Tong Xiaohuai rolled out of his arms, rested her head on his arm, and tilted her head back, gazing at the starry sky in a daze.
Seeing that she was unwilling to say more, Yan Bo stopped asking. He simply patted her head, then leaned over and rubbed his face against her slightly cool forehead a few times. Then, he lay back like her and quietly looked at the stars in the sky.
After a moment of silence, Yan Bo finally broke it.
"Xiao Huai, I'm going home for two days next Friday."
Tong Xiaohuai remained motionless, gazing at the night sky, and gave a faint reply, "Oh..."
Yan Bo turned his head slightly and silently looked at her for a while.
"Will you come back with me?"
Ever since that day when he arranged for his elder brother to meet Tong Laoda and his wife, Yanbo had been thinking about taking Tong Xiaohuai home to meet his parents.
However, he wasn't sure if Tong Xiaohuai would be willing to go back with him.
After all, the time he and she spent together wasn't very long.
He could roughly imagine that if he brought her home, there would definitely be a period of turmoil ahead.
But since he has already decided to be with her for life, it is the right thing to do to gain his family's blessing as soon as possible. For Tong Xiaohuai, constantly running away is actually an irresponsible thing to do.
Tong Xiaohuai was still immersed in that inexplicable depressed mood, lost in thought, and didn't react for a moment when she heard his question.
"Huh? What do you mean?"
She thought she must have misheard. After all, although they had decided they were meant for each other, they hadn't actually been together for very long.
"Next Saturday is my mom's birthday, and I'd like to take you back to meet them."
Yan Bo didn't hide anything and directly explained the reason for his return.
Tong Xiaohuai was startled, "Huh? Your... mom's... birthday? Oh my... isn't that a bit inappropriate..."
The thought of facing two or more unfamiliar elders inexplicably made Tong Xiaohuai feel afraid.
Mingming has never had many things that could frighten her, from childhood to adulthood.
However, Yan Bo repeatedly instilled fear in her.
In addition, she also witnessed a person who was so anxious and insecure that he was completely unlike himself.
Yan Bo tightened his grip on her, pulling her into his arms again. "What's wrong with that? Isn't this a normal thing? Look, you brought me back to meet your parents too! It's normal for me to bring you back to meet my parents and family, isn't it?"
Yan Bo's words made perfect sense, and Tong Xiaohuai had no way to refute them.
But she felt that she didn't have enough courage to go home with him to meet his elders yet.
"How about... I buy the gift, and you give it to your mother for me, okay?"
It's strange that Tong Xiaohuai gets stage fright.
But even just imagining meeting his parents in her mind makes her so nervous that her whole body stiffens.
Yan Bo gently stroked her arm and looked down at her, though in the dim light he couldn't see the expression on her face at all.
"Actually, your presence here is the greatest gift."
He could vaguely sense the fear in her heart, but running away wouldn't solve the problem.
Tong Xiaohuai remained silent, raised her hand to hug his neck, and moved her head around in his arms until it finally rested on his shoulder.
"Yanbo, give me some time, okay?" She couldn't explain why, but the thought of his parents, whom he had never met, naturally made her want to back down.
Perhaps, the timing just isn't right.
Or rather, she wasn't ready yet.
Yan Bo had made up his mind to persuade her to go back with him no matter what, because he was eager to have his family approve of their relationship.
But now, hearing her pleading words, he found himself unable to bring himself to force her to do anything.
"Yanbo, I will definitely go home with you, but not now, later, okay?"
Unable to bring himself to do it, Yan Bo finally had no choice but to nod in agreement.
...
On Monday, after consulting with her mother, Tong Xiaohuai went to a jewelry store to buy a gift. That evening, she met Yan Bo for dinner and gave him the gift for Yan's mother.
Compared to eating out, Yanbo actually prefers eating at home. After consulting with Tong Xiaohuai, he asked Aunt Xin to prepare a large table of delicious food.
He himself went to the flower shop after get off work and bought a bouquet of white roses.
At seven o'clock in the evening, Tong Xiaohuai rang the doorbell at Yanbo's residence as promised.
Yanbo came out to open the door, gave her a big hug as she entered, and then took out the matching slippers they had bought together last time, and had her put them on.
"Yanbo, this is a birthday gift for your mother. Please give it to her for me."
Yanbo took the gift bag and kissed her on the lips.
"Thanks!"
Tong Xiaohuai bent down to change his shoes, and he stood quietly to the side waiting.
He didn't take her hand until she had changed her shoes before leading her into the living room.
Aunt Xin left a few minutes ago after finishing cooking.
Yanbo led the person into the living room and, without thinking, embraced them and gave them a long and passionate kiss.
Tong Xiaohuai leaned against him, catching her breath for a while until she was calm before pushing him away and going to the washroom to wash her hands.
As soon as Tong Xiaohuai stepped into the washroom, Yan Bo's words of advice came from behind.
"Pull the tap to the left for hot water. It's getting cold, so take a shower with hot water."
"Okay, I understand!" Tong Xiaohuai replied, turning the faucet to the left. The warm water gently and slowly pattered on her hands, which felt very comfortable.
She took out the hand sanitizer, rubbed her hands, rinsed them with warm water, and was about to straighten up when a towel was handed to her.
"I've noticed you don't often wear makeup. Since that's the case, why don't you wash your face? It'll feel refreshing and comfortable."
Tong Xiaohuai accepted the neatly folded, clearly brand-new towel. "Thank you!"
Yan Bo didn't respond to her, nor did he leave immediately. Instead, he silently crossed his arms and leaned against the door frame of the washroom.
After washing her face and hanging up the towel, Tong Xiaohuai turned her head and met Yan Bo's dark eyes.
"Uh, you almost scared me to death."
Tong Xiaohuai patted his chest, genuinely quite frightened by him.
However, Yan Bo remained silent in the face of her dissatisfaction, only staring at her without blinking.
Tong Xiaohuai frowned slightly, then reached out and took his hand. "What's wrong?"
Compared to Yan Bo's understanding of her, Tong Xiaohuai admitted that her understanding of him was neither deep nor thorough.
And most of the time, he appeared in front of her as a giver of tolerance and...pampering.
"What happened?"
For once, Tong Xiaohuai took the initiative and slowly led him out of the washroom.
Yan Bo remained calm and waited until she led him into the dining room and sat him down, and then personally brought him the soup. He took the soup bowl with both hands before speaking.
"Thanks!"
Tong Xiaohuai paused for a moment, her probing gaze meeting his deep eyes.
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