Chapter 119: Chapter 18: The Iceberg Beauty Si Ruoqi_3
"We originally didn’t plan to buy such a big house. Shi Cheng said he wanted to answer the leaders’ call to action and do his part to help the county clear its inventory. That’s why we bit off more than we could chew and bought this villa."
"That’s wonderful! Director Chen is leading by example. He’s a role model for us all," Secretary Zhu praised.
Then he walked over to Sun Dasheng. "You must be the talented young man who has returned to our county. Thank you for your contribution to the local economy."
Buying a house warrants this kind of special treatment? Sun Dasheng didn’t believe it for a second. He figured he was just being used as a promotional tool.
It didn’t matter, though. He played along through a series of photos and completed the purchase contract under the secretary’s supervision.
After both families bought their houses, they headed home together. The young people rode in one car while the parents sat in a commercial van. The two old men sat up front, chatting about the vehicle, while the two women whispered to each other in the back.
「After getting home.」
Sun Dasheng dashed into his room and started messaging several women on WeChat.
"How did it go? Did you explain everything?" Comrade Lao Sun asked, picking up a newspaper from the sofa as he read.
Xie Guixiang, who was mopping the floor, put her mop down and sighed. "I was actually quite fond of that girl. It’s a pity they aren’t fated to be together."
Old Sun turned a page of the newspaper. "Did Old Lee say anything to you?"
Xie Guixiang resumed mopping. "Say anything? She nearly blew up at me right then and there. Afterward, she just scowled and wouldn’t say a single word to me."
There was nothing new in the papers these days, so Old Sun put the newspaper on the coffee table. He took a sip from his teacup. "She must be furious, then."
"You think? As if I don’t know her personality?" Having just mopped up to where Old Sun was sitting, she poked his shoe a few times with the mop. "Move it. There are still dishes in the kitchen that need washing. If you’ve got nothing better to do, go wash them."
Washing dishes sounded like a great idea. Old Sun immediately fled to the kitchen before his wife’s anger could be redirected toward him.
「At the Li residence.」
Seeing her furious mother, Si Ruoqi was a little surprised.
"Who made you so angry?" she asked, walking over to stand behind the sofa and massage her mother’s shoulders. "Calm down. Getting angry isn’t good for you."
"The line of men wanting to marry my daughter could stretch from our front door to the farmer’s market! If they don’t want her, it’s their loss. We couldn’t care less."
Her mother’s words gave her pause, but she quickly composed herself and continued the massage. "Get married? I don’t want to get married. I just want to stay by your side and take care of you and Dad forever."
Her daughter’s words touched Li Qiu, but she still hoped her daughter could find a good match.
"Don’t you worry, my dear. With qualifications as good as yours, you’ll be spoiled for choice. I’ll definitely find someone even better for you. We’ll make them regret it."
Li Qiu’s words kept coming back to her old colleague’s family. It seemed she was genuinely upset.
The Sun family was indeed in the wrong from the start. But Sun Dasheng’s mother, Madam Xie, hadn’t done it on purpose; she didn’t know her son already had a girlfriend. As soon as she found out, she explained everything and apologized sincerely. By all rights, that should have been the end of it. It could only be said that the two families weren’t fated to be in-laws.
The real problem, unfortunately, was that Sun Dasheng was just too exceptional.
Li Qiu had taken a genuine liking to him. To have such a fine son-in-law would have made their two families even closer. And her daughter, who had always been so picky, seemed to have taken a fancy to him as well.
The greater the hope, the greater the disappointment. And the greater the disappointment, the greater the fury.
「After dinner, back in the room.」
Si Ruoqi took out the matchmaking booklet her mother had meticulously prepared. She opened it to the first page: Sun Dasheng’s profile.
"Sun Dasheng, Male, 34. Graduate of Fudan University in Shanghai, works at a major tech company, annual salary of 500,000, owns a house and a car."
She paid little attention to the information her mother had highlighted in red, as she met those same criteria herself. People with similar qualifications were a dime a dozen in her circle.
The only thing that truly drew her attention was the photo—or, to be precise, the man in the photo. That photo was incredibly deceptive, a total case of "catfishing." It was so bad that when she first flipped through the booklet, she’d passed over it without a second glance. His face in the photo was somewhat plump with developing jowls, looking every bit the part of a middle-aged man in his thirties or forties.
But in person? He looked completely different. Handsome, gentle, mature, and distinguished—each quality was admirable on its own. But when combined, they created an irresistible charisma. She didn’t care what anyone else thought; he was exactly her type.
So, he wasn’t interested in me? Si Ruoqi murmured to herself. Now this is a challenging and interesting prospect.
She suddenly felt fired up, even though "fired up" was a phrase that hardly suited her usual icy demeanor.
Just you wait, she thought. You’re not going to escape from my grasp.
A glint of confidence flashed in Si Ruoqi’s eyes. From a young age, she had never failed to accomplish anything she set her mind to.
Then, she picked up Sun Dasheng’s profile again and began to study it in detail. After all, if you know your enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. She never went into a fight unprepared.
The Lunar New Year, this year, could be summed up in one word: cold.
The streets outside were covered in a thick layer of ice, making it inconvenient for people to visit one another. Most everyone stayed indoors, keeping to themselves.
「New Year’s Eve.」
The snow finally stopped falling. Neighbors worked together to clear the snow and ice from the roads.
After the New Year’s Eve feast, there was a knock on the door. Madam Xie and Comrade Lao Sun were busy clearing the table.
"Da Sheng," one of them said to Sun Dasheng, who was sitting on the sofa, "go see who that is. Why would anyone be visiting on New Year’s Eve?"
According to local custom, people didn’t start visiting relatives until the first day of the new year.