5. Transactions
◎A Wife's Duties◎
Song Qinggui's voice was soft and gentle, as smooth as a pebble on the bank of a stream, but when this stone hit the Xue family, it stirred ripples in the hearts of each of them.
Xue Qielu couldn't help but scrutinize his daughter-in-law. He saw that her face remained expressionless as she ate her meal slowly and deliberately, ignoring Xue Lu's harsh words from earlier.
Xue Qielu lowered his head. Whatever the reason, talking about others behind their backs and letting the person involved hear it is always an embarrassing thing.
Xue Qielu cleared his throat: "Qinggui, um... I know this might be a bit difficult for you, but you have to understand how we parents feel."
Upon hearing this, Song Qinggui put down his chopsticks and gently wiped the corners of his mouth with a tissue.
She looked up and stared directly at Xue Qielu, smiling slightly. "Dad, as long as the goal is achieved, there's no need for formalities."
At this point, Song Qinggui paused, but she couldn't help but add, "It seems hypocritical."
Those four words were enough to change the expressions of everyone at the table. In this family, Xue Qielu was the absolute ruler. Even Xue Tan and Xue Lu, who had established their own households, never dared to speak to Xue Qielu like that.
Xue Qielu's left eye trembled slightly, the shrewdness and ruthlessness of a seasoned businessman flickering in the lines around his eye.
Even the nanny standing to the side became trembling with fear.
Xue Rao couldn't hold back any longer: "Song Qinggui, who do you think you are, daring to speak to my father like that here?!"
Song Qinggui kept staring at Xue Qielu, ignoring Xue Rao: "Dad, you know very well what this property agreement means. The fact that it exists proves that in your eyes, this marriage is a business deal that can be managed with risk, and it also proves that the Xue family has no trust or respect for me. Since it's a business, the two parties in the transaction should be equal. You trample on me, so I don't need to be polite to you either, don't you think?"
Xue Qielu then took a serious look at the young girl in front of him. He now understood that it was probably not a coincidence that she could manipulate the Yan family's son so easily.
"Equality?" Xue Qielu said, "Girl, what right do you have to talk to me about equality?"
Song Qinggui wasn't angry: "Have you ever tripped and fallen on the street in your entire life?"
Xue Qielu frowned, not understanding Song Qinggui's meaning.
Song Qinggui smiled and said, "What could trip someone up? Would it be some particularly obvious or tall obstacle? What trips people up are usually small, inconspicuous pebbles."
Xue Qielu understood. Song Qinggui was saying that she was the kind of pebble that could trip people up, and that she was barefoot and not afraid of those wearing shoes.
Xue Qielu was naturally furious, but he had to admit that he admired Song Qinggui's arrogant and ignorant nature.
He lived a life of wealth and honor, and was surrounded by flattery wherever he went. Even friends of similar status maintained a certain level of politeness in their interactions. Few people dared to be so outspoken in front of him, and his boldness alone was admirable.
Xue Qielu softened his attitude: "I have said that as long as you behave yourself, the Xue family will not treat you unfairly."
"Heh..." Song Qinggui laughed out loud: "It's already a mistreatment. In respectable families, who would let their daughter-in-law sign a prenuptial agreement?"
"Many wealthy families have signed them!" Xue Rao retorted.
Song Qinggui smiled without saying a word, while Xue Lu coldly glanced at Xue Rao. Many people present knew that wealthy families who made others sign property agreements were always dissatisfied with the other party's social standing, fearing they might covet their wealth—without exception. No matter how generous the conditions or how good the reasons, a thousand words are still a thousand words; conversely, disdain is condescension, and scheming is scheming.
Calculation should not be intertwined with love and marriage.
Love is about mutual devotion, marriage is about mutual support and assistance, while scheming is about hostility and defensiveness.
Seeing that everyone at the table had fallen silent, Song Qinggui calmly summarized, "Once you have drafted the agreement, just have Lawyer Xue give it to me. If I feel there are any inappropriate parts, we can discuss them further."
