Outsider: The Fifth Young Master of the Kang Family

Chapter 60 Maruko

The next day, Xianglan and Kang Qirui came to the coffee shop together. When Mr. Hong saw Kang Qirui, he was very surprised and asked, "Mr. Kang, why are you here?" He then said to Xianglan, "It seems that you already know why I'm looking for you."

Kang Qirui sat down by himself, ordered a cup of coffee, and then said, "Boss Hong, I told my sister-in-law that you wanted to take my boss away, but she didn't believe it, so I came with her."

"Sister-in-law, you've seen it too. Mr. Hong's meaning is very clear. Sit down, let's talk to Mr. Hong."

Xianglan nodded and said, "Mr. Hong, I thought you were here to thank me, but I didn't expect you were really trying to steal my husband away from me. I just want to tell you that we will never separate."

Mr. Hong shook his head, took a sip of coffee, and sighed, "I didn't expect that A Guang's marriage would be as bitter as coffee. Mr. Kang, since you know what I want to do, then make a condition."

"I think my sister-in-law has made it very clear just now. They will not separate." Kang Qirui said.

President Hong stood up, walked over to Kang Qirui, and said, "Humph, I've seen a lot of country people like this. They just want to ask for a higher price. Let's be frank. Xianglan, as long as you are willing to divorce A Guang, you can name a price."

Xianglan said firmly: "I will not divorce A Guang. Why should I divorce?"

"Because you don't deserve him." Hong Meihua said disdainfully.

"I don't deserve it? Who does?" Xianglan was unconvinced.

"Me!" Hong Meihua looked superior.
Kang Qirui couldn't hold it back any longer and started laughing, then bursting into laughter until tears fell. Hong Meihua angrily asked, "What do you mean? Do you think I'm not as good as Xianglan?"

Kang Qirui managed to hold back his laughter, shook his head, and said, "Boss Hong, I don't mean to offend you, I just don't understand what makes you so confident that you are more charming than my sister-in-law?"

Hong Meihua sat down again and said, "I have money."

"My sister-in-law is 18 years younger than you."

Kang Qirui's words were the winning move.

"As Mr. Hong said, your only advantage is money. My sister-in-law is only 24 years old this year, and you, Mr. Hong, are already 42 years old. If a man chooses Mr. Hong between my sister-in-law and Mr. Hong, it must be because of money. And he must be a poor man who is greedy for money. Mr. Hong, do you think my boss is such a man?"

Hong Meihua frowned and insisted, "Of course I know that A Guang is not that kind of man. Of all the men I have ever met, A Guang is the most honest, upright, and considerate man, so I will never let him go easily."

"Boss Hong, you and my boss are from two different worlds. Even if you are forced to be together, do you think he can integrate into your world?" Kang Qirui said, "Just imagine that you bring him to an event and a cocktail party. You drink red wine and chat happily with those bosses and CEOs, while my boss will probably be drinking mineral water in a corner and look out of place. He can't fit into your world at all, and you don't understand his world. Do you think you are happy in this kind of life?"

Seeing Hong Meihua in deep thought and hesitation, Kang Qirui stepped up his firepower: "Your life is too complicated. The appearance of my boss is like a ray of light in the darkness. You find that he is very simple and different from the people you have met before. He also happens to be your idol when you were young. You think this is love, but in fact it is just the suspension bridge effect."

"Suspension bridge effect?" Hong Meihua asked puzzledly.

Kang Qirui nodded and said, "Yes, it is a psychological phenomenon. When a person crosses a suspension bridge with trepidation, his heartbeat will speed up and he will be very nervous. If he meets another person on the suspension bridge at this time, he will attribute the reason for his accelerated heartbeat to the other person, thinking that this is a manifestation of his heartbeat and he will develop a love for the other person. This is also the reason why you admired my boss after he saved you."

Kang Qirui was very sure that Hong Meihua was not really in love with Da Lao Guang, because in the original story line, after Da Lao Guang rejected Hong Meihua, Hong Meihua never looked for Da Lao Guang again. True love is not like this.

"That's all I have to say. You can understand as much as you want. We'll leave first." Seeing that Hong Meihua had no intention of continuing the conversation, Kang Qirui and Xianglan left. After leaving the cafe, Xianglan asked, "Arui, do you think she will just let it go?"

"See if she can figure it out." Kang Qirui said indifferently: "Including you, sister-in-law, if you are worried, just let the boss resign. It doesn't matter whether Hong Meihua is still entangled with the boss. The most important thing is what you think."

"I understand. Thank you, Rui." Xianglan nodded and smiled.

