QTIMP -Chapter 304 Character Persona – Violent (Part 32)

His eyes narrowed slightly, the muscles on his body rising and falling with each breath.

“Qiu~ Qiu~”

She could practically see the wavy line trailing after his words.

This was simply flirting without restraint.

Of course, Si Qiu accepted the temptation. Sitting down beside him, she let her hand glide over his skin.

Imitating his tone, she called out softly, “Brother Ye~”

The original host already had a naturally soft voice, and combined with her innocent white-lotus appearance, the moment she bit her lip lightly and drew out that sweet “Brother Ye,”

Ye Shubai felt as though an electric current had passed through his body. A tingling numbness spread all over him, and his ears flushed red unconsciously. He swallowed hard, his throat suddenly dry.

Unable to maintain his earlier pose any longer, he wrapped an arm around Si Qiu’s back and slowly leaned closer.

As he approached, a faint fragrance drifted toward him.

He couldn’t help taking a deep breath, feeling that delicate scent seep through his breath and into his heart and lungs. It was like a parasitic gu worm entering the body, taking control of both his mind and flesh.

And then…

Then he felt as if Si Qiu had nearly drained him dry.

At that moment, he couldn’t help feeling grateful that, in order to stay alive in the past—and later, to win Si Qiu over—he had always kept himself in excellent physical condition through regular exercise.

Si Qiu was also quite satisfied with her stamina in this lifetime. The next morning, she was even able to get up and buy breakfast.

The only people awake earlier than her were the Ye family members in the neighboring courtyard.

When they saw Si Qiu leave and return carrying a large basket of lunch boxes and a pot of soy milk, she greeted them cheerfully and even left breakfast for them.

Mother Ye couldn’t help asking, “Qiuqiu, where’s Shubai?”

“Mom, he’s still asleep. Do you need him for something?”

“Ah! Oh, no, no. Nothing important.”

Hearing that there was nothing wrong, Si Qiu carried the breakfast back to her own courtyard.

Mother Ye hurriedly turned around and went back inside. Stuffing breakfast into the hands of her two children who had just gotten up, she rushed into the bedroom.

Father Ye was tidying his clothes when his wife grabbed him and pulled him down to sit on the edge of the kang bed.

“Old Ye, Qiuqiu just went out to buy breakfast and even brought ours over.”

Father Ye nodded and continued fastening his cufflinks.

Seeing that he still didn’t understand, Mother Ye gave him a push and continued.

“I asked where our son was. She said he’s still sleeping.”

Father Ye’s movements gradually slowed.

Then, with a grave expression, he said, “That kid doesn’t look weak at all. How could he…?”

Mother Ye frowned.

“What do you mean, ‘how could he’? Is this the time to figure out why? Shouldn’t you be thinking about whether there’s a way to treat him? Maybe he needs some tonic medicine or supplements or something.”

“Then I’ll gather some for him. He already worked hard enough to marry into her family. If he’s this useless, sooner or later he’ll get kicked back home.”

Father Ye felt exhausted worrying about his sons.

By the time Si Qiu returned, Ye Shubai had already gotten up.

It wasn’t that he was truly that incapable.

He simply loved seeing Si Qiu worry about him.

So he often deliberately acted weak and delicate.

As a result, when Father Ye handed him a huge package of aphrodisiac and vitality-boosting medicines, he was completely dumbfounded.

Seeing his reaction, Father Ye patted him on the shoulder.

“You’re still young. Exercise more in the future. Eat plenty of nourishing supplements, and things should improve somewhat.”

Afraid that his son might feel embarrassed, Father Ye turned and left.

As he walked away, he couldn’t help muttering to himself:

How did this brat grow so tall? Even patting his shoulder feels like I’m stretching my arm out.

Ye Shubai was a little angry when he saw that huge pile of tonics, but this wasn’t exactly something he could explain, so he decided to prove himself properly that night.

The next morning, when the Ye couple saw Si Qiu and her husband get up together, they finally felt somewhat reassured.

Today, Si Qiu was taking the Chen family members to apply for jobs at their respective work units. Over the past few days, they had already looked through the list Ye Shubai had given them and decided where they wanted to work.

Although it was called an interview, it was really just a formality.

The group was quickly assigned to their respective work units. In truth, Si Qiu felt there was no need to rush, but Ye Shubai said too many people were watching, so it would be better to get everything settled as quickly as possible.

Thus, she promptly applied for dormitory rooms for them. Since Si Qiu had plenty of daily necessities on hand, she distributed some to each of them.

“If you’re short of anything or need something, come find me. If anything happens, come and tell me as well. Your aunt has some friends here who can help give you advice. Don’t think that just because you have no close relatives here, you should let others bully you for no reason.”

They were only a few years younger than her, but they all obediently listened to her lecture.

“If there’s news of any more job recruitment in the future, call home in advance and see if anyone else wants to come. I’ll say the same thing as before: having an iron rice bowl at least guarantees you a stable living regardless of good times or bad. When you have time to write home, mention it to the family too.”

“Auntie, we know. Don’t worry. We’re all grown up and know what’s important, so you don’t have to worry too much about us. You came here all by yourself back then and were perfectly fine. We have so many brothers and sisters with us, and we also have you looking out for us. What could possibly happen?”

Si Qiu glared at the young man.

She wasn’t particularly worried about the boys. Even if they suffered a loss, they could treat it as paying for a lesson.

But Chen Tao and Chen Ju had to be more careful. Everyone valued a woman’s reputation, so they had to be especially cautious and avoid being schemed against. Si Qiu had repeatedly warned them about this over the past few days, and they all nodded solemnly.

Once everything had been arranged for them, the Ye family members, who all had jobs of their own, returned home. Si Qiu and Ye Shubai officially began their married life, though in truth, it wasn’t much different from before.

Ye Shubai still did the housework at home, read books, and occasionally conducted some simple experiments and analyses.

Si Qiu continued working methodically. Her ability to analyze and control the direction of cases was excellent, and her case-solving rate was extremely high. Even though she became pregnant and gave birth to a daughter within the first year of marriage, by 1955 she had already been promoted to department chief, while her mentor had become deputy director.

Another important event took place that year: currency reform and the implementation of the ration-coupon system.

The coupon system had actually begun in 1953, but nationwide grain coupons were not introduced until 1955.

During the two years since 1953, only certain types of coupons had been implemented in some regions. Now that the currency had also been reformed, it proved that society had entered its next stage.

“Oh my, my salary has gone from hundreds of thousands down to just a few dozen yuan. I’m still not used to it!” Sister Hu said as she counted the thin stack of small-denomination notes in her hand.

Si Qiu put her things into her bag. “I actually think this is much better. Otherwise, every time I spent money, my heart trembled along with it.”

Rongrong ran over.

“Do either of you have any extra sugar coupons or cloth coupons? I’d like to exchange for some.”

“Tsk, tsk, tsk. Are you preparing your dowry?” Si Qiu teased with a smile. At the same time, she pulled out some sugar coupons, cloth coupons, and industrial-product coupons and handed them to her.

Rongrong shyly covered her face.

“Thank you, Chief! Thank you, Sister Hu!”

Just then, a young boy suddenly rushed into the police station.

“Excuse me, is there a Comrade Si Qiu here?”

Si Qiu stood up from her seat.

“That’s me. What happened?”

“Chen Ju from the grain-processing factory asked me to come here and find you.”

Before he could even finish speaking, Si Qiu immediately got up and headed outside.

“Come with me. Tell me what happened on the way.”

Pushing her bicycle along, Si Qiu watched as the quick-witted boy hopped onto the rear seat. She mounted the bicycle and immediately pedaled away.