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Psst! We're moving!
It was nearly eleven o’clock at night, and the chaotic day finally came to an end.
After sending off the guests, Dad Jiang washed the dishes, Jiang Ying vacuumed and mopped the floor, and Mom Jiang sorted and put away various gifts. Each family member performed their duties.
Just now, with uncles, aunts, and cousins present, Dad and Mom Jiang had barely managed to restrain themselves. Now, with no more inhibitions, they began to chatter incessantly,
“So it was him, Mom remembers him. His name, Meng Jingshu, was always on the list of students your homeroom teacher praised at parent-teacher conferences. The homeroom teacher had a love-hate relationship with him, saying he did well in studies, but needed to improve his discipline.”
Jiang Ying: “...How do you remember so clearly?”
“It’s all because you often came back saying he was handsome!”
“...”
Mom Jiang became obsessed with delving into every detail.
“Did you two secretly have a puppy love in high school, or why else would you suddenly be dating now?”
“No, our fate hadn’t arrived yet,” Jiang Ying said, half-truthfully.
“That’s true, fate is unpredictable... But you two are destined, same high school, same university, and now working in the same place, that’s good. You’ve been dating for over four months? Is that... last October, or November? When did he return to China?”
With such an absurd beginning, Jiang Ying dared not tell the truth.
“Around that time, I guess.”
“...Handsome is handsome, but I’m just afraid such a man can’t be kept. He seemed steady just now, but he wasn’t a good boy in his teens, otherwise why would teachers often criticize him...” As she spoke, Mom Jiang became worried again, “After all, he grew up with his grandparents, without parental discipline, will he not be good? I’m a bit worried... Is his usual personality okay?”
Jiang Ying couldn’t stand hearing this. “Mom! That’s discrimination! Are those raised by parents necessarily good? Are those raised by old people necessarily bad?! That son of our distant cousin from our hometown you mentioned last year, the one who was arrested and sent to a labor camp, wasn’t he raised by his uncle and aunt? The whole village knows he used to beat his own parents.”
“Oh my, you treasure your boyfriend so much, I can’t even say anything?”
“But you can’t talk nonsense!”
“Exactly,” Dad Jiang chimed in, “I think that child is very good. He speaks and acts appropriately, and he’s energetic. Boys are mischievous when they’re young, how many can be well-behaved and obedient?”
“Alright, alright, you two, father and daughter, are on the same front. I’m the villain, fine. So how are his family members? You went to their house today without notice, so abruptly. They weren’t unhappy, were they?”
“Probably not... they were very enthusiastic, didn’t make things difficult for me at all.”
“Okay, it’s good that the family members are easy to get along with. Did their elders give you red packets? How much did they give?”
“Haven’t opened them yet...” Jiang Ying finished mopping the floor, handed the mop to her worrying mother, and ran back to her room to get the red packets stuffed in her bag.
Mom Jiang watched her open them and counted the money, looking satisfied. “Good thing we didn’t give too little either.”
Jiang Ying chuckled, “Are you that concerned about saving face?”
“Of course! It’s New Year’s, you visited their home unannounced, and they still hosted you well and let Xiao Meng specifically visit us. We definitely can’t be impolite.”
“Oh, by the way, his aunt also gave me a bracelet as a meeting gift.”
Jiang Ying ran back to get it, presenting it like a treasure. The moment Mom Jiang saw the bracelet, her eyes changed.
“This is high-ice jade...”
“Huh?”
“This bracelet might be worth your room.”
“Ah??!” Jiang Ying really knew nothing about jewelry, especially jade without brand labels. She saw Second Aunt casually put it on her hand and thought it would be at most a few thousand or ten thousand... It had to be said that in some aspects, their family’s conduct was quite consistent.
“Do you know what their family does? Wasn’t it said that his aunt runs a company, and his uncle is just a civil servant?” Dad Jiang asked.
“I don’t know much... But, his second uncle is Meng Juli.”
“Ah...” Dad Jiang suddenly understood, “So it’s that Meng family!”
Mom Jiang looked at them both, confused.
It wasn’t until Dad Jiang educated her about Second Uncle Meng’s position that the two, after a brief moment of shock and excitement, fell into deep thought.
