Marriage Concerto (Small Thing Called Love) Chapter 51

Translator: pwip

Chapter 51: Ding Meng and Qiao Yichen are married.

Ding Meng's maiden heart was struck again.

She looked at Qiao Yichen for a moment before voicing the question on her mind, "Goudan, did you search the internet for a complete anthology of romantic quotes."

Qiao Yichen grinned and laughed, "Do I need to look it up? If I add up all the love songs that I've written, I can come up with my an anthology of my own."

Ding Meng sighed in admiration as she nodded in agreement. "Why don't you start a cla.s.s? It can be called Goudan's Cla.s.sroom for Romantic Quotes."

Qiao Yichen, "…Are you done with your training center cla.s.ses for the day?"

Tch, of course he would use the training cla.s.ses to change the topic. Ding Meng harrumphed and walked out.

It was already the end of the year so every major TV channel was preparing for the New Year's Eve Concert.

When she came across Gu Xin backstage at A City TV, Ding Meng wasn't surprised at all since she had already seen the song lineup. Gu Xin was the singer for the countdown segment where he would serve as the highlight of the entire performance. She didn't know if it was the TV channel's idea or if it was Gu Xin's idea, but the that song he was performing during the countdown was their duet, With You.

That's why Ding Meng was fortunate enough to be able to stand on stage and countdown with the audience at her first time partic.i.p.ating in the New Year's Eve Concert.

After the rehearsals ended, Gu Xin and Ding Meng walked together. Even though it was the middle of winter, Gu Xin was still wearing a single layer as usual. He looked over to glance at Ding Meng and asked, "How is your alb.u.m coming along?"

Ding Meng sighed, "I've only finished recording one song."

Qiao Yichen's standards were really too high. After finis.h.i.+ng the recording for Era with great difficulty, she was now stuck again on Love That Arrived Unexpectedly.

He kept telling her that her singing didn't give off the feeling of a young girl in love.

Ding Meng laughed sarcastically inside. Asking a married woman to sing like a young girl in love was pretty cruel in itself, okay?

Luckily, Qiao Yichen had continued to compose at a steady pace. The second song he had written for her alb.u.m, A Rich and Chaotic Kiss, was already complete.

Unlike Era with its sweet and emotional lyrics, A Rich and Chaotic Kiss was a song with a very strong beat. The song was written to have a trendy vibe which gave Ding Meng the urge to walk down the runway in a fas.h.i.+on show like a model.

Ah, when the time came, would he say that her singing didn't convey a trendy feeling?

"Qiao Yichen's standards are really high when it comes to alb.u.m songs, but don't worry. As long as you take steps forward every day, there'll be a day when you reach his requirements." Gu Xin comforted her, unaware that her mind had wandered off.

Ding Meng smiled at him, "Yeah, I will work hard. Thanks."

After leaving the venue, she got into a van. Her workload had increased thanks to her recent rise in popularity so Jiang Man had a.s.signed one of her own a.s.sistants to Ding Meng.

Since she didn't have any more work, Ding Meng asked the a.s.sistant to send her back home. Qiao Yichen hadn't returned yet so Ding Meng ate a bag of snacks and began to prepare dinner.

Just as she finished was.h.i.+ng and cutting the vegetables, Ding Meng heard the doorbell ring. She was a little suspicious. Could Goudan have forgotten to bring his keys this morning? She walked to the door and turned on the video intercom. The image of an unfamiliar girl appeared on the screen.

"Yichen gege~" She waved her hands at the camera.

T/N: Gege is a cute way of referring to older brothers. Like oppa and onii-sama!

Ding Meng blinked a couple times. Even though she didn't recognize this person, this girl had definitely come to find Qiao Yichen. When Ding Meng unlocked the door, the person outside didn't even bother looking. She threw herself directly onto Ding Meng, "Yichen gege, I've returned!"

Ding Meng, "…"

So this girl and Qiao Yichen already resembled each other to this degree? Was this what people were referring to when they said that married couples tend to act similarly?

The one who had thrown herself onto Ding Meng also seemed to have quickly sensed something was different. After letting go in confusion, the girl wrinkled her brows, "Who are you? Why are you in Yichen gege's house?"

This question was really straight to the point. Should she say the truth or should she say that she had come to borrow the bathroom?

When she didn't receive a reply, the girl asked again with annoyance, "Are you mute? I'm asking you why you're in Yichen gege's house."

Although Ding Meng knew that this situation needed some explaining, the way this girl kept saying "Yichen gege" was making her break out in gooseb.u.mps.

She pursed her lips and decided to completely ignore the question. She smiled and said to the girl standing outside the door, "Goudan gege is still at work. Why don't you come in and wait for him?"

