Happy Chinese New Year! Happy Valentine's Day!
Chapter 26 Stay by my side...
Why get married?
Qi Yi'an originally thought there would be an extremely awkward silence, but the silence that was about to happen was easily ended by Qin Ruoshui in just a few seconds.
"Tax avoidance".
Qin Ruoshui said calmly, taking a sip of wine.
She was still the same. Qi Yi'an looked at the person in front of him, his heart itching with hatred.
Qin Ruoshui was always so nonchalant, her light tone repeatedly confirming her indifference towards him. Because she was completely unconcerned, she didn't inform him before the wedding, and offered little explanation after they met, as if the matter had nothing to do with Qi Yi'an. And because she was completely unconcerned, she was incredibly casual whether they were apart or reunited after a long separation. Qi Yi'an found that he couldn't even elicit the slightest emotional response from this woman.
They were two completely different people. The more relaxed and casual Qin Ruoshui was, the more furious Qi Yi'an became. Sure enough, it was only she who cared. One-sided love, self-deception—after all these years of stubbornly refusing to see her, she still hadn't given up. Now she could only say she brought it all on herself. Saying she hated her was really just hating herself.
Qi Yi'an pursed his lips slightly, lowered his head, and took out a cigarette.
A cold, piercing gaze, seen through the flickering flame of a cigarette, reached Qin Ruoshui's eyes, sending a shiver down her spine. Qin Ruoshui looked at her now mature lover with some surprise.
When did she develop such coldness and gloom?
"You know I don't like the smell of smoke."
"Hmm." Before she could finish speaking, Qi Yi'an had already stood up, walked to the balcony, and pushed open the door to go out.
Qin Ruoshui looked at the cold, retreating figure that had turned her away and sighed softly.
This country faces increasingly serious problems of an aging population and a sharp drop in marriage and birth rates. Since 2020, it has gradually begun to adopt stricter semi-mandatory measures. These include policies such as heavy taxes on single people, hidden penalties, tax reductions for married couples, and post-marital childbirth benefits.
Things that seemed unbelievable a few years ago, upon closer inspection, are actually all predictable. From the relaxation of the one-child policy to the overwhelming media coverage supporting marriage and childbirth, to the amendment of the marriage law, the establishment of a divorce cooling-off period, and the marginalization of the demands for single-child families and same-sex marriage... step by step, just when you think life is peaceful, the frog is slowly boiled in lukewarm water, and in the end, people have to pay the price for not taking action.
The Qin family is large and wealthy; even a few percentage points of tax revenue represent a significant fortune, so they cannot easily let go. Furthermore, enforcement measures against women are expected to be implemented gradually. Therefore, the Qin family and Qin Ruoshui's choice of a cooperative marriage at this time is a way to "ensure their safety." Regarding childbirth, only appropriate adjustments to the medical certificates are needed later...
Qi Yi'an exhaled a puff of smoke. She should have realized this earlier, but she hadn't wanted to think about it at all.
"When did you learn to smoke?" Qin Ruoshui quietly wrapped her arms around her waist from behind, reached out and took the cigarette from her hand.
Qi Yi'an remained motionless, staring expressionlessly at the distant, shimmering city horizon.
"What's wrong? Are you angry with me?" His tone was still casual, with a hint of teasing. Qi Yi'an frowned slightly.
Qin Ruoshui chuckled softly, leaned against her back, and hugged her. It was that same soft, warm feeling that she had always longed for and couldn't resist. Qi Yi'an closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
xxxx This text is in other corners of the world xxxxxxxx
Qi Yi'an's breathing became rapid, and his heartbeat became erratic.
She closed her eyes and gently bit her lower lip, suppressing the increasingly chaotic emotions in her heart.
Qin Ruoshui is always like this. How despicable.
The entire soul of this piece has been removed here, sigh.
Qi Yi'an smiled bitterly in the darkness. What am I supposed to do with you?
This post has been so heavily edited it's practically soulless, haha. Many of these words are in other corners of the world...
After their tender moment, Qin Ruoshui slept for a few hours in Qi Yi'an's arms. She was groggily awakened by a phone call, picked up her phone, gave her assistant a few instructions, canceled all her plans for the day, and then snuggled back into Qi Yi'an's embrace.
"Who is the person you are marrying?" Qi Yi'an seemed to have woken up as well. The ambiguity of last night had returned to a cold and restrained question this morning.
