Zhao Shuyang’s exclamation was like a thunderclap that exploded in Chen Yi and Ruan Mian’s ears. The two of them froze in place and looked up to see Fang Ruqing’s figure flash by the window.
Ruan Mian, like a child caught in an underage romance by her parents, panicked and could only push Chen Yi’s arm, “Let’s go quickly.”
Chen Yi was much calmer. He grasped her hand and said, “Go where? We’re not in an underage romance.”
Only then did Ruan Mian react. Still, she shook off his hand and looked him up and down, “I think it would be better if you leave.”
When Chen Yi saw her obvious glance, he also suddenly realized. He had rushed out the door after getting Ruan Mian’s call, thinking it was something urgent, and didn’t even have time to change his clothes.
His pajamas were alright, they were athletic style, with a plain white t-shirt on top and black athletic pants below, so they didn’t look like pajamas at first glance.
But his slippers…
He looked down at the cotton slippers on his feet. For the first time ever, the usually suave person was at a loss for what to do. “Can I still leave now?”
The answer, of course, was…
It was too late.
In the time it took to exchange those few words, Fang Ruqing had already come up from downstairs and was standing in the doorway. Her expression was gentle and tranquil. “Chen Yi, you’re here. It’s so cold outside, come in and sit for a while.”
Chen Yi decided to just brazen it out. He nodded and said, “Sorry for the intrusion, Auntie.”
Once inside, Fang Ruqing had Ruan Mian bring Chen Yi to sit on the sofa in the living room, and asked Chen Yi if he wanted tea or juice.
Chen Yi quickly declined, “No need to trouble yourself, Auntie.”
“It’s no trouble.”
Considering the late hour, Fang Ruqing thought drinking tea would disrupt sleep, so she made him a cup of floral tea to aid sleep and said with a smile, “Make yourself at home.”
Chen Yi was extremely well-behaved. He bowed his head and said, “Thank you, Auntie.”
After making the tea, Fang Ruqing went into the kitchen to cut up fruit. Chen Yi put the glass cup on the coffee table and turned to Ruan Mian, “I’ll go over for a bit.”
Ruan Mian pretended not to understand his implied meaning and simply said, “Okay, go ahead.”
Chen Yi: “…”
Giving up, he got up and walked by himself toward the kitchen. From the short distance, Ruan Mian heard him say politely, “Auntie, it’s so late, don’t tire yourself out. I’ll just sit for a while then leave.”
“It’s no trouble. You go back out and sit, I’ll be done soon.”
Fang Ruqing’s hands kept moving as she quickly sliced two oranges.
Chen Yi was like friends with his own parents and rarely had experience interacting with elders, let alone his potential mother-in-law. This was his first time.
At a loss for what to do, he could only look back at his girlfriend.
Ruan Mian, holding back laughter, got up and went over. “Mom, it’s so late already. Why are you cutting so much fruit when we can’t finish it all?”
“Alright, alright, this is the last one.”
Fang Ruqing stopped slicing and arranged the fruit platter. Chen Yi naturally took it from her hands.
She wiped her hands and said with a smile, “Let’s go, back to the sitting area.”
The three of them sat on the sofa again. What followed was the same old routine when meeting the parents. Although she already knew about Chen Yi, Fang Ruqing still asked some questions about him and his family.
Chen Yi answered everything asked of him, his manners polite and proper. His composure and restraint gave off a particularly upright masculinity, perhaps due to his military background.
With his well-off family background, outstanding looks, and the fact that his and Ruan Mingke’s parents were old friends who knew each other inside and out, Fang Ruqing could barely find anything to be unsatisfied with.
Most importantly, he was the one her daughter had liked for so many years. Even if she wanted to, she couldn’t bring herself to find fault at this point.
Before leaving, Fang Ruqing asked Chen Yi to come over for dinner tomorrow night. “Our families live so close, feel free to come over whenever you’re back on break in the future.”
“Alright, goodbye Auntie.”
