How I Tamed My Wolfish Husband Back in 80s-Chapter 193 - 195: Delivering Books_1

Old Mr. Xue, having calmed down a bit from his rage-induced myocardial infarction, said, "Are you out of your mind? When did the girl ever mention you? You assume it’s about you, look down on Jin, and even push people around. How can you be so unreasonable? Third son, go check on her."

After hesitating, Xue Lingqing took strides forward. It was Saturday afternoon, and no one was working, so the courtyard was bustling with people. He called out for Li Qiao, worried that it might spark idle gossip.

He followed silently.

She ran fast, and by the time he chased out to the main courtyard, she had already darted into an alley. When he arrived at the entrance of the alley, she had entered a yard.

What should he say when he visits her?

He turned around and went back.

From a distance, he saw neighbors gathered at the doorstep, chuckling and cautioning the old couple to take it easy.

Without a doubt, it must have been Old Mr. and Mrs. Xue having a fight.

When he entered, the old couple were at it, one brandishing a broom, the other wielding a walking stick.

He sent the neighbors away and closed the door, then, risking being hit himself, snatched the broom from Jiang Wanqiu’s hand and tossed it aside, "Are you unsatisfied with Li Qiao, or is it her in-laws you’re dissatisfied with?"

His mother was petty and envious.

It was almost certain that she had a feud with Old Mrs. Qin.

Because every year when they went to the South for ancestor worship, passing by the Qin family estate, she would always whisper behind his father’s back to the younger generation about how the Qin family had committed misdeeds in the past, how now the dead were dead, the gone were gone, and how the grand estate had been occupied by the locals, claiming it was deserved retribution.

But now, discovering that the other family was living well, initially, she might have wanted to flaunt her sense of superiority.

Who would have expected that their grandson had married a girl who was superior and more outstanding than Sufen in every aspect?

So she became mentally unbalanced, and with Li Qiao’s visit, found someone to vent her frustration on.

She had vented her anger.

How was he to face Li Qiao in the future?

Xue Sufen followed, anxious, "Madam Xue, won’t Old Mrs. Qin come looking for a reckoning later?" She had complained about Li Qiao, but it was the grandson whom Old Mrs. Qin scolded.

Not many people could do that.

Just take Madam Xue, for instance. If her parents argued, in her eyes, it must be her mother’s fault.

Her father could do no wrong.

But Old Mrs. Qin was different, you could tell how dearly she doted.

Now that Li Qiao had been wronged, wouldn’t Old Mrs. Qin come knocking on their door?

Jiang Wanqiu retorted pridefully, "Let her come, as if I’m afraid of her."

"So unreasonable!" Xue Lingqing went upstairs to pack a couple sets of clothes, took the paper and research materials from the table, and left.

Xue Sufen said, "Uncle, wait for me." Better to go back to the dormitory to avoid getting mixed up if her grandparents fought again.

.....

Only the old couple remained in the room, each finding the other disagreeable.

After a moment, Old Mr. Xue went upstairs to Xue Sufen’s room.

He still had to check on Qiaoqiao and not let her and Xiangjun have a bad impression of their family.

He riffled through Xue Sufen’s bookshelf. Not being highly literate, he couldn’t tell which books were interesting.

But the older ones, the kids surely liked them.

Sufen and Qiaoqiao were about the same age and their interests probably weren’t much different.

He took note of the book titles.

He then entered Xue Lingqing’s room, rummaged through his belongings, and found a stack of book tickets mixed with grain and meat tickets.

The cheeky kid sure knew how to save.

He had been poor in his youth and later enlisted in the army, Jin’s grandparents had taken good care of his family.

Now that their only grandson had come to Beijing, he had to look after him.

He stuffed all the tickets into his pocket.

He found a neighbor and gave them the booklist, asking them to go to the bookstore to buy books.

The neighbor immediately agreed.

Old Mr. Xue waited for more than half an hour; when the neighbor came with the books, he thanked them and carried them to the Qin family’s home.

