Chapter 79
The door clicked shut behind her.
The Master went straight to the living room and sat down on the sofa. Li Qinyue slowly approached.
“Sit down,” the Master pointed at the sofa opposite her.
Li Qinyue didn’t sit. She said, “What is it, Master? Do I really have to be scared for you to tell me…?”
“Sit down,” the Master repeated.
“Tell me first.”
“Is this how you show your fear?” the Master looked at her, “If you don’t sit down, I’ll beat you until you do.”
Li Qinyue immediately plopped down on the sofa.
“Maybe you’ll listen to me if you’re afraid of me,” the Master said, “Take out your phone.”
Li Qinyue took out her phone.
“Send a message to your father.”
Li Qinyue was stunned, but she still opened her father’s chat window.
“Say…” the Master paused, “Happy New Year.”
Li Qinyue’s fingers hovered over the keyboard, waiting.
The Master looked at her, but didn’t say anything more.
“That’s it?” Li Qinyue frowned.
“Yes, that’s it,” the Master said, “Zhuo Zhi doesn’t have much family or many friends, so she can just focus on me during the New Year. You’re different, you have a big family. I understand you’re not going home this year because of the situation, but you’re not even sending a message?”
“There’s no need,” Li Qinyue said, resisting inwardly, quickly putting her phone away, “They’re busy celebrating, they won’t even see it.”
She stood up and pointed at the bathroom, “I’m going to the restroom, Master.”
The Master said, “Stop.”
Li Qinyue stopped, turning around with a smile, “Master, you can’t force this kind of thing…”
“Are you planning to never bring Zhuo Zhi home to meet your family?” the Master asked.
“Huh?” Li Qinyue was stunned. This topic was a bit too much.
The Master had just barely accepted their relationship, and now she was jumping straight to marriage?
Li Qinyue hadn’t thought that far ahead yet. After the last incident, she had decided that she wouldn’t bring Zhuo Zhi home again until she had resolved the conflict with her family.
And who knew how long that would take? Maybe a year, two years, three, four, five, six, seven, eight years…
Li Qinyue was lost in thought when the Master slapped the coffee table, “Is this what you call being serious?!”
The loud sound startled her. She quickly said, “No, no, you misunderstood, Master. The conflict with my family runs deep, I don’t want Zhuo Zhi to suffer because of it.”
“You have to face your problems!” the Master said, her voice sharp, “What good is avoiding them? Will they just disappear? Are you planning to work at a bar for the rest of your life, or let Zhuo Zhi support you as an auxiliary police officer?”
Li Qinyue paused, then, feeling a surge of annoyance, retorted, “I think this is fine.”
The Master stared at her, “You don’t want your luxurious life anymore? Your mansion, your sports car, your extravagant lifestyle?”
“I don’t want it anymore, I’m happier now,” Li Qinyue pouted.
“You…” the Master pointed at her, then after a long silence, seemed to sigh and said in a softer voice, “You’re just like your mother.”
Li Qinyue looked at her sharply, “You knew my mother?”
“I did,” the Master looked down and smiled faintly, “When your mother married your father, many people said she was after his money. Your father was quite proud, after his business failed, he took on all the debt himself and moved to this apartment. For months, your mother was the one supporting the family, but she was happy.”
Li Qinyue also smiled, “Yes, I remember she would always sing while doing laundry.”
The Master looked up at her, the corner of her lips twitching, “Your mother was capable of everything, you, heh.”
Li Qinyue sniffled, “Of course I can’t compare to her.”
The Master looked at her, silent.
Li Qinyue added, “Come to think of it, our roles are reversed. Zhuo Zhi is like my mother, and I’m like my father.”
“You hate your father so much, and you think you’re like him?”
“I am,” Li Qinyue shrugged, “Arrogant, stubborn, hot-tempered, won’t turn back until I hit a wall.”
“Your father built his later businesses from scratch.”
“I can too,” Li Qinyue looked at the Master, “I can start over after bankruptcy, but I have to be with Zhuo Zhi.”
The conversation had circled back to the same topic. The Master leaned back on the sofa, looking at her.
Li Qinyue said, “If you’re still in contact with my father, please talk to him for me. Our conflict isn’t something that can be resolved with a simple ‘Happy New Year’.”
“Stubborn,” the Master said.
“We both are,” Li Qinyue said with a smile, “We’re both stubborn.”
After finishing mediating the couple’s dispute, Zhuo Zhi went upstairs, feeling pleased with herself.
Li Qinyue opened the door for her. Zhuo Zhi practically jumped into her arms, “Sister, Sister, Master, Master, it’s different having authority, isn’t it?”
Li Qinyue patted her head, “How is it different?”
“Let me tell you…” Zhuo Zhi kicked off her shoes, put on her slippers, pulled Li Qinyue to the sofa beside the Master, and reenacted the scene with exaggerated gestures, “When I knocked on the door, that man looked so annoyed. He looked behind me, probably expecting to see you, Sister Qinyue. When he saw it was just me, he was so rude.”
“Heh!” Zhuo Zhi’s pout intensified, “He even yelled at me! So I showed him my ID, ‘Zhuo Zhi, officer from the White Birch Lane Police Station, we received a noise complaint!’”
“He said, ‘You said it was the Women’s Federation last time, and now it’s the police, who are you trying to fool?!’”
“I said, ‘Why don’t you call 110 and ask?’ He was dumbfounded, hahahahaha, he opened the door so quickly!”