Qin Ruoshui grumbled a few times, snuggled closer to Qi Yi'an, and mumbled sleepily, "Lin Yan is my brother's childhood friend. It's just a collaboration between our two families."
Qi Yi'an didn't respond, but simply pulled her closer to his chest.
Qin Ruoshui chuckled softly, "Jealous again?" Her languid and casual tone sent a shiver down Qi Yi'an's spine. She remained silent, but the weight in her heart finally lifted.
Qin Ruoshui gently soothed her back with her arms wrapped around her, making her feel at ease. Gradually, she drifted off to sleep again. No dreams today.
-----
Although Li Feiyan asked Qi Yi'an to help her with chores, she didn't immediately assign her any tasks. So she could finally enjoy a few months of unemployed life at home. Since her work always involved traveling the world, she actually preferred staying home during holidays. She stayed with Qin Ruoshui, occasionally accompanying her on business trips to other cities, finally experiencing some of the peaceful and quiet days that a normal couple should have.
Qin Ruoshui was like a whirlpool, drawing Qi Yi'an in completely; her comforting softness always captivated and enthralled Qi Yi'an. However, based on past experience, this kind of relationship would often come to an end periodically, and they would separate again. After a period of time, this kind of life would restart irregularly. The cycle repeated itself endlessly, both torturous and sweet.
Perhaps because Qi Yi'an loved her more, it was always Qin Ruoshui who experienced the painful withdrawal symptoms after each relationship ended, while Qin Ruoshui didn't seem to mind. At least, that's what Qi Yi'an thought.
"How much do you earn at work now?" Qin Ruoshui seemed lost in thought today, suddenly taking off her glasses and asking this question while reading a book.
"It's alright, I'm not really sure how to calculate it. My income isn't very stable." Qi Yi'an rubbed Qin Ruoshui's little feet that were kneading her breasts, then looked up and asked, "What's wrong?"
"Give me a rough estimate, and also your current salary expectations." Mr. Qin's words sound a bit like... he wants to personally solve the employment problem for unemployed youth?
"Let me see... my income over the past year is about 2.32 Bitcoins... more than ten thousand US dollars... some RMB... and a little bit of gold and other miscellaneous things." Qi Yi'an counted slowly.
"..."
Uh…oh no, the atmosphere is a bit off. Qi Yi'an watched as Qin Ruoshui's lips tightened, and nodded with a half-smile.
"Fine, you naughty child, tell me honestly, what kind of work do you do?!" Qin Ruoshui stared at her without looking away, her outstretched foot pressing firmly against her as she interrogated her, "Is it some kind of shady, illegal business?! What have you become these past few years?!"
Qi Yi'an paused for a moment, then grinned and hugged Qin Ruoshui's leg. "Yes! I've been in the sex industry for the past few years, but you know, it's legal in some countries like R and H! I work as a high-class matchmaker, sometimes even helping to shoot pornographic films and produce scripts... all to better serve you, and to realize my grand ideal. My ideal is to make humanity realize that sex itself is an instinctive, beautiful, and romantic thing..."
Qi Yi'an's words were wildly imaginative and full of comedic exaggeration. Qin Ruoshui rolled her eyes but couldn't help laughing, pressing her hand against Qi Yi'an's forehead. "You brat, I'd be a fool to believe you. You've never been honest since you were little, always talking nonsense."
She then became serious again, "Tell me honestly, what exactly have you been doing?"
Qi Yi'an looked aggrieved, like a puppy caught doing something wrong, "N-nothing... I didn't do anything..."
"Speak!" Qin Ruoshui said with the same seriousness she had shown years ago when she said "Take it off!"
"...just doing some oversight work at a small international NGO..."
How much do you earn?
"...forty or fifty thousand pounds..."
"..." Qin Ruoshui lowered her head and pondered for a moment, "Would you be willing to work for my company?"
Would you like to stay by my side?
Author's Note:
To put it simply, the feeling I get these past few days from trying to get things approved is that we can no longer dance in shackles in this era.
Some things are bound to fail sooner or later.
My graduation thesis is due on August 24th; I hope to finish writing about my life at the same time.
My first short erotic story!
Chapter 27 Freedom.
Qi Yi'an felt a sharp pain in his heart.