Jiang Ying asked, “What’s wrong?”
Mom Jiang said, “Jiang Ying, you should reconsider. I’m really afraid you’ll be bullied if you marry into that family!”
“...”
________________________________________
“So... will I be bullied?” Jiang Ying whispered to her boyfriend while nestled in her quilt.
Meng Jingshu mused, “It seems I performed very badly tonight.”
Jiang Ying chuckled softly, “No, Dad kept praising you, but Mom is just more of a worrier, that’s why I didn’t want to tell her so soon... She also saw your family’s grand estate, so she’s worried about this and that.”
Speaking up for her boyfriend in front of her mother, and speaking up for her mother in front of her boyfriend. Jiang Ying, of course, wouldn’t mention her mother’s unfounded suspicions about his character. She only chose this topic, which was actually harmless but very realistic, to report to him.
“Are you worried too?”
“I was a little scared at first... but after going through today’s muddled experience, I actually feel better about it.”
“I promise, no one will bully you.”
“Okay.”
Meng Jingshu chuckled, “Actually, being with me is very relaxed. There’s no one else in the family, you can make your own decisions about everything.”
“Mm...” She softly hummed in response, but suddenly felt a little sad.
He paused slightly, then also lowered his voice, “I was very surprised that your family didn’t ask about my parents.”
Jiang Ying clutched the quilt, “Isn’t it better not to ask?”
Meng Jingshu said, “I’m not that fragile; it’s proper to explain these things.”
He easily understood what she was thinking.
That evening, while they were still on their way, after Jiang Ying called her family, she quietly sent a message to Mom Jiang, informing her about Meng Jingshu’s family situation and asking her to tell the other relatives.
Jiang Ying turned over and said, “Isn’t it better not to?”
He didn’t answer, instead asking, “Are you sleepy?”
“Mm... Are you going to hang up?” She sounded a little aggrieved.
He chuckled softly, “If you’re not sleepy, want to come down and meet?”
“??!”
Jiang Ying immediately wrapped her cotton coat over her pajamas and slipped out the door.
It was almost 1 AM, deep into the quiet night. Her parents were long asleep. Jiang Ying was extremely careful when closing the door.
Inside the elevator, her heart pounded.
How could this be... They had been together all day, yet it still felt insufficient.
Outside the unit door, a tall, slender figure stood alone, carried by the wind.
When did he come over again? How long had he been waiting downstairs?
Jiang Ying pushed open the door, and he had already walked a few steps towards her, embracing her.
She felt like a fish on the shore, returned to water, saved.
All her melancholy found its anchor.
She persisted with the previous question, asking again, “Isn’t it better not to?”
Meng Jingshu completely gathered her into his embrace, saying softly, “It’s good.”
He felt an unprecedented tenderness, his heart warmed to a scorching degree. He couldn’t stay home after returning, only wanting to see her again, to hold her.
Even if they could meet again tomorrow, the fervent longing couldn’t wait.
She hugged his neck tightly, her eyes gradually becoming moist.
How could she bear to let others ask him those questions?
—What do your parents do, and how old are they?
—Deceased? That’s such a pity. When and why?
“I don’t want you to explain these things to anyone else.”
He comforted her, “It’s really fine, it’s okay.”
But she was heartbroken.
“I just don’t want you to.”
“Thank you.” After a long silence, he said.
Jiang Ying cried even harder, stubbornly shaking her head, “I don’t want your thanks either!”
“Then what do you want? My body is yours, my heart is yours, what else can I give you? Let me think... ten chicken drumsticks?”
Jiang Ying laughed through her tears.
Meng Jingshu found a tissue to wipe her face. He looked at her red eyes and nose and chuckled, “You’ve become a crybaby.”
“It’s all because of you,” she mumbled, pouting slightly.
He wiped away the streaked tears on her face, kissing her soft eyelids, kissing her smooth forehead, again and again, cherishingly.
It is love that makes one infinitely soft, so soft that one cannot bear to let the other suffer even the slightest grievance. Love also makes one immensely strong, strong enough to want to shield each other from all storms.
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