Chapter 53 You and I still need to make the gift...
The atmosphere at the dinner table was somewhat awkward. As expected, the impetuous aunt had betrayed her promise and quickly embellished her account of what she had just seen and heard, relaying it to Liang Zongqiang's ears.
But you can't blame the auntie for this, after all, Liang Zongqiang is the one who pays her salary, so she has no reason not to side with him.
Several times he was about to speak, but hesitated and stopped, a complex expression on Liang Zongqiang's face as he sat opposite him.
Zhou Jinqin thought that she was probably seen as a gentle, soft, kind, and maternal lady. Liang Minghe, on the other hand, because he lost his mother at an early age, was seen as a pitiful, naive, innocent, unfortunate man who desperately longed for maternal love.
But they really aren't that kind of combination!
Zhou Jinqin wanted to explain, but speaking rashly when no one brought it up would inevitably seem like she was trying to cover something up, so she ended up in the same difficult situation as Liang Zongqiang, wanting to say something but holding back.
Liang Minghe, on the other hand, seemed much more at ease. He was not one to care about what others thought, especially not about Liang Zongqiang's opinion.
For example, right now, his demeanor isn't much different from when the two of them are alone. He occasionally says some sweet nothings to make Zhou Jinqin happy, as if no one else exists. If Liang Zongqiang tries to talk to him, he ignores him, only reluctantly responding when the other person throws out gold coins, appearing very pragmatic.
Zhou Jinqin felt a little ashamed, but also relieved that Liang Zongqiang's current wife hadn't brought their child to the dinner table to avoid suspicion. To Liang Zongqiang, it wasn't a big deal, as he knew his son's character well; Liang Minghe was always skilled at sweet talk and had a first-rate talent for winning people over.
Seeing the couple so sweet and affectionate, Liang Zongqiang's usually serious expression relaxed a bit. He picked up a piece of spare rib and put it in Liang Minghe's bowl, saying, "When you were little, you loved eating Grandpa Xu's sizzling spare ribs. Knowing you were coming today, I specially invited him back from his hometown. Try it and see if it still tastes the same."
When he talked about sizzling spare ribs, he spoke Cantonese, which sounded like "jue jue paai gwat." Zhou Jinqin didn't understand the two pronunciations "jue jue," but she felt that it was a bit jarring to hear such a cute reduplicated word coming from Liang Zongqiang's mouth.
Seeing that she was suppressing a faint smile, Liang Minghe immediately understood what was funny. He leaned close to her ear and explained, "Jue jue in Mandarin corresponds to the two characters 'zhe zhe'." He wrote the specific characters on her palm, "It's actually imitating the sizzling sound made when ingredients are simmering in a clay pot over high heat."
He didn't care whether he would lose face in front of the enemy. Of course, it might be because he didn't take Liang Zongqiang seriously at all, so he had no scruples and immediately used his natural advantage as a voice actor to imitate a very lifelike crackling sound.
Liang Minghe's voice was pleasant and sexy, but at this moment it sounded somewhat cute. Zhou Jinqin was amused and smiled lightly. When she looked up, she caught a glimpse of Liang Zongqiang across from her. His eyes were filled with a loving smile, which touched anyone who saw it.
Zhou Jinqin nudged Liang Minghe's arm with her elbow, somewhat awkwardly reminding him, "Try it and see if it's good."
Liang Minghe nodded, obediently fed the rib into his mouth, and after chewing it carefully, he said to Zhou Jinqin, "Mmm, delicious."
Clearly, this answer was for his own benefit. Liang Zongqiang smiled and said to Zhou Jinqin, "You've had a tough time in this relationship."
“You said something similar on the mountain before, and I remember refuting you.” Even if it happened again, Zhou Jinqin would still not agree with such an idea.
Liang Zongqiang didn't speak again. To be honest, he agreed that Liang Minghe had always done a good job in maintaining the relationship, but now he was simply unwilling to continue this kinship with him.
