"Hello." Zhang Luan smiled faintly.
"Hello, hello. Eh? Why did you bring so many things? You're still a kid. Our family doesn't care about all that formality." The old woman furrowed her brows and came over to help carry the items, but Xiao Yu dodged her hand. "Don't bother, they're quite heavy."
"Then just put them on the floor. Look, your hands are all red from the straps."
"Okay."
The old woman smiled warmly. This young man was tall and long-legged, and what he bought was good—he had excellent taste. But a person couldn't be judged on just those two points; the most important thing was his character.
The old woman led Xiao Yu to the living room to sit. Ye Qingli came in last, holding her bouquet. Zhang Luan had seen that bouquet from upstairs, but it had been too far away to gauge the size. Now up close, she realized it was actually this huge.
Ye Qingli held the bouquet up to Zhang Luan and asked smugly, "Mom, what do you think of these flowers? Pretty, right?"
The petals almost poked Zhang Luan's eye. She raised her hand and stepped back to avoid them. "A bouquet of flowers can buy you off? Can't you have a little more self-respect?"
"What does that have to do with self-respect? I asked if they're pretty."
"They're okay."
"Whether they're okay or not, they were bought for me." She spoke in a drawl, showing off as obviously as possible.
"..." Unbearable. Zhang Luan rolled her eyes and headed back to the living room. She couldn't bring herself to be as cold as her own mother had been to her boyfriend back in the day. She had to at least go over and say a few perfunctory words.
But when she got there, she found that the old woman had completely shed her former self. Sunlight slanted in through the window, shining on her silver hair. Her wrinkled face was constantly smiling. Apart from her pupils being a bit yellowed and cloudy, she was in high spirits.
She didn't know what they had talked about, but this kid had managed to charm the old woman in such a short time—even making her happier than when spending time with her.
It was the same with Ye Yaohui. Zhang Luan couldn't tell if he was getting along with Xiao Yu just because he felt sorry for him. Instead, every smile and gesture seemed genuine, radiating from the inside out.
He really did have some skills.
There was a small sofa nearby. Zhang Luan was about to walk over and sit down when Xiao Yu called out, "Auntie, why don't you sit here? I'll go over there."
Zhang Luan paused. "What's the point of switching seats? Isn't it all the same?"
"You're the lady of the house. You should sit in the middle."
With just that one simple sentence, Zhang Luan suddenly felt herself almost ready to surrender as well.
Polite, tactful, pleasant to listen to.
The corners of her mouth lifted slightly, but she quickly suppressed them, returning to her usual expression—not too warm, not too cold. She waved her hand. "Our family doesn't have so many rules. Just sit wherever you were."
Everyone said the same thing.
And it was precisely this kind of family that made it hardest to get through.
Xiao Yu nodded and sat back down, surrounded by the three of them as they questioned him. Since Ye Qingli had already told them about his family situation beforehand—and poking at someone's sore spots was most detestable—they tacitly avoided that topic. They only asked trivial questions, more like casual chat.
And Ye Qingli wasn't participating at all. She sat not far away, dismantling the bouquet. She took out all the Roselle stems, trimmed the roots according to online advice, and found a measuring cup from the kitchen to pour water, careful not to add too much or too little and affect the flowers' lifespan.
Busy as she was, she had completely forgotten her promise to Xiao Yu.
Meanwhile, Xiao Yu had already started kneading his thighs. He had grown up with Xiao Qu and Liu Jie rarely taking him out to meet people. No one had taught him this kind of thing, so he wasn't someone who could sit calmly with elders and chat freely. He had almost used up all the tips he'd looked up last night, and now his face was full of awkwardness.
Fortunately, they were gentle enough, keeping the conversation going. The old woman smiled at him the whole time, her eyes filled with satisfaction and admiration.
Finally, it was time to cook. Zhang Luan looked at the clock on the wall, pushed herself up from the sofa, and said, "You two chat. I'll go to the kitchen and wash the vegetables I bought, get ready for the New Year's Eve dinner."
"I'll help you out," Xiao Yu said, also standing up.
"No need, no need. Your uncle and I can handle these dishes." Zhang Luan tied her apron and headed for the kitchen, then turned back. "Hey, Xiao Yu, do you have any dietary restrictions?"
The old woman on the sofa was taken aback. She understood her daughter's style. If she was asking that question, it meant she had probably already accepted him.
A flicker of light passed through Xiao Yu's eyes, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth. "No restrictions. I can eat anything."
As he spoke, he moved toward the kitchen, but before he could step inside, Ye Yaohui pushed him out. Pointing to the room at the end of the hall, he said to Ye Qingli, "Don't just focus on your flowers. Go tidy up your boyfriend's room."
Ye Qingli raised her head, rubbing her sore neck, a blank look on her face. "Huh? You're done chatting?"
"..." Ye Yaohui was a little speechless. "What kind of girlfriend are you? You don't even know when your boyfriend has run away."
"... It's not as serious as you say..." Ye Qingli pouted, inadvertently meeting Xiao Yu's eyes. Only then did she remember her promise. She pulled his suitcase over and cleared her throat nervously. "Ah, well, I'll go fix up the room for you."
Seeing the two go into the room and close the door, the old woman also turned to help in the kitchen. At her age, standing for long periods was tough. Ye Yaohui tried to get her to go sit down, but she flatly refused.
"Don't I have to cook my own meals at home?"
"That's different. Now that the two of us are here, right?"
Ye Yaohui had always been pleasant to talk to, very considerate of everyone. That was exactly why she had resolutely agreed to let him marry Zhang Luan back then.
Now the same applied to Xiao Yu. She liked sensible children. She had always felt that living with someone like that couldn't go wrong.
The old woman smiled and insisted on helping. "It's okay. I'll just do this and that. If these old bones don't move, they'll only get worse."
With that, Ye Yaohui stopped trying to stop her. He took out the two bags of vegetables and put them on the floor to sort. In the middle of it, he went to the bathroom. The old woman glanced back, heard the door close, then looked at Zhang Luan. Her eyes held an unreadable emotion.
"Mom, just say whatever it is," Zhang Luan said, head bowed, hands not stopping.
The old woman put down the vegetable she was holding and sighed. "Ah, I don't know why, but I feel uneasy. That kid looks pretty sunny, but no matter how I look at him, I find him pitiful. He's so humble and overly sensible. His parents really have cruel hearts, I'd say."
She paused, then reached out with a clean finger and tapped Zhang Luan's forehead. "As for you, I couldn't say this earlier when the kid was around. Don't always pull a long face. Even I feel creeped out for him."
Zhang Luan thought back. "Didn't my expression improve later?"
"But it still wasn't much better. You looked like someone owed you money."