"Sis, you're not kidding, are you?" Su He asked for the second time.
"Why would I lie to you? Do I get meat if I do?" Su Ying scoffed.
"Bring him over to see," Su He immediately requested.
She was dying of curiosity to see what her future brother-in-law looked like.
"No, I'm afraid you'll scare him away," Su Ying refused without a second thought. They had only just started dating, and it wasn't the right time for him to meet the family. At the very least, they needed to wait until their relationship was stable.
Su He: ...
As expected of her sister!
"Also, please keep this a secret. I don't want to be pressured into marriage yet, thank you." Su Ying was quite content with her current situation and didn't want to complicate things.
Although she wasn't young anymore, and most people her age were already mothers, she was Su Ying. She didn't want to be tied down by family. Moreover, she enjoyed her current dynamic with Fu Zheng. They were both work partners and romantic partners. Dating and working didn't interfere with each other!
"Hmm, so when do you plan to let me meet him?" Su He asked, still not giving up.
"In a while." Su Ying doted on her only sister.
After a brief exchange, Su Ying went back to work.
Influenced by the news, Su He took a while to recover.
She had promised to keep it a secret, but she didn't plan to hide it from her closest confidante. It was too much of a bombshell to keep to herself; she needed someone to share it with.
Thus, the moment Lu Yanbei returned home from work, he was greeted by his enthusiastic wife.
"I have some good news for you," Su He said, giggling as she wrapped her arms around his neck.
Lu Yanbei's gaze involuntarily drifted to her belly.
"What are you thinking!" Su He playfully smacked his hand. "It's not that!"
"Oh?" Lu Yanbei was startled, then relieved.
He had been using contraception, so it would have been strange for Su He to be pregnant.
It turned out that during a recent medical check-up, Lu Yanbei had discovered a minor issue and was actively undergoing treatment. During this period, he absolutely could not let Su He get pregnant for fear of having a child with problems.
Furthermore, Lu Yanbei didn't want Su He to worry. It wasn't a serious issue; the doctor said a year of medication would cure it, so he kept it a secret.
Besides, Su He was still young, and having children in a couple of years wouldn't be too late.
What he didn't know was that his secrecy made Su He believe there was something wrong with her own health, causing her to worry about not being able to conceive and putting a significant psychological burden on her.
"I'm talking about my sister. She's in love! But she refuses to tell me who her future brother-in-law is, deliberately teasing me! Oh, what kind of man do you think my sister likes? And what kind of man captured her heart?" Su He, oblivious to his unease, chattered on.
Lu Yanbei put his hands on her shoulders and pulled her down to sit beside him. "Perhaps it's someone close to her?"
"How do you know?"
"She's so busy with work usually, how could she possibly meet someone outside of her circle?"
Su He found his analysis very insightful. "Now that you mention it, it does make sense. I wonder if it's a designer from the industry or a client from the studio..."
"Ah, I'm dying of curiosity!" Su He wished she could rush over to Su Ying's studio and investigate immediately.
"You'll meet him someday," Lu Yanbei soothed patiently. To distract Su He, Lu Yanbei took out two concert tickets from his pocket and handed them to her. "These were given to us by a client. If you're interested, you can ask your best friend to go with you."
Su He eyed him suspiciously and asked, "Are you very busy lately?"
"Yes, there's a project, and I might have to go out of town for a few days." Lu Yanbei had already minimized his business trips, but sometimes, it was unavoidable.
"How long will you be gone?" Su He turned around and hugged him.
They hadn't been apart much since they got married.
Without him around, Su He felt like something was missing.
"I won't be able to sleep without you," Su He pouted.
"About five days. I'll come back as soon as I can." Lu Yanbei kissed her forehead. He was reluctant to leave her alone at home too. "How about you go stay with your mother for a few days?"
He wasn't entirely at ease leaving her alone at home.
"I'm not going back to be a third wheel!" Su He noticed that her adoptive parents seemed to be getting more and more clingy as they got older, showing affection even more than young couples.
It was sickeningly sweet!
Su He didn't want to subject herself to that.
Lu Yanbei chuckled at her words. "Alright, then let your best friend come over to keep you company. Whatever you do, don't be alone."
"Okay, I'll try asking her," Su He picked up her phone and sent a message to Jiang Xiaoxiao.
However, ten minutes passed, and Jiang Xiaoxiao still hadn't replied.
This situation was very strange.
Su He didn't want to wait and directly called her.
On the other end, Jiang Xiaoxiao was being lectured by Su Chen, who had her pinned against the wall. Hearing the special ringtone for Su He, Jiang Xiaoxiao frantically pushed Su Chen away. "Your sister needs me for something!"
Su Chen touched his bleeding lip and snatched the phone from her hand. "We can talk about whatever it is later."
With that, he leaned in and kissed her again.
After Su Chen recognized his feelings, he had no intention of letting Jiang Xiaoxiao leave. During their previous cohabitation, they had maintained a respectful distance, like familiar strangers.
Not long ago, the Qi family had come looking for trouble, and upon learning that Su Chen and Jiang Xiaoxiao were living together, they began to harass Jiang Xiaoxiao. The first few times, Jiang Xiaoxiao endured it for Su Chen's sake. Unexpectedly, those people became increasingly audacious, and started making unwanted advances towards her.
Su Chen happened to witness this scene. Thus, Su Chen, who had always been self-possessed, got into a fight for the first time, sending the ninth member of the Qi family to the hospital.
It was at that moment that Su Chen realized his feelings for Jiang Xiaoxiao had changed.
He developed a damnable possessiveness towards her.
Just like how he had felt about Su He in the past.
Su Chen decided not to evade his feelings any longer and frankly told Jiang Xiaoxiao that he wanted her to be his woman.
Perhaps his words had frightened Jiang Xiaoxiao, or perhaps she had misunderstood his intentions, thinking he wanted her to be his mistress. Jiang Xiaoxiao decisively refused.
A misunderstanding arose between them.
Jiang Xiaoxiao wanted to move out, and Su Chen immediately got angry, leading to the scene just moments ago.
Jiang Xiaoxiao, nearly suffocating from his kiss, struggled desperately.
"Are you still leaving?" Su Chen asked threateningly, pinching her chin.
Jiang Xiaoxiao pouted aggrievedly. "You're being too much of a bully! I don't want to be a mistress who can't see the light of day!"
"When did I ever say that?" Su Chen was slightly taken aback.
"Didn't you mean that?" Jiang Xiaoxiao glared at him. Letting her live with him without giving her a proper title – wasn't that essentially keeping her as a mistress!
Su Chen ran a hand through his hair, a rare blush appearing on his face. "I meant, I want you to be my woman, the legitimate kind!"
"What do you mean by 'legitimate woman'?" Jiang Xiaoxiao was confused by his words.
"I mean, my girlfriend!" Su Chen said through gritted teeth.
Girlfriend? Jiang Xiaoxiao's eyes widened in disbelief.
Had she heard him correctly!