Chapter 33
Jiang Lan was stunned by this sudden scene, her blood rushed to her head, and her face and ears turned red instantly.
Seeing Xiaoming still holding the pull ring and staring at him, he stammered, "Are you serious? But whether you're serious or not, I'm willing, willing to marry you."
Xiao Ming nodded: "Of course I'm serious. Since they're wedding photos, they should be wedding photos, and we should hang them all up openly and honestly."
As he spoke, he took Jiang Lan's hand, put the pull ring on his left middle finger, and then gave him another pull ring, indicating that he should put it on himself.
Jiang Lan was like a pot of boiling water, her ears ringing, her thoughts churning, unable to make sense of anything. She kept glancing at her own hand, then at Xiao Ming's hand, repeating this several times, before suddenly standing up and rushing out of the study. She heard the bedroom door slam shut with a "bang," and then there was silence.
Seeing him running around aimlessly, Xiaoming shrugged, sent the selected photos to the photographer, and instructed the photographer to print all the wedding photos and make them into an album, and to make the selected wedding photos into large prints.
The photographer sent an OK.JPG image, then immediately asked Xiaoming, "Are you two getting married?"
Yes, I just got engaged.
Congratulations!
【Thanks! 】
Xiao Ming was drinking milk tea and flipping through photos when he caught a glimpse of a white figure walking in. He looked up and immediately spat out his milk tea, spilling it all over the keyboard.
Forgetting to wipe the keyboard, Xiaoming pointed at Jiang Lan with a speechless expression: "Bro, what are you doing dressed like a groom?"
Jiang Lan walked over, grabbed a few tissues, and said while wiping the keyboard, "Let's go to the jewelry store to pick out a ring right away."
Xiao Ming felt a rare pang of guilt; he had managed to drive a perfectly normal person crazy by proposing.
"Go change out of this outfit. I don't dare go out with you dressed like this."
Jiang Lan looked aggrieved upon hearing this: "But this is how you make it formal."
Xiao Ming, who had originally intended to ask him to change into casual clothes, reluctantly compromised: "Go change into a suit of a different color, it'll be just as formal. Save this one for the wedding."
Upon hearing the word "marriage," Jiang Lan had no reason to be unhappy. She turned and walked out, adding, "We need to buy new clothes for the wedding, not this."
To match Jiang Lan's style, Xiao Ming changed into a formal outfit and went out with her to the jewelry store where he had bought the necklace last time to choose a ring.
Jiang Lan was originally going to the high-end jewelry brand store in the shopping mall, but Xiao Ming said to her, "I still prefer gold. The designs at that brand gold jewelry store last time were very nice."
The couple entered the store, and the sales clerk who had served them last time remembered the good-looking couple and quickly came over to greet them: "Welcome! It's been a long time. What kind of jewelry are you looking for this time?"
"Engagement rings." Hearing his firm tone, Xiao Ming couldn't help but clench his teeth and suppress a laugh.
The shop assistant displayed the couple's rings for them to try on. Xiaoming liked an open ring, but Jiang Lan felt the style wasn't fashionable enough, so she chose a plain ring instead.
After choosing a ring, Jiang Lan started looking at other jewelry. Seeing that she was looking at it so intently, Xiao Ming paid the bill.
She called out to him as they reached the door, "Let's go."
Jiang Lan waved to her without looking up: "This bracelet is alright, come and try it on."
"No trying, no buying, I'm leaving." Jiang Lan listened attentively, withdrew her gaze from the bracelet, and went to the shop assistant to pay.
The shop assistant smiled and said, "Your girlfriend has already paid."
Jiang Lan looked surprised, turned around and pulled Xiao Ming back to the car: "Why did you pay? I'll transfer the money to you."
"Let's not argue about that, it doesn't matter who pays. Besides, I proposed, so I should have paid for it in the first place."
