Chapter 312: One Big Happy Family (7)
Jiang Qingli returned to the merchandise pick-up area, but the line had already dispersed.
Two girls were standing there, sighing. When they saw Jiang Qingli approach, they kindly warned her, "Hey, we got here too late. There’s nothing left... That was the last batch..."
"That damn company, making such good-looking merch in such small quantities! And it’s limited edition!"
After listening to the two curse out Baili Jing’s management agency for a while, Jiang Qingli waved them goodbye and went to find Xie Youchen, who was waiting not far away.
The young man was standing in front of a claw machine. He skillfully maneuvered the joystick and easily snagged a prize.
A fluffy doll dropped from the prize chute, and an envious, excited "Wow—" came from beside him.
A little girl stood nearby, tears on her face, looking up at Xie Youchen with adoration. "Mister, you’re so good at this!"
"Mm," Xie Youchen said, handing her the doll he was holding. "Here you go."
"Thank you..." the little girl whispered, clutching the doll before quickly running off.
Jiang Qingli walked up to Xie Youchen’s side and patted his shoulder, asking curiously, "Why was she crying? Is she okay?"
"She’s fine now," Xie Youchen explained. "She was crying because she couldn’t win a doll earlier."
The claw machines in movie theaters have ridiculously low win rates, and it’s hard for a child to get the grip strength right.
When Jiang Qingli was little, she had also failed at the claw machine when she went to the movies with friends. Her eyes had turned red with frustration, and she’d wanted to keep trying, but it was getting dark, so she had to leave disappointed.
She wasn’t close with Xie Youchen back then, so she was too embarrassed to tell him about her humiliating failure. She just sulked through dinner.
That evening, while they were doing homework, a younger Xie Youchen asked if she was being bullied.
She suddenly felt incredibly wronged. She threw herself into his arms and sobbed out her complaints about the claw machine, crying all over his shirt.
Xie Youchen waited patiently for her to finish crying, then took her back to the movie theater. He won the dolls one by one and carted them home for her in a small pushcart.
Those dolls were still at her home now.
Jiang Qingli saw the nostalgia in Xie Youchen’s eyes and knew he was thinking about the same thing she was. She couldn’t help but smile.
Xie Youchen looked at the claw machine. "Which one do you want?"
Jiang Qingli pointed to a hamburger-shaped doll. Xie Youchen effortlessly won it and handed it to her. "Any others?"
"Let me see..."
Jiang Qingli was deliberating when she suddenly heard a small voice from behind them. "Um, Mister..."
Jiang Qingli turned around and saw that the little girl from before had run back.
She was holding a bag of candy, lifting it up to Xie Youchen with both hands. "Thank you for winning the doll for me. My dad bought this."
Not far away, a young man holding a doll smiled politely at them.
Xie Youchen accepted the candy. "Thank you."
"Goodbye, Mister." The little girl saw Jiang Qingli beside him and cleverly added, "I wish you and the lady a long and happy life together!"
After the girl was gone, Jiang Qingli suddenly burst out laughing. "That’s funny. She called you ’Mister’ but called me ’lady.’ Isn’t that messing up our generation gap?"
"You can call me ’Mister’ too, if you want," Xie Youchen replied smoothly.
Jiang Qingli: "..."
’Hey, how dare you take advantage of me like that!’
The tips of her ears grew a little hot. Jiang Qingli huffed. "I won’t stoop to your level. I’m hungry. Let’s get something to eat."
"Okay."
As they left the movie theater, Jiang Qingli saw a few people from afar taking selfies with their Baili Jing merchandise. She felt a little envious and stared for a few extra moments.
Xie Youchen asked, "You like it that much?"
"It’s good-looking, and it’s limited edition," Jiang Qingli said. "Don’t you know me by now?"
With a hint of resignation, Xie Youchen took something from his pocket and placed it in Jiang Qingli’s palm.
It was a palm-sized, chibi-style acrylic stand of the character Baili Jing played. It was very cute.
’Even someone as proud and aloof as Marshal Xie has to line up to buy his love rival’s merch for his girlfriend.’
"Thank you, dear~" Jiang Qingli hugged his arm, tilting her face up to rub against his shoulder, grinning like a sly little fox who had gotten her way.
Xie Youchen’s expression softened as he pinched her cheek. "Just this once."