Zhuo Zhi rambled on excitedly for a while.
Li Qinyue poured her a glass of water, telling her to soothe her throat, worried that she would lose her voice from all the excitement.
The Master looked at Zhuo Zhi without saying anything, but her expression was relaxed.
They chatted about it for a while. It was past eleven o’clock, the Spring Festival Gala was nearing its end, and the Master was getting sleepy.
She stood up and said, “I’m going to bed, you two can stay up if you want.”
Li Qinyue’s heart skipped a beat, a shiver running down her spine.
Zhuo Zhi, however, was still oblivious. She grabbed the Master’s arm, “Wait a little longer, there might be fireworks later.”
“It’s not like I’ve never seen fireworks before,” the Master yawned, “I’m so sleepy.”
Li Qinyue pulled Zhuo Zhi’s arm, “Let Master go to bed, she’s not used to staying up late.”
“Oh, okay, then sleep in tomorrow, Master, I’ll make breakfast,” Zhuo Zhi said.
“Hmm,” the Master responded, then stopped at the door of the master bedroom.
“Come here,” she beckoned to Zhuo Zhi.
Zhuo Zhi ran over, and the Master took out a red envelope from her pocket and placed it in her hand.
“Wow! Thank you, Master! Happy New Year!”
The Master ruffled her hair, then glanced at Li Qinyue.
Li Qinyue stood there, not moving. The Master frowned.
Zhuo Zhi called out to her, “Come here, Sister!”
Li Qinyue, as if just realizing, pointed at herself and hurried over, asking with a smile, “Do I get one too? I’m almost thirty, do I still get a red envelope?”
The Master glanced at her, rummaged in her pocket, and took out another red envelope.
Li Qinyue took the red envelope, speechless for a moment, then finally mumbled, “Happy New Year, Master.”
The Master turned and went into her room.
Li Qinyue stood there for a while, clutching the red envelope, lost in thought.
Zhuo Zhi dragged her towards the living room, “Come on, Sister, snap out of it.”
Li Qinyue lowered her voice and asked, “What do you think this means?”
“What do you mean?” Zhuo Zhi looked at her.
Li Qinyue held up the red envelope, “She even prepared a red envelope for me, does this mean she accepts me as her daughter? No, her disciple? No, her disciple’s wife?”
Zhuo Zhi chuckled, “You’re my wife, Sister?”
“What else would I be?” Li Qinyue laughed, “Am I your husband?”
“Being the wife is better,” Zhuo Zhi looked at the TV, “What should we do? It’s still half an hour until midnight.”
Li Qinyue looked at Zhuo Zhi, her face illuminated by the flickering TV screen, “Master has acknowledged me, what do you think we should do?”
Zhuo Zhi glanced at the master bedroom. The door was closed. She leaned in and kissed Li Qinyue’s chin.
“That’s not enough,” Li Qinyue pulled her towards the bedroom, “You don’t know how cold it is sleeping alone at night.”
“I turned on the heating and the electric blanket, it’s warm,” Zhuo Zhi protested.
Li Qinyue pulled her into the bedroom, closed the door, and pointed at her chest, “My heart is cold.”
“Then I’ll warm it up for you,” Zhuo Zhi said, grabbing Li Qinyue’s breast playfully.
“Damn,” Li Qinyue cursed softly.
Zhuo Zhi leaned closer to her lips and whispered, “The TV is still on, Sister.”
“That’s good,” Li Qinyue’s lips brushed against Zhuo Zhi’s, “It’ll cover up the noise.”
“What noise?” Zhuo Zhi put her arms around Li Qinyue’s neck, “It’s just a few kisses.”
“I’m a little excited,” Li Qinyue said, “A few kisses won’t be enough.”
“Then we’ll kiss more.”
“Hmm…” Li Qinyue, holding Zhuo Zhi, turned and threw her onto the bed.
The bed creaked loudly, and Zhuo Zhi froze, not daring to move.
Li Qinyue shook the bed frame a couple of times. When there were no more creaking sounds, she said with a smile, “It’s fine, I just used too much force.”
“Don’t…” Zhuo Zhi scooted back, “Don’t smile like that, Sister.”
“What’s wrong?” Li Qinyue leaned closer and kissed her nose, “Can’t I even smile now?”
“You look like a domineering CEO when you smile like that,” Zhuo Zhi chuckled, wrapping her arms around Li Qinyue’s waist, “It gives me goosebumps.”
“Am I that scary?” Li Qinyue frowned.
“No,” Zhuo Zhi kissed her, “Exhilarating.”
The word perfectly described the feeling. They had eaten a lot of sweets tonight, and the kisses were sweet and soft, intoxicating.
Li Qinyue kissed Zhuo Zhi, her hands restlessly exploring her waist.
Zhuo Zhi, ticklish, giggled and tried to dodge, but ended up snuggling closer to Li Qinyue.
The clothes were in the way. Li Qinyue sat up and started taking them off, “When the clock strikes midnight, you’ll officially be eighteen, right?”
Zhuo Zhi stared at her, her eyes following Li Qinyue’s hands as she undressed, “I’ve been officially eighteen for a while now.”
“Even by traditional counting, you’re of age now,” Li Qinyue raised an eyebrow, only her underwear left. “You’re an adult now, little girl.”
“Yes,” the little girl smiled.
“Here’s your coming-of-age present,” Li Qinyue took Zhuo Zhi’s hand and placed it on her back. “Tell me how it feels.”
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