“I refuse to shut up! I want to speak!” Zhong Chufeng deliberately went against Yuchi Yishu. Moreover, he continued to nag at him endlessly, “The method I mentioned is the best there is. This is how feelings between a man and a woman are verified! If you only think of her as your sister, then you definitely wouldn’t want to kiss her, right? However, if you like her, then you’d want to hold her in your arms all the time. Not only do you want to kiss her, but you also want to—”
Screech.
The squealing sound of brakes rang out and the car screeched to a halt by the side of the road. Then, Yuchi Yishu had a gloomy expression on his face as he stared at Zhong Chufeng with blazing eyes. “That’s enough!”
Zhong Chufeng realized that Yuchi Yishu had truly lost his temper and did not dare to say another word. Thus, he held back the rest of what he was about to say.
At that moment, Yuchi Yishu’s feelings were extremely complicated. Although he quietly continued driving and did not say anything more, he felt that Zhong Chufeng’s words held some truth to it. It was truly the best way to verify one’s feelings. Even so, if he really couldn’t bring himself to kiss Yuanyuan, wouldn’t that be very unfair to her? After all, she wasn’t a machine for him to verify his feelings with. However, if I don’t verify my feelings…
He carried these feelings in his heart as he drove until they arrived at the supermarket. Then, they went in together to buy the stuff they needed. As they were only buying ingredients to make dumplings, there was nothing much they needed to buy.
“I still have the leftover dumpling wrappers at home from when we last ate dumplings. So, we only need to get a few ingredients and the meat, then we can go back and make them.” Zhong Chufeng’s hands speedily grabbed several items and stuffed them into the shopping cart. Soon, he got everything he needed and went to pay for it.
“Does Mrs. Zhong like to eat dumplings?” Yuchi Yishu casually asked, most probably trying to ease the atmosphere from before.
“I don’t think so. She’s just doing this to keep us away.” Thus, the topic of conversation was brought back to the starting point. “She likes Yuanyuan very much and wants to make Yuanyuan her daughter-in-law. That’s something you should be able to tell too.”
“That’s not possible,” Yuchi Yishu bluntly and truthfully retorted.
Zhong Chufeng’s expression changed slightly after hearing those words. “Can’t you be a little more tactful when you say that? I know Yuanyuan has feelings for you. But that doesn’t mean you need to rub it in my face!”
“Zhong Chufeng.” Yuchi Yishu stopped in his tracks and looked at Zhong Chufeng. This was the first time he gazed at him with such a serious look.
“What? Why are you suddenly looking at me like that? Don’t you dare tell me you have feelings for me! I don’t swing that way.”
“You don’t need to force yourself to speak so cheerfully.”
Zhong Chufeng was taken aback.
“I know how much you like Yuanyuan. Thus, I don’t intend to rub salt in your wounds. If you can’t stand it anymore, then you should distance yourself from her.”
Distance myself? If I distance myself from her, I won’t be able to see her anymore. I won’t need to think about how she’s in love with somebody else or how she doesn’t have feelings for me. This doesn’t seem like a bad idea. But, I will also feel sad and upset if I don’t get to see her. Compared to the pain of watching her love somebody else, I think it would hurt more if I can’t see her.
“There’s no need to.” He shook his head and rejected Yuchi Yishu’s suggestion. “I can take what comes my way. I’m not as weak as you think. Let’s go; we need to get home soon to wrap those dumplings.”
Afterward, Zhong Chufeng walked forward quickly. Yuchi Yishu looked at his back and his eyes darkened considerably. Then, he followed after him without saying anything in the end.
At the hospital, Mrs. Zhong tugged at Tang Yuanyuan’s hand after the two guys left. She spoke in a warm and friendly tone, “Yuanyuan, you just became an adult this year, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Sigh. When I first saw you, you were just a little girl. I can’t believe that so many years have passed just like that. The little girl has grown up into a woman now.”
Reminiscing about the first time she met Tang Yuanyuan, she heaved a large sigh. At that time, the little girl was still very chubby and had a pair of round eyes that sparkled like the stars. Mrs. Zhong was taken with Tang Yuanyuan the moment she set her eyes on her. Not too long ago, she was worried about whether Zhong Chufeng had the same preferences as she did. What if I like Tang Yuanyuan, but Chufeng doesn’t?
Unexpectedly, she realized that Chufeng had the same taste and preferences as she did. As the saying goes, ‘No one understands a son better than his mother’. After watching the way her son gazed at Yuanyuan on several occasions, she immediately understood his feelings.
“By the way, little girl, do you have a boyfriend at school?”
Tang Yuanyuan had not expected Mrs. Zhong to ask her something like that. Her face turned red slightly as she shook her head in response.
“Why are you feeling shy just from a single question? You’re all grown up now. It’s time to get yourself a boyfriend!”
At the mention of ‘boyfriend’, the image of Yuchi Yishu flashed across her eyes. However, she naturally did not mention anything in front of Mrs. Zhong. She simply replied, “Mrs. Zhong, I still feel very young. So, I’m not rushing to find one.”
“Oh, my! How can you not be anxious about it? You’re an adult! You should find yourself a boyfriend! You will only know if the two of you are compatible with each other once you get into a relationship; don’t you think so?”
She said nothing to that.
Mrs. Zhong wanted to matchmake Tang Yuanyuan with Chufeng. Thus, she gently said, “Yuanyuan, can I ask you a question?”
“Sure.”
“What do you think of Chufeng?”
“Huh?” Tang Yuanyuan was taken aback, not quite understanding what Mrs. Zhong meant by her words.
“What are you so shocked about? I like you very much. I also think that a young lady like you is very hard to come by. Moreover, I’ve known you since you were a child. Therefore, I know you very well. Besides, you’re familiar with Chufeng too. Although he talks a lot, he is quite a reliable child. He has never randomly brought home any girls. Even if he did, you’re the only one he has ever brought home.”
Seeing as Mrs. Zhong had already said so much, Tang Yuanyuan would be able to understand the underlying meaning behind her words even if she were a fool. Then, she suddenly realized that this was Mrs. Zhong’s true intention for sending Yishu and Chufeng back to make dumplings for her. Thus, she was flustered and her voice weakened slightly. “Mrs. Zhong, Chufeng and I are very good friends.”
“I know,” Mrs. Zhong replied with a light laugh. “That’s why I wanted to ask you about it. What do you think of going from good friends to being in a relationship with each other?”
Tang Yuanyuan faltered. “I—”
“Don’t be scared, child. I just want to make you my daughter-in-law because I like you very much. Besides, I’m sure you also noticed just how much my son likes you.”
After hearing those words, Tang Yuanyuan’s brain drew a blank and she couldn’t react to the words. “C-Chufeng likes me?”
That’s impossible, right? Previously, her schoolmates had said the same thing to her. However, when she questioned Chufeng about it, he denied it then and there, saying that he had no such feelings for her. So, why is Mrs. Zhong saying the same thing?
“Can’t you tell?” Mrs. Zhong looked surprised. “He likes you very much! And, for so many years too! I watched him grow up, but I’ve never seen him being so nice to any other girl.”
Tang Yuanyuan felt speechless. After a moment, she explained in a small voice, “Mrs. Zhong, could it be that you misunderstood? Chufeng and I are simply very close. Besides, he told me before that he doesn’t have feelings for me.”
“What?” This was something beyond Mrs. Zhong’s expectations. “He said that he didn’t have feelings for you?”
Tang Yuanyuan nodded in response. “That’s right, Mrs. Zhong.”
