A little past five in the afternoon.
Shi Yuanxing’s car pulled up once again outside Qin Shuzhi’s building.
After getting in, Qin Shuzhi noticed the back seat was piled high with gifts—all in exquisite, high-end boxes that must have cost a pretty penny.
She glanced at the man behind the wheel and felt, in that instant, how much he valued her and her family.
Remembering something, she said to Shi Yuanxing, “There’s something I forgot to tell you—I’m not my parents’ biological daughter. I was adopted.”
Hearing this, Shi Yuanxing turned his head sharply to look at her.
There was surprise in his eyes, along with an emotion she couldn’t quite name—whether pity or heartache.
“Then you…”
Qin Shuzhi smiled. “My family loves me very much.”
The emotion in Shi Yuanxing’s eyes softened. He nodded, paused for a moment, then asked, “And your biological parents…”
Qin Shuzhi said, “They passed away long ago.”
Having received Qin Shuzhi’s call saying she’d be home for dinner tonight and had something important to tell the family, Father and Mother Qin had been waiting at home since early.
When their daughter walked in with a distinguished-looking man, who was carrying an armful of gifts, the Qins were both stunned, their expressions shifting through a range of emotions.
“Zhizhi, who is this?”
Mother Qin’s gaze settled on Shi Yuanxing.
Qin Shuzhi said, “Mom, Dad, his name is Shi Yuanxing. He’s my husband.”
What?
Father and Mother Qin both widened their eyes.
The two of them—four eyes—swiveled in unison to look at Shi Yuanxing, then back at Qin Shuzhi, too shocked to utter a single word.
“Mom, Dad, hello.”
Shi Yuanxing greeted them with great humility and courtesy.
The address of “Mom, Dad” jolted them back to their senses. Mother Qin let out a stiff laugh and nodded, responding with a vague but polite acknowledgment, gesturing for him to take a seat in the living room. Then she grabbed Qin Shuzhi’s right hand and pulled her aside.
“Zhizhi, what’s going on? Weren’t you planning to marry Shen Yichen? Where did this husband suddenly come from?”
Seeing Father Qin follow them over, Qin Shuzhi said, “Mom, Dad, I broke up with Shen Yichen.”
“What?” Father Qin looked utterly shocked.
After a moment of surprise, Mother Qin seemed not entirely taken aback, and only asked, “Why did you break up?”
“He was still entangled with his ex-girlfriend. I couldn’t tolerate it, so I ended things.”
Father Qin flew into a rage on the spot. “He dared to be unfaithful to you?”
“How dare Shen Yichen…”
Mother Qin was also seething with anger. She paused, then looked at Qin Shuzhi anxiously. “So is that why you did this—to spite him, you just found someone random to get a marriage certificate with?”
“Of course not.”
Did Shen Yichen really have that kind of nerve?
Qin Shuzhi said, “I married Yuanxing because I value him as a person.”
“He has great character. We’re both serious about this…”
Speaking of this, Qin Shuzhi suddenly remembered that Shi Yuanxing was still sitting alone in the living room.
“Mom, Dad, let’s not talk about this for now.” She said to them, “Your son-in-law came all the way here today specifically to visit you. He barely stepped through the door before being left by himself—how rude would that be on our part?”
Upon hearing that Shen Yichen had cheated, Father and Mother Qin were still fuming. But at her reminder, they remembered there was a son-in-law waiting in the other room.
They composed themselves and were about to walk over when Qin Shuzhi tugged at them.
She lowered her voice and said, “Dad, Mom, Yuanxing just came back from abroad and hasn’t found a job yet. Please don’t ask him about work or money when you talk to him.”
Mother Qin poked her forehead and laughed despite herself. “Already defending him?”
Seeing the Qins approaching, Shi Yuanxing immediately stood up.
“You’re Xiao Shi, right? No need to be so formal, have a seat.”
Mother Qin sized up the young man before her while gesturing for him to sit down.
In terms of height and looks, he was no less impressive than that Shen Yichen.
Shi Yuanxing said, “Thank you, Mother.”
Qin Shuzhi walked over to his side, and only after Father Qin and Mother Qin had taken their seats on the opposite sofa did they sit down.
Qin Shuzhi gestured at the gifts laid out on the table. “Mom, Dad, these are gifts Yuanxing prepared for you as a first-meeting courtesy.”
Shi Yuanxing promptly rose and took out a box from the pile of gifts, handing it to Mother Qin. “Mom, this is a gift I prepared for you. I hope you’ll like it.”
