Chapter 23

Chapter 23

***

When Xu Lian arrived back home with her mother, Xiang ChangKong hadn’t arrived yet.

“I don’t know why your father put so many things in this.” Xu Lian’s mother complained while she sorted out her suitcase. Xu Lian sat on the nearby sofa and sent a message to Xiang ChangKong.

Xu Lian: Where are you?

Xiang ChangKong: Just got off the train. I’ll be there soon.

Xu Lian: Alright, I’ll pick you up.

Xiang ChangKong: No, I can go there myself.

Xu Lian: I want to (◠ ◡ ◠)

After closing her WeChat, Xu Lian stood up. “He’s almost here, I’m going to pick him up.”

“Alright, go quickly.” When Xu Lian’s mother heard this, she quickly started cleaning up. Xu Lian took her keys and opened her front door. But as she walked down the hall, the elevator doors nearby opened, and out came Xiang ChangKong. Xu Lian smiled and called out: “Xiang ChangKong.”

Hearing her call out, Xiang ChangKong gently smiled and quickly walked towards her. “Have you been waiting long?”

“No, we just arrived.” Xu Lian looked at him up and down. “You…seem different today.”

Xiang ChangKong coughed uneasily. “Oh, really?”

“Yes, I feel you’re a lot more handsome than usual.” Xu Lian answered.

Face slightly red, Xiang ChangKong said: “Let’s go; we shouldn’t make Auntie wait too long.”

“Alright.”

The two went back to Xu Lian’s home together. When Mother Xu heard the front door opening, she ran towards the sound. Xu Lian, who had been putting on slippers. Looked up and was stunned.

In the few minutes it took for her to pick up Xiang ChangKong, Mother Xu had managed to change clothes…

Xu Lian and Mother Xu gave each other a tacit smile. Xu Lian took Xiang ChangKong’s hand and said: “Let me introduce you to my mother.”

“Hello, Auntie.” Xiang ChangKong was a little nervous, and the hand that presented a gift towards Mother Xu was stiff. “This is the first time we’re meeting. My name is Xiang ChangKong. This is a present for you, I hope you like it.”

Xu Lian’s mother visibly brightened when she saw Xiang ChangKong. Her first thought was this young man was quite tall. After giving him a careful once over, she found that he was also very handsome. Unexpectedly, he was also quite shy.

Mother Xu took the bag from Xiang ChangKong’s hand and smiled at him. “Thank you, you’re so polite.”

“It’s something I should be doing.” Xiang ChangKong replied with a smile.

“Come, sit first.” They all headed towards the sofa in the living room. Mother Xu took a quick glance at the slippers on his feet. She had noticed them when she first came into the house and figured Xu Lian had bought them for her father. Now though, she knows that they were for someone else.

Mother Xu looked at Xu Lian, then smiled at Xiang ChangKong. “Xiao Xiang, I bought a lot of stuff back with me from overseas. I’ll give you some, just wait a bit.”

(T/N: Xiao translates as ‘Little.’ Usually, a nickname adults make for children/younger people)

Mother Xu’s huge suitcase had already been dragged into Xu Lian’s bedroom in the few minutes she had been out. Mother Xu went into Xu Lian’s room, then came back out with a lot of things. She placed them on the sofa, then began talking about them: “This is a tapestry, that cashmere fabric over there is quite a famous brand- I bought several. Here you go. And these are pine nuts, Xu Lian’s father stuffed a lot in my suitcase, so you take some back to eat. Oh, and I heard from Xu Lian that you have a little sister? Take a look at these gadgets, is there anything your sister would like? This brand is also quite famous.”

Xiang ChangKong didn’t expect Xu Lian’s mother to be so warm and affable. He was even more embarrassed because of this. “Auntie, you’re too polite; Let’s leave these to Xu Lian.”

“She has plenty. Her father packed an entire box for me to bring. I think customs even thought that I bought all this on behalf of Xu Lian.”

Xiang ChangKong: “….”

“You take it, there’s a lot left in my room.” Xu Lian told Xiang ChangKong.

Seeing Mother Xu look so enthusiastic, Xiang ChangKong couldn’t refuse again. “Thank you.”

“No need to be so polite with me.” Mother Xu helped him put the items to the side, then sat down next to them. As soon as she sat down, she felt something hard under the sofa pillow. She looked to the side and put her hand underneath the pillow. “What did you put under the sofa pillow?” Mother Xu asked.

Xu Lian and Xiang ChangKong both looked at what she was holding, then fell silent. The Mother Xu saw what she was holding- a small red box. Although the words printed on it were in Japanese, she still understood what it was in a matter of seconds.

