afraid that the word "thousand" would need to be replaced with another unit.
"Is he good to you?" Another married cousin asked the question she was more concerned about. "Do foreigners know how to be considerate? You've been abroad for so long, you don't know, but when you look for a man, you should look for someone considerate, someone who can cook, someone who will fight back for you if you're bullied. He looks delicate and refined, not like someone who can handle things."
Hearing this, Auntie quickly came over and added, "Yes, it's not about how much money you have. No matter how much money you have, Auntie is telling you, you still need to find a man who will cherish you."
Yuan Ning paused slightly in her teacup.
“He…” Yuan Ning began, “He’s quite strong.” He just likes to choke her when she’s angry.
My married cousin clicked her tongue twice: "These young girls nowadays have a strange kind of worship for foreigners. What do you call that... worshipping foreign things and fawning over foreigners? Don't be fooled by their wealth. Let me tell you, they all sign prenuptial agreements when they marry them. They'll calculate everything clearly for you."
“Uh…” Yuan Ning was taken aback for a moment, then nodded, “Yes, we have an agreement.”
If she disappoints him and fails to earn him money, she will still face huge compensation claims. There's no such thing as easy money from the shoulders of giants.
"See? I told you! Foreigners are all very shrewd; he's wary of you!"
My aunt slapped her thigh, a smug look of "I knew it!" on her face, but her tone became more earnest: "If your heart isn't with you, no amount of money can warm your bed! Your mother... sigh, didn't she suffer for that?"
The atmosphere at the table became somewhat tense for a moment.
This matter is a taboo in the Qiao family. The elders have long said that no one is allowed to mention it again.
Yuan Ning put down her teacup, the porcelain making a crisp sound as it hit the table. Her second aunt paused, afraid of upsetting the girl and causing trouble for the elders, who would then accuse her of stirring up trouble.
“Mom’s mistake was not signing an agreement. An agreement is not a scheme, it’s a set of rules. If everything that needs to be said and agreed upon is laid out in the open, and everyone follows the rules, it will be simpler and more sustainable.” Yuan Ning didn’t know if these people understood what she was saying.
"It sounds... more like a business partnership," my cousin murmured.
"Pretty much," Yuan Ning readily admitted. "A good business partner is probably more reliable than a muddle-headed couple."
Just then, the door to the side hall opened. Elias and Jiang Jianzhou walked out one after the other. Jiang Jianzhou had a smile on his face, while Elias's expression remained calm, but upon closer inspection, his brows seemed more relaxed than when he went in. He didn't immediately walk towards Yuan Ning, but stopped first, exchanged a few words with Jiang Jianzhou in hushed tones, and then walked over.
Yuan Ning picked up a peanut and put it in her mouth, the salty and savory flavor melting on her tongue. She turned her head and gave Elias a very slight smile.
Elias was picking up the glass of iced tea, seemingly hesitating for a moment before deciding whether to drink it. When he met her gaze, he raised an eyebrow almost imperceptibly, as if asking, "What's wrong?"
Yuan Ning shook her head, her smile deepening.
It's nothing, it's just that this kind of relationship, with its "clearly defined price," mutual "calculations," and mutual "support," doesn't seem so bad. At least, it's much clearer and more straightforward than many "love stories" that start haphazardly and end in a mess.
A gentle breeze blew across the river, and the night was tender.
Yuan Ning suddenly smiled and said, "Elijas, I like you."
Qiao Yiya and Jiang Jianzhou stayed behind to see off some of the older guests, while Yuan Ning and Elias went back to the inn to rest.
On the way back, night had fallen, and the streets of the old southern district had quieted down, with only the glow of streetlights and a few scattered shops remaining. The two walked side by side on the bluestone pavement, their footsteps clear.
"Are you tired?" Yuan Ning asked, her voice sounding particularly soft in the quiet alley.
“It’s alright,” Elias replied, then added, “Your family is more…energetic than I imagined.”
Yuan Ning chuckled: "Are you annoyed by their talkativeness, and they're only talking to you out of politeness, so you have to answer them?"
“No.” He denied it quickly, then paused. “It’s just a matter of adjusting. A different social rhythm.”
"I've noticed that you've changed quite a bit?"