After saying that, Song Qinggui stood up: "I'm tired. I have to go to work tomorrow, so I'll take my leave first. Please enjoy your meal."
As she reached the entrance of the banquet hall, Song Qinggui turned around and looked at Xue Lu. This was the first time she had spoken to Xue Lu that evening: "I came here because I really wanted to have a good meal with your family. Even now, that intention has not changed. I have fulfilled my duties as a wife today."
Song Qinggui was telling Xue Lu that she had not violated the agreement they made before their marriage.
Their marriage may have been a transaction, but even transactions should have some dignity.
Upon hearing this, Xue Lu felt a sharp pain in his chest; he hated this feeling. He couldn't stand Song Qinggui's greed, her willingness to use herself as a bargaining chip, but he hated even more that she suffered unnecessary harm because of him…
Anger, guilt, and a complex mix of other feelings swirled and clashed within him, leaving him with a bittersweet feeling.
He stood up, pulled on his coat, and looked at Xue Qielu: "Satisfied?"
Feeling embarrassed by what had happened tonight, Xue Qielu remained silent in the face of his son's questioning.
But Xue Lu's brothers stepped in to smooth things over: "A-Lu, sit down. Don't let a woman affect our family's relationship. Let's eat."
Xue Lu sighed and said to Xue Qielu, "Dad, if you knew what marriage was all about, you wouldn't be living like this now. Think about all the women you've wronged in your life, and then look at the ones in front of you. Think about my grandfather and great-grandfather's generations, what kind of family we were, and then look at your children now. You should worry less about my marriage and more about yourself. When you have free time, think about whether the women here today who are eyeing the Xue family's property are my wives?"
Xue Lu himself found his words laughable; discussing "family background" in the new society reeked of decay.
But he knew that while the rest of the Xue family cared about this, Xue Qielu cared even more. The others cared because, apart from the family's reputation and the wealth accumulated over generations, they had nothing to rely on in the 21st century. But Xue Qielu cared because he wanted more than just money; he wanted face.
The Xue family can be considered a prominent family, having risen to prominence since the Ming Dynasty. During the feudal period, they produced prime ministers and imperial tutors. After the fall of the Qing Dynasty, they produced revolutionary pioneers and founding generals.
By Xue Qielu's generation, the Xue family had only two sons. Xue Qielu lived in Lancheng, where he built up his family fortune through business and became one of the wealthiest men in China. His older brother, Xue Qieyu, lived in Beijing and is now a university professor. Although the two brothers were born of the same mother, their values were completely different, and their life experiences were also different. Over the decades, they had drifted apart and only exchanged a few perfunctory greetings during holidays.
Xue Qielu controlled almost all of the Xue family's wealth, and he was indeed a shrewd businessman; money could generate more money in his hands.
But Xue Qielu knew in his heart that if the Xue family really had a so-called "family tradition", the heir was actually his older brother Xue Qieyu.
When Xue Qielu was young, he looked down on Xue Qieyu, thinking that scholars were useless. He thought it was foolish of his older brother to give up a good life and go to Beijing to study, earn a fixed salary, and live a life of comfort with his wife and children.
But as he grew older, he increasingly felt that Xue Qieyu's life might be a different kind of "higher" experience that he could not comprehend.
So Xue Qielu took Xue Lu's words to heart, and he even wondered if he had really made a mistake today.
...
The Xue family's old residence is located on Danshan Road, which is not wide and lined with white magnolias on both sides.
It is early spring now. Although the weather has warmed up, there is still a slight chill from winter in the early morning and evening. Magnolias like this kind of climate and have already bloomed quite profusely.
Danshan Road is quiet and some distance from the city center, with no subway or bus stops nearby.
Song Qinggui walked under the streetlights in the moonlight, admiring the magnolia flowers around him as he strolled.
Before she had walked more than one intersection, a hand reached out from behind and grabbed her wrist.
She was startled, turned around, and realized it was Xue Lu.
After a brief moment of surprise, she remained expressionless, neither sad nor happy, which made Xue Lu feel even more distressed.
