Chapter 88 If there are discrepancies in the testimonies during a home visit, her mother...

"Did you hear me? Tell Xiao He to come over for dinner tonight."

Zhu Liushuang tilted her head back and subconsciously retorted, "There's not much food at home... How about we do it another day?"

“Four dishes and a soup can always be made,” Gu Chunling glanced at her daughter and said irritably, “I didn’t even complain about his lack of manners, does he expect me to prepare a Manchu Han Imperial Feast?”

"Okay, I'll go call him right now." Zhu Liushuang hurriedly got up from the ground, almost biting her tongue as she answered. She clutched the marriage certificate and walked towards the bedroom, her steps becoming unsteady in sync with her heartbeat.

My mother went to the kitchen to prepare the ingredients. She carefully closed the door, her gaze falling on the wardrobe in the corner. The wardrobe door was open, the coats on the left side hung neatly, but the right side—looked like a hill about to collapse. It was easy to imagine how shocked my mother would be when she found the marriage certificate.

The matter is settled; the most urgent task is to inform He Ming.

Although she wasn't sure if he could cooperate, she still gritted her teeth and called him anyway.

The busy tone from the receiver struck her eardrums, sending a sharp, stinging pain through her. She was frantic with worry; she hung up and sent him a WeChat message.

[Senior, are you busy? I need to talk to you urgently. Call me back as soon as you see this!]

She had barely finished typing the sentence, before she could even send it, when her phone vibrated. The name "He Ming" on the caller ID throbbed wildly, just like her temples.

"Hello, senior." She pressed the answer button and sat down on the bed. "My mom saw our marriage certificate." She clutched the corner of the blanket with her fingers, her confidence weakening slightly because of her guilty conscience.

The sound of a mouse clicking on a computer screen came from the other end of the phone. The man didn't seem surprised by the result and asked her calmly, "Is there anything I can do to help you?"

She had prepared a long explanation, but he dismissed it with a single sentence. Zhu Liushuang was speechless for a moment, loosening her grip on the bedsheet and saying through the microphone, "My mom said she wants you to come over for dinner today. It all happened so suddenly... If you're not available, it's okay, we can do it another day..."

Finally, she forced a smile and gave a dry laugh, as if doing so would ease her awkwardness.

"I'll be arriving a bit late, around seven o'clock, is that alright?" The man's deep voice, tinged with static, came through the phone. "What are the customs for visiting the parents where you're from? Gifts..."

The cutting board in the kitchen was being chopped with a loud "bang," but Zhu Liushuang had no time to think about the etiquette of visiting someone's home. At this moment, her mind was in a mess, so she said in a daze, "No need, no need... just come over first."

"Is there anything else I should be aware of?" the man asked, tapping the table.

The sheets were wrinkled from her constant rubbing. Her eyes dimmed, and she lowered her voice to reply, "Yes, I did. They said on the phone it wasn't convenient... I'll come downstairs to pick you up when you're almost there."

"Okay, see you tonight."

After hanging up the phone, Zhu Liushuang realized that half of her ear was burning hot. This flushed heat had nothing to do with shyness; it was more like the unease buried deep in her heart was surging forth.

To get closer to him and win him over, she told one lie after another. She deceived her mother, she deceived him, and even—she needed him to help her lie.

She suddenly felt afraid. What would he think of her if one day he discovered that she was a liar?

She slowly pulled her shoulders inward, burying her head in her arms, trying to calm herself down.

The clock on the wall ticked tirelessly; there were still two hours until seven o'clock in the evening. Zhu Liushuang, who had been burying her head in the sand in her bedroom for a while, emerged from her room, her mind heavy with worries.

The kitchen was bustling with activity. Gu Chunling was frying crucian carp in the oil when she heard a noise behind her. Without turning around, she asked, "Why did it take you so long to make a phone call? What time did Xiao He say he would be here?"

The fishy smell mixed with the aroma of ginger and garlic wafted over, and Zhu Liushuang pinched her nose and said, "We'll be there around seven o'clock."

"Did I cook it too early?" Gu Chunling flipped the crucian carp over and asked hesitantly, "Should I braise the crucian carp or make it into a clear soup?"

