CH 52

jiang heng: “…”

ji yao: “…”

the voice was sweet and childish, with a clear pronunciation, giving it the aura of a poetry recitation. jiang heng and ji yao both turned their heads involuntarily to look. they saw a “little cannonball” approaching from a distance, running towards jiang heng with fast steps, and then she hugged his leg.

the “little cannonball” was wearing a lion dance cloak, and her hat fell off as she ran. she clung to jiang heng’s leg and looked up at him, chuckling.

ji yao finally saw that it was a little girl, probably around two or three years old, and she bore a striking resemblance to jiang heng in her facial features.

his expression became somewhat subtle for a moment. if it weren’t for the middle-aged couple following the little girl from behind, ji yao would have thought that this was jiang heng’s long-lost child.

“heng heng?” ji yao teased him, nudging him playfully.

jiang heng cleared his throat lightly and discreetly nudged ji yao back with his elbow.

he bent down slightly, picked up the little girl, and then naturally held ji yao’s hand, interlocking their fingers, leading him towards the middle-aged couple behind them.

in recent days, jiang heng seemed like a proper partner. he ate well, accepted the flowers, but had never initiated such an intimate physical contact with ji yao. ji yao was taken aback for a moment when he was pulled like this, and he almost didn’t react in time.

jiang heng didn’t say anything, but his fingers tightened slightly as he held ji yao’s hand. ji yao, only then realizing that they were currently “pretending to be boyfriends,” holding hands, which was perfectly normal.

“who is this?” ji yao leaned closer and whispered in jiang heng’s ear, “she looks a lot like you.”

“my sister,” jiang heng said, “my mom’s second child, turning three soon, her name is amber.”

jiang heng cleared his throat softly and couldn’t help but comment, “can a three-year-old run, jump, and talk? i thought she would be pushed in a stroller.”

three years old? ji yao was stunned for a moment and was about to ask a few more questions when he saw amber leaning on jiang heng’s shoulder, reaching out to grab his clothes.

“who are you?” amber asked curiously, “heng heng’s boyfriend?”

amber’s appearance clearly leaned more towards her father, with fair skin, light-colored hair, and a pair of beautiful blue eyes, but there were hints of jiang heng’s features in her eyebrows and eyes.

under the gaze of those eyes, ji yao seemed a little uncomfortable. he coughed lightly, nodded politely, and reluctantly replied, “yes, i am.”

although she grew up abroad, her chinese was quite good. ji yao wondered if her parents had talked about this in front of her. amber spoke the words “boyfriend” very naturally, as if she had heard it before.

ji yao felt a bit awkward being questioned by this little gossip machine with a chinese community auntie’s style. he tugged on jiang heng’s clothes from behind.

“not yet,” jiang heng answered seriously, “but it’s something we’ll consider.”

“that’s great! you can get married in france!” amber cheered, “then you can kiss heng heng by the seine river!”

ji yao: “…”

help, ji yao couldn’t help but think. why didn’t he think about how strange jiang heng’s family members were before?

“don’t be rude, “suddenly a hand appeared and gently patted amber’s back. “call him ‘brother.'”

ji yao looked up and realized that xiaotong had approached them.

now that they were closer, ji yao could see that jiang heng’s appearance was quite similar to his mother. xiaotong was a strikingly beautiful woman with an impressive aura. she looked to be around thirty-seven or thirty-eight, probably because she had taken good care of herself. at first glance, she didn’t look like jiang heng’s mother but more like his sister.

amber seemed a little intimidated by her own mother. she obediently corrected herself, saying, “big brother.”

jiang heng nodded and put amber down, then naturally took ji yao’s hand, interlocking their fingers, and walked with him towards xiaotong and her husband.

xiaotong, who had approached, was suddenly reminded of something. she patted her palm lightly and turned her attention to ji yao.

“ji yao, would you like to stay with us too?” xiaotong asked with a smile. “that way, you won’t have to be apart from heng heng.”

ji yao was caught off guard by this question and didn’t expect xiaotong to be so open-minded. he glanced at jiang heng, unsure of how he would react.

in truth, ji yao didn’t mind the idea, as he had already decided to pursue jiang heng. however, he was concerned about whether jiang heng would find it difficult.

“well… auntie, i have to go to work tomorrow,” ji yao smiled and politely declined. “my hospital is a bit far from here.”

“that’s no problem,” jiang heng suddenly spoke up. “i’ll drive you there in the morning.”