QTIMP -Chapter 263 Character Persona – Vicious (Part 26)

The two gritted their teeth and started on their daily tasks. Si Qiu pulled a piece of dried fruit from her bag and slowly chewed on it.

“Oh my, the two of you really do have it hard. After working all day, you come home and still don’t get a moment’s rest. Without someone to help out, things just don’t work.”

Neither of them responded. They silently and mechanically continued with their chores.

What else could they do?

At the factory, the leadership disliked them. At home, they had this monster of a sister tormenting them.

The fact that they hadn’t completely broken down already was a testament to their immense self-control.

Still, Si Qiu keenly noticed the joy hidden beneath Si Xi’s mechanical behavior. A faint smile appeared on her face.

She wandered around the living room, her voice soft and gentle, yet all the more tempting because of it.

“You know, my classmate Zhang Xiaocao married the nephew of the director of the Supply and Marketing Cooperative. Not only does she not have to go to the countryside now, but she even got a temporary job position. How is her luck so good?

And the best part is, even she’s not doing as well as Chen Guangzong from our class.

He married the daughter of a transportation team leader. They didn’t find him a job, but he doesn’t have to go to the countryside anymore either. Every day he just stays home washing clothes and cooking meals. That’s practically living the good life.

Both of their families were struggling terribly before. I honestly thought they were destined to be sent to the countryside and suffer.

Who could have imagined it? Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river. Most people these days can’t compare to either of them.

At first, when my classmates told me about it, I didn’t believe them. After all, Chen Guangzong is the same age as me. He wasn’t even old enough.

But it turns out he simply found someone to add two years to his age on paper. And just like that, he has a young wife, children, and a comfortable life.

When you’re living in this world, you have to know how to adapt. Someone as stubborn as me just can’t manage it.”

After watching the two finish cleaning up after the elderly couple and feeding them dinner, Si Qiu tossed away the last piece of dried fruit.

The stuff was starting to hurt her teeth.

“Alright, there’s nothing else for me to do here, so I’m heading back. This new bicycle really is easy to ride. I won’t keep you two from cooking and eating dinner. I’m off.”

The sound of Si Qiu leaving echoed through the house.

The moment she was gone, the two siblings collapsed onto their stools.

They exchanged a glance and saw the same determination reflected in each other’s eyes.

When Lan Qing returned home, he found his eldest and second elder brothers—both of whom rarely came back these days.

“Well, look at you two busy men. What brings you home today?”

“We were actually about to ask you the same thing. Why did Mother suddenly summon the two of us back?”

Just then, a woman emerged carrying a platter of food. Lan Qing greeted her.

“Big Sister.”

He was puzzled.

What was going on today?

Normally, their parents were afraid of disturbing everyone’s work and would never call the family together without a reason.

“Don’t tell me Second Sister came back too?”

“No. She’s too far away. We’ll just give her a phone call later.”

The woman Lan Qing called Big Sister answered him before shooting him a glare and turning back toward the kitchen.

Lan Qing frowned.

Judging from her attitude, the matter seemed to involve him.

But what could it be?

He had only recently taken the position of bureau chief. There was no way he was being transferred already.

He ran the tip of his tongue across his teeth, a suspicion forming in his mind.

At that moment, the old man emerged from his room, apparently having gone to the restroom.

The old lady and his elder sister brought out more dishes, and together with the two dishes carried in by the household staff, the whole family gathered around the dining table.

The meal was unusually quiet.

After dinner, the staff cleared the table while the family sat together in the living room, waiting for the old couple to speak.

“Youngest Third, I heard you’ve gotten yourself a girlfriend.”

As expected, it was about that.

Leaning back on the sofa, Lan Qing replied, “You heard? From whom? And what exactly did you hear?”

“Third, stop playing dumb.”

Lan Qing glanced at the old man. “How am I playing dumb? I’m trying to understand what information you’ve gathered. If you have nothing to say, I’ll just go back to my room.”

The old lady coughed lightly and patted her husband’s hand.

“We only heard it from Old Zhang’s granddaughter.”

“Oh, that girl who always looks like she’s attending a funeral, as if the whole world owes her something? Honestly, the Zhang family has been doing worse and worse these past few years. Could it be because she’s bringing them bad luck?”

“You brat, shut up!” the old man barked. “At a time like this, how can you say something like that?”

Lan Qing curled his lips and turned his head away indifferently.

The old lady patted her husband’s hand again before speaking gently.

“Fifth, your father and I don’t mean anything by it. We just want to know more about the girl. If she’s suitable, you’re not young anymore. It would be time to settle things.”

Lan Qing turned his gaze to her.

“Mom, do you really think that means anything? I don’t believe for a second that you haven’t already investigated Si Qiu’s background.”

The old lady choked on her words and patted her chest.

Even so, because the old couple felt guilty toward their youngest son, they swallowed their frustration.

“Fifth, your father and I truly don’t mean anything else. It’s just that the girl does attract a lot of attention from men. That’s the sort of thing that can easily lead to accusations about one’s moral conduct.

“You plan to pursue a political career. If you end up carrying that kind of stain on your record, it’ll be extremely disadvantageous for your future.”

Lan Qing nodded.

Mother Lan had just begun to feel relieved when she heard him say,

“Oh, so that’s what you think. No wonder you were able to abandon your own son when he was gravely ill with a high fever, all for the sake of dealing with that woman.”

That single sentence changed everyone’s expression.

“Fifth! Is that any way to speak to your parents?” someone snapped. “How many years ago was that? You’re still holding a grudge against your own father and mother?”

Lan Qing looked at his eldest brother with a half-smile.

“If Second Sister were saying that, I wouldn’t argue. But you, Big Brother—a direct beneficiary of what happened—don’t you think it’s a little hypocritical for you to say that? Like a cat weeping over a mouse.”

The eldest brother was so angry that he started breathing heavily.

Finding the whole thing meaningless, Lan Qing stood up.

“Enough. You don’t need to concern yourselves with my affairs. If you can’t stand it, I’ll move out. That way I won’t affect any of you.”

The Lan family could only watch as he headed upstairs.

The eldest brother looked like he wanted to say something, but after opening his mouth, he ultimately said nothing.

Instead, the eldest sister patted their mother’s back.

“Mom, children grow up and stop listening to their parents. Little Brother knows where the line is. You shouldn’t interfere too much.”

Mother Lan burst into tears, but as someone who had survived years of war and gunfire, she quickly wiped them away and said,

“This is my fault. All my fault. No, I have to meet that girl myself.”

Father Lan reached out and patted his wife’s back.

“Don’t act rashly. If that boy finds out, who knows what he’ll do?”

His words immediately redirected her anger.

“You get lost! If it weren’t for you, would my son have turned out like this? You shameless old fool!”

Father Lan’s face darkened instantly, but feeling guilty, he didn’t dare say a word in response.

Back then, while Father Lan was inspecting work at the grassroots level, an old illness flared up and landed him in the hospital. Though he was already in his forties and not yet fifty, a young nurse at the hospital had taken a fancy to him and used every trick she could think of to pursue him.