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墨書 Inktalez
Upon arriving at Chen Qi's house, we found it packed with family members.
The Old Man sat in the center on a rattan chair, receiving New Year greetings from the younger generation.
Chen Qi led us around for introductions, saying, "This is Second Aunt, and this is Third Aunt," leaving me feeling quite dizzy.
When we reached his Uncle's family, I noticed a child who had been throwing firecrackers hiding behind an adult, spitting at us.
Finally, in front of the Old Man, Chen Qi suddenly knelt down with a thud and performed a deep bow. He recited a series of auspicious phrases demanding a Red Envelope without stuttering.
Both Manman and I were taken aback by this display. In our family, New Year celebrations involved the elders giving Red Envelopes and everyone gathering for a meal; there was never any custom of bowing multiple times.
As Chen Qi bowed, he shot us a glance, signaling us to follow his lead.
The Old Man's expression grew colder as he noticed our hesitation.
His cold snort implied that if Manman didn’t bow, we could forget about entering his house.
Chen Qi took the Red Envelope, pinched it in his hand, and cheerfully tried to persuade us.
"You are my guests; don’t intentionally embarrass me."
His Aunt also began to scold us.
"These city girls have no manners at all! Bowing to your elders won’t cost you anything!"
Others chimed in, pointing fingers at us, eager to establish some rules and put us in our place.
Suddenly, I wiped my eyes and burst into tears.
"Woo woo, woo woo woo! Brother Chen Qi, I clearly told you that I have a prosthetic leg! Your family still wants me to kneel… If you dislike me so much, I can just leave. I brought fine cigarettes and liquor for the elders, a pearl necklace, and an Aierwei bag. I’ll leave right now."
Manman was momentarily stunned by my tears and, seeing me step outside, unconsciously followed me out.
Second Aunt quickly stopped us, also taking back the suitcase filled with gifts.
"Oh dear children, how pitiful! Where are you going in this heavy snow? Listen to me, just stay at home."
The others began to scold Chen Qi.
"You're such a grown person, why are you arguing with a little girl?"
"Yeah, she has a leg condition and you didn't even tell us, making us seem so harsh."
"I just scolded her for being rude; I must be out of my mind to get up in the middle of the night and slap myself twice."
Chen Qi was at a loss for words. He wanted to explain to those around him but was interrupted by me again.
"Brother Chen Qi, you just wanted a couple more Red Envelopes, right? But you can't hide it from the elders. We don't want the Red Envelopes; give them all to you, Manman. Let's go."
"Stop right there!"
The Old Man spoke up, glaring at Chen Qi as a warning. It was clear that if Chen Qi tried to argue again, he would be met with a cane.
"Come on in, both of you. The dumplings will be ready soon. Chen Qi, give them their Red Envelopes."
Reluctantly, Chen Qi handed over the Red Envelopes to us, and it was obvious that the ones for us were thicker. He raised his voice and said,
"Manman, didn’t we bring an electric massager for the elder? Hurry up and take it out to show our appreciation."
Ha! That massager was clearly bought with Manman's pocket money.
How did it turn into "ours" in his mouth?
"Ah? Okay."
Manman didn't find anything wrong with his statement. Chen Qi always tried to instill in her the idea of a relationship where "there's no distinction between you and me," as if he were trying to brainwash her.
"Wait!"
Our suitcase was packed with clothes, and each of us also carried a small bag.
Manman's bag was light, but it was filled with valuable items. My bag was heavy, but it was stuffed with snacks.
My bag clearly showed signs of having been opened, with a gray half-handprint on it.
Someone must have stolen my snacks while we were talking.
This is unacceptable!
The last person who stole my snacks, my elementary school deskmate, ended up losing two of his canine teeth (he happened to be losing teeth at the time).
I opened my small bag in front of everyone, which had been stuffed full before but now showed two obvious gaps.
"Someone definitely took my cream puffs."
Aunt rolled her eyes nervously and replied irritably.
"It's just two bags of snacks. If they’re gone, they’re gone."
Her little son had remnants of pink powder around his mouth and was hiding under the table, stifling laughter.
There was only one child in the room; that small handprint had to be his.
I yanked him out from under the table and held his hand down to compare the handprints.
Before Aunt could make a move, Chen Qi had already pulled me away.
"Alright, why are you arguing with a child? It's New Year's, and if this escalates, it won't look good for either family."
