550. Opposition
“Mom! Black Bean! I’m back!”
After just a day and night at Lily’s house, Ning Chu was back home the very next evening.
With her annual leave, she only took six days off, so she needed to make the most of the time and still planned to spend the last day napping in her rental apartment like a lazy fish.
“Sis, Brother-in-law!”
As soon as she shouted, a sudden gust of wind rushed at her, and she quickly steadied herself to take the full impact of Black Bean’s crash.
“Ouch, that hurt…”
She suspected that in a few years, Black Bean would send her flying straight out the door.
“Brother-in-law! Did you bring any food?” Black Bean clung to her waist but leaned her head out to look at Wen Yang, who was still standing outside the door.
“Uh… I forgot.”
Upon hearing this dreadful news, her eyes widened in disbelief and she instinctively took a step back. “Then I’m sleeping in the same room with Sis tonight! I haven’t seen her in ages.”
Wen Yang’s lips twitched as he shot a questioning glance at Ning Chu.
“When she came back for New Year, she insisted on sleeping with me, so I had to bribe her with food…”
God knows how this cat learned so fast.
Ning Chu let out a gloomy sigh. “You can go buy something downstairs.”
After days either at a hotel or at Lily’s, she had been on edge and hadn’t had a proper meal. It seemed like a succubus was about to turn into a bag of bones. She felt drained, her complexion was terrible, and she had developed a small, inconspicuous pimple on her chin.
Finally back home, was it time to feast or what?
“Alright, I remember there’s a place at the community entrance that sells egg burgers.” Wen Yang had just taken off his shoes and was bending down to put them back on. “Black Bean, do you want any?”
“Absolutely! Two!”
“Then give me about ten minutes, and don’t close the door yet.”
Just then, their mother exited the bedroom and happened to overhear, shooting a glare at Black Bean. “You’re going to end up as fat as a pig at this rate.”
“Not at all~”
“Stop blocking the doorway. Should I make you something to eat?”
“Mom, there’s something I need to discuss with you.”
Ning Chu called out to her mother, who was about to head to the kitchen, slipped on her slippers, and dashed to her side with Black Bean hanging on her.
“What is it?”
Her mother paused, looking confused at her daughter.
Ning Chu’s face seemed to be on fire, cheeks flushed, avoiding eye contact, and murmured, “I want… to find a time to get the marriage certificate with Wen Yang.”
“So soon?”
“It’s been four years; isn’t that reasonable?”
Unknowingly, they had been in a relationship for four years. Most of the time, Ning Chu lived with Wen Yang. Even though they were still just boyfriend and girlfriend, it was practically the same as a married couple—just missing that little piece of paper.
That was her perspective, but her mother frowned, with Black Bean curiously tilting her head.
“What’s wrong?”
Their mother also stopped rushing to the kitchen and sat at the dining table. “Have you considered what Wen Yang currently has? He can’t even afford a wedding with what he has.”
“He’s almost saved up a hundred thousand; he can manage a wedding…”
“And his house? You’re going to live in a rental apartment with him?”
“That can be figured out later! Rental apartments can be good; we can always change when we want.”
Even though their mother was satisfied enough with Wen Yang, the thought of him being broke, with no house or car, wanting to marry her daughter made her uneasy.
Isn’t this like shooting for something big with nothing in hand?
Her soft smile faded as she grew serious. “Have you thought about what happens if you break up?”
Ning Chu shook her head vehemently.
“If you’re not married, you can part ways easily. But once married, it gets much harder to split.”
“With your conditions, finding someone good looking and richer than Wen Yang shouldn’t be a problem. But what if you end up as a divorcee…?”
She interrupted her mother. “Mom, why would I break up with him?”
“What if? Are you going to tie yourself to him for life?”
“Yep!”
That immediate answer left her mother speechless. She gazed at her daughter’s stubborn little face, flashing back to her own youth.
It was almost the same…
Both had gone crazy, convinced they needed to marry a broke boy despite having good prospects.
No matter how their family and friends advised otherwise, they remained determined.
Her mother snapped out of it, helplessly covering her face with her hand. “How can you be so stubborn like I was back then…”
“It’s a good thing you raised me well~ Besides, you just had bad luck meeting the wrong person. Who disappears for twenty years after a fight and doesn’t take responsibility?”
“I thought the same thing, but look where it got me.”
“If I can do it, why can’t I…”
Their mother pleaded earnestly, “If I had listened to my family back then, would I have been able to settle down only after raising you two to adulthood in my forties?”
Ning Chu looked down. She knew how hard her mother had it when she was younger and recognized that her mother just didn’t want her to repeat the same mistakes. She mumbled softly, “It’s different…”
“Marriage isn’t just about love. It’s not about finding someone you like to spend your life with. Are you being foolish?”
“What could it be then?”
She realized she couldn’t convince her mother, so she shot back with a question and turned away unhappily.
Black Bean looked helplessly at her sister’s back, then up at their worried mother.
“What happened? Sis just got back.”
“It’s nothing. Go keep your sister company; I’ll make you a late-night snack.”
Her mother stood up resignedly, sighed, and moved toward the kitchen, but after a few steps, she hurried to the master bedroom instead.
Sure enough, she found Ning Chu sneaking around, rummaging through her drawer.
“Ning Chu! What are you doing in my room?”
“Ah?” Ning Chu jumped, nearly sitting on the floor, wide-eyed and then quickly shuffled her gaze, spinning a quick lie. “Mom, I thought Uncle was home; I wanted to ask for his opinion on something.”
“I used that tactic long ago.”
Her mother kicked her playfully in the b*tt. “Get out!”
“That hurt! I was really looking for Uncle!”
Ning Chu covered her rear and mumbled curses as she dashed out of the bedroom.
Wen Yang had just returned with the egg burgers, and seeing her hastily kicked to the living room, he was confused. “What happened? You just got home and are already making a fuss.”
“Nothing!”
Ning Chu angrily turned and stormed into her room.
It wasn’t that she blamed Wen Yang for being useless; she was more annoyed at herself for not making the protagonist of her novels a rich second-generation kid—or even just from a regular middle-class family.
If he were a rich kid, her mother would’ve happily pushed her toward Wen Yang, wouldn’t she?
“???”
“Sis had a fight with Mom!” Black Bean sprinted over, “Brother-in-law~ burger~”
Wen Yang handed the egg burger to Black Bean, coaxing her in a murky tone, “Here, tell me what they fought about.”
“Can I have that too…?” Black Bean’s eyes were glued to the soda in his hand.
“That’s for your sister.”
“Then I won’t tell you!”
Black Bean playfully dashed off to the living room to watch TV.
Though he could pry some information from Black Bean, Wen Yang hesitated but decided to check on Ning Chu, opening the door to her room to see her sulking.
Keeping the little succubus comforted was the priority.
