Chapter 170 I don't mind if the woman is the breadwinner and the man is the homemaker
Jiang Lili's panic was clearly visible to Lu Hongzhe. A smile flashed in his eyes, and as he stood up, he whispered, "Relax, no one will notice."
"Okay." Jiang Lili also felt that she had overreacted, but there was nothing she could do. She had always been timid, and under the watchful eyes of adults, she couldn't help feeling guilty. The more guilty she felt, the more likely she was to make mistakes.
The happiest person was Jiang Qitong. Jiang Lili wouldn't usually agree to her request to skip rubber rope, no matter how many times she asked. But today, she unexpectedly agreed after just one mention. Afraid she'd regret it, she quickly grabbed the rubber rope from the drawer, looked at them, and said cheerfully, "Let's go, Sister Lili."
"Well, then you go and tell grandpa and the others first." Jiang Lili reminded. She thought that this was a good thing, so that she wouldn't have to stay under their noses any longer, which would make her feel uncomfortable.
"Okay, I'll go right away." Jiang Qitong scurried over to the adults and told them about their trip downstairs. Soon, the three adults and one child had come downstairs. Li Shuhua, who was in the kitchen, couldn't help but sigh, "Hongzhe's finally fitting in this time. I thought he'd be the same again. This kid, when he was little, I thought he was easy to worry about, but now he's become a real worry."
Qiu Shaoli smiled but said nothing, only lamenting that Jiaze wasn't that lucky. She then said, "It's not Hongzhe's fault that he couldn't play with them before. They were just too immature. Time flies so fast. They've grown up in the blink of an eye. Besides, there's nothing to worry about him now. It's just that fate hasn't arrived yet."
"That's right. Fate comes suddenly. Don't worry about it. I still remember how tiny Lili was when she was born." Jiang Yulan began to reminisce about her childhood. Lili had always been quieter than other children. At that time, she worried whether she was different from normal children. Later, she found out that this child had always been worry-free since she was a child.
The three of them recalled the fun things they did when they were taking care of their children as children, while busying themselves with ingredients in the kitchen. For a moment, the kitchen was filled with laughter.
As the people going downstairs reached the first floor, Jiang Lili unconsciously shrank her neck. It was really cold outside. Jiang Qitong, who was holding the rubber band, began to worry. It only took two people to stretch the rubber band. Who should she ask to help her?
Fortunately, someone quickly made the decision for her. Lu Hongzhe stretched out his hand to her: "Do you want a rubber band? Give it to me."
Jiang Qitong saw him take the rubber band and then throw the other end to Lu Jiaze. Looking at the rubber band thrown towards him, Lu Jiaze was a little speechless: "Isn't it just right for you two to hold it tight?"
"Lu Jiaze, I feel like you're talking too much nonsense." Lu Hongzhe said, rolling his eyes at him.
Thinking of the red envelope he received last night, Lu Jiaze swallowed his complaints and thought, "Forget it, it's his fault for taking something from someone else."
Jiang Lili, who was standing next to them, was amused by them and then rubbed her hands together: "Tongtong, let me dance with you!"
"Okay." Jiang Qitong was worried that no one would play with her.
They didn't go upstairs until dinner time. At first, Jiang Lili, who was sitting next to Lu Hongzhe, felt guilty, but as time went on, someone quietly held her hand under the table. She felt nervous and a little excited at the same time.
After dinner, the living room became the adults' space. Everyone chatted from Yuncheng to Beijing. Lu Hongzhe took Lu Jiaze to the airport to buy tickets. Jiang Lili was a little surprised: "Are we going back so soon?"
"Well, my dad had to go to work. My mom and I thought we couldn't let him be miserable at home alone this time, so we decided to go home with him." Lu Jiaze explained with a smile.
"Yeah, Uncle Lu must be very busy when he just started working. It would be pitiful if you two didn't go back together." Jiang Lili said this and thought of Jiang Aiguo some time ago. His wife and daughter were in Beijing, and he was the only one in Yuncheng. His food and accommodation were all provided by the company. He was quite miserable.
"Let's get together again next time when we have time, or wait until your career develops to Nanshi." Lu Jiaze extended the invitation with a smile.
"If there's a chance." Although Jiang Lili had such ambition, she also knew clearly that it was impossible in a short period of time.
After Lu Jiaze's family left, it seemed that most of the excitement also disappeared. Every day, the two old men would make appointments to go for a walk early in the morning, and the others gradually returned to their normal routines. The way Jiang Lili and Lu Hongzhe got along was actually no different from before, except that they made a few more phone calls every day than the daily text messages.
The days passed slowly. After the seventh day of the Lunar New Year, Jiang Lili needed to work out a renovation plan with the renovation team, and Lu Hongzhe also started working on his regular schedule. The renovation plan was still being worked on, and the renovation team hadn't arrived at the construction site yet. Instead, Jiang Lili and Cheng Yuntian stayed at the construction site, planning the actual work. It wasn't until Lu Hongzhe came to pick her up that she realized it was already five o'clock.
"Since someone is here to pick you up, I'll go back first." Cheng Yuntian couldn't help but joked as he looked at Lu Hongzhe approaching them.
"Okay, then Sister Cheng, please be careful on the road." Jiang Lili used to feel shy when she teased her, but now she can deal with it without changing her expression.
"Sister Cheng, let's have dinner together tonight, along with Jiang Liangbo, Lu Ziming and others." Lu Hongzhe invited her.
