Chapter 176: Meeting My Mother-in-law

"Do you understand now? Whether we get divorced or not, the initiative is in my hands, not yours!" Qi Li gently tapped the car handle, and a smile appeared on her face—cold as an iceberg. Then, she spoke softly to Jiang Hai.

"Then you're not going to sign?" Jiang Hai lowered his head, unsure of what to say. If it really came down to giving up half of the estate to get a divorce, he could grit his teeth and sign it. But if he didn't sign now, he would face the consequences.

"No, I can sign it. I'm not interested in your estate in Boston, but I have a request." Seeing that Jiang Hai seemed to be making up his mind, Qi Li smiled. She had a firm grasp on Jiang Hai's mindset.

Though they were the same age, Jiang Hai was leagues behind Qi Li when it came to social experience and negotiation skills.

From the start, she knew that Jiang Hai wanted to take the initiative. In this situation, he needed a firm hand. Sure enough, a few words had already suppressed his original anger, and now, with Jiang Hai's stubborn nature, it seemed he would soon be in a desperate situation.

Qi Li wasn't here to burn bridges or catch a dead fish. After testing Jiang Hai's bottom line, she knew she had to give him hope—a sweet promise.

Sure enough, when Qi Li's voice fell, Jiang Hai looked at her with hope in his eyes.

"I want you to come to my house tonight for the New Year. After that, I'll consider signing." As she gazed into Jiang Hai's hopeful eyes, Qi Li felt a sense of loneliness and helplessness. She really didn't want to play games with someone who was nominally the closest person to her, but it seemed that without these tricks, her relationship with Jiang Hai would end for good.

Whether because of her mother or other reasons, she couldn't afford to break up with Jiang Hai now.

"Are you serious?" Hearing Qi Li's words, Jiang Hai looked at her, half-believing.

"Of course. Although I'm not a real man, I've never taken what I say lightly!" Qi Li nodded seriously, though her eyes were slightly evasive.

"Okay, I believe you." Jiang Hai didn't notice her evasive glance, but he patted his leg, relieved. As long as he could finally free himself from the shadow of this woman, he didn't mind going along. It was just a social event anyway.

"Okay, let's go burn paper first!" Qi Li nodded in agreement and sat back in her seat, falling silent. Jiang Hai, on the other hand, was clearly excited—he was finally getting a divorce. Unlike most people who are excited about marriage, Jiang Hai was a different kind altogether.

The car sped down the road. Soon, they arrived at the crematorium. Jiang Hai parked the car and bought a large amount of paper money and other offerings to take to his parents. Although he couldn't move their graves because it hadn't been three years, when Jiang Hai visited last time, he had paid the people in charge to take care of the site.

Now, as he looked around, he was pleased to see everything well-maintained. There wasn't a speck of dust on the urn or display table, which made him very satisfied. He lit incense for his parents and sat there, quietly whispering some words. Qi Li, as promised, quietly stood by. Though she didn't say anything, she remained there respectfully.

Looking at the photos of Jiang Hai's parents, Qi Li couldn't help but think back to her childhood—Jiang Hai's mother's braised pork, the time Jiang Hai fought other boys on her behalf in school, when he asked to borrow her homework to copy, and the shocked look on his face when he learned she was leaving.

She realized that her connection with Jiang Hai had been formed over ten years ago, but she hadn't noticed when they began to drift apart. When her mother mentioned marriage, the only feeling Qi Li had for Jiang Hai was disgust—he was just a boy from her childhood, nothing more.

Those pictures, those stories, were buried deep in her memory.

Now, with her relationship with Jiang Hai in such a state, she didn't know whether to blame him or herself. If she had accepted her fate, taken their relationship more seriously, or never left Bingcheng… But it was pointless to dwell on the past. What mattered now was finding a way to steer things in a better direction.

After sitting there for about half an hour, Jiang Hai stood up and headed to the stove at the back with the offerings he'd bought. This time, Jiang Hai didn't ask Qi Li for help, and even if he did, she wouldn't have known what to do.

Jiang Hai burned the offerings by himself, watching the flames blaze. When it was done, he and Qi Li left the crematorium.

"Let's go now." Jiang Hai patted the ashes off his clothes as he got into the car and spoke to Qi Li.

"Go? Where to?" Qi Li, who had been silent, lifted her long legs in the car and looked out the window, her voice quiet.

