Chapter Thirty-Nine: The Future Wife

Early the next morning, my mother got up to make breakfast and discovered me, having spent the entire night curled up on the sofa.

I yawned, lacking the energy to debate why she had thrown Su Xuefei and me into the same room the night before. Seeing my listless state, Mother walked over, seemingly quite annoyed, grabbed my ear, and demanded, "You sat on the sofa all night?"

"What else was I supposed to do..." I pulled a cigarette from the pack and stuck it in my mouth, but couldn't find my lighter; I must have left it on the table in my room.

"Yang Chen, let me tell you, if you don't seize the chance with such a wonderful girl and keep acting so slovenly every day, you'll regret it for the rest of your life!"

"Wait... have you two already decided that Feifei is my girlfriend? You know your own son... you can see the gap between us, and... do you really think your son is the type of toad who would dream of eating swan meat?" I was truly impressed by my mother’s active imagination. Does she worry every single day that I won't be able to find a wife?

"It’s precisely because you’re my son that I know how excellent you are. Even if you haven’t achieved anything satisfactory in the few years you’ve been away, can you stop being so insecure? You graduated from an art school, after all; you shouldn't be so shy about pursuing girls anymore, right?" Seeing me retort, Mother seemed set on a heart-to-heart, so she sat down beside me to lecture me. "Miss Su is truly excellent; I could see that at a glance. She’s pure, kind, and well-mannered. She even rushed to help me clean up the dishes after the meal. That’s the classic profile of a future virtuous wife and mother. You haven't even pursued her, so how do you know how she feels about you?"

"How do you know I haven't?"

"Have you?"

"Of course. A fairy as beautiful as her is pursued wherever she goes. I'm not sick; would I not pursue her if I saw her?"

"And what was the result?" Mother leaned in closer, seemingly very concerned about the outcome.

"Obviously, I was rejected without any suspense!" I got off the sofa and started rummaging through cabinets for my lighter. Goddess Su was sleeping in the room, and I didn't want to disturb her rest by going in there.

Mother rolled her eyes at me, took a lighter from her pocket, handed it to me, and continued, "So that happened... Su didn't tell me about that!"

"Hmm? You two are that close?" I looked at her strangely. I felt like I had been with Su Xuefei all day; when did they have such an in-depth conversation?

After a short while, Mother went into the kitchen to prepare breakfast, while I puffed on my cigarette, turned on the TV at low volume, and boredly flipped through the channels.

When breakfast was served, Su Xuefei finally woke up. Dressed and ready, she pushed open the door and stood beside me, watching me without a word.

"What's wrong?" I looked at Su Xuefei’s perfect, beautiful face, wondering what was wrong with her this morning. Why was she looking at me with such a resentful gaze? I hadn't slept all night, and I hadn't complained, had I!

"You actually snuck away." Su Xuefei pouted, sat down next to me, huddled into the sofa, and while complaining to me, pretended to watch TV.

So that was it... fine, I admit I did sneak off to the living room after Su Xuefei was fast asleep to spend the night there. But I couldn't be blamed for that; if it came down to it, Goddess Su was primarily responsible. A man and a woman alone in one bed—it would be a miracle if a single guy like me could handle that.

I switched the TV to an animation channel. Sure enough, after a while, Su Xuefei was mesmerized, seemingly forgetting the matter. Not long after, Li Xiaoya woke up and joined us, and the two girls, big and small, watched the cartoons that seemed incredibly childish to me.

Sitting at the dining table, I hung my head, eating my rice stiffly. At this moment, I felt like the god of sleep had possessed me; nothing could hold my interest.

After only a few bites, Mother pretended to ask casually, "Feifei, you must be very popular with the opposite sex, right?"

"Pfft!" I nearly spat out my rice. That was way too direct!

Su Xuefei chewed her rice slowly, then looked at me. I quickly turned my head away... don't look at me, I have no idea how to answer that.

"Only Yang Chen," Su Xuefei glanced at me and then whispered to Mother, her fair little face flushing slightly when she finished.

Mother laughed happily upon hearing this and hurriedly used her chopsticks to put food into Su Xuefei’s bowl. I immediately used the excuse of needing the restroom to escape. What was this? The rhythm of an arranged marriage? Goddess Su hadn't even said she was willing to be a daughter-in-law of the Yang family!

After returning from the restroom, I found the atmosphere at the dining table very strange.

Mother and Father were looking at me with gentle smiles, Su Xuefei was obediently eating her rice, and even the usually well-behaved Li Xiaoya was smiling happily.

"Um... what's going on?" I sat down, suspicious, and leaned over to whisper in Su Xuefei’s ear, "Feifei, what did they ask you?"

"It's nothing." Su Xuefei refused to tell me.

The meal ended with me in a state of bewilderment. Before I could even leave the table, Mother proposed, "Since the whole family is here today, why don't we take a few photos to commemorate it?"

