206. Leaving
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Chen Yao was sound asleep, while Lin Nan had lost most of her enthusiasm for the computer. Resting her chin in her hand, she pondered what she would do if her relatives found out about her situation after heading back to the countryside with her mother.
What would those relatives say? Probably nothing important, right?
She had grown up surrounded by various relatives until graduating from elementary school in the countryside, but after that, her family had only maintained contact during the summer and winter holidays, visiting her grandfather for a couple of days during those breaks.
The only relatives she actually liked were a few cousins and her grandparents—the others were mostly strangers she couldn’t even name.
Now her cousins were scattered all over, and they only met during family gatherings once a year, with no contact in between.
So, as long as her grandparents accepted her, that would be enough.
As for her paternal grandparents, they had passed away during her middle school days. Lin Nan had never liked those relatives anyway, and with her father’s request for her not to embarrass herself, she hadn’t considered it at all.
In this unfamiliar environment, Lin Nan felt a bit anxious, but when she looked over at the sleeping Chen Yao, all her worries and anxieties vanished like magic.
“Sweetheart, come eat some fruit.”
Just when she thought she might play a game to lift her spirits, the bedroom door swung open again. Chen Yao’s mom entered, carrying a plate of cut fruit, cheerfully exclaiming, “A little fruit after a meal is good for you!”
As a guest, Lin Nan felt it would be rude to refuse. Even though she was stuffed from lunch, she could only smile and say, “Thank you, Auntie.”
“No problem, we’re family.”
Family?
Lin Nan’s smile froze on her face.
Sure, she knew Chen Yao’s parents thought of her as his girlfriend, but how could they accept it so quickly? Chen Yao must have explained things, right?
Watching Chen Yao’s mom leave the room, she sighed heavily, feeling completely lost.
Moments later, Chen Yao’s dad came in enthusiastically, bringing a bowl of silver ear and bird’s nest porridge. “Hey, have some afternoon tea. Bird’s nest is good for your skin.”
“??? ”
Hadn’t I just eaten lunch half an hour ago?!
“Look at your aunt’s great skin; it’s all because of stuff like this.”
Lin Nan realized that Chen Yao’s parents had probably already accepted her as their daughter-in-law…
It was so hard to refuse! She even felt nervous about leaving leftovers. She had never even seen bird’s nest before, only heard it was expensive. So even though she was stuffed, she had to drink it all down under Chen Yao’s dad’s watchful gaze.
She felt like her stomach might burst.
Lin Nan couldn’t help but think that at this rate, if she stayed at Chen Yao’s house for a few more hours, his parents might just come over to propose to her family!
This enthusiasm was a bit over the top, don’t you think?
Fortunately, Chen Yao’s parents weren’t too extreme. Maybe they noticed she nearly choked on the porridge from being so full.
Spending the entire afternoon in Chen Yao’s room, Lin Nan vaguely overheard his parents discussing her in the living room.
Their conversation seemed to center around how much she might expect as a wedding gift, whether they should renovate the house they bought in the provincial city, wrangling over whether Chen Yao might be impotent, and if they should consider taking him to the hospital to get checked out.
They seemed super eager, and while they appeared quite open-minded, it’s a county town after all. No matter how open-minded the parents are, they still feel anxious when they see the kids from other families getting married early and compare that to their seemingly brain-dead son.
Lin Nan couldn’t hear everything clearly from inside, but she caught some key phrases, which made her face burn with embarrassment. She quickly put on her headphones to drown out Chen Yao’s parents’ conversation with the sounds from the game.
Finally, around 4 PM, Chen Yao woke up, and a call from his mom came through.
Lin Nan’s long-anticipated mother had finally arrived.
“Let’s go, we’re going to your old home for a couple of days.” Chen Yao stretched, yawning as he tossed on his jacket, and when he looked up, he spotted Lin Nan’s flushed face.
Lin Nan looked a lot more normal now—adorably clueless and shy—much cuter than her earlier blank stare.
Looks like during his naptime, his parents had done some serious persuasion work?
“Okay.” Lin Nan momentarily forgot about her dad, and with the thought of seeing her mom soon, her spirits rose.
She hurriedly dragged her suitcase out from the corner, securing the cat in its carrier, eager to leave this place.
Chen Yao’s parents truly treated her well, but it was a bit too much—she wasn’t really Chen Yao’s girlfriend, and it was hard for her to handle. Now she just wanted to get out of there as soon as possible.
“Just remember to explain everything clearly to your parents.”
As she looked at herself in the front camera of her phone, fixing her slightly messy hair, she said, “There’s such a huge misunderstanding. I just don’t dare to say anything…”
She wanted to show her best side when meeting her mom.
“Explained already, they just won’t listen.” Chen Yao waited for her to finish her grooming, teasing, “If you learned to do your makeup, it would probably take you half an hour just to leave the house.”
“Don’t want to learn makeup.”
“Sure, you’re naturally beautiful—no need for it.” Chen Yao picked up the suitcase and stood by the bedroom door, urging her, “Hurry up, your mom’s probably waiting.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
Lin Nan quickly set down her phone, grabbed the cat carrier, and followed Chen Yao outside.
“Already leaving? Aren’t you going to stay for dinner?” Chen Yao’s mom rushed from the kitchen to keep them from going, “I prepared a lot of great food. If you don’t stay, it’ll all go to waste!”
“Mom, we already said Lin Nan is leaving this afternoon. Why are you making dinner for her?”
As soon as Chen Yao’s mom heard this, she glared at him and then stepped forward, pulling his hand and heading to the kitchen, whispering in a tone that Lin Nan couldn’t hear.
“Do a good job meeting the family this time; don’t be like a pig at home, lounging in bed all day. Get moving, and volunteer for chores when you see something that needs doing…” She glanced into the kitchen, bent down, and opened the cupboard, pulling out a box of yogurt. “Take this as a meet-and-greet gift. It’s all so rushed; I didn’t prepare anything.”
“??? ”
I’m not meeting any family here!
“Oh, and your dad has a bottle of red wine he hasn’t finished, worth a couple thousand—it’ll do as a gift.”
“Really don’t need that…”
“Does what you say even matter?!” With that, Chen Yao’s mom abandoned him and hurried off to find the wine.
But when she returned to the living room with the wine, she discovered that Chen Yao and Lin Nan were already gone, leaving the living room empty. So she directed her frustrations at Chen Yao’s dad, who was still watching TV.
Meanwhile, the two of them had reached the street outside the residential complex. Lin Nan immediately spotted her Uncle’s car, dropped the cat carrier, and excitedly raced over.
“Mom!”
