Chapter 128 of Volume 1: Settling Accounts with Him

  Qin Luoshui gazed at Ye Feng in a daze, holding out the flowers in his hand towards her face:

  "Slender - all these years, I've been working hard to make money, step by step accumulating wealth and fame. I've waited for you for ten years, during which time I was desperate yet held onto hope because occasional contacts let me know that you were still single. One after another, women who liked me drew near, but I didn't dare give them my heart, because I was indulging in the fantasy that one day you would appear. If you need it, I can still offer you a marriage and a home."

  "Now I'm standing in front of so many people, proposing to you. I've kept my promise, but does your promise from back then still count?"

  "What a sentimental man!"

  "Life is indeed more wonderful than TV and movies!"

  "Will she agree with him?"

  "There is such a man who loves, any woman should feel that she can have a comforting reliance for the rest of her life."

  ……

  Some people were holding their phones to record, some had moist eyes, and it turned out that the truth was actually like this. The sentimental woman who everyone sympathized with was actually the most ruthless and cold-blooded; while the heartless man whom women despised and hated was surprisingly so handsome and charming, and yet so sentimental.

  Ye Feng looked at the atmosphere in the hall getting more and more uncomfortable, how could she possibly agree to Qin Luoshui? Moreover, wasn't all of this something he had fabricated? And once she agreed, what kind of absurd thing would that be?!

  She has only old friend feelings for him, without any hint of romance or love between men and women.

  Everyone immediately shouted in unison:

  "Don't be deceived by him, he is the boss of Qin's New Entertainment Hotel, notorious for his lavish spending. If you ask around in celebrity circles, you'll know what kind of person he really is."

  "It turns out that he is actually a newly risen noble in B city, and I've heard of that new entertainment hotel, where consumption is hard to get!"

  "Really? No way?"

  "You yourself didn't give a clear answer to the other person's promise of ten years, yet you still expect them to wait for you with vague affection and persistence all these years, and you even hope they remain chaste for you?"

  "What's so special about this woman? She's just a clothes rack that everyone fawns over, what makes her think she can treat men like dirt and get away with it?"

  Surrounding astonished discussions rose and fell in waves.

  Qin Luoshui held the bouquet with a more devout posture, he lifted his windbreaker with one hand, knelt on one knee, and looked up at Ye Feng:

  "I had no idea you were bothered by these things, I never took the initiative to approach those women, they all came to me on their own, many of them are clients like you this time."

  Even if I walk a little closer, they are all infatuated with the five colors for a while. What do they want from me? I satisfy them what, because I don't know you have expectations of me;

  If you have an acquaintance with a famous woman who also has some dealings with me, you can ask if I've ever taken the initiative to pursue any women.

  Yefeng, I solemnly swear to all my relatives and friends here that if you accept my proposal, from today on, till old age, even till death, I will guard my body like jade for you.

  Give you a luxurious wedding you've always yearned for, give you everything I can give, including a warm home.

  From now on, you have me by your side, you can rely on me, no need to rush around and be tired, no need to live by looking at others' faces.

  Qin Luoshui finished speaking with a sincere and eager expression, his eyes filled with genuine emotion as he gazed at her intently. He took a half-kneeling step forward, holding out the flowers in his hand to present them to her face.

  Ye Feng lowered her head and gazed at him, her eyes suddenly colliding with Qin Luoshui's profound and icy gaze, what a kind of intense and scorching passion it was!

  If she didn't understand Qin Luoshui's character and his relationship with Song Shuyu, she would have been moved by his infatuation. However, she clearly knew that this was obviously a trap set up by these two men for her to fall into. If she agreed, she would become a joke. When Qin Luoshui faced the media, it would become a fact, and she would become a laughing stock who couldn't even understand the object of a ten-year promise - a gold-digger, a power-seeker!

  It was too ruthless and poisonous, she couldn't have imagined that Song Shuyu would treat her like this.

  Even when she was seeing him off at the beginning, she jokingly mentioned a ten-year appointment to him. At that time, he smiled and said she was talking nonsense. He shouldn't have joined forces with Qin Luoshui to set her up like this, ruining her reputation!

