That afternoon, Xiao Long made it to Qiao Xin's hometown. He parked his car in front of the alley that led to her home. Like it has always been, there were a lot of people surrounding him, they acted as if he was a president of a country of some sorts. They even attempted to touch him. Old women came to touch his arms and his back with a smile on their faces. Xiao Long felt a little awkward, he could only smile and wave at them as they followed him to Liu's residence.
At the residence, Qiao Xin's uncle was placing a bundle of firewood by the home. It does not look lively like it used to be. Her mother and An Xin were not there. Now, Xiao Long smiled to tell his followers that it was time to part ways.
"Can I be left here? Looks like I have arrived at Liu's residence." Xiao Long said.
His followers nodded and smiled, one of them stroked his arm for one last time before resuming their activities before he came here.
"Liu's son-in-law, where are you from? Your winsome looks are out of this world! Also, you looked like a descendant of a wealthy family. How lucky for them, the poor Liu, to have you as their son-in-law."
Xiao Long smiled bitterly, he never thought that someone would praise him so much, even before he did anything good for the family. He never did anything but despicable things to Qiao Xin.
After his followers left him, Xiao Long approached Qiao Xin's uncle who was sitting on one of the wooden chairs. He immediately stood up as he saw Xiao Long come in.
"You dare set foot here?"
"Uncle, please calm down." Xiao Long quickly replied. He smiled at her uncle and took a deep breath because what he was about to ask might be a little disturbing. Even so, Xiao Long was curious; was she really returned home? Or the absence of his mother-in-law and An Xin suggested that they were hiding her? Xiao Long could not tell.
"What are you looking for, Xiao Long?" Her uncle asked as Xiao Long frantically looked around. He appeared to be a little perturbed, unlike his usual self who was confident and even slightly arrogant. "Where is Qiao Xin? Why is she not with you?" her uncle asked again. Xiao Long thought of that question as the sign of her absence here.
"Qiao Xin was not here, uncle?" Xiao Long asked carefully. Her uncle was perplexed, he never thought that Xiao Long would ask something like that.
"What are you talking about, Xiao Long? I don't get it, why are you asking about her to me? If she was not with you, why are you coming here?" Her uncle asked many questions in a rapid succession. "Alright, I get it now. You came here looking for her because you thought that she was here, right?" Xiao Long could not answer that question because he was absolutely cornered at this point.
"Something happened in our marriage, uncle."
"Oh, that fake marriage of yours, right?" Xiao Long was shocked.
"What do you mean, uncle?"
Her uncle smiled bitterly and patted Xiao Long's shoulder.
"Qiao Xin told me everything. It was all nothing but a contractual marriage to fulfill your grandfather's wish to see you married to Qiao Xin, right? You don't really love her, so you forced yourself to make an agreement with her. All agreements will someday come to an end. Thus, you are saying that something happened in your marriage means your agreement has come to the end of its terms, no?"
"When did you find out about it all?" Her uncle sighed as Xiao Long asked him.
"Far before you two got married, Qiao Xin was not the kind of person who can keep all her troubles to herself, she never lied to me, especially when it comes to such an important matter like this. She also told me about her previous relationship with that bastard, a drunkard that likes to gamble and sleep around with women. She really is a poor girl in every sense of the word. She has never met a man who sincerely loved her, as if there is no man who would love her sincerely and unconditionally."
"You can't be farther from the truth, uncle." Xiao Long strongly disagreed. "Everything that she said was true, it was a contract that would come to an end if my grandfather passed away. But, as time passes by, we have a mutual feeling growing in our heart. Therefore, I stole her signature to legitimize our marriage in the court. Thus, our marriage is a legal marriage, it is no longer a contractual marriage. I have all the paperwork stored securely although Qiqi did not know about this yet because I did not tell her about this on purpose. I made that contract because, at first, I thought marriage would be a hassle for me. But then somehow I feel an urge to make her legally mine without her consent. I care not about what she would say about this. I knew that she loved me as well. I want us to stay together forever because our contract has been nullified."
Her uncle could not say anything about that. He did not expect Xiao Long to go out of his way to explain all of this.