Xiang Yuan stared at Xiang Lan's hands, wishing he could devour her alive.
Hu Li said, "Xiang Lan, be good."
Fang Zidu glanced at Xiang Yuan, thought for a moment, and said, "I'll wait outside. If needed, I'll come in immediately."
"Don't worry, we won't take her away without our permission," Hu Li said.
Xiang Lan watched Fang Zidu leave with reluctance. When she met Xiang Yuan's gaze, she immediately turned away, slipped behind Liu Nanyang, and sat down next to him.
The four sat down. Xiang Yuan placed his hands clasped on the table and calmly looked at Xiang Lan. At first, Xiang Lan felt a little guilty and scared, her gaze shifting. But the more she looked, the more uneasy she felt. What was she afraid of? She had simply been in a relationship and then got a marriage certificate according to her own true feelings. Her behavior was not much different from Xiang Yuan's insistence on marrying Hu Li.
So she cleared her throat, bravely met Xiang Yuan's gaze, and the two siblings began to compete.
"Don't just look at me like that, tell me what's going on," Liu Nanyang, being the elder, broke the silence and said, "Speak freely about what you want to say."
"Uncle, don't make a sound." Xiang Yuan first ruled out this troublemaker.
Liu Nanyang tugged at Xiang Lan's hand under the table, showing his support for her.
"Xiang Lan, tell me," Xiang Yuan finally spoke.
"What did you say?" Xiang Lan hadn't come to her senses yet.
"What should I say?" Xiang Yuan's eyes sharpened. "Tell me about the person you're marrying today."
"What's going on?" Xiang Lan asked, puzzled.
Hu Li interjected, "Where are you from? What do you do? How old are you? What's your family situation like?"
Xiang Lan clasped her hands together, her mind a little foggy. It seemed she had really forgotten to ask these questions.
"He's from Haicheng, I don't know much about his family's occupation; however, he studied in the United States, graduated this year, and plans to work at our school; he's 22 years old—"
That's all?
"Isn't that quite specific already?"
Xiang Yuan took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, telling himself to be more affectionate, otherwise the two of them would start arguing again.
"How did you two meet? How long have you known each other? What's his educational background? What does he do?"
We met in March.
"March?" Xiang Yuan probed. "Last year?"
Liu Nanyang said, "It's obviously this year—"
"Uncle, don't say anything."
Xiang Yuan gripped the tablecloth tightly, enduring the pain, and said, "At most, less than thirty days?"
Under the watchful eyes of the three people, Xiang Lan could only nod, inwardly complaining that she had dragged him to bed after knowing him for less than three days. If she told them, they would be shocked.
Xiang Yuan covered his face with his hands, seemingly unable to accept it, then let go and pointed at her, saying, "You're fast enough, aren't you? You've settled all the major events in your life in just thirty days? You didn't even bring her home for everyone to check her out, and you didn't tell anyone about the marriage registration. Are you planning to wait until the baby is born and you can't hide it anymore before you tell anyone?"
"This was my original plan. The recipe says I can't lie to you, so—"
Xiang Yuan was genuinely injured and couldn't help but slam his hand on the table. Hu Li was so shocked that his eyes twitched, feeling sorry for him and worried that his hand must be injured.
Xiang Lan was startled, her body trembled, and she immediately became furious. "Why did you take a picture of me?"
"I'm your brother. You did something like this, and I can't even film you?"
"I'm all grown up now, I'm twenty-one, I can make my own decisions, why should I tell you?" Xiang Lan was unreasonable when she got domineering. "Telling you is like grabbing a random person off the street and pushing them at me. Look at the people you introduce to me, are they even as good as a little finger?"
"You think you're all grown up now? You think you're all that? You think reaching a certain age means you're all grown up? You still rely on your family to support you, how are you going to support the little one in your belly? A young person who just graduated and entered society, how many thousand yuan a month can you earn? Is that enough to buy you food or clothes? Enough to buy a few packs of diapers? Why is he in such a hurry to get married? You've already tied yourself to a man you know nothing about? What good is being good-looking? Divorce him, go get a divorce right now, we'll support the child from the Xiang family—"
"Brother, the Xiang family doesn't belong to you alone," Xiang Lan said cryptically. "Whether the Xiang family supports me or not, if I support them, it's still considered the Xiang family supporting them, right?"
