After dinner, the driver started the car to take them home—first Jiang Shenghe to his villa, and then Luo Qi to her home.

Jiang Shenghe guessed that she wouldn’t want to talk. He took off his suit jacket and placed it on the armrest, then leaned back against the seat to rest.

Luo Qi glanced at Jiang Shenghe. He had his eyes closed; he was probably tired. She clicked on the oil painting again.

There were only two things that made her fall in love with it at first sight: one was the name of a tavern, and the other was this painting.

Rainy evening in Suzhou.

Come, I’m still here.

That oil painting was just a prop commissioned by the boss. He would definitely not want to keep it.

Luo Qi locked her phone and turned to look at Jiang Shenghe, “Chief Jiang.”

Jiang Shenghe still had his eyes closed, “Yeah.”

“I want to discuss something with you.”

“If it’s work, no need. For other matters, you can decide.”

“It’s a private matter. Can you give that oil painting to me? You have already helped me a lot, and I can’t let you spend any more money. I’ll pay for the oil painting.”

That painting actually cost hundreds of thousands and more.

She could have as many paintings as she wanted; he would just ask Teacher Yu to paint a few more.

Jiang Shenghe promised her, “Okay. That painting costs five thousand yuan. I will give it to you after it dries and is framed.”

“Thank you, Chief Jiang.”

Luo Qi didn’t know much about oil paintings. She had no idea how much one would be worth, let alone think that the boss would have commissioned a famous painter to paint it.

Five thousand yuan was actually a lot of money for her, but she hasn’t bought anything she liked for herself for a very long time.

Just let her splurge this once.

She immediately transferred the money to Jiang Shenghe.

… …

Jiang Shenghe accepted it and sent a message to Teacher Yu: [Please paint another one for me, I will give that one to her.]

Teacher Yu: [Congratulations on sending it out.]

Jiang Shenghe smiled: [Even you make fun of me.]

… …

Along the way, Luo Qi didn’t pay any attention to the road signs outside the window, only thinking about the painting.

As they approached Jiang Shenghe’s villa, she received a call from her eldest uncle.

Among all her relatives, the only elder she hadn’t blocked was her eldest uncle. Since she fell out with the family nine months ago, her uncle called her for the first time.

It must have something to do with her eldest aunt forcing her to pay back the money. Before she answered, Luo Qi instinctively glanced at the boss and found that the boss was also looking at her with meaningful eyes.

Luo Qi: “…”

Jiang Shenghe told her, “If it’s inconvenient, we can stop the car first. I’ll get off the car and you can take the call.”

How could she possibly ask her boss to get out of the car to make it convenient for her to answer the phone?

“It’s not inconvenient.” She explained instinctively, “It’s not Pei Shixiao calling. It’s someone from home.”

She answered before the last vibrations ended.

“Eldest Uncle.”

“Qiqi, are you busy?”

“I’m not busy. I’m already off work. Eldest Uncle, what did you want from me?”

Her uncle sighed.

This confirmed Luo Qi’s guess: if not for the previous incident with the Eldest Aunt, her Eldest Uncle would not sigh.

The Eldest Uncle really had no choice but to call his niece. His wife didn’t even eat dinner in her anger and said that she would continue to make trouble with him all day long if he didn’t make Luo Qi apologize.

His wife was so angry, she was in a temper all day, saying, Look at her! See how crazy she is! We lent money to her family and she still has this arrogant attitude. She doesn’t appreciate what I’m trying to do for her!

“Qiqi, I heard what happened in the afternoon. You know your aunt has no bad intentions. It’s only that she has seen more of the world. She is more realistic than you young people. Love cannot be eaten. She is only angry at you for being stupid. You are throwing away a chance at a good life.

“She’s not really asking you to pay back the money immediately. She’s just been under a lot of pressure lately, and she’s talking rudely. She’s been arguing with me all night, and she really won’t stop until you apologize. Qiqi, for the sake of your uncle’s face, don’t be stubborn like her. Do you think you could go back into the family group and apologize to her?”

Luo Qi could not be cruel to her eldest uncle. Although he also valued business interests, he never once criticized her for her decision. And he was always sincere in his treatment of her father. 

