Chapter 155: I Heard That the Chances of Getting A Girl Are Higher If the Parents Are SmokersTranslator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

“Hehe, you’re back!” The old lady remained glued to the spot because she knew Song Yu was feeling awkward. “This is the lead actress from our cast. She’s playing the role of my daughter in the movie. She insisted on sending me back even though it’s just a ten-minute walk and there was really no need for her to do so. Hehe, she’s too polite.”

Shu Li smiled. “Not at all, Young Master Cheng has always treated me kindly, and since you and I are in the same cast, it’s only right that I take care of you. I’m worried that Qi Chengzhi might not be too happy with me if I did something wrong.”

“Hehehe!” the old lady chuckled half-heartedly.

Qi Chengzhi held Song Yu’s waist and guided her over to where the old lady was.

Song Yu was still red-faced and feeling slightly awkward, but even so, she did not cower down in any way whatsoever. She made a point to stand in front of Shu Li and act as though she did not know Shu Li at all, making the latter feel low in spirits.

“Come here, let me introduce you.” The old lady underwent a drastic mood change—she held Shu Li’s hand with such friendliness that it was vastly different from her earlier frostiness. “Xiao Shu, this is Song Yu, my future granddaughter-in-law. Song Yu, this is Shu Li.”

Song Yu’s reaction suggested that she had only just realized that the woman in front of her was Shu Li. She smiled plainly and said, “Miss Shu, I suppose you’re the one I spoke with on the phone just now.”

Shu Li felt a sudden feeling of guilt, the kind that would be felt by a mistress when coming face-to-face with her fellow adulterer’s wife. An awkward smile later, she said, “Youxuan must have misunderstood me. He was jumping to conclusions. I’m so sorry.”

Song Yu shook her head. “Not to worry. Children are a bit more sensitive, but because of that, Youxuan’s intuition is a good one. On previous occasions, he’s always been spot-on. Still, I won’t take all that he says too seriously as Chengzhi has shown me that I can trust in him. He’s never let these things made me unhappy.”

She felt a squeeze on her waist as soon as she finished her sentence.

Song Yu looked up and saw a half-smiling Qi Chengzhi gawking at her.

The veiled threat in her words was her way of showing off her strength to the ill-intentioned Shu Li.

Song Yu felt her face heat up. Her sole intention was to tell Shu Li to back off, but in that brief moment, she forgot that Qi Chengzhi was right beside her.

She wondered if he regarded her as a jealous woman, considering his half-smiling expression and all those words she said in front of him.

His teasing look made her turn her head away shyly.

The couple’s antics seemed just like flirtation from the perspective of both Shu Li and the old lady.

Qi Chengzhi has never revealed that side of himself in front of anyone else.

Naturally, the old lady was elated, and it really touched her heart when she heard what Song Yu had to say.

“Hehehe, well we’ve reached my house. You don’t need to keep me company anymore. Go on and head back to the set!” The old lady sent Shu Li on her way with a big grin on her face. She had no intention of even inviting Shu Li in for a cup of hot tea.

Without waiting for Shu Li to respond, the old lady entered her home compound.

Left in the cold, Shu Li looked at Song Yu from head to toe. She could not believe that Song Yu was actually really pretty, with a quietness and steadiness that was different from what she originally imagined.

“Well, I’ll head back then.” Shu Li smiled and glanced at Qi Chengzhi.

The man attention, however, was wholly focused on Song Yu. He was looking at Song Yu with such single-hearted devotion that Shu Li was forgotten altogether.

Song Yu felt a slight unease at Qi Chengzhi’s insistent stares and could only nod at Shu Li. The latter seemed reluctant to leave, and after some hesitation, she finally turned and left for good.

Once Shu Li left, Song Yu’s shifted her gaze to Qi Chengzhi’s face.

He coiled up around her and brushed his lips against her reddened ears. “Didn’t you say you trust me? And that you won’t get worried even if plenty of women are throwing themselves at me?”

“I do trust you, but it doesn’t mean I don’t give a hoot about all those women offering themselves up to you! If I didn’t see them do that in person then so be it, but if I see them do it right in front of me, I can’t just let them ignore my presence.” Song Yu shot him a frosty stare. “You’d better make sure that no woman will ever get to touch you, not even a tiny touch. If they did touch you, it’d be best for you to keep it a secret, because if I found out where they touched you, I’ll never let that area come in contact with me ever again!”

Qi Chengzhi cocked his eyebrow. “Not even holding hands?”

She glared at his masculine hands and said, half-smiling, “Try it if you dare!”