Xiang Yuan couldn't catch his breath, and his chest ached. He braced himself on the table, his face terrifying, as if he wanted to devour someone.
Xiang Lan felt a chill run down her spine; she had never seen him so angry before. But in her heart, she told herself, "Don't back down, hang in there. As long as you get through this, your parents are just paper tigers."
Hu Li and Liu Nanyang exchanged a helpless glance, looking up at the crystal chandelier on the ceiling. The two siblings had entered another cycle.
Liu Nanyang laughed heartily to ease the tension, then said, "Lanlan, your brother is saying this to support you. He's afraid you'll be held hostage by your child and trapped for life. He means that you're pregnant, so there's no need to be so afraid. Whether you get married or not isn't important. The most important thing is to carefully consider the young man, and if he's suitable, then we can talk about other things. Times have changed, there's no need to rush into marriage just because you're pregnant. You have a wonderful life ahead of you—"
“Yes,” Hu Li also said, “You know, your brother isn’t good with words. He’s just concerned about you and afraid you’ll be deceived.”
Xiang Lan thought for a moment, then said a little embarrassedly, "What if he runs away if I don't get married?"
The three of them were speechless. Girl, can you please stop siding with outsiders?
"Did you propose marriage, or did he?" Xiang Yuan asked ominously.
"He suggested it." This can't be hidden.
"Is your brain filled with mush? He mentioned marriage, and you dared to marry him without knowing anything? And what about the pregnancy? How did you get pregnant?"
Xiang Lan was dumbfounded. After thinking for a moment, she realized that this misunderstanding couldn't be brought up publicly, so she simply said, "You got pregnant just like that. Do you want to hear the details?"
Xiang Yuan clutched his clothes at his chest, his heart aching—
The five-star hotel had excellent facilities; once the private room door was closed, not a sound could be heard. Fang Zi found a comfortable sofa in the corridor and sat down, a sense of uncertainty creeping into his heart again. It seemed he really knew too little about things outside his profession.
The phone rang, and he took it out to look at it. It was his father, Fang Haoping, calling again. He cleared his throat and answered.
Where are you now?
"At the hotel, having dinner with Xiang Lan's brother."
"Send me your address, I'll be right there." Fang Haoping's words brooked no argument. "I'm already in the city, I'll be there soon."
Fang Zi refused, saying, "Isn't that unnecessary?"
“There are many things you don’t understand. Don’t suffer losses; it will have a huge impact on your future. Dad has to go there. If anything happens, you’ll have someone to talk to.” Fang Haoping was also worried that he would get beaten up.
After thinking it over, Fang Zi agreed. It's true that some things are easier to communicate with when elders are around.
Less than half an hour later, Fang Haoping emerged from the elevator, panting. He was a refined-looking, somewhat slender middle-aged man with graying hair, possessing a rather scholarly air. Fang Zidu's appearance was clearly different from his, only their build and back view were similar; obviously, his good looks were inherited from his mother.
"Dad—" Fang Zidu stood up.
"Why are you waiting outside?" Fang Haoping asked. "Which private room?"
“Xiang Lan’s brother and she were talking in a private room.” He pointed to the private room with the words “Xishan” on it that had recently been displayed.
"You got kicked out?" Fang Haoping said bluntly. "Serves you right."
Fang Zi touched her hair, revealing a touch of childishness. "I didn't expect things to turn out this way. Her family seems very angry."
"Angry? I'm already showing some restraint by not hitting you, aren't I?" Fang Haoping shook his head. His son was focused on his studies, grew up in a simple environment, and had an otherworldly appearance. "How could you be so foolish? You're at the age where you should be concentrating on scientific research and producing results. How could you suddenly change your mind?"
Fangzi blushed, lowered her head, and remained silent.
"That's true. You skipped grades from a young age, so your classmates were all several years older than you, and you didn't have any normal relationships with men and women—"
"Dad," Fang Zidu said helplessly, "Can you please stop talking?"
"Where is Xiang Lan from? What does her family do? How many people are in her family?"
Fang Zi was taken aback for a moment, thought for a while, and said, "It seems to be a local, but I'm not sure what he does exactly. He has an older brother."