Naturally, no one had any objections to Mother's suggestion. A group of us stood in front of the table, and Mother brought out a camera she had bought at some point, set the timer, and ran over to join us.

I felt awkward looking at our positioning: my parents stood in the middle, Su Xuefei and I stood on either side, and Li Xiaoya stood in the center of us all. I didn't need to guess to know that this setup was Mother’s idea all along.

Taking the camera and looking at the photo of us, I don't know why, but a warm current flowed through my heart. Everyone was smiling happily. It looked... just like a family portrait. Parents, wife, child... wasn't this the kind of life I had dreamed of?

"I want to see too." Su Xuefei walked over to my side, leaning in to look at the image on the digital camera, and whispered, "Yang Chen, could you ask Uncle and Auntie to take another one?"

"Why? What's wrong with this one?"

"My expression isn't very good; I don't look pretty," Su Xuefei said, sounding a bit discouraged.

I looked at Su Xuefei in the photo myself. A faint smile hung on her lips, and she was dressed in clean, exquisite white clothes, as beautiful as a fairy from another world. I really couldn't see anything to be dissatisfied with when she was already so stunning.

"It looks great," I said with a smile, saving the photo. "Now I have something to brag about at class reunions—I’ve taken a photo with a goddess."

"Really?"

"Of course, really!"

"Hee hee, that's great." Su Xuefei took the camera, skipped over to my mother, and asked happily, "Auntie, can I save this photo on my phone?"

Mother praised Su Xuefei for being sensible and polite, then nodded in agreement.

Afterward, Goddess Su went to help Mother clean up the table, while I had my post-meal cigarette, feeling as happy as a god. Li Xiaoya sat beside me, continuing to watch the cartoon from earlier.

A moment later, Mother came out of the kitchen and walked up to me again, saying earnestly, "Yang Chen, Feifei is truly a rare and wonderful girl. If you can't seize this opportunity, you really are being too dense!"

"Here we go again..." I extinguished my cigarette, speechless, and covered my ears.

"You brat, I'm telling you, I’ve set my heart on Feifei. If you can't win her over, I won't acknowledge you as my son!"

"Mom, that's too much. You're going to disown your own son?" I dropped my hands, looking at my mother's feigned anger, and sighed, "I'll try my best, okay?"

"Not try, you *must*!" Mother took a sip of tea and continued, "I just love that girl Feifei. And Yang Chen, you have to realize that in today's society, girls like her are truly rare... I don't care about anything else; I’ve already decided she’s the only daughter-in-law I’m accepting. Don't you dare bring any disreputable girls home!"

I waved my hand, not wanting to discuss this long-term issue with her anymore. Besides, when have I ever brought home a "disreputable" girl?

After finishing the chores, I took Su Xuefei and Li Xiaoya out for a stroll. We hadn't walked far when I received a call from Yang Xiaoyu.

"Boss Yang, you should probably come back..."

I could hear the hesitation in Yang Xiaoyu's tone and quickly asked, "Did something happen at the shop?"

"Your ex-girlfriend is still slumped in the shop. I’ve tried everything to get her to leave, but she won't budge. I’m about to call the police!" Yang Xiaoyu complained, sounding quite helpless.

"If she wants to stay, let her stay. It's just one seat; it won't ruin anything." I didn't know what Luo Qing was doing or what she was trying to express. If she had something to say, she should just say it. What was the point of interfering with someone else's business?

"It wouldn't be a problem if she were just sitting there, but the key is that she hasn't eaten or drunk anything since yesterday morning and has just been sitting there! I’m afraid something might happen if this continues." Yang Xiaoyu seemed to be panicking. "Should I call the police?"

"What good would that do? She isn't doing anything illegal, and it wouldn't look good for the shop's reputation." I told Yang Xiaoyu this, but deep down, I knew that given Luo Qing’s background, would calling the police even matter? I had almost caused a death back then, and her family had swept it all away. Compared to that, this was just child's play.

"Then what should I do?"

"Don't worry, I'll figure something out."

After hanging up, I stared blankly at the phone screen. Luo Qing never considered the consequences of her actions, and I was genuinely worried she might get herself into trouble.

I found the number I had blocked, hesitated for a long time, and finally dialed it.

The phone rang for a long time, and my heart seemed to be affected by it, beginning to beat faster.

"Yang Chen?"

"Yeah, it's me."

"Are you scared?"

"Heh, what do I have to be scared of? You have nothing to do with me anymore!" Hearing the mocking tone in Luo Qing's voice, my anger flared up instantly. "I just want to ask you, whether you’re in a good mood or not, could you please stop interfering in other people's lives?"

"I don't care!" Luo Qing's voice suddenly rose, yet sounded weak and dry. "I said, if I don't see you within three days, I will make you regret it!"