Chapter 229: Aren’t I Smart?

"Her name is Ruan Hongfei. At first, I thought she was pretty good-looking, and with my mom nagging me to get married from morning till night—I figured dating someone would be fine."

"But then I remembered—doesn’t our Old Qin Family already have one of those high-maintenance wives? I can’t marry another one like that. Wouldn’t she just wreak havoc on our entire family?"

Mrs. Qin: ...?

’A high-maintenance wife? Why not just say Lan Qingman’s name already?’

Qin Wenshu continued, "You have to be extremely careful when picking a wife. You can’t just marry recklessly, and certainly not like my older cousin. I have to at least learn from Brother Wenhao, right?"

"I mean, the wife I marry doesn’t have to be as amazing as Sister-in-law Xue, but she can’t be a troublemaker, right?"

Mrs. Qin: ...?

’You’ve been beating around the bush this whole time. Can’t you just get to the point?’

"So, I didn’t agree to date her right away. I let her hang for a few days, didn’t get back to the matchmaker, and went to do some digging. And Aunt, guess what happened?"

Mrs. Qin: ...?

’Since when did Qin Wenshu develop this habit of leaving people hanging?’

"What happened?" she finally responded.

Qin Wenshu’s voice rose with excitement. "Oh my god, it’s a good thing I looked into it! It turns out that Ruan Hongfei is actually Zhao Sisi’s cousin. They’re first cousins—their mothers are sisters."

"How could I possibly marry someone connected to Zhao Sisi? Isn’t that just asking for trouble?"

Mrs. Qin: ...?

"That’s quite a coincidence. But have you told your mother about this?"

"Of course I told her! I was completely against it. My mom actually said, ’What does that have to do with anything?’ How could it have nothing to do with it?!"

"Then, I investigated Ruan Hongfei some more. Aunt, guess what I found?"

Mrs. Qin looked thoroughly exasperated. "Don’t make me guess. Just say it."

’Such a big guy, and he can’t even tell a story straight. Where did he pick up such a bad habit?’

"That Ruan Hongfei was actually sent back by the Art Troupe. I couldn’t find out the exact reason why, but if the Art Troupe let her go, there must be something wrong with her character. I don’t want a troublemaking wife like that."

Mrs. Qin was starting to see him in a new light.

"I have to say, I’m surprised. You usually seem so careless and casual, I never knew you had such a meticulous side. It’s quite rare."

Qin Wenshu: ?...

’Hey now, Aunt, if you’re going to compliment me, can’t you just do it properly? Did you really have to bring up me being ’careless’?’

’I have so many brilliant qualities, and those are the ones you choose to see?’

"So anyway, I turned her down. I never thought that Ruan Hongfei would start clinging to me! She shows up looking for me every other day. Good heavens, it’s terrifying. That woman must have had her sights on me for a long time."

"She and Zhao Sisi really are two of a kind. Why are they both so fixated on me? Luckily, I’m a genius. I turned right around and arranged for you to reveal to Zhao Sisi that Ruan Hongfei was bothering me—heheh. The two cousins started fighting, and now neither has time to come after me."

Mrs. Qin: ...?

’This kid looks like a total blockhead, with that look of pure, innocent stupidity in his eyes—I never thought he was actually this sharp.’

’At least he’s sharper than my eldest son.’

"Water, water..."

A faint, raspy voice called out.

Fu Mingxue had been reading, but the moment she heard the voice, she put down her book and rushed to Qin Wenhao’s side.

"Qin Wenhao, you’re awake? You want water? I’ll get it for you."

She dipped a cotton swab into a cup of cooled, boiled water and gently moistened Qin Wenhao’s dry, cracked lips.

"The doctor said we have to moisten them like this—"