Chapter 81: Xia Lu Refuses to Be Human!

Qin Hongfei looked at her grandfather suspiciously. Did you pound the table? Grandfather Qin was helpless as well. I didn’t, he thought! But his wife cared about saving face—what could he do but take the blame? Qin Hongfei: “…” Grandfather Qin: “…” Both knew exactly what was going on, silently complaining that, even at their age, they cared so much about appearances, but neither dared to speak it out loud.

“The two conditions Grandma mentioned—I’ve agreed to both,” Qin Hongfei said. “Are there any others?”

Grandma Qin was silent, staring at her. You agreed? I thought you’d refuse. Why did you agree so quickly? She couldn’t help but voice her thoughts: “I really thought you’d say no. You were so firm before, telling me you wouldn’t let your sister go to the fifth house as a maid. Now you’ve changed your mind?”

Well, before, she hadn’t agreed and Grandma thought her ungrateful, but now that she had, things felt subtly different. Was it just age, making her feel so indecisive?

Qin Hongfei had no idea of the thousands of thoughts spinning through the old woman’s mind. Calmly, she explained, “Why do you think I’ve changed my mind, rather than simply being confident?”

“I believe the internet café will succeed. I believe I can pay off our family’s debts. And I believe my sister won’t need to go work as a maid.”

“The reason I agreed is because I know that all the demands you and Grandfather made, though they seemed harsh, were actually for me and my sister’s sake.” At fifteen, Qin Hongfei hadn’t known how to read people, but after her journey to another world, she could see through them with uncanny accuracy and knew who was truly good or bad.

The two elders could have stood by and done nothing—but they hadn’t. In Grandma Qin’s eyes, staying in school was the best arrangement, thinking of her future. As for the café’s prospects, Qin Hongfei was confident; but to the elders, the business was destined to fail, and eventually, she’d need help from the fifth house to pay off the debt. Rather than letting the eldest branch stubbornly insist on paying, they’d made it a condition now—a thoughtful, if tough, decision.

You couldn’t blame the elders for not believing in her. With the mess the eldest branch was in, no assets, no value, why should anyone take her word for it? Trust needed time.

Grandma Qin had intended to scold her, but after hearing this, she suddenly found herself at a loss for words. This girl… so much more sensible than her mother. Very clever, too, but had been held back.

Xia Lu is shameless! She cursed inwardly, then suddenly felt bored and waved her hand, saying, “Enough, spare me the nice words. If you want to try, go ahead. But hurry—school’s about to start. You dropped out and angered the teachers and principal. I have to take you to apologize…” She sighed, troubled. Qin Hongfei’s mother had really offended the teachers and principal, and who knew if things could be smoothed over.

It had been a long time, and Qin Hongfei had forgotten about this. Anyway, the two elders had been convinced. When she went outside, her mother and Qin Fei were anxiously waiting. As soon as she stepped out, they rushed over and comforted her, “Don’t worry, don’t worry. Grandpa and Grandma are old, their tempers aren’t great. If they scolded you, don’t take it to heart.”

Both automatically assumed the elders had scolded her; after all, every time they came over, the elders’ scolding had become almost a tradition for the eldest branch.

Qin Hongfei smoothed her mother’s hair and spoke up for the elders, saying, “Mom, Grandpa and Grandma didn’t scold me. They’ve agreed to let me open the internet café.”

Her mother was surprised. “What?”

Qin Fei was stunned as well. “Did you hypnotize Grandpa and Grandma?”

Qin Hongfei glanced at her sister, calmly replying that she hadn’t. “I just agreed to two conditions…”