Chapter 4

At around eight in the evening, it was the time when thousands of households were lit up with brilliant lights.

On the rooftop, Wang Jinglu, wearing a school uniform shirt on top and a floral pleated long skirt on the bottom, comfortably leaned against the one-meter-high guard wall, looking at the distant buildings, the lit windows, the trees in the shadows below, and the traffic weaving through the gaps in the distant buildings.

Thump, thump, thump.

As Li Qian came out of the stairwell, she happened to turn her head.

Neither of them said a word. Wang Jinglu continued to lean against the guard wall, turning her head to look at everything far and near. Li Qian walked over and also leaned against the guard wall, mimicking her.

After more than a minute, just as Li Qian was about to start a conversation, a loud noise came from the fifth floor opposite.

"This life is unbearable!"

"Then don't live it!"

Bang!

Crash!

Li Qian immediately became excited, his eyes wide open, scanning the fifth floor back and forth. "Damn, they're about to fight!"

Wang Jinglu gave him a not-so-light kick on the leg, her face showing a mix of amusement and exasperation. "Why are you so happy about other people's arguments?"

Li Qian didn't have the heart to pay attention to her, blurting out, "I remember, the couple who started kissing and undressing each other last month, they were also on the fifth floor, right? I remember the woman was quite fair-skinned... Hey, where are they? I can only hear the noise but can't find them."

The buildings in Shengshi Garden were all six stories tall, and they were on the rooftop, which was equivalent to the seventh floor. From a distance of about twenty meters, it was hard to see the couple unless they were standing right by the window, like last time.

Wang Jinglu kicked him again, this time with a bit more force.

Surprisingly, despite the pots and pans being thrown around, the argument ended after just a couple of bangs.

After waiting for half a minute without hearing any more noise, Li Qian sighed in disappointment. "No doubt they're kissing again! Too bad I can't see their butts this time..."

Wang Jinglu kicked him hard.

Li Qian finally turned to look at her, and she pouted back at him.

They stared at each other for a long time.

Despite the thick glasses, her eyes were still beautiful, like a deer's, large and bright, looking particularly pure, innocent, and endearing.

Suddenly, the curtains on the fifth floor opposite were pulled shut.

Li Qian turned to look, then turned back to continue staring at Wang Jinglu.

Wang Jinglu didn't blink, saying, "Why do you have so many strange things to say? Especially today, in class, in front of so many people, and even in front of Teacher Qi, making everyone laugh at me all day. It's so embarrassing!"

Li Qian said, "By the way, I didn't hear you play the piano before dinner?"

Wang Jinglu said, "We're not dating, so don't say things about me that are embarrassing. Do you know that?"

Li Qian said, "Is the piece you've been practicing recently called 'The Blonde-Haired Beauty'?"

Wang Jinglu pouted and glared at him, then kicked him again, saying irritably, "It's 'The Blonde-Haired Girl'!" She emphasized the word "girl."

The conversation then stopped, and they both turned to lean against the guard wall, looking into the distance.

After a long while, Wang Jinglu suddenly said, "My sister said that when I have a break, I should go to the capital. She will arrange for me to transfer and study in the capital for my senior year, so I can focus on preparing for the entrance exam of the Beijing Film Academy."

After saying this, she turned to look at Li Qian, saying seriously, "You're about to be a senior, so you must study hard, do you understand? If you keep this up, you might not even get into a public university."

Li Qian replied nonchalantly, "I promise I'll get in! This month's monthly exam, I'll make a small effort to get into the top thirty in the class, so you don't have to nag me. But, I'm really struggling with Russian. I find it easier to speak Japanese..."

Wang Jinglu's lips tightened, then relaxed, her mood inexplicably low. She said softly, "Last summer, you said you'd make sure to get into the capital. I know you like to play, but I don't have high expectations. As long as you get into a public university, that's fine. Just focus on studying for a year, okay? I've heard that once you're in university, you can relax a lot. Even if you play then, it's okay, right?"

Li Qian smiled, still nonchalant, "It's not that hard. I still stand by my word. Just trust me, I'll definitely get into a prestigious university in Shuntian!"

Wang Jinglu looked at him seriously, then sighed inwardly.

Li Qian, however, turned to look at her with a playful expression.

Wang Jinglu also turned, blinking her eyes, looking as innocent, naive, and pure as always.

Li Qian reached out and took off her glasses, looking at her.

To be fair, while Wang Jinglu was definitely a beauty even with glasses, she was on a completely different level without them!

Especially because of her nearsightedness, she would squint slightly when she took off her glasses, which added a special charm. When she stopped squinting, her clear eyes would look lost and touching due to the temporary loss of focus... At that moment, her beauty would instantly increase by three to five points, almost off the charts!

