Chapter 141 - 140: Xiao Man’s Brother-in-Law

Chapter 141: Chapter 140: Xiao Man’s Brother-in-Law

After getting an earful from his mom, Jiang Xia returned to his room looking disgruntled, yet inwardly he felt a sense of relief.

He had been worried that his parents would be upset after finding out he’d been hit. He thought they might even confront the other party in a fit of anger. But that wasn’t the case at all; they thought he deserved it.

He couldn’t help but shake his head and chuckle. He sent his wifey a goodnight text, then took out his storyboards and started grinding again. Twelve episodes in two months—time was tight.

Although Li Weiya had promised to find him a couple of skilled professional artists, he still had to finish the storyboards himself.

In the next room, Jiang Wende was leaning against the bed reading a wuxia novel. When he saw Xia Shanshan push the door open and come in, he couldn’t help but ask, "So? Did he talk? What’s the situation?"

"He did," Xia Shanshan said, taking off her clothes and getting into bed. She couldn’t hold back a laugh. "Guess how he got those injuries on his face."

Jiang Wende closed his book, thought for a moment, then said, "He said he wasn’t in a fight, and I believe him. But he was hemming and hawing, refusing to say what happened, so I figure there’s more to the story."

"Mhm, and then?"

"Does it have to do with that little girlfriend of his?"

Xia Shanshan nodded. "Yep."

"Did our boy try to pull something funny and his girlfriend accidentally hit him?" Jiang Wende asked thoughtfully.

In his view, it was normal for couples to roughhouse a bit, so an accidental injury was plausible—she had just used a little too much force.

"Close, but you only got the first half right." Xia Shanshan chuckled. "Actually, it was Yanwan’s dad who hit him."

Hearing this, Jiang Wende sat up, his brow furrowed. ’A future father-in-law hitting his son-in-law, and not lightly either... It’s probably not as simple as just not liking the kid.’

"What exactly happened?"

"What else could it be? Your son is always running over to his girlfriend’s house, and the two of them are probably used to being all lovey-dovey. What happened was, Yanwan slipped and fell, and he instinctively caught her in an embrace. Right at that moment, Yanwan’s dad came home. It was the first time they’d met, and when her dad saw that scene, he thought his daughter was being taken advantage of. So, in a fit of rage, he beat up your son."

"Serves him right," Jiang Wende said without a moment’s hesitation.

Xia Shanshan raised an eyebrow slightly. "Your son got beaten up, and you’re not angry?"

"What’s there to be angry about? It’ll teach him a lesson. He’s always getting into some kind of mischief. If I were Yanwan’s dad, I’d have probably broken that little brat’s legs," he huffed.

"I was thinking the same thing."

Xia Shanshan nodded. "Young people these days aren’t like we were. They’re passionate, open, and have no reservations. I was always worried those two would get carried away and do something they shouldn’t, so it’s good for him to get a reality check. You have no idea—at my school, even third-graders are starting to date. The other day, two kids were secretly kissing, and the dean of students happened to walk in on them. He even had to call their parents in."

"Yeah, times are changing so fast. Back in our day, when we were in our twenties, we had to be sneaky just to hold hands. But our son? He’s got the nerve to go get all lovey-dovey in someone else’s house. If he doesn’t get a beating for that, when will he? I feel secondhand embarrassment just thinking about it."

Jiang Wende cringed. ’Back in the day, you’d be treated like a hoodlum for something like that. People would be talking behind your back, calling you shameless.’

"By the way, Old Jiang," Xia Shanshan said after a moment of thought, "don’t you think we should find some time to go over and apologize? Otherwise, if he can’t even get past her father, how is our boy supposed to keep dating Yanwan?"

"You’re right."

Jiang Wende tapped his fingers. "How about this: you’re Xiao Man’s homeroom teacher. You arrange a time for our two families to have a meal together."

"Okay. The parent-teacher conference is tomorrow, so it’s the perfect opportunity. I’ll talk to Xiao Man’s Mother then."

Jiang Wende suddenly turned off the bedside lamp and slid under the covers, wrapping his arms tightly around his wife’s waist.

"What are you doing—"

"Hehehe, shouldn’t we reminisce a little about our younger days?"

"Then keep it down. Our son is in the next room..."

In the darkness, Xia Shanshan let out a series of soft cries.

◇

The next morning, Jiang Xia woke up on his own.

He got up and looked in the mirror. The swelling on his face had completely gone down, though there was still some light bruising around his cheekbone. He figured it would be completely healed in another day or two.

He took out his phone to check his group chats, just as a call came in from his wifey.

"Are you still sleeping?"

"Just woke up," Jiang Xia said with a yawn. "What about you? Did you sleep well? Does your head still hurt?"

"Mhm, I took a shower and went straight to bed. I slept very soundly, and my head doesn’t hurt at all now."

Lin Yanwan pulled open the curtains, letting the morning sunlight stream in. She took a soft breath. "Is your face any better? Let’s do a video call so I can see."

"A video call? What year do you think this is?" Jiang Xia laughed. "But it is a lot better. It would probably heal even faster if you gave it a kiss later."

"In your dreams~"

Lin Yanwan’s face turned slightly red. ’This guy is always so cheeky,’ she thought. ’If I were to actually kiss him, I’d definitely kiss the other cheek. What if I hurt him?’

"By the way, did your parents ask about your face last night? Were they really angry?" She sounded a little nervous; the last thing she wanted was for this incident to cause a conflict between their families.

Jiang Xia sighed. "They asked. I told my mom the whole story, and I just got chewed out for it. She said I deserved it, that I couldn’t keep my hands to myself and brought it on myself."

Lin Yanwan giggled. "Well, it’s true. You can never be serious."

"Is it wrong for me to hug my wife!"

"Say that to my dad’s face if you’ve got the guts!"

Jiang Xia immediately chickened out. ’I’d have to have a death wish to try that.’

"Alright, I have to go. I’m going with my dad to Xiao Man’s parent-teacher conference soon. Are you going?"

Jiang Xia hesitated. He had originally planned to spend the whole day at home drawing storyboards, but since his future father-in-law was going, losing a little time was no big deal. He could just grind to make up for it tonight.

"I’ll go," he said.

"Okay, see you at school later then."

"Yep, see you at school. Baby, give me a kiss~"

"Oh, get outta here~"

Lin Yanwan glanced at her bedroom door, blew a soft "MWAH" into the phone, and hung up at the speed of light.

Jiang Xia chuckled, then pushed open his door and walked out of his bedroom. His mom was in the kitchen making breakfast, while his dad was on the balcony practicing a simplified form of Tai Chi.

"Mom, can I have noodles too? Just a small bowl, but with extra vegetables," he said while brushing his teeth.

Hearing him, Xia Shanshan turned to look at her son and teased, "Well, look who’s up so early. I guess those two punches from your future father-in-law weren’t for nothing."

Jiang Xia’s eye twitched. ’What does getting beaten up have to do with waking up early?’ he wondered. ’Is this really my mother?’

"Mom, are you going to the parent-teacher conference for your students today?"

"How did you know?" Xia Shanshan asked, a little surprised.

Jiang Xia took a mouthful of water, tilted his head back to gargle, then spat all the foam out.

"Your daughter-in-law told me. My father-in-law is going too, so I’m going too."

"Aren’t you afraid of getting hit again?"

"Does your son look like the kind of person who gives up after a little hardship?"

Jiang Xia said smugly, "Not only am I going today, I’m going in my official capacity as Xiao Man’s brother-in-law."

...

(My laptop broke today, so I wrote this Chapter on my phone. I’ll get it fixed tomorrow.)