Make up your mind
Xu Luoluo sat up abruptly in bed, touching the blankets and sheets, then looking around at the furnishings. Thankfully, it was her room. Looking down, she saw that her nightgown was still on. She breathed a sigh of relief and found it amusing; she had actually had a wet dream. The Su Ze she had fantasized about was so proactive and assertive, he was practically a completely different person from the real him.
But as her gaze moved upwards, her smile slowly faded. The messy pink marks above her chest reminded her of how intense yesterday's encounter had been. She abruptly pulled the blanket over her face, unable to bear recalling how, while they were kissing, she had been led into Su Ze's house in a daze, and the two of them had become increasingly reckless. If it weren't for the crucial, frantic phone calls, her top would have been torn to shreds. It was all so shameful.
The barrage of calls came from her mother, who, for some unknown reason, suddenly decided to come to S City for a trip. She complained bitterly that she had settled down here, but after waiting and waiting, she couldn't get her elderly parents, who had raised her with great care for decades, to come and visit. So, they had no choice but to come uninvited.
The elderly folks felt that daytime was precious and shouldn't be wasted on the road, so they bought tickets for the earliest train on Saturday, arriving at 7 a.m. They even specifically asked her not to pick them up, saying they weren't so old that they couldn't find their way, and that they could have breakfast together after they arrived. Xu Luoluo knew they wanted her to sleep a little longer, and while she was touched, she said, "Okay, okay, I know you're so thoughtful."
After hanging up the phone, she pushed away Su Ze's warm chest as he leaned in, and looked up at him innocently: "My parents are coming tomorrow morning."
All the tenderness felt like a bucket of cold water had been poured over him. Su Ze's expression changed inexplicably. Finally, he sighed, took a step back, and straightened his clothes: "Then we'll pick them up tomorrow morning."
"Us?" Xu Luoluo jumped off the table somewhat embarrassedly, and upon hearing this, she looked up and stammered, "No, it's not necessary. They said they would come by themselves."
Seeing Su Ze's disapproving gaze sweep over her, she shrank back even further: "Besides, they don't know anything about us yet."
After thinking for a moment, she raised her head again with a sense of righteous indignation. She was in the right, after all, she herself had only found out about "their" affair tonight.
"Then I'll introduce our situation to them." Su Ze said unhurriedly, his gaze lingering on the ambiguous red marks on Xu Luoluo's fair collarbone, and he coughed somewhat awkwardly.
Xu Luoluo followed his gaze and saw the traces of evil. She quickly covered her chest with her hand and turned to run away.
Su Ze didn't stop her, watching her slam the door shut and disappear quickly, and couldn't help but chuckle. He'd thought she was so bold, but she was just a paper tiger. However, he wasn't going to let her off so easily, so he picked up his phone and dialed her number.
Yes, that's why she was woken up so early by her alarm clock today. In order not to miss her parents' train, she was forced to set her alarm for 5 a.m., and they agreed to leave at 5:30 a.m.
Thinking of Su Ze's sullen face, Xu Luoluo shook her groggy head helplessly and got up to wash up. But when she saw the clearly visible "hickey" on her collarbone in the makeup mirror, she knew she would faint on the spot if she went to see her parents like that. But how was she supposed to cover it up in the middle of summer?
Because she loves beauty, she usually wears sundresses or French-style dresses with wide necklines in the summer. Wearing these out would be like showing off last night's "spoils" to the entire train station. After thinking it over, she had no choice but to dig out a white sports T-shirt that she had bought but had been sitting idle in her closet. Sure enough, the small round neck completely covered everything below her neck. She carefully used concealer to cover up any red marks that might be showing.
Then he put on matching athletic shorts, picked up his phone and keys and put them in his small bag, intending to travel light.
There were a few knocks on the door. Xu Luoluo glanced at the time; it was exactly 5:30. What a punctual man! Although she inwardly complained, she quickly ran to open the door.
This was incredible. Su Ze's handsome face radiated an aura of unapproachability in the morning sunlight, yet his taut muscles, encased in a dark blue suit shirt, appeared incredibly alluring. Xu Luoluo, gazing at him, couldn't resist reaching out and touching Su Ze's chest. The feel was simply wonderful.
