Father Yao then moved on to talk about business matters and Yao Qi’s attendance to the banquet on the 20th to officially announce his entry into the family business. There were a lot of things Yao Qi had to take note of, and his schedule for the near future was estimated to be rather busy.
They didn’t chat for too long; after Mother Yao knocked on the door, the two tacitly stopped talking.
Yu Manlian, Yao Qi’s mother, would soon be stepping into her fifties, and yet she still looked like a young beauty in her twenties. The inherent magnetism in her charming gaze had people unable to take their eyes off her.
Father Yao tactfully gave up his seat.
“Queen Mother, what do you think?” Yao Qi got up, walked behind Yu Manlian, and began massaging the woman’s shoulders, trying to flatter her.
“Your father should have summed it up with you.” Yu Manlian closed her eyes and hummed softly, “But I still have to say, the kind of love he has is too… revolting. If you can’t control it, then he’s just a lunatic.”
“Queen Mother is really wise.” Yao Qi humbly buttered her up.
As expected of his mother. She was able to see what kind of person Liu Lin was in such a brief time. Yao Qi was sure that the information they gathered about Liu Lin didn’t mention anything about his mental state, especially because he had erased those data when he first returned a month ago.
“Stop being cheeky,” Yu Manlian lightly slapped his hand, “I’m not worried that you can’t control him, I know how controlling you are and I know what you’re capable of doing, so I’m not worried about you at all. I’m saying all this just to tell you one thing, don’t toy with him until he breaks, if this happens—”
“Mother,” Yao Qi interrupted Yu Manlian, “You should understand what I mean by bringing him back to meet you.”
By bringing Liu Lin back, Yao Qi was telling his family that he had determined Liu Lin as his partner.
Yu Manlian’s words made it sound as though he merely treated Liu Lin as a plaything.
“Xiao Qi, you know what I mean.” Yu Manlian stood up, raised her head, and solemnly looked at Yao Qi, “Your desire to control is too strong, he’s but a puppet in your hands. If you get tired of him someday…”
“Mother, you know very well how obsessed with control I am,” Yao Qi said just as seriously, “I enjoy it. I have a morbid liking for Ah-Lin’s complete submission and dependence on me.”
So he would never get tired of him.
He wouldn’t feel that Liu Lin’s love was suffocating, because ever since he was a child, he had longed for an existence that belonged entirely to him and only to him.
That Ah-Lin was completely his—he couldn’t ask for more.
So he would never let Liu Lin break. Moreover, in his heart, Liu Lin had already become an irreplaceable existence, a person just as important to him as his family was.
Yu Manlian carefully scrutinised Yao Qi, scanning him up and down. Then she finally raised her eyebrows and smiled, “My Xiao Qi has finally grown up~ Alright then, do whatever makes you happy.”
Yao Qi breathed a sigh of relief.
Now that Yu Manlian had given her pass, nothing else mattered.
Yu Manlian continued chatting with Yao Qi for a while, ignoring the first round of knocks on the door. It wasn’t until Father Yao helplessly knocked for the second time did she slowly end the conversation and let Yao Qi out of the study.
Outside the door, Yao Yue, who was dressed in a peacock-embroidered cheongsam, was talking to Liu Lin who was holding a book. The moment she saw Yao Qi, she immediately rushed over to him with shining eyes, calling him brother.
Yu Manlian coughed, “Xiao Yue.”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Yao Yue instantly calmed down. She stood up straight and put down her hands to her sides, wiping the bright grin off her face and leaving behind only a faint smile. After a month of training, she had at least managed to properly emulate the temperament of a young lady.
Vfflcu Tjb Tef’r lwwfvljaf mtjcuf, Ole Olc mifnfgis rabbv ralii klatbea wjxlcu j rbecv.
His reaction made Yao Qi laugh out loud, which naturally earned him a ‘where are your manners’ look from his mother.
Tjb Hl lccbmfcais yilcxfv tlr fsfr, cba offilcu jc becmf bo rtjwf.
Ujrrlcu ys Ole Olc, Tjb Hl delfais rdeffhfv tlr tjcv. “Mbiibk wf.”
Vlcmf Tjb Tef tjv vfmlvfv bc pblclcu atf Tjb ojwlis yerlcfrr, rtf kjr meggfcais ifjgclcu jii xlcvr bo atlcur ecvfg atf uelvjcmf bo Tjb Hl’r ylu rlrafg. Dfmjerf rtf kjrc’a j yibbv gfijalnf, la wluta yf vloolmeia obg tfg ab gfjmt atf mbgf rsrafw, yea la vfolclafis kbeivc’a yf j qgbyifw obg tfg ab yfmbwf qjga bo atf mbgcfgrabcf.
As for the training on the rules and etiquette of high society, it was handed over to Mother Yao, who now had a lot less things on her hands. Yu Manlian was the perfect definition of elegance. The fact that Yao Qi’s big sister had become the goddess of countless men’s hearts could largely be credited to her education.
