Marry by Relying on Favor: Chapter 70 - It’s Not Like I Told You to Switch Husbands Halfway
Chapter 70: It’s Not Like I Told You to Switch Husbands Halfway
Almost all of He Qingchi’s memories of her mother came from her grandmother’s descriptions.
The older generation loved telling stories, and since Qingchi was raised at her grandmother’s knee, she often heard about her unfortunate, short-lived mother.
Her mother came from a traditional tailor’s family. Though they couldn’t be called rich or aristocratic, they had specialized in making custom suits and cheongsams for wealthy households for generations. Her social circle from childhood wasn’t ordinary either. By chance, when she grew up, she met the young master of the influential He family from nearby Yancheng.
Their first meeting, their falling in love, their marriage—it all went smoothly.
But her father couldn’t give up his philandering ways. He became entangled in a mess of affairs, and in less than seven years, that once-blessed marriage crumbled into nothing.
In He Qingchi’s memory, her mother’s face was already so blurred that she couldn’t recall it clearly. If there was anything at all she remembered, it was the frail, delicate aura her mother carried, like a willow swaying in the wind. Her personality was weak, too—often hiding away in her room, quietly wiping her tears.
He Qingchi was far too young then. When she saw her mother crying, or fighting bitterly with her father, she would be overcome with fear, hiding outside the door, too scared to go in.
Later, her mother died in a sudden car accident...
He Qingchi herself fell seriously ill afterward. Her memories of that woman grew even fuzzier.
She stared off blankly for a long time, her slender fingers tightening around her cup, before softly repeating to Qu Bixin: “My old man told me that when I was five or six, I had such a high fever I nearly became an idiot. It’s already lucky that I only forgot my childhood memories. I can’t remember… do you?”
Qu Bixin rested her chin on her hand, thinking seriously. Then she said, “My childhood memories are all about wanting to be pretty, wanting to wear flowery dresses, wanting to be Snow White, and gathering a bunch of little girlfriends to play with me. You weren’t in my circle. Who would be that twisted as a kid, paying attention to how many new friends you had?”
At most, the two were compared whenever their elders gathered, competing over whose daughter was more outstanding. That made their relationship rocky from the start, almost like childhood rivals.
Qu Bixin had no interest in monitoring every detail of He Qingchi’s life. If they clashed, it was usually just by coincidence.
Blinking, she then grinned and teased: “After your mother died, those years were my glory days. No one was stealing the elders’ praise from me anymore.”
He Qingchi fell silent again. Her fingers grew stiff from clutching her cup. Slowly releasing it, she whispered, “At the Wen residence, I heard a very interesting story. But more than the story itself, I was fascinated by the little girl in it.”
“You mean you’ve sunk so deep into the story that you think you are that little girl?” Qu Bixin cut straight to the point.
He Qingchi didn’t nod, but her silence was an admission.
Still, she couldn’t understand. If she had known the Wen brothers since childhood, how could she have completely forgotten?
If it weren’t for that accident—the crash—would she never have had anything to do with Wen Shuchen and the Wen household?
Seeing her friend’s stubborn expression, Qu Bixin’s tone was breezy, almost lazy: “Your dad clearly doesn’t want you to know. That alone tells you it’s nothing good. If I were you…”
He Qingchi looked up, listening seriously.
Qu Bixin curled her lips and said: “I’d just pretend I never noticed anything. Live carefree as the rich young wife of a tycoon. Snuggle up every night to the most eligible bachelor in Jiangcheng. After a few years, once the marriage stabilizes, give him a little heir… Then half of the Wen family fortune will belong to your bloodline. That’s every woman’s ultimate dream.”
He Qingchi’s expression cooled. She splashed cold water on her words: “Why didn’t you take that advice with Shen Fu?”
Who was it, just a month ago, running out of the villa in a nightdress with bare arms and legs, clutching divorce papers, abandoning all the clothes and jewelry behind?
Qu Bixin smoothed her ear-length black hair, unashamed even as He Qingchi exposed her past. With her signature sly, “green-tea” air, she replied: “I had no choice. If my dad hadn’t run his business into the ground, do you think Shen Fu could have gotten rid of me? Hah, naïve… I could’ve drained him to bankruptcy, until he couldn’t even afford that mute girl!”
“As for those material possessions…” She sneered coldly, clear-headed about it: “Back at the Qu house, what don’t I already have? You think I’d stoop so low as to pack up the cheap trinkets Shen Fu bought me?”
After waking up from the illusion of her lost love, the woman was sharper than anyone expected.
He Qingchi was left speechless, finally saying: “With backgrounds like ours, staying clear-headed is everything. What kind of man can’t we get? If I wanted another Wen Shuchen, I could easily hire some young hunk and have him surgically altered to look just like him. I still believe in love and marriage… I just don’t want to live under the web of lies men weave, until time makes me mistake them for truth, until I can only survive clinging to them.”
