Chapter 56 56 Coaxing the precious grandson into your hands
New Year's Eve.
This year, Jiangcheng has set up a restricted area for fireworks, and the sound of fireworks outside the window is like breaking jade in a pot.
Qin Jixiu sat on the sofa, his fingertips unconsciously stroking the armrest, but his eyes were always on the two figures not far away.
To his surprise, when Qin Jixiu told his grandfather that he wanted his father to celebrate the New Year at the Qin family's house, his grandfather actually nodded and simply said, "It's more fun when there are more people."
Qin Jixiu knew Qin Xiangyuan too well. He was worried about the hidden thoughts behind his abnormal calmness, so he was always paying attention to what the two elders said.
In fact, Grandpa and Father barely exchanged more than three words. Grandpa had called over his brothers' relatives, and the younger generations from each family filled the living room with a lively atmosphere, eating, chatting, discussing business, and networking.
Qin Jixiu responded to the wine glass handed to him by his relative with a tight smile, but he felt empty in his heart.
He couldn't help but wonder, what was Shi Rui doing?
At this moment, the Shi family was also bustling with activity.
The coffee table in the living room was filled with nuts and fruits. The men of the Shi family crowded in the kitchen, while the women gathered together to play mahjong.
Shi Rui leaned against the balcony door, a glass of juice in his hand. He listened to his third aunt ask him, "When are you going to bring a girlfriend home?" He just smiled and shook the glass: "Aunt, I'm still young and don't have the energy to look for one. I'll tell you when I have one."
It was not until dinner was over and the guests gathered in the living room in groups of three or four to chat that Shi's mother came over with a plate of washed fruit and patted his arm gently.
"Ruirui, do you have good news to tell Mom?" Her voice was low and her eyes were a little inquiring.
Shi Rui subconsciously glanced at his father. Shi's mother saw what he was thinking and couldn't help laughing: "Don't look at it anymore. Your father just told me when he came back from his business trip, 'Do you have someone you like? Do you have a photo? Show it to mom. If it's inconvenient for you to bring it back, you can let mom take a look first."
Shi Rui tightened his grip on the cup, and the tips of his ears felt slightly hot.
How could he not have any photos? He had created a special folder in his phone album, which only stored photos of Qin Jixiu. But now the room was full of people, how could he say this?
"Mom, I don't have any photos of him." He said vaguely, "I'll tell you and my dad after everyone leaves."
Seeing his guilty look, Shi's mother didn't ask any more questions. She just smiled and nodded: "Okay, Mom will wait for you."
After waiting for a long time for Shi's mother to walk back into the living room, Shi Rui immediately grabbed his phone and slipped into the balcony.
He tapped his finger twice on the screen and dialed the number he knew by heart.
The phone rang twice before being picked up. Qin Jixiu's voice came through the receiver with a gentle smile: "Hello?"
"Brother," Shi Rui's voice softened unconsciously, "Did you miss me?"
"A group of relatives were discussing business, so I couldn't get a word in. But I didn't have time to miss you."
Shi Rui sighed softly, then said, "I really want to go back to you soon. I used to look forward to going home, as family reunion would make me feel at ease. But now I feel like there's a space in my heart that's empty. I'm always distracted and can't help but miss you, wondering what you're doing, whether you've eaten, and how you're feeling. Without you, I feel like I'm not myself anymore."
Qin Jixiu heard his own heartbeat louder than the sound of fireworks.
"Don't talk nonsense, where did you learn all this?"
"I didn't learn it," Shi Rui said coquettishly, "It's all from my heart. It's all the truth."
Qin Jixiu was so jealous of him.
The two of them chatted casually, sweetly and lovingly, expressing their longing for each other.
After finishing the call, Shi Rui turned around and found that his mother was looking at him with a look of satisfaction that her son had grown up. He didn't know how long she had been listening on the balcony.
He opened his mouth, wanting to explain something, but he didn't know where to start, so he could only shout dryly: "Mom..."
Shi's mother didn't say anything, just smiled, patted his shoulder, and turned to walk into the kitchen.
After more than half an hour, the guests finally left one after another. Shi Xi had just sent the last guest to the door when Shi Rui pulled him over and said in a low voice, "Come here and support me."
In the living room, the two elders sat on the sofa. Seeing their two sons coming over, Shi Wenjun saw through Shi Rui's expression and nodded, "Sit down. Don't you have something to say?"
Shi Rui took a deep breath and sat down on the sofa, and Shi Xi sat next to him obediently.
The living room was so quiet that only the ticking of the clock could be heard. Shi Rui squeezed his palms and finally said, "Dad, Mom, I like someone."
Shi Wenjun knew about this a long time ago and showed no expression, but Shi's mother's face was full of anticipation.
Shi Rui paused and deliberately slowed down his speech: "But his family is not well off. Would you... mind?"
As soon as these words came out, Shi Xi looked at Shi Rui in disbelief.
Shi's mother was stunned for a moment, then smiled: "What does it matter if her family is not good? The main thing is that you like her and she is a good person."
Shi Wenjun also nodded: "Yeah, what era is it now? Do you still care about family background? As long as you two get along well and live a good life, your mother and I will not object."
Shi Rui didn't expect them to accept so easily. He felt relieved, but also felt that the time was not right yet. He continued, "His family is still in debt, his father is a gambler, and his mother doesn't care about him... Is that okay?"
These words made Shi's parents silent.
Shi Wenjun frowned, and Shi's mother also looked hesitant.
After a few seconds, Shi's mother spoke: "Does she owe a lot of debt? If not, we can help pay it off. We can also arrange an easier job for her and let her have as little contact with her biological parents as possible. Once you come to our Shi family, you are a member of our Shi family."
