Seeing Xia Liang looking for someone, Shi Qiang’s mother said with a cheerful smile, "Young Xia, Shi Qiang and the others are all upstairs."
"Okay, Auntie," Xia Liang replied.
Shi Qiang’s mother was already familiar with everyone. They had all, more or less, been to her family’s mahjong parlor before, so no special greetings were needed. With that, Xia Liang headed up to the second floor.
It’s always lively when there’s a crowd, and in a moment, the focus of attention shifted away from him. The room buzzed with all kinds of gossip.
As Xia Liang went upstairs, Luu Qi sneaked over again, sniffed him, and said, "Bro, you didn’t go find another ’Sister-in-Law Five’ last night, did you?"
Xia Liang was surprised. "How did you know?"
Then, a thought suddenly struck him. "Did Shi Qiang sell me out?"
He glanced over at Shi Qiang, who was sitting on the sofa. Shi Qiang immediately threw his hands up in surrender. "It wasn’t me! I didn’t say anything!"
"Then how did you know?" Xia Liang was puzzled, seeing it wasn’t him.
"The perfume, obviously," Luu Qi said, rolling his eyes.
Xia Liang sniffed himself skeptically and, sure enough, caught the faint scent of perfume.
Hmm, this is important. I need to make a mental note. I can’t make this mistake again.
On the couch, Luu Wenlin was visibly in much better spirits. He and Shi Qiang were engrossed in playing the PlayStation. Besides the four of them, all the cousins and other young relatives were gathered there.
When Xia Liang sat down, they all crowded around him. Since they were all family, he exchanged simple greetings and joined the PlayStation ranks.
At eight o’clock in the evening, they only put down their controllers when Luu Juan called the four of them down for dinner.
They went downstairs to eat.
At the dinner table, the conversation naturally turned to praising Xia Liang. They remarked on how well he was doing at such a young age and told him to remember to look after his younger cousins in the future.
Everyone got along well, so Xia Liang didn’t say much. When it came to Luu Qi and Luu Wenlin, Xia Liang would naturally lend a hand. As for the others, that would likely have to wait a few years, since the oldest among them was only in the first year of middle school.
Everyone enjoyed the meal in a warm and happy atmosphere, not dispersing until eleven o’clock.
Looking at the messy house, Xia Liang’s mother, Luu Juan, prepared to clean up but was stopped by her son. Check latest chapters at NoveI~Fire.net
"Mom, let’s just get a cleaning service tomorrow. You must be tired today."
Hearing this, Luu Juan immediately objected. "We can clean it ourselves. Why pay someone else for it?"
With that, she started cleaning up on her own.
Seeing he couldn’t dissuade her, Xia Liang joined in. "I’ll help too!"
Luu Juan also dashed into the kitchen to wash dishes, while Xia Weiguo quietly picked up a cloth to wipe the tables. The family busily got to work together.
They finally finished tidying up in the early hours of the morning. Strangely, however, the two elders felt no aches or pains at all. This was, of course, Xia Liang’s doing. While cleaning, he had been using his Spiritual Power to ease their fatigue.
In Han Mengyu’s home, a sound suddenly came from the door. Han Mengyu, who was sitting on the sofa watching a Korean drama, turned her head.
She saw a middle-aged woman with dyed red hair and a fur coat walk in. The woman, her mother, was taken aback to see Han Mengyu watching TV. While changing her shoes, Mother Han spoke. "So you decided to come back? Where did you run off to yesterday?"
She couldn’t exactly tell the truth about something like that. "A colleague had a birthday party. It ran late, so I didn’t come back."
Mother Han didn’t press further. She glanced at the time. "It’s already midnight. Why aren’t you in bed? Don’t you have work tomorrow?"
"No, I quit," Han Mengyu said, popping a potato chip into her mouth.
This time, Mother Han’s reaction was much more dramatic. "You silly girl, why did you quit? Don’t you know how hard it is to find a high-paying job like that in Shangluo City..."
Watching her mother go on and on, Han Mengyu felt helpless. "I told you before, didn’t I? That guy surnamed Zhang was harassing me. Yesterday, he even threatened me directly. He said if I didn’t become his girlfriend, I could just leave. I got angry, so I quit."
"Oh..." Mother Han’s tirade paused, but she couldn’t help but mutter, "I thought he seemed nice, and he’s from a rich family..."
Seeing her mother was still going on, Han Mengyu couldn’t help but interrupt again. "Mom..."
"Alright, alright," Mother Han relented, knowing her daughter didn’t want to hear any more about it. But since that topic was closed, her eyes darted around as she quickly changed the subject. "Since you’ve quit, what are your plans?"
Han Mengyu, not knowing what her mother was scheming, answered casually, "I’m going to Qingyun City in a few days. A friend started a company and asked me to help out."
"A friend? Started a company?" Hearing these two keywords, Mother Han’s interest was piqued. "A man or a woman?"
Seeing that look on her mother’s face, Han Mengyu became wary. "A man. Why?"
Mother Han didn’t beat around the bush. "If he’s a man, then you should give it a try. Starting a company means he has some family backing. You’re not getting any younger, and it’s time you found someone to marry. Look at your cousin! She’s only twenty-two and already has two children. Their family is so happy, isn’t it?"
Listening to her mother bring up the same old topic, Han Mengyu felt a major headache coming on. "Mom, I’m only twenty-four. I’m not in a hurry, so why are you?"
"I don’t care," Mother Han said, resorting to being stubborn. "If you don’t find a boyfriend soon, I’m going to start setting you up on blind dates."
These words made Han Mengyu’s scalp tingle. Xia Liang’s words from earlier today were still fresh in her mind.
She blurted out, "I have a boyfriend."
But clearly, Mother Han knew her daughter too well. How could a boyfriend just appear in a single day?
"Alright, that’s enough. Xiao Li is coming to visit tomorrow. You can cook a few dishes, and we can all chat." With that, she ignored Han Mengyu’s reaction and went to wash up.
"I..." Han Mengyu felt utterly exhausted, body and soul. She pulled out her phone and sent a message to Xia Liang.
"My mom is making me go on a blind date. She says she doesn’t believe I got a boyfriend in one day."
On the other end of the line, Xia Liang didn’t have much of a reaction to the message.
See a problem, solve a problem.
"Give me the address. Leave it to me tomorrow," Xia Liang replied simply.
Seeing that Xia Liang wasn’t angry, Han Mengyu breathed a sigh of relief and sent him the address.
They exchanged goodnights and went to sleep.
The next day, after breakfast, Xia Liang drove off.
Hmm, this is it, the seventh floor.
Xia Liang looked at the building in front of him. It wasn’t part of any particular residential complex. He took the elevator to the seventh floor.
Unexpectedly, there was a man standing in front of Han Mengyu’s door. He was dressed in a white shirt and had a refined look about him. He appeared extremely nervous. Even though he was right at the door, he seemed afraid to knock, instead taking deep breaths to psych himself up.
Seeing Xia Liang approach, the man was startled but managed to speak first.