The afternoon classes quickly concluded.
Everyone rose from their seats, preparing to leave the classroom.
"Zhou Hong." At this moment, Qiao Xiaoyu proactively approached Zhou Hong and called out to him.
"Huh!" Zhou Hong couldn't help but be taken aback. Didn't Qiao Xiaoyu fear others discovering their relationship? Why was she now coming to his desk to call him?
The classmates also expressed confusion. Why was Qiao Xiaoyu actively approaching Zhou Hong to speak with him? What did she want?
Qin Mengxue was also slightly surprised.
"Is there something?" Zhou Hong asked indifferently, deliberately pretending not to know her. This was the first time he had spoken to her, and although he didn't know Qiao Xiaoyu's sudden approach and direct address, he decided it was best to continue the charade.
"You...!" Seeing Zhou Hong's cold demeanor, Qiao Xiaoyu was momentarily stunned. She had expected Zhou Hong to be over the moon and act like a sycophant if she approached him. But to her surprise, Zhou Hong was pretending not to know her.
"It's nothing." Qiao Xiaoyu snorted softly. She had originally intended to ask him to go home for dinner with her that evening. Seeing Zhou Hong's lack of enthusiasm, she lost the desire to say anything. It was as if Zhou Hong was even more afraid of their relationship being exposed than she was.
Qiao Xiaoyu turned and left with a hint of annoyance.
"Wait a moment." Zhou Hong called out again.
"What?"
"You're Qiao Xiaoyu, right? We don't know each other, we've never spoken, and we have no prior connection. You suddenly come up to me so familiarly and call me by name, what are you trying to do? Don't tell me you're interested in what I wrote in that love letter?" Zhou Hong asked with a grin.
"You, you're shameless!" Qiao Xiaoyu immediately cursed in anger and ran out of the classroom in tears.
The classmates were a bit bewildered by Zhou Hong's actions. If it were anyone else, a beautiful school belle approaching them would be cause for extreme happiness, showering her with affection. Yet, Zhou Hong had actually teased her.
"Heh heh." Zhou Hong gave a bitter smile. Seeing that he had made Qiao Xiaoyu cry in anger, he felt a pang of regret. If only he hadn't pretended not to know her and just called her 'wife.' He wouldn't have minded acting like a devoted admirer.
"Xiaoyu, why did you suddenly go up to talk to him?" Qin Mengxue asked quickly after leaving the classroom.
"I really regret it. I actually had a slightly better impression of him, so I wanted to ask him to go home for dinner together. I didn't expect him to tease me in front of everyone," Qiao Xiaoyu said indignantly.
"He probably wanted to get back at you. You were the one who said we couldn't expose our relationship before, and now you're actively revealing it. So he seized the opportunity for revenge."
"Yeah, yeah, this time I was foolish." Qiao Xiaoyu huffed angrily.
At this moment, Zhou Hong also left the classroom, planning to return to Tianhe Residential Area for the night.
Just then, Zhou Hong's phone rang. He looked at it and saw it was Qiao Wanli.
"Hello, Grandpa," Zhou Hong answered, smiling.
"Zhou Hong, you're done with school now, aren't you?"
"Yes, just finished."
"Go home with Xiaoyu. We'll all have dinner together tonight."
"Huh!" Zhou Hong was stunned. He finally understood that Qiao Xiaoyu's approaching him earlier was likely to invite him for dinner.
"What? Xiaoyu didn't tell you?"
"She did."
"That's good. Then come back in her car."
"Oh, okay."
Zhou Hong hung up with a wry smile and immediately quickened his pace towards the parking lot.
As expected, when he arrived at the parking lot, he saw Qiao Xiaoyu walking towards a red car, seemingly about to drive home.
"Xiaoyu, wait for me." Zhou Hong quickly ran over, opened the passenger door, and got in.
"Why are you getting in my car?" Qiao Xiaoyu said irritably.
"Haha, I'm sorry about earlier. I didn't realize you were asking me to come home for dinner. I thought you were trying to get closer to me, so I was sticking to our previous agreement: never expose our relationship in front of classmates."
"Hmph, I didn't know you had such a strong vengeful streak. Fine, from now on, whoever exposes us is a dog."
Zhou Hong was speechless.
"You weren't afraid of exposure just now when you came up to ask me home for dinner. Does that mean you're ready to acknowledge our relationship?" Zhou Hong quickly asked. If that were the case, he'd be at a huge disadvantage.
"You're overthinking it." Qiao Xiaoyu snorted.
"Haha, I thought so too. I'm already prepared to be a bachelor, so how could I get a wife so quickly?"
"Can you stop being so shameless? If you say any more of those shameless things, you're getting out and not riding in my car," Qiao Xiaoyu said, her face flushing slightly.
"Alright, alright, I won't say anything more."
Qiao Xiaoyu started the car and they left Jinzhou University.
About forty to fifty minutes later, they arrived at the Qiao family residence.
As Zhou Hong got out of the car, he looked at the villa, which was at least two thousand square meters, and couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.
"Zhou Hong." Qiao Wanli came out from inside, calling out to Zhou Hong enthusiastically.
"Grandpa."
"Come in quickly."
"Okay."
Upon entering the house, Zhou Hong also saw an old lady and a middle-aged couple.
"Let me introduce you, this is Xiaoyu's grandmother." Qiao Wanli quickly introduced the old lady.
"Hello, Grandma." Zhou Hong quickly greeted her.
"So you're Zhou Hong. You look quite good. If Xiaoyu has no objections, then I have no objections," the old lady said directly.
"Thank you, Grandma."
"Here, a little gift for you on our first meeting." The old lady took out a red envelope from her person and handed it to Zhou Hong.
Zhou Hong was deeply touched. He had expected the other members of Qiao Xiaoyu's family to object, but her grandmother had given him a gift upon their first meeting.
"Treat Xiaoyu well in the future, or Grandma won't let you off."
"Yes, Grandma, don't worry. Xiaoyu and I have a very good relationship," Zhou Hong quickly said with a smile. Qiao Xiaoyu, standing nearby, couldn't help but pout. She was still annoyed with Zhou Hong for saying in class, in front of everyone, that she was interested in his... whatever it was, which had made her lose face.
"Zhou Hong, these two are Xiaoyu's parents. This is Qiao Yannian, and this is Liu Liying." Qiao Wanli then introduced Qiao Xiaoyu's parents.
Zhou Hong looked at Qiao Xiaoyu's parents, his mouth opening, unsure how to address them.
"Zhou Hong, don't be nervous. Since you've been chosen, whether you're married or not, you're already a son-in-law. Here's a small gift for our first meeting." Qiao Xiaoyu's father smiled and also presented a gift – a car key.
"This!" Zhou Hong was a little surprised. He was being given a car on their first meeting. He had just been thinking about when he should buy a car.
"Zhou Hong, no need to be polite, take it." Qiao Wanli said with a smile.
"Then I'll thank you, Dad." Zhou Hong chuckled and accepted it without hesitation.