As Chen Yi was leaving, Fang Ruqing and Ruan Mian saw him to the door. After walking a few steps, he looked back, just in time to see their backs as they entered the house.
He inexplicably felt relieved and hurried back home, where Song Jing and Chen Shuyu were still in the living room watching TV.
Song Jing turned down the TV volume. “Where did you go?”
Chen Yi texted Ruan Mian as he candidly answered, “My girlfriend’s house.”
Chen Shuyu, who was closer to him, looked at his outfit and said, “You’ve got guts.”
“Hm?”
Chen Yi looked up, “What?”
But Chen Shuyu ignored him and turned to say to Song Jing instead, “Your son is really something. The first time going to his mother-in-law’s house and he wore slippers over. I remember when it was me, I wished I could wrap myself in gold from head to toe. I was so nervous that I wouldn’t let a single hair stand up out of line. Yet he went so casually the first time, like going back to his own home.”
Chen Yi: “…”
Hearing this, Song Jing also glanced down at his feet. “Chen Yi, if I remember correctly, you’re already past your 27th birthday. How are you less sensible than when you were 17?”
Chen Yi nestled into the sofa and scratched his neck, explaining for himself, “It was sudden, I had originally planned to go over tomorrow night and just happened to run into them.”
Song Jing: “So you just went over in your pajamas and slippers, empty-handed?”
Chen Yi didn’t say anything.
Song Jing sighed. “Seeing you like this, I really worry that if it weren’t for your dad and I, you wouldn’t even be able to get a wife.”
Chen Yi turned off his phone. “My mother-in-law invited me over for dinner tomorrow night.”
Song Jing: “Oh.”
Chen Shuyu: “Remember not to wear slippers this time.”
Chen Yi: “…”
The next morning, Chen Yi was dragged out of bed by Song Jing before he even woke up from his dream. When he got downstairs to the living room, he realized that Song Jing had already asked the servants to take out all the big and small gift boxes, precious medicinal materials, calligraphy and paintings, etc. from the storage room early in the morning and arranged them all over the living room. The scene looked rather grand.
Song Jing didn’t know much about Ruan Mian’s family situation, so she asked, “Do you know who’s in your mother-in-law’s family clearly?”
Chen Yi hmm-ed, “Grandma, stepfather, older sister, and a younger brother.”
“Then take a look and see what things you should bring over.”
Song Jing instructed: “Even though Mian Mian’s parents don’t live together now, you can’t neglect the proper etiquette on both sides. Don’t let others think we mind about these things.”
“Got it.”
“Alright then, you can start picking first. I’ll go see if there’s anything else.”
Song Jing also called the servants to go to the storage room with her.
Chen Yi nodded. He also called out, “Mom.”
“What is it?”
He smiled. “Thanks for the hard work.”
Song Jing said lightly: “What hard work. I’m afraid you’ll lose face for your dad and me.”
In the evening, Ruan Mian received a call from Chen Yi to go to the intersection to pick him up. She was startled by the large number of things he brought.
“Isn’t this too much?”
Ruan Mian reached out to help carry two gift boxes. They weren’t light either. “What’s inside here?”
“Alcohol.”
Chen Yi picked up several other gift boxes from the ground. “These are for uncle. He’s a businessman so he should drink right?”
Ruan Mian nodded. Then she asked: “What about these?”
“Ginseng and some medicinal materials. Also bird’s nest and nutritional supplements for aunt.”
Chen Yi shook his left hand. “These are prepared for your brother and Zhao Shutang.”
Ruan Mian oh-ed and deliberately picked fault, “So there’s nothing for me?”
Chen Yi stopped and lowered his head to look at her. His brows and eyes were handsome. The dusk light fell on him like a natural filter. “How is there nothing. Come here.”
Ruan Mian walked over as instructed. “What?”
“Left pocket.”
He couldn’t free his hands. “Take it yourself.”
Ruan Mian mumbled something about it being so small. The next second, she suddenly thought of something and her outstretched hand stiffened for a moment.