Glancing absentmindedly at the crucian carp rolling around in the oil, Zhu Liushuang said, "Let's make soup. He prefers light flavors..."

"If you're making soup, how about frying two eggs? It'll make it more flavorful..."

Half a yellow-feathered chicken was sitting in the pool, its wings curled up in a ball from the cold. It was probably meant to be for tomorrow's dinner, but Gu Chunling had brought it out in advance to make a show of it.

"Either is fine..." Zhu Liushuang turned on the tap, intending to rinse the chicken with warm water to thaw it. Hot water, steaming, splashed onto the chicken skin, but she didn't notice.

Ignoring the sizzling oil in the pan, Gu Chunling turned off the tap for her daughter: "Stop working on it, it'll be easier to just blanch it in hot water."

Shooted aside by her mother, Zhu Liushuang dared not remain idle, so she picked up the yams from the basket and prepared to peel them. After peeling only half a yam, her palms turned red, and an unbearable itch crept along the lines of her palms.

She had completely forgotten that she had a mild allergy to yam peels. She usually wore disposable gloves when peeling yams, but she was probably too dazed to remember that today.

"Get out of here quickly, don't make things worse." Gu Chunling frowned and muttered to herself, "Mom's in the kitchen, go and put some medicated oil on yourself." Watching her daughter's silent departure, she couldn't help but shake her head.

Following her mother's advice, Zhu Liushuang rummaged through the medicine cabinet for some Tiger Balm, rubbed some on her palm, and the pungent coolness masked the excruciating itching. However, the Tiger Balm soon lost its effectiveness. She remembered a tip she had seen shared online, so she ran to the bathroom to get a hairdryer. She blew hot air onto her palm for several minutes, and miraculously, the itching stopped.

Her scattered thoughts returned to their place amidst the constant hum of the hairdryer.

When she received He Ming's call again, she was wiping the dining table in the living room. The other end of the line was noisy, and if you listened carefully, you could vaguely hear the advertising slogans from the mall's loudspeakers.

Where is the senior?

He Ming coughed softly and said, "I just happened to be passing by the mall, so I came in to buy some gifts. Ah... Auntie, besides your swollen and painful joints, is there anything else that bothers you?"

She grabbed a rag and wiped a spot back and forth, the water stains on the wooden table drying and then getting wet again: "My digestive system isn't very good, and... my immunity is rather weak."

"Okay, I got it." His voice swayed with his footsteps. "I'm leaving get off work half an hour early, so I should be able to get to your house sooner."

Aside from "thank you," Zhu Liushuang seemed unsure what to say in response. After thinking for a while, she softly hummed in agreement, reminding the person on the other end of the line to drive safely.

After the call ended, a flood of thoughts rushed through her mind. The earnest and serious tone he used on the phone had left her momentarily stunned. It was as if—they really were a long-time couple, and he had shown immense patience and sincerity in preparing for this visit.

Just after 6:30, the aroma of crucian carp soup wafted from the kitchen. Gu Chunling poured chopped chicken into the wok and stir-fried it over high heat. "Xiao Shuang, ask Xiao He where he is?" she called out to the door, her voice slightly tense.

"He should be on his way. He'll contact me when he gets there." It was completely dark outside. Zhu Liushuang leaned out of the window and looked downstairs. The cold wind made her shiver.

A dark car slowly sped past on the narrow cement path; it was too far away for her to make out the license plate. But her intuition told her it must be He Ming's car.

The dark figure stopped in front of the tenth apartment building. At the same time, Zhu Liushuang received a WeChat message from He Ming.

I've arrived, come down.

"Mom, I'm going downstairs to take a look..."

"It's windy outside, put on your coat!" Gu Chunling lifted the pot lid and sprinkled some chopped green onions into the casserole. In the short time it took, everyone in the living room had already disappeared, making a ruckus. She stared blankly out the dark window, and for some reason, felt a sudden emptiness in her heart.

————

A slender, small black figure darted through the stairwell, her steps becoming increasingly hurried. Upon reaching the bottom of the building, Zhu Liushuang stumbled, nearly making intimate contact with the concrete floor. Fortunately, she was still gripping the handrail tightly, preventing herself from losing face at such an inopportune moment.