After saying that, Xiaoming took out a plain ring, pulled Jiang Lan's hand over and put it on his finger, then stuffed the other ring into his hand: "Put it on for me."
Jiang Lan had originally planned to go home and propose to Xiao Ming again, but now that she's put the ring on, the plan has been aborted.
He felt a vague sense of unease, but couldn't quite put his finger on what it was.
Xiaoming suggested booking a fancy restaurant to celebrate, but Jiang Lan, noticing that she had already placed the order and was about to pay, quickly stopped her: "We still have a lot of food at home, let's eat at home, otherwise it will be a waste."
"It's okay, just this once."
"But I don't want to eat out, let's go back."
Seeing Jiang Lan's insistence, Xiao Ming eventually cancelled the order.
"These restaurants all require advance booking. How did you manage to book them so easily?" Jiang Lan asked Xiao Ming, a little curious.
"The phone number we just used to place the order belongs to the company. This phone number has accumulated a lot of resources and is a VIP customer in many consumer venues, so we don't have to compete with others for resources," Xiaoming explained.
When she got home, Jiang Lan finally felt a sense of reality that she was now engaged.
Xiao Ming went to the gym as soon as he got back. Jiang Lan was in the living room with the TV on, watching a variety show. He posted a photo of the two of them wearing rings and holding hands in the family group chat, and the phone rang immediately.
"Son, what's the meaning behind this photo?"
"What do you mean?"
"Stop pretending to be stupid. You sent it specifically to me and your dad. What's the meaning of those rings on your hands?"
"Just what you think."
"Is it settled already?"
"Yes, it's settled."
"You're so efficient, it's making me a little uneasy. Does your girlfriend's family know?"
Jiang Lan's heart skipped a beat. No wonder she always felt uneasy; it turned out to be because of this.
"Mom, I have something to do, I'll hang up now."
Jiang Lan rushed into the gym after hanging up the phone. Xiao Ming saw that he was looking at him anxiously, so he immediately got off the treadmill and asked him, "What's wrong? You're all sweaty."
"Does your family know about our current situation?"
"Ah~~ Is that why? I thought something had happened. Wait here."
Without saying a word, Xiaoming made a video call to Zhou's father.
Jiang Lan and Xiao Ming huddled together, looking down at the screen. The phone rang twice before being answered.
Both of them were filmed from a terrible angle, with the camera shooting from below. Jiang Lan saw that she had a double chin, big nostrils, a big face, and a pointed head in the camera, so she quickly grabbed Xiao Ming's hand and lifted the phone up.
Xiao Ming turned to look at him, held up his phone, and greeted Zhou's father: "Dad."
"Um."
Why are you calling me now?
"Oh, I have something to tell you. Call your mother over too."
Jiang Lan managed to understand Xiaoming and Zhou's father's dialect, though she had to guess at it.
Soon after, Zhou's mother appeared in the frame. She smiled as soon as she saw Jiang Lan.
Once everyone was there, Xiaoming quickly said, "Dad, Mom, this is my boyfriend Jiang Lan." This time he spoke in Mandarin.
Jiang Lan quickly smiled and waved to the camera: "Hello, uncles and aunties."
Mr. and Mrs. Zhou: "Hello! Hello!"
After the two sides exchanged greetings, Xiaoming continued, "I just proposed to him. When is a convenient time for you to bring him home?"
Jiang Lan's smile froze on his face. He couldn't help but glance at her a few times. He realized that his girlfriend was really good at being direct, often not giving anyone any time to react.
Upon hearing this bombshell news, Zhou's mother looked astonished, while Zhou's father remained calm: "As long as you get along, it's good to settle things sooner rather than later. Bring him back for the Double Ninth Festival, just in time for the family's tomb sweeping."
Xiao Ming nodded. After thinking for a moment, Zhou's father said to Zhou's mother, "I need to ask them something. You can go out now."
"No need, Dad, just ask. Mom can listen too."
