Zheng Cai sent her a message, asking her to come home for dinner that evening and bring her husband.
Such rare politeness and warmth were suspect; Ye Yuning simply didn’t believe Zheng Cai wasn’t up to something.
Of course, she outright ignored such an invitation!
Although the Xiao Family had experienced a major incident and Xiao Linye had been quite upset last night, he seemed noticeably happier now. They didn’t cook that evening; Xiao Linye took her out to eat instead.
He took her for barbecue, which Ye Yuning liked.
Throughout the meal, Xiao Linye was the one doing all the grilling.
"You eat too," Ye Yuning said.
Does he actually enjoy watching others eat?
Indeed, watching Ye Yuning eat was a pleasure for Xiao Linye.
She had an excellent appetite, never worried about gaining weight, and paid no mind to her table manners.
The way she heartily devoured her food wasn’t unseemly; on the contrary, it was quite therapeutic to watch.
"You eat. I don’t eat much," Xiao Linye said.
"But you can’t just keep drinking water, can you? Or do you actually not like barbecue?!" Ye Yuning pressed.
"I like it," he replied.
"If you like it, then eat," Ye Yuning insisted.
She genuinely loved barbecue.
Eating so much meat elsewhere would definitely become overwhelming.
But wrapping the grilled meat in lettuce leaves conveniently diluted that greasy feeling.
That way, one could eat a lot without it feeling too rich.
Unlike Ye Yuning, Xiao Linye didn’t like to wrap his meat in lettuce, perhaps because he was worried about dirtying his hands.
But he truly looked refined while eating.
A handsome man looked elegant no matter what he did, including eating.
This provided Ye Yuning with immense visual satisfaction these days.
She cleared her throat and said, "You could try wrapping it in lettuce; it’s not as greasy that way."
"Of course. Don’t you trust me?" Ye Yuning raised an eyebrow.
Xiao Linye shook his head. "It’s not that I don’t trust you, but I think eating it that way might not be healthy."
Mixing raw with cooked... that just seemed like an improper way to eat!
Hearing this, Ye Yuning’s lips twitched.
This was the first time she had heard such a notion. "But you eat salads all the time," she countered.
Aren’t salads raw? How is eating like that unhealthy then?
Fine! Whatever he said, went.
Ye Yuning didn’t press the issue further and focused on her own food.
Xiao Linye’s phone vibrated. He pulled it out and saw it was a call from the old family home. He didn’t answer, simply hanging up.
But Ye Yuning had clearly seen the caller ID: ’Home’!
Swallowing the meat in her mouth, she asked, "Why didn’t you answer?"
"It wasn’t an important call," Xiao Linye replied.
He knew all too well what those people would be calling about at a time .
Ye Yuning said, "Your family really seems to dislike me. Your father is still angry, isn’t he?"
Thinking about last time, it had been so awkward! Her grandfather and great-grandfather had both shown up. She had never felt so foolish.
"Mm," Xiao Linye affirmed with a nod.
At this, Ye Yuning’s eyelids twitched.
Did this man have to be so blunt? Couldn’t he offer even a brief defense for his family? But then again, he always seemed to be pretty straightforward. Just like how he expressed his dissatisfaction with the owner of Manlang right in front of her. This kind of personality was actually good; no guessing needed. Just like now, his family’s disapproval was so obvious that if he tried to make excuses, it would only needlessly upset her. His direct affirmation, however, seemed to render it all rather insignificant.
The next moment, before Ye Yuning could say anything, he added, "There isn’t any real conflict between you and them."
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"You won’t be living together, so you don’t need to consider their opinion of you," he explained.
Not living together? That sounded great!
Indeed, living with in-laws didn’t seem very pleasant. Not long after Tang Xi got married, Jiang Bo’s parents came to live with them. Ostensibly, it was because the young couple was busy with work, and the elders were there to help manage their household. But was that really ’helping’? It was pure meddling. No help was evident, only a household in constant uproar.
"We don’t have to live together? When the elders get really old and their mobility decreases, it will be very inconvenient," Ye Yuning said.
Her words carried a hint of probing.
After all, she and Xiao Linye hadn’t been married for long; some things he said couldn’t be taken too seriously yet.
"They will have dedicated caregivers, and besides, you’re not skilled at these things," Xiao Linye stated.
Xiao Linye knew perfectly well what kind of daughter-in-law the Xiao Family expected. Currently, the only married ones were his eldest, second, and third brothers. If anyone had it relatively easy in the Xiao Family, it was Second Brother Xiao Li’s wife. Her family had a strong background, and her husband was rather inept, so she spent most of her time at her parents’ home. The situations of Eldest Sister-in-law and Third Sister-in-law were a different matter entirely. Recently, since Third Brother had gotten into trouble, Third Sister-in-law had been staying at the old family residence. Eldest Sister-in-law had also been living in the old family residence for years, and their burdens were especially clear during holidays and festivals. Even with domestic staff available on normal days, both sisters-in-law were busy from dawn till dusk, primarily with kitchen duties. Expecting Ye Yuning to become like them? He would never permit it! Besides, this girl would undoubtedly be more of a hindrance than a help, likely exasperating everyone, including herself.