Chapter 75: Parents
These days passed more calmly than Ye Qizhen had imagined. She messaged Chen Yin saying she wouldn’t be home for the time being, but Chen Yin didn’t reply with a single word. Maybe she was sulking, or maybe Ye Qifan’s divorce left the family with no time to attend to her.
It snowed again, dyeing the small alley white. Ye Qizhen leaned by the window, staring intently at a certain spot.
Wen Yu stood quietly to the side, watched thoughtfully for a while, then walked over slowly.
It wasn’t until her waist was hugged tightly from behind and enveloped in warmth that Ye Qizhen came back to her senses. She turned to look at Wen Yu, the corners of her lips curving into a smile.
No matter how subtly she smiled, Wen Yu could see through Ye Qizhen’s unease. With so many things happening recently, how could she be relaxed? Moreover, Ye Qizhen was different from her; she was used to going her own way, but this was the first time Ye Qizhen had such a fallout with her family…
Wen Yu rested her chin on Ye Qizhen’s shoulder and said, “Discuss something with you.”
Ye Qizhen: “Mn?”
Wen Yu stared at her for half a second. “Come home with me today.”
Ye Qizhen revealed a slightly surprised expression.
Meeting the parent would make her feel more at ease, right? Wen Yu had been thinking about this for the past few days. Besides, Wen Qiuxian wasn’t that opposed; compared to liking a girl, Wen Qiuxian was more worried about her suffering in a relationship.
“Unwilling to go back with me?” Wen Yu asked back. “Didn’t you tell me that no matter what happens, we face it together?”
“Willing, I’ll go back with you.” Ye Qizhen answered immediately, afraid Wen Yu would think she was backing down.
“I told my mom yesterday…”
Seeing Wen Yu become serious, Ye Qizhen mentally prepared herself fully.
Wen Yu paused deliberately before saying, “Bringing girlfriend home for dinner tonight, she agreed.”
Hm? Ye Qizhen was stunned for a moment.
Wen Yu was amused by Ye Qizhen’s wooden expression.
“Auntie…” Ye Qizhen’s eyes lit up. “She can accept us being together?”
On second thought, she realized Wen Yu actually wanted to give her more security.
Although the situation these days was a bit terrible, they didn’t waver at all. Being firmly liked by the person she firmly liked was happiness no matter what. As long as they experienced it together, it was all beautiful.
“Mn.” Wen Yu nodded. She called Wen Qiuxian actively yesterday, saying nothing else but “I want to bring her home tomorrow.” Wen Qiuxian’s reaction was as she expected; she didn’t agree or refuse verbally, but finally left a cold “suit yourself.”
Ye Qizhen smiled, her brows relaxing. Although they had long thought that this was their own business and didn’t necessarily require understanding and support from home, being able to get it was naturally worth celebrating.
***
At dusk, Wen Yu took Ye Qizhen home.
Although she had met Wen Qiuxian several times, this time the situation was different. After all, meeting the parent made her inexplicably nervous before even arriving home. Fortunately, Wen Yu held her hand the whole time.
Looking at the two girls standing hand in hand in front of her, Wen Qiuxian didn’t give a good face or a single smile, her attitude cold as ice.
Making the air suddenly awkward.
“Hello, Auntie.” Ye Qizhen still greeted Wen Qiuxian with a beaming smile.
Wen Qiuxian didn’t make a sound, staring at the little girl in front of her, putting on an attitude of ignoring her.
Ye Qizhen pursed her lips slightly, apprehensive. Meeting her, she realized the situation seemed far less smooth than Wen Yu said.
Wen Yu turned to glance at Ye Qizhen, squeezed her hand and smiled, telling her with her eyes that it was okay.
Three people in one room, sitting on the sofa. This awkward and stiff atmosphere lasted for a good while.
Finally, Ye Qizhen couldn’t sit still first and broke the silence. “Auntie.”
Wen Qiuxian looked up casually.
“I genuinely like Wen Yu, hope you can agree to us being together.” Ye Qizhen said sincerely.
Crossing her legs, Wen Qiuxian raised an eyebrow at this moment, saying aggressively to Ye Qizhen: “What if I don’t agree? Your family didn’t agree either, right?”
“I will communicate, and I can make my own decisions. I will absolutely not let Wen Yu be wronged. Auntie, I really like Wen Yu.” Ye Qizhen was anxious. Liking was something they could understand with just one more look at each other, but speaking of it in front of others always seemed so thin and powerless.