After regaining her footing, she smoothed out the wrinkles in her clothes and took small, quick steps toward He Ming's car.

There was no moon on this late autumn night. The only street lamp by the roadside had been repaired, but the bulb was low wattage, so two people had to stand face to face to see each other's faces clearly.

Zhu Liushuang walked up to the black SUV and realized that He Ming wasn't sitting inside. He was leaning against the door, quietly waiting for her.

Could it be... that he saw what happened in the stairwell just now?

She muttered to herself, unable to resist secretly glancing at his face.

The dim streetlights softened his sharp features, making his usually aloof eyes appear as if veiled by a light, watery mist. Everything seemed normal, even—because of the lamplight, he looked gentler than usual.

Zhu Liushuang felt relieved and slightly curled her lips, saying, "Senior."

The man nodded and walked to the back of the car. There were several gift boxes in the trunk. He bent down to take them, not forgetting to call out to Zhu Liushuang, who was still standing there in a daze.

"Liu Shuang, come and lend a hand."

Hearing He Ming call her, she quickened her pace and asked, "Do you need anything?"

"Here, take these two lighter boxes." Two gift boxes, one red and one green, were handed to her. Zhu Liushuang was curious and leaned closer to examine them. The green box contained tea; she had never tried "Lion Peak Longjing" before, but she had seen it on Guo Yang's desk. As for the red box, she could guess from the pattern on the packaging that it contained bird's nest.

“Senior, you really don’t need to buy so much…” Zhu Liushuang weighed the items in his hands with a complicated expression, hesitating to speak.

"Of course." He Ming closed the trunk and picked up four more gift boxes, saying, "I didn't know what to buy, so I just followed the crowd and bought some."

Bird's nest, Longjing tea, camel milk powder, cordyceps... What he called following the crowd was seen as extremely "expensive" in her eyes. Although Zhu Liushuang forced a smile, she didn't know how to respond, so she pretended to be mute and just kept walking with her head down.

"Liu Shuang, aren't we going to recite our lines?" The man, who was a step behind her, suddenly called out to her.

Zhu Liushuang turned her head away.

Oh! She almost forgot the most important thing.

He Ming held something quite heavy in his hand, and stopped in the middle of the road, waiting for her to continue.

Suddenly, Zhu Liushuang became timid, her gaze began to wander, and she dared not look directly into the eyes of the person in front of her.

"Senior... I told my mom that we dated for three months, but then we rushed to get married because of Dr. Xie's accident..."

"Hmm." The man's eyes were deep and serious.

“We were originally alumni, and this spring we started seeing each other frequently because of work. We developed feelings for each other and started dating…” She spoke slowly, thinking as she spoke, “If my mom asks why I didn’t tell her about something as important as getting our marriage certificate, just say that I stopped you from telling her.”

The gift box in her hand swayed slightly. She could feel He Ming's gaze focused on her face, but she dared not look back at him, afraid that if they met eyes, her nervous and flustered eyes would betray her.

She had practically counted every single pebble on the roadside before Zhu Liushuang finally received a simple "I know."

The motion-sensor lights in the stairwell flickered on and off, casting a shadow over the man's face; she couldn't decipher his expression. A surge of emotion welled up within her, and the pent-up anxiety and unease finally manifested in her faltering steps.

"My apartment is on the sixth floor, and the motion-sensor lights aren't very sensitive, so please watch your step, senior." The corridor lights on the second floor went out, but the lights on the third floor didn't turn on. In the quiet gloom, Zhu Liushuang spoke awkwardly.

"Yes, I can see it."

They made their way up to the fourth floor in the dark, and the corridor lights came on right on time.

The lights on the fifth and sixth floors were still working, and Zhu Liushuang breathed a sigh of relief, her expression relaxing slightly.

“603 is my home.” She placed a gift box on the ground, took out her key, and opened the door. “My mom should have finished cooking by now. Senior… just answer whatever she asks, don’t say anything more.”

After all, the more she said, the more mistakes she made. If some of her statements didn't match up, her mother would definitely become suspicious.

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The author's note: When a prospective son-in-law visits for the first time, he must perform all the proper courtesies! Although the senior student thinks it's just acting, he still does his job very diligently.

Since you've already come to my door, let's talk about living together. [shrug]