Girl, There's Something Wrong With You - Chapter 7

“So much?”

In Jingkou, Cheng Jinyang was also shocked when he saw the list of supplies sent by the Longxi Li family. The amount of supplies was roughly three times the original order, with the surplus clearly given for free.

Could this be a hush money? Even though I generously decided not to pursue the matter, the Longxi Li family, being one of the five prominent families, surely wanted to save face. So they used this as compensation for me?

Hahaha, this is indeed an unexpected delight.

Of course, Cheng Jinyang would never admit that his clever plan was actually exploiting the situation for profit. After all, he had been captured by Li Jing’ai, so receiving some compensation for mental distress was only fair. Plus, he had helped the Longxi Li family discover a super talented member.

If it weren’t for him, Teacher Li would still be stuck in her self-abuse!

Now, Teacher Li has a family position, Longxi Li family has a guaranteed future third-grade talent, and Li Xuansheng even has an adopted daughter.

Isn’t this a joyous outcome for everyone? Without me, where would they get these benefits?

Wait a minute, I initially thought the threefold amount was a bit excessive, but upon reflection…

Could it be Li Xuansheng preparing a dowry for Li Qingwan? Could it really be a dowry?!

Cheng Jinyang thought of this and approached Li Qingwan, who was overseeing the delivery of supplies, and pretended to be puzzled, asking her why there was so much more than expected, and whether there had been a mistake.

“It’s a dowry,” Li Qingwan said with a smile.

Cheng Jinyang: !!!

“Haha, just kidding.” Seeing his startled reaction, Li Qingwan stuck out her tongue and smiled awkwardly. “It’s compensation from my father. After all, you were captured. He hopes you don’t hold a grudge against my two useless siblings.”

Just acknowledged as an adopted daughter, and now calling them siblings? Cheng Jinyang was somewhat speechless and waved his hand.

“Ahem, it’s fine, I don’t mind. Besides, you know (we were the ones who schemed against them first).”

“Hmm.” Li Qingwan nodded. “There’s another thing. My father has sent some promising clan members to Jingkou who want to join the Northern Army.”

“Join the Northern Army?” Cheng Jinyang asked in surprise.

Joining the Northern Army and joining his personal staff were completely different matters. The latter was a personal allegiance, like Chief Clerk Wang and Registrar Xie; even if it was endorsed by their families, it only represented their personal allegiance to Cheng Jinyang, not their clans.

But sending clan members to join the Northern Army was an investment by the Longxi Li family in the Northern Army’s influence. The decisiveness and motivation behind this decision were significant.

“Hmm.” Li Qingwan nodded. “I conveyed my expectations about the war to my father. He found my analysis very reasonable and decided to send some clan members here to prepare for any changes in Jiankang.”

Cheng Jinyang reviewed the list of personnel. This time, the Longxi Li family had sent 167 people, mostly at the eighth and seventh grades, slightly fewer than the Hejian Xing family.

But it was still far more than the Yangdi Chu family. In some ways, Li Xuansheng’s trust in his newly acknowledged daughter was much greater than Chu Jiye’s trust in Chu Qingqing.

“Then let’s have Chief Clerk Wang take care of these people,” Cheng Jinyang said.

“My father came along too,” Li Qingwan added.

“Your clan leader came?” Cheng Jinyang was initially startled, then realized she meant her biological father.

“Yeah.” Li Qingwan rubbed her forehead, troubled. “I’m also wondering how to explain to him if I don’t return home tonight.”

That was indeed a problem. Jingkou was not very large, but it was not the same as Jiankang. Even though it was not far away, if his daughter didn’t come home every night, his father-in-law would definitely become suspicious.

“How about this?” Cheng Jinyang pondered for a long time, then hesitantly suggested, “I can arrange a military position for my father-in-law, so he’ll be frequently on business trips and won’t have time to come home. That way, we can avoid suspicion for now.”

“Father-in-law?” Li Qingwan frowned.