Elias didn't stop walking, but simply turned his head slightly to meet her gaze: "What's changed?"
“Back in New York,” Yuan Ning recalled, “you would never tolerate a group of strangers surrounding you and asking you all sorts of questions; you would feel it was a pointless waste of energy.”
She remembered once accompanying him to a cocktail party.
That was a long time ago.
Yuan Ning accompanied him as his fashion consultant, while Elias stood among them, feeling like a chosen one, exuding a noble aura.
He was used to drawing clear lines between everything, which Yuan Ning felt deeply when she first met him. He knew exactly what class he belonged to and was also very aware that he was high above others, and he was happy to exclude people from the lower classes from his social circle.
When a self-made, rude nouveau riche tries to strike up a conversation with him at a party, Elias, out of gentlemanly manners, will not show any obvious disgust.
He simply smiled and interrupted the other person, asking, "Excuse me, which dock is your yacht moored at?"
The other party couldn't make a call, so he turned slightly to the side and turned his attention to a banker next to him who was talking in hushed tones. This banker's family had been members of the Newport Yacht Club for three generations. It was as if the conversation had never happened.
The nouveau riche was extremely embarrassed; he knew perfectly well that he had been excluded from the gentlemen's circle.
Yuan Ning was following behind Elias at the time, and she felt that he was just incredibly mean.
Like a proud male peacock.
She had always known that beneath his refined manners lay a rigid, inviolable hierarchical order.
Yuan Ning snapped out of her reverie and looked at the man walking beside her in the dimly lit alley.
"Honestly, I'm nervous about the questions they ask you. In the past, that would probably have triggered your boundary alarms long ago. You would probably continue to be well-mannered, but your manners would only be limited to yourself. You wouldn't care if it hurts others, especially those... who are obviously not in the same world as you."
Elias remained silent.
The two had crossed the arched bridge and arrived at a quieter alley, lined with old houses, from which came the occasional sound of a television and muffled voices.
“Then let it be a change I made for my Miss Wynne.” Elias turned to her and gave her a gentlemanly bow.
"No, no, Elias, perhaps you have always been a kind-hearted person. You have empathy and a soft heart, but they were just hidden away before."
Yuan Ning watched his slightly bowed silhouette in the dim alley, his posture as elegant as if he were in the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles, incongruous with the surrounding mottled white walls, clothes drying in the sun, and the faint smell of coal in the air, yet strangely blending into this southern city night.
Elias slowly straightened up, his icy blue eyes indistinct in the shadows.
"Yeah?"
He neither refuted nor agreed; he simply returned the question to her gently and completely.
Yuan Ning didn't answer immediately. She took two steps forward, the rough cracks in the old wall beside her, feeling the unique damp atmosphere of the southern city at night, imbued with the passage of time and life.
“I thought this was just a necessary procedure. Your family is part of you. And you are my…” He paused subtly here, “an important partner.”
“Partner.” Yuan Ning chewed on the word, took a step forward, and moved closer to him. “Sigh, Elias, you’re always like this.”
“Wynne,” he called her name, his voice lower and deeper than before, “you’re trying to define me, to put me into a template of ‘kindness at heart.’ That’s dangerous.”
"Disappointment will follow once you start to believe some overly optimistic assumption about me."
Yuan Ning looked at him for a few seconds, then suddenly laughed. It wasn't a laugh of disappointment, but a laugh that carried a sense of understanding and a hint of indulgence.
"Well, Mr. van der Berg, anyway, your heart is certainly not as stubborn as your mouth."
Elias seemed taken aback by her response and paused for a moment.
A slight moment of surprise flashed across her face, but it was quickly replaced by her usual calm.
Neither of them spoke again, but continued walking side by side. The alley grew narrower and narrower, with crisscrossing power lines and clotheslines overhead, casting dappled and fragmented shadows.
South City isn't all glamorous. New York may have rich neighborhoods and slums, but here there's no clear dividing line, or rather, most of the area is underdeveloped.
Besides the faint smell of coal, the air was also filled with a sweet, cloying aroma of sugar water wafting from somewhere, mixed with the scent of old wood and moss. In the distance, the faint strains of Cantonese opera drifted in, intermittent and unclear.