“Is this… G-fs’s V-Grade Beauty Water?”
A flicker of delight passed through Mother Qin’s eyes, and she looked at Shi Yuanxing in surprise. “This is a special product that only G-fs’s supreme-tier customers can purchase. How did you manage to get it?”
Hearing this, Qin Shuzhi abruptly turned to look at Shi Yuanxing.
She had mentioned that afternoon that her mother had recently become obsessed with this skincare brand, but she hadn’t expected him to have prepared it for her mother.
“I have a friend who works at G-fs headquarters—I can get the products through him,” Shi Yuanxing said. “Also, I’ve applied for their V-Grade Membership on your behalf.”
“V-Grade Membership?”
Mother Qin looked at him in disbelief, her tone unclear whether it was delight or doubt. “Really?”
It wasn’t surprising that Mother Qin was skeptical, because V-Grade was G-fs’s top-tier membership. She had previously spent over three months and burned through a considerable amount of money just to upgrade to A-Grade Membership.
Above A-Grade there was also S-Grade—those two levels were manageable, since they could be bought with money. But V-Grade was for supreme customers, granted only after passing through G-fs headquarters’ rigorous screening and multi-faceted evaluations on top of S-Grade status.
Currently, fewer than five people nationwide held V-Grade membership.
“Really. You were already A-Grade before, and my friend gave it special approval—headquarters has already signed off on it.”
Shi Yuanxing continued, “Within a month, a specialist from headquarters will deliver your membership card to you. At that time, members of their R&D team will also come to conduct a detailed skin test for you, and afterward they’ll create bespoke skincare products tailored to your skin condition.”
That was the private customization only V-Grade members could enjoy.
As Shi Yuanxing spoke, Mother Qin’s eyes grew brighter and brighter. By the time he finished, she was absolutely overjoyed, looking at him with eyes full of smiles.
“Oh my, Yuanxing, you’re so thoughtful. I love the gift you gave me.”
Qin Shuzhi: “?”
From the distant “Xiao Shi” to the affectionate “Yuanxing”—all it took was one G-fs V-Grade membership card?
“Jiangcheng doesn’t seem to have any G-fs V-Grade members yet, right?” Mother Qin looked at Shi Yuanxing.
“That’s right,” Shi Yuanxing replied with a smile. “You’ll be the first.”
The smile on Mother Qin’s impeccably maintained face grew even wider.
Say what you will, but in comparison, this son-in-law was a hundred times better than Shen Yichen.
Back then, Shen Yichen would occasionally come back with Zhizhi, and the gifts he brought weren’t cheap either—but those were just conventional visiting gifts, probably the kind he had his assistant prepare.
How could they compare to her son-in-law’s thoughtfulness? He gave gifts that hit the mark perfectly.
Looking at him, he truly did keep her daughter in his heart.
After pleasing his mother-in-law, Shi Yuanxing turned his attention to his father-in-law.
“Dad, this is a gift I picked out for you.”
Shi Yuanxing took a bottle of liquor from the gift bag and presented it to Father Qin with both hands.
“Genever?”
Father Qin took it, squinting as he examined the bottle in his hands.
“Yes, this is Oudegenever, a commemorative collector’s edition. I hope it meets your standards.”
Hearing this, Father Qin couldn’t help but take a fresh look at his son-in-law. “This liquor… isn’t something you can just buy with money. Do you collect liquor too?”
Hearing this, Qin Shuzhi looked at Shi Yuanxing in surprise.
She had asked him to buy gifts at the supermarket, and he’d given her father a collector’s bottle of liquor?
“I have a friend overseas who owns a winery. I helped him out with something before, and this was his thank-you gift to me.”
Shi Yuanxing said to Father Qin with a smile, “Shuzhi mentioned that you’re very knowledgeable about liquor, so I thought I’d pass along the favor.”
“That’s very thoughtful of you. Thank you.”
Though Father Qin’s face didn’t show it, Qin Shuzhi knew he was pleased.
“I’m glad you like it.” Shi Yuanxing continued, “I also brought a nice bottle of red wine today. Mom, would it be alright if Dad and I have a few drinks together during dinner?”
He looked at Mother Qin inquiringly.
Hearing this, Father Qin’s eyes lit up, and he quickly looked at his wife as well.
Mother Qin, having just received a gift she liked and being in a good mood, replied, “Of course, that’s perfectly fine.”