Jiang Qingli toyed with the acrylic stand, her tone certain. "You’ll still help me next time."
Xie Youchen: "..."
Xie Youchen: "We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it."
-
That evening, Xie Youchen had work to do and stayed in his study.
Jiang Qingli curled up in bed, on the phone with Baili Jing, discussing how to get the other Beast Husbands to accept Xie Youchen.
After some thought, they decided to start with an online introduction.
After hanging up, Jiang Qingli added Xie Youchen to the group chat. The name "A Harmonious and Loving Family (6)" instantly became "A Harmonious and Loving Family (7)."
Baili Jing was the first to break the ice: [Welcome, Youchen. We’re all family here. Let’s all look out for each other from now on.]
Ye Linyuan didn’t reply. Neither did Gu Nian.
Yuan Shimo sent a [Okay.], his tone that of someone acknowledging a mission, but it was enough to make Jiang Qingli breathe a sigh of relief.
The most surprising reaction came from Qin Muye.
Qin Muye: [Big Bro, thank you for your hard work during this time. Let’s have a meal together when I get back. [Handshake]]
Gu Nian: [?]
The question mark was retracted by Gu Nian as soon as he sent it, but it was clear he was shocked.
It wasn’t just Gu Nian; Jiang Qingli was also completely confused.
’Qin Muye... isn’t angry?’
’Shouldn’t he have video-called me the second he saw the message, demanding to know what was going on and how I got seduced by Xie Youchen? Then he should’ve cussed out Xie Youchen for being a shameless homewrecker and challenged him to a fight... or something?’
’Why is he accepting this so calmly? And with such a deliberately mature tone?’
’Did he... completely misunderstand what Baili Jing meant?’
Jiang Qingli switched to her private messages with Qin Muye. Just as she opened the chat window, a short message came through from him: [Urgent mission. Will last three weeks to a month. Don’t worry if you can’t reach me.]
Jiang Qingli’s heart tightened. She quickly asked: [Is it dangerous?]
Qin Muye immediately started a video call.
Jiang Qingli accepted the call. It had been a while since she’d seen his face or heard his voice.
The video quality was extremely blurry. She could barely make out Qin Muye’s face, and could only vaguely discern a wardrobe behind him. He was probably in a locker room.
He was wearing an earpiece, and his eyes darted around as if he were on the lookout for a superior officer. He looked so sneaky that Jiang Qingli couldn’t help but smile.
Hearing her laugh, Qin Muye smiled too, but time was short, so he quickly got back to the point.
He whispered, "It’s not dangerous!" Someone in the background was urging him on, and he sped up, "I’m leaving now. You have to miss me!"
Just as Jiang Qingli was starting to feel touched, his tone shifted, and he suddenly stressed, "Also! Don’t spend Wednesday with anyone else! No matter who tries to seduce you!"
Jiang Qingli: "..."
A smile touched her lips. "I know, I’ll miss you. Be safe..."
"Captain, hurry up and change! Assembly is in three minutes."
A flash of red suddenly appeared beside him. The person had just entered the frame when Qin Muye shoved them away with the back of his hand.
But Jiang Qingli still recognized him. "Que Feiling? Are you on this mission too?"
Que Feiling rubbed his forehead where he’d been hit and quickly replied, "Yes, Miss Jiang. Qin Muye and I are on the same team."
"Then I’ll have to trouble you to look after Qin Muye," Jiang Qingli said politely. "Please bear with him."
"I can take care of myself," Qin Muye said stubbornly. "You be careful. Those other guys are a handful." He paused. "It’s a good thing big brother-in-law is there..."
He didn’t get to finish his sentence before the screen went black.
Qin Muye clicked his tongue. That was the one bad thing about this damn place—the signal was terrible.
Still, being able to see her before he left was an unexpected bonus.
Qin Muye shoved the terminal into his pocket, grabbed his jacket, and zipped it up, ready to head to assembly.
Catching sight of Que Feiling standing frozen in place, the Prince said impatiently, "What’s with you now? You itching for a fight?"
Que Feiling seemed to still be in shock. His Ruby-like eyes trembled, and he ignored the provocation, simply asking in disbelief:
"The big brother-in-law you mentioned... you don’t mean Xie Youchen, do you?"
"You—You’re letting *him* take care of Miss Jiang?! Are you out of your mind?!"