“……..”

So embarrassing.

Mother Xu slipped it back under the sofa, then turned towards the other two, as if it had never been taken out in the first place. “Well, why don’t we watch some TV.”

She took the remote control and turned on the TV. Regardless of the channel, she simply turned up the volume.

The news was currently being broadcasted. It was about accidental deaths and injuries in a certain country. The seriousness of the host alleviated some of the embarrassment in the room. Mother Xu coughed twice, then said: “Ah, the situation there is so chaotic, and yet people still want to travel there regardless. Aren’t they just burning their money?”

“Maybe they scheduled it ages ago, and it’s hard to cancel it now.” Xu Lian said.

“Ah, I wouldn’t go anyway. Sadly, when I’m abroad I hear these kinds of news reports every day.”

“Hm…”

And so, the three sat and talked about current affairs all afternoon.

At around 5:00 p.m.m Xu Lian asked a truly thought-provoking question: “Is anyone hungry? Why don’t I order some takeout?”

Xu Lian’s mother ate on the plane at noon. After talking about current affairs all afternoon, she was so hungry she felt that her chest was pasted on her back. “What’s delicious here?”

“We can order takeout from a restaurant in Starlight Park. They’re pretty good, but a little expensive.” Xu Lian replied.

After thinking about it, Xiang ChangKong asked her: “Have you finished all the ingredients you bought before?”

Xu Lian shook her head. Except for the ingredients used by Xiang ChangKong that one time, the only thing she had used was lettuce leaves.

“Then I’ll cook.” Xiang ChangKong said. “There should be plenty of ingredients left. And if we don’t use them soon, they’ll just go bad.”

As soon as Mother Xu heard this, she said: “No, no, you’re our guest. Let me do it.”

Xiang ChangKong smiled at her and said: “It doesn’t matter Auntie, I cook at home all the time. I’ll be very fast.”

He then took off his jacket and said to Xu Lian: “I’ll go cook first, you can continue to chat with Auntie.”

But Xu Lian stood up with him. “Let me help you.”

After thinking about it for a bit, Xiang ChangKong nodded. “Alright.”

After the two went into the kitchen, Xu Lian’s mother took out her phone and sent a message to Father Xu: I saw Xiao Xiang. The child is really good. He’s smart and grew to be a fine young man. And he can cook! I knew the dishes Xu Lian sent me last time weren’t made by her.

In the kitchen, Xiang ChangKong folded the sleeves of his sweater and opened the refrigerator to have a look. There were vegetables and meat left. It should be enough for dinner. He turned around and said to Xu Lian: “You can cook the rice while I’ll stir-fry some dishes.”

“Alright.” Xu Lian said. Then, as if remembering something, she turned around and took out an apron from a nearby cupboard. “Didn’t you say you wanted to use an apron last time? I went and bought one the next day, so come and try it on.”

“Un.” With a smile, Xiang ChangKong took the apron Xu Lian was holding and tied it around his waist. Xu Lian looked at him from the side, her expression making Xiang ChangKong nervous. He asked: “Why are you looking at me like that?”

Xu Lian continued staring at him, a smile in her bright eyes. “I always thought you were the conservative type. I didn’t expect you to wear such a low necked sweater, so flirty.”

“…” Xiang ChangKong was silent for half a minute before saying: “It’s too hot to wear a turtleneck.”

“I see.” Xu Lian replied, her smile widening. “It’s quite handsome, and a little sexy.” The neckline of Xiang ChangKong’s sweater was lower than his clavicle, outlining the defined lines. It was really sexy.

Xu Lian’s words made Xiang ChangKong subconsciously pull the neckline of his sweater a little higher. Xu Lian walked towards him, then went on her tiptoes to kiss him on the lips. Xiang ChangKong was surprised, but he didn’t push her away. He whispered to Xu Lian: “Don’t make trouble, Auntie is still outside.”

Xu Lian didn’t care. “She didn’t care about the little red box. What are you afraid of?”

Xiang ChangKong: “…”

Ah, and he tried so hard to forget that. Xiang ChangKong was very embarrassed. He meets Xu Lian’s mother for the very first time, and she ends up seeing that kind of thing. What must she be thinking?

Xu Lian knew what he was thinking and said: “Don’t worry. My mother is very avant-garde.” After all, if they can accept the idea of her never marrying, what’s a small red box?

“Yes, but…”

“Nevermind that, let’s just cook first.”

“Un.”

Xu Lian turned the faucet, then began cleaning the rice.

After a while, Xiang ChangKong called out to her: “Xu Lian.”

