Chapter 97: Chapter 94: Is It for Looking, Eating, or Playing? (Part 2)
Su’s mother, who had just finished bathing, came out and saw Yin Shixiu. She was stunned for a moment and then asked, "Why are you here at this hour?"
"Well, it was busy over in Beijing, and the flight was delayed by more than an hour."
Su’s mother glanced at Yin Shixiu and said blandly, "Do your parents know you’re coming to Chengdu for the New Year? They didn’t object?"
"Auntie, you don’t need to worry about that. I was supposed to come back with Xiaomeng together, but honestly—"
"Don’t give me that nonsense. Have you eaten?"
Su’s mother asked coldly.
"Not yet..."
Su’s mother frowned and glared at him, "Don’t think you’re young and neglect your health!"
"Mom, Uncle’s not that young anymore!"
Su Xiaomeng suddenly chimed in, only to be glared back at by Su’s mother.
"I’ll cook you some noodles. Go sit down."
"Thank you, Auntie."
Yin Shixiu and Su Xiaomeng sat next to Su Chengji, who had already unwrapped the gift. A flawless, translucent set of white jade chess was neatly placed in the box.
While waiting for the water to boil, Su’s mother came out for a look and then heard her husband sigh in wonder, "How come these pebbles are so beautiful? Smooth and translucent... the material is really nice."
At that moment, Su’s mother wanted to smack Su Chengji on the head with the spatula in her hand!
Pebbles?!
This is first-rate white jade! Is he an idiot?
"I don’t know, I just thought the chess set looked very exquisite and figured you would like it, so I bought it for you to enjoy."
Su’s mother subconsciously glanced at Yin Shixiu.
Yin Shixiu looked up, unintentionally meeting Su’s mother’s gaze. As Su’s mother quickly averted her eyes, Yin Shixiu placed another gift bag on the coffee table, "Auntie, this one’s for you!"
"I’ll cook your noodles first."
With that, she went back into the kitchen. In truth, Su’s mother was itching with curiosity, dying to know what was in that gift bag!
Seeing both her parents received gifts, Su Xiaomeng eagerly turned to Yin Shixiu, grinning, and reached out, "Uncle, what about me? What about me?"
"I... don’t have anything?!"
Su Xiaomeng stared at Yin Shixiu in shock, seeing no acknowledgment from him, just watching her quietly...
Her heart was a bit crushed.
"What kind of gift do you want!" Su Chengji, while stroking his beloved chess set, cheerfully said, "With Xiao Yin coming, isn’t that the biggest gift for you?"
Su Xiaomeng frowned, unwilling to agree with this sentiment, and grumbled resentfully, "What’s the use of him? Can he be eaten, looked at, or played with?"
After speaking, she stomped back to her room in a bit of a huff.
Su Chengji chuckled, "Aren’t you going to console her?"
"Oh, right."
Yin Shixiu stood up and followed her into the room, seeing Su Xiaomeng with her arms crossed, displeased.
He came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her, murmuring, "It all depends... on whether you want to look, eat, or play..."
What kind of teasing tone is that?
Su Xiaomeng turned around, ready to give Yin Shixiu a piece of her mind, but unexpectedly, Yin Shixiu seemed prepared and lowered his head to capture her still-unopened lips in a kiss.
She stared wide-eyed into Yin Shixiu’s inky black pupils.
Those eyes, up close like this, seemed like a landscape painting, distant and deep, with no end in sight.
His eyes held a smile, a genuine, heartwarming smile that was captivating.
Su Xiaomeng blushed, reluctantly pulling away.
"See, isn’t this something you can enjoy?" he asked with a smile.
Su Xiaomeng glared at him, "So improper!"
Yin Shixiu contentedly pulled her into his embrace, "Girl, I really missed you."
Su Xiaomeng inhaled his scent, feeling so at ease and comfortable.
These past three days at home, in the most familiar room, in the most familiar bed, she still couldn’t sleep soundly, partly because she was pregnant, and the other half...
She thought, was because Yin Shixiu wasn’t by her side.
This was truly troublesome.
"Knock, knock!"
The sound of knocking startled Su Xiaomeng, and she jumped out of Yin Shixiu’s arms like a frightened rabbit.
She instinctively tidied her clothes and opened the door.
Su’s mother glanced at Su Xiaomeng’s flushed face, frowned slightly, glanced at Yin Shixiu, and said coldly, "Come out for noodles."
In the living room, Yin Shixiu saw that Su Chengji had already set up the chessboard and the pieces.
"Xiao Yin, eat quickly, and we’ll play a game afterward."
"It’s so late, and you still want to play? Put away the chess and go to bed early."
Su’s mother said, then sat down nearby, casually unwrapping her gift bag, peeking inside, raising an eyebrow, and then casually setting it aside.
"Mom, what’s in there?"
As Yin Shixiu ate at the table, Su Xiaomeng hurried over to her mother’s side, asking curiously.
Before she could answer, Yin Shixiu spoke first, "It’s just a few sets of skincare products, I was in a rush this time and didn’t plan well enough, next time I’ll make sure to prepare properly."
Su’s mother glanced at Yin Shixiu again, "No matter how many things you bring us, nothing makes us happier than you sincerely treating Meng Meng well."
"I understand."
Su Xiaomeng leaned against her mom, raising her eyebrows at Yin Shixiu as if to say, "Did you hear that? You need to treat me well!"
