Rebirth of the Villainous Female Boss

Chapter 573: Chapter 547: Forced Marriage and Catching the Culprit

“What are you laughing at! I’m so worried, but I just can’t stand this little brat. Everyone is worried about his future while he acts like there’s nothing wrong. Qian’er, can you come up with a solution for your brother?”

“How can we solve it? Whatever he gets in the exam will be what he gets. Even Comrade Liao Fugui can’t solve this problem, so there’s nothing we can do.”

Xiao Qian spoke realistically. Her brother wasn’t dumb and even had keen observational skills, but studying was just not his strength.

During his middle school entrance exams, she and Yu Minglang took turns tutoring him and using a small whip to keep him in line. He barely got into a high school with terrible enrollment rates. After consulting with Jia Xiufang, they paid a high price to transfer him to a private high school with better teaching quality. He then received one-on-one tutoring from a Ph.D. mentor, only to score 250 on the third mock exam…

Even Yu Minglang sympathized with Liao Fugui. Brother Fu Gui was probably very wronged by this result.

“With his score, he can barely get into a junior college or vocational school. Do we really have to spend money on that and wait a few years for him to buy a diploma?” Jia Xiufang’s ambition had grown over the years, as she no longer dealt with recycled building materials but had opened a larger dry cleaning shop fully staffed with hired help. She occasionally went to check the accounts.

Family financial conditions had improved over the years, and they now had enough money to live a worry-free life. With several storefront rentals providing additional income, the family’s expenses were all covered by Father Liao. Jia Xiufang enjoyed her leisure time, living the life of a pampered official’s wife.

The only thing weighing on her mind was her son’s future. She didn’t want him to learn a trade and tread the same difficult path she had, but his academic performance was just not good enough, leaving her in a dilemma.

“I will discuss his future with Ming Lang and give you an answer later.” Xiao Qian already had a plan for her brother’s future, but she hadn’t consulted him yet.

“Neither you nor your brother gives me peace of mind,” Jia Xiufang complained.

“Are you getting a bit carried away as an official’s wife, mom? How am I not giving you peace of mind?” Xiao Qian retorted.

“You and Ming Lang have been engaged for so long! You’re almost getting your master’s degree, why hasn’t he proposed marriage yet? You two have slept together so many times, I haven’t even bothered to mention it, but you are getting older every day—”

“Wait a minute, Mom, are you saying I’m old?!” Xiao Qian felt attacked.

She had fast-tracked her education by two years and was just in her early twenties. How could her prime age be dismissed as “older” by her mother?

“Liao Uncle’s niece is your age, and she’s already married with a baby. She even brought the baby over for me to see yesterday. You should ask Ming Lang when the wedding can be held. What’s the point of dragging it out? I wanted you to get married when you graduated from university, but you insisted on waiting until you finished your master’s degree. Now that you’re about to graduate, I’m afraid you’ll want to wait even longer until you get a Ph.D.…”

Jia Xiufang’s voice was always loud, and it clearly reached Yu Minglang’s ears through the phone. The delicate topic of marriage immediately captured Yu Minglang’s full attention, and he openly began eavesdropping, even snatching Xiao Qian’s phone and turning on the speaker.

Xiao Qian angrily stomped on his foot, but that couldn’t deter Brother Lang from listening to the discussion of crucial matters!

He even responded smugly with his eyes, “This isn’t just your secret. It involves me too!”

Taking advantage of his height, Yu Minglang held the phone up high. Afraid her mother would say something else, Xiao Qian rushed to give her a heads up.

“Mom, watch what you say, and don’t just blurt anything out.”

“You little brat! Am I not using my head when I speak? Haven’t you and Ming Lang done all the things you should and shouldn’t have done without thinking? You two did all that without your head but with your kidneys!”

A mother wouldn’t be so cautious when speaking with her daughter, so Jia Xiufang had no idea that her son-in-law was listening in as well.

“Mom, it seems like you’re very busy. Go do your work. If you don’t cook dinner soon, Liao Uncle will go hungry.” Xiao Qian felt completely helpless. Why did she have a mother who would embarrass her like this?

“Don’t try to deflect, hurry up and discuss the marriage issue with Ming Lang. If this kid dares to sleep with you and not marry you, I’ll have to personally have a talk with him!”

“Aunt, I am more than willing to marry Xiao Qian. As soon as she agrees, I will start making wedding preparations.”

“Ai Ma!”

Accompanied by Jia Xiufang’s surprised voice, the sound of something falling to the ground could be heard. It was probably the phone being dropped in shock.

Xiao Qian rolled her eyes. Serves her right!

This menopausal old lady talked non-stop, and now she’s been overheard, right?

“I told you to think before you speak, but you didn’t listen!” Xiao Qian wasn’t the least bit sympathetic towards her mother. She just felt a bit awkward, as if she and her mother were forcing Yu Minglang into marriage. She didn’t want to look at Yu Minglang’s expression right now, but the corner of her eye still involuntarily glanced in his direction.

Yu Minglang’s expression was very serious. Marriage was a significant matter for him and couldn’t be taken lightly.

After five long seconds of silence on the other end of the line, Jia Xiufang’s voice came through again, decidedly gentler than when she had spoken with Xiao Qian earlier.

“Ming Lang, are you with Qian’er? Have you eaten yet?”

“We’re cooking right now. Aunt, I’m willing to marry Xiao Qian. We will discuss the wedding date together and then let you know. As for Da Long’s issue, don’t worry about it. We’ll come back together once Qian’er is on vacation. Let’s have a family discussion.”

“Oh, oh, oh! There’s no hurry—can you come back next week?” Jia Xiufang sounded quite happy. Although it was a bit awkward to have her conversation overheard by her son-in-law, Yu Minglang’s words were satisfying. She pretended not to be in a hurry, but she was already thinking about setting a date.

“No problem, I’ll take time off.”

“Let’s talk when you come back!” Jia Xiufang, imagining her daughter in a wedding dress, instantly forgot the bitterness of her son’s 250-point mock exam score and merrily hung up the phone.

“Xiao Mei, did you hear everything Aunt said?” Yu Minglang asked.

Xiao Qian’s eyes dodged his. “I heard her. She was just talking about my brother’s 250-point dilemma, right? I was just about to discuss this with you—”

“Let’s talk about his issue later. I meant our marriage—”

“Ah, I think we’re out of vinegar at home. It’s so hard to eat dumplings without vinegar. I’ll go buy some.”

Without waiting for him to finish, Xiao Qian returned to the bedroom, quickly changed her clothes, and dashed out, not even bothering to notice Yu Minglang’s expression.

Yu Minglang watched her retreating figure thoughtfully. Was he overthinking things?

Why did it seem like Xiao Mei was avoiding the topic of marriage?

Was it because his proposal wasn’t formal enough, or the setting was all wrong?

Yu Minglang glanced down at his shorts and the flour on his hands. Fine, the atmosphere was a bit off. They could talk about it later.

He had taken all his saved vacation time for this purpose. He had to see this matter through.

He was going to propose, to have Xiao Mei’s name printed on that red book together with his, that red marriage certificate.