To Capture A Heart

Chapter 20

It was Xiaotang's turn to be nervous.

Shuxin's grandpa had been hell-bent on meeting Xiaotang for a while now. According to Shuxin, he said, "I have to meet the person who stole my little Xinxin's heart." Xiaotang was nervous about meeting Shuxin's grandpa, but Shuxin was having none of it.

"Zhao Xiaotang! I met your mother already! It's only fair if you meet my grandpa too!" Shuxin had angrily scolded her one day.

So, Xiaotang had to put on her big girl pants, buy lots of gifts for the in-laws, and rehearse random scenarios with Yuxin, Diamond, and Kiki to prepare herself.

"Zhao Xiaotang, you really are hopeless," Kiki had told her after she had stuttered after being bombarded with questions regarding marriage.

(Xiaotang actually considered changing her name and moving to another country last minute before meeting Shuxin's grandpa, but she won't be telling her girlfriend that.)

Xiaotang gulped when they arrived at the pearly front gates of the Yu residence. Her fingers kept absentmindedly drumming on the steering wheel. Cold sweat was beginning to form on her back and locusts were beginning to swarm in her stomach.

(So you know when you have a crush on someone and you have the butterflies in your stomach? Having locusts in your stomach is something similar but it happens when you're nervous or scared.)

"Tangtang, are you okay?" Shuxin tapped her in the shoulder.

"Huh?" Xiaotang snapped out of her thoughts and turned to her girlfriend.

"Are you okay, baobei? You look pale."

"Oh, ahaha! I always look this way. Come on, now. We don't want to make your grandfather wait, do we?"

Xiaotang got out of the car, opened the door for Shuxin, and helped her out. She then took out all of the presents from the backseat and closed the door with her foot.

"Baobei, let me carry some of these too," Shuxin tried to grab a few boxes from Xiaotang.

"It's okay, Xinxin. Chivalry ain't dead you know."

With that, Xiaotang wobbled ahead, almost completely submerged underneath the pile of gifts. Shuxin could only watch her girlfriend with much concern. Xiaotang kept throwing reassuring smiles towards her worried girlfriend's way.

"Young miss! Young miss!" the maids appeared out of nowhere. "Please, leave the presents to us! We'll carry them!"

Before Xiaotang could even open her mouth, a few of the maids had taken the gifts from her hands and scurried away.

"Where's grandpa?" Shuxin asked one of the maids.

"He's in the garden waiting for you, miss."

"Tell him we're coming."

The maid scurried away ahead of them. Shuxin and Xiaotang walked hand in hand, following her down a cobbled path and under the trees with low branches. And there he was, Shuxin's grandfather, dressed all spiffy and dapper while sipping on his afternoon tea.

"Grandpa!" Shuxin ran to him and engulfed him in a hug.

"Our Xinxin!" he smiled. "How have you been?"

"Better than ever, grandpa!" Shuxin said.

"And who is she?" Grandpa Yu gestured to Xiaotang.

"Hello, Mr. Yu. I am Zhao Xiaotang, Shuxin's one and only girlfriend. Please to meet you sir."

"Ah! So you are the Zhao Xiaotang my little Xinxin has been talking about nonstop! You know how it goes when she gets started on something."

"Grandpa!"