"How are the noodles? I didn’t put any chili since I wasn’t sure about your taste."
"They’re delicious."
Su’s mother’s face showed little expression, but in her heart... she felt quite satisfied.
She was more aware than Xiaomeng and Su Chengji that a century-old family like the Yin Family, with its deep-rooted traditions and rigid family rules, held these traditional festivals in high regard.
Today is the first day of the New Year, it’s considerate of him to rush from Beijing to here.
It’s almost midnight, and Su’s mother also felt a bit tired. She looked at Su Chengji, who was still full of energy, enthusiastically fiddling with the new chess set.
"The kids came over so late, they’re tired. Let’s play tomorrow."
Su’s mother said.
Su Chengji thought about it for a while, indeed...
"Then Xiao Yin, after you finish eating you should—"
Before Su’s father could finish speaking, the chess piece in his hand slipped, dropping to the ground with a "clank"!
He quickly reached out to pick it up, but was startled by Su’s mother’s sudden and almost shrill voice, "Su Chengji! Can you be more careful?! Polio, huh?! Can’t even hold a chess piece steady?!"
Three pairs of eyes simultaneously looked at the suddenly furious Su’s mother.
Among them, Su Xiaomeng and Su’s father were completely baffled...
Was there really a need to be so angry over a chess piece falling to the ground?
"Aren’t you going to pick it up?!"
"...Oh, oh!"
Su Chengji was so bewildered inside, hurriedly picking up the stone, blowing on it, giving it a quick wipe, and placing it back on the chessboard.
Seeing that the jade was not damaged, Su’s mother’s heart finally returned to its place. Coming back to her senses, she realized she might have overreacted a bit.
Clearing her throat, she awkwardly said, "This... Yin Shixiu just gave it to us, don’t be careless with it..."
"Oh, oh..."
Su Chengji blinked, still somewhat... confused.
Su Xiaomeng scratched her head; it was just a pebble, why was mom so worked up, making her think it was something like white jade!
Su Chengji didn’t wait to play chess with Yin Shixiu; instead, he went back to the room with Su’s mother to sleep.
After Yin Shixiu finished his noodles and washed the bowl, he re-entered Su Xiaomeng’s room.
Su Xiaomeng had already taken out his belongings from the suitcase and organized them a bit.
He took his pajamas and went into the bathroom.
After showering, Su Xiaomeng was leaning against the bed with her eyes closed.
He climbed into bed from the other side, turned off the bedside lamp, and before he could reach out to embrace Su Xiaomeng, Su Xiaomeng turned around and snuggled into his arms on her own.
"Uncle..."
"...Why aren’t you asleep yet?"
"My belly is sticking out, it’s uncomfortable to sleep, and sleeping isn’t comfortable either."
Su Xiaomeng mumbled without any hint of complaint, just a simple statement, making Yin Shixiu feel a pang of heartache.
He kissed her forehead.
"You’ve had a hard time, girl."
"Mmm... Mom said, this is just the beginning..."
Yin Shixiu patted her hair, whispering softly in her ear, "Don’t be afraid, I’ll always be with you."
"Uncle..."
"Hm?"
"Why... did you just come over like that? Do Mr. and Mrs. Yin know you’re at my house? Do they allow you to come? Meng Meng said... your family has a big gathering, all the old and young must be there, a lot of rules..."
Su Xiaomeng asked quietly, pressing against his chest.
"Why so many questions? Are you unhappy I’m here?"
Su Xiaomeng shook her head, "I’m happy..."
"That’s fine then, my trip was worth it."
"...But I don’t want to make things difficult for you."
"It’s not difficult."
If spending the New Year with her is difficult, then how would they continue down the road ahead?
Su Xiaomeng took a deep breath, a sweet smile curling up at the corner of her mouth.
"Then when will you go back?"
"Your birthday is on the fourteenth of the lunar new year, which falls on a Monday. We’ll go get the marriage certificate then, and on the fifteenth, come back to the Yin Family with me."
Su Xiaomeng opened her eyes, knowing that what must come would come...
"...Oh, okay."
Yin Shixiu slightly lowered his head, and his thin lips intentionally or unintentionally brushed against Su Xiaomeng’s ear, sending warmth into her ear purposefully...
Su Xiaomeng, tickled, snuggled deeper into Yin Shixiu’s embrace, almost disappearing entirely.
Yin Shixiu smirked, continuing to tease...
"Ah! Uncle, are you going to let me sleep or not!"
Su Xiaomeng finally couldn’t take it anymore, she protested indignantly!
In the darkness, she met Yin Shixiu’s eyes, which seemed to glow like a wolf’s, with a green light!
Su Xiaomeng thought she must be seeing things but couldn’t help shivering!
"Girl..."
His voice suddenly turned husky.
Then, Su Xiaomeng felt a chill down her spine, and her heart slowly sank.
Yin Shixiu knew she sensed it, "Meng—"
"I’m not doing it! I’m so tired, I want to sleep!"
Su Xiaomeng quickly interrupted decisively as Yin Shixiu spoke, showing her stance, and turned her back firmly!
Yin Shixiu wasn’t in a hurry at all; he just continued holding her, brushing his lips against the back of her neck.
"Uncle! Is that all that’s left in your head?!"
Su Xiaomeng was really exasperated and turned back, glaring at him seriously, "I’m seriously suspecting you came all the way from Beijing just to sleep with me!"