Chapter 566: Chapter 354: Three-Quarters Completion
Anyway, this is a good thing for Li Peifeng. Ultimately, Xu Manning has relented. Although there’s some disagreement about the order of getting the marriage certificates, she has at least broadly agreed.
Among the four girls, three have agreed, meaning the five-in-one progress has reached three-quarters. Congratulations are in order! But the most crucial part, his envisioned ’first bride’, his beloved Zhao Qingge, disagrees, leaving the matter inevitably in a stalemate.
Just as one reaches a hundred miles, ninety is only halfway; the final hurdle is always the hardest!
Wu Wenyue and Xu Manning repeatedly urged Li Peifeng to give up on Zhao Qingge and abandon the idea of getting the marriage certificate with Old Zhao, but Li Peifeng did not agree. He just said he’d find an opportunity to talk with Zhao Qingge one last time before making a decision.
This attitude made Wu and Xu very angry. Based on Xu Manning’s temperament, she almost didn’t want to bring Li Peifeng to meet her parents. However, she had already told her parents she’d bring her boyfriend to meet them after the new year. As time arrived and her parents, Xue Ya and Xu Hongfei, urged repeatedly, Xu Manning couldn’t decline and thus brought Li Peifeng to the family gathering as agreed.
Xu Manning suddenly spoke: "When will you talk to Old Zhao?"
"... Let’s wait until school starts; she doesn’t want to see me now and won’t agree to meet."
Li Peifeng sighed lightly, but Xu Manning continued to press, "If she still doesn’t agree, what do you plan to do?"
Li Peifeng was silent for a long time, then slowly said, "Then I’ll give up."
Xu Manning tilted her head, her lips slightly curling up before returning to normal, her eyes flashing as if pondering something.
Three kilometers from Sen Meng Clothing Factory, Lin Yun Villa District is situated adjacent to Binhai Forest Park. Modeled after the Palais de l’Elisee, it is composed of over a hundred townhouses, stacked villas, and standalone villas. Each home includes a hundred-square-meter front and back garden, with a greening rate reaching thirty-five percent. The independent villa in the corner belongs to the Xu family.
Having been impressed by the Huang Mansion’s traditional Chinese courtyard villa with its private artificial lake and rockery, Li Peifeng felt somewhat inflated, even thinking that the home of Mr. and Mrs. Xu was a bit petty and not imposing enough...
"Peifeng, you’re here?"
"Wow, you brought so many things."
"Sister, brother-in-law, give it to me. I’ll help you."
As soon as he stepped in, Xue Ya, Xu Hongfei, and Xu Manning’s other relatives all came to greet him. Among them was an eighteen or nineteen-year-old girl, enthusiastically taking the items from Li Peifeng’s hands.
"This is my cousin, Xu Aomei," Xu Manning introduced the girl, then proceeded to introduce others to Li Peifeng.
These are Uncle one and Uncle two, that’s Aunt and older uncle, here’s Grandma, and that’s Grandpa...
Li Peifeng greeted everyone, relying on his superior memory to remember this large family. He then sat with Xue Ya and Xu Hongfei, engaging in small talk until dinner was ready and served.
Counting this time, he had met all the parents of the four girls. When it comes to meeting a girlfriend’s family, Li Peifeng could be said to be experienced and dealt with it comfortably.
Moreover, Xu Manning’s parents were relatively easier to interact with compared to the parents of Zhao and Huang girls. They viewed the relationship between Li Peifeng and Xu Manning as normal and were naturally not opposed to him, even very welcoming. Their enthusiasm even made Li Pi Feng a bit uncomfortable. He even considered turning off his "social expert" and "image representative" auras to see if they were causing the odd sensation. But it was something Uncle Xu said that made him realize the deeper reason for his warm reception.
"The online celebrity company that you and Manning run seems quite nice; recently, True Self’s sales have increased significantly."
Xue Ya nodded and added, "Actually, I suggest that you two create a brand account for ’Sen Meng’ or ’True Self,’ and then sign a few streamers specifically for fashion sales. This could yield a higher conversion rate and maximize profit. But Manning is always busy with design and management, having no time to stress over these things. Peifeng, you should look into it, see if my suggestion holds any merit."
Li Peifeng hesitated for a moment, then said, "Alright, I’ll discuss it with Wenyue later and try to help President Xu earn more money."
