169 My Family’s Junk
Guan Lei was momentarily stunned but quickly became annoyed with himself. When he had tidied up the room, he had merely thought about how he could make Shen Xi more comfortable. He forgot about the persona he had built up in Shen Xi’s eyes.
Pursing his lips, he slowly moved to the sofa. Once seated cosily, he said, “It’s my family. My family collects second-hand items, and we’re mostly responsible for removing things the rich don’t want anymore. This sofa, for instance, is something my father collected the other day. Seeing it was still quite new, I decided to move it here.”
Shen Xi’s tone betrayed her scepticism. “Oh, is that so?”
Guan Lei’s expression turned serious. Then, he pointed to a scratch on the sofa and said, “Of course, it’s true. If you don’t believe me, look at this scratch. Those wealthy people don’t want it because of this scratch.”
Guan Lei spoke frankly as if he was not the one who had just scratched the sofa.
Shen Xi leaned over to look at the scratch Guan Lei pointed at. Inwardly, she rolled her eyes. The scratch was the size of a fingernail and was hardly noticeable. If Guan Lei did not scratch it, she would eat her hat!
Since Guan Lei wanted to keep up the ruse, Shen Xi decided she would not be so mean to call him out on it. “You’re right! There is a scratch. Whoever threw away the sofa because of it is too wasteful! If you had not brought my attention to it, I would never have known it was there… The sofa is practically brand new.”
“I agree. The rich are often wasteful; they don’t know how to be thrifty. When my father collected this second-hand sofa, the owner said we could keep it; It’s supposed to be custom-made from the best leather on the market. My father gifted it to me for my future marriage. I might put it in my wedding room when I get married. At least then, it would look more dignified.
Shen Xi almost burst into laughter. Guan Lei was quite the storyteller, attempting to convince her that his family collected second-hand goods and recycled them for a living. He even talked about things like marriage!
Guan Lei snuck a glance at Shen Xi. He relaxed when he noted Shen Xi’s expression had not changed. It seemed she was not overly suspicious of him.
He was almost out of ideas and feared Shen Xi would discover the truth.
Thankfully, he had made up that last bit about marriage to draw her attention away.
“Your father has quite the foresight; he’s even planned for your wedding. Don’t you think it’s a little early to be considering marriage? You’ll need to date the person you like a few times – maybe more than one person – and see the chemistry involved and whether you’ll be a good fit for each other. That’s a lot of steps before you even think about marriage,” Shen Xi teased.
When Guan Lei heard Shen Xi’s words, he could not help but frown. “Will you do the same?”
Guan Lei’s dumb question asked Shen Xi, “What do you mean?”
The clear skies that represented Guan Lei’s mood swiftly churned with ominous clouds. His tone grew sour and cold as he answered, “I mean, will you also have a few relationships before finding the most suitable guy to marry?”
Shen Xi shrugged. She answered matter-of-factly, “Of course. If you don’t experience more than one relationship, how will you know whether that person is someone you’d like to spend the rest of your life with?”
In her previous life, relationships were not on top of the list of her priorities. In this life, she had seen the love her parents shared for each other and grew a little envious of what they had.
Faithful partners who shared unwavering love for each other were a matter of chance, so she would let fate run its course.
If she met someone she truly liked, she would do her best to reciprocate the feelings, but if their relationship changed at some point, she would not force the issue either. It was best if both parties split amicably and not in hate or anger. To leave each other with some dignity… Shen Xi felt that was the best course of action.
“Are you saying there is no such thing as a once-in-a-lifetime, one-in-a-million relationship?” Guan Lei’s words took on a hard edge, which confused Shen Xi.
Guan Lei’s displeasure was palpable, and Shen Xi did not know what to think.
Of course, there were special relationships; weren’t her parents one such couple? More concerning was Guan Lei’s abrupt shift in attitude.
“it would be wrong of me to suggest that those kinds of relationships do not exist, but they are outliers. Most people will never get that fairytale ending; it’s up to fate. Why do you care so much?” Shen Xi asked. She knew she was treading on eggshells and could not help but be cautious.