but...
What is it? What is it...?
During this week, I fully utilized the Cancerian trait of being overly anxious for no reason.
Finally, Saturday arrived. I couldn't sit still any longer and set off at 5:40. I arrived at 6:00 and sat down in the seat that Shao Yuzhe had reserved, and began to regret coming so early.
Why isn't he here yet? I glanced at the food in my mouth and spotted a familiar figure...
It really was Du Qingxue. Judging from her appearance, she seemed to have an appointment with someone. In a place like this... could it be that I guessed the worst one correctly...?
She didn't see me and went straight to the inside.
My pure, innocent curiosity was pounding.
So I secretly hid behind a large potted plant to see who she was meeting.
It was a man, but from my angle I could only see his back.
Who is that person...?
Who is that person?
I heard a voice. Why is there a voice? Did I unconsciously say what was on my mind? But why is it a male voice?
I thought about it carefully, and then slowly turned my head. A kind-looking gentleman who looked to be of a certain age was smiling at me.
Calm and rational as I am, I reminded myself that this is a high-class restaurant and screaming is not appropriate.
So I could only widen my eyes to show that I was startled.
"You're so slow. Were you looking at that pretty lady over there? Who is she? What's her relationship with the man opposite her? Which one are you more interested in?" He looked in the direction I had been looking and asked.
"Who are you? Who are you?!" It felt like being caught red-handed spying.
He just smiled at me.
Looking at his warm, spring-like smile, I suddenly felt that he looked very familiar.
"Have I seen you somewhere before?" I blurted out without thinking.
"Using that kind of talk to strike up a conversation with someone you've just met is so outdated," he said, winking and half-jokingly.
"Huh?" Since he looked about the same age as my dad, I didn't react for a moment when he said that.
But he looks very familiar.
"Dong, so you're here early. What are you doing here?" Shao Yuzhe's voice suddenly broke in. I looked up at my watch and saw that it was already 6:30.
Upon hearing Shao Yuzhe's voice, the man who had been facing away from him reflexively turned around and looked at him.
"Dad? What are you doing here?" Shao Yuzhe said in surprise when he saw who it was.
So they know each other...
etc?!
What? What did he call him...?
"Then why are you here?" Uncle Shao also seemed very surprised.
But believe me, neither of them surprised me.
What exactly is going on here?
"Yu Zhe, what are you doing here?" A voice came from another direction.
"mom?"
...Everyone is here.
I sat down in my reserved seat and stared wide-eyed at the dramatic meeting of this family of three.
I knew it! No wonder they looked so familiar, and their smiles were exactly the same. They're father and son.
“Yu Zhe, today is the 30th anniversary of your father and I meeting, so your father and I decided to celebrate at this hotel where we first met,” Aunt Shao explained with a smile.
My aunt and uncle are so romantic; they flew all the way from one city to another just to commemorate their meeting. Their friendship has remained so strong after thirty years.
They cast envious glances at each other.
"When did you arrive? Why didn't you let me know?" Shao Yuzhe asked, as if he couldn't do anything about it.
“Son, you weren’t there when we met thirty years ago, so of course you won’t be part of the celebration thirty years from now.”
Uncle... Uncle has a real sense of humor.
"Then why are you here?" Aunt Shao asked.
Shao Yuzhe didn't say anything, but just smiled helplessly at me.
"Dad, Mom, this is the warm winter I mentioned to you. And this is my parents." He avoided answering directly, simply introducing them to us.
That's a pity, because I'd also like to know the answer to that question.
"Hello, Uncle and Aunt." I'm always very good at pretending to be innocent.
"Hello." Aunt Shao smiled kindly at me.
Uncle Shao just gave me a serious look, then turned to point to where Du Qingxue was sitting and asked Shao Yuzhe,
"Son, do you know that lady over there?"
Good heavens, what does his father do? After such a shock, why hasn't he forgotten this incident?
“Isn’t that Miss Du? What a coincidence, she’s here too.” Shao Yuzhe said with a smile.
It's quite a coincidence that all the key characters are gathered in one scene: the father, the mother, the son, and... well, you know... and... his rival.
The scene is complete enough to stage an ethical drama, but I wonder who the person opposite Du Qingxue is.
"Then who is the person opposite him?"
...It turns out that Aunt Shao...was also a very gossipy person...
So why can Shao Yuzhe remain so serious, earnest, calm, and seemingly harmless?
I couldn't help but take a closer look at him.
She gave me a look that said, "Don't overthink it."
"That's her boyfriend, Dong. You should have met him before. He's Liang Jingchun, the special assistant to the general manager of Han's Group."
