The next morning, I saw Zhao Yanyan frantically glancing around on her seat when I entered the classroom. Seeing that I had arrived, she quickly said, âLiu Lei, this is bad! My dad seems to have found out about the two of us!â
âAh?â Although I already knew about it, but my heart still jumped. Zhao Junsheng didnât interrogate Zhao Yanyan last night did he? Hopefully this chick didnât say anything about me eating her, Zhao Junsheng did warn me!
âWhat did he say to you?â I immediately asked.
âNothing really, itâs just that he suddenly called me to a room alone and asked me, if there is someone called Liu Lei in my class. I said yes. He told me to ask you to come over tonight, since thereâs something he has to talk to you about,â Zhao Yanyan said.
âHe didnât ask anything else?â I asked worriedly.
âNo, I found it weird as well, how does he know you? Donât you think he noticed something?â Zhao Yanyan was so frantic that her cheeks were bright red.
âItâs fine, itâs fine!â Hearing that it was just that, I relaxed.
âAre you going tonight?â Zhao Yanyan asked.
âDo you want me to go?â I asked her back with a smile.
âYa! Youâre still laughing! What time is it, not worried at all,â Zhao Yanyan said urgently.
âNervous for what, whatâs weird about dad-in-law looking at the son-in-law, he might even be really happy and marry you to me,â I said without worries.
âAi! Youâve got me, why are you like this! Never mind, donât go tonight, Iâm scared that my dad will beat you up when he gets agitated,â Zhao Yanyan shook her head and said.
How could he bare to beat me up, I thought, he is still relying me to help him earn money. Thus I said, âWhy shouldnât I go, of course Iâll go. After all, if its fortune, itâs not misfortune, if itâs misfortune, then thatâs unavoidable.â
âAi, then okay. If my dad asks you about us, donât just say what comes to your mind, we have to just stand firm on saying that weâre good friends!â Zhao Yanyan reminded me.
I didnât think that a good student like Zhao Yanyan would also act in collusions with others to ensure that their testimonies tallied with one anotherâs. I answered her perfunctorily.
After school ended at night, I called home using a phone booth, and told them that I was going to visit a classmateâs home.
My mom kept on asking if it was a boy or a girl, I lied to her saying that it was Guo Qing. My mom did know Guo Qing, he came over to my home once. Thus she didnât ask anymore, and merely told me to return earlier.
Zhao Yanyan brought me onto a Hongqi car, it looked exactly the same as Audi 100, as if they were twins. I really didnât understand how this car was designed.
Zhao Junshengâs home was in the developing area of Songjiang city, due to being busy at work, Zhao Yanyan often stayed in her grandfatherâs home. The apartments here were mostly duplex. In 1994, only people that are rather important in Songjiang cityâs business industry could afford to live here.
There was a very large living room once I entered the door, as well as a indoor staircase that can go onto the second floor. This type of luxurious suite is the dream home of many people ten years later.
Seeing that I arrived, Zhao Junsheng walked out of the door smiling, and said to me, âXiao Liu, you came!â
âUncle Zhao, you called me over after not seeing me a day, are you trying to bother me, your provisional son-in-law, to death!â I smiled.
âYouâre not serious at all, how would I dare to hand my daughter over to you!â Zhao Junsheng clapped my back and said laughingly.
âHeh~ It looks like you donât have any good intentions, was there some problem with the input methodâs introduction to the market?â I understood this old fox too well, would he invite me over to visit if there wasnât any problems? As if heâs truly trying to deepen relationships.
âHehe! Eat first, eat first, weâll talk about the rest of the stuff after dinner,â Zhao Junsheng said while smiling.
Zhao Yanyan stared dumbfounded at the two of us who were acting all familiar, when she heard me proclaim myself as the provisional son-in-law, it scared her so much that her insides were all jumbled together, however her fatherâs sentence âhand my daughter over to youâ stunned her. What is going on?
âYanyan stop spacing out, come and eat!â Zhao Junsheng called Zhao Yanyan, who was still standing dumbfounded at the door.
âAiya, did Xiao Liu come?â a beautiful young woman wearing an apron came out form the kitchen. This must be Zhao Yanyanâs mother.
âHello, Auntie,â I said politely.
âDonât be so courteous, call me Bomu. Old Zhao, get Xiao Liu to sit down first, I have a few dishes that arenât done in the kitchen!â Zhao Yanyanâs mother turned around and went back into the kitchen.
âDo you drink, Xiao Liu?â Zhao Junsheng asked.
âA little,â I didnât refuse, itâs not good being too fake. I had a surprisingly good alcohol tolerance in my previous life, Zhao Yanyanâs wedding was purely an accident.
âThen one bottle for each of us,â Zhao Junsheng handed me a bottle of Songjiang beer. This is our Songjiang cityâs brand, and is very popular right now. However I knew, the factory will start going downhill form 1996, then endangered because of a few corrupt leaders, and finally bankrupt. The laid off employees would be countless. In truth, the taste of this beer is definitely not worse than the famous âHarbin Beerâ and âXingsanxing Beerâ, but itâs fate was decided by itâs identity as a nationalized business.
âNo problem,â I received the beer, and first poured a cu for Zhao Junsheng, than for myself.
âGood! Those that drink beer are real man, and will do great things in the future!â Zhao Junsheng praised.
âDad, youâre so annoying, how can you encourage him to drink beer?â Zhao Yanyan said unsatisfactorily. Although this chick didnât understand the relationship between her father and I, her ability to accept things was rather strong, and most importantly, her father didnât oppose us.
âHehe. A grown girl truly canât be kept at home, sheâs not even married, and is already speaking on Xiao Liuâs side!â Zhao Junsheng teased.
âDad, what are you saying, I donât care about you anymore!â Zhao Yanyanâs face immediately reddened.
At this moment, Zhao Yanyanâs mother also carried the dishes over, âOld Zhao, what are you talking about with Xiao Liu and them?ân/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
âHehe, just talking about our daughter, Xiao Hui, came over quickly, weâre all waiting for you,â Zhao Junsheng said.
Zhao Yanyanâs mother set the table, and sat down next to Zhao Junsheng, âXiao Liu, no oneâs an outsider here, treat it as your home, donât be courteous and eat. I donât know if these dishes suit your preferences, so just put up with it.â
âHow can I, Bomuâs dishes brings up my appetite with a look,â I quickly said.
âHehe, you kid,â Zhao Yanyanâs mother laughed.
âMom, leave him alone, Liu Leiâs going to feel embarrassed,â Zhao Yanyan immediately got me a sparerib.
âHehe, mom gave birth to you for nothing, how can your elbow turn to the outsideâ1â!â Zhao Yanyanâs mother looked at me as if she meant something else.
âMom, you said it yourself that Liu Lei isnât an outsider,â Zhao Yanyan argued with a red face.
1. It means that sheâs taking care of others better, commonly used to talk about girls treating their boyfriend better than their dad/rest of the family.