Chapter 50 Chestnut really likes him.

"Sis, are you two already living together?"

Upon hearing Tao Xingyou's question, Luo Qingyan paused for a moment, her thoughts racing for the next few seconds, somewhat chaotic. Finally, she decided to put aside all the jumbled thoughts and casually replied, "Yes, I still want to get married!"

"What?" Tao Xingyou's accent changed in surprise, unable to suppress her astonishment. "You...I...you two confirmed your relationship later than Zhuang Zhenglang and I, right? So fast? What's the progress? Did it rocket?"

"Just because a handsome guy is in high demand doesn't mean I have to hold on tight." Luo Qingyan glanced at the sink. "You saw that the toiletries were in pairs, right? We get along well, so we'll live together. Oh, right, he also lives in Hefengting, so why don't we just move in together?"

"What are you thinking about?" Luo Qingyan reached out and flicked Tao Xingyou's forehead.

"I..." Tao Xingyou touched her forehead, looking aggrieved. "You said you wanted to get married... I... most people would guess in that direction... nowadays, many people get married because of pregnancy."

"Nothing like that, don't overthink it."

"That's true... Sister, you're always a person of plan, you don't allow for such surprises. But it's easy to lose your head in the face of love, so I still have to remind you, if you're not planning to have a baby, you must take precautions..."

"What do you mean by being blinded by love? You're talking about hormones." Luo Qingyan covered Tao Xingyou's mouth: "Stop talking nonsense. Wash your hands and go eat the cake. Let's go to Grandma's place early."

Tao Xingyou pried Luo Qingyan's hand away: "We're in the bathroom. I'm speaking so softly that the people sitting in the living room can't hear me."

"I can't be bothered with you, I'm going to eat cake."

"Hey, wait for me!"

As Luo Qingyan stepped out of the bathroom, she saw the little male merman smiling in the distance. With just one look from her, his lips immediately fell into a sullen expression, and all traces of his smile vanished.

The three of them then silently finished eating the cake.

Then, we went to my maternal grandmother's house together.

-

"Grandma! We're here!" Tao Xingyou's voice came from the doorway into the courtyard and then into the house.

"It's good that you're here." The rain had stopped, and Grandma happened to be in the courtyard, so she immediately greeted the three of them.

"Quickly hug it, the child is so eager it's almost talking." Luo Qingyan looked at the little male merman first, then pouted at Chestnut, "Chestnut, you're not even going to give me a proper welcome."

“Exactly,” Tao Xingyou chimed in. “Li Zi, you don’t just like handsome guys because you’re a girl, do you?”

"Chestnut really likes Xiaoyun," Grandma said cheerfully. "When Xiaoyun first came here, Chestnut really enjoyed playing with her, like an old friend. Maybe it's because Xiaoyun has a good temperament and even likes small animals; it's fate that brought them together."

"Yes, he's quite popular with small animals." Luo Qingyan smiled. The little male merman had played with Chestnut countless times; in fact, Chestnut had taken him in. How could they not be familiar with each other? Of course, she couldn't say too much, or she might reveal something.

"Come inside, sit for a while and we can eat." Grandma patted Luo Qingyan on the back.

"Okay." Luo Qingyan gently pushed her cousin forward first, then pulled the little male merman who was holding chestnuts, and they all went into the house together.

-

Inside the house, Aunt and Uncle were busy in the kitchen. Luo Qingyan took the little male fish to greet the elders and see if there was anything she could do to help.

In the past, when it was just Luo Qingyan and Tao Xingyou, the elders would complain that the two of them took up space in the kitchen and would not let them help. Now that there is also a little male merman, they will not let them help at all, and will only let the young people accompany their grandmother.

So the two of them went back to the living room and watched TV and chatted with the grandmother.

Later, we all had dinner together.

The little male merman doesn't talk much, but when he does, he speaks earnestly and his every move is graceful and appropriate.

Luo Qingyan even suspected that the other party had received special training from a land-based mermaid organization. Of course, it could also be because everyone in their family was kind and easy to get along with, so the whole thing was harmonious from beginning to end.

-

After dinner, Grandma, Aunt, and Uncle didn't plan to go out; they just sat in the yard resting and chatting. Luo Qingyan, Xiao Nanyu, and Tao Xingyou, on the other hand, took Chestnut out for a stroll.

Unexpectedly, not long after they went out, they ran into Zhuang Zhenglang and Situ Lu. Situ Lu was taking Pudding for a walk, which seemed normal, but this was the first time they had seen Zhuang Zhenglang with them, and it seemed a bit strange no matter how you looked at it.

"Why are you taking a walk with Pudding?" Tao Xingyou asked bluntly, her expression not very pleasant.

"I...we met on the road and walked together." Zhuang Zhenglang spoke softly as he moved closer to Tao Xingyou.

"Then you guys go ahead and shop," Tao Xingyou said with obvious disdain, taking a step back. "Don't get so close to me."

Are you still angry?

"What do you mean I'm still angry? It's like the whole fault is mine!"

That's not what I meant...

"So what do you mean?"

"I..." Zhuang Zhenglang didn't know what to say.

"Xingyou." Luo Qingyan reached out and gently patted Tao Xingyou's back. "Just bring up any problems you have, and let's resolve them properly. We'll have to face them eventually."

“He doesn’t think there’s a problem between us at all. How can I tell him?” Tao Xingyou turned her head to look to the side.

“I know we have a problem. Let’s… resolve it properly, okay?” Zhuang Zhenglang noticed that Luo Qingyan was helping, so he quickly followed suit. He walked to the direction Tao Xingyou was looking. “I admit I was wrong. I wasn’t careful enough. Let’s talk things out, okay?”