He glared at the child, who was still making faces and mocking me, clearly enjoying the situation.
Everyone knew that the child had stolen my snacks, but no one felt it was worth addressing.
"I can't let this go; my snacks are precious, imported ones that cost five hundred yuan!"
Five hundred yuan wasn't much to me; I was just trying to gauge Chen Qi's reaction.
Manman hesitated for a moment before siding with me.
"Chen Qi, let the child apologize. Yuan Yuan cares a lot about her snacks."
This was the first time Yuan Yuan had disagreed with Chen Qi. I knew she had been holding in her frustration throughout the journey, but her good upbringing prevented her from expressing it directly.
To Chen Qi, this good start was merely a consequence of Manman being "influenced" by my behavior.
Whether the child had stolen anything was irrelevant; what mattered was that Manman had "commanded" him in front of everyone, which embarrassed him.
He sneered and subtly distanced himself from Manman, who clearly felt hurt by his actions and looked a bit dejected.
"Who says the snacks were definitely lost here? There were so many people on the train; I could just say they were lost on the train."
That was exactly what I was waiting for.
"Don't forget that I entrusted my luggage to you all before going to sleep. Legally, you have a duty to safeguard it. You two can discuss who will compensate me."
Manman bit her lip; in the past, she would have been the one to take the loss and hand over her freshly received red envelope money to me.
But now she just held her hands tightly, looking at Chen Qi with a hint of expectation on her face.
I was well aware of Chen Qi's family background; he only had a couple of hundred yuan for living expenses each week.
During our relationship, Manman never once asked him for a penny and even occasionally bought him gifts, while his return gifts never exceeded fifty yuan. There was no way he would pay that amount for the child.
He shot a glance at Manman, hoping she would fill this gap as she usually did, but to his surprise, Manman bit her lip and remained silent.
With no other choice, he kicked the child in the leg.
"Do you want to lose face? I saw you stealing; why don’t you apologize to your aunt?"
The child immediately knelt down with a thud in front of everyone, struggling and rolling around.
Both Manman and I were startled; no one expected him to resort to violence against his own nephew over five hundred yuan.
The child's parents finally reacted; if I wasn't satisfied, they would have to pay me five hundred yuan.
So they went up and slapped the child as well.
"You little Xiong Xiong, you naughty Xiong Xiong! I told you not to steal food; look what you've done!"
By the time the child's face was swollen from the slaps, I slowly stepped in to stop it.
"Alright, alright, he's still a child; let it go. Brother Chen Qi, you really went too far. I just wanted him to apologize; how could you make such a small child kneel from that height? What if he hurts his knees?"
Now I had played both the good and bad cop, leaving no room for criticism from anyone.
If Uncle's family felt sorry for their child, they could only blame Chen Qi for being too harsh, forcing Xiong Xiong's parents to act even more severely.
After saying that, I took Manman back to the room that Chen Qi had prepared for us.
Xiong Xiong was still on the floor, wailing loudly, glaring at us with resentment until we closed the door behind us.
I knew this mischievous child was about to cause some trouble again.
Looking up at the yellow-brown water stains on the ceiling, the damp walls of the room, the hard wooden bed, and the dead cockroach in the corner, I felt a sense of discomfort.
Manman finally couldn't hold back her tears any longer.
She was so distraught that her words became incoherent.
"Woo, I didn't know Chen Qi was such a person... Woo, this place is terrible."
I slowly opened a bag of chips and took a sip of cola, trying to maintain an air of calm and composure.
"Why do you think that way, sister? Chen Qi has always spoiled you. I think he's just being straightforward; it doesn't mean he doesn't love you. The conditions here may not be great, but if you marry him in the future, you'll be living here for decades. You'll definitely get used to it."
Hearing this, Manman cried even harder.
Seizing the opportunity, I added fuel to the fire.
"You’re not thinking about breaking up, are you? You've been together for so long; it would be such a shame to end it! Besides, he has many good qualities... And if you break up now, wouldn’t that just prove what our parents said was right? You can't give in at this moment."
I had stolen all of Manman's lines; she couldn't get a word in and just buried her head in tears.
"Stop crying; the dumplings will be ready soon. Since we’re already here during the New Year’s celebration, we can’t just say we want to go back now. Plus, there are no buses at this time."