“Ah, oops! I misspoke, sorry.” Cheng Jinyang quickly changed the subject. “What I mean is, although it’s a bit unfair to him, it’s better than him constantly questioning where you’re staying every night.”

“Well, it can’t be helped,” Li Qingwan agreed with a nod.

After Cheng Jinyang left, she slowly stood up, went to the bathroom to wash her face, and then stared blankly at her reflection in the mirror.

After leaving the port warehouse, Cheng Jinyang returned to the Governor’s Mansion and encountered Xing Yuanzhi at the office door.

“Jinyang,” Xing Yuanzhi said gravely, “My father just arrived from Jiankang and wants to see me. I won’t be staying here tonight.”

“Oh, where does my father-in-law plan to stay…” Cheng Jinyang asked instinctively, then realized he had spoken too quickly.

“Probably a nearby hotel for now,” Xing Yuanzhi said, her face reddening slightly, though she didn’t protest. “It’s just for one night, but I want him to stay because Jiankang will… you know.”

“Hmm.” Cheng Jinyang thought this was a similar problem to Teacher Li’s situation.

Dealing with in-laws wasn’t too difficult, but a sound and comprehensive strategy had to be figured out.

“Yuanzhi, how far are you from reaching the fifth grade in bloodline concentration?” he asked seriously.

“About twenty to thirty thousand Ma,” Xing Yuanzhi replied after thinking. “It should be within today or tomorrow.”

“Get everyone to the fifth grade as soon as possible,” Cheng Jinyang said seriously. “Then we need to reveal this secret to our families to gain their trust and support for our cohabitation. After all, they’ll likely need to gather in Jingkou soon.”

“Reveal the truth to them?” Xing Yuanzhi asked in shock. “Jinyang, the more people know, the quicker this secret will be exposed…”

“Exactly, so we need to wait until everyone reaches the fifth grade.” Cheng Jinyang said solemnly. “The fifth grade is the threshold for a qualitative change in abilities and the basis for our independent political status. Eight fifth-grade ability users working together could make it hard for Taicheng to act against us. Also, tonight I’ll consult with Yujing San on the fastest way to advance from the fifth to the fourth grade.”

“Hmm.” Xing Yuanzhi couldn’t come up with any objections immediately but finally reminded him, “Jinyang, you should discuss it with Miss Wang. Although she may not be very pleasant to deal with, she’s willing to help in this regard.”

“Wanrou?” Cheng Jinyang said worriedly, “I’m not afraid she’ll oppose it, but… what if she agrees to reveal the truth but insists on stamping your family with a mind steel seal”

“Stamping…” Xing Yuanzhi was momentarily speechless.

“Forget it, let’s first get to the fifth grade,” Cheng Jinyang said, waving his hand. “Don’t worry, I won’t make any decisions before we reach a consensus.”

“Okay.” Xing Yuanzhi stood up. “I’ll leave now.”

“Alright,” Cheng Jinyang said.

However, Xing Yuanzhi didn’t leave immediately. She hesitated, looking at Cheng Jinyang with a strange mist in her large, bright eyes.

“What’s wrong?” Cheng Jinyang asked, puzzled.

“It’s nothing.” Xing Yuanzhi finally made up her mind, stepped forward, and gave him a tight hug.

The intensity of her embrace was so strong that Cheng Jinyang felt as though he might be “hugged to death.”

Yet, Xing Yuanzhi buried her head in his chest. At such a close distance, Cheng Jinyang could even see her eyelashes trembling slightly, momentarily forgetting to struggle.

Given Xing Yuanzhi’s severe cleanliness obsession, her willingness for such close contact was clearly a significant effort.

“Let’s leave it at this.” Xing Yuanzhi finally released him, her face as red as a ripe persimmon. She quickly turned away to avoid showing her face, and with a stern expression, said, “When I’m not around, you need to be careful while sleeping! Don’t let other girls take advantage of you, understand?”

“…Oh.”

“Is that a reluctant tone?”

“No.” Cheng Jinyang chuckled softly. “I’m just a bit surprised…”

“…to see such a candid side of you.”