Rebirth: A Cinderella's Counterattack-Chapter 586 - 566: The Stance of the Luo Family (Part 7)
"Grandpa Kong?" Qianqian exclaimed in surprise.
Wasn’t the person below none other than Old Master Kong Jimo?
"Good child," Kong Jimo said with a smile on his face as he looked at Old Master Luo, "See, the child has admitted it. Why won’t you compromise quickly?"
Old Master Luo was helpless, "You old coot!" Then, he turned to the young man standing behind Kong Jimo who was wearing the same color scheme as Qianqian and sighed, continuing, "Ah Cheng, come up too."
Kong Jimo chuckled happily, his ten years abroad didn’t give him ten days as happy as this one.
The young man walked onto the stage, slightly smiled at Qianqian next to him, and extended his hand, "Hello, I am Jimo Cheng." Qianqian instinctively shook Jimo Cheng’s hand.
Qianqian hadn’t had time to react when she heard Old Master Luo say, "I’ll trouble everyone to look after these two youngsters in the future."
Old Master Jimo also burst into laughter, "In the future, I’ll trouble everyone to care for my little grandson and his wife."
"Huh???" It was only then that Qianqian’s eyes widened as she felt something was amiss. So, this young man was the one she was engaged to, as rumored?
So that wasn’t just a joke??? It was actually true?
Qianqian sought help with her gaze toward Old Master Luo, only to see him nod his head, and she was instantly dumbfounded.
Yanran indeed suddenly understood her father’s meaning that night; was it a casual promise made by Grandfather?
Qin Nuan and Cong Rong were both incredulous. How could Qianqian suddenly have a fiancé? And the look on Qianqian’s face clearly told them that she had no prior knowledge of this.
Qianqian was stunned for a moment, but then her expression returned to normal. She understood that most of the people here were Grandfather’s comrades, Second Uncle’s business partners, and the Luo Family’s reputation couldn’t be lost here. She reached out to link her arm with Jimo Cheng’s and, with dignity and grace, they both stepped down, leaving the stage to Old Master Luo.
Upon seeing Qianqian’s reaction, Old Master Luo also felt a pang of distress. He had thought that if Qianqian refused here, he would rather sacrifice his old face than let this matter go on. But just as Yanran had predicted, Qianqian wouldn’t let the Luo Family lose face over her.
"So you’ve accepted it?" Jimo Cheng asked the girl who was holding onto his arm, his face still a bit blank. He pursed his lips; Grandfather had told him that this girl was completely unaware of this beforehand. If she had refused on stage, it would imply that the engagement was null and void, "Have you accepted me as your fiancé?"
Qianqian looked at the smiling young man in front of her, as dazzling as the morning sun, "Did you know about this before me?"
"I knew right after I was born," Jimo Cheng smiled. He just didn’t know when it would happen. If she had never shown up, it would’ve been null anyway. What could he do when all his older brothers were involved in early romances? Grandfather had no choice but to hold onto him.
"And you don’t resist?" Qianqian was puzzled. In today’s society, isn’t parental matchmaking very odd?
"Why resist? A life with goals is meaningful. Fiancée, please give me your guidance. I will soon be your classmate," Jimo Cheng smiled, "Ask whatever you want to know. I promise to tell you everything."
Qianqian tilted her head, a look of confusion on her face, "Why do I feel like you’re a robot? With a program that relentlessly strives towards a goal given motivation and energy?"
Before Jimo Cheng could reply, she added, "Don’t you have any complaints about me? Like my personality or appearance or something?"
Jimo Cheng was quite surprised as he observed Qianqian, "Do you have such little confidence in yourself? I have no complaints about you; in fact, I’d say I like you a lot." Then, as he saw Qianqian’s cheeks turn red, he continued, "After death comes eternal peace; while alive, shouldn’t one strive hard?"
Qianqian was just about to say something, frowning, when she heard Jimo Cheng say, "I know it’s hard to accept me right away, but if we get to know each other over time, we will be able to accept each other, won’t we?"
Qianqian thought of Xu Tianyi, but then her thoughts shifted to Old Master Luo, who had been acting strangely since the morning. Without a word, she nodded her head.
If this was the Luo Family’s hope, she would do it.