She glanced up at him. At that time, it was the yellow dusk of early night. The setting sun in the distance sank below the horizon. The man’s figure was shrouded in the dusk, lacking some of the cold and aloof feeling, extremely gentle instead.
Ruan Mian seemed to have prepared herself psychologically. She lowered her head again to reach into his pocket but touched nothing. Before she could react, her whole body was suddenly pulled into his embrace.
She was stunned for a moment. “What are you doing?”
“Gift.”
Chen Yi lowered his head and rubbed her forehead. “Me.”
“Oh.”
Ruan Mian blinked and kissed his cheek lightly. She picked up the things and walked forward, “I’ll take it.”
Chen Yi quickly caught up, sneaking glances at her from the corner of his eye when she wasn’t paying attention.
He had noticed her momentary pause earlier, as well as the flash of tension and shyness on her face when she reached into his pocket.
Chen Yi thought of how she still stretched her hand towards him after the hesitation. There was turmoil in his heart. He inevitably regretted a little.
If time could be reversed, he would definitely put a ring in his pocket so her nervousness and shyness wouldn’t be in vain.
But there were no ifs in this world. Fortunately, there would be countless next times in the future.
When they arrived home, Zhao Yingwei was busy socializing yesterday so he couldn’t get away today and would be back late. Fang Ruqing was preparing dinner in the kitchen.
The Zhao siblings were sitting in the living room. Chen Yi had come once yesterday so he was mentally prepared. Adding that Zhao Shutang was his old classmate, it was not as awkward as the first time going to Ruan Mingke’s place with someone familiar present.
Fang Ruqing told him to sit in the living room, “You youngsters chat for a while. Dinner will be late today. Let me boil you a couple eggs first to fill you up.”
“Please don’t trouble yourself auntie, I’m not hungry.”
Chen Yi smiled, “Let me help out in the kitchen.”
“No need, no need, I can manage. You go sit.”
Fang Ruqing called towards the living room: “Shuyang, make tea for your brother-in-law.”
Zhao Shuyang: “Okay!”
Fang Ruqing wiped her hands and pushed Chen Yi’s arm, smiling: “Alright, it’s smoky with oil fumes here in the kitchen. Go sit outside.”
Chen Yi was pushed out of the kitchen by his future mother-in-law. She was completely frank with him, treating him like family already and shut the door with a bang.
He rubbed his nose, about to head to the living room when Ruan Mian poked her head out from the second floor. “Chen Yi, come up for a bit.”
The stairs weren’t high with only a few steps. He hopped up with a few strides and was upstairs very quickly. “What’s the matter?”
“I’ll take you to see grandma.”
If it was in the past, Fang Ruqing would have definitely asked Ruan Mian to take Chen Yi to meet Duan Ying. But after talking with Ruan Mingke, Fang Ruqing felt she had overlooked many things before and didn’t force Ruan Mian to do anything anymore.
Last night after Chen Yi left, Fang Ruqing discussed this with Ruan Mian. The gist was that if she didn’t want to meet, then there was no need to meet.
But Ruan Mian was already an adult. She couldn’t be as childish as before. In the end, Duan Ying was still Zhao Yingwei’s mother. Ruan Ming didn’t want Fang Ruqing to be put in a difficult position. Besides, she didn’t hate Duan Ying, at most they just weren’t close before and still wouldn’t be too close now. But she couldn’t neglect the proper etiquette.
She sighed softly, but Chen Yi’s hearing was sharp and he turned to look at her, pinching her knuckle joints. “Why the sigh?”
Ruan Mian raised her eyes. “You could hear that quiet of a sigh?”
He hmm-ed and reminded: “Don’t change the topic.”
Ruan Mian opened her mouth wanting to say something, but thinking of Duan Ying’s current state, she also lost the intention to bring up the past matters.
The person was already like that. What meaning was there to talk about those things again.
She didn’t plan on telling the truth so her mouth naturally spouted nonsense: “It’s nothing. I’m just worried she won’t be satisfied with you.”
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