Chapter 5.2 - The Family Meeting (2)
(Please turn off ad block when viewing, so translators like myself can get ad revenue. Thanks~)
7:00 PM at the Qin residence.
The Qin and Wu family sat on either side of the large rectangular dinner table. Wu Tong sat across from the eldest young master of the Qin family, Qin Ge. Sitting next to Qin Ge was the renowned second young master of the Qin Family, Qin Huai.
Perhaps it was because their eldest son was finally getting married that Mr. and Mrs. Qin were very cheerful. Since Wu Tong’s second aunt and uncle were deliberately flattering them at every turn, both families had a wonderful time.
“Wu Tong, I heard that your parents are both intellectuals.” Last time at the hotel, Mrs. Qin didn’t have a chance to take a good look at Wu Tong. Tonight, Mrs. Qin secretly observed Wu Tong for a long time. Wu Tong looked bright and pleasing to the eyes and seemed very generous. Mrs. Qin was very satisfied.
“That’s right, my parents are college professors,” Wu Tong replied with a smile, as she set down the knife and fork in her hand.
“So you’re from a family of intellectuals?” Mrs. Qin asked, surprised.
Wu Tong’s second aunt took over from there, smiling as she said, “Mrs. Qin, I’m not trying to boast but ever since childhood, our family’s[1] Wu Tong excelled in her studies and is the ‘other family’s child.’[2] She can also play the flute.”
[1] I decided to directly translate the “our family's" part here. From my understanding, this phrase is quite common and it's not just blood-relatives who use it. In this Chinese drama I watched, the FL referred to her boyfriend as "our family's [inserts his name]" before proceeding to praise her boyfriend.
[2] "Other family's child(ren)" is a very popular meme in China. I'm sure you've heard something along the lines of: "xxx family's child knows how to do xyz, why don't you know how to do it?" or "xxx family's child can do xyz, why can't you?" etc. Usually they say this to compare their children to their child's classmates, who are doing much better than their kids academically. In Wu Tong's case, she is the "xxx family's child" that her classmates' parents compare their own children to.
Wu Tong glanced at her second aunt and smiled without refuting anything she said.
“Do you still go to school?” Mr. Qin joined in and asked.
“Not anymore. I’ve been working for about 2-3 years now,” Wu Tong politely responded.
“That’s right! That’s right! Wu Tong is a fashion designer,” Wu Tong’s second aunt butted in. “She opened her own studio and is very capable.”
“Ooh~ Young and promising,” Mr. Qin couldn’t help but praise.
Her second aunt was exaggerating too much. “Mr. Qin, you’re flattering me. I just draw designs at home, so it’s not exactly a studio,” Wu Tong hastily explained.
Qin Ge had been silently eating his dinner this entire time, observing the three sitting across from him from time to time. Suddenly, he let out a small laugh.
“What are you laughing at?” Mr. Qin thought it was very impolite for his son to laugh at this time.
“Nothing, I’m just happy. I never thought that my future wife would be so capable,” Qin Ge responded, raising an eyebrow at Wu Tong.
Wu Tong couldn’t understand the smile in Qin Ge’s eyes, so all she could do was wordlessly return a smile.
After dinner was over, Qin Ge suddenly asked to send Wu Tong home. The entire Qin family was pleasantly surprised. Wu Tong’s second uncle naturally wouldn’t object, so Wu Tong ended up getting in Qin Ge’s Jeep.
Her elegant dress and his wild-looking Jeep seemed particularly disharmonious together. Wu Tong didn’t know why Qin Ge suddenly wanted to send her home, but she still gave him her address and quietly sat in the front passenger seat.
The Jeep traveled at lightning speed through the dark night. It passed through most of the city before stopping at the doorstep of Wu Tong’s home.
“Thank you for sending me home.” Wu Tong politely thanked him before opening the car door and getting off on her own.
“Miss Wu Tong.”
Wu Tong turned around and faced Qin Ge, who had already gotten out of his car and was leaning against the hood of his Jeep. He looked at Wu Tong with a contemplative expression.
“Just call me Wu Tong.” If they were destined to be together, then they might as well start familiarizing themselves with each other by changing the way they addressed each other.
“Wu Tong?” Qin Ge’s fingers subconsciously tapped on the hood of his car and said, “If nothing unexpected happens, we’ll get married soon.”
“So?” Wu Tong asked, puzzled.
“So… How much do you… know about me, your future husband?” Qin Ge questioned.
“Is there anything in particular that I need to know?” Wu Tong asked.
“Of course.” Qin Ge suddenly smiled before saying, “Such as… how I’m sick and such?”
“You look pretty healthy to me,” Wu Tong responded, frowning slightly.
Qin Ge blinked. “You should be the most worried when a healthy person is sick.”[3]
[3] I asked Vin (previous translator of this novel) for help with phrasing what Qin Ge said. To provide further explanation, an "unhealthy" person is generally one with a physical handicap (something tangible). Whereas a person who is "healthy" physically but is still considered sick, is someone who is mentally sick, which is often scarier/more serious than being physically sick.
“...” Wu Tong lowered her head in contemplation for a moment before she earnestly told him: “It doesn’t matter if you’re sick or not, I’m still going to marry you.”
“For the sake of 500 million yuan[4]?” Qin Ge asked.
[4] I don't think I did the conversion when this was mentioned previously but according to Google, 500 million yuan = 76,259,035.00 USD. WEW
“For the sake of my family.” Wu Tong didn’t care how this marriage alliance would benefit her second uncle. All she needed to know was that no amount of money could buy back her brother’s life.
“Cultured people like you are so eloquent compared to unrefined people like me,” Qin Ge commented with slight admiration.
Since they were on this topic, Wu Tong was a little curious, so she asked: “There are preconditions for this marriage alliance between the Wu and Qin family, what are yours?”
“Mine?” Qin Ge pointed at his head and laughed in an odd manner. “Because… I’m sick.”[5]
[5] Qin Ge is doing a play on words here lul. In Chinese, "有病" has a double meaning, so it can literally mean a person is "sick" with an illness, or that they are "crazy." As you can see, she interprets it as him having a few loose screws lul
Wu Tong’s expression cracked a little. This guy might actually be sick — sick in the head!
After Qin Ge finished speaking, he didn’t even bother to check Wu Tong’s reaction as he rummaged through his pockets. Finally, he fished out a business card and gave it to Wu Tong, saying: “If you have time, I suggest you meet with the person on this business card. She’s my primary physician. After that… carefully consider if you really want to marry me.”
After saying his piece, Qin Ge didn’t bother staying behind any further. He got back inside his Jeep and drove off.
Standing next to a dim street lamp, Wu Tong checked the pure white business card in her hand: Lan Hai[6] Psychiatric Therapist’s Office, Li Yun Jing.
[6] Lan Hai = Blue Seas. I decided to keep it transliterated.
A psychiatrist?
He actually had a mental disorder?!
@.@
Herro~ Here is part 2 of 3. I will post up part 3 of 3 shortly. ;)
Feel free to hop on ISO's Discord channel and chat with me~ uwu
Btw, here is my Ko-fi: ko-fi.com/tomochi ;)