To her surprise, the cheerful glimmer in his eyes intensified and he let out a soft chuckle out of sheer delight. She found it pleasing to hear his sexy and sonorous voice.

She looked at him cynically and wondered why he was smiling. All of a sudden, she felt her feet leave the ground—he had lifted her entire body up.

His strong arms supported her by the waist and he moved in to give her a good long kiss.

He gave her an intense stare after breaking the kiss. “I dare you to stop me from touching you!”

“Ahem!”

Another dry cough, and Song Yu looked embarrassedly in that direction. At some point, Qi Chengji had entered the compound and was staring at them.

She pushed Qi Chengzhi frantically in an attempt to make him place her back down. He did not. With a lackadaisical look on his face, he held her much tighter than before, to the point where he could feel the heat emanating from her cheek. It was only then that he placed her down slowly.

Qi Chengji looked at them with befuddlement. He brought his closed fist to his mouth and coughed once more before mumbling, “I think I might need a bit more time to get used to seeing the both of you being so lovey-dovey.”

Despite the fact that he and Song Yu had no romantic feelings, he still treated her as a good friend.

She was younger than him by one year, and for Qi Chengji, it felt as though his own brother was in love with his own sister. Seeing them hugging and kissing every week was something that he had to take time to get used to.

“You seem to be quite coming back quite a lot recently. Is it because you have a lot of free time?” Seemingly averse to Qi Chengji, Qi Chengzhi led Song Yu into the house.

“Well, there really isn’t anything going on. Over the next few days, I’ll use up my leave for this year and I’ll have a month and a half of rest.” Qi Chengji smiled. “You’ll be seeing me every day when that comes.”

Qi Chengzhi snickered and led Song Yu into the house.

“Chengzhi, do you have a lighter? Lend it to me for a while.” The old lady stretched out an open palm the instant she saw them coming in.

Upon returning home earlier, the first thing she asked Aunt Liu was for a lighter. Unfortunately, no one who lived there smoked, and even if Qi Chengzhi or whoever came, smoking was not permitted at all. A lighter was not the sort of thing that was needed in the house.

“No,” Qi Chengzhi replied.

“Hm?” The old lady found it rather odd and she looked at him with suspicion. “You? A heavy smoker? Without a lighter?”

“I’ve quit,” came his curt response. He did not even have cigarettes on him, much less a lighter.

At that point, it was Song Yu’s turn to be shocked. The old lady did not have to question him further, because Song Yu was the one who asked, “Why did you suddenly quit?”

Cigarettes used to stick to his fingers like glue. Their relationship made him stop smoking, but only in front of her; she knew that he was still smoking like a chimney in her absence.

Cigarettes were practically a part of him, so it came as a surprise that he suddenly quit.

Song Yu sniffed him thoroughly and realized that the familiar tobacco smell was completely absent from his scent.

“Only for a while,” was his simple reply. No further explanation was given.

“Quitting is a good thing, but why did you suddenly think of quitting?” Knowing that it was only for a moment, the old lady’s mind began to wonder. If Qi Chengzhi wanted to quit, he would have done so already. There was no need for him to wait to do it.

“Song Yu wants a child,” he dropped the bombshell suddenly and brought Song Yu over to sit on the sofa.

She did not expect that to be his reason for quitting. Her face was beginning to warm up and she had a look of stupor as she admired his handsome face. He did not seem to have any inkling of how sudden and shocking the consequences of his words were.

It also did not cross her mind that he had quit all of a sudden without telling her.

He had never smoked in front of her for quite a long time already, so if he had not told her, she would not have found out about his quitting.

Her wanting a child was reason enough for him to quit smoking.

“Really? Well that’s good then!” The old lady’s face lit up. She ran over to Song Yu and leaned over, exclaiming, “Good girl, such a good girl! In that case, I’ll have great-grandchildren to hold soon enough, right? Oh dear, that means we need to hurry up with the wedding. Or maybe the both of you can register for your marriage certificate first? In case something happens.

“My dear Song Yu, do you know when you’ll be having one?” There was no shortage of excitement from the old lady. She desperately wanted Song Yu to get pregnant right away.

“We’re going with the flow, we haven’t…” Song Yu did not know what else to say. Her ears were already scorching red.

“Grandma, I have one.” Qi Chengji words saved Song Yu from embarrassment. He fished out a lighter and handed it over to the old lady.

Then he asked, “Why do you need it for?”

She blinked a few times and waved him off. “I need it.”

