*

Mu House

"Oh my god, Manman, look at my little boy!!"

Gu Beiyan's mother, Lin Wan, grabbed Nan Qing's mother, Su Man's, wrist and slapped her thigh excitedly.

"My son, who's usually so icy, actually puts an apron on someone else's head! I told you, my boy and my precious Qingqing are a perfect match!"

She pointed at Gu Beiyan on the screen, who was tying an apron for Nan Qing, her fingers, which were doing exquisite manicures, trembling with excitement.

Su Man, who was standing to the side, laughed so hard she almost fell over. She patted Lin Wan's hand that was gripping her wrist, telling her to be gentler.

"You say your son is like an ice cube, but I don't think so. Look how well he is."

"This is way more effective than when Nanqing's dad was pursuing me when he was young!"

Lin Wan gracefully composed herself, picked up her coffee, stirred it, but before she could even settle down for two seconds, she leaned closer to her best friend and said mysteriously:

"Manman, let me tell you, I've already prepared the betrothal gifts. It's a promise, you have to give me your precious Qingqing as my daughter-in-law!"

Heaven knows how long she had been longing for the soft and cuddly little Nanqing. He was incredibly cute as a child, and even more beautiful and well-behaved as he grew up. She had given birth to three sons in a row, and she dreamed of having a soft and adorable little princess like Qingqing.

Unfortunately, that brat Gu Beiyan is such a disappointment!

He originally thought that since they were about the same age and grew up together, they were childhood sweethearts, and he was sure he could win Qingqing's heart and bring her home.

But Gu Beiyan has always been like an ice block since he was little. He's even less talkative than his father and not at all likable to girls, which is why my darling Qingqing didn't like playing with this older brother when she was little.

Later, due to business issues, the Mu family settled abroad for more than ten years. She thought her dream was going to be dashed and that the daughter-in-law she was looking forward to would belong to someone else. But man proposes, God disposes. So when Su Man returned to China, Lin Wan came up with a plan and encouraged Su Man to send the two children to participate in a dating reality show to try and bring them together.

Actually, her plan was that if Gu Beiyan wasn't suitable, she would choose another son.

Anyway, she has two sons, the second son is 21 years old, which is also a good match!

If all else fails, her third son is 19 too. He can date first, get engaged, and then get married when he's of age. A woman three years older than a man is a perfect match!

But she didn't expect that her icy son had actually become quite capable this time. It seems he'll be able to help her bring her precious Qingqing home!

Thinking back to the reluctant look on her eldest son's face when she informed him three days ago, she couldn't help but laugh when she saw the live stream now.

Lin Wan thought about it, but still felt that something was missing...

Her eyes lit up when her gaze fell on the tablet lying to the side. She quickly picked it up, turned on the live broadcast of the program, and frantically tapped her fingers on the tablet, making the pearl bracelet on her wrist jingle.

[Gu Beiyan's mother: I agree to this marriage!]

She even urged Su Man to take out her phone and cheer for "Yan Qing CP" with her.

"Quick, quick, Manman, just send the message 'Qingqing's baby's mom also agrees!'"

After all these years, her best friend is still so full of energy. What can Su Man do? She can only take out her phone and change her account ID.

[Qingqing's Mommy: I also agree to this marriage~]

[Gu Beiyan's mother: @Qingqing's baby's mommy in-laws!!!]

[Qingqing's Mommy: Sigh~]

Seeing the comments on the screen all praising her son and future daughter-in-law as a couple, Lin Wan suddenly had a flash of inspiration and sent a message to the head of the company's public relations department.

[Let's get Yan Qing and his partner trending on social media]

【No, arrange ten!】

[It's that variety show called "Heart Signal." Also, I told all the company employees that anyone who participates in shipping Xiao Gu and his partner will have their bonus doubled this month!]

After arranging these things, Lin Wan picked up her phone, opened the photo album, and leaned close to Su Man.

"Manman, look at this invitation design, isn't it beautiful? Judging from their progress, I think we can start preparing for the wedding..."

The two mothers over there had already started choosing invitations, hotels, and honeymoon destinations together, while Nan Qing and Gu Beiyan were still making cakes, completely unaware that their mothers were even more anxious than they were.

Gu Beiyan stood behind the kitchen counter, the cuffs of his black shirt rolled up to his elbows, revealing his slender forearms. He was looking down at the egg batter in his hand, and with the pink "cute pig" apron over his shirt, he looked both ascetic and full of husbandly charm.

Nan Qing, wearing a blue "caretaker" apron, would occasionally linger beside Gu Beiyan to supervise his progress.

"Gu Beiyan, this Mascapone should be okay, right?"

His hands didn't stop moving, but his eyes turned to Nan Qing, he nodded, and said:

"Okay, it's ready. You can leave it there for now."

Gu Beiyan declined the instructor arranged by the baking studio, and instead watched a tutorial video on how to make tiramisu cake. Then he and Nan Qing got busy making it.

He doesn't like being too close to others, and he especially dislikes others being too intimate with him...

As he held the tweezers and dipped the ladyfingers into the coffee, his expression was indifferent yet focused, as if he were conducting some kind of precise experiment, with every second of the immersion time as accurate as a clock.

As he finished spreading the last layer of cheese mixture, he suddenly looked up at Nan Qing, his pale fingers gripping the sieve of cocoa powder, and asked:

What pattern do you want?

Nan Qing leaned closer, looked at the cake that was about to take shape, and then, recalling the tiramisu she remembered, asked with some doubt:

"Can you make patterns? I seem to remember that all tiramisu looks the same."

Smelling the faint fragrance of flowers, Gu Beiyan's gaze fell on her face, and he said casually:

"You can do it if you want to."

Those deep, dark eyes were calm, yet they seemed to gaze into the abyss, as if they were talking about cake, but also as if they weren't.

Nan Qing dipped her fingertip in cocoa powder, and the bitter taste immediately spread in her mouth. With her eyes half-closed, she caught a glimpse of Gu Beiyan's apron and her eyes lit up. She pointed at the adorable piglet and said in a slightly coquettish tone.

"Gu Beiyan, let's take the little pig, the adorable little piglet on you~"

Upon hearing this, Gu Beiyan's lips curled slightly, and a faint smile flickered in his eyes.

"good."