“I’m really sorry, Eldest Uncle. I really can’t do it. I know my family owes you money. I will try my best to repay it as soon as possible. Goodbye, Eldest Uncle. Remember to take good care of yourself.”

When she hung up the phone, Jiang Shenghe asked with concern, “Are they urging you to pay back the money again?”

Luo Qi shook her head, “It seems my aunt is very angry. She’s making trouble for my uncle, threatening him, saying that if I don’t apologize to her properly in the family group chat, this matter will never end. My uncle asked me to step back and rejoin the group to apologize to my aunt so that this matter could be over.”

Jiang Shenghe said bluntly, “It is impossible to apologize.”

Luo Qi agreed: she will not apologize. 

When she withdrew from the family group, she never had the intention to join the group again. She knew her eldest aunt; she was vain and powerful, and she would push her to the end. Once Luo Qi apologized, her eldest aunt and a group of relatives whom she had on her side would take the opportunity to prance around her, disgusting her with their hateful intentions.

… …

The car stopped at the villa to let out Jiang Shenghe, and Luo Qi took a look at the front yard. It was spacious and luxurious, with an outdoor swimming pool and a large garden next to it.

When she and Luo Yu were building a shed for the little cucumbers on the balcony of her tiny rental house, they dreamed of a house like this, with a big yard and a dog.

… … translated by Maela @ whitemoonlighttranslations.com

Jiang Shenghe got out of the car and watched it drive away. He didn’t rush into the villa. He lit a cigarette and smoked it in the yard. He found the phone number of an elder in Shanghai and dialed the number.

“I need to trouble you again.”

The voice on the other end of the phone was smiling, “Next time, either bring someone to meet me or invite me to attend the wedding. Apart from these two things, don’t bother me with phone calls again.”

“I’m almost there. Please be patient some more and wait.”

“I heard that Qin Moling already had his wedding photos taken.”

Jiang Shenghe flicked his cigarette and said, “He paid someone to photoshop him into wedding photos.”

The elder burst out laughing and said, “He sent everyone behind-the-scenes photos, so how could it be photoshopped? I think you are just jealous.”

Switching back to business, the elder asked, “What do you want from me?”

“Please help me contact Luo Qi’s aunt, I want to talk to her.”

Jiang Shenghe briefly explained the current situation of Luo Qi’s family, including the money they borrowed from her eldest aunt’s family. “It was her aunt’s family who took the initiative to lend them the money.”

The elder hummed in agreement. “They were sure that Luo Qi would marry Pei Shixiao, and she would not be short of ten million after marriage.”

“No matter what the original purpose was for lending money, it’s good to be grateful, but she should not use the 10 million debt as a bargaining chip to force Luo Qi to get back together with Pei Shixiao just for her own benefit,” Jiang Shenghe said.

“Are you asking me to set up a contact with Luo Qi’s eldest aunt because you are planning to introduce a few more clients to her family’s company?”

“I’m not that free,” Jiang Shenghe scoffed. “I only help people who respect Luo Qi. This eldest aunt is not included.”

Luo Qi was already in such a difficult situation. The person she had a relationship with for six years has betrayed her, her wedding has been canceled, and she was still in debt. Not only was her eldest aunt not understanding of her situation at all, she even dared to threaten her.

How could Jiang Shenghe let others browbeat her whenever they want, threaten her, and not show her any respect at all, when she was the one person he couldn’t bear to have the slightest grievance?

The elder was surprised at this. Jiang Shenge obviously wanted to vent his anger on Luo Qi’s behalf and he had to remind him. “The company of Luo Qi’s eldest uncle is now managed by Luo Yuli, which is the same as it being his company. As far as I know, these two cousins have a very good relationship. Luo Yuli is a rare, good older brother.”

“Well, I know this. I won’t attack their company, don’t worry. Luo Qi cares very much about her older cousin.” The people important to Luo Qi were, needless to say, also important to him. “I will only target the eldest aunt. Doesn’t the eldest aunt like to threaten people? Then I will let her know that I am better at threatening people than she is.”

“…”

Seventh Year of My Secret Love for You translated by Maela @ whitemoonlighttranslations.com

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A list of all advance chapters is HERE.
Chapter 32.1 — Venting Anger On Her Behalf
Chapter 32.2 — Venting Anger On Her Behalf
Chapter 32.3 — Venting Anger On Her Behalf