After eating, Li Qiao prepared to walk the dog, and coming to the entrance of the alley, he was astonished to see Sir Xue: "Sir Xue, what brings you here?"

Sir Xue was quite uneasy: "Madam Xue is being unreasonable, there’s no need for you to take her seriously."

Li Qiao laughed heartily: "I didn’t mind at all, I just ran because it was too awkward earlier."

Sir Xue laughed as well, this kid was magnanimous, not like Sufen, petty and narrow-minded. "I bought some books for you, and here are some grain and meat tickets for you to take."

Li Qiao refused to accept: "We’ve just harvested the grain back home, and after contributing a portion, we still have plenty left, all converted into grain tickets, so we’re quite stocked with food, and we also have meat tickets."

The elder and the younger pushed each other’s hands back and forth.

In the end, Sir Xue said, "At least accept the books, right? It wouldn’t be nice to return them after buying."

Li Qiao: "For Sufen to read."

"I copied the titles from her room, just take them," Sir Xue insisted.

Seeing Sir Xue’s genuine gesture, Li Qiao decided to accept and took the net bag, saying, "Thank you, Sir Xue."

"Don’t mention it. Does Jin have a formal job? I can arrange one for him," Sir Xue suggested.

"There’s no need, Sir Xue, Jin has things to do back home," Li Qiao hurriedly refused.

Sir Xue inquired with concern, "What is he doing? How will he continue to do it when he comes here?"

Li Qiao felt somewhat embarrassed, as she didn’t want to disclose that Qin Jin sold seeds and fertilizers. "It’s a long story, Sir Xue. Why don’t you come and sit at my house?"

Sir Xue didn’t ask further, guessing that it was either about collecting antiques or some other speculative venture.

The Qin family was particularly skilled in this area, especially in identifying antiques, recognizing the era of items at a glance.

He smiled: "It’s getting late, I’ll visit another time."

"..."

.....

After parting with Old Mr. Qin, Li Qiao carried the books home, and Qin Jin asked, "Weren’t you going to walk the dog?"

"Sir Xue gave me some books." Li Qiao placed them on the table, the Four Great Classical Novels, Records of the Grand Historian, Book of Han, and Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

Sufen had quite the taste for books.

After arranging the books, she took the dog out, only returning home after it had gotten completely dark.

As she was preparing for the sports festival, she got up early the next day, drank a cup of water, and ran all the way to the school.

While running the second lap around the playground, Qin Jin arrived, holding a badminton racket: "Want to play a game?"

Li Qiao: "Sure!" It would be perfect timing for breakfast after playing.

Xue Lingqing also came to run and after one lap, he noticed Li Qiao, who was playing badminton with the young man he’d seen the day before.

They had a good back-and-forth rally, and the young man actually lost in the end.

As Qin Jin was picking up the shuttlecock, he noticed Xue Lingqing staring in their direction. His gaze shifted to Li Qiao: "Qiaoqiao, there’s a hoodlum over there who keeps looking at you."

Li Qiao turned her head and met Xue Lingqing’s eyes, letting out a chuckle: "What hoodlum? He’s a teacher in our class, Sir Xue’s son who visited yesterday. He’s probably puzzled, thinking ’Doesn’t she have a boyfriend? Why is she playing badminton with another man?’ I’d better go explain, we cannot have Professor Xue misunderstanding the nature of my relationships with men."

She jogged over.

Qin Jin followed.

"Good morning, Professor Xue, you’re here for a run, too. This is my boyfriend, Qin Jin, ’jin’ as in ’prudence’ and ’caution.’"

"Good morning, Professor Xue." Qin Jin greeted in turn, then pulled out a cigarette: "Want one?"

Xue Lingqing’s gaze was gentle yet probing; up close, the young man had even more striking features, and his eyes showed a seasoned resoluteness that he had only seen on his father’s face before, a shrewdness honed from years of dealing with people, unexpectedly present in such an exuberant youth.

He clenched his fist discreetly: "Thanks, but I don’t smoke. I noticed you’re quite good at badminton. Care for a match?"