"Mom, he is my boyfriend, Su Yan." Cheng Kou was a little nervous and put a little force on her hands, but she still looked directly into Song Qingwu's eyes and said what she had to say.
"Hello, aunt." Su Yan continued Cheng Kou's words and greeted Song Qingwu.
"Yeah." Song Qingwu looked at him expressionlessly, her eyes swept over their hands that were still held together, and she responded indifferently.
Cheng Kou didn't expect her mother to have such an attitude. She looked at Su Yan uneasily and received a reassuring look in return.
Song Qingwu watched the two of them interacting and said calmly, "Since you're all here, come over to my house and sit for a while."
Dad Cheng got up early in the morning, took a stroll in the park, and played a few games of chess with an old friend. Then he remembered that it was almost lunchtime, so he walked slowly home.
He walked downstairs and found a white car parked on the road opposite his apartment. He loved cars and could tell at a glance that the car was very valuable. He smiled and wondered which family in the building had friends over to make such a grand display.
But after a while he couldn't laugh anymore because his daughter brought her boyfriend home, and the car belonged to the handsome young man in front of him.
Cheng Kou felt that her mother's attitude was not right, but she hadn't thought much about it. Now, her usually kind father Cheng looked unhappy.
Father Cheng avoided her gaze. Cheng Kou panicked and felt uneasy. She felt like she was falling. Her heart was pounding, showing signs of uneasiness.
Su Yan sat on the sofa calmly. Over the years, he had already mastered the skill of not showing his emotions. He took a few sips of the tea prepared for him on the coffee table. He could feel the resistance of Cheng Kou's parents to him. Before finding out the reason, he chose to wait and see.
Father Cheng and Song Qingwu sat opposite them, looking Su Yan up and down, and he calmly accepted their inquiring gazes.
Sometimes a paralyzed face can be quite intimidating.
"Koubao." Father Cheng and his wife looked at each other, organized their words, and said, "I have seen this Mr. Su in your magazine. I don't think you two are suitable."
"What's inappropriate?" Cheng Kou was anxious, his attitude was not very good and his voice was a little loud.
Song Qingwu's face darkened, and his tone was not very good: "It's not suitable anywhere."
Father Cheng comforted his wife and continued, "Koubao, just looking at their family and our family, it's impossible."
Su Yan met Cheng's father's gaze with a clear look, but it was Cheng's father who couldn't stand it and looked away first.
"Uncle and aunt." Su Yan spoke calmly, with a smile on his lips and a clear voice, "I think what you said is not a problem."
"It's not your problem, it's ours. You've seen it, our family is like this, there's not much left for Cheng Kou." Song Qingwu pointed at Cheng Kou, looked at Su Yan, and asked, "Mr. Su, what can you say that you will treat her well for the rest of your life? How can you prove that you're not just playing with her? Even if you can do it, what about your family? My daughter is very innocent, and I don't want her to be involved in the intrigues and gossip of rich people. I don't trust children from a family like yours, and I can't risk my daughter's lifelong happiness by marrying into a wealthy family!"
Song Qingwu paused, and then said: "If you think my attitude is bad, then I apologize to you. But it is absolutely impossible for me to agree with you two."
Su Yan put down his teacup and continued to smile after hearing this: "Aunt, why don't you give me a chance and let me prove it to you?"
"To be honest, I have a favorite candidate for son-in-law. I've watched him grow up and I know him inside out." Song Qingwu brought up Xia Linchen, which made Su Yan frown.
There is no conclusion to this debate and it can only be discussed at another time.
After a while, Su Yan stood up to say goodbye, but Song Qingwu stopped Cheng Kou from seeing him off. Instead, Cheng's father sighed and wanted to see him off, but Su Yan politely refused.
After Su Yan left, Cheng Kou returned to her room, locked the door, and lay on the bed sobbing quietly. After a while, someone knocked on the door, very patiently, as if they would knock forever if she didn't open the door. In the end, Cheng Kou compromised, took a tissue to wipe her tears, casually tidied up her messy hair, and opened the door to welcome the person in.
Dad Cheng walked into the room, looked at his daughter's red eyes from crying, sighed with heartache, and pulled her to sit down beside the bed.
"Koubao." Father Cheng stroked her long hair and advised, "Mom and Dad won't harm you, listen to Dad, okay?"
"Dad!" Cheng Kou became emotional, tears of grievance falling in strings, "I'm such a grown-up, can't I decide who to be with?"
Cheng Kou couldn't understand why Su Yan's parents didn't agree with them, since he was successful in his career and perfect in every aspect. Before today, she didn't know that her parents had such a concept of family background. Moreover, her mother said that she favored Xia Linchen. How could she not know what Xia Linchen's family was like? According to her understanding, the Xia family was definitely not more reliable than the Su family.
As for a lifetime—
She never doubted that Su Yan's response on that night of his confession was equivalent to a lifetime.