"Helping! You’ll be family soon; family doesn’t need to act like strangers."
"Exactly, exactly."
Everyone laughed, and Xu Manning rolled her eyes at Li.
Li Peifeng murmured as he leaned closer, "Your mom thinks of me as not just your boyfriend but also a business partner."
In Xue Ya’s view, the firmest marriages are those where the couple shares deep emotional foundations and mutual interests.
This way, the couple shares in each other’s success and downfall. Even if one day their feelings fade, the intertwined interests deter either party from making critical errors like cheating. For them, divorce doesn’t simply end the marriage; it damages their own interests, too.
For the Xu family, they were naturally satisfied with Li Peifeng as their prospective son-in-law and gradually delved into discussing marriage...
"During New Year’s, you took Manning to meet your parents. What was their take? Have you scheduled anything?"
Their take was to cut family ties and have a second child right away!
Li Peifeng pursed his lips: "... They think after graduation would be best. We can discuss the specific time later. Right now, both of us are at crucial points in our careers and aren’t fully prepared for marriage."
Xu Manning chuckled, "Right, at a crucial point in our careers, not ready for marriage."
Seeing both members of the couple said so, Xu Hongfei and Xue Ya naturally dropped the subject, merely suggesting that once they graduate, both families should meet and ended the topic.
After the meal, everyone returned to the living room, where Xu Manning’s grandparents and other elders planned to chat with Li Peifeng a bit more. Xu Aomei sidled over, glanced at her cousin Xu Manning, and whispered a sentence into her ear...
"Sis, can I take a picture with brother-in-law?"
"Why?!"
Xu Manning puffed her cheeks and glared at her, "Say that again?"
Xu Aomei pouted, "Well, forget it if not. It’s just a picture, you’re incredibly petty!"
"I’m petty?" Xu Manning gritted her teeth, finally relenting with a big sister’s grace, "Go ahead, ask him yourself. If he agrees, I have no objections!"
"But sis... tell him for me."
"You tell him yourself!"
Xu Aomei wriggled over humbly, her face slightly red, "Brother-in-law, I’m a fan of your work. Can I take a picture with you?"
"A fan of my work?"
Li Peifeng was intrigued, "So, what’s your favorite book of mine?"
"..." Xu Aomei’s face grew even redder, looking awkward—that being a fan was just an excuse.
"Come on, let’s take a picture together."
Li Peifeng smiled slightly, not pressing further.
"Okay." Xu Aomei breathed a small sigh of relief, and then she explained, "I misspoke earlier, I’m actually your TikTok fan. I’ll make sure to read your works in the future!"
Having overheard the sisters’ previous conversation clearly thanks to his [Keen Hearing], Li Peifeng wasn’t surprised; whenever his aura was active, he often met girls approaching him, some even asking for photos while out, all because of how good looking he was!
’Snap snap’ a few photos, and Xu Aomei wasn’t quite satisfied, holding her phone cautiously, "Brother-in-law, can I add you on WeChat? I’m a freshman at Communication University, maybe we can hang out with you and my sister when there’s a chance."
"Alright."
...
By the time they left the Xu family, it was already half-past seven. Xu Manning drove Li Peifeng to Jintian City Apartments, but as soon as they got in the car, Miss Xu suddenly spoke, "Delete it."
"Delete what?"
"Are you playing dumb? My sister’s WeChat!"
Li Peifeng was both annoyed and amused, "You’re serious? Are you worried I might... She’s your cousin! Blood-related!"
Xu Manning sneered, "She’s your advisor! By rank, she’s akin to your mother!!"
Despite Xu Manning’s request, Li Peifeng did not delete it after reaching the apartment because he found the demand somewhat unreasonable.
Coincidentally, Wu Wenyue was also at home, and after getting home, Xu Manning started to complain, exaggerating the details, saying things like Li Peifeng was flirting with her sister, the two of them taking intimate photos, refusing to delete WeChat, and so on...
"Is that necessary?"
Even Wu Wenyue found it outrageous, just as she was about to defend Li Peifeng, seeing the intense glare from Xu Manning, she changed her tone, "Just delete it, to avoid trouble."
Li Peifeng scratched his forehead, "I can delete it, but you two... do you have stockings? Put on short skirts as well, let me have a look."
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