Chapter 11

After the call connected, Han An asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Brother-in-law, what are you doing?”

“They’re cooling off.”

“Are you kidding me?” Bai Qin said on the other end of the phone. “It’s already October. Lijiang isn’t hot at all in October. Why would you want to cool off? Besides, you live in Shenzhen. If you suddenly go to Lijiang, you should find it exceptionally cool. This difference in location would make you want to put on an extra layer of clothing, not feel like you’re trying to cool off.”

Are you trying to teach me common sense?

“I’m just telling the truth.”

“You should be at work at this time, why are you calling me?”

“Is it wrong to slack off occasionally?”

“Of course you can be lazy, but you can’t tell me, as the boss, that this is like a moth drawn to a flame.”

“Brother-in-law, are you going to reduce my salary, or just fire me?”

“Why don’t you go work at my friend’s company? The salary is higher than here, and the work is much easier.”

“Brother-in-law, are you kidding me?”

“I mainly don’t want you to be too tired,” Han An said. “The job of a cashier is actually quite boring, and you have to keep smiling all the time. Even if you encounter an unreasonable customer, you still have to greet them with a smile. Isn’t that particularly tiring?”

“I’m not afraid of getting tired, and brother-in-law, don’t even think about getting me away. If you dare to get me away, I’ll tell you that you hugged me. I’ll say that you hugged me first and said you liked me. If I add fuel to the fire, my sister will definitely make a scene. If things get really chaotic, don’t blame me, brother-in-law.”

“It’s about time you found someone.”

“You don’t need to worry about this, brother-in-law.”

“During dinner this evening, your mother brought you up again,” Han An said. “She said that in your area, a girl your age would definitely be a mother by now. But what about you? You haven’t even found a boyfriend yet. Then your mother blamed your sister and me, saying that we didn’t take your marriage seriously. I’m thinking that if you haven’t found a boyfriend by the New Year, your mother might not even let me into the house.”

“Then copy one for me.”

“Bullshit?”

“Copying from English”.

“I know what ‘coppy’ means, I was just teasing you,” Han An said with a smile. “Seriously, you should probably start looking for a partner.”

“If I can’t find a man who is exactly like you, brother-in-law, I won’t date, let alone get married.”

“Just because I hugged you that one time, you’ve become so attached to me?”

“No, there are other reasons.”

What’s the reason?

I won’t tell you.

“Whatever, you’re just a daydreaming girl anyway.”

“I’m not as mature as my sister, but I’m younger than her,” Bai Qin scoffed on the other end of the phone. “Brother-in-law, let me tell you, for us girls, youth is our asset.”

“That’s right,” Han An asked, not wanting to continue the conversation with Bai Qin, “Has your sister ever been in a relationship before?”

“We’ve talked about it.”

Despite having prepared himself mentally, Han An still felt somewhat uncomfortable when he learned that his wife had indeed had previous romantic relationships.

After her breathing became heavier, Han An asked, “How many times has she talked to him?”

“Should I include you?”

“casual.”

“Actually, I don’t know either.”

“Don’t you know if she’s ever been in a relationship?”

“I don’t know how many relationships she’s had,” Bai Qin said. “My sister and I are five years apart. She was in her first year of high school when I was still in elementary school, so I have no idea whether she had any relationships during high school. As for her time as a tour guide, I’m sure she had relationships. As for the partners and how far things progressed, I’ll have to keep that a secret from you, brother-in-law. After all, this kind of thing will inevitably affect your relationship, so I have to keep it to myself. Speaking of which, when my sister was preparing to go to Shenzhen to find you, she told me to say that if you asked, I should say you were her first love.”

Bai Qin’s words were clearly meant to upset Han An.

After lighting a cigarette, Han An said, “I know you’d love for me to argue with your sister, so I told you everything you know.”

“Actually, I’d love for you two to get a divorce.”

“If your sister knew what you were thinking, she would kick you to the North or South Pole immediately.”

“Then I hope you can keep this a secret for me, brother-in-law.”

“Of course I’ll keep it a secret for you, and I also hope you won’t tell her that I hugged you.”

“no problem.”

Tell me.

After saying those four words, Han An took a deep drag on his cigarette.

“I need to add one more request.”

“What are the requirements?”

“When you get back to Shenzhen, you have to take me to Happy Valley.”

“Don’t be so childish, okay?” Han An said. “Those are for little kids.”

“Then why did you go there with my sister last year? I heard you had a great time.”

“I can treat you to dinner, but let’s skip Happy Valley,” Han An said. “It would be really bad if your sister found out.”

“How can you, a grown man, be so afraid of my sister?”

“This isn’t fear, it’s caring.”

“Since you care about my sister so much, you shouldn’t know about her past relationships,” Bai Qin said. “The more you know about her past, the more uncomfortable you will feel. It’s like buying a piece of clothing in a store and then finding out that it’s actually secondhand; that’s bound to make you very unhappy. Or, when you’re staying at a hotel, would you ask the hotel staff how many people have slept in your bed?”

“Xiaoqin, don’t give me that nonsense. Just tell me what you mean.”

“Actually, I don’t understand why you suddenly asked me this, brother-in-law.”

“It’s just a sudden interest.”

“If there’s no trigger, how could you suddenly become interested?”

“Fine, tell me if you want, or don’t.”

“Don’t try to provoke me, that’s such an old trick,” Bai Qin said. “Anyway, I’m really not interested in having dinner with you, brother-in-law. I just want to go to Happy Valley with you, especially to ride some really thrilling rides, like the Snow Mountain Flying Dragon.”

“Then you’ll definitely pee your pants in fear.”

“Thanks for the reminder, brother-in-law. I’ll bring diapers then.”

“Alright,” Han An said, “I’ll take you there. Tell me quickly.”