His family did uphold the rule of keeping quiet during meals and bedtime, but on Chinese New Year, on the rare occasion the whole family gathered up together, this rule would of course be set aside.
Compared with them, Yao Yue and Liu Lin were much quieter.
“So I’m the only single—bachelor left?” Yao Qi’s second brother barely managed to stop himself from saying ‘single dog’ and replaced the word with ‘bachelor’, the furrow between his brows deep enough to form a trench.
“You spend all your free time playing games, how do you expect to find a wife?” Father Yao joked.
“If you can find me a beautiful woman who has Xiao Qi’s qualities without his blackbelly-ness and control freak tendencies, or has all of big sis’ qualities without her ruthlessness, or a female version of brother-in-law (Su Yu), then I’ll marry her in a heartbeat!” The second brother snorted and listed out his criteria.
“Am I not nice?” Yao Qi smiled and pretended to be dumb, “What do you mean by control freak?”
“Queen Mother has passed on her title to me, so of course I can’t embarrass her legacy.”
Yao Qi’s big sister had inherited the title ‘Miss Yu’. She was the only one out of the four siblings who took Yu Manlian’s surname, the one who had become the next head of the Yu family.
Being able to bear a title was a kind of glory, a representative of the power one held.
“Even if I were a woman, the one I married would’ve still been your eldest brother,” Su Yu did the fatal blow.
Yao Yue silently ate her food, thinking that the second brother was the only normal person in the Yao family.
Liu Lin’s mind was full of thoughts of wanting to go home with Yao Qi.
“Xiao Qi, bring Ah-Lin back more often.”
After the dinner, Father Yao sent them to the door and said this to Yao Qi.
Social circle and personal connections were crucial aspects in cultivating a person. Now that Yao Qi was about to officially join the circle, it would be good to take Liu Lin along with him.
“Alright,” Yao Qi nodded.
He glanced at Yao Yue who was standing beside Mother Yao and waved at her. “The Queen Mother will give you a vacation after you’ve managed to learn everything. At that time, you can ask someone to send you to drop by my place. Be good, okay.”
Yao Yue threw herself on Yao Qi and hummed.
She had only stayed with Yao Qi for half a year, but due to her obsession, the days they spent together wasn’t something that could simply be measured by time. It was natural for her to develop a strong sense of dependence on him.
Yao Qi patted Yao Yue’s back to comfort her.
Yu Manlian graciously let her be this time, gracefully waving at Yao Qi.
It was almost twelve o’clock when Yao Qi and Liu Lin arrived home.
Yao Qi checked his watch and found that there was still some time.
“It’ll be the new year in a few minutes.”
“Yeah.” Liu Lin didn’t have any particular thoughts about Chinese New Year. For him, it was just another day to pass. There was no special meaning to it.
Of course, since he was spending it together with Yao Qi this year, the meaning was certainly different. However, after spending the whole day walking on eggshells among the Yao family, he really wanted to just hug and make out with Yao Qi right now.
“Celebrate the new year with me,” after saying so, Yao Qi felt that the current Liu Lin wouldn’t react much to this, and so he added, “They say that if a pair of lovers celebrates the new year together, they’ll stay as happily together for the following year.”
Of course, Yao Qi made this up.
Liu Lin’s eyes lit up. He knew that spending Chinese New Year together was a family tradition, but he didn’t know about its significance for lovers. After all, there wasn’t any need for him to learn about it in the past.
Hearing what Yao Qi said, Liu Lin recalled how the main characters in novels always looked forward to celebrating Chinese New Year together with their lovers, so he believed Yao Qi’s statement without any doubt.
“Hand.” Yao Qi put out his palm, telling Liu Lin to put his hand on top of it as he rummaged for something inside his pocket.
Liu Lin: obediently placed his right hand on Yao Qi’s palm.
“The other one.”
Liu Lin: obediently changed it to his left hand.
Yao Qi slipped the thing in his hand onto Liu Lin’s left middle finger, a silver ring with Yao Qi’s name engraved inside.
It was a wedding ring.
Liu Lin had seen this ring before. At that time, Yao Qi said that it no longer belonged to him. Now, seeing this ring again, Liu Lin stopped breathing for a moment.
He froze in his spot, staring at the ring on his hand.
“Your second gift.” Yao Qi smiled at his stupefied state.
“Didn’t you say… it’s not mine anymore?” he asked.
“The punishment is over now, so it doesn’t count anymore.” Yao Qi placed the other ring in Liu Lin’s hand and stretched out his left hand, “Put it on me too.”
Liu Lin quickly put the ring on Yao Qi’s middle finger for fear that Yao Qi would regret it.
“Now, do you also belong to me?” Liu Lin grabbed his left hand, full of anticipation.
“What do you think?” Yao Qi tilted his head.
