Chapter 1 - Qin Ge and Wu Tong

Jadeite Peak was a villa district located on the outskirts of the capital. Because it was built early on, the district wasn’t very far from the city center. However, due to its location, most of the people that lived in its villas were wealthy and influential.

The Qin family was one of the first families to settle here.

They lived in a white European-style villa, three stories high with a flourishing garden, dazzling fountains, and noble sculptures. At first glance, only the kites flying above its lawn seemed to hold any semblance of eastern culture.

From the second-floor balcony, Mrs. Qin frowned deeply as she watched her eldest son play in the grass with a young boy.

The second son, Qin Huai, saw the dark expression on his mother’s face and asked, “What’s the matter, mom?”

“Your brother, of course.” Mrs. Qin sighed and headed back to the living room.

Qin Huai glanced down at the lawn, then he turned around and followed his mother to the living room.

When Mr. Qin saw the expression of his wife’s face as she descended the stairs, he lowered his newspaper halfway and asked, “What’s with the long face?”

“You’re not worried at all,” she responded with a glare.

“Who offended you this time?”

“Who else could it be but Qin Ge?” Mrs. Qin slumped down in the chair beside him.

“Qin Ge? Isn’t Qin Ge pretty good?” Mr. Qin asked, confused.

“All you think about is work, work, work. Don’t you care about our son at all?”

“Of course I do! I was just as worried as you were when he became ill, but didn’t the psychiatrist say he’s already recovered?”

“Did you forget what Dr. Li’s last instructions were?” Mrs. Qin reminded him. “Though he’s recovered psychologically, there are still several aftereffects, such as aggression, impulsiveness…”

“Qin Ge served as a soldier, and a special one at that. Having a bit of a temper is normal,” Mr. Qin refuted.

“I won’t waste my time arguing with you,” Mrs. Qin huffed. “Anyways, Dr. Lin said the best way to help him is to use familial love to slowly wear away his aggression.”

“Then why are you still worrying? It sounds to me like we just need to keep living our days like usual.”

“I can’t tell if you’re playing dumb or what! Dr. Li was clearly talking about finding a wife for Qin Ge and letting him start his own family.”

“That’s why you keep arranging blind dates for him these days,” he deduced.

“That’s right!”

“And the results?” he asked.

“Not good,” she answered in a somewhat unnatural tone.

“‘Not good’ is an understatement! You’ve been trying to set up our son with every suitable young lady you know. Even I’ve heard about it! They either refuse you on the spot or try to ask Qin Ge for Qin Huai’s phone number instead.”

“At this point, aren’t you just causing unnecessary trouble?” Mr. Qin continued angrily, “If things go on like this, it might even affect the relationship between Qin Ge and Qin Huai!”

“How am I causing trouble? I’m doing this for our son!”

“Fangqing… I know that in our eyes, our sons are equally outstanding. But you have to realize that Qin Ge went to war, suffered several injuries, and even came back with PTSD. We searched all over the world for a psychiatrist; everyone in our circle knows about this. If you really want to find a wife for Qin Ge, you’ll be better off looking outside of our social circle.”

“So what? Our son was a soldier, a hero! Yes, he did have PTSD, but he has recovered.” Mrs. Qin raised her voice. “Do they really believe in those nonsensical rumors? That because he’s killed people, he’ll beat his wife? Besides, why do we have to look outside for a daughter-in-law? Why do we have to compromise?”

Mr. Qin understood what his wife was saying but pointed out regardless, “I know you’re worried about there being a social chasm between our future daughter-in-laws if Qin Ge marries an outsider, but you have to consider the reality.”

Qin Huai stood by the staircase, listening to his parents argue. Likewise, he knew what his mother was worried about. While his older brother entered the army immediately after graduating from military school, he, the younger brother, joined the Qin Group. By the time Qin Ge retired due to an injury, Qin Huai had already risen to the position of “general manager.”

Then for two years, Qin Ge was stuck in psychotherapy. After recovering, he refused to enter the Qin Group, leaving the entire enterprise to Qin Huai. Now, the eldest young master of the Qin Group couldn’t even search for a wife without being looked at with disdain.

“Mom! Dad!” Qin Huai spoke up suddenly.

“Qin Huai?” Mr. Qin turned to see Qin Huai nodding his head.

“Mom, you’ve been setting up all these blind dates for da-ge, but have you asked him for his opinion about marriage?”