"You—" Fang Haoping felt a lump in his throat, unable to catch his breath for a long time. "How could you suddenly become so confused? You got married without understanding anything. If her family is well-off, they won't be a burden on you, and you can manage on your own with a little extra effort; but if her family is not well-off, and they need your support, and you're busy with work every day while also taking care of her family, are you playing with your future?"
"I didn't think that much about it. It's just marriage; it's between her and me—"
"Have you gone mad from studying in America? This isn't just between two people; it involves two families—"
“Dad, I’ve thought it through. The job and income I have now are enough to support a small family.”
"Hehe, no problem?" Fang Haoping clearly had a different opinion. "I'll just ask you one question: you only sleep six hours a day now, and the rest of the time you're either in the lab or reading and studying; if you had a child, you couldn't just ignore him, could you? So, are you planning to cut back on your rest time or your study time? How are you going to raise this child?"
"Dad, everyone faces this problem once they get married."
“Yes—” Fang Haoping admitted, “So, I haven’t thought about your marriage.”
"With your talent, becoming a landmark scientist is only a matter of time. Don't let these things distract you. Wait until you're almost forty, have achieved success, and have plenty of time before considering marriage."
"What are you going to do?" Fang Zidu looked at him warily. "If Dad's attitude is like this, there's no need to go in. I can't let you mess things up."
"I'll go see what Xiang Lan's family thinks. We'll see how things go." Fang Haoping stood up and straightened his clothes. "Trust your father. He won't make any decisions for you recklessly."
The prescription was full of meaning: "Dad, I'm about to become a father. The child is already here, so it can't disappear."
“I understand,” Fang Haoping said. “You’ve already gotten your marriage certificate, so I can’t force you to get a divorce. But the follow-up matters need to be handled neatly and cleanly, so that people don’t think the Fang family is unreasonable. Also—” He paused, “if his family goes too far, I won’t be very nice to them either. Please understand that.”
He thought about it and nodded in agreement.
Fang Haoping reached out and knocked on the door. A few minutes later, the door opened, and Xiang Lan angrily pulled on the doorknob.
"Xiang Lan—" Fang Zidu, standing to the side, said, "This is my father. He wants to meet with my brother and the others to have a chat—"
Xiang Lan hesitated for a few seconds, torn between calling him "uncle" and "dad".
"Just call me Uncle!" Fang Haoping said with a smile, his tone both distant and polite. "You must be Xiang Lan."
"yes."
Xiang Yuan was so angry that he didn't want to eat anymore. He just wanted to drag Fang Zidu in and give him a piece of his mind. But then a handsome middle-aged man walked in and greeted them with a smile, "Hello everyone, I am Fang Zidu's father, Fang Haoping. It's a pleasure to meet you."
He overheard his conversation with Xiang Lan, and the word "uncle" touched him, causing him to change his mind.
"Hello," Liu Nanyang said, standing up. "You rushed over today? Thank you for your hard work—"
"Yes, I heard about it from my child at noon, so I quickly bought a plane ticket for this afternoon. Luckily, I made it in time, otherwise it would have been so rude. It's not hard work, it's just that my child is so inconsiderate—"
"We need to have a serious talk." Xiang Yuan, who had been abused by his younger sister, finally felt a little relieved by Fang Haoping and said coldly.
That's exactly what I was thinking.
"So—" Xiang Yuan looked at Xiang Lan and Fang Zidu and said, "You two, get out of here!"
"Zidu, take Xiang Lan out to get something to eat first. She can't be hungry right now." Fang Haoping remained unmoved by Xiang Yuan's attitude and continued to speak politely.
The two children were kicked out of the private room. They looked at each other, not quite understanding why, suddenly, they, the two parties involved, had completely lost their rights in this incident.
Xiang Lan took a deep breath and said, "Honey, if things continue like this, we'll be in a very passive position."
"Yes!" Fang Zidu deeply understood.
"What should we do?" Xiang Lan asked, looking at him.
“I think we should go and take care of our own things,” Fang Zi said with a relaxed expression. “Anyway, we’re already married. No matter how many opinions they have, all they can discuss is how to comfort themselves and accept this fact.”
Xiang Lan raised both hands in agreement, "Then let's go out for congee! I know a certain family's congee is especially delicious, and that's all I want to eat right now."
They left behind a bunch of anxious adults, and just like that, they left—