Zhou Donglin hinted to Li Qiyu, "Time flies so fast. We've already reached the age for marriage."
Li Qiyu replied with a beaming smile, "What? Have you found your future daughter - in - law? Is she tough? Can she take a beating? Bring her out and let me have a match with her."
Zhou Donglin was speechless for a moment.
He composed himself, looked at Li Qiyu, and said, "She's not only tough but also a great fighter. She's on a par with you."
Hearing this, Li Qiyu clapped her hands and laughed heartily. "Is there really a girl who can be on a par with me?"
She was completely captivated by the words "on a par". You know, few men, let alone women, could beat her in kung fu.
She was so eager to have a kung - fu match that she didn't listen to what Zhou Donglin said later.
This included the very crucial sentence: "Have you ever thought about changing your identity?"
From master to future daughter - in - law.
Zhou Donglin was a man of his word, but he didn't know that the deal between him and his father was unfair from the start.
It was just a means for his father to stall for time.
Zhou Donglin was still foolishly thinking here about how he could hint to Li Qiyu, figure out her feelings, and at the same time make her quickly understand his own feelings.
Meanwhile, Song Jiaye had already sent him an invitation, asking him to come to the restaurant, saying that he was going to fulfill his promise that day.
The promise between Zhou Donglin and Song Jiaye was, of course, about their sweethearts.
Song Jiaye once said that if his sweetheart became his fiancée, he would bring her to Zhou Donglin.
Unexpectedly, Song Jiaye acted so quickly. Zhou Donglin was both envious and jealous. He thought that when he saw Song Jiaye, he must ask him for advice on how to win over his wife.
Zhou Donglin prepared a gift for Song Jiaye and his unseen future wife. It was a pair of jade pendants. One said "a hundred years" and the other "a harmonious union", blessing them with a long - lasting relationship.
At the door of the hotel, Zhou Donglin excitedly peeked into the private room, but what he saw inside shocked him.
What... what was going on?
Why was Li Qiyu here?
At this moment, Zhou Donglin still couldn't believe that Li Qiyu was Song Jiaye's future wife. With a glimmer of hope, he asked, "Song... Brother Song, hasn't your wife come yet?"
Song Jiaye stood up, stood beside Li Qiyu, and introduced her with a smile, "Let me introduce. This is my wife. We've just completed the betrothal gifts and matched our horoscopes."
Thud.
Zhou Donglin's heart dropped to the cold floor.
It shattered into pieces and could never be put back together.
Zhou Donglin didn't have the courage to give out the jade pendants symbolizing a harmonious union. He returned home in a daze. Passing by the ancestral hall, he remembered what his father had said to him there. Suddenly, he understood everything.
His father and Uncle Li were of the same generation and had always had a good relationship. His father couldn't have been unaware of Song Jiaye's proposal to Li Qiyu. So the so - called "only hint but not confess" was fake, and the so - called "not wanting to make the two families embarrassed" was also fake.
His father was just stalling him.
Stalling until Song Jiaye and Li Qiyu set the wedding date, stalling until he no longer had a chance to pursue his sweetheart.
Zhou Donglin locked himself in his room and moped for several days. No one could persuade him.
Li Qiyu heard about this. Although she didn't understand why Zhou Donglin had suddenly become so decadent, after all, he was her little apprentice she had grown up with. She was naturally worried. So she bought half a catty of marinated beef and went to Zhou Donglin's house.
She knocked on the door, but Zhou Donglin didn't open it.
But this was no problem for Li Qiyu. She climbed over the window from the back, straddled the window sill, waved the marinated beef in her hand, and said, "Have a drink with me?"
Zhou Donglin really wanted to refuse.
Seeing her made his heart bleed.
However, he had never refused her before, and he never would in the future.
He could only nod.
The two sat in the yard, eating beef and drinking heartily.
Zhou Donglin helplessly found that even though his heart was so bitter, he still felt happy when Li Qiyu was by his side.
He was really hopeless.
Zhou Donglin remembered what Song Jiaye had told him before about like and love. He asked, "Do you like Song Jiaye?"
Li Qiyu shrugged and said, "It's hard to say."
"Hard to say?"
Li Qiyu leaned back on the railing, looking at the grayish - blue sky above the pavilion, and said, "Yes. I grew up in the military camp. All I ever thought about was practicing kung fu well to defend the country. I really never thought about men - women relationships before."
"Then why are you going to marry Song Jiaye?"
"I think he's very sincere. He should be a good match. And I do have a little bit of a feeling for him. I don't know if it's the kind of like you guys talk about." For Li Qiyu, a person's sincere treatment was more important than family background. She didn't like those who were cunning. At least for now, Song Jiaye gave her the feeling of being very sincere.
Zhou Donglin was an experienced person. When he had "a little bit of a feeling" for Li Qiyu, he was already deeply in love.
He wanted to cry, but there was a smile on his face.
"Congratulations to you."
"Thank you! What about you? You said you'd show me your future daughter - in - law. When are you going to introduce your sweetheart?"
Zhou Donglin's expression dimmed. He lowered his head.
"There won't be a future daughter - in - law. There won't be one in this lifetime."
"Ah?"
Only then did Li Qiyu understand why Zhou Donglin had been listless these days. It turned out that his sweetheart had passed away.
She didn't dare to say more, afraid of touching Zhou Donglin's sad memories. She patted Zhou Donglin on the shoulder and said earnestly, "Please accept my condolences. If you want to cry, just cry."
Zhou Donglin's eyes were already red, but there was still a smile on his lips.
"A real man doesn't shed tears easily."
Looking at Zhou Donglin, who was trying hard to hold back his grief, Li Qiyu felt a sharp pain in her heart.
She suddenly realized that her little apprentice had grown up. She really couldn't treat him like a little boy anymore.
He was already a mature man.
Zhou Donglin was indeed a mature man. When he realized that Li Qiyu also liked Song Jiaye, although his heart ached, he had already made up his mind.
The concern Song Jiaye showed when talking about his sweetheart couldn't be fake. He believed that the two of them would be happy.
As long as Li Qiyu was happy, it didn't seem to matter so much whether the happiness was given by him.
He forced himself to cheer up.
"Don't talk about me. What do you want as a wedding gift?"
Li Qiyu wasn't polite to Zhou Donglin. She said, "How about you give me headdresses? Jewelry and such are all okay. According to the rules of the Li family, a younger brother should give headdresses when seeing his elder sister off on her wedding day."
Zhou Donglin forced a bitter smile. He was actually more than a month older than her. But it was okay to be the younger brother.
At least, he had an identity to continue getting along with her.