Shi Rui didn't expect that his parents' bottom line was quite low.
The mother sighed again and said, "It's not easy for a little girl to grow up all by herself."
Shi Rui showed an embarrassment on his face.
Shi Xi was so anxious watching from the side that he secretly nudged him with his elbow.
Shi's father discovered that they were up to something. Knowing that his eldest son was smarter and more clever, he looked at Shi Xi, who was more vulnerable to being deceived, and asked with a scrutinizing tone: "Do you know who your brother likes?"
Shi Xi shuddered with fear, his eyes darting around in panic: "Ah, I don't, I don't know."
"I don't know why you are stuttering?" Shi Wenjun saw through his thoughts at a glance and his tone became serious.
Shi Xi was speechless after being asked this question. He could only look at Shi Rui pitifully, blinking hard for help.
Brother, I can’t take it anymore, please tell me!
Shi Rui decided to go all out. He took a deep breath and said directly, "Dad, Mom, the person I like is not a little girl."
These words exploded in the living room like a thunderclap.
Shi Wenjun and Shi's mother were both stunned, and the expressions on their faces froze instantly.
After a long while, Shi Wenjun finally came to his senses. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but no sound came out. Shi's mother also stared at Shi Rui blankly, her eyes full of shock and disbelief.
The two men did not show any displeasure towards Shi Rui, nor did they question him. They just stood up silently, walked into the bedroom one after the other, and closed the door with a "click".
Only the two brothers were left in the living room. Shi Rui sat on the sofa, feeling as if all his strength had been drained away. He buried his face in his palms.
Shi Xi felt bad seeing his brother like this. He hesitated for a moment, then reached out and patted Shi Rui on the back, whispering, "Brother, should I come out too? We're going to die anyway, so why not die together?"
Shi Rui waved his hands weakly and said, "Don't join in the fun for now."
Shi Xi curled her lips, but did not refute, just sat beside him and accompanied him.
There was no sound coming from the bedroom. He didn't know what Dad and Mom were talking about in there. Shi Rui sat on the sofa, and every minute and every second passed by exceptionally long.
Half an hour later, the bedroom door finally opened. Shi's mother came out, her eyes red, obviously having cried. She walked over to Shi Rui, reached out her hands, and gently hugged him.
Shi Rui's eyes felt sore.
Mother Shi said gently, "Can you show me his photo this time?"
He quickly wiped his face, took out his cell phone, and opened the folder full of Qin Jixiu's photos.
Shi's mother couldn't help but enlarge the handsome face in the photo. The face was indeed handsome, no wonder her son liked it. And from some daily photos, there was a figure of her son wearing shorts in the corner of the photo, the two should have been living together.
Shi Wenjun walked out of the bedroom with an unlit cigarette in his hand.
Shi Mu asked him what the other person's name was and what he did.
Shi Rui replied: "His name is Qin Jixiu, and he is the president of Zhengfeng."
Just after saying a few words, Shi's father immediately came over, his eyes fixed on the photo on his phone: "I was wondering why you ran so fast at the party last time? So you were following someone? How long have you been together?"
"Not long." Shi Rui said in a low voice.
"How long is a short time?" Shi Wenjun asked.
Shi Rui whispered, "About a month."
Upon hearing this, Shi Wenjun anxiously paced around the living room twice: "Will the Qin family accept you? Will Qin Xiangyuan let his only precious grandson be with a man?"
"I don't know," Shi Rui's voice lowered. "Brother... Ji Xiu hasn't told his grandfather about us yet."
"You don't know?" Shi Wenjun stopped and said in disbelief, "Then what do you know? You just focus on enjoying the present moment, not caring about what your family thinks, or whether the Qin family will accept you?"
Shi's mother frowned, patted Shi Rui's shoulder, and glared at her husband: "Why are you yelling at the child?"
Father Shi also felt aggrieved: "I didn't yell at him, wasn't I just worried about him?"
Mother Shi said, "You're worried? If you're worried, you should think carefully about what we can give to Mr. Qin and coax his precious grandson into his hands. What's the point of blaming Ruirui at this time?"
Father Shi was choked and speechless. He could only snort in frustration and took out another cigarette, but did not light it.
The atmosphere in the living room became tense again.
Sighing, Shi's mother said, "Wenjun, let's think of a solution these few days. You shouldn't be a father like this. Is it wrong for a child to like someone? As parents, if we can't support him unconditionally, we shouldn't hold him back."
"Isn't that right, Ruirui?"
Shi Rui didn't dare to speak.
Father Shi's expression was solemn: "I understand. I will think about it carefully."
After his parents went back to their rooms to rest, Shi Rui sat on the sofa in the living room and waited until midnight. He then sent a message to Qin Jixiu: "Brother, Happy Chinese New Year."
[You are also happy and all your wishes come true.]
Qin Jixiu sent a transfer.
Shi Rui saw that the amount was fifty-two thousand yuan, so he didn't take it.
Qin Jixiu then said: "This is the money for purchasing food. If it's not enough, ask me for more."
Only then did Shi Rui accept the money.
The two said goodnight to each other in a sticky manner, and Shi Rui prepared to go back to the room to sleep.
Just then, he received a text message on his phone. Thinking it was a blessing message from some old-fashioned friend, he immediately clicked it.
The content was quite different from what he had expected.
The text message came from an unknown number.
[I'm Yang Qiao, sorry to bother you on New Year's Eve. There's something I've been thinking about, and I feel I should tell you. It's about your boyfriend, Mr. Qin. He used to be with my boyfriend. I don't mean any harm, I just think it's a coincidence and a bit strange that he'd be with you. I hope I'm not overthinking it.]
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