“I know he won’t refuse. He told me he wants to give Feifei a complete family,” Mrs. Qin responded.

“Then… what about a marriage of convenience?” Qin Huai suggested.

“A marriage of convenience?” His parents looked at him at the same time.

“Recently, several families have been asking to work with the Qin Group. I don’t think a marriage of convenience is a bad idea.”

Mrs. Qin immediately lowered her head and began to ponder the idea. Mr. Qin stared at his second son, but in the end, he chose to remain silent.

***

One week later at the entrance of Imperial Hotel.

Wu Tong waited an entire afternoon for her second uncle’s family to show up. Finally, a Bentley car stopped in front of the entrance. She watched them step out of the vehicle and walk into the hotel. Immediately, she followed.

Her second uncle’s family had been avoiding her for several weeks now. Every time she went over to their residence, she would be stopped by the security guards and told that nobody was home. None of her calls were ever answered, so she had a feeling they blacklisted her. Even when she tried to enter their company building, she was stopped at the entrance.

It was infuriating!

Today, Wu Tong decided that no matter what, she would get her uncle to agree! Her little brother was still waiting for her in the hospital. Time was running out.

Her second uncle’s family entered the lobby elevator. In her rush to see what floor they were going to, she accidentally bumped into a little boy and sent his toy gun flying to the ground.

“Oh, no... I’m so sorry! I didn’t do it on purpose!” The little boy stared at his toy gun without moving. He didn’t cry or make any noise, so she thought he was frightened. She quickly picked up the toy gun and handed it back to the little boy.

The little boy took the toy gun and finally lifted his head to look at her. Wu Tong thought his expression was a little strange, but she didn’t have time to dwell on it. After giving him a quick once-over to make sure he wasn’t hurt anywhere, Wu Tong asked him, “You’re not hurt, are you? Where are your parents?”

All of a sudden, she heard a rough male voice call out, “Feifei!”

The little boy immediately left Wu Tong and ran toward a very tall and well-built man. After confirming that he was the boy’s parent, Wu Tong quickly turned around and hurried to the elevator. She stood in front of it and observed the numbers above the doors for a while, eventually deducing that the elevator stopped at floor 20 and 26 respectively.

“Floor 20 or floor 26?” Wu Tong found a map of the hotel and saw that the 20th floor led to the restaurant while the 26th floor was the conference room.

“I’ll go to floor 20 first, then floor 26,” she decided before entering the elevator.

Meanwhile, in the lobby, Qin Ge squatted down and asked Feifei, “What happened?”

A large potted plant was blocking his view earlier, so all he saw was a woman talking to Feifei. Feifei wasn’t a normal boy, so Qin Ge felt a little worried.

Feifei blinked and lightly shook his head.

“That’s good. Be careful from now on, don’t run too far on your own.” When he recalled how cute and cheerful the little boy used to be, Qin Ge felt both sympathetic and irritated at the same time.

“Let’s go buy you another one of those ice cream cones you like,” Qin Ge said as he picked up the boy.

Qin Huai appeared beside them and prompted, “Da-ge, children shouldn’t consume too much cold food. Also… it’s time for our meeting with the Wu family.”

“Don’t you need to discuss the marriage of convenience with them first? I’ll join you later, I’m going to go buy an ice cream cone for Feifei first,” Qin Ge said.

“Da-ge…” Qin Huai looked at the child in his brother’s arms and couldn’t help but ask, “You’re serious about letting Feifei choose?”

Qin Ge nodded.

“Da-ge, that’s clearly…”

“I don’t care who I marry. Besides, hasn’t mom already inquired about the other party’s character? It’s fine as long as they don’t mind my appearance.” There was a two-centimeter-long scar near one of his eyes that made his smiling expression look slightly warped. “As for me, I just want someone that Feifei likes.”

Qin Huai disagreed with his brother’s thinking, but what could he do about it? He could only hope that Miss Wu was as sensible, gentle, and kind-hearted as the rumors claimed.

“Okay, then I’ll go first. Remember to come up after Feifei finishes eating,” Qin Huai urged restlessly. “It’s room 2601.”

“I know,” Qin Ge responded before leaving.

***

In room 2601, the two parties made small talk as Mrs. Qin secretly observed Wu Zhizhi. After a while, she nodded in satisfaction. The girl was not only beautiful but also seemed to have a good temperament. Her voice was soft, and she was apparently a pianist too.

