Yan Bo paused for a moment, but quickly nodded.
"Uncle Tong, of course!"
Tong Laoda nodded in satisfaction, "Very good! Now that you are independent, can you make your own decisions about your marriage?"
Yan Bo and Tong Xiaohuai now understood what Boss Tong meant.
"Dad!" Tong Xiaohuai tried to stop her father from continuing.
But Boss Tong was determined to settle some things. "Xiao Huai, don't interrupt. This is a conversation between men."
Tong Xiaohuai grew anxious, "But..."
Yan Bo, who was sitting next to her, quickly pulled her and forced her to sit back down in her chair.
"Xiao Huai, this is indeed a conversation between Uncle Tong and me. Listen to me, okay?"
Yan Bo patted Tong Xiaohuai's head to comfort her, then raised his cup and handed it to Tong Laoda.
"Uncle Tong, I can make my own decisions about marriage. As long as you and Aunt Tong agree, I'm willing to marry Xiao Huai anytime!"
Yan Bo spoke with genuine emotion, then tilted his head back and drank the entire glass of wine in one gulp.
A slight smile appeared on Tong Laoda's serious face. "I don't expect you to marry Xiaohuai right now. I just hope you two can go through some formalities, like getting engaged, so that your Aunt Tong and I, as elders, can feel more at ease."
Tong Xiaohuai frowned even more deeply, shifting her body as if to refute her father, but Yan Bo put a hand on her shoulder and gently tapped her with his finger, signaling her not to interfere.
Tong Xiaohuai bit her lip, extremely dissatisfied with her father's forced marriage-like behavior.
Yan Bo, however, had completely different thoughts from Tong Xiaohuai.
Although Mr. Tong and his wife only returned to L City today, and they had never interfered with his relationship with Tong Xiaohuai before, he thought that they were unaware of his disappearance and his parents' actions towards Tong Xiaohuai.
But now it seems that this is not the case.
Knowing those circumstances, it's perfectly normal for parents to make such a request.
"Uncle Tong, you must be aware of my family's situation, so I won't go into details. If you don't mind that I don't have any elders present, I can hold an engagement banquet as soon as possible, so that everyone can know that Xiao Huai is my fiancée!"
For Yanbo, this is actually a good thing.
At the very least, he no longer has to worry about people like Zeng Xianghuai and Li Xianghuai taking advantage of him when he can't keep an eye on things.
Although he trusted Tong Xiaohuai and believed that her love for him was unwavering.
But none of these are as direct and impactful as labeling her "Yanbo's fiancée"!
Tong Xiaohuai, who had been gritting her teeth and deep in thought, suddenly stood up and stared at Yan Bo with her neck stiff.
"Who said I was going to get engaged to you? Did I agree to it?"
Yan Bo was taken aback by Tong Xiaohuai's furious expression. He realized then that she was trying to help him.
But he didn't need her help at all!
He truly hoped that she could become his fiancée as soon as possible.
"Xiao Huai, I'm sorry, I didn't think it through. I'll think about how to propose to you first, and we can have an engagement party after you say yes, okay?"
Although Yan Bo wanted to establish a deeper relationship with Tong Xiaohuai as soon as possible, he didn't want to wrong her. A marriage proposal was something that couldn't be skipped.
Sitting opposite, Boss Tong was quite helpless about his precious daughter's lack of understanding, and secretly glared at Tong Xiaohuai.
Tong Xiaohuai rolled her eyes at him, "Dad, you're always showing off how good a son-in-law you found, completely forgetting that your daughter is a princess, and I have my own pride too!"
After Tong Xiaohuai finished speaking, she turned to look at her mother and said, "Mom, don't you agree? Whether or not to get engaged is a decision only I can make. I'm eighteen years old now, and I can make my own decisions about marriage!"
Tong Xiaohuai threw back at Tong Laoda exactly the words that Tong Laoda had used to make things difficult for Yanbo.
Tong Laoda was speechless, choked by his own words. Tong's mother quickly smoothed things over, "Xiao Huai is right. Marriage is a major event, so of course it's up to Xiao Huai to agree. We're not old-fashioned; we'll respect your opinions. Otherwise, it would be an arranged marriage!"
Tong Laoda opened his mouth as if to say something, but Tong's mother kicked him under the table, signaling him not to push the two young people too hard.
Of course, Tong's mother had no idea why Tong's eldest son was in such a hurry to get the two of them engaged. She simply assumed that, just as her beloved daughter had said, he wanted the two of them to get engaged so that he could show off his impressive prospective son-in-law, Yan Bo, to everyone.
Tong Laoda was extremely anxious, but there were only four people at the table. He was currently losing by a huge margin of three to one, with no chance of turning the tide.
"Alright, alright, I don't care anymore. Anyway, I really want to be a father-in-law soon, that's true, and there's nothing shameful about that, is there?"
Yan Botong visibly softened, quickly grabbed a full glass of wine, stood up, and handed it to Boss Tong again.
"Uncle Tong, of course you're not shameful. If Xiao Huai and I have a precious daughter in the future, I will definitely want to see her find a safe and secure home as soon as possible, just like you!"
Yan Bo's words completely reassured Boss Tong.
"Yes, that's right, that's exactly how it works! What parent doesn't think that way!"
Tong Laoda seemed to have found a kindred spirit, raised his glass and clinked it with Yan Bo's, "Little Yan, I believe in you, keep it up, let's see how long this brat can keep up her stubbornness."
Tong Xiaohuai glared at Tong Laoda with annoyance, "Dad, other dads wish their daughters could stay home and spend more time with them, unlike you, who would rather slap me out of the house!"
Tong Laoda received a fairly satisfactory reply from Yan Bo, which improved his mood considerably.
He pointed at Yan Bo with his wine glass in hand, "Isn't that because other people's prospective sons-in-law aren't as outstanding as mine!"
At this point, Boss Tong made no attempt to hide his appreciation and affection for Yan Bo.
As for those two old fogies in the Yan family, it doesn't matter if they don't like the Tong family's daughter!
He should work harder and try to bring the son of the Yan family over to be the son of the Tong family. Then they'll see who's more triumphant!
Tong Xiaohuai finally understood that his father had practically come to regard Yan Bo as his own son. Otherwise, he wouldn't have praised Yan Bo so proudly and smugly.
"Uncle Tong, thank you for your appreciation and recognition. Don't worry, I will win Xiao Huai over as soon as possible!"
With his father-in-law backing him up, Yan Bo became incredibly frank in his speech.
Tong Xiaohuai, unable to contain her anger, Yan Bo also sided with her father and kicked him hard.
This person really doesn't know what's good for them!
Doesn't he understand? She's helping him!
[My darlings, my new novel, "Adorable Baby's Secret Order: Daddy, Don't Force It," is now available! (Search the title and add it to your bookshelf.) It's a story about Bai Shao and Zong Zhe, who are also Yan Shao and Yingzi's in-laws. Please add it to your favorites and vote!]
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