Wen Qiuxian looked at her sideways, silent for a long time.
Wen Yu’s brows and eyes were eighty percent similar to Wen Qiuxian’s, beautiful with an aggressiveness, especially when not speaking. And with Wen Qiuxian’s experience and age, she seemed even harder to mess with.
“Stop scaring her.” Wen Yu said to Wen Qiuxian. If she didn’t agree, Wen Qiuxian wouldn’t have let her bring Ye Qizhen back at all; they both understood.
“How did I scare her?” Wen Qiuxian retorted loudly. “Do you have to be with her?”
Wen Yu was righteous: “Yes.”
Caught between Wen Qiuxian and Wen Yu, Ye Qizhen always seemed out of place. Seeing this dialogue atmosphere, she thought they were going to argue. But the next moment, she heard Wen Qiuxian snort coldly and say sarcastically: “Oh my, they all say having a wife makes one forget the mother, really true.”
Wife… Hearing this term, Ye Qizhen couldn’t understand Wen Qiuxian’s attitude anymore.
Seeing Ye Qizhen’s face turn red, Wen Qiuxian wanted to laugh a little. The little girl had such a good temper; at least she didn’t have to worry about her daughter being bullied.
Wen Yu looked at Ye Qizhen and chuckled low. “She’s like this, you’ll get used to it.”
Wen Qiuxian didn’t make things too difficult for the little girl. “Alright, not teasing you anymore.”
Ye Qizhen: “…”
She really should get used to the way Wen Yu and Wen Qiuxian interacted; she had seen it long ago.
For dinner, Wen Qiuxian whipped up a decent meal. She rarely cooked personally, looking quite like a parent tonight.
“Auntie, your cooking is really delicious.” Ye Qizhen ate a few bites, not forgetting to praise.
“Really?” Seeing Ye Qizhen eating with relish, not sounding like flattery, Wen Qiuxian beamed with joy. “Then eat more.”
“Okay!” Seeing Wen Qiuxian’s attitude soften, Ye Qizhen breathed a huge sigh of relief.
Wen Yu didn’t speak. Wen Qiuxian probably put effort into tonight’s dishes; the taste was indeed better than usual. She picked up a piece of ribs and put it in Ye Qizhen’s bowl.
Ye Qizhen understood; Wen Yu knew she loved eating the ones with cartilage and gave them to her every time she picked one up.
Wen Qiuxian saw this tacit understanding; the two were undoubtedly close for a long time. She used to wonder what kind of person could handle her daughter’s weird temper. Never expected it to be a thin and small little girl.
Ye Qizhen was obedient and polite, but not overly reserved. Her smile was sweet, giving a comfortable feeling, naturally likable, especially to elders.
“Girl, try this too.” Gradually becoming familiar, Wen Qiuxian called her “girl” one after another.
“Okay, thank you, Auntie.”
“Eat more.” Wen Qiuxian said with a smile. Probably because the contrast with her own daughter was too obvious, Wen Qiuxian felt good seeing the little girl smile.
She raised her daughter alone, which wasn’t easy. But Wen Yu’s temper was as big as hers; two hard rocks clashing, they never got along normally together. She envied others’ daughters being obedient and sensible. Now it was really like having an extra daughter herself, and such an obedient one at that; the more she looked, the more she liked.
Eating and chatting occasionally, with Ye Qizhen present, the atmosphere at the table tonight wasn’t cold, much more harmonious than usual.
After dinner, Wen Qiuxian didn’t treat Ye Qizhen as an outsider, dragging Ye Qizhen to watch TV with her. Ye Qizhen happened to be good at making people happy; no matter what melodramatic TV drama, she could chat a few sentences with Wen Qiuxian, harmonious all around.
Wen Yu sat aside with a look of helplessness and disbelief. She glanced at Wen Qiuxian from the corner of her eye again. As cold as she was on the phone back then, she is that enthusiastic now. Isn’t this change a bit too big?
Not long after watching TV, Ye Qizhen received a call on her phone. It was from Chen Yin. She got up and walked to the side to answer. “Mom…”
“Have you seen your sister in the past two days?” Chen Yin asked directly.
“No,” hearing Chen Yin’s panicked tone, Ye Qizhen’s heart hung up, “What happened?”
“She’s not answering my calls. Can you contact her? Just said a few words to her, one more worrisome than the other…”
