Chapter 138 - 137: It Turns Out the Mother-in-law Understands the Son-in-law Best

Chapter 138: Chapter 137: It Turns Out the Mother-in-law Understands the Son-in-law Best

Jiang Xia watched the ship recede into the distance. He heard a faint murmur and looked down at his wife leaning against his chest, her voice unclear.

"Sweetheart, what did you say?"

Lin Yanwan didn’t answer. With her eyes lightly closed and her breathing growing even, she had somehow fallen asleep in his arms in an instant.

He tightened the arm wrapped around her, his palm slowly stroking her back. His heart filled with peace, and he couldn’t help but think of the past.

After they got married, they had planned to climb a mountain and watch the sunrise. But Lin Yanwan, exhausted just like now, had fallen fast asleep in his arms. His heart ached for her, so he didn’t wake her, instead capturing the entire sunrise with his camera.

But now, he couldn’t just sit by the river and watch the sunrise like he had that day.

He glanced at the time—it was already past nine p.m. If they got back too late, her father would probably lose his mind.

He planted a deep kiss on his wife’s forehead. After adjusting his grip—one arm under her shoulders and the other behind her knees—he took a deep breath and lifted Lin Yanwan into his arms.

He then flagged down a taxi on the street and headed straight for Brocade Splendor City.

In the car, Jiang Xia held onto his wife’s soft body, watching the hotels fly past the window. The wild suggestion he’d made in a moment of passion earlier now seemed like a distant thought.

He stroked his wife’s silky hair, mentally rehearsing how he would explain the situation to her father. ’I might even get punched again,’ he thought.

Over ten minutes later, the taxi stopped outside the community gates. Jiang Xia took out his wife’s phone and hesitated, unsure whether to call his mother-in-law or his father-in-law.

’Calling her mother would definitely be safer. With her father, there’s a chance I’ll get punched. But... it’s also a chance to clear up the misunderstanding.’

After some careful thought, he pressed the call button.

◇

At home, Lin Gaoyuan was pacing back and forth in the living room, his mind heavy with worry. Ji Wanqiu, however, sat calmly on the sofa watching TV, not the least bit anxious.

"Wanqiu, our daughter isn’t back yet," Lin Gaoyuan said, letting out a soft sigh, his eyes betraying his anxiety.

Ji Wanqiu glanced up at the clock and pursed her lips. "Back in the day, Yanwan wouldn’t even be out of her evening study hall by now, and I don’t recall you being this worked up."

"But today’s different." Lin Gaoyuan’s expression stiffened. "I hit that kid. I admit I was wrong, but you can never truly know what’s in someone’s heart. How can I be sure he won’t take his anger out on Yanwan?"

Hearing this, Ji Wanqiu’s eyelid twitched. When she first heard from Xiao Man that her husband had hit Jiang Xia, she had been utterly dumbfounded.

A son-in-law and a father-in-law getting into a physical altercation during their very first meeting—it sounded too absurd to be true.

Although the circumstances were urgent and his actions were somewhat understandable, even she, his wife, felt Lin Gaoyuan’s temper had gotten the better of him.

’That boy, Jiang Xia, is so well-behaved, sensible, and polite. How could he possibly act so inappropriately in our home? True, he was on top of our daughter at the time, but even if he had all the nerve in the world, he wouldn’t dare try anything out in the open. At the very least, he would have taken her to a room, locked the door, and kept it a secret from everyone.’

"So you realize that now," Ji Wanqiu said irritably. "Yanwan was trying to stop you. If you had just calmed down and listened to her explanation, things wouldn’t have escalated this far."

"Yes, yes, I know. But it was my first time seeing the kid, right? My first instinct was that we had an intruder. My second was that my daughter was being taken advantage of. I didn’t care who he was; he was going to end up on the floor."

Lin Gaoyuan gave a bitter smile. "Tell me, as a father, what else could I have possibly been thinking at a time like that?"

"Forget it."

Ji Wanqiu sighed. If she had been there, knowing what Jiang Xia was really like, the whole incident would have probably just turned into a funny story. But Lin Gaoyuan didn’t know the first thing about him; he was simply doing his duty as a father. She had no reason to blame him.

’Still, the fact remains that Jiang Xia was injured,’ she thought. ’We’ll have to find time tomorrow to properly apologize to him.’

’Otherwise, if the two of them do end up together, life will be a huge headache with a father-in-law and son-in-law who hold a grudge and can’t stand the sight of each other.’

"Alright, stop worrying. Jiang Xia dotes on Yanwan even more than you do; he’ll bring her home soon. Besides, if you hadn’t landed two punches on him, our daughter probably would have been home ages ago. As it is, she has to stay and comfort her boyfriend to make amends on behalf of her father, don’t you think?"

Ji Wanqiu shot him a look. "Now, could you please move? You’re blocking the TV."

The words had barely left her mouth when the phone in Lin Gaoyuan’s pocket began to ring.

He pulled out his phone. The caller ID showed it was his daughter.

"It’s Yanwan!" he exclaimed, quickly answering the call.

"Hello, is this Uncle Lin?"

A man’s voice came through the phone, though his tone was respectful.

Lin Gaoyuan frowned. He recognized the kid’s voice immediately. ’But why is Jiang Xia calling me from our daughter’s phone?’

"Yes, this is he."

Lin Gaoyuan glanced at his wife. Prompted by her look, he pursed his lips and said slowly, "You’re Jiang Xia, right? Is my daughter, Yanwan, with you?"

Standing at the gate to the complex, Jiang Xia finally felt the knot in his stomach loosen. If his father-in-law had answered the phone cursing, he would have hung up without hesitation and called his mother-in-law instead.

But from the sound of it, they could continue this conversation civilly.

"Yes, Uncle Lin, it’s Jiang Xia. There was a class reunion tonight, and Yanwan had a little to drink. She’s a bit tipsy now, so I brought her home. We’re just downstairs."

Hearing the conversation, Ji Wanqiu smiled to herself. ’See? I was right again,’ she thought. ’They don’t say a mother-in-law knows her son-in-law best for nothing.’

"Downstairs, right? Okay! I’ll... I’ll come down and get her."

Lin Gaoyuan hastily hung up and rushed toward the door, but Ji Wanqiu quickly stopped him. "Hey, hey, what’s the rush? It’s not like Yanwan is going to run off. Wait for me. I’ll go with you."

She added in a hushed voice, "Just in case you see Yanwan in Jiang Xia’s arms and can’t stop yourself from punching him again."

"..."

Lin Gaoyuan was left speechless. ’In all our years of marriage, I can count the number of times I’ve lost my temper on one hand. Why is she suddenly treating me like some kind of violent brute?’

The couple put on their shoes by the door, but Lin Gaoyuan suddenly took his off again.

"Wanqiu, maybe you should be the one to go get Yanwan. After all, I did just punch the kid. It’ll be a bit awkward to see him right now."

"Do you think Jiang Xia is like you? That boy is good-natured. Let me put it this way: if he didn’t want to see you, or was afraid to, he would have called my phone directly. He’s giving you a way to save face. Don’t you get it?"

Giving him no chance to retreat, Ji Wanqiu shut the door and pulled him toward the stairs.

’Misunderstandings like this have to be cleared up in person,’ she thought. ’Otherwise, if you let a grudge fester for too long, it will only grow worse.’