Chapter 34 Meeting the Parents

Inside the hotel, Su Tianyu stared, wide-eyed, and asked, "Why are we suddenly going to your house for dinner?"

"My mom invited you over to the house. She came home this afternoon and is personally cooking," An Qiqi said in a crisp voice. "She said you passed the civil service exam and wants to celebrate for you."

"...Is that really necessary?"

"Don't talk nonsense. Are you coming or not?" An Qiqi asked.

"If I don't go, does that mean we can't have our late-night video calls in bed anymore?"

"Get lost! You're all coming, she prepared a lot of food," An Qiqi said without leaving room for argument.

"Okay, got it."

After finishing the call, Su Tianyu's heart pounded. He was stunned for a long time before jumping out of bed to find Da Bai and Zhou Tonghui.

After a brief discussion, Zhou Tonghui analyzed seriously, "You have to go. It's too impolite not to."

"A Hongmen Banquet. After this meal, you and An Qiqi will be, at most, like siblings," Da Bai commented.

"Let's go to the mall and buy some gifts," Su Tianyu said through gritted teeth. "Whatever kind of banquet it is, I'll take it."

...

In the evening, around seven-thirty, at the entrance of a high-ranking cadre villa district in downtown New District, Su Tianyu and the others were stopped by security. They waited a short while before An Qiqi came to pick them up.

The group rode a special shuttle bus within the compound, arriving at the An residence in less than three minutes.

After getting off the bus, An Qiqi, with a mischievous look, asked Su Tianyu, "Nervous, bro?!"

"I haven't even held your hand a few times. What do I have to be nervous about?" Su Tianyu retorted casually.

"Right, just be yourself. My mom especially dislikes those cautious men," An Qiqi encouraged. "Just be yourself, you have to remember that you're excellent and worthy of my appreciation."

The two chatted quietly, leading the group into the house.

Inside the brightly lit villa living room, An's mother, wearing an apron, said with a smile, "The kids are here? Make yourselves at home, we'll eat soon."

Su Tianyu had thought An Qiqi was exaggerating when she said her mom was personally cooking. After all, the latter was quite busy, sometimes away from home for weeks. How could such a big figure cook for a group of kids? But to his surprise, An's mother really did cook personally, preparing more than a dozen dishes.

Su Tianyu and the others carried the gifts into the house and sat obediently on the sofa.

"Xiao Su, make yourselves at home. Qiqi, get some fruit and drinks for your friends," An's mother reminded her daughter from the kitchen.

"Got it," An Qiqi replied.

After about a dozen minutes, the dishes were set on the dining table. An's mother took off her apron and called out, "Kids, let's eat."

"Mom, Tianyu and the others brought you some gifts, including cosmetics!" An Qiqi reminded her.

An's mother looked back at the neatly arranged gifts and said to Su Tianyu with a smile, "Very nice, I quite like this brand. Thank you."

"You're welcome." The group gathered around and, at An's mother's invitation, sat down around the dining table.

...

Inside the bright and spacious kitchen, An's mother sat at the head of the table like a queen bee, took the initiative to pick up her wine glass, and said in a gentle and pleasant voice, "As the host, let me say a few words first!"

"Applause!" An Qiqi called out to support her.

Everyone immediately responded, enthusiastically applauding.

"Only you would do that," An's mother glanced at her daughter and looked at everyone with a kind expression. "First, Xiao Su passed the civil service exam with excellent results, which is something to celebrate. Second, after our Yu family had that incident, I originally wanted Mingyuan to return to District One for further studies, but he insisted on developing in Dragon City, and he's doing a good job with the union now. This is thanks to the help of you friends. As an elder, I'm very gratified. As your older friend, hehe, I'm very happy for you. Come on, tonight is officially to welcome you to District One!"

Listening to An's mother's words and looking at her casual and kind expression, everyone was surprised. In their impression, big politicians were serious and unsmiling, keeping their distance from ordinary people. But they didn't expect her to be so open-minded, talking and chatting in a way that was very similar to young people, which invisibly narrowed the sense of distance between them.

Zhou Tonghui had grown up among politicians since childhood, and Su Tianyu was also a worldly person, so they raised their glasses and echoed, "Thank you for your hospitality, Auntie."

Everyone stood up to propose a toast, and An's mother also stood up and drank a little red wine with everyone. She had a meeting tomorrow and couldn't drink heavily, but the sentiment was there.

After the opening remarks, everyone sat down. An's mother took the initiative to put a piece of crab in Su Tianyu's bowl and asked casually, "Are you pursuing my daughter?"

Su Tianyu was a little stunned when he heard this. No matter how strong his heart was, he would definitely be affected by personal feelings, so he instantly became nervous.

"Hehe, are you or aren't you?" An's mother asked with a smile.

Su Tianyu blinked and nodded in acknowledgment, "Yes, Auntie, I am pursuing your daughter."

An's mother looked Su Tianyu up and down and gently reminded him, "She's very capricious, you have to be mentally prepared."

"Hey hey, that's enough, can we still eat?" An Qiqi rolled her eyes.

"Hehe." An's mother smiled and said to Su Tianyu again, "When the union gets busy, you may have to run to District One for a long time. Xiao Su should also have the opportunity to come here for further studies in the future! When you come to New District in the future, you can come to our house at any time. I really enjoy being with young people, so don't be shy."

"Okay, Auntie!"

At the dinner table, An's mother only said these two more formal sentences to Su Tianyu. The rest of the time, she chatted casually with everyone, and the topics were quite broad, from politics to economics, from union development to cosmetics used by women. She could chat with these young people on equal footing.

At first, Su Tianyu and the others were quite nervous, but as they ate, they realized that An's mother was not just pretending to be easygoing, but was really quite open-minded. Most importantly, her thinking was relatively young, so everyone felt comfortable being with her.

Midway through the meal, An Qiqi and An's mother went to the kitchen together to bring out desserts. The former asked sneakily, "Mom, you don't dislike Su Tianyu, do you?"

An's mother turned to look at her. "What do you mean? Why would I dislike him?"

"I'm just afraid that you... you'll pull that parental authority stuff," An Qiqi replied naively.

"I've seen Xiao Su's resume. Your second uncle has also told me about the role he plays in the union. This young man has a clean family background, a good education, and a strong ability to expand his network. He's quite outstanding. If you don't look at the parents' level, I think he's much better than you, who skips work every day," An's mother said with a smile. "I don't object to you dating, but there must be a certain level of discretion. Qiqi, women must have backbone and reserve. When you feel that you can entrust your future to someone, Mom will definitely approve, of course, provided that he must be ambitious and have no character flaws."

Hearing this, An Qiqi immediately gave a playful salute. "Speaker An is indeed open-minded!"

"Your father and I only have one daughter. Our efforts are to allow you to have better and more choices, and of course, for our own little vanity and ambition," An's mother replied with a smile.

"Mom, I love you!" An Qiqi kissed her happily.

...

Dragon City, in the industrial area of the mining base.

Liu Xiaohai walked back and said to Su Tiannan and the others, "It's all settled. We're good to go, just sign the contract."