  At this moment, she realized that Song Shuyu was as ruthless as the rumors said. He used his women without mercy, and now it was her turn after Zhao Yanran had been sent to Russia. She thought she would be different, but who knew it was the same tragedy.

  Ye Feng didn't want to lose so thoroughly, because if she dared to leave with a flourish, what awaited her would be complete ruin, both in terms of her career and personal reputation.

  She pursed her lips and smiled, bowing her head. If she didn't want to become a laughing stock, and this time the hype was meant to give the public an explanation, it seemed like she had no choice but to follow their train of thought.

  She gazed at Qin Luoshui with a lonely and proud expression.

  "Luoshui, facing such an excellent and devoted man like you, if I don't fall in love, I'm not a woman. Alright, I accept your proposal, and please keep your promise from now on!"

  Qin Luoshui's eyes sparkled with intense light, almost scorching Ye Feng's eyes: "Fengfeng, thank you for giving me the opportunity to take care of you. I will let you see my sincerity."

  Ye Qian glanced at the bouquet in her hand, then turned to see Song Shuyu standing beside her, leaning on his sturdy arm was a young woman with such an immature look, what made her qualified to stand by his side?

  She felt that her grievances were so overwhelming that she could hardly control her tears.

  But this is the only chance for her to admit her mistake and make amends with Song Shuyu. If she misses it, what awaits her outside after crossing this hurdle, she cannot imagine, but she dare not take the risk, compared to Zhao Yanran, she even lacks that years of working together as colleagues sentiment.

  She stepped closer and closer to Song Shuyu, the flowers in her hand still retaining his body temperature, making her extremely infatuated with him.

  She puckered her lips, smiled, and her bright eyes were filled with joy. She slowly handed over the flowers in her hand: "Shu Yu Gege, look at the flowers Luo Shui sent me, I can no longer hold them. Please take this flower back, can you bless me?"

  Song Shuwei took the flower and smiled as he nodded: "Luoshui likes you, he's my good friend. If you accept him, please treat him well, I wish you both happiness!"

  "Thank you!" Ye Feng slowly shifted his gaze away from his face, and the tears on his eyelashes had already quietly fallen.

  She turned around again, and the traces of tears could no longer be seen. She gazed at Qin Luoshui who was still kneeling alone, walked step by step to his front, bent down to take over the bouquet he held in his hands, and freed one hand to pull him up.

  "Luoshui, thank you for loving me." She whispered, the choking in her voice and the grievance in her eyes made Qin Luoshui unable to remain unmoved.

  Everyone in the hall was at a loss for words, this was too dramatic. However, it's a joyous occasion that everyone welcomes, and immediately, Song Shuyu led the way with a smile and applause, and the applause in the hall gradually began to rise, becoming more and more enthusiastic.

  Qin Luoshui smiled and bowed to the people around him, thanking them, then pulled Ye Feng's hand, one hand naturally wrapping around her waist from behind:

  "Let's go, we haven't yet wished Old Longevity a happy birthday. When he sees the two of us together, I don't know how happy he'll be."

  "Mm." Ye Feng didn't say another word, she lowered her eyebrows and obediently allowed Qin Luoshui to wrap his arm around her waist, walking step by step towards the entrance of the grand hall.

  "Shu Yu, what does this girlfriend of yours do for work? She looks quite delicate." The relatives then began to shift their gaze towards Sang Hong.

  Xiang Hong smiled mischievously and looked at Song Shu Yu, who was smiling and nodding at her to speak up, making her feel a bit awkward.

  She took a deep breath, then let go of Song Shuyu's arm and walked two steps forward, clicking her heels together and giving a standard military salute.

  "Special soldier Sang Hong, greetings to all sisters and elders!"

  The people around him suddenly gasped in shock, it was actually a special forces soldier!

  It's said that the number of female special forces is very small, and suddenly the women around them thought of those refreshing and invincible special forces on TV.

  Then they all laughed and praised each other.