After a pause, Qu Bixin only said: “It’s not good for a woman to be too clear-headed.”
Two days later, before Wen Shuchen returned from his business trip abroad—
He Qingchi went to Wushan Town to visit her grandmother, then bought a plane ticket back to the He family residence in Yancheng for a short stay. During that time, Li Ling tried to line up another period drama for her to keep her popularity up, but He Qingchi politely declined.
After starring in Guo Dao’s Republican-era film, He Qingchi had never truly debuted in the industry. Her Weibo was long since wiped clean. She’d become very low-key.
Li Ling knew perfectly well her heart wasn’t in showbiz. With her marriage into a wealthy family, her identity had changed, and no contract threats could force her. All Li Ling could do was occasionally call to persuade her.
But He Qingchi, mindful of their brief half-year bond, also knew dragging it out was pointless. Decisively, she sent her secretary and lawyer to the agency with a termination payment.
She paid generously, leaving no room for regret. The company wanted to keep her, but couldn’t.
Back home, the happiest person was none other than He the family patriarch.
That night, he skipped a dinner engagement and brought back an oversized cake to celebrate.
He Qingchi noticed her father now had a new secretary—sweet-looking, young, dripping with designer jewelry and expensive perfume. Who knew how many women’s dreams he had already fulfilled? At dinner, the father and daughter couldn’t help trading barbs.
“My dear, were you so lazy and greedy at the Wen household that they kicked you out?”
The words themselves weren’t harsh, but the expectant tone gave him away.
He Qingchi’s face was unreadably calm. She even nodded: “I regret it. I don’t want to marry him anymore.”
Now that was music to his ears—
Father He had been waiting for those words. His eyes crinkled shut from grinning: “I heard the Qu girl divorced recently. I was wondering why my own daughter hadn’t made a move yet. You’ve got to divorce at least once, just to keep face! Can’t let the Qu girl win, hahahaha…”
He roared with laughter, so smug that Qingchi didn’t even bother rolling her eyes: “Dad, I haven’t finished speaking.”
Her father, still gloating after her first sentence, called to the secretary for wine, crossed one leg over the other, and leisurely sipped while waiting for her to continue.
The next moment, He Qingchi solemnly set down her chopsticks, her tone unreadable: “I don’t want to marry Wen Shuchen anymore. I want to marry Wen Yue—”
Pfft! Her father sprayed wine everywhere.
He nearly lost his life choking, eyes bulging in disbelief at his daughter.
“I realized I’m happier with Wen Yue. Dad, would you agree to me swapping sons-in-law?” Qingchi asked softly, looking him straight in the eye without the slightest flicker of guilt or avoidance.
Every word carried the weight of truth.
Her father’s composure shattered. He was terrified: “My dear, I wanted you divorced, but not to change husbands halfway!”
“But I have to marry someone. What’s wrong with marrying the man I truly love?”
He Qingchi frowned slightly, then softened her tone: “I don’t know why… From the first time I met Wen Yue, he felt different. The longer I stayed at the Wen residence, the more I couldn’t help but fall for him. I can’t control feelings. Dad, just say the word—I want to be with Wen Yue. He likes me too. Do you agree?”
Her father almost exploded, restraining himself from pounding the table: “What’s wrong with Wen Shuchen, huh? He’s the best son-in-law I’ve ever seen—one in a hundred! Don’t let that little home-wrecker turn your head. That Wen Yue is nothing compared to Shuchen!”
The old man’s voice boomed through the entire He residence.
The dining room fell so silent a pin drop could be heard. He Qingchi sat calmly, and five minutes after declaring her love for Wen Yue, she coldly curved her lips and asked her father: “He Qingqing, what are you hiding in your heart?”
He froze, hearing his full name.
Tricked!
He Qingchi gave him no time to play dead. Even the secretary who had just walked in was silenced by a sharp glare. With no expression, she demanded of the man who was suddenly looking so guilty: “You hate Wen Yue more than Wen Shuchen… because I knew him as a child, didn’t I?”
Her father tried to dodge, turning to the secretary: “Xiao Hui, weren’t you coming in to remind me about President Zhang’s dinner engagement tonight?”
But the young woman lacked the quick wit of her predecessor, Yao Jing. Intimidated by He Qingchi’s earlier glare, she stammered: “Actually, just now, a man surnamed Wen came to the house. I saw him standing outside the dining room for a long while. Then he left a gift and walked away.”
He Qingchi’s face shifted instantly under the light.
Still oblivious, the secretary murmured, “He… he said tonight wasn’t convenient, but he’d visit another day.”
The next second—
He Qingchi pushed back her chair, ready to run out. But after half a step, she stopped.
Her father’s heart leapt into his throat. “You’re… not going after him?”
He Qingchi sat back down. Her dark eyes locked on him.
----------
If you like my translation, please support me by buying me a coffee:
0 comments: