Chapter 24
"???!!!" Jiang's mother was so shocked that she couldn't close her mouth for a long time. "Xiaoming said he wants you to be a live-in son-in-law?"
"She didn't say it, but her dad said he wanted to find a rich and handsome man to be his live-in son-in-law."
"Son, your relationship has made me see you in a completely new light. I've discovered that you're a hopeless romantic."
"Don't just learn a word and start using it randomly. I'm asking you a serious question."
"When you're in a relationship, your IQ drops to the floor. Can't you tell the difference between a serious conversation and a joke? Can a rich, handsome, and successful man and a live-in son-in-law be paired together? If they were, it would be like telling people that I don't want my daughter to get married. After all, what rich, handsome, and successful man would want to be someone's live-in son-in-law?"
"Not getting married?!" After her mother's analysis, Jiang Lan completely lost her appetite.
Seeing her son rush upstairs, Jiang's mother asked him, "Aren't you going to eat?"
"I'm not eating anymore."
A little while later, Jiang's father, who had just finished his shift, returned home. He washed his hands, ate his breakfast, and asked Jiang's mother, "Where's Xiaolan? Hasn't she gotten up yet?"
"I just finished eating and went upstairs. I was completely taken aback by his girlfriend's description of him as a rich, handsome, and successful son-in-law."
"What kind of rich, handsome, and successful live-in son-in-law?"
"His girlfriend said her dad wanted to find a rich, handsome, and successful man for her to marry into the family, and he took it seriously, asking me if I had any objections?"
“If they’re willing to let him be a live-in son-in-law, I have no objection. Even if I did, it wouldn’t matter. He’s always been very independent; we can’t control him. Besides, he’s the one who lives his life, and he’ll have to bear the good times and the bad.” Mr. Jiang said nonchalantly.
Jiang's mother was speechless: "What normal person would say they're looking for a rich, handsome, and successful man to be their son-in-law? This is obviously a joke. You and your son are both straightforward and don't know how to beat around the bush."
Jiang's father snorted: "Who says his girlfriend's family has to be normal? Maybe she's serious."
Just then, Jiang Lan came downstairs again. Seeing how brisk his steps were, Jiang's mother asked him, "Your girlfriend is joking, right?"
"Um."
"dad."
Jiang's father looked at his son with disdain and said, "You're acting like a complete idiot when it comes to dating. It's embarrassing."
Jiang Lan pretended not to hear, picked up her bowl, added more rice and vegetables, and sat down to eat.
Mr. and Mrs. Jiang looked at each other in bewilderment. Mr. Jiang whispered to Mrs. Jiang, "Didn't you say you had already eaten? Why are you eating again? When we were dating, was I as crazy as him?"
Jiang's mother recalled for a moment and shook her head: "No, you were just a little silly back then, but you're still a normal person."
Xiaoming spent the entire first day of school sitting at home scrolling through his phone. Last night, the temperature plummeted, and this morning it was drizzling non-stop. It was damp and cold outside, with a biting wind.
Worried that she would get too hot staying by the heater, Zhou's mother kept urging her to go outside for a walk: "Don't sit here all the time. The more you sit by the fire, the colder you get, and the tighter you curl up. You'll feel uncomfortable when you go to bed at night with aches all over your body. Go out for a walk, and wear more clothes if you feel cold."
Xiao Ming didn't move: "It's the first day of the Lunar New Year, where should we go?"
"That's true. Girls your age are either mothers or have boyfriends. You're still like a child; you can't play with them anymore. Your sister-in-law asked you to go to her parents' house with her this morning, but you didn't go. Your dad went out to play cards, and I'm going out later too. Do you want to come with me?"
Zhou's mother has always doted on her daughter and is very patient with her.
Xiao Ming shook his head: "No, I'm perfectly fine at home by myself, don't worry about me."
"I've seen you've been texting a lot these past few days, do you have a boyfriend?" Zhou's mother asked, glancing at her daughter's phone.
Xiao Ming was also frank and readily admitted, "Yeah."
Zhou's mother had only been testing the waters, but she was pleasantly surprised to find that her daughter actually had a boyfriend: "Oh my! She's finally figured it out! She found a boyfriend quietly. Do you have a picture? Let me see."
Xiao Ming showed his mother the group photo taken at the train station. His mother took the phone, zoomed in and out to look at it, and finally nodded: "A very spirited young man, good."
They then asked, "What's your personality like? What do you do?"
"She has a good personality, just like me, and works in a company."
Mrs. Zhou nodded in satisfaction: "Yes, it's good to find someone decent, so that both money and feelings can be reciprocated and treated equally."
Seeing her daughter nod, Zhou's mother felt very gratified. She then instructed her, "If anyone comes to visit for the New Year, please entertain them well. I'll be back soon." Only then did she hurry out.
Jiang Lan asked Xiao Ming to download a mobile game, and the two of them would team up and play together whenever they had free time.
On the second day of the Lunar New Year, Xiaoming's family went to visit his uncle. On the third day, the supermarket opened for business, and Xiaoming volunteered to look after the supermarket. He figured that he wouldn't have to visit relatives while looking after the supermarket, and since there were fewer customers on the third day, he could also slack off.
Jiang Lan went to a well-known hotel in the county for a classmate reunion in the afternoon. His good friend from high school, Luo Qinyuan, came to his house to invite him, and he couldn't refuse.
When I arrived at the hotel, I found that only some of my classmates were there. Those who were close to me would organize the gathering, while those who weren't close had basically lost contact after graduation. The atmosphere of this class reunion was not only not lively, but also somewhat awkward.
Jiang Lan greeted her old classmates briefly, then found a chair to sit and wait for the food to be served.