  Song Yanru almost fainted when she heard this, and she whispered to Zhang Yunping in a low voice:

  "You actually married a special forces soldier as your daughter-in-law, and you're still watching me fight with her. Are you intentionally making fun of me?"

  "She didn't even notice your behavior, and you still want me to introduce her? That kid is smart enough to have her own judgment." Zhang Yunping let out a long sigh as the whole scene dissipated into nothingness.

  "This Ye Feng kid is really something, how could she deceive me and use me as a gun? Forget it, I'll settle the score with her when I get back."

  Song Yanru felt that her face couldn't hold on and she had no choice but to find an excuse to step down.

  "Alright, it's getting late, let's all head to the banquet area." Zhang Yunping said as she beckoned her and the surrounding friends to follow her.

  Xiang Hong turned back with a pleased expression, smiled at Song Shu Yu and whispered:

  "I see you, a big man like you, holding such a large bouquet of flowers, no matter how I look at it, it just doesn't seem right."

  "I - I wasn't really going to give it to her, a girl, how after several years of not seeing each other, she has become so greedy and materialistic, it's really got me at a loss for words;"

  "Hehe, thanks wife, for covering up for me."

  "Saving your face! Are you just going to thank me with empty words?" Sang Hong's eyes stared straight at the flowers in his arms.

  Song Shuyu followed her gaze and looked at the flowers in his arms with infinite regret:

  "Wife, you tell me how to thank, I will thank in that way"

  But to be honest, I bought this flower to give it to you. It's really strange, every time I want to propose to you, something happens. I was planning to take advantage of the crowd and propose to you, but who knew such a thing would happen.

  "When she went to receive your flowers, why didn't you explain?" Xiang Hong said with disdain.

  "I—I—I wanted to explain, but on the one hand she appeared too abruptly, and on the other hand she had already spoken out, I couldn't let a girl's face be lost to the ground."

  Song Shuyu pretended to be frightened and explained.

  Xiang Hong smiled and praised: "Wow, you're really considerate!"

  You're worried about others losing face, but why don't you worry about me losing face? In front of everyone, I have to watch you and her being affectionate.

  Song Shuwei hastily interrupted her and said, "The most crucial reason, let me finish speaking before you decide my punishment, okay? Her hand has already reached out to take the flower, if I don't let go, she will... she will... grab my hand together with it, are you willing?"

  Xiang Hong was speechless and looked up at the sky. She then let out a sigh and said: "It's pointless to argue with someone like you, it's infuriating!"

  "What a great opportunity, but it was snatched away by an outsider, it's really frustrating to death."

  "Or I'll order a bunch right away and have them delivered to you?" Song Shuyu tried to appease her.

  "You wooden head, aren't you holding onto something ready-made in your arms? Why make me wait!" Sang Hong was furious.

  "Is... isn't this what she's been holding onto?" Song Shuyu felt a bit awkward, worried that giving it to her would make her dislike him.

  "What? She's hugged you before, so you're reluctant to let go and hold her tightly in your arms?" Xiang Hong was so angry that she was stunned. How could this man be so stupid? She finally understood why Qin Luoshui called him a wooden head, indeed he was a stupid wooden head.

  Song Shuyu's heart skipped a beat, and she almost shouted "injustice" as she hastily retreated, throwing the flowers in her arms to the ground. How could the conversation turn into this situation?

  How could he possibly have such thoughts?

  Xiang Hong took one look at his nearly shocked expression, raised her hand and scooped up the flower, which she caught steadily. She held the flower against Song Shu Yu's wide-eyed and tongue-tied face, pouting her small mouth and saying in a wronged tone:

  "You - you even don't want to give me the flowers when they're already fallen!"

  Song Shuwei was about to be driven mad by this girl's false accusations, he looked around at the familiar faces leaving the hall one after another and hastily said in a low voice:

  "Little auntie, I know you're wronged, I was wrong, I was wrong, don't be angry, okay? Let's go home and I'll accept whatever punishment you want."

  "This is what you said, no taking it back!"

  Forget it, this time is enough, no matter how hard they try, those two show-off dogs will never be better than us.