After sizing her up, the girl fished some sandals out of the shoe cabinet for herself and put them on. "Are you Yichen gege's cleaner?"

Ding Meng, "…"

If she was, then she would definitely be the face of the cleaning company!

Since she didn't know the ident.i.ty of this girl, Ding Meng couldn't really explain herself. Meanwhile, the girl had no problems acting as if she was in her own home. After entering, she removed her down jacket and sat down on the couch. "Can you go pour me a gla.s.s of water?"

Ding Meng, "…"

Wasn't she supposed to be a cleaner? Why would a cleaner have to pour water?!

She looked at the girl's short skirt and long, slender legs. Smiling, she walked over and asked, "Why are you looking for Qiao Yichen?"

The girl took out her phone and looked down as she started to play a game, "I'm on summer vacation so I came back to find him. We agreed to meet up."

Summer vacation? Ding Meng glanced at the girl on the couch again. Was this little girl studying abroad?

She returned to her room and located her phone to give Qiao Yichen a call. At that moment, Qiao Yichen was just about to leave the office. He smiled when he saw her call, "Wife, do you miss me? I'll be home right away."

"Hahah." Ding Meng laughed sarcastically, "Yichen gege. A little girl who studies abroad has come to find you."

It took a while for Qiao Yichen to react. He frowned as if he had recalled something, "Is she in our house?"

"Yep, Yichen gege."

Qiao Yichen, "…"

He had a terrifying premonition that he would be sleeping by himself in the room next door again.

"Wife, listen to me. If I'm not wrong, she's called Su Rui. She's a little girl who used to live next door to me. You met her before when you used to come by my house and play."

"Is that so? I don't remember anymore."

"…I'll be back home at once. Oh, right! She's still going through a rebellious stage. Don't believe a thing she says."

After hanging up, Ding Meng tried to remember. There did seem to be a little girl who enjoyed sticking to Qiao Yichen like glue.

She had already grown up this much?

When Ding Meng walked to the living room, the girl was still playing on her phone. Ding Meng called out to her as she approached, "Su Rui?"

The girl glanced up at her and then turned back to her phone, "How do you know my name?"

Ah, so it was her afterall. Ding Meng poured her a gla.s.s of water and placed it on the table. "I just made a phone call to Goudan gege. He said that he'd be home right away."

Su Rui finally put down her phone. She looked at Ding Meng resentfully, "You told Yichen gege that I'm here? I wanted to give him a nice surprise!"

"Eh, he sounded very pleasantly surprised on the phone!"

Su Rui, "…"

Smiling, Ding Meng sat down on a nearby couch and asked her, "Did you come looking for him for any reason in particular?"

"Is it any of your business?" Su Rui picked up her phone again. She had lost her last round so she restarted the game and glanced at Ding Meng again, "Well there's no harm in telling you. I came back to marry him."

Ding Meng, "…"

She hadn't realized that Goudan gege was so charming, haha.

Since Goudan gege had a young lady who so anxious to marry him, why did he approach her to sign that contract?

…Was it because Su Rui was still underage?

She took a few more glances to size the girl up. The girl was youthful and cute. Even though she wasn't as tall as Ding Meng, she was still at least 160 cm. She was wearing a white doll collar blouse and a red short skirt. Based on appearances, she looked like she was old enough.

"Are you of marriageable age yet?"

Su Rui rolled her eyes at Ding Meng, "I'll be 20 years old next February, Auntie."

Ding Meng, "…"

You'll be pus.h.i.+ng on 30 next February and you still have the nerve to call others auntie?! Aren't you ashamed?!

She s.n.a.t.c.hed the gla.s.s of water from the table and gulped down the water that she had just poured in one breath.

Five minutes later, the front door clicked open. Su Rui threw down the cell phone in her hands and shot off the couch like a bullet, "Yichen gege is back!"

After fixing up her light brown hair, she bounced over, "Yichen gege, you've come back!"

Qiao Yichen sidestepped reflexively before he could even make out what was charging over at him.

A perfect dodge!

Su Rui nearly slammed into the door but thankfully she braked at the last second. She turned around and flashed Qiao Yichen a brilliant smile, "Yichen gege, I've returned!"

Qiao Yichen immediately glanced over at the living room. Ding Meng was sitting on the couch and smiling at him. Afterwards, he smiled and turned around to look at Su Rui, "Eh, well isn't this Su Rui? You've grown so much. Have you found a boyfriend overseas yet?"

By saying "You've grown so much", he highlighted the difference in their ages. By following that up with "Have you found a boyfriend overseas yet?", he proved that their relations.h.i.+p was innocent and pure. Very good. He gave himself 100 points.

