My Arranged Marriage Partner Is Always Pretending to Be Straight [Transmigrated into a Book] - Chapter 6

“How much did your old man sell you for?”

Realizing that refusing Yao Chiyue’s offer of a ride again would likely blow her cover, Qiao Mengdi placed her travel bag in the backseat.

The old saying that one lie requires countless others to cover it up certainly didn’t lie. She grumbled to herself as she climbed into the passenger seat.

The original owner of this body did indeed have a grandmother, but according to her memories, she was a truly terrifying old woman. Qiao Mengdi wondered if rushing off to find her would end in a miserable fate.

Oh well, she thought, I can just go there first, wait for Yao Chiyue to leave, and then sneak away. With this plan in mind, she readily gave the address of her grandmother’s house.

The grandmother lived in the East District. It didn’t take long for them to arrive. Although the houses in that area were generally old, the neighborhood was lush with greenery and the roads were spacious. Yao Chiyue drove her car right up to the old lady’s front door.

“Thank you, Sister Yao.”

“We’ll be family soon, no need for formalities.” Yao Chiyue stepped out first, opened the door for Qiao Mengdi, and helped her retrieve her travel bag.

“Would you like to come in for a bit?” Qiao Mengdi offered insincerely, her heart pounding with the fear that she might actually say yes.

“Maybe next time.” Yao Chiyue showed no sign of leaving. She seemed to be waiting for her to go inside.

Don’t force me like this! Qiao Mengdi was nearly in tears. If the old lady caught her, wouldn’t it fulfill exactly what she had told Sister Song before leaving? That wasn’t the outcome she wanted.

“Then—” she suddenly had a spark of wit, “I’ll watch you drive away, Sister Yao.”

Qiao Mengdi stared a bit blankly. Under the night lights, Yao Chiyue looked like a beautiful dream—right before her eyes, yet so unreachable. Looking at her calm, lake-still expression, Qiao Mengdi suddenly felt a pang of regret that they couldn’t truly be together.

“Alright,” Yao Chiyue finally replied after a moment.

Just as she turned to get into the car, an old woman wearing light pink exercise clothes and walking a chubby Corgi approached from the opposite direction. Who else could it be but the grandmother?

“Grand—ma!” There was no escaping now. Qiao Mengdi forced herself to speak first, her voice trailing off in a high-pitched, almost coquettish cry.

The old lady walked closer with the dog, first eyeing her granddaughter and then looking at Yao Chiyue.

“Grandma, this is Yao Chiyue. Sister Yao, this is my grandmother,” Qiao Mengdi introduced them hurriedly. Even though the old lady with the dog felt so unfamiliar to her, she had to act like they were close.

The old lady ignored Yao Chiyue. She looked at Qiao Mengdi and said, “Such a fake smile. Who’s forcing you?”

After saying that, she glanced at the black-backed, yellow-bellied Corgi that was curiously sniffing Qiao Mengdi’s feet. She tugged the leash and led the dog toward the house.

The Corgi’s heart-shaped little butt wiggled provocatively as it walked. Before entering the door, it even turned its head back to look at Qiao Mengdi and Yao Chiyue.

The old lady had no interest in making acquaintances, and Yao Chiyue didn’t force the interaction. Seeing the old lady leave the door open after entering with her dog, Yao Chiyue got into her car, started the engine, turned around, and drove away.

Qiao Mengdi was left standing outside the wall of the old villa, at a complete loss.

Just as she was about to sneak away, the old lady suddenly returned. Standing behind the door, she said, “Weren’t you making a death-defying fuss a few days ago? You got hooked up with her so fast? Can’t bear to see her go?”

What does she mean by ‘hooked up’? Qiao Mengdi’s scalp felt numb. With the way this old lady talked, it was no wonder she was remembered as a terrifying woman.

She had hesitated for only a few seconds, and now she truly couldn’t leave.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Grandma.” Knowing she was no match for the old lady’s sharp tongue, she decided to play dumb.

“Putting on an act.”

As expected, she was seen through immediately.

Qiao Mengdi brazenly pressed closer, offering a wave of flattery. “Nothing escapes your keen eyes, Grandma.”

“If you hadn’t shown up, your father would have come charging over here.” The old lady stepped aside. As a practitioner of martial arts, she was still agile even in her seventies.

“Why?” Qiao Mengdi asked, feigning ignorance.

“Don’t you have any idea?”

Qiao Mengdi continued to play dumb, shaking her head.

“He said you ran away and wouldn’t answer your phone.”

Ah, so that’s it. Qiao Mengdi entered the grandmother’s house.

“Not a word of truth out of you. You’re getting more and more unruly.”

Can this old lady read minds? Qiao Mengdi felt extremely guilty.

She closed the door and followed the old lady into the inner rooms. The Corgi, named Sandun (Three Tons), had been unleased and was running around joyfully, sniffing Qiao Mengdi one moment and acting cute in front of the old lady the next.

“What exactly is going on?” Once they sat down, the old lady began her interrogation. “In your state, you can’t possibly tell me you came because you missed me. Besides, you’re not the type to miss me, are you?”

“I do miss you, Grandma,” Qiao Mengdi struggled to maintain the lie, knowing full well the original owner wouldn’t have. “Why else would I come here?”

“Call it seeking refuge,” the old lady paused, her speech slowing down. “But I saw you getting along quite well with that Yao girl just now. If you say you missed me… well, let’s not lie to ourselves.”