“Your attitude is still wrong; you don’t even realize where the problem lies. But let’s talk this out today! Come on, let’s talk in the car.” After speaking with Zhuang Zhenglang, Tao Xingyou looked at Luo Qingyan, “Sister, you guys go for a walk; I want to resolve this matter.”

"Okay." Luo Qingyan's smile was a little stiff. "You two take your time chatting, no rush, don't worry about us."

"Hmm." Tao Xingyou glanced at Zhuang Zhenglang, then walked back on her own.

After Tao Xingyou and Zhuang Zhenglang left, only the three people and two dogs remained.

The two puppies got along very well, playing together since they first met and still playing enthusiastically. As for the three of them, the atmosphere was a little awkward.

"Long time no see." Luo Qingyan spoke first, calmly introducing, "This is my boyfriend, Chen Yunjian. This is Situ Lu, the owner of Pudding, Chestnut's good friend."

"Hello," the little male merman said first, nodding in greeting.

"Hello." Situ Lu smiled and nodded.

"Has Pudding gained weight recently?" It wouldn't be polite to leave after the introduction, so Luo Qingyan continued to find topics to talk about, hoping that the atmosphere would be more cheerful by focusing on the puppy.

“Yes, it’s been particularly lazy lately,” Situ Lu replied immediately. “I don’t know if it’s because the weather is getting colder, but it likes to lie down and sunbathe. Sometimes when we go outside to play, it doesn’t want to leave. It just wants to sit or lie in the sun.”

“When it gets cold, puppies love to sunbathe, and Chestnut is no exception. She looks like a sunflower. Even when we don’t let her go into the yard, she’ll stay by the window.” Luo Qingyan’s gaze fell on the two puppies playing.

The air froze for a moment after no one spoke.

“Pudding’s been acting really badly lately. It respects the elderly and loves the young, but it only bullies the middle-aged ones,” Situ Lu continued. “Many times when I take it out to play, it’s not happy. It’s only enthusiastic when my mother takes it out. I can’t control it anymore, sigh…”

“Every puppy has its own temper, what else can we do? Just spoil it.” Luo Qingyan smiled. Then, her phone suddenly rang, and she handed the leash to the little male merman while looking at her phone.

The call was from her aunt. She said something to the other two people, then stepped back two paces to the side to answer the phone: "Hello, Auntie."

"Qingyan, did Youzi have a fight with Zhuang Zhenglang?" Aunt's anxious voice came from the phone.

Luo Qingyan: "Not really... I guess it's just that there's something I need to take care of."

Aunt: "I recognized her voice just now, and I was wondering why she came back so soon after you left. When I looked at the door, it was her and Zhuang Zhenglang. They both looked unwell, so I didn't disturb them, but... sigh..."

Luo Qingyan: "Auntie, don't worry. Yun Jian and I will be back soon."

Aunt: "Oh dear, you took Chestnut out to play, and then rushed back like this..."

Luo Qingyan: "It's alright, we'll be right back."

Xiao Yin: "Okay! It's good that you're back. It's easier for young people to talk to each other."

Luo Qingyan: "Okay, that's settled then. We'll be right back."

Having an excuse to leave would be ideal, and Luo Qingyan certainly wouldn't let it pass. After hanging up the phone, she immediately said goodbye to Situ Lu: "I'm sorry, something came up at home, I have to go back right away."

"Oh, okay." Situ Lu's gaze had been fixed on the puppy, but after Luo Qingyan finished his call, his gaze finally shifted to the person.

"Chestnut, Pudding, let's play again next time." Luo Qingyan took the leash from the little male merman and tugged at it. "Chestnut, let's go home."

The two puppies played for a short while before becoming unwilling to separate and stubbornly insisting on continuing to play together.

"Chestnut, let's go home." The little merman spoke, but finding that calling out was useless, he simply squatted down, picked Chestnut up, and then looked at Luo Qingyan, "Let's go."

Luo Qingyan hadn't expected the little male merman to behave this way, and her eyes widened slightly: "Okay, let's go."

-

After parting ways with Pudding and Situ Lu, Luo Qingyan spoke first: "My aunt saw that Xingyou and Zhuang Zhenglang didn't look too good when they went back, so she was a little worried, and that's why I said we should go back right away."

"Oh." The little merman was still holding Chestnut, his hand slowly stroking Chestnut's neck.

"What's wrong? You look so sullen?" Luo Qingyan's lips curled up slightly.

"Was it with Chestnut and Pudding that Chestnut and Pudding played at the petting zoo in the park?"

"yes."

I'm jealous.

"Huh?" Luo Qingyan was surprised that the little male merman would be so direct, and didn't know what to say for a moment.

The little male merman continued, "I know it's normal for you to socialize with other people, but... he has feelings for you, so... I feel a little... well, I'm jealous. But you can continue with your normal social interactions; I just wanted to express my feelings to you."

“Everything is normal, of course it should be like this.” The little merman tilted his head slightly. “I’m just telling you how I feel.”

"We won't have much contact in the future; the other party is a smart person."

"I understand, I'm a smart person too."

"Okay, okay, you're the smartest."

As they spoke, the two returned to their front door.

However, when the two went back to the courtyard to talk to their aunt and others before going out again, Tao Xingyou and Zhuang Zhenglang had already made up.

Change is unpredictable, and it happens very quickly.

However, Tao Xingyou felt the atmosphere wasn't right to introduce Zhuang Zhenglang to her family, so she asked him to leave first. Later, she realized her family knew about her fight with her boyfriend, and feeling a little embarrassed, she suggested going home.

Just in time, Luo Qingyan also wanted to go home early because she had something important to tell the little male fish.

After that, everyone left.