"Jingwei, come on, you can stop bowing now." She tugged at him, but Jingwei shook his head.
"Not until your parents agree to our relationship!" He was willing to go on his knees if he had to!
If Sun Haowei was conscious and present, the sight of his youngest begging for the approval of his ex-friends to date their daughter would have sent him across the Yellow River to see his ancestors. It was already shocking enough for Tai Cheng and Yue Niang!
"And what if I don't agree?" Yue Niang asked condescendingly, trying to feel just a bit glad that Sun Haowei's kid was bowing lowly to her, only to find herself feeling irritated at his persistence. She wanted to yell at him to raise his head.
Was his pride worth so little that he was grovelling for approval so easily? Where was his spine? How could she entrust her daughter to someone like him?!
"Are you going to bow until your neck degenerates from the strain of gravity? Honestly, kids these days… blackmail usually works better than emotional manipulation! Don't you know how the world works?"
"Huh? Auntie, what are you saying?" Jingwei looked up in utter confusion.
"Mom, are you saying we should blackmail you?" Xue Ning asked, considering.
"We can't do that though," Jingwei said sadly after thinking for a brief moment. "It's wrong."
Yue Niang nearly facepalmed at his words. His family was built on blackmail.
"More importantly, we - I - have nothing to blackmail you with." Xue Ning added, sulking.
At least her daughter got her point! Yue Niang couldn't believe that her daughter was the smart one in the relationship. That didn't bode well for the future!
"Kids these days… fine, Sun Jingwei, you're on probation now." Yue Niang said, giving Jingwei a severe glare.
"Probation?" Jingwei repeated hesitantly. "Like a job? As Xue Ning's boyfriend?"
"Yes. Don't pretend your end goal isn't to become my son-in-law! I'll accept this… relationship of yours on one condition: If I find that you're unsuitable as my family's son-in-law, you will break up immediately!"
"So… you agree? Really? Thank you! I won't let you or Xue Ning down! I promise! I'll be the best husband, boyfriend and son-in-law!" Jingwei declared, his hopeful eyes shining in the light, as though he was a female lead in a romcom, happy to get the approval of her rich in-laws.
This was a lifetime opportunity! If he could impress Xue Ning's mom, she'd approve of him marrying Xue Ning!
"Husband, boyfriend and son-in-law? Does he think he's Jesus? The father, the son and the Holy Spirit?" Tai Xuan muttered sarcastically, rolling his eyes. His words were ignored.
"Mom, what do you mean by inappropriate behaviour?" Xue Ning asked cautiously, not liking her mother's words. "Are you just going to decide it randomly and boot him away? That's not playing fair!"
"Xue Ning, I don't think your mother is that kind of person, right? That sounds more like my father…"
Yue Niang scowled at his words. How dare he compare her to Sun Haowei? They were nothing alike!
"Who knows?" Xue Ning shrugged. "So Mom, are you going to accept him for good, or are you going to make up some stupid excuse to shoo him away? Because if you do, I'm not accepting this!"
"My dear daughter, I don't want to accept this! But then again, even if I didn't, you kids would still find a way to date behind my back anyway, especially once you go back to Shanghai. So what choice do I have? What if the both of you decide to elope?"
She knew that if she opposed too strongly, the couple would become even more united! She might as well let them date. Yue Niang was sure they would break up eventually! Possibly even next month!
With that in mind, she shouldn't protest so much!
"Besides, who knows if the both of you will give me a pregnancy scare too, just to convince me to approve. I'd rather not take that risk." She muttered dryly, casting a dirty look at her oldest, who was now sheepishly staring at the floor while his wife glared daggers at him.
Ming Guang, sensing the fight leave Tai Xuan's body, decided it was safe to let him go into the tender loving arms of his wife.
"Hi dear…" Tai Xuan said weakly.
"Hi dear, I believe you and I are due for a good long talk."
"But we need to help with the restaurant -" He protested feebly, trying to stall the inevitable.
"We can talk while cleaning." Xin Yu said with no room for compromise. Xue Ning let out an ugly snort at the look of dismay on her brother's face. Serves him right!
"Yes. Let's clean. We are here to clean," Tai Cheng said, rubbing his hand over his forehead. He was going to focus on the things that still made sense in his life, like fixing his restaurant.
He handed out the brooms and delegated the tasks; his oldest son and wife would be sweeping up the broken glass, while Ming Guang and Wei Yan were ordered to clean up the entrance of the restaurant - this would allow them to keep an eye on things outside too!
Meanwhile, Jingwei and Xue Ning would be checking the state of furniture in the restaurant, right in front of them.
This was the first test for Jingwei! Was he going to make his daughter carry the tables and chairs, or would he do all of it himself?
So while Tai Xuan and his wife swept up the glass shards over a highly uncomfortable talk about Tai Xuan's sexual history with his ex-girlfriends that no one wanted to listen to but everyone couldn't help overhearing, Xue Ning and Jingwei began sorting out furniture loudly to drown out his words.
"Xue Ning, I'll lift the tables while you check them?" Jingwei suggested.
"Sure, but it'll be a lot faster if we carry it together." Xue Ning said, flexing her muscles. "Why, you think I'm a weakling?"
"Nonsense, you are many things, but a weakling is definitely not one of them!" Jingwei beamed. "Let's do it together then!"
Tai Cheng and Yue Niang's eyebrows twitched in unison. Do it together? That was fine for shifting tables, but they better not be shifting beds together!
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