She looked in the direction of the voice and saw a beautiful woman, around fifty years old but well-maintained and looking no different from someone in their early forties, walking out with a smile.
She wore a magnificent royal blue dress, and although she didn't wear much jewelry, it was very tasteful.
The overall impression Shu Qingqing got was no different from that of the wealthy socialites she had seen in the news before.
In terms of appearance, he bears a six or seven-tenths resemblance to Shang Duojin, and his round eyes give off a very friendly vibe when he smiles.
"Hello, Auntie." Shu Qingqing put away the quick-drying towel and greeted her awkwardly.
The mother looked Shu Qingqing up and down.
Aside from her short chestnut hair, there was almost nothing to criticize about her.
She wore a light purple evening gown that complemented her purple gemstone earrings and necklace, and her makeup was subtle and just right.
If we hadn't known her background beforehand and told her that she was from a prestigious family, she certainly wouldn't have doubted it.
Shang Duojin didn't notice his mother's scrutiny of Shu Qingqing. After scratching his still slightly damp hair, he asked, "Is Father back too? Why didn't you tell me you were coming back? I thought it was just my sisters this time."
Shang Duojin grabbed Shu Qingqing's hand, which was clenched into a fist due to nervousness, and intertwined their fingers again.
Noticing this detail, Mrs. Shang's smile deepened: "Isn't this also to give you a surprise? Your father and I are usually busy making money and haven't come back much. This time you specially brought people back, how could we not come and see?"
Upon hearing that Mr. Shang was also there, Shu Qingqing became even more nervous.
He didn't mention his parents would be coming before he came!
She subconsciously tightened her grip on Shang Duojin's fingers with her right hand, making it very clear to Shang Duojin that she was feeling her emotional change. He then quietly squeezed her hand back to comfort her.
Almost all of the merchant's family members were present in the living room.
When Shu Qingqing arrived at the destination, she greeted everyone in turn, gave her gifts, and then stood there dumbfounded next to Shang Duojin without even daring to sit down.
The merchants felt a bit like ducklings being brought out to meet people by their mother for the first time.
Sister Shang Duojin admired Shu Qingqing and told her not to be reserved and to make herself at home.
"There are still seats over there, sit down, dinner will be served soon."
After saying that, Sister Shang Duojin gave Shu Qingqing the return gift she had prepared, and then pulled her aside to say a lot of things about how she should take good care of Shang Duojin in the future.
With her as the starting point, Shang Duojin's other family members quickly followed suit, bringing out gifts for her one after another. The conversation immediately took off, and Shang Duojin seemed to become the superfluous one, with no one paying attention to him.
He was happy to have some free time and kept helping Shu Qingqing receive gifts.
After giving out gifts to everyone, Shu Qingqing felt immense pressure.
This doesn't seem like she's just putting on an act for Shang Duojin anymore; it seems like she's really become his fiancée.
Dinner began, and the restaurant had a rule that one should not speak while eating or sleeping, so Shu Qingqing finally breathed a sigh of relief.
However, because there were too many dishes and the table was too big, she didn't dare to reach for the dishes that were further away and could only eat the dishes that were close to her.
When Shang Duojin noticed her actions, he whispered in her ear what she wanted to eat.
"If I put food on your plate and you just keep eating these two dishes, can you really enjoy it?"
Shu Qingqing felt uncomfortable eating like that, so she quietly told him which dishes she wanted to eat.
This scene was witnessed by the merchants, which basically dispelled their idea that Shang Duojin had just found someone to fool them.
That's ridiculous. Shang Duojin wouldn't act so strangely.
Moreover, they could also see that Shu Qingqing's dependence on Shang Duojin didn't seem to be faked.
I really don't like it, and I definitely won't eat the food he picked up with his chopsticks, let alone the shrimp he peeled with his hands.
After dinner, Shu Qingqing was both tired and nervous.
Only after following Shang Duojin into his room did she feel as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She let out a heavy sigh and slumped onto the sofa in Shang Duojin's room.
"You must be exhausted, Boss Shang. This should be the last time, right? You won't have to see all your relatives again, will you?"
As Shang Duojin watched Shu Qingqing begin to untie the corset that was restricting her waist, a pang of heartache, which he himself hadn't even noticed, welled up in his eyes.
“I promise you, just this once. If I had known my parents would be coming tonight, I would have told you in advance that you wouldn’t have to bind your waist for so long.”
His parents were both very talkative, and the time they spent talking to Shu Qingqing alone together added up to almost an hour.
Adding his four older sisters to the equation, he could almost imagine how red and raw Shu Qingqing's waist must have been from being squeezed so tightly.
Shu Qingqing waved her hand: "You better be telling the truth. It's really agonizing, but thankfully I haven't encountered any particularly difficult problems."
After saying that, she pointed to a pile of gifts placed beside her: "You can put these away. They're obviously not small gifts, and I definitely shouldn't carry them."
Starting with the eldest sister, Shang Duojin, the gifts were jewelry worth millions of interstellar coins or more, not to mention those from Shang Duojin's parents' side.
"What do I need to take? I have plenty. Since you've come to help me, I certainly can't leave you with nothing. Just take it and do with it as you see fit."
Shu Qingqing forgot that Shang Duojin had grown up with a silver spoon in his mouth, so these things were definitely nothing to him.
Although reluctant, I still put the items back into the smart bracelet.
"Alright then, I'll keep it for your future girlfriend for now. Once you find someone, I'll transfer it to..."
"Why are you transferring this? This is for you, only you can use it." When Shang Duojin heard her mention her future girlfriend, he felt a tightness in his chest for some reason, and his face darkened.
Shu Qingqing frowned: "But strictly speaking, I'm not your real girlfriend. Wouldn't it be inappropriate for me to use that term?"
Shang Duojin insisted: "What's wrong with it? If I say it's okay, then it's okay. You can use it. If you're really saving it to give to someone else, then we can't even be friends anymore!"
His reaction was much greater than Shu Qingqing had imagined. She looked at his pale face with confusion, not understanding what was wrong with him, and could only stop talking about it.
"Alright, so let's talk about where we're going to sleep tonight? Is there a spare room next door? Will you sleep outside, or should I?"
"Of course we can't sleep separately. My family is sleeping here tonight too. If they find out we're sleeping separately, they'll definitely get suspicious."
After all, they're currently in a fake relationship as engaged couples, not boyfriend and girlfriend anymore. They're going to get married in the future, so it just seems strange for them to sleep separately.
Shu Qingqing had forgotten about it. She glanced at the spot where there was only one bed, and her temples throbbed.
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