After hearing him speak, Su Rui looked at him unhappily, "I said that I would marry Yichen gege. How could I allow other boys to become my boyfriend?"

Qiao Yichen, "…"

Had she already said those same words to Ding Meng?

He pursed his lips and spoke to her solemnly, "Little miss, don't joke around. I'm already married."

Su Rui stared blankly for a long, drawn out moment before she spoke with disbelief, "Yichen gege, you're lying to me again. Tell me, who did you marry?"

Qiao Yichen walked over and pulled Ding Meng over to introduce her to Su Rui, "This is my wife, Ding Meng."

Su Rui's jaw dropped in shock. Her eyes stared widely at Ding Meng, "Isn't she the cleaner?"

Qiao Yichen raised his eyebrows and turned around to look at Ding Meng, "That's how you introduced yourself?"

Ding Meng looked at Su Rui, "Is that how I introduced myself to you?"

Su Rui, "…"

She screamed suddenly, "I don't believe this. You definitely agreed to marry me!"

Qiao Yichen's heart jumped and he rushed to clear his name, "When did I agree to that?"

Su Rui replied, "Before I left the country, I told you that I would return to marry you after graduation, and you told me to study hard. Was that not agreement?!"

Qiao Yichen, "…"

He suddenly realized why she had only scored 300 points on the national college entrance exam.

T/N: For reference, the standardized college entrance exam is called the Gaokao, and the total score is 750 xD

Without another word, he walked into the bedroom to retrieve their marriage certificates and placed them on the table, "These are our marriage certificates. You can take a look if you don't believe me."

Su Rui stared at the two red booklets for a moment. Then, she dropped to the floor as if she had received a huge blow.

T/N: Marriage certificates look like red pa.s.sport books. Example here

"Is she okay?" Ding Meng was a little worried. She looked like her soul had departed.

Qiao Yichen also took a few glances at Su Rui. Then, he replied to Ding Meng, "Give her some time to accept this cruel reality. Have you made dinner yet? Maybe eating some food will calm her down."

Ding Meng thought that was reasonable, "I've already finished cutting the vegetables."

When Su Rui heard them speak to each other in that casual husband and wife manner, her soul flew even farther away.

Qiao Yichen nodded to Ding Meng and then looked over at Su Rui again, "We'll go prepare dinner now. Is there anything you want to eat?"

Su Rui didn't reply so Qiao Yichen didn't press any further. Instead, he pulled Ding Meng into the kitchen.

Not long after, there was a sound of a door opening. Su Rui dashed out while hugging her down jacket.

Ding Meng walked to the kitchen doorway and looked outwards, "She wouldn't head to the rooftop, right?"

Qiao Yichen frowned, "The door to the rooftop is locked."

"Ah, that's good." Ding Meng breathed out in relief before frowning again, "But we're not the only ones with a rooftop."

Qiao Yichen, "…"

He didn't have Su Rui's telephone number so he had to give his mom a call and explain the situation to her. Mama Qiao told him to relax and that she would contact Su Rui's parents.

At the very end, she said, "Goudan, I'm a little worried that you'll have to sleep in the bathroom tonight."

Qiao Yichen, "…"

He was convinced that only his brother was truly her flesh and blood.

After rus.h.i.+ng out of Qiao Yichen's apartment, Su Rui wandered around the streets by herself. Yichen gege's marriage was the greatest setback she had ever experienced in her life thus far. It would probably be awhile before she recovered.

When she arrived at a crosswalk, she copied the people in front of her and stopped in front of the red light. The big LED screen on the building facing her was broadcasting a music TV show. When Su Rui glanced up in a daze, she discovered that the person on the screen was unexpectedly Yichen gege's wife!

She was a celebrity?

Su Rui's eyebrows rose. She fished her cell phone out of her down jacket's pocket and looked at a photo of hers.

A picture of the two marriage certificate stared at her. She had stealthily taken the picture earlier.

She looked down at the picture for a moment. When the light turned green, she followed the stream of people onto the road.

Su Rui's footsteps halted when she pa.s.sed by the entrance of a pizza shop on the next street. After stopping for two seconds, she pushed open the door and walked in.

The heater was on so it was very warm inside. After finding an empty spot, she sat down and took off her down jacket.

A waiter quickly came over with a menu and asked for her order. After looking it over, she randomly chose a pizza and asked, "What's the wifi pa.s.sword here?"

The waiter pointed at a sign posted next to her seat, "The wifi pa.s.sword is written on that. Enjoy your meal."

Su Rui nodded. After logging onto the internet, she opened her Weibo.

She found a popular blogger who frequently posted celebrity gossip and also often received tips from fans.

She started a private message and wrote, "Ding Meng and Qiao Yichen are married."

T/N: DUNDUNDUNNNN