After that, she scampered off to the bathroom and locked the door behind her. From her pocket she took out a piece of paper—it was the same piece of paper that Shu Li offered to Qi Chengzhi. It contained her number, and it was the very same one that he declined to accept.

When it was time for the old lady to return home, Shu Li insisted on giving her number to the old lady. She told the elderly woman to call her should the need arise, be it in matters relating to the film or anything else.

Of course, the ‘fiancée excuse’ was not available to the old lady. That, and in addition to Shu Li’s stubbornness, left the old lady with no other choice but to take the paper.

The old woman knew all too well that Shu Li was hoping for a chance to get in touch with Qi Chengzhi.

“Hmph! You little minx. Don’t even think about it!” The elderly lady cursed, lit the fire, and burnt the paper up.

Just as the fire was about to hit her finger, she dropped whatever that remained into the toilet bowl, tugging on the flush and sending it down the sewer.

…

…

Back in the living room, the couple was there with Qi Chengji as the only other person. Song Yu turned to look at Qi Chengzhi’s calm face. As stern as he looked, the things he did were incredibly heart-warming.

“Why didn’t you tell me that you quit smoking?” She put her arm under his and held his slender fingers, all while looking warmly at him.

Qi Chengzhi turned and gave her a nonchalant gaze. “It wasn’t something really important, so I forgot about it.”

Song Yu was about to ask how he could even forget such a thing, but she then noticed his ears turning red.

After a few occasions, Song Yu could discern the moments when Qi Chengzhi felt embarrassed, and those moments did in fact occur once in a while. It was not something too noticeable, for it was only the tips of his ears that reddened.

In addition, the tips of his ears were his most sensitive area. Back when they were at the KTV, it only took a little peck on his ears to make them increase in redness. The cuteness was simply too much for her.

She surmised that his quitting was not as insignificant as he put out to be. Rather, he had a habit of doing things quietly, and perhaps he found it a bit awkward to bring it up!

“When did you quit?” Song Yu could not help herself from leaning over to him even closer. As long as she was beside him, she simply could not resist clinging onto him.

Qi Chengzhi pursed his lips, seemingly unwilling to say it out loud. All he did was look quietly at her.

“Come on, tell me!” Song Yu urged softly.

A twitch on his lips, and he began telling her everything. “I started when you told me you wanted kids. We were still in Paris at that time. But because I’ve been smoking for so many years, it’s not like I can just quit immediately. I was holding it in for a few days already, and when I really can’t stand it, I’ll smoke one. I’m trying hard to stop it, but as of now I think I can pretty much control myself.”

Warmth began surging in Song Yu’s heart. She felt an unspeakable emotion, and in a moment of spontaneity, his fresh scent prompted her to kiss him on his ears. Qi Chengji’s presence was completely ignored.

Qi Chengji felt quite stunned since he had yet to come to terms with seeing the couple engaging in public acts of affection.

Song Yu used to be scared of Qi Chengzhi.

Qi Chengji recalled how Song Yu was still in primary school when Qi Chengzhi was already an adult. During Qi Chengzhi’s tenure as Jixia’s headmaster, Song Yu was not even an adult yet—she was still a high-schooler then.

The age gap was essentially too large, and by virtue of his long-lasting first impression on both Qi Chengzhi and Song Yu, Qi Chengji felt that Song Yu was a child when compared to her male counterpart.

Nevertheless, Song Yu was leaning into Qi Chengzhi and canoodling with him at that very moment. She even forgot where she was and kissed him on his ear.

Qi Chengji knew that the couple would have done everything that the birds and bees would do; a child was their goal, after all. Still, it still did not diminish the fact that he found it very unnerving.

Qi Chengzhi felt equally shocked, for it did not occur to him that a meek woman like her would just kiss him on a whim.

His ears were still red due to her kiss, and the tame little expression on her gentle face seemed to suggest that he was all that her eyes and heart were focused on.

A pounding in his heart made him ignore Qi Chengji’s presence too. He lowered his head and gave her a big kiss on her lips.

Qi Chengji facepalmed because the couple was simply turning a blind eye and deaf ear to his existence.

They did not seem to mind that they were treating him like an inanimate object.

Song Yu’s blushing and amorous demeanor was characteristic of a woman madly in love. He never saw anything like that in his entire life.

Song Yu aside, Qi Chengzhi’s tender expression was more than a sickening sight.

Qi Chengzhi had never been one to look too kindly on his own little brother. He had never held back his bullying, even.

With Song Yu, however, he had a near-angelic temper. Qi Chengji just could not bear the sight in front of him.

