Chapter 684 - 393: Rush from One Occasion to Another (Part 2)

"So this time Qingge’s parents want to talk to me about your marriage, right?"

"Pretty much, they’re a little anxious, since Duoduo’s age is getting up there."

Li Qiyuan frowned deeply, "So you chose her?"

"As per the original plan, I also intended to marry Qingge first..."

"First and also last!"

Li Qiyuan stated matter-of-factly, then added, "Where’s Qingge? I’ll talk to her first."

"She should be at her own home... Do you need some rest first?"

"No need, let’s go!"

"Alright, I’ll give her a call and let her know."

Even before Li Qiyuan mentioned it, Zhao Qingge had already spoken with Li Peifeng, saying that when his dad arrived, she wanted to have a chat before the parents met, so the father and son headed straight to Zhao Qingge’s abode from the station.

"We’ll be there in just over twenty minutes."

"Okay."

Meanwhile, Zhao Qingge had just woken up but not gotten out of bed yet, just lying there spacing out. Upon hearing over the phone that Li Peifeng and his father were about to arrive, she perked up slightly, freshened up briefly, changed into a formal outfit—a navy blue double-breasted suit—then sat in front of the dresser, examining herself in the mirror.

Last night, Zhao Qingge didn’t sleep well; she reached home from Jintian City at eleven, unable to sleep, she kept reading and was interrupted by Li Peifeng with [Heartfelt Connection].

It wasn’t until two in the morning that she lay down, tossed and turned for an hour, mentally exhausted, that she finally fell into a drowsy sleep under the lullaby sung by Li Peifeng. Now getting up, her complexion appeared a bit haggard, faint traces of dark circles lurking under her eyes.

Leaning closer, Zhao Qingge examined those shallow under-eye circles, gently dabbing them with her finger, then reaching out to the mirror for a touch, contemplated for a moment, and opened the drawer to start applying her makeup.

She chose a rather pale matte shade of foundation, striving for thinness, to appear unmade-up, naturally exuding an air of weariness akin to catching a cold.

For the eyebrows, she used brow powder, focusing on creating a design with a ’八字’ (character for eight) shape, adding some melancholy, slightly furrowing the brows, while the tail drooped. This way, even with a calm expression, she looks burdened with deep thoughts. But the brow peaks needed some sharpness; otherwise, it would seem too plaintive, too staged, it needs a sense of confrontation, contradiction, conflict.

Lipstick wasn’t necessary, paler lips with lack of color appeared more natural.

No need for eye makeup or blush either, letting the slight under-eye circles caused by sleeplessness stay, as that’s the finishing touch.

Simply put, Zhao Qingge aimed to use this simple natural makeup, at first glance, to give off a sense of fragile yet resolute exhaustion, detached from worldly affairs!

She wanted Li Qiyuan to see clearly how Li Peifeng had tormented her into this state!

After finishing the makeup routine, Zhao Qingge examined herself thoroughly, her gaze lingering on her smooth long hair.

With a slight furrow of her brow, she reached out and rubbed her hair to make the originally smooth strands appear slightly disheveled, then let go.

Turning her head slightly again toward the mirror, Zhao Qingge blinked, her clear eyes reflecting a touch of uncertain melancholy.

Ah, it looks more storied now!

"Not bad... Oh, there’s one more thing!"

It seemed Zhao Qingge remembered something, hurriedly stood up and walked into the kitchen, rummaging through the cabinet, finally found a long, thick rolling pin, about the size of a child’s arm.

Where should it be placed?

Just put it under the coffee table, convenient for Li Qiyuan to grab.

All prepared, Zhao Qingge sat on the sofa, her gaze unfocused, staring at the rolling pin, wandering off for half a minute when the doorbell rang!

"Ding dong~"

"Click~"

The door opened, Zhao Qingge’s gaze bypassed the front-facing Li Peifeng, softly greeting, "Uncle."

"Hmm. What’s up with you..."

The makeup Zhao Qingge applied did its trick, at first glance, Li Qiyuan couldn’t help but ask, "Are you feeling unwell?"

"Just a bit of insomnia last night." Zhao Qingge replied, taking shoes from the shoe cabinet for the two to change.

"Duoduo, you haven’t had breakfast yet, right? Let me whip you up something simple."

Li Peifeng tried to demonstrate some thoughtfulness, but that didn’t stop Li Qiyuan from glaring at him fiercely; look at what you’ve done!

Zhao Qingge casually asked, "How’s Aunt’s health now?"

"She’s doing well, just has a bigger appetite... Oh, you’re supposed to call her on video, she instructed me to make sure to video call her after meeting you."

"Okay, I’ll call her now."

While Zhao Qingge was making the video call, Li Peifeng was in the kitchen cooking.

He had sharp eyes, as soon as he entered the house, he spotted the rolling pin under the coffee table, inwardly crying out oh no—Zhao Duoduo had become cunning, not only posing as a white lotus to make him seem in the wrong, but also planning to use Old Li’s hand to teach him a lesson. Hence, Li quickly sought an excuse to demonstrate his worth to avoid physical pain.

But being in the kitchen didn’t stop him from hearing the conversation from the living room.

"Aunt?"

"Oh Qingge, why do you look so haggard?!"

Yu Huizhi’s voice was utterly pained.

That’s just makeup, pretending!!

Li Peifeng countered inwardly, then sighed, admitting that aside from Zhao Qingge’s acting, last night after returning home, she had inexplicably cursed him 36,000 times in her heart, thanks to [Heartfelt Connection], Li Peifeng could not only hear the cursing but also sensed the emotions within Zhao Duoduo; the suppressed and sorrowful waves crashing back and forth against the shores, such deep pain stemming from her heart spilling over to other regions, a heaviness forcing itself back inside by Zhao Qingge, her entire body swaying with its burden, unable to expel it...