Today is supposed to be Liang Minghe's birthday, but Zhou Jinqin ended up receiving more gifts from Liang Zongqiang. She thought it was probably because of his talk of hard work, which made her feel unworthy of the gifts, but she still accepted them out of consideration for Liang Minghe's well-being.
Because there was little interaction, the meal ended quickly. Liang Minghe was about to leave with Zhou Jinqin when he was stopped by Liang Jiahe, who looked timid.
He stared at the ground and stammered, "Sister-in-law, could I borrow your time for a little while?"
He didn't even dare to look Liang Minghe in the eye, for fear of being swallowed whole by that wolf in sheep's clothing.
Liang Minghe had no intention of arguing with the child. He asked Zhou Jinqin for her opinion, and when she agreed, he did not stop her.
"Go ahead, I'll go and say a few words to Grandpa Xu."
Zhou Jinqin was led to his room by the chubby boy, who handed her a carefully wrapped box and said, "Sister-in-law, this is a gift for my brother. Could you give it to him for me? I'll treat you to ice cream later, okay?"
"Why don't you give it to him yourself?" Zhou Jinqin chuckled and pinched his chubby cheeks.
“Hmm…” Liang Jiahe hesitated before speaking, “He wouldn’t like it.”
"Why give it to him if he doesn't like it?" Zhou Jinqin put her arm around his shoulder and asked him curiously.
Liang Jiahe replied matter-of-factly, "Because it's his birthday, and birthdays are for receiving gifts."
“But if I give it to your brother for you, will he like it?” Zhou Jinqin asked him.
“Yes, he will.” Liang Jiahe nodded firmly. “My brother doesn’t like me, so he won’t like the gifts I give him. But my brother likes you, so he will like the things you give him.”
He is still young, and occasionally innocent and naive, but he is also overly sensitive, so he must have heard a lot of rumors.
Zhou Jinqin's heart softened completely. She took the box and made a pinky promise with him: "Since you trust me so much, I'll give it a try."
"Yes! That's great!" The chubby boy jumped up, his face jiggling several times. He happily praised her, "Sister-in-law, you're so kind."
Zhou Jinqin smiled too. She thought it was no wonder that Liang Minghe was able to work in the children's art industry. Despite his stern face, he still easily captured the hearts of children.
Liang Jiahe used his Little Genius watch to add Zhou Jinqin as a WeChat friend, repeatedly begging her to tell him after he succeeded. Only then did the two get up to say goodbye.
As Zhou Jinqin was leaving the room, she happened to run into Liang Jiahe's mother. She was probably only around forty years old, petite and slender, with a neat short haircut and a pure face, but she habitually wore a serious expression. To be honest, she didn't look much like Liang Jiahe.
Although she was his stepmother, they were not far apart in age. Zhou Jinqin didn't know how to address her, so she simply nodded and left quickly.
Downstairs, Liang Minghe was sitting on the sofa with a dark expression. Zhou Jinqin asked him what was wrong, and he said that his father and several nannies had taken the photos back.
Zhou Jinqin didn't know whether to laugh or feel sorry for her. She said, "If I had known, I would have come down and fought with you."
"Forget it, there are too many of them." Liang Minghe took her hand and walked outside. "He was the one who took those photos. I just couldn't stand him keeping them."
Zhou Jinqin couldn't help but ask curiously, "Doesn't his current wife mind?"
“If she really cared about these trivial details, she wouldn’t have chosen to marry Liang Zongqiang,” Liang Minghe said.
Zhou Jinqin suddenly thought of that petite woman: "Do you dislike her?"
“I used to feel that way, but I don’t feel it anymore,” Liang Minghe said. “Although she was my father’s secretary before she got married, she never interfered in my family. Maybe she took advantage of Liang Zongqiang’s grief, but that’s the freedom of single men and women, and I have nothing to criticize.”
He hated Liang Zongqiang's infidelity, hated how quickly he fell in love with someone else, hated how he could have a new love yet still carelessly reminisce about his old one, hated how he wanted both, hated him...