Su Ze frowned at her blissful expression, grabbed her hands that were roaming over him, and said, "You're going to wear this?"
"Yeah, right." Xu Luoluo realized she couldn't take advantage of the situation any longer and sheepishly withdrew her hand.
Su Ze opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he just stepped aside and said, "Let's go then."
Because Su Ze was driving, Xu Luoluo was so sleepy that she leaned against the passenger seat and dozed off, but she actually fell asleep and didn't wake up until the car stopped.
"Are we here?" She looked around and it seemed to be a parking lot.
"We're here. You woke up at just the right time," Su Ze said indifferently, turning off the engine and unbuckled his seatbelt.
Xu Luoluo knew she was in the wrong, after all, they were her parents who were picking her up, and she had asked them to drive while she slept the whole way.
She reached out and tugged at his sleeve. When he turned to look at her, she said in a soft, coquettish voice, "Zeze~ don't be angry."
The mushy address instantly shattered Su Ze's deliberately stern expression, and he coughed, "Where did you learn all this nonsense? What are you calling me?"
"It doesn't matter where you learned it, as long as it's useful." Xu Luoluo's fingers slowly slid down his arm into his palm, and she smiled mischievously: "You're not angry anymore?"
Su Ze grasped her fidgeting fingers, a slight smile playing on his lips, but his words were ruthless: "I'll settle the score with you when we get back. Let's go pick them up first."
"Oh." Xu Luoluo pouted and withdrew her hand, getting out of the car with a wronged expression. This person really got the benefit and still acted innocent; she was too difficult to please.
Although Xu's parents said they didn't want to, they were still overjoyed when their daughter actually came to pick her up. Xu Luoluo was pleasantly surprised to see them and felt even more grateful to Su Ze.
"This is...?" As expected of Xu Luoluo's mother, Aunt Xu's eyes lit up as soon as she saw Su Ze, and her question was full of gossip.
"My colleague, Su Ze! Mom, stop staring at him." Xu Luoluo just wanted to quickly put an end to her mother's gossipy nature, but as soon as she uttered the word "colleague," Su Ze's eyes turned eight degrees colder. Unable to explain immediately, she pretended not to see and cautiously took a step behind to take her parents' suitcases. Just as she took them, Su Ze snatched them away. Xu Luoluo stared at her suddenly empty hand, and just as she looked up to thank him, she saw that he completely ignored her, dragging his suitcase forward without a word.
Ignoring everything Xu Luoluo had said before, when Su Ze stepped forward, Xu's mother greeted him warmly: "Little Su, what do you do for a living? Luoluo has been well taken care of by you at the company."
Su Ze replied politely, "No, no, Xu Luoluo is also very outstanding in our planning department."
The two chatted happily as they walked further and further away. Xu Luoluo stared dumbfounded at their retreating figures, then turned to her father and asked, "Am I my mother's biological child? Why is she so affectionate towards other people than towards me?"
Mr. Xu sighed with disappointment, "Isn't your mother doing all this for you?" His daughter was so useless that only her mother could help her catch a man.
"So Xiao Su is also from F University." After getting in the car, Xu's mother quickly started gossiping with Xu's father about the new discovery they had just made during their conversation.
Mr. Xu: "So, is she an alumna of our daughter's school?"
“Yes, indeed.” Mrs. Xu slapped her thigh, as if she had discovered some incredible miracle. “They’re both alumni and colleagues. What an amazing coincidence!”
"Mom, you look like you could be performing in an opera!" Xu Luoluo sat in the passenger seat, feeling both amused and exasperated. The way the two people in the back seat were so eager to get rid of her made her feel utterly ashamed.
If they continued talking, her dark history from eight lifetimes would probably be dug up. Xu Luoluo couldn't control her mother, so she quickly gave Su Ze a look, telling him to just answer a few words and not to take everything seriously and delve deeper into the topic.
While driving, Su Ze patiently and openly shared everything with Xu Ma, but ignored the person in the passenger seat as if they were invisible.
