From outside the community compound, the sounds of cars honking on the street rose up one after another and sounded terribly impatient. Likely, there was traffic congestion again. But it was smack in the middle of the day. Why in the world was it congested? …
“Be good. Let’s stop the joking now.” He patted her lightly.
When Jian Bianlin first caught sight of his dad, he had been taken aback as well and had hesitated over whether or not he should arbitrarily say something to brush over the situation and prevent his dad from relentlessly interrogating them. However, this little interlude from Chu Jian had left him ridiculously amused…
Chu Jian very clearly understood that her little antic was even more daft than burying her own head in the sand. Hiding her head in the crook of his neck, she protested, “Don’t expose my fib right in front of your dad… Now what do we do?”
“What do you mean ‘what do we do’?”
“I don’t even dare look at your dad right now.” This was actually the important point.
“If you’re embarrassed, then just don’t look at him. He likes you the most anyway.”
She shook her head disconsolately.
Through the half-open window, Jian Bianlin exchanged a look with his dad. The meaning of it: That’s right. From now on, Chu Jian is your daughter-in-law.
Right then, Jian Bianlin’s dad had been musing, what was up with those two kids that they were hugging each other back and forth? Was Chu Jian embarrassed because they had been caught on the spot? Should he just back away and leave them alone? … When he saw the signal from his son, though, it was instantly as if he had swallowed a pill that could soothe his mind. Good son! You didn’t let me down!
He sent another signal to his dad with his eyes. The meaning of that one: She’s embarrassed. At least give her a face-saving way to get out of this.
The wrinkles at the corners of Jian Bianlin’s dad’s eyes were spilling over with joy that came after a surprise. Catching the unspoken message, he beamed delightedly as he swept his eyes over Chu Jian, who was still burying her head on Jian Bianlin’s shoulder and unwilling to bring it back up. Purposely putting on the airs of a parent, he said, “You two kids are being so thoughtless.” He heaved a fake sigh. “Don’t be in a hurry to go. Come upstairs and chat for a bit.”
After saying this, he was unable to conceal the smile that was lighting up his entire face, and with his hands behind his back, he strolled into the entrance of the apartment building.
As a result, Chu Jian had no choice but to get out of the car and walk mindlessly in step with Jian Bianlin as they trailed after his dad to step through the building door and into the elevator again. She was standing half a step back from Jian Bianlin, and after the elevator door slid open, she grabbed the corner of his down parka, staring at him with a long, gloomy face.
He, in contrast, was unperturbed.
Once they had all stepped back in through the apartment door and Chu Jian’s parents had listened to Jian Bianlin’s dad, in a few words, share the happy news with them, her dad and mom turned their surprised gazes on Chu Jian. The three parents had not expected this sudden news, which turned out to be the absolute best of outcomes. Their years of friendship had transformed, and now they were practically relatives by marriage. The three sat down in a row on the sofa, delighted grins on their faces as they looked at the two people who were still standing.
Chu Jian’s back was leaning against the fish tank. She pressed her lips together, relaxed them again, then glanced at Jian Bianlin…
The families simply knew each other too well, inside and out. Chu Jian’s mom discovered that the preparation work she had once done ahead of time—such as liberally allowing herself to think through the scenario of the first meeting with her future son-in-law and how she would interrogate him, from his family background to his highest education level, or even researching and making connections in order to be ready to verify whether any university certificate of graduation was falsified—was… all useless.