Zhou Jinqin nestled her fingers between his and smiled gently at him: "You don't abuse your emotions, you don't drag others into things for no reason, and you're especially adorable. Liang Zongqiang is completely wrong. In this relationship, I'm not suffering at all, but very happy."
Liang Ming's slightly cool eyes warmed up a bit. He clasped their intertwined hands together, lowered his head to kiss the back of her hand, and smiled, saying, "Last time you said you couldn't talk, but now you're quite good at it, aren't you?"
"Maybe it's because I'm near vermilion that I get stained red, and I'm near ink that I get stained black." Zhou Jinqin said this on the surface, but what she was really thinking was that less serious saying, "Maybe it's because we've kissed too much." She couldn't help but blush.
"So am I red or black?" Liang Minghe smiled and kissed her rosy cheeks, answering his own question, "It seems there's no need to ask, you're red."
"Cough cough..." Zhou Jinqin coughed twice, afraid that he would continue to talk nonsense, so she quickly urged him to leave.
Liang Minghe's birthday is the second to last day of August, which happened to fall on a Saturday this year. The couple decided to have their meal at the Liang family home at noon, which was not a big deal, while saving the more important dinner for their maternal grandparents' house.
After dinner, Grandma wanted the two of them to stay overnight as usual, but Liang Minghe declined, saying he had something to do.
It was something, but not exactly. As for what it was, Zhou Jinqin knew perfectly well.
Liang Minghe's friends usually gather to celebrate his birthday the night before, staying until midnight with him. Many people came to his house yesterday and stayed until very late, so their planned romantic time over the weekend was taken up, and naturally it was postponed to tonight...
When Zhou Jinqin finally finished her shower and came out, there was only one ambient light on in the living room. Liang Minghe was sitting under the light, half of his body hidden in a pile of gifts.
He has many friends from all over the country, and a lot of gifts and packages have arrived in the past few days, all of which are waiting to be opened today.
Upon seeing Zhou Jinqin arrive, he spread his hands and asked, "Where's my gift?"
Zhou Jinqin was both amused and exasperated: "Who would be so shameless as to ask for a gift?"
"Why should a husband be embarrassed to his wife?" Liang Minghe said shamelessly.
As he spoke, he picked up a guitar from the ground and said with a smile, "But even if you don't tell me, I know which one is yours."
"Then why did you ask me for it?" Zhou Jinqin smiled helplessly and asked him, "Want to try it?"
"You want to hear it?" he asked.
Zhou Jinqin nodded: "Yes, I want to hear it."
Soon, the strings were plucked, and soft, delicate music began to play, spontaneously serving as accompaniment to the birthday celebrant's singing.
Who rode that deer-drawn chariot flying by?
Forget about giving me that gift.
Gazing at the lamps
Only tonight is the brightest and most luminous.
But it illuminated my loneliness.
Who will be kind enough to kiss me?
I can prove I've been happy by looking at my lips.
...
lonely lonely birthday…”
Liang Minghe sang Eason Chan's "Lonely Christmas," but he replaced "Christmas" with "birthday" in the lyrics.
This is a Cantonese song that has been on Zhou Jinqin's playlist for years, so she can fully understand the meaning of the lyrics.
Liang Minghe has a pleasant voice, especially sexy when speaking Cantonese. In this deep, quiet night, bathed in the dim, ambiguous light, he is particularly alluring.
Zhou Jinqin's ears turned pink, and she murmured softly, "Didn't I give you the gift? Don't you like it?"
Her voice trailed off: "Besides, aren't I here...?"
Why lonely?
“I like him very much, but you know, Xiao He is a very, very greedy person.” Liang Minghe only answered the first question.
His gaze was intense, which even made the pinkish peach blossom eyes appear a more fiery red, and his soft lips were probably also burning hot. His lips were moving but he didn't make a sound.
Zhou Jinqin heard it, or more accurately, she saw it.
Liang Minghe said, "I want you to kiss me kindly, and I also want you to make love with me."
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Author's note: It's my birthday, so what's wrong with doing whatever I want? [sunglasses]
The song is Eason Chan's "Lonely Christmas," it's really nice! [Thumbs up]
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