At that moment, without the protection of her glasses, Wang Jinglu subconsciously squinted, feeling a bit flustered.

Especially, although Li Qian's face showed a half-smile, his eyes were piercing and bright, almost intimidating.

"Tell me, do you like me and want to marry me?" he said.

Wang Jinglu turned her eyes away, pursed her lips, and smoothed a few strands of hair that had been blown by the wind behind her ear. She then turned to glare at Li Qian, kicked him, and said disdainfully, "Vain!"

She glared at him and decisively brought out the big weapon, "If you keep talking nonsense, I'll call my sister."

Li Qian immediately raised his hands in surrender.

The big weapon meant that this topic was off-limits!

After a moment, Wang Jinglu suddenly said, "Do you know why my sister came back suddenly the day before yesterday?"

Li Qian shook his head, "No. Why?"

Wang Jinglu lowered her head, "My father... asked her for money."

Li Qian asked, puzzled, "Your father, asked your sister for money?"

Wang Jinglu nodded, "That woman... moved out of our house last week. When my sister came back, she and my mother talked in the bedroom, and I heard my mother crying. Later, my sister told me that the woman was pregnant and demanded that my father buy her a house to have the baby, or she would have an abortion. My father agreed, but his business hasn't been good for the past two years, so he didn't have enough money, and that's why he asked my sister for help..."

Li Qian was taken aback, "You mean... that woman is pregnant?"

Wang Jinglu nodded, "My father wants a son, so he took a concubine, and my mother signed the agreement. She was afraid the woman would cause trouble and say bad things about her to my father, so she treated her well at home and required me and my sister to call her 'little mother' and not show any disrespect. But in the end..."

"In the end, she still complained to your father?"

Wang Jinglu nodded, "Yeah."

Li Qian helplessly rubbed his forehead.

They say that even a fair judge finds it hard to resolve family matters. As an outsider, Li Qian couldn't even give advice.

However, the system in this world was indeed a bit peculiar.

The constitution stipulates equality for all, gender equality, and freedom of love and marriage, but it also grants men the right to take a concubine.

According to what Li Qian knew, a man could take a concubine as long as he obtained the consent of his parents, wife, the woman he intended to take as a concubine, and her parents, and had them sign the concubine application. He could then submit the application to the county government. After a year, if there were no objections or changes of heart, the man would have to pay ten times his personal income tax from the previous fiscal year as a "concubine fee" to the government. After that, he could officially take the concubine, and they would receive a "concubine certificate" issued and recognized by the state, which was legally protected. The concubine also had financial independence and priority in divorce!

Even the marriage law stipulated that the couple could not abuse the concubine...

It must be said that, according to Li Qian's knowledge, there were no more than thirty countries in the world with such peculiar laws! Vietnam, North Korea, South Korea, Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Morocco... Well, it was mainly the East Asian cultural sphere and the Arab cultural sphere, but if you counted them, it was quite a few!

Of course, although the law allowed it, not many people could afford it. Not to mention obtaining the consent of all interested parties, the huge concubine fee based on personal income tax was not something everyone was willing to bear! For ordinary salaried workers, taking a concubine meant depleting five to eight years of savings. For wealthy people with profitable assets, such as company shares, it meant considering the company's profits, share appreciation, and real estate appreciation from the previous year. Who would be willing to do that?

So, in society, the number of men who took concubines was very few. If it weren't absolutely necessary, wealthy and ambitious men would rather keep mistresses or have affairs outside of marriage than take a concubine...

...

Perhaps seeing that Li Qian hadn't spoken for a long time, Wang Jinglu turned to look at him and suddenly asked, "Hey, do you plan to take a concubine in the future?"

In an instant, Li Qian's eyes lit up.

"Of course! Think about it, the dream of having three wives and four concubines! Since it's legal to take a concubine, why not? Like my father, my mother always says, 'I know you have the desire, and you probably have the courage, but do you have the money?' Listen to that! Whether you can take a concubine and whether you're willing to spend the money is almost a standard for whether you're a successful person!"

Wang Jinglu suddenly burst out laughing, unable to resist giving him a tap on the shoulder, scolding, "You're always so frivolous, talking nonsense all the time!"

Li Qian looked at her, smiling, and put her glasses back on for her, saying in a flattering tone, "Why don't you sign your name for me in advance?"

Wang Jinglu looked at him, torn between laughter and tears, and a bit shy, turning to go downstairs, "You should get your future wife to sign for you!"

Before she could even step into the stairwell, Li Qian had already replied, "Just having my future wife's signature isn't enough; you have to sign too!"

Wang Jinglu almost stumbled: Li Qian was planning to make her a concubine!

She stopped at the stairwell entrance, glaring at Li Qian, seeing his innocent look, and stomped her foot, diving into the stairwell, "Li Qian, I never want to talk to you again in my life!"

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