Tap, tap.

Qin Huai knocked on the door before entering. “Sorry, I’m late.”

“No, no, no, you’re right on time! Didn’t we schedule for 2 o’clock?” Mrs. Wu smiled widely.

Wu Zhizhi, who was sitting beside her mother, had gone out of her way to dress up today. She knew what the purpose behind the meeting was, so when she saw the dashing young man enter the conference room, she couldn’t help but blush.

Seeing this, neither Mrs. Qin nor Qin Huai was happy. The latter knew that girls often found him to be more attractive than they did his older brother, but he couldn’t be absent from this meeting.

“Where’s Qin Ge?” Mrs. Qin asked deliberately.

“He got caught up in something earlier, but he should be here soon,” Qin Huai responded.

“Oh, there’s no rush, no rush at all,” Mrs. Wu insisted with an over-enthusiastic smile.

That was when Wu Zhizhi realized she had recognized the wrong person. Immediately, she turned her head to the side, hiding her slight unease. However, in her mind, she thought that since the two brothers came from the same mother, they shouldn’t be too far apart in appearance.

“It’s looking pretty good, sis,” her younger brother, Wu Kai, whispered in her ear. Wu Zhizhi shot him a subtle glare.  

Mrs. Wu piled on the praise. “Everyone says that Mrs. Qin is lucky to have two excellent sons. Today, I can see that the envy isn’t unfounded!”

Naturally, Mrs. Qin agreed with her. She was also satisfied with Wu Zhizhi’s immediate action of turning away when she realized Qin Huai was not her marriage prospect.

As the two chatted, a knock suddenly sounded from the door.

“It looks like Qin Ge has arrived,” Mrs. Qin said.

Everyone immediately turned their attention to the door. Qin Huai got up to open it, then to their surprise, the person that appeared in the doorway was not Qin Ge, but a dainty girl in a white dress.

Since Wu Tong decided to try floor 20 first when her second uncle’s family was actually on floor 26, she didn’t see them in the hotel restaurant. It wasn’t until half an hour later that she finally re-entered the elevator and pressed the button for floor 26.

Little did she expect that the first door she knocked on would open to reveal an elite-looking man in a business suit.

“Excuse me, sir. Is Mr. Wu Liren in there?” she asked in embarrassment.

“Who’s looking for me?” Upon hearing his name, Wu Liren got up and walked to the door. When he saw Wu Tong, his face instantly darkened.

“Second uncle!” Meanwhile, Wu Tong’s eyes instantly brightened as she stepped into the room.

“Why are you here?” Wu Liren barely managed to school his expression.

“So this is where you were, second uncle!” Wu Tong feigned ignorance. “I couldn’t reach you by phone, and you weren’t at the company either. I came here to eat with some friends and happened to see you. I wanted to make sure it was you, and it really is! Wow, second aunt, Wu Zhizhi, and Wu Kai are here too!”

Noticing the odd expression on the Wu family’s faces, Mrs. Qin couldn’t help but ask in confusion, “This is…?”

“Oh, this is my brother’s daughter.” As he explained, Wu Liren moved to push Wu Tong out the door. “Wu Tong, I have something very important going on right now. Let’s talk later.”

“But… second uncle…” Wu Tong wanted to persist, but how would a young girl like her resist against a grown man? She was soon pushed out the door.

Just as she was contemplating whether or not to grab onto the doorframe, Qin Ge appeared behind her. He held Feifei in his arms as he watched the two push and pull at each other. “What’s going on? Got cold feet?” he asked, narrowing his eyes while wearing a dangerous smile.

Wu Liren realized Qin Ge’s identity almost immediately. He stopped pushing at Wu Tong and responded weakly, “No…”

“Then stop blocking the entrance.”

“Okay.” Wu Liren couldn’t tell if it was an illusion or not, but Qin Ge seemed to be shrouded in a chilling aura.

Wu Tong shot the man a grateful look before striding back inside.

The girl was small and dainty in appearance, yet she didn’t seem to be afraid of him. Qin Ge raised an eyebrow.

(05/06/2020) Hey y'all. I'll be blunt: Don't expect a lot of chapters this month. I've just returned to novel-translating from manhua-translating, and I still have some manhua contracts to finish up this month. However, after this month, I'll be free.

ANNOUNCEMENT: If you know a good Chinese novel on NU that was dropped and you want to read more chapters of it/see it picked up, read THIS post.