Chapter 54 Little Mouth, Shut Tight

Chapter 54: Little Mouth, Zip It

Qi Manjun asked Qin Shuyi to keep him company.

But Ling Jue wasn't the type accustomed to opening up about his pain to others.

The real feeling of losing Qi Wanting might only well up inside him when he was alone late at night.

At this moment, he was just gazing in the direction of the cemetery, his mind wandering.

"Qin Shuyi, what do you think about every time you see off the deceased?" he asked.

Qin Shuyi stood quietly beside him and replied, "I think about the impermanence of life and death, about whether everyone's life has a predetermined length, about what it would be like if one day I or my loved ones were lying there.

Then I realize, there's nothing we can do.

In the face of death, the living can only accept, adapt, and eventually forget.

At the moment memory fades, the dead truly and completely disappear for good."

Ling Jue said, "I used to think life was meaningless. But that night when they notified me he was about to pass away, yet he hung on for over thirty more hours, the doctor said it was because he wanted to spend more time with those still living. It turns out a person's love for others can have such immense power."

Qin Shuyi nodded, her gaze soft as she looked at him. "Your uncle must have loved you all very much."

Ling Jue suddenly said something ambiguous, "Perhaps it would have been better if he were my father."

Qin Shuyi was taken aback.

But Ling Jue reached out and ruffled her hair. "Let's go, I'll drive you home."

He thought Qi Manjun probably had many things to say to Qi Wanting, so it was best not to disturb her.

...

Due to the funeral, Ling Jue and Qin Shuyi had rarely gotten along so peacefully these past few days since their breakup.

Without getting tangled up in their relationship, no arguments or confrontations.

As she got out of the car, Qin Shuyi even took a few White Rabbit creamy milk candies from her pocket and placed them in Ling Jue's palm.

This was her habit; she always kept some on hand during funerals, in case any grieving relatives became overly distraught and experienced low blood sugar.

"Though you probably don't need it, a little sweetness might cheer you up a bit."

Ling Jue, sitting in the driver's seat, suddenly called out to her.

Qin Shuyi, outside the car, turned back and met the man's gaze through the lowered passenger window.

Because of the mourning, the already sharp angles of his face looked even sharper.

Now, the man who usually seemed shrouded in a layer of icy mist wore the ghost of a smile at the corner of his lips. "I think I understand a little what he might have been thinking during those last thirty-plus hours, clinging on despite the pain."

Because of attachment, reluctance, and love.

...

The dead are gone, but the lives of the living continue ceaselessly.

Not long after the funeral, Qin Shuyi received another invitation—this time from Zhao Jinyu.

It was for her and Xie Muchen's engagement banquet.

It seemed life and death, sorrow and joy, always entwined and marched forward together, without reason.

Qin Shuyi stroked the exquisite patterns on the invitation, a little surprised.

She had only met Zhao Jinyu at the homecoming dinner at Tao Wangxi's house; they weren't close, and she hadn't expected her to go out of her way to send her an invitation.

However, her aunt Zhou Tinglan glanced at the bright red cover and suddenly remembered about Qin Shuyi's blind date.

She immediately exclaimed, asking Zhou Yunhe, "Sis, when are you setting up that meet-up with your colleague's son?"

Today was a gathering of both families. Since returning from S City, Qin Shuyi had been non-stop with work. Only now, on the weekend, had Zhou Tinglan and Jiang Shiheng invited the Qin family of three over for a small get-together.

The help had the day off, and everyone was currently cooking together.

Qin Shuyi had gone to take out the trash. Qian Youyou and Jiang Yuzhou, who had been roped into making dumplings, were covered in flour, their ears perked up in unison.

Zhou Yunhe brought over a plate of cut fruit, smiling, "Next week. That young man happened to be on a business trip out of town recently; next weekend should be just right."

Qian Youyou took a bite of the snow pear her aunt fed her, instantly on guard. "What does that guy look like? Handsome? Tall? Good enough for my sister?"

Jiang Yuzhou rolled his eyes. "Superficial. You should ask if his job is good? Is he rich? Generous? Our sister shouldn't have to struggle with him."

Qian Youyou bickered back, "Come on, of course you look at the face first. No matter how rich someone is, if they're ugly, could you even stomach it?"

Jiang Yuzhou scoffed, "No matter how handsome, he's not as handsome as Jue... [cut off]."

Before he could finish, Qian Youyou elbowed him hard.

Little mouth, zip it tight.

Jiang Yuzhou swallowed, his gaze darting around guiltily.

Jiang Shiheng, clumsily learning to wrap dumplings from his wife, watched the two kids bicker amused.

However, Qin Yuan glanced at the two youngsters and smiled. "Xiao Zhou, what were you about to say just now? That no one is as good-looking as who?"

The sharp gaze of his former peacekeeper uncle-in-law landed on him, making Jiang Yuzhou's heart skip a beat.

"Uh, well... just a... a male celebrity who's absolutely stunning. Yeah, a male celebrity."

He stammered, dragging Qian Youyou into it. "He's her idol!"

Qian Youyou glared.

Her idol in her dreams.

Under the table, she stomped hard on someone's foot.

Qin Yuan's handsome face turned to Qian Youyou with a smile, full of affection. "Our Youyou is into celebrities too? What's his name? An actor?"

Qian Youyou stood at attention nervously.

Just then, Jiang Shiheng suddenly knocked over a bowl beside him.

Everyone gathered around the table wrapping dumplings looked over at the sound.

Zhou Tinglan shot him a reproachful look. "You're so clumsy."

She then chattered on, "Been the CEO for too long, and now you're all thumbs in the kitchen, huh? Look how fast my brother-in-law is wrapping them."

Jiang Shiheng surrendered helplessly. "My fault, my fault. I'll go get some water."

After the couple bantered a bit more and Jiang Shiheng left, Zhou Tinglan naturally shifted the topic. "So, Sis, have you met your colleague's son? What Youyou said might be a bit too absolute, but we definitely can't agree to someone who's too unattractive either."

Look at these two silly kids—they almost got tricked into spilling the beans.

Zhou Yunhe smiled. "Yes, I have. He was assigned to our department for a period. Now he works at Mingli Second Hospital in Beijing. He's 28, an orthopedic surgeon, and both his parents are in the medical field. He's good-looking and stands at 188 cm tall.

As for his personality, we didn't interact much, but he seemed like a polite and well-mannered young man. The specifics would probably need the young people to figure out themselves through interaction."

Zhou Tinglan nodded. The family background is quite suitable. Both sets of parents get along well, have connections, and with her sister and brother-in-law's verification, at the very least, the other family's character should be reliable.

Their professions also matched. For Shuyi, who often works with the deceased, if the other party is a doctor, they might understand each other better.

Seeing the two sisters chatting more and more happily, Qian Youyou muttered, "Even if you think he's good, my sister still has to like him."

"Like what?" Qin Shuyi, who had just returned from outside, asked in confusion.

"The blind date Auntie mentioned," Qian Youyou said.

Qin Shuyi was taken aback.

Her first thought wasn't the highly praised young male doctor, but Wang Tao, also known as Wang Dazhuang, whom she had encountered in S City—the one who was said to have already moved out of their neighborhood—and that awkward blind date mix-up.

For some reason, she had a feeling this wouldn't go smoothly.

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