They walked to the end of the alley, a place Yuan Ning knew well—her grandparents' house.
It was also the place where she lived when she was a child.
The place was deserted at the moment, except for a few bamboo reclining chairs and a small stool that had been worn smooth and shiny in the courtyard.
"I'm home."
She walked over and sat down, familiar with the place, but she didn't have her keys in her pocket. She hadn't expected to end up here during her walk.
Grandpa and Grandma are probably still playing mahjong with relatives and friends and will be back later, while Qiao Yiya is probably busy with her wedding night, and no one is taking care of Yuan Ning and Elias.
She leaned back in the rocking chair, her fingertips gently hooking the hem of his suit jacket.
“Elijas.” Yuan Ning’s voice was as soft as a whisper, yet it clearly reached his ears.
"Um?"
"Let's kiss."
It's not a question, not an invitation, but a simple and direct statement. It's as natural as saying "It's getting dark."
The pull on the hem of the dress was so insignificant, yet all the senses became exceptionally clear at that moment, as if separated by a transparent membrane.
He slowly, very slowly, turned his head to look at her. She was also turning her face to the side, the faint light from the depths of the alley casting soft shadows on her face, her dark eyes sparkling.
Time seemed to stretch out in the thick darkness of the night. In the distance, the strains of Cantonese opera drifted to a melodious high note, then faded away softly.
Yuan Ning pulled him down, and the recliner creaked as the two of them swayed together.
In this narrow bamboo space, their bodies pressed tightly together, and the rocking chair swayed violently back and forth, the sound of bamboo strips rubbing together being particularly clear in the quiet courtyard.
Yuan Ning chuckled softly beneath him, her breath brushing against his neck.
Elias instinctively braced himself against the sides of the rocking chair with his arms to barely maintain this dangerous and overly intimate posture.
“Wynne,” he finally spoke, his voice lower and hoarser than before, “Are you sure you’re here?”
Yuan Ning blinked gently. "Hmm."
She tightened her grip on his clothes slightly, pulling him down an inch. At the same time, she tilted her head back and leaned in.
The recliner groaned under the strain once more, swaying with every slight adjustment of their movements.
The bamboo armrest pressed against Yuan Ning's arm, but she was completely unaware. All her senses were focused on the space between her lips and teeth, on his hot breath, and on the arms around her waist that were gradually tightening.
I don't know how much time passed, maybe just a few tens of seconds.
Elias finally stepped back a little, his forehead touching hers, his breathing heavy and unsteady.
Yuan Ning was also slightly out of breath, her cheeks flushed, but her eyes were surprisingly bright.
She looked at him, then suddenly laughed. Her laughter was low, carrying the pleasure of triumph and a hint of hoarseness, and the corners of her lips curved into a satisfied smile.
Elias didn't speak, he just looked at her for a long time. Then, he reached out, not to hug her, but to gently rub her cheek with the back of his fingers, a gesture of almost clumsy tenderness.
Both of them were very busy with work in New York City and could not stay in the South City for more than a few days.
During the few days I stayed, I spent almost every day eating, playing cards, and drinking with relatives; that's just how life is back home.
Yuan Ning still took some time to go shopping in Lake City with her cousins for a day. She originally wanted to stick to her principles, but Elias persuaded her: "They won't spend much money in total, you can just pay the bill."
He probably thought that the money was insignificant to him, which is why he said it so easily.
Yuan Ning looked at the unlimited credit card he generously offered and gently pushed it back for the first time: "No, one thing at a time. They buy things, so why should I pay for them?"
Elias didn't learn much in the South City Academy, but interpersonal relationships were one of them.
“Although you don’t live in China often, your mother’s family and connections are still here. In such a society where personal relationships are important, it’s necessary to maintain connections among relatives. With a sum of money that is insignificant to me, I can buy your peace and good reputation in one go, while avoiding the interpersonal risks that may arise in the future and are more difficult to quantify and manage. This is in line with the principle of maximizing benefits.”
Okay, Yuan Ning was convinced by him.
She took his card and led her sisters on a shopping spree in Lake City. Even though they bought luxury items they could never have imagined in their lives, it was still just a drop in the ocean for Elias.
Yuan Ning was getting happier and happier swiping her card, and all her sisters fawned over her. So this is what it means to spend money to buy emotional value.