"Qianqian," Luo Yanran looked at Luo Qianqian, who was behaving obediently beside Jimo Cheng, and felt a bit uneasy. He stepped forward, followed by Luo Yanwu, Luo Yanhai, and Luo Yanhao who also gathered around: "Qianqian."
"Fourth Brother, Third Brother, Second Brother, Big Brother," Luo Qianqian smiled at the several people who showed faces full of concern, "Hmm, Jimo Cheng, let me introduce them to you. These are my cousins. Big Brother, Luo Yanhai, and Third Brother, Luo Yanwu, are from my uncle’s family; Second Brother, Luo Yanhao, and Fourth Brother, Luo Yanran, are from my second uncle’s family."
"There’s no end to learning, Haoran’s righteousness, lovely names." Jimo Cheng bowed slightly in greeting: "Greetings, I am Jimo Cheng." Then he looked at Luo Qianqian: "You can just call me Ah Cheng, as my grandfather does."
Luo Qianqian was taken aback, then nodded her head: "Ah Cheng."
Her posture stiff, her tone harsh, lacking her usual liveliness. As her brothers, they could naturally tell that Luo Qianqian was still out of sorts.
"Qianqian, you..." Luo Yanran was about to say something when Luo Qianqian directly interrupted him.
"Fourth Brother, Third Brother, you should go accompany your sisters-in-law. It’s not like home here; we can talk back at home." After saying this with a faint smile, she bade her four brothers farewell and pulled Jimo Cheng to the other side.
"I’m sorry, my brothers usually protect me, fearing that I’ll be wronged. They probably didn’t make a good impression." Luo Qianqian said with a smile, but Jimo Cheng read a hint of estrangement in that smile.
"Don’t force yourself. Although I think I’m quite a catch, and you’ll definitely regret missing out on me," Jimo Cheng said to Luo Qianqian in a tone half-serious, half-joking.
Luo Qianqian smiled at everyone in the banquet hall: "I just need some time to accept it, don’t think too much about it."
Jimo Cheng was taken aback, then shook his head helplessly. It was clear that Luo Qianqian was willing to sacrifice her own happiness for the Luo Family. But was it really so that being with him meant she would have no happiness? He had spent two days learning about Luo Qianqian’s life from childhood to the present to accept this suddenly appearing fiancée.
She was not a flower raised in a greenhouse; she would strive for her family, and she was not the kind of mistress like the clingy creeper that he detested.
Most importantly, her determination not to date early was quite commendable. Even though there was a boy with mutual affection, she still insisted on not having an early romance.
He was confident he could outshine that boy, but he lacked the confidence to replace those years and moments he had not shared with her.
"Shall we go out for a stroll? I heard the rooftop café has exclusive desserts." Having investigated Luo Qianqian, he knew very well that although she was very self-disciplined as a child, her fondness for sweets grew as she got older.
"Sure." Luo Qianqian was tired of staying in this place, too, with judgmental glances sweeping over now and then, and the occasionally drifting guilty looks from Old Master Luo.
At that moment, Old Master Luo and several other elders were gathered together, discussing the two young people.
Jimo Kong: "Ah, back then, who was it that laughed at us for only having sons?"
Tu Su: "Hehe, it’s just that there’s quite an age difference. Otherwise, would it have been your turn?"
Old Master Luo: "Old man, my heart is heavy. Qianqian is just too sensible."
Jimo Kong: "Don’t think about regretting it now. Your granddaughter already accepted my jade pendant, it’s too late for regrets. Moreover, my grandson has been brought up with a good character, versed in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, and his Taekwondo and judo are both black belt second dan. What more could you ask for?"
Old Master Luo: "My granddaughter has someone she likes."
Jimo Kong: "Ah, I know, isn’t that the illegitimate grandson of Old Man Xu from the Xu Family? Even the Xu Family doesn’t acknowledge him, would you bear to let your granddaughter marry over there and suffer? My Ah Cheng, not to mention anything else, is definitely of good birth, the child of my son and daughter-in-law."
As Jimo Kong said this, he gave a thumbs-up, but there was a trace of sadness in his eyes. If Ah Cheng’s parents were still alive, how could he be staying by his side, accompanying an old man like him? His parents would probably not agree, right? His kids, ah, they all had a head for business.