Xianglan told Da Laoguang everything that night, and she let Da Laoguang choose what to do. Da Laoguang was also very decisive. He resigned the next day and went back to work at Er Lao's hardware store. Er Lao thought that Da Lao was stupid. But Kang Qirui didn't care. As long as Da Lao and his wife were happy, everything was fine. Kang Qirui didn't have classes in the afternoon that day, and he didn't have anything else to do at school, so he went home early before four o'clock. As soon as he entered the door, he saw Tianxiu chatting with a dirty girl, and couldn't help asking, "Xiuzi, why did you get out of school so early today?"

In fact, Tianxiu’s school finishes school quite early. Before, he would play with other classmates until around five or six o’clock after school before going home, so Kang Qirui thought they all finished school at half past five.

"Uh." Kang Qirui was definitely one of the people Tianxiu feared the most in the Kang family, because Tianxiu could fully feel the temperament of a teacher in Kang Qirui. So he was a little scared to talk to Kang Qirui, and didn't dare to tell the truth, so he chose to change the subject, "I brought a friend back." The dirty girl next to him stood up and greeted him: "Hello, uncle."

"Good boy, good boy." Kang Qirui responded, pulled Tianxiu over and asked in a low voice: "Your friend? Why is he so dirty?"

"She just fought with me and hurt her hand, so I brought her back," Tianxiu explained.

"What?" Kang Qirui was surprised, "I fought with you and you still said I was your friend?"

"I'm not fighting with him, I'm helping him fight." said the little girl in a smart way.

Beating someone? Kang Qirui frowned even more when he heard this, "Tianxiu, what's going on?"

Whenever Kang Qirui frowned, Tianxiu got scared, just like a student facing his class teacher, stuttering and unable to speak. The little girl beside him said anxiously: "Uncle, don't be angry. It's like this. After school today, senior students bullied him, so I helped him beat those people away. We didn't hit them on purpose, they hit us."

Kang Qirui was relieved and praised, "So she is a young heroine." He then said to Tianxiu, "Did you get hit? Are you injured anywhere?"

Tianxiu shook his head to indicate that he had not. At this time, the second sister-in-law also came back. Kang Qirui told her about the situation. The second sister-in-law was very nervous when she heard that her son was bullied. She kept thanking the little girl. After thanking her, she asked again: "Little sister, what's your name?"

The little girl thought for a moment and said, "My name is Chibi Maruko-chan." She didn't say her real name.

"Chibi Maruko-chan? A cartoon star, haha." The second sister-in-law didn't care. She didn't have to know her real name, just a nickname was enough.

Kang Qirui saw that Tianxiu was a little afraid of him, so he touched his head and said, "All children nowadays are like this. Isn't our Tianxiu also called Crayon Shin-chan, right?" Tianxiu giggled.

"Crayon Shin-chan? Very naughty." The second sister-in-law didn't like this name. She looked at Xiaowanzi, who was dirty and had injured hands, and said to Xiaowanzi: "Sister, I will take you to the room to apply some medicated oil and take a bath."

After the second sister-in-law took Xiaowanzi to take a bath, Kang Qirui put his arm around Tianxiu's shoulders and said, "Xiaozi, aren't you ugly? You actually need a little girl to help you."

"Uncle Yao, you don't understand this. I use my brain. My father always says that smart people speak better than stupid people act." When Kang Qirui was not frowning, Tianxiu was still quite casual.

"You, you look exactly like your father." Kang Qirui pointed at Tianxiu's forehead and was also amused by him.

"Really? I'll just pay someone else to help me fight." Tianxiu knew that his family still had some money.

"You, if someone bullies you in school in the future, remember to come back and tell your dad or us, we will stand up for you, don't be silly and keep silent, understand?" Kang Qirui was not afraid of other things, but was afraid that Tianxiu would be bullied but not tell anyone. This was not a groundless worry, most children who were bullied at school chose not to tell their parents, and in most cases of school bullying, the victim's parents were the last to know.

"Oh, I understand." Tianxiu nodded, then went back to his room to do his homework.

In the TV series, after the eldest sister-in-law was insulted by Mr. Hong with money, it was the boss who apologized and said that Mr. Hong was very kind. It made my blood pressure rise.

So I changed it to this ending. Mr. Hong's love for the boss is unchangeable. The protagonist can only reveal that it is not love, but just the suspension bridge effect. And ridicule Mr. Hong through the age difference. It avoids the plot of the boss being entangled by reporters and the sister-in-law being insulted with money.

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(End of this chapter)