In the past, she and her mother would win Meng Qianyue's favor by pleasing him. Now, the roles were reversed, and she was the one who tossed out the gold coin and listened to the wonderful echo. The feeling was indeed different.
In the most upscale shopping mall in Huzhou, my cousin carefully touched the tag on a cashmere coat; the number on it made her fingertips tremble.
Yuan Ning walked over and said directly, "Do you like it? Wrap it up!"
My cousin turned around abruptly, her eyes reddening slightly: "Nini, this is too expensive..."
“Take this and wear it,” Yuan Ning smiled, took the beautiful paper bag from the sales assistant, and stuffed it into her cousin’s hand. “I don’t come back often anyway. If anything happens to my mother in the future, I’ll have to rely on you to take care of her.”
"Don't worry, I will definitely take good care of your aunt."
Another cousin, holding the latest LV bag, exclaimed, "I'll never say money is useless again; money is truly the best thing in the world."
Yuan Ning didn't refute this; she wholeheartedly agreed.
The shopping bags piled up, and the laughter grew louder.
She poured real money into it, and her cousins surrounded her, their tone more affectionate and adoring than ever before.
On the way back to Nancheng, the carriage was piled high with spoils of war, and filled with the mixed scents of new leather and high-end cosmetics.
However, this trip only included sisters of the same generation; as for brothers, Yuan Ning couldn't care less.
My second aunt heard about this at home and complained about why Yuan Ning didn't bring her along. It was my cousin who went back and shut her up.
“Nini bought you a gift. You and your third aunt each got a set of skincare products, which cost over a thousand yuan.”
On the day Yuan Ning left, her second aunt asked Qiao Yiya to pass on a message to her, saying, "When you're looking for a man, you have to find one who's willing to spend money on you. He's a thousand times better than those who just know how to sweet-talk you!"
Yuan Ning laughed as she listened, glancing at Elias beside her, unsure whether he understood what she meant.
They have always acted in accordance with the agreement and have always kept the accounts clear.
Will Elias understand?
However, she didn't take it to heart; she could earn the money herself.
Qiao Yiya was very reluctant to see her daughter leave, and she kept talking to her at the airport: "Nini, you've only been back for a few days, and you have to leave again. Sigh, I really wish I had never sent you away before."
Then, remembering something else, she added, "In the end, you should have kicked your dad out a long time ago!"
"Mom, when I was thirteen, he wanted to send me away. Do you know why?"
Qiao Yiya nodded, wiping away her tears: "I know."
If she hadn't listened to her husband back then, she wouldn't have been able to stand on her own two feet with her daughter.
“Back then, his eldest daughter had just graduated from university and joined the company. She specifically said she didn’t want you, this threat, to stay in the country, saying that the family fortune belonged to her and her siblings.” Qiao Yiya’s voice was very low, mixed with the noisy background of the airport announcements, carrying a long-buried bitterness and resentment. “I argued with him, but it was no use. He made it clear that either I would be sent abroad, where the family could still support my studies, or I would stay in the country and he wouldn’t care about me. He told me to decide for myself.”
Yuan listened quietly, her heart not filled with the expected turmoil. Over the years, she had repeatedly pondered this story, piecing together its general outline. Now, receiving confirmation from her mother felt more like the final confirmation of an old mystery; the dust had settled, bringing a strange sense of peace.
"So that's how it is." Because of the threat.
At the time, her classmates and friends envied her for being able to study in New York.
“Nini, don’t blame your mother…” Qiao Yiya choked up.
"I don't blame my mother."
Mom was a little girl once too. Little girls all make mistakes and go astray. But some people go astray and never recover, while others...
Even if you're dealt a bad hand, you must play it to the best possible outcome.
Her gaze passed over her mother's slightly trembling shoulders and landed on Elias, who was waiting quietly not far away.
He stood there, out of place among the hurried crowds around him, filled with the sorrow of parting. He would probably never understand this kind of bond based on blood ties, thick and full of indebtedness.
Will he experience these tangled and unresolved pains?
Qiao Yiya followed her gaze and saw Elias as well. She sniffed and squeezed Yuan Ning's hand tightly: "Alright, you guys can go now."
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