"Uncle and Aunt, I'll head back now. Just give me a call if you need any help." After dropping them off at the hotel, Su Ze politely said goodbye and prepared to make his exit.
Seeing that his mother wanted to keep him any longer, Xu Luoluo quickly changed the subject, saying, "I'll see you out." He then turned and said, "Mom and Dad, you two rest for a bit, I'll be right back."
Without waiting for Xu's parents' reaction, she saw Su Ze out. Su Ze glanced at her and walked out without saying a word.
Once she was finally out of her parents' sight, Xu Luoluo cautiously looked up at him and said, "Don't be angry, I can explain."
"No need." Su Ze pressed the down button on the elevator and distanced himself from her. "As a 'colleague,' what do I have to be angry about?"
He was really angry. Xu Luoluo was about to say something more when the elevator doors opened, Su Ze stepped inside, and glanced back at her: "No need to see me off."
That one look froze Xu Luoluo in place; his gaze was so cold it was as if she were a stranger. That look seemed strangely familiar; it was the same look he had given her when they first met.
After such intimacy, facing such a cold rejection, Xu Luoluo couldn't muster the courage she had shown in her relentless pursuit. She simply stood there staring at him, as some memories she had been trying so hard to suppress suddenly flooded her mind.
Su Ze stopped looking at her and pressed the close button.
As the elevator doors slowly closed, Xu Luoluo abruptly turned and left, a single tear silently falling onto the marble floor.
As she approached the room door, she quickly wiped her eyes before putting on a cheerful face and going inside: "Dad, Mom, shall we have breakfast?"
There's a famous pan-fried dumpling shop in S City downstairs from the hotel. Their pan-fried dumplings have thin skins and generous fillings, with a crispy bottom. One bite, and the rich, savory meat filling your mouth with flavorful broth leaves you wanting more.
But Xu's mother was clearly not in the mood to enjoy the food. She was busy interrogating Xu Luoluo about her marriage: "Wasn't that boy just now quite nice? Why are you in such a hurry to push him away?"
"You've only met her once, how do you know her?" Xu Luoluo put another pan-fried dumpling on her mother's plate, hoping to shut her up with food.
“What’s wrong with meeting? Your mother isn’t blind. If it weren’t for you, she wouldn’t have driven over early in the morning to pick you up and carry your luggage.” Xu’s mother put down her chopsticks in exasperation. “You’re such a dense child.”
"Oh dear, it's not like your daughter can't get married, why are you in such a hurry? Just eat your food first."
Seeing that his daughter didn't want to talk about it, Mr. Xu quickly smoothed things over: "That's right, that's right, if you don't eat these pan-fried buns soon, they'll get cold, and your stomach will feel uncomfortable if you eat them."
Hearing this, Xu's mother picked up her chopsticks again and glared at Xu Luoluo, who was relieved: "Didn't you hear what your dad said? You should eat too."
Xu Luoluo knew when to stop. She picked up her spoon, took a sip of the vermicelli soup she had ordered, and then put a pan-fried dumpling into her bowl to savor it carefully.
Xu's mother shook her head as she looked at her. If this child had put the same effort into finding a partner as she did into researching food, her child would probably be old enough to run errands by now.
The children of her colleagues who joined the company at the same time back then are all married and preparing to retire and take care of their grandchildren. Her husband, however, doesn't even have a boyfriend yet, which makes her reluctant to attend gatherings. Otherwise, when she hears her former colleagues bragging about how many more words their grandchildren have learned or how to greet people, she can only offer a few words of praise before falling silent.
When she was young, Aunt Xu was a very ambitious person. She always strived to be among the best, and without any connections, she beat out a bunch of people with favors through sheer ability and became a minor leader in her workplace. Back then, everyone who heard her name admired and praised her. But little did they know that fortunes would change, and at this age, she would cherish the simple pleasures of family life.
So Xu's mother had been holding a grudge for a while, not saying anything normally, but this time she was deeply provoked and finally exploded. She immediately packed her bags and came to find her daughter, determined to resolve this issue no matter what.
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