Chapter 677 - 390: Dilemma (Part 3)

Just as the words were spoken, Zhao Qingge, who had been silently eating, suddenly squinted at him, but the next second she returned to normal: "Do you have something else?"

Indeed, there was; Li Peifeng had agreed to go to Xu Manning’s home to meet her parents...

"If it’s not particularly important, then postpone it for now."

Zhao Haiqi frowned slightly: "You’ve been together for so long, lived together during the winter vacation, yet neither of the families has met. That’s not quite right. And in a few months, your mother will start to show, it won’t be convenient for us to sit down for a meal then."

Li Peifeng realized the situation was pressing and he couldn’t possibly refuse, so he’d have to come up with another way...

"Alright, I’ll make a call to my parents now and let them know."

After speaking, Li Peifeng pulled out his phone, flashed an apologetic smile, left the dining room for the bathroom, and dialed Old Li’s number.

As he waited for the call to connect, Li Peifeng looked at himself in the mirror above the sink, his mind in disarray.

Why have Zhao Haiqi and Li Xin changed their attitude, urgently wanting to meet his parents? There could be many reasons, some of which he hadn’t thought about before coming.

Beyond the unexpected success of "Sword and Magic," his and Yu Hua’s lectures had brought the pen name "One and Two Winds" into the mainstream literary circle, making him more well-known and wealthy.

Also, Zhao Duoduo indeed was getting too old; and because Li Xin found out he lived with her during the winter break, cohabitation perhaps played a significant part. No parent would remain calm upon seeing their daughter living with a wild boy.

So has Zhao Qingge accepted the five-in-one arrangement? Impossible, she’s likely still thinking of marrying him but disagreeing to divorce later, leaving the other three girls improperly in the eyes of society, Old Zhao’s tolerance perhaps only goes this far...

The key issue at this juncture is: Should both families meet?

They certainly need to meet; otherwise, there’s no explaining to the Zhao family... But if they do meet, how do I explain it to my parents?!

"Hey? Speak."

"..."

Li Qiyuan suspiciously asked: "Is the signal bad? I’ll hang up and call you back."

"Wait."

Li Peifeng took a deep breath: "Um, is my mom not beside you? I need to tell you something."

"Your mom’s upstairs painting, what’s up?"

Li Qiyuan instinctively asked, then chuckled: "Fighting with those girls? Planning to break up?"

"No."

Hearing Li Peifeng’s serious tone, Li Qiyuan’s voice also lowered: "Have you been exposed, did their parents find out?" Then, with great sorrow: "I knew this day would come; let me tell you, a real man shoulders his own responsibility, even if they beat you to death, don’t let these kids’ parents come looking for us, remember your mom is pregnant!"

Li Peifeng reluctantly said, "Wish me the best; it’s Qingge’s parents who wish to visit Ningyuan City to meet you both tomorrow."

Li Qiyuan was silent for a moment, then sighed: "I’d rather you got exposed."

"Stop complaining, I really have no choice, prepare for tomorrow."

"Can’t we stop them from coming? Just say your mom’s pregnant, it’s inconvenient..."

"I mentioned that, but they wanted to invite you to the Capital instead."

Li Peifeng smiled bitterly: "Moreover, to update on Zhao Qingge’s parents, her mom is the vice dean of the Capital University of Economics and Business School of International Trade and Economics, while her dad Zhao Haiqi has become the deputy principal of Yandu University, in charge of personnel as the organizing minister. In terms of rank and position, he’s far above the highest officials in Ningyuan. If they were to officially come to our place, we’d need to prepare ahead, lay yellow earth, splash clean water in the streets, and have the city’s top leadership organize a convoy to the station to meet them personally, with two police cars flashing lights upfront barring any idle persons from approaching... So them coming over is actually quite an honor for our family!"

Li Qiyuan said solemnly: "This honor’s too much, your dad can’t bear it, your mom’s never encountered such high-ranking officials, might get scared, handle it yourself."

"...They’re here to meet you, otherwise, I’d handle it myself without bothering mom and dad."

Li Peifeng was anxious knowing his dad’s attitude meant there’s no way Zhao’s would come to Ningyuan, as Li Qiyuan, who dotes excessively on his wife, worries both families meeting would add stress to his pregnant mom.

However, in a moment of desperation, Li Peifeng came up with a solution that could address the current problem: "How about you come alone tomorrow, leave mom behind, so she doesn’t stress over the trip and get upset affecting her pregnancy, just chat a bit with them yourself?"

"I’m not going, I need to take care of my wife."

Li Qiyuan was a bit impatient: "Enough, don’t let them come, solve it on your own, if you can’t, there’s nothing I can do."

"One million!"

Old Li was stern: "No matter how much you offer, it’s not happening, I won’t play along with you in this farce, you reckless fool thinking money can sweep this under the rug?!"

"Three million!"

"I said no, this is a matter of principle..."

"Five million, I’ll book your ticket now!"

Li Peifeng interrupted Li Qiyuan decisively, then softened his tone before the other could respond, pleading: "Dad, please, what principle is worth, I’m your flesh and blood, you’re my real dad, we’re family, help me this once."

Li Qiyuan was silent for a long while, then took a deep breath and sighed heavily: "Just this once, considering... you’re my son."