With a burst of happiness and joy, Liu Lin giddily hugged and kissed Yao Qi, excitedly gnawing on his neck. Yao Qi patted his head, telling him to lighten his bite.
A few seconds later, the sound of fireworks and firecrackers rumbled outside the window—it was exactly twelve o’clock.
The timing was just right, Yao Qi thought.
He tugged on Liu Lin’s hair to pull the man’s teeth off his neck. Liu Lin raised his head, staring in a daze as Yao Qi’s face zoomed in closer, pressing their lips together.
Liu Lin was stunned for a second. Then he put his arms around Yao Qi’s neck and kissed back passionately, melding together with Yao Qi.
They successfully stepped into the new year with a kiss.
Yao Qi glanced at his watch as the minute changed and closed his eyes again, throwing himself into the kiss.
“Let’s do it. I want it.” When their mouths parted, Liu Lin panted as he moved to take off his pants.
“Okay,” Yao Qi replied with a smile.
Silly dog, even if you don’t ask for it, I don’t plan on letting you go, Yao Qi thought to himself as he patted the man’s fleshy buttocks.
Small theatre
Xiao Qi: Wishing everyone a happy Chinese New Year in advance, see you next time (⌒ _ ⌒)
Ah-Lin: You want to give me candy? I want a Xiao Qi flavoured one~ *wags his tail*
Yao Yue: Hmph, who says I’m gonna miss you guys! *peeks over* …Byebye, you have to remember me, okay.
Shao Qing: *lazily stretching* I won’t curse today, happy new year *warm smile*
Seventeen: …Huh, I actually got a part? Then, uh—goodbye? May everyone be happy this year.
Mother Yao: I won’t say much, just be happy every day. *waves her hands*
Han Jue: Hahahahaha, I’m obviously supposed to be the biggest villain in this story, but in the end it was all set up for nothing. Anyway, I still gotta show up for the curtain call, byebye.
T/n: The main story is finally over! To everyone who has read this to the end, I hope you enjoyed the ride! And thank you so so much to those who had kindly left comments, I really enjoy reading your impressions on the chapters and talking to you guys each week 💝💝💝
Despite all my rants about Yao Qi and his brother-in-law and some of the plot holes, I really do like this story (not the painful parts tho) that’s why I translated it in the first place. But I’m aware it’s definitely not for everyone and so, for that reason, I put all those warnings in the synopsis and the first chapter 😂 I hope all the people who do start reading will take those warnings seriously lol
There are still 12 extra chapters, but I’m going to take a break before I start translating them coz I’m a little burnt out now lol. See you then! 😊👋
What a trip. What a family to be adopted into.
What a trip indeed 😂 thank you so much for reading this to the end 😊💝💝💝
Thank you for a great translation and conversation! ❤
It has been such a nice read! Thank you so much for picking this story and sharing it with us! I’ll be looking forward to your next projects (ノ˘ ▾˘)ノ♡~( ˘▾˘~๑)
I’m so happy to hear that, thank you so much dear 🤗💕💕💕
Furiously applausing!!! 👏👏👏👏👏
Thank you thank you!!! 😘💗💗💗
He got accepted! And everything ended well! Soooo happy~♡✧。 (⋈◍＞◡＜◍)。✧♡
Thank You for the new chapter (´,,•ω•,,)♡ Have a nice break! ❣╰(⸝⸝⸝´꒳`⸝⸝⸝)╯❣
Ah-Lin finally gets his well-deserved happy ending 🥹
Thank you so much for reading this and being here from the very start, I really appreciate seeing your comment on every chapter hehehe I love you 😚💝💝💝
Nah, thank You for amazing work and bringing this novel to us! Take care and love You too (つ≧▽≦)つ❤️
Translator… thank you so much for your consistent updates! Take a break and relax! Hope you feel better soon 🥰💪😉
Thank you for following this story and leaving encouraging comments hehehe you’re a sweetheart! Will do just that 😚💝💝💝
Don’t worry Yao Yue, you will never be forgotten in my heart! (っ´▽`)っ
Since we finally reached the end of the main story, I’m gonna take my time to comment here and say thank you to the best translator here in CG; Bunhe-nim! It was a very memorable experience for me to discuss with you things every update in the comment section! May all of your efforts be paid off in any kind of way! I will definitely be keeping an eye out for your new projects, hopefully still here in CG! Thank you so much, we love you! ლ(´ڡ`ლ)
Thank you so much, that’s so nice of you 🥹 I also really enjoy reading your reactions on each chapter and talking to you hehehe so thank you so much for your always funny, entertaining and encouraging comments 😊💝💝💝 I also hope to see you on another project (whenever that might be 😂) hehe love you too! 😘😘😘
Second brother x Yao Yue flag raised? <3
The author never wrote about who they end up with, but the next chapter has Yao Yue’s backstory and a bit of her future hehe
thank you translator-nim and author-san for your hard work on this novel!!
Thank you so much for reading 😊💝💝💝