Zhou's father looked at Xiaoming for a while, then nodded. He asked Jiang Lan, "Are you an only child?"
Jiang Lan tensed up instantly and replied, "Yes, both my parents are doctors, and my mother has already retired. My income is decent, and I own a car and a house here, with no mortgage or car loan. As for the bride price, Xiaoming can decide, and I will cooperate."
After hearing this, Zhou's father frowned, pondered for a moment, and said to Xiaoming in dialect, "Do you still remember what your mother-in-law said? The young man is so well-off, if you two get together, you'll have to move the old things."
Xiao Ming said helplessly, "I remember, but I don't want to touch the old things. Unless something unexpected happens, I guess I'll only go back to my hometown when I can't make it here anymore. I'll settle down in a new place outside, so it doesn't matter who marries whom."
Zhou's mother is from the city next to Xiaoming's hometown. She can understand and speak the Mandarin spoken in the town, but she has some difficulty understanding the local dialect.
But upon hearing this, Zhou Ma finally understood and blurted out, "You two, father and daughter, are actually thinking of finding a son-in-law to live with you?!"
Jiang Lan, who was originally trying hard to decipher the encrypted language, understood Zhou Ma's words without any difficulty. He turned his head and looked at Xiao Ming with a puzzled expression:
"A son-in-law who lives with his wife's family?"
"It's just a normal marriage, not some kind of live-in son-in-law. I'll explain it to you later."
He then said to Zhou's father, "Then let's go back for the Double Ninth Festival and have a normal wedding. We can talk about the rest when we get back."
After hanging up the phone, Mr. Zhou lit a cigarette and squatted on the steps behind the supermarket to smoke, his furrowed brows never relaxing.
When Xiaoming's grandmother was on her deathbed, she repeatedly told him that he must find a son-in-law to live with Xiaoming in the future.
But she probably never imagined that the world would change so quickly. The once prosperous town could no longer support its inhabitants. Young and middle-aged people had to go to big cities to make a living, and the idea of the girls in the gradually declining town finding a talented man to marry into their families had become a pipe dream.
As his daughter grew older, he felt anxious and conflicted listening to the sarcastic remarks from relatives and friends, but those were his mother's last words.
Just then, Zhou's mother came over. Seeing the cigarette butts all over the ground, she snatched the cigarette from Zhou's father's hand and scolded him, "You smoked like that when I didn't see you! Don't you want to live?"
Mr. Zhou sighed and said to Mrs. Zhou, "Why did you have to find someone from such a well-off family? It would have been easier to marry into the family if you had found someone of similar means. She's so stingy; she won't part with a single thing her mother-in-law left her. What are we going to do?"
Zhou's mother was so angry that she slapped Zhou's father a few times: "Are the living more important or the dead? And you still complain about people with good conditions? I think you're just despicable!"
"What do you know? If you don't understand anything, don't talk nonsense. I'm upset, so don't bother me."
These words caused an uproar. Zhou's mother immediately became furious and pointed at Zhou's father, scolding, "You and your mother have been talking nonsense about my Xiaoming all this time. You've ruined such a good girl. It's not like I don't have sons. Why do I insist on having a son-in-law who lives with my daughter? You know what's going on? You come and teach me the logic!"
Her deceased mother-in-law was shrewd and capable, and she was the undisputed leader in the family until her death, but she was also reasonable. Zhou Ma really couldn't understand why the old lady insisted that Xiaoming find a husband.
Seeing that his wife was really angry, Zhou's father hung his head, but still muttered, "We have our reasons, you don't understand."
Zhou's mother was at her wits' end with her stubborn husband. She knew he was hiding something from her, but she couldn't get him to open up after all these years. The problem was that her daughter was the same way; when asked, she would say she didn't know and only that her mother-in-law had told her to.
“If you don’t tell me, I won’t ask anymore. Anyway, Xiaoming and this young man named Jiang Lan are getting married normally, so it doesn’t matter whether you tell me or not.”
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