Xue Lu: "You..."
Song Qinggui: "Are you finished eating?"
The two spoke at the same time.
Xue Lu replied, "I can't eat it."
Song Qinggui smiled and calmly freed himself from Xue Lu's hand: "I said some harsh things today, don't take it to heart."
Xue Lu sensed Song Qinggui's politeness and distance, and felt even more suffocated: "I'm not that incapable of distinguishing right from wrong."
Song Qinggui nodded: "Where's your car?"
"I took a taxi here today," Xue Lu replied.
"Um."
“Song Qinggui.” Xue Lu stopped.
Song Qinggui turned around upon hearing the sound.
Lawyer Xue: "Want to grab a drink? Let's talk."
Song Qinggui looked into Xue Lu's eyes.
She overheard the entire conversation between Xue Qielu, Li Jinghe, and Xue Lu outside the Xue family banquet hall today.
Most girls grow up hearing too many fairy tales like Cinderella, and thus believe that money and power are the icing on the cake of love. As long as Cinderella is kind enough, the prince in the castle will be devoted and passionate, loving her more than his kingdom.
Although the Brothers Grimm didn't write about their married life, young girls are willing to believe that even if Cinderella had disagreements with the King and Queen, the prince would firmly protect his beloved, even at the cost of defying his parents...
That's what love is like: unwavering loyalty and mutual devotion.
At the very top of that castle tower, there must be a famous faith called love.
However, life is not a fairy tale. Money and power are not the flowers on a prince's cloak; they are the prince's other mother. Without money and power, where would a prince come from?
So even a prodigy like Xue Lu, who got into a prestigious university on his own, started his own business through financing, and amassed a fortune of over 100 million yuan, still has to admit that if he weren't surnamed Xue, these hard-won successes would most likely not have come his way.
Being born into the Xue family was his greatest fortune. This bloodline was already the most generous gift of fate.
Therefore, Song Qinggui clearly knew that Xue Lu had done everything in his power to protect her.
He couldn't possibly reap all the benefits his family had given him and then betray them; that would be incredibly ungrateful. Especially since it was all for her—a woman he didn't love.
"Why aren't you saying anything?" Xue Lu asked when he saw that Song Qinggui remained silent.
“Okay, let’s talk.” Song Qinggui nodded. “But I don’t like drinking foreign liquor, let’s go drink beer.”
Xue Lu frowned. His knowledge of beer was really limited, and he didn't know where to go for a moment.
Song Qinggui was amused by his momentary embarrassment: "President Xue, have you ever ridden the subway?"
Xue Lu shook his head honestly: "No."
"Want to try it out?" Song Qinggui asked playfully.
Xue Lu was somewhat stunned; it was the first time he had ever seen such a vivid expression on Song Qinggui's face.
She had always been proud, aloof, and composed, but now there was a hint of childlike innocence in her smile.
Xue Lu's heart skipped a beat. Before he could even process what he was thinking, his mouth had already answered, "Okay."
Upon hearing this, Song Qinggui opened his phone's map app and walked ahead of him, searching for the nearest subway station.
Xue Lu followed closely behind her.
The ground was dotted with the sparse shadows of magnolia blossoms, and Song Qinggui's long shadow floated among the flower shadows as she walked.
Xue Lu couldn't resist and started stepping on her shadow.
It was this simple game that made the two people under the dim light shed their shrewdness and worldliness, and they seemed like two teenagers walking together.
Xue Lu was tall and had long strides, so he would stop every now and then to look up at Song Qinggui's back. Once she was a little further away, he would catch up with her again.
Before long, they saw the subway station, and Song Qinggui quickened his pace.
Xue Lu stopped and just stared at her quietly. He suddenly realized that in all the years he had known Song Qinggui, he seemed to have always been watching her from the side or from the back.
When Song Qinggui heard no more movement behind him, he turned around and waved to Xue Lu: "What are you daydreaming about? Come here quickly."
Xue Lu stepped forward and followed, a smile playing on his lips.
After countless glances at her back, she turned around for the first time.
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