"Is my sister going to take care of me?" she said in a joking tone, picking up a mango from the side, cutting it in half, and scooping it out with a spoon. She held a spoonful of fruit to Qin Ruoshui's lips, but Qin Ruoshui looked down, shook her head, and said, "I don't want it."
Qi Yi'an saw that although she said she wouldn't eat, she kept looking at him, so he smiled and prepared to pull his hand away. Qin Ruoshui opened her mouth again but found nothing. "Hahaha, who said they wouldn't eat?" Qi Yi'an reached for the spoon and fed her again, laughing heartily.
Qin Ruoshui ignored her, quietly picking up a piece of fruit, behaving like a docile little mythical beast. While eating, she picked up her tablet and continued taking notes.
"Is it delicious?" Qi Yi'an watched the little mythical beast eat bite by bite, looking so adorable, and couldn't help but touch her forehead with his.
“…Hmm…” Qin Ruoshui nodded, her cheeks puffed out as she chewed, and she looked down at the tablet.
Oh my, Qin Ruoshui was so well-behaved today that it melted my heart.
As everyone knows, when feeding someone with a spoon, you either share the same spoon or feed them spoonful by spoonful until they finish eating. After Qi Yi'an finished feeding her the whole mango, Qin Ruoshui looked up and asked, "...Isn't this good?"
"..." Qi Yi'an was stunned for a moment, then wiped her mouth, tidied the table, and threw the mango peel into the trash can.
Qin Ruoshui pulled her into her arms and whispered softly, "From now on... stay by my side... okay?"
Qi Yi'an closed his eyes in that familiar tenderness, listening to her continue.
"...Belongs only to me..."
"...I'll take you with me wherever I go from now on, okay?"
Qi Yian quietly closed his eyes, lost in her tender embrace, and really wanted to immediately agree to give her whatever she wanted.
"Don't you want your freedom?" But the next second, he asked her that question in return.
Qi Yi'an felt Qin Ruoshui's movements freeze, and sighed silently in her arms.
After a long silence, Qin Ruoshui pushed her away, got up, and walked to the window without saying a word.
"What's wrong?" Qi Yi'an followed her to the window, wrapped his arms around her from behind, and buried his nose in her hair that was draped over her shoulders, sniffing it gently.
Of course she knew what was going on, but she also knew their problems were irreconcilable. Two people who were completely different and both craved freedom were not suited to be together. They could enjoy fleeting passion, but realistically, they had little in common in the long run, shared interests, were at different stages of life, had vastly different personalities, communication styles, age differences, and differing values… These kinds of gaps had become increasingly apparent in their repeated separations and reconciliations over the past few years, **a chilling and terrifying prospect.**
More importantly, for them, love cannot outweigh freedom. If they have anything in common, it's probably their near-stubbornness on this point.
"Ha, you always say such jarring things." Qin Ruoshui sneered, gently but resolutely shaking off her hand. Qin Ruoshui felt that if she were a man, she would instantly become impotent every time she heard her say that.
"You've said it many times, we've never been a good match." Qi Yi'an looked out the window with a calm expression.
"Yes. So let's just stop now. I've said this many times before." Qin Ruoshui's cold tone cut into Qi Yi'an's heart. Ha, it's the same old story.
"I don't want to." After so many times, Qi Yi'an would inexplicably feel aggrieved and his eyes would well up with tears every time he was in front of her.
"Then what is this?"
“…”
"You're the one who always says things like this, and you're the one who doesn't want to break up. I'm so tired. I didn't have to be this tired at all."
Perhaps not all love is meant to be shared with only one person, for a lifetime, with unwavering devotion. Love, in fact, had no definition before the establishment of monogamy and social morality.
“I’ve said before, I think we might be better suited to a kind of…undefined by society…a loose yet close connection. You are free, but I will always be there when you need me.” Qi Yi’an lowered his eyes.
"Yes, you always use these sweet words to keep me here. But in the end, we still want more and more. I can't give you all your emotional needs, and you can't give me the freedom I want." Qin Ruoshui said, becoming somewhat agitated.
Qi Yi'an remained silent.
"That's it. I don't want to go on like this anymore," Qin Ruoshui said decisively, turning to go back to her room.
Qi Yi'an felt a pang of pain in his heart. Qin Ruoshui was still the same; one moment she was full of affection and making promises, the next she could wash her hands of it without a care. She was probably used to it with the other women.