Only then did Manman slowly stop crying. When she looked up again, her expression had shifted from disappointment to anger.
Anger is the beginning of awakening.
Taking advantage of her moment to wash her face, I opened another bucket of popcorn.
Look, this tiny kernel of corn actually contains such great energy; what a delightful surprise.
"Dumplings are ready, you two girls come out for dinner."
I put away the snacks and, with Manman who had finished tidying up, stepped out of the room to present gifts to the elders one by one.
"I'm sorry for not paying attention earlier. This is a massage mat for the elderly, and this scarf is for Second Aunt. And... there's also a learning machine for Xiong Xiong, filled with exercises—no games at all."
Xiong Xiong clung to an adult's leg, glaring at us fiercely, her tear-streaked face resembling that of a little raccoon.
The adults who received the gifts were all smiles, dispelling the earlier unpleasant atmosphere.
"By the way, all these gifts were bought with Manman's pocket money. Chen Qi, what about your gift? Let's see it."
Chen Qi, who had been quietly munching on peanuts, was suddenly called out and appeared somewhat flustered.
He looked shocked at first, then shot me a glare before turning to Manman with a soft tone.
"Hey, weren't these gifts picked out by both of us?"
Manman chose to remain silent, and I let out a cold laugh.
"My sister and I went to the mall to pick out the gifts, but I didn't see you anywhere."
All eyes turned to Chen Qi. The value of the gifts didn’t matter much, but the fact that he didn’t contribute even a penny for the New Year’s gifts while putting all expenses on his girlfriend made him look quite contemptible.
Chen Qi awkwardly chuckled twice and glanced at Manman, puzzled about her behavior today.
"Ah, it's like this. Manman picked out the gifts; I just paid for them. I transferred the money to her—if you don’t believe me, just ask her."
Under Chen Qi's intense gaze, Manman couldn't meet his eyes at all but still gently shook her head.
I let out a sigh of relief; it seemed my trip here wasn't in vain.
"Did you hear that? My sister said you didn't transfer the money to her. Should we check the transaction records to avoid everyone thinking she's the kind of person who can't afford anything?"
Just as I was about to snatch the phone, Chen Qi reluctantly pulled it out and unlocked it.
Manman mentioned that Chen Qi never let her touch his phone, claiming it was a personal privacy issue. Having grown up in a liberal environment with little control, Manman never pressed the matter.
But I clearly saw that guy's home screen wallpaper was a selfie of another girl.
Just as my hometown friend had said, Chen Qi didn't transfer schools for better educational resources; he was expelled for getting a girl pregnant.
Manman had always focused solely on her studies. Due to her frail health, her family never shared negative news with her, fearing it would affect her mood. As a result, she was incredibly easy to deceive.
This incident had become common knowledge back in Chen Qi's hometown, yet she never thought to investigate due to his sweet talk.
"I just remembered, I didn't have any money in my account that day. I'll pay you back right now."
"That's great! We won't take advantage of you; let's split the amount evenly. Just transfer me five thousand for now."
My family is a diamond member, and I had given Chen Qi all the discounted prices without any intention of scamming him.
Chen Qi held up his phone, waiting for Manman to intervene, but despite his hand growing stiff from holding it up, she didn’t budge an inch.
Before long, my phone chimed with a notification: five thousand yuan had been transferred.
I quickly sent the five thousand to my hometown friend and reminded him to handle things properly.
Chen Qi looked like he was about to grind his teeth into dust. I thought he would reveal his true colors right then and there, but instead, he took Manman's hand affectionately.
"I'm sorry, sweetheart. It's because I'm too poor that I can't give you a better life. Even the gift money has to be split between us. I promise I'll work hard and give you all the money I earn in the future."
"Effort? Are you talking about working in a factory tightening screws?"
Even if he tightened a thousand screws, he wouldn't earn as much as I give Manman for pocket money.
Manman has always been a kind-hearted person, and I'm really worried that she might be tricked by Chen Qi again, giving back the five thousand yuan she just received.
So I quickly interrupted them.
"Alright, your good fortune is still ahead, don't delay everyone from eating."
Only then did Chen Qi reluctantly let go of Manman, and it seemed like her heart was also swayed.
Everyone began to take their seats. Manman initially wanted to sit next to Chen Qi, but unexpectedly, Uncle quickly swooped in and took her spot.
I looked around and realized that not a single woman had taken a seat.
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