QTIMP -Chapter 246 Character Persona – Vicious (Part 9)

Wen Hongying rolled her eyes. Of course she had deliberately kept it from him—she hadn’t expected this guy to come home so soon.

Si Qiu put down her bowl and slowly stood up. Seeing the man standing against the light, she only felt that he was very tall. His deliberately soft tone made her quietly curl her lips in disdain.

Men were always like this—whenever they saw someone pretty, they turned into that hopeless look.

“Brother Wen Luo, hello.”

Wen Luo stepped forward and reached out to ruffle Si Qiu’s hair. “It’s only been a short while, and you’re already being distant with me?”

Seeing that Si Qiu didn’t respond, Wen Luo bent down, resting his hands on his knees so he could look her in the eye. “What? Are you really mad at me? Planning to ignore me from now on?”

Wen Hongying sensed the implication in his words and quickly stepped between them, hands on her hips as she confronted her brother.

“Wen Luo, what’s wrong with you? You’re all the way over there and you still managed to make Qiuqiu angry? Are you itching for a beating, huh! I shouldn’t have introduced you two in the first place. You’ve only caused Qiuqiu so much trouble. Fine, fine, just get out already.”

Not wanting to upset Si Qiu further, she half-pushed, half-ushered him out. The door closed right in front of Wen Luo, and he rubbed his nose helplessly.

He quickly went back to his room, took a shower, and started picking out clothes. A military uniform was the most handsome, but that girl had only glanced at him earlier.

What about a navy striped shirt? Would that seem like he was trying too hard to look young?

Or should he wear a dress shirt? But that little girl seemed quite young—would it feel mismatched?

Right, he still had some things he brought back that he wanted to give her. He wondered if they would be enough to earn her forgiveness. Sigh, he really was too anxious.

But what could he do? Being far away, exchanging only one letter a month always left him with a lingering sense of urgency.

Meanwhile, Wen Hongying pushed her brother out and turned back to look at Si Qiu seriously.

“Qiuqiu, my big brother is already 24—he’s basically an old man. Don’t let him fool you. If you like anything, just tell me and I’ll get it from him for you. There’s no need to deal with him at all. He’ll just drag down our standards.”

Seeing Si Qiu obediently nod, Wen Hongying felt very satisfied—and firmly decided to keep that “old man” far away from her little darling.

After Wen Luo changed his clothes, he found that the two girls had already gone downstairs. He was carrying some things he had just sorted out.

He hurried downstairs, but the moment he appeared at the stairwell, a thermos and two lunch boxes were shoved into his hands.

“Brother, take these to Mom while they’re still hot. Let her see you more too. I brought enough food—you can eat with Mom there. Don’t worry about me and my classmate.”

Immediately after, he was pushed out the door again, and it slammed shut in front of him.

From inside, he could still hear, “Qiuqiu, my brother’s not eating at home—let’s eat together. I’ll take you home after we finish.”

Wen Luo gritted his teeth behind the door. What a good sister he had.

When Mother Si heard this, she quickly turned to look at Father Si. Although Father Si didn’t believe Li Guifang would do something like that, hearing his youngest son say it still made him feel uneasy.

In one motion, he raised his hand and slapped Li Guifang hard across the face.

“I told you, didn’t I? Don’t keep supporting the eldest son anymore. Are my words just wind in your ears?”

Li Guifang said aggrievedly, “How can you listen to the third one? She’s just like that old woman—always trying to sow discord between us as husband and wife. Don’t you know how I treat you in my heart? Besides, the eldest is still our child. He’s suffering out there—how can I not feel sorry for him?”

Li Guifang had a rather broad face and a somewhat flat nose, yet she always liked to act delicate and pitiful in front of Father Si. But at her age and appearance, this act was honestly hard to watch.

At the very least, Father Si showed no trace of sympathy.

“You feel sorry for him? Good. Then in a while, hand your job over to the fifth child and go to the countryside to take care of him yourself.”

Hearing this, Li Guifang panicked so badly she was trembling.

“I won’t send him anything anymore. I promise I won’t.”

Seeing this, Si Xi quickly shifted the fire back onto Si Qiu.

“Third sister, you’re the same too. No matter what, she’s still our mother. You should show her filial respect. How can you be so petty over a bit of food?”

Si Qiu sneered and slapped her across the face.

Si Xi covered her cheek, staring at Si Qiu in shock.

“You haven’t been disciplined for two days and you already forgot who you are? As expected of someone raised by Si Nan—you’ve learned everything from her perfectly.”

“You might as well go down to the countryside too. Tsk tsk. With your scheming mind, you’re probably no worse than Si Nan. What, are you planning to stir up chaos in the family first and then take advantage of the mess?”

The moment she mentioned Si Nan, both of Father Si and Mother Si’s expressions turned unpleasant. Si Qiu had done it on purpose.

Strictly speaking, those twins were actually raised by the original owner of this body, Si Qiu.

But both of them were ungrateful. Si Bei, in particular, was very good at reading the situation—after the older siblings had all been sent down to the countryside, he immediately changed his attitude and kept his distance from Si Qiu.

Especially after being knocked unconscious a couple of times by Si Qiu, he even avoided being in the same room with her.

Father Si slammed his hand on the table.

“Enough! Stop arguing! Are you all tired of peaceful days already?”

As soon as Father Si got angry, Si Xi immediately shut up.

She knew very well that while she could argue when it came to her mother’s decisions, she had no room whatsoever to oppose her father’s.

Father Si frowned and said, “Have you all forgotten what I said before?”

He looked at his wife with disdain. She was not only foolish but short-sighted as well—after all these years, she still couldn’t be taught properly.

Then he turned to Si Qiu with a much gentler expression.

“Si Qiu, you’re about to graduate soon. Our family doesn’t have the ability to find you a job.”

“If things don’t work out, you’ll probably have to go to the countryside. You should know how hard it is from your eldest brother’s letters.”

“As your father, I do feel sorry for you. I don’t want you to end up like your eldest brother and eldest sister.”

“Your mother and I discussed it. You’re at the right age now. We were thinking of introducing you to someone. If you get married, you won’t have to go to the countryside.”

As he spoke, he looked up and met Si Qiu’s calm, bright gaze. For a brief moment, he felt a flicker of guilt—but it quickly vanished, and he regained his composure.

“That man is the son of a deputy factory director in our factory. He works at the railway bureau and earns sixty-two yuan a month. He also has a small courtyard built with blue bricks.”

“If you marry him, you won’t lack food or clothing, and you’ll have a spacious place to live.”

Si Qiu understood immediately.

This was already a negotiated deal—she was being sold off without hesitation.

But she didn’t argue. She had already arranged the future outcomes for the remaining four members of this household.

“Oh, no rush. I’ll go on the blind date after I receive my graduation certificate.”

“But don’t tell anyone about this for now. I don’t want my classmates hearing about it. I still want to save up some personal money over the next month.”