He was mainly there to create a lively atmosphere and encourage people. Luo Qinyuan wanted to pursue one of the female classmates, Wen Yarou, but she wouldn't give him a chance to meet her. He only followed her here after finding out she was coming to the class reunion.
While playing games with Xiaoming, I was also distracted by watching the party.
"Wow, that's an amazing move."
Jiang Lan heard the praise whispered in his ear and turned to look. Yao Xue had moved to sit next to him at some point, her head almost touching his shoulder.
He paused his actions, quickly got up and walked towards the door. By the time he found a corner outside the private room and resumed his actions, Xiaoming's character was already standing in the resurrection fountain because he couldn't get timely support.
Xiaoming sent a message in the game: "It's not convenient for you there, let's play together tonight."
Jiang Lan was a little annoyed. She returned to the private room and saw that Yao Xue was no longer in that seat, so she sat back down in her original spot.
Luo Qinyuan fawned over the goddess Wen Yarou, chatting and singing, showering her with attention. However, the goddess only smiled at him reluctantly. Jiang Lan couldn't bear to watch his sycophantic behavior.
Once everyone was finally gathered, the dishes were served, and a few male classmates started urging us to drink.
Jiang Lan smiled and shook her head when she saw someone holding a glass of wine in front of her: "I drove here, so I'll skip the drinking."
"It's okay, everyone drove here, and we've all had a drink. We can just find a designated driver later. Brother Lan, you can't spoil the fun."
Jiang Lan's expression was a bit cold: "I really can't drink that much. See which classmate likes to drink, you can all go and drink together."
"We've been classmates, how could you be so disrespectful?"
"Jiang Cheng, Jiang Lan has said she can't drink anymore, so don't try to persuade her. If you really want to drink, come find me, and I'll keep you company no matter what."
Yao Xue, unable to bear it any longer, stepped in to help Jiang Lan out of the predicament.
The crowd cheered, shouting about how a damsel in distress could save a hero, "Brother Lan, when Yao Xue gets drunk, you'll have to take her home!"
Jiang Lan, holding a glass of water, said as she drank, "I didn't persuade anyone to drink. Whoever did, they can give me the drinks."
The crowd booed and stopped making a fuss.
Jiang Cheng felt a little embarrassed. He returned to his seat, raised his glass to Yao Xue, and said, "Let's give our beautiful Yao Xue some face today."
Yao Xue smiled awkwardly and glanced at Jiang Lan.
Seeing this, Wen Yarou whispered something to Luo Qinyuan, who nodded repeatedly.
At the dinner table, the men and women barely ate a few bites; they were all busy bragging. The men boasted about how many projects they had handled worth over 100 million yuan, while the women bragged about how successful their boyfriends were, constantly showing off their designer jewelry and luxury bags. The meal lasted for more than an hour before it ended.
After the meal, the male students split the bill.
Jiang Lan was about to say goodbye to Luo Qinyuan when Luo Qinyuan pulled him back, saying, "I booked a karaoke room, let's go together."
Seeing Jiang Lan make a move to pull him away, Luo Qinyuan winked and said, "Help your brother out. It's just the two of us, Yao Xue, and Wen Yarou. If you don't go, we can't form a group."
"I'll leave as soon as I get into the private room, that's enough."
Ignoring Luo Qinyuan's almost sky-high eye roll, Jiang Lan squeezed into the passenger seat, with Yao Xue and Wen Yarou sitting in the back.
Once inside the KTV room, Jiang Lan stood for a moment and turned to leave, but Luo Qinyuan stopped him again, saying in a humble tone, "Brother, have a drink and sing a song before you go. There are two beautiful women here, it's a bit ungentlemanly to leave without even sitting down."
At this moment, Wen Yarou chimed in, "Jiang Lan, Yao Xue and I aren't scary, are we? Let's sit for a while before we leave."
"You guys have fun, I'm going back first, otherwise my girlfriend will check up on me and I won't be able to explain myself." Jiang Lan pulled away from Luo Qinyuan's hand, opened the door and walked out.
Luo Qinyuan chased after her and asked Jiang Lan, "When did you get a girlfriend? How come I didn't know?"
Jiang Lan stopped and turned to look at him: "You'd sell out your brothers to chase after a woman, yet you don't even notice if your brothers have girlfriends? You don't even look at my WeChat Moments, do you? Now that you know I have a girlfriend, are you still going to help your goddess best friend seduce me?"
Upon hearing this, Luo Qinyuan scratched his head awkwardly: "My bad, buddy, don't take it to heart. You go back first, I'll take the two beauties inside back."
Yao Xue looked at Luo Qinyuan and couldn't help but show disappointment.
Seeing her best friend like this, Wen Yarou was a little angry: "Luo Qinyuan, didn't you say that you and Jiang Lan are good buddies? Why won't you even give me this much face?"
Luo Qinyuan smiled ingratiatingly at the goddess: "He was afraid his girlfriend would be angry if she found out, so I'll sing with you. Just order whatever you want to eat or drink."
Yao Xue bit her lip and lowered her head as if she were a little sad: "Maybe I'm annoying, that's why he couldn't wait to leave."
Luo Qinyuan had just been rebuked by Jiang Lan, so he didn't dare to respond to Yao Xue's words. He pretended not to hear them and sat down at the song selection table to choose a song.
Wen Yarou comforted her best friend: "Jiang Lan has always had this arrogant temper in high school. Quite a few girls were brought to tears by his taunts back then. I think he treats you much better than those girls. He hasn't said anything to you. Don't take it to heart. You are sweet-looking, gentle and intelligent. If I were a guy, I would be smitten with you. I don't believe he doesn't have feelings for you."
After hearing her best friend's words of comfort, Yao Xue felt better again. She smiled, took the microphone, and began to sing.
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