"Didn't you say you were going to see your mother?" Jiang Hai, confused, responded. If they weren't going, he was more than happy.

Giving him a blank look, Qi Li pointed to his outfit and said unhappily, "You're going to wear this?"

"Damn, it's Arc'teryx. This cost more than those suits the white-collar workers in your company wear." Jiang Hai bristled, irritated by Qi Li's remarks. Why did people always comment on his clothes?

"It's not about whether it's cheap or expensive. Wearing formal clothes to my house shows respect for my mother. And by the way, is Arc'teryx really expensive? With your current wealth, how can you say that? Except for your watch, which is decent, I don't see what's special about it!" Qi Li gestured toward the watch on his wrist, which, admittedly, earned him some attention.

"Oh, you're an expert now! Do you want me to treat you to a candied fried noodle dish I invented?" Jiang Hai grinned at Qi Li's remarks.

"I don't have time to joke around with you, change your clothes!" Qi Li rolled her eyes and said, her tone annoyed.

"Then I'll go back and change into sportswear. I only brought three sets of clothes." Jiang Hai grinned at Qi Li's critique. What he hated most was wearing suits, regardless of whether they were cheap or expensive. His mountain lion-skin coat had cost over $6,000 when he bought it—more than 40,000 RMB. It wasn't as fancy as top-tier brands like Burberry, but it was better than most luxury brands.

"You're relentless. Let's go buy new clothes!" Seeing Jiang Hai's indifferent look, Qi Li sighed deeply. This guy was shameless, but there was no other way. She told the driver in front that not only her mother, but also her second uncle's family and her cousin's family would be there today. So, Jiang Hai either didn't come or had to dress properly.

For her, spending tens of thousands—maybe even hundreds of thousands—to buy new clothes for Jiang Hai wasn't a big deal, though she knew he might not be happy about it.

The driver was familiar with the roads in Ice City, and there were two luxury stores: Macalline and Zhuozhan. This time, they headed straight for the latter.

Once they arrived, Jiang Hai became a model for Qi Li, walking around the store with her.

Although Qi Li didn't know much about Jiang Hai's physique—she had never seen it before—she realized that he had a great figure. She wasn't sure if it had always been this way or if he'd changed recently.

After more than an hour of shopping, when the two of them exited, Jiang Hai had a new outfit.

Since Jiang Hai would never wear a suit, Qi Li had picked out a Versace suit for him. The inner sweater and outer sweatshirt were casual, but still fitted Jiang Hai closely.

The belt, pants, and even shoes were all changed. Jiang Hai hated wearing leather shoes because they were uncomfortable, so he ended up with a pair of casual shoes instead of his hiking boots.

"You can go now!" Jiang Hai loosened his collar, clearly uncomfortable in the slim-fitting clothes.

Taking a quick glance at him, Qi Li wasn't entirely satisfied with his outfit. It's said that clothes make the man, but Jiang Hai's unrestrained aura didn't quite match the attire. Still, at least he wasn't wearing a suit, or it would have been even worse. "Not yet, I still have to buy New Year gifts for my mother, food, daily necessities, and so on."

"I don't know about daily necessities, but come with me for food!" After some thought, Qi Li decided that the best food gift would be the beef from Jiang Hai's manor. He had sent plenty to Bingcheng, and now she just needed to pick it up from Fuyuan's home. Although she wondered why Jiang Hai didn't need the food, she didn't directly refuse. She suspected he wanted to gift his manor's beef. Even if it wasn't the best, her mother would probably appreciate it.

The two got back in the car and headed to Fuyuan's home in Jiangbei.

When they knocked on Fuyuan's door, he had just woken up. Seeing Jiang Hai, he started joking: "Hey, brother, you're still alive? Haven't been killed by that little goblin? Oh, my sister-in-law's here too…"

But when he saw Qi Li with Jiang Hai, his smile froze.

"Alright, stop with the nonsense. Where's the beef? I need to take some to Qi Li's mother." Jiang Hai smiled at Fuyuan's awkward expression. Hearing this, Fuyuan led him to the fridge. While fresh beef was ideal, frozen beef still tasted good, and Jiang Hai was confident in its quality. He picked two ten-pound cuts and said his goodbyes.

After leaving Fuyuan's house, they got back in the car and continued their journey. (To be continued.)