I seem to have a vague recollection of this person. There was someone with this name among the Han family's attendees at the last dance. However, I have a habit of erasing people from my mind if I have no chance of interacting with them, in order to save space. But I still have some impression of this person because I later heard Ji An gossip that at the last dance, someone kept asking Du Qingxue, who was pestering Shao Yuzhe, to dance, and had been unsuccessful. Even after Shao Yuzhe ran away in the middle of the dance, he still failed.
That person was Liang Jingchun. When Ji An told me about him, I did feel a little sorry for him.
However, in such a short time, he won the heart of his beloved, proving that sincerity can move mountains.
“After I overheard your conversation last time, I made a point of talking to Miss Du a couple of days ago. Look, she even has a boyfriend now. I think she understands what I mean.” Shao Yuzhe suddenly said, as if he were talking to me, but also as if he were talking to himself.
It's a harmless statement, even her smile is innocent, but why do I feel a chill in my heart? Du Qingxue gave up on Shao Yuzhe and found another boyfriend, and the time allotted was really short.
...Let's not delve too deeply into this. I should believe that Ms. Du's judgment that she "doesn't like to waste too much time on one thing" is correct, and that the saying "where there's a will, there's a way" has stood the test of time and is completely true.
"Then I basically understand what the situation is. As expected of my son, he's quite charming." Uncle Shao patted Shao Yuzhe on the shoulder happily.
"Alright, honey, let's not disturb our son's date with his girlfriend." Shao Yuzhe's mother pulled her husband to his feet, then looked at me kindly and said,
"It's clear you're a well-behaved girl. I liked you the moment I saw you, so don't be so reserved in front of us. You haven't said much, have you? This unexpected meeting was quite a surprise; we weren't prepared at all. But I'm really looking forward to the day Yu Zhe formally introduces you to us."
I originally wanted to say that I was silent because I had a lot on my mind, but Aunt Shao's words moved me so much that I decided not to say anything and ruin the atmosphere.
"Yes, young lady, you have to work hard! My son is just like his father was when he was young, he's very popular. There are countless girls like that lady over there."
"dad."
"husband."
The two of them cried out at the same time, and I chuckled to myself. Their tone and expression were exactly the same; they were indeed mother and son.
"Alright then, your mom and I are going to have some alone time. You two have a good time. Son, your mom and I both really like this girl, so you can't bully her."
After giving their explanations, the two elders went off to enjoy their time together, leaving me to stare at Shao Yuzhe with a silly grin.
“My parents really like you,” he said, ruffling my hair.
My silly grin turned into a smug smile.
Now, I want to make some clarifications here. I am Nuandong, 25 years old, single, from an average family, definitely not a beauty, and my figure isn't great either. I'm also a bit slow to react. But, for some reason, I've always been very popular with parents since I was little. An once said that if I get married in the future, I will never have to worry about my in-laws.
This trait is innate; there's no use in envying it.
So I'm not surprised at all by the situation I've encountered today.
However, when Shao Yuzhe uttered the word "Dad," I thought he was going to introduce me to his parents today. Based on my limited understanding, meeting the parents is usually a step before marriage.
At that time, I thought about it seriously. If that were the case, then Shao Yuzhe would be preparing to get married before even proposing to me...
Thinking about this, I was disappointed. Although I often say that I despise those cheesy "Oh, darling" and "Ah, darling" kinds of romantic gestures, and those cheesy "romantic" scenes on the beach or sea like "Hehe, come and chase me" or "No, no, you're so annoying" that give me goosebumps, and those classic dialogues where you feel disgusted before you even say them, I was still disappointed. I was disappointed that Shao Yuzhe was so unromantic, untouching, and unartistic, without flowers, diamond rings, stars, moon, vows of eternal love, or surging waves, yet he decided I would marry him.
I even thought about how to react...
It turned out that it wasn't true.
Even more disappointed...
If that's not meeting the parents, then what is it?
"By the way, I still don't understand why you invited me to dinner today."
After we finished eating, he drove me home. As he stood downstairs saying goodbye, I realized that the question I had been working on for a week still hadn't been answered.
Chapter Ten
"What exactly is it for?" I asked again when he didn't react.
With a long sigh, Shao Yuzhe reached out and ruffled my hair.
"Winter, so much time has passed, and you still haven't given me a clear answer to the question I asked you. Although I roughly understand what you mean, I still want to hear you say it to me in person."
"What's the question?" The answer was irrelevant. Oh well, let's take it one step at a time. Otherwise, we'll end up with endless, time-consuming, pointless, and childish conversations like "You answer my question first," "I asked first, you answer first," and "If you don't answer, I won't answer."
Shao Yuzhe placed his hand on my shoulder and then bent down to look me in the eye. His face was very close to mine; I could almost feel his warm, moist breath. His gaze was as gentle as water, looking deeply into my eyes.
"Winter, I love you, will you accept me?"