“Hmph.” Jiang Xiaobai snorted coldly. Then, she placed her hand in front of her heart in a queenly manner. “That’s much better. Then, I forgive you.”
Xiao Su twitched his lips, saying nothing. Why thank you.
“Well, do you remember the time when you happened to attend my granny’s birthday? Afterward, my uncle found out about our relationship and he wants to work with you.” She stopped and hurriedly raised her hands, clarifying, “Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying you have to work with him. He just wants a chance to meet you. So, he requested for me to act as the middleman. As to whether you want to work with him or not, it’s completely up to you. Let me just make it clear now that I’m not forcing you into it!”
“So, are you saying that the promise I made with you is to meet with your uncle once?”
She nodded in response. “Yeah, that’s it. With that, my mission is accomplished.”
The living room was filled with silence for a while, then he said, “Fine. When do we meet?”
“Are you agreeing to it?” She was surprised. Initially, she thought that he would try to sidestep it. After all, the Ye Group was a large conglomerate. Although Uncle Yanming’s company was beginning to build up, it was incomparable to the Ye Group in scale. It would be patronizing for the Ye Group to agree to work with Uncle Yanming’s company. Therefore, she did not have much hope for it.
“Yes,” he replied. Then, he looked elsewhere as he asked in a neutral voice, “Are you satisfied now?”
“Yes! I’m satisfied!” With her mission accomplished, she smiled brightly as she thanked him. In return, he gave her a speechless look. How can this girl be so callous? Just a moment ago, she was berating me with red-rimmed eyes. So, how is she smiling right now? Was she really angry? Or, was it just an act? Xiao Su was confused.
“Don’t worry. The next time your parents come over, I will treat them very well.”
Honestly, he wanted to tell her there was no need for that. It was best if she kept her interactions with his parents to a minimum; otherwise, it would turn into a tricky situation in the future. My mother seems to be very taken with her. If she treats them well, won’t my mother start to force us into marriage? However, looking at her happy expression, he, for some reason, decided not to say anything. Forget it; we’ll take each step as it comes.
In the end, Jiang Xiaobai’s prediction came true. Liang Yahe used to dislike coming over. Even if she missed her son, she would visit him once in a blue moon at most. Be that as it may, ever since she found out that Xiao Su had a girlfriend, the frequency of her visits became more frequent. In the beginning, Xiao Mingzhi would accompany her on her visits to meet Jiang Xiaobai. However, the two women had a lot to talk about and he felt left out of their conversations, so he stopped accompanying Liang Yahe there.
When the father and son touched on this topic, Xiao Mingzhi was exasperated. “Your mother has always been domineering. What can I do if she wants to go and visit Xiaobai? Don’t tell me you want me to stop her from going?”
Xiao Su was rendered speechless when he heard that. However, Xiao Mingzhi was a little experienced in this and had noticed something. Thus, he asked his son in a low voice, “You and Xiaobai aren’t in a real relationship, are you?”
Xiao Su was shocked. “Dad, how did you know?”
“You and I have the same personalities. How can I not tell if she is your girlfriend or not?” Xiao Mingzhi sighed helplessly. “Although I don’t know what’s your situation, if you don’t have feelings for her, then don’t waste each other’s time like that. You’re not young anymore and the girl won’t be young forever. Besides, if she lives with you, it will be bad for her reputation in the long run. Do you understand?”
Xiao Su fell silent after listening to his father’s advice. These were things he had not considered before. At the moment, he was working with Jiang Xiaobai to get what they wanted, but he had not thought about how living together would affect her reputation.
In the beginning, it started as visits to his house. However, as time went on, she began moving her stuff into his house for some reason. Then, all of a sudden, they were already living together. Everything had happened outside of his control. At first, he was dumbfounded by her behavior; in the end, he came to accept it. Now that he thought about it, the entire process was rather mysterious.
“I got it, Dad.”
“Your mother is very happy right now. She is already thinking of Xiaobai as her future daughter-in-law—so much so she has already begun to prepare the family heirlooms that will be passed down to Xiaobai.”
Hearing those words shocked him even more. “Does Mom like Jiang Xiaobai that much?”
“She does.” Xiao Mingzhi nodded. “Think about it; how many years have you been single? Your mother and I were quite worried about it. For so many years, you’ve never had a girlfriend. Now, you’ve found yourself a girlfriend, and one that is so beautiful and excellent in so many ways no less. Therefore, your mother is very happy with Xiaobai in many aspects.”
Listening to his father, Xiao Su finally understood why his father had taken the initiative to broach the topic and confirm whether or not he and Jiang Xiaobai were in an actual relationship. His father wanted to make him take action. Although they weren’t in a real relationship, if something were to happen in the future, it would affect more than just the two of them.
“Dad, I know what I have to do. I’ll find a time to explain it all to Mom.”
“Yeah, so long as you don’t cause trouble for somebody else’s daughter. Truthfully, I think Xiaobai is a good girl. If you are willing to put your heart into it, it isn’t a bad idea to bring her into the Xiao Family either.”
Bring Jiang Xiaobai into the Xiao Family? It wasn’t something he had considered before. However, now that he gave it some thought, he realized that his heart was not resisting the idea. Could it be that during the time they had gotten to know each other, he realized that she wasn’t such a bad catch either? Still, this was not a valid reason for two people to come together in marriage. Afterward, Xiao Su did not continue the conversation, and Xiao Mingzhi did not try to force his wishes on him again.
On the other side, Liang Yahe and Jiang Xiaobai had reached the point where they added each other on WeChat and chatted with each other every day. During this period, Liang Yahe had come to completely regard Jiang Xiaobai as her future daughter-in-law and was treating her like her own daughter. In their conversations, she constantly complained about Xiao Su and his flaws. At the same time, she dropped hints here and there about how he was a reliable and down-to-earth man, implying that marrying him was a great choice and whatnot.
Jiang Xiaobai understood what Liang Yahe was trying to get at, but she was too embarrassed to explain. After all, she was supposed to be a shield for Xiao Su against his family. Thus, she could only continue smiling.
Later on, she arranged for the meeting between Uncle Yanming and Xiao Su. On the day of their meeting, she did not attend the meeting. Therefore, she had no clue how things had played out. At the very least, her mother had stopped calling and nagging her about this issue, so she decided that she was in the clear.
Contrary to her expectations, Liang Yahe continued to keep her occupied. “Xiao Su’s cousin is getting married this week. Will you be attending together with Xiao Su?”
“Huh?” Having received the news out of the blue, she was caught off guard. She wants me to attend Xiao Su’s cousin’s wedding together with Xiao Su? He’s a cousin from Mr. Xiao’s side of the family. That is such a close relative! If I attend the wedding with Xiao Su, isn’t that equivalent to publicly announcing our relationship to the world? But, we are not in a real relationship!
Therefore, Jiang Xiaobai did not agree to it immediately and decided to wait until Xiao Su came home that night to discuss it with him. Besides, she was curious as to what Xiao Su thought about it. Will he agree to bring me along?