  "I'm assigning you a task, take some time to prepare a more romantic proposal speech than Qin Luo's, and then find an opportunity to make it up to me later!"

  Shang Hong's words were loud and clear.

  Song Shuwei was taken aback: "Proposing is supposed to be sincere, how can you——"

  "What's wrong?" A woman's voice was somewhat displeased.

  "It's nothing, it's fine. Didn't I already give you this flower today? Just calm down and don't bother with me anymore."

  "What did you give me? I picked this up quickly with my quick eyes and hands, how can you be so shameless?"

  Song Shuwei's face turned red as he muttered under his breath, "It wasn't me who bought it back, how could you possibly pick one up? Pick another bunch and bring it to me."

  "What did you say? If you say it again, I'll throw this flower directly into the trash can." The woman threatened.

  "I say you're holding flowers, with a face as red as peach blossoms, looking extremely beautiful." said the flattering man.

  "Is this a peach blossom? Although I've never seen this kind of flower, I have seen peach blossoms before. Who are you trying to fool? What is the name of this flower anyway? Why did you buy this kind of flower and give it to me?"

  Xiang Hong was clearly being provocative, she was bullied by her aunt today, laughed at by everyone, intentionally or unintentionally neglected by his mother, and almost had her husband snatched away by Ye Xian - ahh, now everything is over, but what about her emotional trash?

  Had no choice but to put the bill on his account.

  "Flamingo Flower."

  "What's this? Is it a bird or a flower?" Xiang Hong exclaimed, reaching out to touch the thick and fleshy petals. It was undeniable that they looked great, but what really caught her attention was that she had never seen such a large bouquet before.

  "It was transplanted from the tropical regions of the Americas, and due to climate issues, it is difficult to keep alive. Its shape resembles that of a flamingo, hence its name. The flowering period is very long, so if you bring some home and put them in a vase, they will still be vibrant even after a month."

  Song Shuyu introduced it very professionally.

  Xiang Hong glanced at him sideways, he saw that his eyes were quite off, and immediately stretched out his hand to surrender: "Aiya---Hong Hong, I bought this flower because it's rarely seen in the flower shop, its flowering period is long, I thought it could be kept for a longer time, so you can see it and be happy;

  Besides, I ran to several flower shops before getting a bouquet of this size.

  "Alright, I'll give you credit for being sincere." Xiang Hong felt that continuing to torment him wasn't her style after hearing his timely explanation, and her heart had already softened. "Is it expensive?"

  Song Shuwei let out a sigh of relief and nodded.

  Fortunately, she didn't grab onto Ye Feng's nonsense about her favorite flower again. This woman is so annoying and makes people's heads ache with the things she says, it's like she's trying to pick a fight.

  "In the future, often send me flowers, let people like you acknowledge your worth, I estimate it's really expensive, I love this flamingo flower, in the future don't need to send too many, one at a time is enough"

  "It's been so long since you swept me off my feet and took me away, not a single flower has been sent to me again. Don't think that just because you've caught me, you can start neglecting me."

  Xiang Hong whispered a warning to him, but her face wore a smile, as if she were a little lover speaking sweet nothings.

  Song Shuwei naturally nodded repeatedly.

  "Let's go see Grandpa together, I haven't had a chance to wish him a happy birthday yet." Song Shuyu lifted his arm and Sang Hong cleverly reached out to hold it.

  "I've already given Grandfather the longevity gift, he liked it very much. He said he has something to ask you, probably about the story of that inkstone. I hope we didn't buy a fake one?" Sanhong was somewhat anxious.

  "Don't worry, he just thinks that this kind of thing is hard to come by and needs me to confirm it again." Song Shuyu gestured calmly to reassure her.

  When they arrived, they saw that the old people in the large living room had all withdrawn and obviously gone to the longevity banquet area. Only Song Da You was sitting upright on the large sofa in the middle, with a long-gowned accountant sitting at a table behind him on the left side. The drawers of the table in front of him were apparently all sealed red envelopes.

