Chapter 9 Incompetent Father_1

Lin Hui heard the mention of 88,000 and couldn't help but worry, she quickly chimed in, "That dowry is too small, if Qiqi gets married, people will say she's cheap or something. If things aren't going well, and she's constantly running back to her parents' house, it will also give rise to gossip."

"The one always running back to her parents' house is you," Su Tiancheng coldly huffed, giving no face to his sister-in-law.

Lin Hui was stunned. What was wrong with this old man? He usually didn't dare to let out a peep, so why was he raising his voice today?

Feeling extremely upset and aggrieved, she turned to Chen Shujuan and said, "Mom, did I say something wrong? Qiqi, she..."

"Just shut up! Do you want to embarrass us even more?"

Su Tiancheng cut off Lin Hui's words and then, with a stern face, said, "Qiqi is my daughter, I am the head of the family, and I will say how much the dowry is!"

"Su Qiqi is also my daughter, the dowry is one million, not a penny less!" Chen Shujuan was ready to stand her ground against Su Tiancheng.

Jin Muchen, having had someone investigate, already knew the situation of the Su family and was prepared in his mind.

But facing such an exaggerated scene, he was still shocked.

He couldn't help but look at Su Qiqi beside him with pity.

If he continued to remain silent, he estimated the argument would never end.

So, he spoke up, "Mom, I will definitely provide the dowry, not a single penny less, but you have to give me time to gather it, I can't come up with it right away."

"Don't call me 'Mom', wait until you've gathered the dowry before you call me 'Mom' again," Chen Shujuan showed no mercy.

Jin Muchen's cold eyes flickered as he raised his eyebrows, but he ultimately held back his inner rage.

"Alright, auntie."

"Mom, if you keep this up, just think of it as if you don't have this daughter," Su Qiqi stepped forward, seeing Jin Muchen aggrieved on her behalf, and said.

"What did you say?" Chen Shujuan's eyes widened, disbelieving as she looked at Su Qiqi, but seeing her daughter's resolute gaze, the words on the tip of her tongue just couldn't come out.

"Enough, everyone speaks less, do we have to let Muchen witness such a farce?" Su Tiancheng spoke again, "Here's what we'll do, the dowry is 188,000, that's it."

Upon hearing this, Lin Hui wanted to say something, but she was silenced by a look from Su Tiancheng, as was Su Xingchen.

Afterward, Su Tiancheng patted Jin Muchen on the shoulder, spoke earnestly, "The amount of dowry doesn't matter, what matters is that you treat Qiqi well."

When he heard this, Jin Muchen suddenly felt the hand on his shoulder was very heavy.

He did not respond to Su Tiancheng but just nodded with a smile.

At this moment, Su Qiqi's eyes were brimming with tears. The grievances she had borne for so many years were washed away by Su Tiancheng's few words.

"Dad!" The tears finally broke free and flowed down.

"Let's go, I'll walk you downstairs," Su Tiancheng urged Jin Muchen and Su Qiqi out.

The three of them arrived at the parking lot.

Jin Muchen waved at Su Tiancheng before getting into the car, leaving enough space for father and daughter.

Su Tiancheng nodded in gratitude to Jin Muchen as he got into the car.

Then, he wiped the tears from Su Qiqi's cheeks and gently said, "Qiqi, Dad's useless, I failed to take good care of you, making you suffer for so many years."

Su Qiqi shook her head, crying.

"Muchen is a good guy, I can see he cares a lot about you. After you get married, you can't throw tantrums, don't be forceful like your mom, understand?"

Su Qiqi opened her mouth but couldn't say anything, in the end, she could only nod vigorously.

Su Tiancheng's face beamed with relief, he stroked his daughter's hair with one hand, while with the other hand he pulled out a card and placed it into Su Qiqi's hand.

"Dad, what are you doing?" Su Qiqi was astonished and tried to push it back.

But Su Tiancheng just shook his head and firmly placed the card back into Su Qiqi's hand.

"Qiqi, your mom isn't a bad person. Don't take her words to heart today. There's a hundred thousand yuan in this card. Some of it is the money you've given me over time, and the rest is the private savings I've slowly put away over the years. Take it."

"No way!" Su Qiqi hurriedly refused, "Dad, I can't take your money."

"Take it!" Su Tiancheng said earnestly, "Today, Muchen has already suffered enough indignities. We can't let him be wronged anymore."

"Besides, this is the dowry money I've prepared for you. If your mom and the others found out, it would definitely be taken by your sister-in-law again."

Su Qiqi hugged her father tightly, realizing how long it had been since she last embraced him.

She thought back to the days when her father would carry her on his back, and she could sleep incredibly peacefully on his secure shoulders.

She cried out loud, "Dad, thank you."

"Silly girl, I'm your dad, what's there to thank me for. Hurry back, don't keep Muchen waiting."

Su Tiancheng watched as Su Qiqi got into the car and then drove off before turning to go back upstairs.

...

In the car, Su Qiqi wiped away her tears and leaned her head against the window, looking outside. The whole ride was very quiet, with neither of them speaking.

The car came to a stop, and just as Jin Muchen was about to get out, Su Qiqi spoke up.

"Mr. Jin, I'm really sorry about the embarrassment you experienced today. It was thoughtless of me, and on behalf of my family, I apologize to you."

Jin Muchen handed over a tissue while glancing at Su Qiqi, "It's not your fault, you don't need to apologize to me."

Su Qiqi laughed at herself, "My family is just like that. Both my dad and brother are henpecked. My mom is quite traditional with her preference for sons over daughters, and though my sister-in-law isn't a bad person, she's just too sharp-tongued."

"That's how my life has always been."

Su Qiqi had always wanted to find someone to confide in, and at that moment, it was as if a dam had burst, setting free the grievances of years past.

Jin Muchen didn't rush to get out of the car either and just sat quietly with his hands on the steering wheel, acting as a listener.

"Mr. Jin, seeing my family like this, do you regret our flash marriage?"

Jin Muchen replied indifferently, "I married you, not your family members."

Under the weak streetlights, half of Su Qiqi's face was illuminated, her features appearing incredibly soft, and her long eyelashes trembling slightly.

For a moment, Jin Muchen wanted to push away the other half of the darkness, to earnestly look into the woman's eyes.

She seemed so fragile yet pretended to be so strong.

After hearing Jin Muchen's words, Su Qiqi smiled.

"I was overthinking it. But don't worry, Mr. Jin, you don't have to provide the bride price, I'll take care of it."

"Isn't the bride price traditionally prepared by the groom?"

Jin Muchen's deep eyes appeared somewhat gloomy. He didn't care about the money; it was that this woman was always thinking of him, making him feel incompetent and displeased.

"I know, but Mr. Jin, you have a mortgage and Jin Lin's tuition to pay, so the bride price..."

Clearly, Su Qiqi had not caught the subtext in Jin Muchen's words.

"If I am marrying you, then it's something I ought to do."

Jin Muchen unbuckled his seatbelt and got out of the car.

Su Qiqi felt that Jin Muchen was somewhat upset, for reasons she couldn't fathom.

Back in the house, Jin Muchen had already gone upstairs.

Meanwhile, Jin Lin was watching TV on the ground floor. As soon as he saw Su Qiqi, he immediately turned off the TV and stormed upstairs, visibly angry.

Su Qiqi stood there, stunned.

What the hell, father and son are cut from the same cloth.