Not even a moment.
Su Yan was very serious, she could feel it.
Both of them sincerely want this belated, once-in-a-lifetime first love to last peacefully until the end.
She will only love him, so she will not compromise. She must make her parents accept Su Yan and bless them both.
Father Cheng looked at his daughter who rarely showed stubbornness, turned around and exchanged glances with Song Qingwu who appeared at the door, both of them looked slightly helpless.
Alas, it’s all bad fate.
Cheng Kou insisted on going back to Yurenyuan, so Cheng's father had no choice but to drive her there himself. After she entered the house, he returned home.
Cheng Kou originally wanted to go directly to Su Yan, but she was holding the side dishes that Song Qingwu brought for Xia Linchen and Shen Yinran, so she planned to put the things in Room 702 first and go to the next room later.
She freed one hand and used the key to unlock the door, and saw Xia Linchen wearing only a pair of short pajamas, talking on the phone not far from the entrance. He had his back to the door, holding the phone between his ear and shoulder, and his hands were raised above his head to wipe his hair, with drops of water occasionally falling and hitting the shiny floor, making a slight sound.
"Aunt Song." Xia Linchen smiled slightly, turned around and saw Cheng Kou, then turned back and continued, "Well, we're here, Cheng Kou just came in. Okay, I got it."
"What did my mother say to you?" Cheng Kou put on slippers, dragged his feet into the kitchen, squatted in front of the refrigerator and put things in one by one.
Xia Linchen threw his cell phone on the sofa and stopped wiping his hair, letting the towel slide down and rest on his shoulders.
"Just checking up on her." He followed her and leaned against the doorway and asked, "Uncle and auntie don't agree, have you cried?"
Cheng Kou paused, blinked his still dry eyes, and said with all his strength: "No."
Xia Linchen stared at her for two seconds, then walked away pulling the towel.
Cheng Kou went to the bathroom and looked at her face in the mirror carefully. If she didn't look closely, she probably wouldn't see any signs of crying. But to be on the safe side, she wet a towel with warm water and put it on her eyes for a while before going to meet Su Yan next door.
When Su Yan opened the door and saw that it was her, he was not surprised. He took out a pair of special pink slippers for her, watched her change, then reached out and took her hand, and walked towards the study.
As soon as Cheng Kou entered the study, he saw the painting in the middle of the snow-white wall and looked at Su Yan with an inquiring look.
"Qiduan drew it." He held her face in his hands, examined it carefully for a while, and chuckled, "What should I do? I don't think it looks like..."
"They obviously look alike." Cheng Kou took another look and murmured.
Su Yan did not continue the topic. In fact, it was not a question of whether it looked like the real person or not. No matter how realistic the painting was, it was still cold and locked in the frame. The person in front of him was the only reality.
"I want it too." Cheng Kou pouted, a hint of cuteness appearing on her small face.
"You can ask her for it yourself." Su Yan patted her head like teasing a child and told her, "Qiduan has a habit. Every time we meet, she will draw a portrait. Now she has probably collected more than ten. If she is generous, she will probably give it to you."
She really wanted to know what Su Yan was like in the past ten years, the ten years that she had not participated in.
"I warmed up the milk for you." Su Yan said, striding towards the door.
He already knew she would come, and even noticed small details like the milk.
Cheng Kou felt a lump in his throat at this unspoken understanding. He quickly took two steps to catch up with him, and wrapped his arms around his thin waist from behind, tripping him up.
Feeling the wetness on her back, Su Yan pulled her hand away and brought her to him. He used a little force to make her look up at him, not allowing her to hide herself.
“Why are you crying…” The ending tone was full of doting, and Su Yan gently wiped away the tears from her eyes with his thumb.
"Koubao." He called her nickname gently, took her into his arms, leaned down slightly, and rested his well-defined chin on her shoulder.
If he just turned his head slightly, he could touch her earlobe.
"Don't worry, okay? I will try my best to make my uncle and aunt accept me. As for you, just believe me."
Su Yan has always been arrogant. He doesn't think he is any worse than Xia Linchen. He was also caught off guard by the setbacks he suffered from Cheng's father and mother.
He couldn't tell Cheng Kou all this. The only thing he could convey to her was to make her believe that this was something he had to resolve and something he could handle.
"Say it again." She was slightly stunned and pulled at his clothes, demanding.
She had never thought that someone could pronounce the two words she had been accustomed to hearing for twenty-six years so beautifully.
Cheng Kou looked straight at him with his big eyes, and his figure was reflected in his black pupils. Su Yan was almost relieved at that moment.
Obstacles and thorns are no longer important. He knows very well that Cheng Kou is like a flower with vigorous vitality, blooming in the fertile soil of his heart.
She is the only flower in the world.
Su Yan understood what she meant, then curled the corners of his lips, and a clear voice came out.
"Kobao."
my darling.