Before Jiang Yubai could answer, Lin Zhixia asked another question: "Can I give my handicrafts to your parents?"
"Of course," Jiang Yubai explained, "Gifts are a token of thought, and your thought is very precious."
Lin Zhixia hugged his neck and said, "I told you the other day that getting married is a bit troublesome because it involves two families. I don't know your relatives very well."
Jiang Yubai patted her back gently as if to comfort her: "Don't worry, it's nothing serious. My parents are very busy at work and can only stay in the provincial capital for a few months each year. I don't have many opportunities to meet them."
Lin Zhixia rested her chin on his shoulder, and he told her, "If you like doing scientific research and giving lectures to students, spend your time at school and leave the housework to me."
Jiang Yubai's voice gradually lowered: "Do whatever you want to do. Don't go out of your way to deal with anyone just for me."
Lin Zhixia was incoherent: "You are like this..."
"What?" he asked.
Lin Zhixia said with emotion: "I think you are so nice."
She whispered, "I've met your parents, and I like them, but... there's a sense of distance, you know? It's not about money, I don't really care about money."
Jiang Yubai was silent for two seconds before answering: "I understand."
Lin Zhixia was surprised and asked, "You understand me so well?"
Jiang Yubai reminded her calmly: "I grew up reading your diary."
Lin Zhixia turned off the bedside lamp with her right hand, and reached under his pajamas with her left hand. Her fingertips explored the dark night, sometimes gently, sometimes slowly, until they reached his heart. She blew into his ear: "So that's how it is..."
Jiang Yubai raised his head slightly and let her do whatever she wanted.
Lin Zhixia clung to him even more and confessed to him more frankly: "I really like you."
Jiang Yubai asked her, "Do you want to move in with me?"
Lin Zhixia thought about it seriously for a while. She came up with a compromise: "How about this, I stay at my house for three days a week and stay at your house for four days a week?"
Jiang Yubai bargained with her: "This house is also your home, and it's closer to your school. You live here from Monday to Friday, and I'll pick you up and drop you off at get off work..."
Lin Zhixia pointed out a fact: "It takes me at most fifteen minutes to walk from your house to school. It's such a short distance, so you don't need to pick me up."
Jiang Yubai did not respond.
He lay down on the bed, the quilt pulled tightly over him, even covering his shoulders.
Lin Zhixia was almost dying of laughter. She leaned over to his side and jokingly said, "Jiang Jiang Jiang Jiang Yubai, why are you so interesting? I've discovered that every time we chat, you'll cover yourself up when you're upset. It's always been like this since you were little."
Jiang Yubai said: "It's very different now than when I was a kid."
"What's the difference?" Lin Zhixia insisted, "I feel it's about the same."
Jiang Yubai suddenly lifted the quilt and covered Lin Zhixia directly. Lin Zhixia immediately hid beside him, laughing even more cheerfully. They played on the spacious bed, and eventually, they had another round of wildness. The whole bedroom was filled with love and affection.
Near midnight, Lin Zhixia was so tired that she fell asleep.
Jiang Yubai held her in one hand, and she held his fingers in a daze. He thought at this time that Lin Zhixia was right, marriage is a matter of two families, but his situation is very special. His personality and habits were influenced by Lin Zhixia, and she was the most important part of his growth experience. He often used "perfect" to describe Lin Zhixia - she was perfect, and he couldn't stand life without her.
When Jiang Yubai was studying abroad, Lin Zhixia once said something that left a deep impression on him.
Lin Zhixia said that if Jiang Yubai broke up with her, she would be very sad, but as long as she was given some time, she would be able to come out of the shadow and focus on her work.
Jiang Yubai couldn't put himself in their shoes.
Therefore, he occasionally feels a sense of crisis.
He slowly closed his arms in the darkness, and Lin Zhixia's back pressed against his chest. Reality was as beautiful as a dream, and he always thought of her before or after falling asleep.
The next day was Sunday, and Lin Zhixia got up early. She changed into a new set of clothes and sat in front of the mirror to put on makeup. Her skin was very good, white, moist, and extremely shiny. She didn't need liquid foundation. She simply used mascara and eyeliner, and asked Jiang Yubai to help her choose the color of lipstick.
After the makeup was done, Lin Zhixia was very excited: "How is it? Give me a review."
Jiang Yubai stood in front of her, lifted her chin, and stared into her eyes. He said, "Perfect."
Lin Zhixia said, "Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder."
Jiang Yubai gently stroked her with his fingertips: "Everyone knows how beautiful you are."
Lin Zhixia smiled. She pushed away Jiang Yubai's index finger that was poking her chin, and stood up from her seat, passing by him, bringing a refreshing breeze.
Jiang Yubai took a deep breath.
The phone vibrated in his pocket. He turned on the screen and saw a message from his uncle: "Urgent news, your grandparents are here too."
Jiang Yubai's grandparents were originally on vacation in the Maldives. However, they ended their vacation early and returned to the provincial capital to attend today's in-laws meeting.
Fortunately, Jiang Yubai's uncle acted as a whistleblower.
