"This rice is quite good, pretty tasty. It’s not easy—it’s been so long, but at last, we’re able to taste the fruits of our son’s labor," Mrs. Han said with a hearty laugh.
"What do you an? Didn’t I leave so green onions at ho earlier? They should be great for cold noodles," Han Qiwu retorted, unconvinced.
Mrs. Han swiftly fished out a large onion slice from the dish and placed it into Han Qiwu’s bowl, "Green onions? Here’s your green onion—its slices are as big as two thumbs."
Han Qiwu: "....."
Did I sohow grow our green onions into a tic-tac-toe grid?
After finishing their al, the family of three rested for a while before hopping into Han Qiwu’s uncle’s car from the sa neighborhood and heading toward their hotown, Han Family Village.
The uncle was kind-hearted but not very talkative. Upon seeing Han Qiwu, he gave him a warm hug and then drove off.
On the way, Han Qiwu took out his phone and started ssaging Tang Qingying.
"I just finished eating. Now on the way ho. What about you?"
At that mont, Tang Qingying was also on her way ho. Hearing the notification sound, she quickly picked up her phone, unlocked it, and started typing back, a smile she couldn’t hide spreading across her face.
"Qingying, why are you smiling so happily?" her mother, sitting in the passenger seat, asked curiously. She had seen her daughter smile before, but this ti, the grin was rather unique.
"Not telling you." Tang Qingying glanced up briefly and made a sound of dismissal before lowering her head again to type her reply, " too, also heading ho now. I’ll probably stay at ho tonight."
"Sa here. Tomorrow, what ti’s the movie? Do I need to reschedule the tickets?" Han Qiwu replied.
Tang Qingying snapped a picture of the movie tickets and sent it with a text, "No need. I specifically bought afternoon tickets—perfect timing to watch after lunch."
"Impressive," Han Qiwu sent an old-school sticker saying "You’re amazing." Then he added, "By the way, don’t drive over tomorrow. I’ve got so good wine for you to try."
"Good wine? Just how good?" Tang Qingying asked curiously.
Han Qiwu thought for a mont. Even he wasn’t sure exactly how good the monkey wine was. The reason he hadn’t brought it out to drink with his parents today was that he worried its kick might be too strong. If the three of them knocked themselves out after drinking, how would they manage to visit ancestors in the afternoon?
"It’s really great. As for the taste, I’ll let you know after I drink so tonight," Han Qiwu replied.
"Alright then, I won’t drive. But you better not give fake wine—don’t forget that if I get tipsy and go nuts, I’ll string you up and give you a beating," Tang Qingying responded.
"So this is how lady teachers are? Terrifying," Han Qiwu sent back with a scared-face emoji. "Alright, stop playing on your phone now. Using it in the car is bad for your eyes, and if it affects our baby in the future, that’d be awful."
When Tang Qingying saw the front part of his ssage, she felt nothing unusual. But when her eyes landed on the latter half, her face instantly blushed, and she murmured softly, "Hmph, fine, I won’t use my phone anymore. You’re not allowed to either."
Seeing her daughter put the phone down, Mrs. Tang grew even more curious. Suddenly, a light bulb went off in her mind, and she asked outright, "Qingying, are you dating soone?"
"Why are you shouting so loudly? I’m driving here; keep your voice down," Mr. Tang protested with a frown. Burly with a square face, he exuded a natural aura of authority. However, when faced with family, his deanor was the complete opposite of his exterior.
After issuing his complaint, Mr. Tang chuckled and asked, "Qingying, tell your dad honestly—do you have soone special? You were literally laughing out loud just now."
"We just got together... Is it that obvious?" Tang Qingying murmured softly.
It’s not that she didn’t want to tell her family—it’s just that she planned to buy so gifts with Han Qiwu tomorrow and then use those to ease into the topic when she returned ho.
Besides, today was Tomb-Sweeping Festival. With her grandparents and great-grandparents having passed away, it didn’t feel appropriate to bring up such matters in this atmosphere.
Mrs. Tang’s eyes widened eagerly, as if she could explode from curiosity. She wished she could climb into the back seat right then to interrogate her daughter about the boyfriend but had to restrain herself due to the surrounding highway traffic. Instead, she turned to ask, "Mothers know their daughters best. One look and I knew sothing was up. How old is your boyfriend? Is he good to you?"
Mr. Tang, still focused on driving, interjected, "Mrs. Tang, calm down. Our daughter’s all grown up; she must have her reasons for holding back from telling us. Let her introduce him in her own way."
"You always have to get involved!" Mrs. Tang said, rolling her eyes before continuing to probe, "How did you two et? Tell all about him—you can trust ."
Blushing for no apparent reason, Tang Qingying felt slightly flustered. She had never dated before, and now she was suddenly facing the task of introducing her boyfriend to her parents. For a mont, words failed her.
She instinctively answered according to her mom’s questions, "His na is Han Qiwu, sa age as . You might rember him—he’s the one who submitted an application last year to beco my student. He’s got excellent grades and treats really well. He often cooks delicious food for —the kind that’s truly delicious."
"Han Qiwu? I think I do rember him—the one who ranked top three in his undergraduate program, right?" Mrs. Tang said as she quickly pulled out her phone to log into her email and look up his self-introduction.
Last sumr, when applications were being sorted, she had helped Qingying sift through them and kept a backup in the inbox.
When she found his introduction and saw his photo, Mrs. Tang’s previously tense expression instinctively relaxed a bit.
The young man looked quite handso—clean-cut, sunny, and confident.
And his grades? Excellent, truly outstanding.
Plus, cooking? Knowing how picky her daughter was about food, if he could make stuff that earned Qingying’s praise, then it must be extraordinary.
Alright, checks all her major boxes.
While Mrs. Tang was reviewing his information, Mr. Tang, hearing the news, suddenly exclaid excitedly, "A teacher-student relationship? I love it! This is interesting! Brings back to my younger days. So, who confessed first?"
"He confessed to . Just a few days ago. We were helping Brother Guo catch an alligator gar; afterward, we went to Zuixiang Pavilion to eat, and he invited along," Tang Qingying replied, glancing at her mother nervously flipping through emails, feeling slightly uneasy.
Upon hearing that, Mrs. Tang raised her head and shouted at Mr. Tang, "Hey, hear that? That’s what a good man does—not forgetting to invite his girlfriend even while dining with friends! Certain old comrades might want to take notes?" Then, turning to Qingying, she added, "This boy seems promising. When can you bring him ho for dinner so your dad and I can et him?"
Mr. Tang, sensing the pressure, promptly changed the subject, "Brother Guo knows too? No wonder—yesterday, when I ran into Uncle Guo, he kept talking about knowing specialists from the maternity hospital and ntioning the easing of the second-child policy. I almost thought he wanted another baby at fifty."
Tang Qingying: "......"
Dad, please, stay lucid.
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