“Hm?”

“I signed up.”

Xu Lian paused. She turned around and looked at Xiang ChangKong. “The graduate student?”

“Yeah.” Xu Lian’s mother came and met him today. Although she didn’t ask him anything, Xiang ChangKong knew that she must be feeling uneasy. Xiang ChangKong could understand that. If one day Xiang Nuan brings a boyfriend back home, he would surely care about what this boy’s family environment was like, what his abilities were like, and whether he could take good care of Xiang Nuan.

Even if they hadn’t asked Xiang ChangKong, he should still try his best to make them feel at ease. After all, he couldn’t let Xu Lian live with a takeaway boy her entire life.

Xu Lian didn’t turn the water off until the rice pot was about to overflow. She smiled at Xiang ChangKong and said: “Congratulations.”

Xiang ChangKong laughed. “Congratulations? I just signed up, not take an exam.”

“You would definitely pass the exam.” Xu Lian said.

Xiang ChangKong lifted the corner of his mouth. “You’re that confident in me?”

“Of course. My mother praises you to high heaven. She compared you to me and acted like you were her child, not the other way around.”

Xiang ChangKong couldn’t help laughing at her words.

Meanwhile, by the kitchen door, Xu Lian’s mother opened the video app on her phone and quietly pointed the camera towards the kitchen. Xiang ChangKong noticed the movement, and Xu Lian followed his gaze. “Mum, what are you doing?”

“Nothing.” Mother Xu saw Xu Lian looking at her and immediately hid her phone behind her back. “Keep cooking, I won’t disturb you two.”

Mother Xu went back to the living room and sent the video she just took towards Father Xu. She then started talking about her future-son-in-law.

Xu Mama: See?

Xu Papa: That’s all? What can I see from a person’s back figure?

Mother Xu rolled her eyes.

Xu Mama: I thickened my face to sneak a few shots, and you still think they’re not enough? I don’t think I’ll tell you anything else when I come back.

Xu Lian resolutely turned her phone off, ignoring Father Xu’s explosion of messages.

Xiang ChangKong used all the meat and vegetables left in Xu Lian’s refrigerator to make three dishes and one soup. Xu Lian’s mother looked at the dishes on the table. She tasted the lettuce and fried pork slices, then looked at Xiang ChangKong in admiration. “Xiao Xiang’s skill is so good! Xu Lian, you should learn more from others.”

Xiang ChangKong said: “Xu Lian contributed a lot to these dishes; she learns very quickly.”

Xu Lian’s mother smiled. “You don’t need to speak for her, I know her level. I’ve tried teaching her for so long, and the only thing she could cook was noodles.”

“It’s just that I had a poor teacher.”

Mother Xu: “….”

After they finished eating, Xiang ChangKong stood up, planning to clean the dishes. But Mother Xu hurriedly stopped him. “Let me wash! You cooked, there’s no reason for you to wash up.”

Xu Lian also said: “Let us clean up.”

Xiang ChangKong thought about it and didn’t insist. “Alright. I’ll go back first then.”

Mother Xu looked at the time. “But it’s only 8:00 p.m.! Isn’t it too early?”

“Ah, I’ve been bothering you two for a long time already. Auntie, you’ve just come back. You must be tired. You and Xu Lian should rest earlier.”

Mother Xu thought that the young man in front of her was very considerate. “Well, alright. Remember to take all the things I gave you.”

“Yes, thank you Auntie.”

Xiang ChangKong went to the living room to put on his coat and took the gifts Mother Xu had given to him. Xu Lian came out of the kitchen and handed him the heat-preservation lunch box. “Here’s your lunchbox back; I’ve cleaned it.”

Taking the box, Xiang ChangKong smiled at her and said: “You don’t need to order takeout tomorrow. I’ll cook you another meal.”

Before Xu Lian could reply, Mother Xu exploded. “What? You bring her lunch? Oh, you mustn’t spoil her like that!”

Xiang ChangKong chuckled and told Mother Xu: “It doesn’t matter. I cook every day, so another portion isn’t a big deal.”

What else could Xu Lian say? She simply started pushing Xiang ChangKong towards the door. “I’m going down to see him off.”

After watching the two leave, Mother Xu opened her WeChat. She had anticipated the mass amounts of messages from Xu Lian’s father, and sure enough, there were dozens of them, all asking about Xiang ChangKong.

Xu Mama: You mean Xiao Xiang? I’m halfway falling in love with him already. (*´∀`*)

Xu Papa: …..

***

Sorry I’m late by a couple of hours. Time just ran away!