"I suddenly felt like coming back, so I came back!"
Yan Bo took Tong Xiaohuai's hand and led her through the courtyard gate.
"Brother Liu, this is my girlfriend, Xiao Huai," Yan Bo introduced as he walked.
Tong Xiaohuai smiled and nodded to the gatekeeper, "Hello, Brother Liu..."
The gatekeeper was even more surprised. He knew that no matter how outrageous the young masters of his generation were, his own third young master had always been very upright. This was the first time he had ever brought a girlfriend home.
The gatekeeper felt it necessary to announce this tremendous news first.
"I'll tell Madam right away... She's feeding the fish in the east wing."
Yan Zhong is a very busy person who is always on the go. Even on Saturdays, he is usually at the office, so it goes without saying that he is not at home at this time.
As for Mrs. Yan, she used to teach at a university, but her health has been poor in the past two years, so she has basically stopped teaching at the university and has been writing academic papers at home.
In her own words, there's one very important thing she's doing at home: waiting to hold her grandchild.
"Brother Liu, no need, let's go directly to find my mother."
Yan Bo brought Tong Xiaohuai back without a word, intending to catch his parents off guard.
After taking a few steps with Tong Xiaohuai in his hand, Yan Bo turned to the gatekeeper and instructed, "Don't tell my dad either. I want to give him a surprise."
Whether it was a surprise or not, Yanbo knew perfectly well.
Tong Xiaohuai was led forward hand in hand by Yan Bo. Along the way, she unconsciously took several deep breaths to calm her inner unease and helplessness.
"Silly girl, don't be nervous, my mom isn't scary."
Yan Bo said this not to comfort Tong Xiaohuai, but because Yan's mother was indeed of a mild temperament and had excellent manners. Even if she really disliked someone, she would not show it too obviously on the surface, much less do anything that would embarrass someone.
Tong Xiaohuai smiled at him, and her hand involuntarily tightened its grip on his.
"Would it have been better if you had told them sooner that I was coming back with you?"
Although Tong Xiaohuai had prepared herself for the worst, she still held a sliver of hope that Yanbo's parents would be able to let go of some of their prejudices after seeing her and develop a little bit of goodwill towards her.
"It's okay, it's all the same."
Yanbo knows her parents better than she does. The more time she gives them, the greater the chance they will cause trouble, and the more varied their antics will become.
Tong Xiaohuai didn't quite understand what he meant by "the same thing," but her intuition told her it wasn't a good thing.
"That's true. Anyway, we're still young, we have plenty of time!"
Tong Xiaohuai shook the two of them holding hands and gave Yan Bo a genuine smile.
Yanbo led her around the artificial rockery and a small bamboo grove, and they saw a red figure leaning against the railing of the pond not far away.
Before Tong Xiaohuai could ask any questions, Yan Bo whispered to her, "That's my mom. Don't be nervous. Just act like usual. If she asks you anything, just answer truthfully."
After Tong Xiaohuai decided to return to Beijing with Yan Bo to visit his parents, Yan Bo gradually explained some things about his parents to Tong Xiaohuai, including their personalities and ways of dealing with people.
However, in the few hours between leaving L City and arriving in Beijing, the two did not discuss how to handle the situation after meeting.
Both Yan Bo and Tong Xiaohuai felt that since they were going to become a family, they shouldn't hide anything from each other.
Moreover, Yanbo brought Tong Xiaohuai back so that her parents could accept her, not so that she would deliberately change to adapt to her parents.
"Mom!" Yan Bo called out from afar. By the time his mother turned around, he had already led Tong Xiaohuai to her.
Yan's mother looked at him in astonishment, first with surprise, but when she saw Tong Xiaohuai, her smile froze on her lips.
Yan Bo released Tong Xiaohuai's hand, took off his scarf, and leaned over to hang it around his mother's neck.
"Mom, it's so cold, why aren't you wearing gloves and a scarf?"
While scolding her, he gently wrapped the scarf around her neck, covering it completely.
After finishing all that, he brought Tong Xiaohuai over. "Mom, this is my girlfriend, Tong Xiaohuai. You can just call her Xiaohuai."
Tong Xiaohuai bowed slightly to Yan's mother and said with a smile, "Hello, Auntie!"
Despite repeatedly telling herself not to be nervous, she was still very reserved and uneasy.
I really wanted to say more polite words, but after greeting them, I couldn't say anything at all.
It took Yan's mother a while to realize that the person in front of her was the girl her eldest son had mentioned.
"He's a good person, but unfortunately his background isn't good," was what the eldest son said at the time.
And the first thing that came to Yan's mother's mind when she saw Tong Xiaohuai was this sentence.
It must be said that, in terms of appearance and temperament, Tong Xiaohuai is pleasing to Yan's mother's eye.
Therefore, even though she was strongly opposed to her youngest son's relationship after hearing about Tong Xiaohuai's background, she couldn't bring herself to be stern with such a pretty and adorable girl right now.
She carefully examined Tong Xiaohuai for a few moments, sighed inwardly, and said softly.
"It's so cold, let's go inside and have a cup of hot tea."
After saying that, he walked towards the main house.
Yan Bo led Tong Xiaohuai behind him, but Tong Xiaohuai shook his hand off several times, gesturing for him to go forward and keep Yan's mother company.
Yan Bo did not comply with her wishes, but silently held her hand, and the three of them walked in silence.
The temperature in Beijing was very low. When they left the hotel, Yan Bo made sure that Tong Xiaohuai wore a coat, gloves, and a scarf. So, even though Tong Xiaohuai had put her gloves in her coat pocket, her hands were still warm.
Walking alone ahead, Yan's mother was also in a state of turmoil.
She has three children. Her eldest son and second daughter are both very strong-willed. Their personalities are similar to their father's—they are quiet and stubborn, so they have never been very close to their parents since childhood.
This youngest son, though stubborn, was gentle and understanding, and had always been the one she and Yan Zhong loved the most.
So, after they finished reading the investigation materials, they tacitly pretended not to know that Tong Xiaohuai existed and only thought of using a more subtle method to bring their youngest son back from L City.
Yan's mother thought that doing this would neither harm the relationship between her and her son nor hurt her own son, and would also help her pull her youngest son out of the mire.
Although their first choice, Tao Jia, failed, they were confident that they could find someone suitable for their youngest son among the many daughters of prominent families in the capital.
However, before they could find a suitable candidate, their youngest son brought the person back with him.
Yan's mother's upbringing and personality prevented her from saying anything harsh like kicking someone out, but she was indeed in a difficult and painful situation at that moment.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