Since she knew about the fuss the original owner had made a few days ago, she was clearly informed. And just now, she and Yao Chiyue had indeed looked quite close outside the gate. This contradictory situation gave Qiao Mengdi a massive headache; she didn’t know how to explain.

“If you don’t want to talk, forget it. Hurry up and call your old man. I don’t want him coming to my house,” the old lady said, gesturing toward the landline.

“Oh.” Qiao Mengdi didn’t move.

The old lady glared at her again.

She quickly stood up and walked toward the outdated landline. The original owner remembered Qiao Chengrong’s number clearly. However, she really didn’t want to call him. But with her phone broken, she had no other choice. At this moment, she’d rather stay with this old lady than have Qiao Chengrong come pick her up.

Finally, the call went through. “I’m at Grandma’s house.”

On the other end, Qiao Chengrong was clearly suppressing his anger. He didn’t scold her but offered a few insincere words of concern before asking, “When are you coming home? I’ll come get you.”

Qiao Chengrong was a busy man. If he said this, he was definitely afraid she would run away again.

“I’ll go back on my own.”

“Tell Dad, which day are you coming back?”

“In a few days.” Qiao Mengdi didn’t want to return to that house at all.

“I’ll have your brother pick you up tomorrow.”

“How would he have time?” Qiao Mengdi was genuinely annoyed. Her brother, Qiao Mengyang, was a problem student according to her memories. Although they lived on the same floor, she hadn’t seen him since she had transmigrated.

“He’ll have time.”

“Oh.” Losing her patience, Qiao Mengdi hung up the phone.

The escape plan and the plan to call off the engagement both seemed to have failed. A wave of despondency washed over her.

Standing by the table, she looked around the room. It was well-maintained and clean. The old lady likely had a helper or a part-time cleaner; at her age, she wouldn’t have the energy to manage such a large house alone.

On the largest wall in the living room hung a photo of a man who looked like a general. She knew it was the original owner’s grandfather, though her memories of him were vague. His eyes were so bright. Qiao Chengrong surely would feel ashamed of what he was doing to her if he stood before this man.

Just then, a sound came from the kitchen.

Qiao Mengdi walked over. The old lady was busy at the stove. Sandun followed at her heels.

“Do you want some milk?”

The old lady was heating milk.

“No, thank you.” Qiao Mengdi didn’t like milk.

“So, is your father coming to drag you back?” The old lady turned the induction cooker to its lowest setting. “If he comes to get you, wait for him outside the gate yourself.”

“He’s not,” Qiao Mengdi said listlessly. “Can I stay here for a few days?”

“That’s a rare request.”

Qiao Mengdi took that as a “yes.” Her conflict with Qiao Chengrong was hard to explain in a few words. That mother and son pair almost always ended their meetings on a bad note, regardless of the occasion.

Qiao Mengdi watched as the old lady stirred the milk in a stainless-steel pot. Her movements were slow. She was old, after all; just looking at her back evoked a sense of sadness. Getting old was an irresistible, sorrowful process.

“Haven’t you and your son not seen each other in a long time?”

“What of it?” The old lady turned off the stove, but her long spoon continued to stir. Soft steam rose from the milk, and a sweet, milky fragrance filled the kitchen.

“Can’t you get along with him, Grandma?”

“Can you get along with him?”

Qiao Mengdi was silenced. Actually, before the marriage alliance, the relationship between the original owner and Qiao Chengrong had been okay; at least he hadn’t made her suffer.

“He’s not exactly a monster,” Qiao Mengdi said, feeling bored. After being locked up for days, she felt restless. Since she couldn’t talk freely with Yao Chiyue, she just wanted to say something.

“I cannot get along with a man who has no bottom line.”

A mother knows her son best. Qiao Mengdi deeply agreed.

The old lady poured the milk into a glass. Sandun must have caught the scent; he nudged the old lady’s leg and stared up with his clever little head, monitoring her every move. After finishing her milk, the old lady placed the pot and the glass by the sink but didn’t wash them.

“How much did your old man sell you for?” the old lady asked as they walked out of the kitchen.

“You can’t really put it like that!”

“Did he not take the Yao family’s money?”

The old lady was too direct. Technically, those were separate matters, but the fact that Yao Chiyue’s support and the marriage were tied together certainly made it look like Qiao Chengrong was selling his daughter for profit.

Qiao Mengdi coughed a few times. “Is Grandma going to ransom me?”

“Ransom you? Why would I ransom a pampered greenhouse flower like you?”

“I’m your granddaughter.”

“We aren’t that close.”

This old lady’s words were lethal. Qiao Chengrong probably had been tormented by her plenty. Qiao Mengdi felt that talking to her was an act of social suicide.

The phone that had “broken” in the restaurant—Qiao Mengdi discovered before bed that it was perfectly fine again, as if the crash that made it impossible to turn on had never happened.

After checking her missed calls, she scrolled through her new messages.

“You’re so annoying! If you go out on your own, come back on your own!!” — Qiao Mengyang, the brat. His nickname was “The Sun Doesn’t Like to Smile,” which he had changed himself after snatching her phone.

Then, she saw the latest message.

“Add my WeChat. Here is the number.”

Staring at the message from Yao Chiyue, Qiao Mengdi felt her entire world go still.