QTIMP -Chapter 78 Character Persona – Lazy (Part 26)

“You kid look quite handsome—barely worthy of Si Qiu. But you can’t let your personal desires affect Si Qiu’s future. Gender equality isn’t just a slogan. You can’t trap a talented woman at home to wash your clothes, cook your meals, and bear children for you.”

Although Lu Hongjun listened with a smile, the corners of his eyes kept shooting glances toward Si Qiu. Si Qiu pretended to be very interested in the benefits they had received and didn’t return a single look.

After listening to the lecture, Lu Hongjun smiled and said, “Tomorrow is a holiday. How about coming to my place to celebrate? I’ll show off my cooking skills and let you taste my dishes.”

Elder Yu quickly refused. “No, no, that would only trouble you two.”

“Then do you have a day off? If so, I’ll cook tomorrow and bring the food over. We received quite a lot of benefits this time—you must at least try some.”

Lu Hongjun was sincerely inviting him, so Elder Yu didn’t refuse again.

He picked up the supplies and left. Si Qiu followed closely behind him step by step, secretly waving goodbye in a sneaky manner.

It made the old man chuckle again.

After the two of them got into the jeep, Si Qiu began chattering excitedly.

“Brother Lu, look! This is the kingdom I’ve conquered for you!” A pile of goods was stacked on the back seat.

Lu Hongjun drove while playing along with her. “You’re this excited?”

“Of course! It’s the first time I’ve received distributed benefits—free stuff!” Actually, their Supply and Marketing Cooperative also gave out benefits, but she had only worked there for a short time and hadn’t received any yet.

Chatting along the way, they soon arrived home. Seeing that he didn’t try to settle accounts with her, Si Qiu gradually relaxed.

“There’s another surprise at home!”

“What is it?”

“Your Supply and Marketing Cooperative also issued benefits. And today there were a lot of goods available there. With a military officer’s ID, you could buy them, so I bought everything and brought it back.”

“Really? That’s quite a surprise. Having the house stocked with supplies always makes you feel full of security. But with this weather, will the food keep?”

“You’ll see when we get home.”

After entering the house, Si Qiu immediately spotted the avocado-green refrigerator leaning against the kitchen wall.

“Wow! Did you buy it today?”

“Yeah. I didn’t have much to do, and when I thought about how many things we had, I went to get one.”

Si Qiu opened the door and saw that it had already started cooling. Suddenly remembering something, she quickly shut the door and leaned against the refrigerator, staring at Lu Hongjun.

“Let me tell you—if anyone says they want to freeze their stuff in our refrigerator, you tell them there’s no space. You’re not allowed to take on that kind of job, got it?”

Lu Hongjun moved slightly, then laughed.

Si Qiu narrowed her eyes. “Don’t tell me you already—”

“No, no, absolutely not. When we were unloading the truck someone did mention it. I told them that if anyone wanted to store something inside, they’d have to pay a management fee—and if anything was lost or damaged, we wouldn’t be responsible.”

Si Qiu looked at him skeptically. She didn’t believe those people would give up so easily.

A pair of large hands covered her face.

“You don’t need to worry about that. Go wash up. I’m waiting to cook something delicious for you.”

Not having to worry or work was the best thing possible. Si Qiu immediately pulled his hands down, threw herself at him, hugged him, and kissed him.

“Brother Lu, why are you so good to me? Mwah! I love you, love you.”

Since he didn’t have to work, naturally his mouth had to be a little sweeter. And sure enough, the one doing the work seemed to have more energy.

The two of them hummed songs—one cooked while the other went to wash up. After eating their fill and preparing everything needed for the next day, Lu Hongjun finished his shower and entered the bedroom.

Si Qiu quickly closed the book and placed it by the bedside. It wasn’t that she really wanted to read, but this translation job had forced her to pick up books again.

As soon as Lu Hongjun came in, Si Qiu noticed something was off. Normally, he would come in wearing a vest and loose shorts. But this time, after his shower, he had changed into military trousers and a shirt.

The shirt was only buttoned once below the chest, slightly open to reveal darker-toned skin. Whether it was sweat or water droplets, crystal-like beads dotted the surface.

When he took off his clothes, he didn’t do it properly either. Even though the top wasn’t buttoned, he still slid his finger slowly down from his Adam’s apple.

It created the visual of a striptease. The man even struck poses—those sharply defined abs, his full chest muscles, the beautifully shaped biceps…

Si Qiu swallowed and suddenly shut her eyes. “We still have work tomorrow!”

“Don’t worry, I’ll send you to work on time,” he said, revealing his V-line.

Si Qiu gritted her teeth. “That still won’t do. I don’t accept overtime.”

The man sighed, his shirt falling away. “Ah, this isn’t a negotiation. This is punishment.”

“You’re being unreasonable! I didn’t offend you—what punishment?” Si Qiu covered her nose and chin with the blanket, but her eyes couldn’t help drifting over there.

“Why? Because my reputation was harmed by you.” The next moment, she was suddenly pressed beneath him.

His lips came close to her ear as he whispered, “I didn’t expose you back then, remember? I even covered for you. I’m sure there will be more times like that in the future. You wouldn’t want this to be a one-time deal, right?”

Outside, the moon was full. With the slightly cool sea breeze, the night felt even more comfortable than the daytime.

But the fragmented conversation drifting through the room made the temperature rise.

“Can we negotiate? Or maybe pay in installments?”

“I’ll accept installment payments, but no more than two. And today you have to pay the down payment.”

“You’re sounding a bit like a capitalist.”

“No, no. On the contrary, this is called mutual benefit. So? Wife, feeling uncomfortable?”

“I think you’re the one feeling more comfortable.”

“Then let’s change the—after all, you’re always talking about emotional value. Since you’ve provided the emotions, I have to make sure you get some value too.”

The materials were too important, so they didn’t get any days off and continued translating. At noon, however, Lu Hongjun kept his promise and brought them lunch.

Elder Yu sighed while eating the braised chicken with mushrooms. “That old Wang and old Lu did a decent job with their education. That fellow can barely be considered worthy of you.”

Then he changed the subject. “From what I see, you don’t really have any worries holding you back, and I believe the elders in your family support you as well. So why not develop further upward?”

“No, no, no. Elder Yu, we’ve gotten along well during this time and our relationship is pretty harmonious—please don’t harm me. I already feel like my workload has exceeded the limit. If there’s any more, I might just drop dead from overwork.”

Elder Yu couldn’t help glaring at her. “You’re completely wasting your talent. Such wonderful youth, yet you’re so lazy.”

After working for another two days, they finally finished translating the thick stack of materials. Just from translation fees alone, Si Qiu was paid 1,650 yuan, along with some ration coupons.

Watching Si Qiu count the money, Elder Yu continued persuading her from the side.

“Well? Not bad, right? If you take on other translation work, it’ll be paid at the same rate. Think about it—half a month of work for you almost equals what your husband earns in a whole year!”