His uncle sent him a long message: "My parents and my eldest brother and his wife didn't expect you to get engaged right away. They haven't met Xiaolin's family before, so it's normal for them to have concerns. From their perspective, your engagement with Xiaolin is indeed too sudden."
Jiang Yubai asked him: "Have you discussed this matter at home?"
The uncle answered the question irrelevantly: "One night, I was drunk and told your aunt about the blunder at the wedding. Your aunt liked Xiaolin very much and even prepared several gifts for him."
Jiang Yubai expressed his gratitude very politely and asked his uncle to give him the specific list of gifts.
The uncle began to count: "A diamond necklace, a platinum bag, an unlimited free book purchase card, and a VIP beauty service card for the Sands Hotel. These are the four things."
The Sands Hotel is a luxury hotel in Singapore, and it also has a branch in the provincial capital, with a very high consumption level. Jiang Yubai knew that his aunt was kind-hearted, but she was born into a top wealthy family in Singapore after all, her name was on the list of world socialites, and she was followed by paparazzi when she went on vacation in the United States. Except for the "unlimited free book purchase card", the other three gifts she carefully prepared... Lin Zhixia might not accept them.
Jiang Yubai said to his uncle: "Lin Zhixia is shy, and my aunt gave her so many gifts at once..."
The uncle understood his implication and said quickly, "I'll talk to your aunt and ask her to take two less pieces."
Jiang Yubai said: "Thanks to you, uncle."
The uncle replied immediately: "Don't thank me, lovers will eventually get married."
The weather is very good today. The sky is blue and cloudless, and the sunshine makes people feel warm.
Lin Zhixia stood at the door of the apartment building in her community and met up with her father, mother, and brother.
Dad looked hesitant: "Xia Xia, how about this, Dad and you go to the commercial street and buy a few branded purses and wallets and give them to Xiao Jiang's parents..."
"Don't bother," Lin Zeqiu said, "No one in our family has ever bought luxury goods, so there's no need to pretend to be rich."
Lin Zeqiu's eyes were fixed on the spot, and even his shadow was straight. He wore his only suit, his black leather shoes were polished to a shine, his expensive briefcase worth 400 yuan bought from Taobao was slung over his right shoulder, and his left hand was wearing a Casio electronic watch that he won at the company's annual meeting. His parents both wore their best clothes - their family never celebrated the New Year in such a grand manner.
Lin Zhixia sensed an unusual atmosphere.
She immediately opened a paper bag and said, "Look, this is a quantum computer model I made myself. It's the size of a palm, and there are three of them... I originally wanted to make them as teaching aids, but I can't use them for the time being. I discussed it with my mother and decided to give these models as gifts to Jiang Yubai's parents."
Lin Zeqiu glanced into the bag and had a bad feeling.
He followed Lin Zhixia forward and got into Jiang Yubai's car.
Jiang Yubai is a competent driver. He drives steadily and has a relaxed attitude, which relieves the tension of Lin Zhixia's family.
They arrived at the hotel ten minutes early, and when they got off the car, everyone was still talking and laughing. Especially Jiang Yubai, who had already been calling "father-in-law, mother-in-law, and brother-in-law" all the time, quickly integrated into Lin Zhixia's family. Although the brother-in-law was still lukewarm towards Jiang Yubai, both father-in-law and mother-in-law admitted that Jiang Yubai was "a down-to-earth and reliable young man."
Jiang Yubai walked into the hotel with his father-in-law and mother-in-law.
This restaurant was of high quality. The French windows of the top-floor box faced a wide river view. The tableware under the crystal chandelier was as clear as jade. Jiang Yubai's parents, grandparents, uncles and aunts, a total of six people, sat around one side of the round table. They stood up to welcome Lin Zhixia's family in. Jiang Shaoqi was the most enthusiastic: "The in-laws are here. I'm Jiang Shaoqi, Xiao Jiang's uncle."
Lin Zhixia's father immediately responded: "Hello, good afternoon, I am... I am Lin Zhixia's father, my name is Lin Fugui, this is my wife, Ke Yanhong, my son Lin Zeqiu, and my daughter, Xia Xia... Lin Zhixia."
On the way here, Lin Fugui had already prepared a draft in his mind.
However, when he saw Jiang Yubai's family, their clothes, accessories, conversation, and temperament, he couldn't help but stutter. He couldn't even tell who was Jiang Yubai's mother - the three ladies present were all well-maintained and wore expensive earrings and necklaces.
Noticing his father-in-law's embarrassment, Jiang Yubai immediately looked at his parents.
Jiang Yubai's parents came over one after another and introduced themselves, which brought the two sides closer. Lin Zhixia greeted them: "Hello, uncle and aunt."
Jiang Yubai's mother smiled and said, "Hello."
Lin Zhixia didn't feel awkward at all, but she felt that the atmosphere was a little weird. In order to break the deadlock, Lin Zhixia took the initiative to offer her gift: "This is the gift I prepared for you. It's a quantum computer model I made myself..."