Moments later, a soft murmur from Song Yu was heard. “Do you want a son or a girl? I heard that the chances of getting a girl are higher if the parents are smokers.”

Qi Chengzhi got up without a single word. With no clue as to what his intentions were, Song Yu’s first reaction was to tug onto him. “Where are you going?”

“To get a pack of cigarettes,” Qi Chengzhi replied plainly.

“…” Song Yu froze blankly. Once she finally reacted, she had a look of disbelief as she pulled him down. “You want a girl that badly?”

“Mm.” He nodded earnestly without a second thought. “If I had a son, he’ll go against me if he isn’t obedient and I’ll get angry. A daughter would be much softer and more considerate.”

Qi Chengji touched his nose, thinking how Qi Chengzhi was practically describing himself with that statement.

Ever since Qi Chengzhi got together with Song Yu, he managed to rile his parents up countless times.

“It’s okay, just let it come naturally. If this one’s a boy, I’ll give you many more, until you get a girl.” Song Yu smiled.

Qi Chengzhi could not help but chuckle. His coarse and handsome palm emanated heat as he came into contact with her belly. “How many children do you plan to give me?”

Song Yu had a scarlet-red face and was momentarily unable to give any response. Then, she heard the old lady giggling happily upon coming out. She immediately released herself from Qi Chengzhi and sat up properly.

The elderly woman returned the lighter to Qi Chengji, leaving the latter with a questioning gaze. ‘Why did she bring the lighter into the bathroom? It could not possibly be because she was hiding in there to smoke, could it?’

Barely seconds after taking her seat, the old lady stood up once more and went into her bedroom.

Sometime later she brought out a palm-sized wooden box and sat beside Song Yu.

“My dear Song Yu.” The old woman opened the box, revealing a green ancestral jadeite bangle. It was lustrous and glossy, with a small glimmer of fluorescence. “Long ago, I got these jadeite bangles for each of my grandsons. They were waiting to be given to my future granddaughters-in-law, once my grandsons found suitable candidates.”

The old lady took the bangle out and placed it on Song Yu’s left hand, explaining, “Actually this is my dowry. In the olden days, our family was among the great ones, and our ancestors were imperial officials, so they collected many things. When instability came, we were fortunate that our ancestors had the foresight and managed to protect all these things. Antique jadeite artifacts were passed down, generation by generation.”

“It’s been years and years since I took care of this dowry. This jadeite bangle is as antique as antique can get.”

Song Yu accepted it because it would be bad manners to reject it.

She was going to marry Qi Chengzhi anyway and the bangle was a gift from the old lady’s heart. The old woman was not going to like it if Song Yu declined the gift.

Song Yu’s wrist was too small however, and no effort was needed to push her hand in. Worse still, it seemed as though it would slide off her hand at any given moment.

“Oh no, it’s too big.” It was evident from the old lady’s eyes that she was disappointed, but she continued, “I chose the smallest one available, but never mind, just keep it at home. When it’s time, you can pass it on to your daughter-in-law. I’ll bring you to get another one later, I think only a Guifei 1bangle would suit you.”

Song Yu smiled and accepted the bangle, saying, “Even if I could wear it, I’d be reluctant to wear it. I’d definitely be keeping it at home.”

‘That’s right, that’s right. I’d be reluctant too. It’d be so heartbreaking to knock it against something. The one I’m wearing is store-bought too. Those that are passed down are just too precious,” the old lady remarked.

…

…

The couple remained at the Qi family residence until after dinner. The next was a Sunday, and they had agreed on visiting the Song family that day.

In recent times, Song Yu would visit her parents every weekend if there was nothing going on for her. Even if she could not stay for a whole day, she would at least go back for a few hours.

If Qi Chengzhi had no work to do, he would always accompany her as well.

At home, Song Donglin was busy mopping the floor while Yu Qianying was washing some fruits in the kitchen. They were both waiting for Song Yu and Qi Chengzhi to arrive.

The doorbell suddenly rang while they were still busy, eliciting a loud shout from Yu Qianying, “They’re here!”

She opened the tap and washed her hands before wiping them on her apron. Running over to the door, she opened it with a smile. “Why are you both so early today?”

Footnotes:

贵妃 – it roughly translates to ‘Imperial Consort’, but more appropriately it is the highest rank for imperial consorts during the Tang Dynasty. This design originated from the Tang Dynasty where Yang Yuhuan (杨玉环), one of Emperor Tang Xuanzong’s (唐玄宗) consorts, came up with an innovative oval-shaped bangle.