  At this moment, he is handing out a red envelope to a family with children. The child is shouting "thank you grandpa" in a crisp voice, holding up the red envelope and shaking it. The red envelope is probably made of high-quality brocade, with a bright and shiny longevity character on a red background, making people feel very festive.

  The three of them left, followed by a line of younger generations who came to pay their respects and wish Song Dàyòu a happy birthday.

  They are usually accompanied by children who kneel on a thick cushion in front of them, knock their heads, and the accompanying adults say a few words of congratulations.

  There were several other couples in the hall like Song Shuyu and Sang Hong.

  Qin Luoshui was standing behind those people with Ye Xian, waiting for their turn.

  Xiang Hong whispered close to Song Shu Yu's ear: "You're actually giving out red envelopes? How much money will be inside? It looks so tempting!"

  "There will be, in a while, the red envelope that belongs to both of us, I'll let you have it all." Song Shuyu looked at her adorable little face and couldn't help but smile, readily fulfilling her wish.

  "Hehe, I'm so excited! This is the first time I've received a red envelope from an elderly person of my grandfather's generation."

  Xiang Hong was so excited that she jumped up and down a little.

  Song Shu waved his hand and signaled her to look.

  Xiang Hong turned her head and saw Qin Luoshui and Ye Xian take a step forward together, bowing in unison:

  "Junior Ye Xian and Junior Qin Luoshui wish you a long and healthy life, prosperity and peace."

  After bowing, Qin Luoshui stood up and winked at Song Dahai: "Grandpa, don't you remember me?"

  Song Dai had an uncontrollable smile on his face: "Qin Haitao's little grandson - Qin Luoshui, I'm not mistaken, am I?"

  Qin Luoshui laughed, filling the room with warmth: "Grandpa has a good memory. After my grandfather passed away, my parents moved all their business to A City. It's been so many years and you've rarely gone out, I thought you must have forgotten."

  "How could I not remember you, this mischievous little boy, with a face as delicate as jade? To this day, I have never seen a more charming young man than you. Ah, right, you probably won't remember, it was probably when you were five years old, and you came to my old house to play with your grandfather."

  Look at the orchid on the table, taking advantage of the adults' inattention, I secretly poured my freshly brewed hot tea into the flower pot; and said with a smile "Grandpa, I'm helping you water the flowers."

  Haha, at that time, I was so heartbroken that I couldn't help but watch as the flower was scorched to death.

  Song Dàyì obviously remembered that past event and laughed heartily.

  Qin Luoshui smiled and said, "Now I have to thank that cup of hot tea. If it weren't for the tea and the orchid who drank tea with me, how could I, Luoshui, possibly leave such a vivid impression in your memory?"

  "Knowing grandpa likes drinking tea, today his grandson brought some tea leaves to pay respects to you."

  Qin Luoshui took out a beautifully packaged small box made of original bamboo from the pocket of his windbreaker and presented it with great respect.

  The whole hall was stunned. They gave tea leaves as a congratulatory gift, and it was such a small box. After removing the packaging, how much would be left?

  Can you handle this too?

  Ye Feng felt his face turn slightly red, this guy's worth was so high, how could he choose such a cheap gift?

  Tea leaves, what kind of tea can be worth so much? Nowadays people judge a person's sincerity by the weight and gold content of their gifts. He's really something, bringing just that little bit of tea!

  Ye Feng looked at him standing tall and proud, full of spirit and vigor, and couldn't help but feel a little ashamed for this man.

  Song Dàyǒu also knew the identity of the Qin family, and he knew that the tea leaves Qin Luoshui had brought were definitely a rare commodity. He immediately instructed his subordinates to take it seriously, opened it, stretched out his hand to receive it, narrowed his eyes to take a look, and put it under his nose to sniff.

  A wisp of fragrance like orchids and a subtlety like bamboo - it intoxicates him utterly.

  After a long time, Song Da You slowly opened his eyes and asked him:

  "What kind of tea is this? I've never had it before, but just smelling it makes my mouth water. Go ahead and brew a cup for me now."

  Song Dahai's face was a surprise that couldn't be concealed, carefully handing over the tea leaves to the person behind him.