Lih ng pinched her thigh hard under the table—what was she even saying? Her words were all over the place.
I didn't even ask anything? Li Hongjuan seed a bit confused.
My little sister's a bit flustered today... Lih Xiao lightly patted Lih ng's thigh under the table to comfort her.
During dinner, Lih ng simply decided not to speak unless Li Hongjuan asked her sothing.
She mulled it over and finally figured out why she was acting so off.
Because… subconsciously, she was treating this as the first eting between the in-laws, afraid she'd leave a bad impression on Shen Yuan's parents.
"Whew."
Lih ng took a deep breath in her mind, reminding herself to adjust her mindset.
I'm in a secret relationship with Shen Yuan—there's nothing to worry about.
But by the end of the al, she still hadn't been able to shake off her nerves. She busied herself washing dishes and slicing fruit, which made even Li Hongjuan and her husband feel slightly awkward.
"Don't go to so much trouble, Lih ng. You don't need to treat us like outsiders."
"Mmhmm."
Lih ng felt she had done okay overall.
After resting for a short while, Li Hongjuan said her goodbyes and got ready to leave. Lih Xiao and Lih ng made a point of accompanying her to the elevator and escorting her to the underground parking garage.
On the way ho, sitting in the back seat of the Maybach, Li Hongjuan was still a bit puzzled. "It makes sense for Xiaoxiao to be so enthusiastic, but why is her little sister so warm-hearted too?"
Shen Xuan was sitting in the passenger seat and exchanged a glance with Shen Heping, then Old Shen remarked, "Maybe their family is just like that—very warm. Plus, this kind of counts as the 'first in-law eting,' so she probably worried about making a bad impression and affecting how we view Xiaoxiao."
"Maybe."
Li Hongjuan didn't think much more about it and laughed, slapping her thighs. "That Xiaoxiao is such a sweet girl. In the kitchen, while I was washing vegetables and rinsing rice, she was chopping and prepping ingredients. Afraid I'd get bored, she even talked about so funny stories with Shen Yuan from school to keep entertained."
Shen Xuan chuckled. "Mom, every ti you et Mrs. Nana, you say she's great. When you et Minhui, you say she's wonderful too. So really, who isn't a 'good girl' to you?"
"They're all good girls, all good girls," Li Hongjuan said, beaming with delight.
"Well... Mom, if my brother brought ho soone other than these three, what would you say?"
Shen Xuan asked cautiously.
Li Hongjuan snapped, "If he dares, I'll whack him with the rolling pin! Does he think he's so kind of emperor?"
Shen Xuan laughed mischievously. Every ti her mom reacted like this, it always turned out to be a "sweet surprise" anyway. Stirring the pot, she said, "Mom, when the ti cos, I'll hand you the rolling pin."
Li Hongjuan sneered, "But before that, I'll have to give you, little miss accomplice, a couple of whacks first."
Shen Xuan: "?"
…
Back upstairs, Lih Xiao asked, "Did anything happen at work today? You seed a little off."
"Did I?"
"Yes, you don't normally act like this."
"Maybe I was just a bit tired."
Lih ng said sheepishly and then added, "Sis, next ti if his parents co over, can you let know?"
Still feeling dissatisfied with her performance today, she thought about what she could've done better—starting with changing into casual ho clothes when back at the apartnt, maybe putting on light makeup, and expressing a bit more concern and greetings earlier.
"Sure."
Lih Xiao didn't think much about it. "Then you should go shower and rest early."
…
anwhile, after finishing dinner at Chen Na's place, Shen Yuan received a call from Shen Xuan.
Heading out to the balcony, he picked up and said, "Sis Xuan, how was the big eting between the in-laws today?"
"Bro, you set up."
Shen Xuan imdiately started in with a blaming tone. "Every ti you push to the front, huh? Do you know how many tis I got smacked today?"
"Oh co on, don't pretend with ."
Shen Yuan cut her off directly. "Mom is all bark and no bite every single ti. She wouldn't really hit you. Just tell , how did things go today?"
"Doesn't matter. Even if I didn't actually get hit, I was ntally traumatized. You owe compensation!"
"Fine, fine, I'll buy you clothes and bags next ti."
"Hehe, that's more like it."
Shen Xuan's tone instantly brightened. "The eting went great. Mom and Dad think Ms. Xiaoxiao is wonderful—she's considerate, poised, and intellectually stimulating. And, well, they think you're not good enough for her—a total clinger..."
"Alright, alright, you can skip the last part now."
Shen Yuan interrupted, then dialed Lih Xiao.
"Teacher Lih, what are you up to?"
"Reading in the living room. Uncle and Aunt made it ho already? What did they... think about ? Do you think they'll dislike ?"
"No, they said you're considerate, poised, and intellectually stimulating. They're really impressed with you."
Lih Xiao let out a sigh of relief. "That's good. I was worried I hadn't done well enough."
"Don't worry. The woman I pick could never be anything less than amazing."
Shen Yuan even snuck in a bit of self-praise. Then he said, "I should've co with them today, but I got a bit busy. I'll visit you tomorrow, okay, Teacher Lih?"
Lih Xiao sounded a bit displeased. "You promised you wouldn't call Teacher Lih anymore. And also… you can't keep pretending to be a student either."
It was fine for others to call her that, but it felt weirdly inappropriate when Shen Yuan said it.
"Okay, I'll call you Instructor Lih."
"..."
After trading a few playful words, he hung up, only for his phone to ring again—it was Lih ng. Shen Yuan answered, "What's up, Sister ng?"
"Your parents… ca to see my sister today."
Lih ng's tone sounded a little down.
"Yeah, I know."
"What did they think about her?"
"Pretty good. Why are you suddenly so concerned about this?"
Shen Yuan found it odd. In his impression, Lih ng never cared much about these social niceties, especially since this wasn't really related to her.
"No reason, just wondering. Anyway, I'll hang up now..."
But barely two seconds later, she added, "Wait, one more thing—how did your parents feel about ?"
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