Chapter 156 - 154: Home Is Where the Wife Is

Chapter 156: Chapter 154: Home Is Where the Wife Is

Lin Yanwan’s face flushed slightly.

’What is he doing, saying all that in front of someone else?’

’The woman he has to marry? I haven’t even agreed to marry him yet!’

Zhou Lu paused for a moment, then smiled. "A talented man and a beautiful woman. You two are a perfect match."

Jiang Xia grinned. "Chief Zhou, you haven’t eaten yet, have you? Would you like to try our local specialty, grilled fish?"

"No, no, I can’t. There’s still a lot to do back at the station. I need to hurry back and handle it," Zhou Lu said, shaking her head with a wry smile.

"Sounds like being a TV editor is exhausting," Jiang Xia teased.

"You have no idea. It’s just one chaotic thing after another, every single day."

The couple watched Zhou Lu get into a Santana and drive away. Lin Yanwan gave Jiang Xia’s muscle a hard pinch, but it was so firm she couldn’t make a dent, so she went for a more... sensitive area.

When she found it was just as unpinchable, she let go in a fluster. Her face bright red, she glanced around, afraid someone might have seen her.

"That’s for spouting nonsense, that’s for spouting nonsense, that’s for spouting nonsense."

"Wanting to marry you is spouting nonsense?"

Lin Yanwan huffed softly. "Well, you can be the one to think about it for now."

As a woman, she was a bit more sentimental than Jiang Xia. Their relationship had practically returned to what it once was, but what if they got married only to slowly drift toward divorce again?

There would be no point in getting married then. It was better to stay like this, just dating. It was so much better without anything to worry about.

Jiang Xia chuckled. "This is a two-person matter. It won’t work if I’m the only one thinking about it."

"Then we’ll talk about it when the time is right to get married!"

Lin Yanwan’s tone was firm. ’Promises without any guarantees are useless. It’s so much better to live happily in the present; why must we think about unhappy things?’

"Fine," Jiang Xia grunted stubbornly. "Anyway, once you turn twenty-two, I’m dragging you to the courthouse."

"That’s only if I want to marry you!"

Lin Yanwan stuck her tongue out playfully and then bolted.

"Where are you going?"

"Home!"

So, Jiang Xia quickly followed her.

"Why are you following me? Your home is that way."

"Your home is my home. Home is wherever my darling is."

"Shameless!"

◇

The two bought groceries and returned home hand in hand. When they opened the door, they were startled to find her mother and father at home. They weren’t cooking or watching TV, and the atmosphere felt a little oppressive.

Jiang Xia glanced at Lin Yanwan, his eyes flickering. "How come you didn’t say your parents were home?"

"I didn’t know either!" Lin Yanwan pouted.

She changed her shoes, walked inside, and pursed her lips. "Dad, Mom, how come you’re back so early today?"

Seeing his daughter, a stiff smile appeared on Lin Gaoyuan’s face. "Just wanted to rest a bit today."

Hearing this, it was as clear as day to Jiang Xia. ’They probably couldn’t get any orders, so the factory couldn’t operate. In that situation, what else could they do but close up shop and come home to rest?’

Lin Yanwan, of course, also understood the unspoken meaning. She placed the groceries on the table, her tone as normal as ever.

"That’s how it should be. If you’re tired, you should rest well. Don’t force yourselves. You can never earn all the money in the world."

Lin Gaoyuan fell silent. In truth, he really wanted to tell his daughter that during this time, he had exhausted nearly every connection he had and borrowed almost all the money he could, but it still wasn’t enough to get the factory out of its predicament.

He had also considered pivoting to something else, like making furniture or molds, but changing the production line would also require a huge sum of money.

In this race, Lin Gaoyuan was on the verge of being crushed. All he could do now was hang on for dear life.

Ji Wanqiu sighed. Not wanting to burden her daughter with these troubles, she stood up and saw Jiang Xia at the door. "Xiao Xia, you’re here too. Come in, come in."

"Hello, Aunt Ji," Jiang Xia said politely.

He changed his shoes and entered the house. He also greeted his father-in-law before sitting on the sofa to one side, feeling a bit restless. Xiao Yuyuan, however, was happy to see him, climbing out of its cat bed to rub back and forth against his legs.

"Yanwan, why are you wearing my clothes?" Ji Wanqiu came to her senses and finally noticed her daughter’s odd attire. Not only was she wearing a suit, but she also had on light makeup and lipstick.

Lin Yanwan’s mind worked fast. "Mom, I... I went for a summer job interview today. Jiang Xia came with me."

Ji Wanqiu nodded slightly. ’Wearing a suit for an interview makes sense.’

"Oh, so did you get the job?"

"I don’t know yet. They just told me to wait for a notification. They did say I was a good fit for their requirements."

Jiang Xia secretly gave his "wife" a thumbs-up. ’Nice one, quick on your feet.’

The subtext of "wait for a notification" was that she hadn’t passed the interview; the rest was just pleasantries. Of course, Ji Wanqiu understood this tactic, but she didn’t want to dampen her daughter’s spirits, so she said gently, "Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll get it."

"You two sit for a bit. I’ll go make dinner."

Ji Wanqiu headed into the kitchen with the groceries. Lin Yanwan shot Jiang Xia a meaningful look, then slipped into her sister’s room and closed the door, quickly leaving only the son-in-law and the father-in-law in the living room.

Jiang Xia kept to one side, burying his head in petting the cat. He could clearly sense that his father-in-law was in a bad mood and didn’t dare to speak rashly. ’What if I say something that makes him angry again?’

The best method was to wait for Lin Gaoyuan to start the conversation and then play it by ear.

For a moment, a heavy silence fell over the living room. Neither of them wanted to speak, and it was very awkward.

"Has your acceptance letter arrived yet?" Lin Gaoyuan suddenly asked.

Jiang Xia froze for two seconds before he realized his father-in-law was talking to him. ’He’s talking to me?’ He had imagined many possible conversations, but he had to admit, his father-in-law’s way of breaking the ice was rather unique.

"Not yet. It should be here soon."

"Yanwan’s hasn’t arrived either." After a pause, Lin Gaoyuan continued, "You and Yanwan both applied to Tsinghua, didn’t you?"

"Yes."

Lin Gaoyuan nodded. He had wanted to say that the two of them should look after each other when they got to the Imperial Capital, but after thinking about it, he decided against it.

’Once she’s that far away, she’ll be beyond my reach. No matter how much I dislike it, she’ll probably have to rely on this kid.’

"Why are you sitting so far away? Am I that scary?"

Jiang Xia replied sheepishly, "No, no. You’re much kinder now than when you were beating me up."

Lin Gaoyuan shot him a glare. ’This kid dares to joke with me. It seems he’s not really afraid of me.’

’In terms of personality, he’s actually a pretty satisfactory son-in-law.’

"Does your face still hurt? If it does, I still have some Diannan White Medicine here. You can take it and apply some."

"It was completely healed by yesterday." Jiang Xia scratched his head and said, "Uncle Lin, why are you stocking up on so much Diannan White Medicine? You’re not planning to beat me up a few more times, are you?"

"..."

Lin Gaoyuan was suddenly speechless. He abruptly felt that he hadn’t beaten the boy without reason that day.

’This brat is just asking for a beating. Why did I only hit him twice back then?’