Hearing his last words, Cheng Yuntian swallowed back the words she was about to refuse. She nodded at the two of them and said, "Okay, I haven't seen them for a long time."
After getting in the car and fastening their seatbelts, Jiang Lili couldn't help but ask, "Do they know?"
Lu Hongzhe stared at the road ahead, his tone somewhat nonchalant: "Know what?"
Jiang Lili suspected that he did it on purpose, but she had no evidence, so she could only glare at him and continue, "Is it about us being together?"
"Yeah, I see." The smile in his tone betrayed him.
Jiang Lili snorted softly. She knew he was doing it on purpose. She also remembered the time she had agreed with her roommates. "My roommates and I have an appointment to have dinner together on the thirteenth. The rest of the arrangements are up to you."
"It's my pleasure." After Lu Hongzhe said this, the red light in front of him turned green and he stepped on the accelerator.
When they arrived, Jiang Liangbo and Lu Ziming were already there. Seeing the two people walking in hand in hand, they couldn't help but joked, "It's a bit immoral for you to stimulate single people like us like this!"
"That's right. Be careful, the three of us will put you in a sack tonight." Cheng Yuntian, who came in after them, also teased.
"I'm so envious. If you are envious, go find one right away." Lu Hongzhe smiled and pulled out a chair for Jiang Lili.
"You know what, I can't even count on one hand the number of blind dates I've gone on during the Chinese New Year." Jiang Liangbo couldn't help but sigh after saying this.
This aroused everyone's curiosity, especially Cheng Yuntian, who had suffered so much from blind dates before. He asked directly, "What happened next? Did it work out?"
"How can it be so fast? We need more contact." Jiang Liangbo sighed again after he finished speaking. He wanted to have more contact, but according to his family's wishes, they had to get engaged first before the girl could come to Beijing with him. Hearing this, he quickly waved his hand to refuse. What he wanted was to get to know her better before deciding whether to continue, rather than having a direct relationship.
At this moment, Cheng Yuntian felt like he had found a soulmate: "Oh my God, you are a normal person." The guys she went on blind dates with started talking about engagement and marriage right from the start. It was outrageous, they really treated them like animal breeding. Fortunately, this New Year's Eve incident taught Old Cheng a lesson, and he promised that he would never force himself to go on blind dates again.
"There's nothing we can do. According to the older generation's thinking, they should basically get engaged the first time they meet." Jiang Liangbo said helplessly.
The original topic of the party eventually turned directly to the topic of blind dates. At the end, Jiang Liangbo said, "If you two aren't together now, I guess in a few years, your families might arrange a blind date for you two."
"So, Lao Lu and Lili are destined to be a couple. Come, let's toast to this fate." Lu Ziming said as he raised the drink in front of him.
Lu Hongzhe raised his glass as well. He didn't agree with what they said. After all, in the eyes of his family, Jiaze might be more suitable for her. But fortunately, the so-called child marriage had ended.
It must be said that Jiang Lili was very perceptive in some aspects. She moved closer to him and whispered, "What's wrong? Are you jealous?"
Lu Hongzhe shook his head calmly: "No."
"That's fine." Jiang Lili said, then took another sip of her drink and began to think about what Lu Ziming had said. Hmm, maybe it was actually possible. On a blind date, everyone likes to know someone well. Just then, the person who had been so calm just now came over and said, "Tell me, when I was a kid, I was much more likable than that kid Lu Jiaze. Why did Aunt Jiang like him?"
Hearing the frustration in his voice, Jiang Lili couldn't help but chuckle, then explained, "Besides the fact that it was Aunt Qiu who brought this up, the most important thing was that even at your young age, you could already tell you had great potential in the future. My mother naturally didn't dare to think that way, and she suspected I was abnormal at the time."
Jiang Lili was so easy to give her newborn, and Jiang Yulan was initially delighted. But after the confinement period, she heard others discussing their own children. She compared them one by one, and when she realized none of them matched hers, she started to panic. She went home, laid Jiang Lili to bed, and examined her carefully, mumbling to herself, "Is she stupid?" To reassure her, Jiang Lili put on a show for several days. Of course, this matter remains a secret between them.
"Really?" Lu Hongzhe asked with doubt in his tone.
"Of course it's true. If Aunt Qiu hadn't taken the initiative to tell me, my mother wouldn't have said it. Besides, she always thought it was a joke, okay?" Jiang Lili rolled her eyes at him after she said that.
"Aunt Jiang has quite different ideas." The man who was given a cold look touched his nose uncomfortably.
"No, what are you two whispering about? You are clearly looking down on us." Jiang Liangbo pretended to be dissatisfied.
"You have already told me a secret, so of course I can't let you know. But now there is something I can tell you, and I still need your help." Jiang Lili became serious as she spoke.
"Oh, what's the matter? Do you still need our help now that you have Old Lu?" Jiang Liangbo became curious.
"Sister Cheng and I have officially entered the renovation phase of our Youbei Center. From now on, I'd like to trouble you to promote us."
"Wow, is this the early childhood education center you mentioned before? Your initiative is really great." Lu Ziming's tone was full of praise.
"Old Lu, if you don't work harder, you will be surpassed by Lili!" Jiang Liangbo teased with a smile.
"It doesn't matter if there are more. I don't mind if the woman stays outside and the man stays inside." Lu Hongzhe said seriously, while others looked at him in surprise.
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