Fated Love With the Billionaire
Chapter 77 A Close-knit Family

Chapter 77: Chapter 77 A Close-knit Family

Cheng Qiaobei had a good sense of propriety. He suggested that it was getting late and got up to leave so as not to disturb their rest.

Before leaving, Ye Yujun gave Cheng Qiaobei a red envelope. He refused to take it, but Chen Ningxi signaled for him to accept it.

As the two walked out of the elevator, Chen Ningxi said, "You brought a gift, so my mom giving you a red envelope means she approves of us."

"...Really? That’s great." Cheng Qiaobei happily took Chen Ningxi’s hand, "Now we can be open and aboveboard."

Chen Ningxi said, "The way you say that makes it sound like we’ve been sneaking around."

Cheng Qiaobei laughed, "I misspoke. I meant we can be open and aboveboard in front of your parents."

Chen Ningxi asked, "Were you nervous meeting them?"

"Definitely nervous. You didn’t know my palms were sweating."

"Was it really that bad?"

"Of course! If I didn’t behave well, they might have kicked me out." Cheng Qiaobei put his arm around Chen Ningxi’s shoulders. "It would’ve been hard to come into your house again."

After getting in the car, Cheng Qiaobei drove her home.

As soon as they reached the entrance of her neighborhood, the car hadn’t even come to a stop before Ye Yujun’s WeChat message arrived. It was sent to the ’Happy Family’ group.

"Peace is a Blessing (Mom): Ning Xi, are you home?"

"Chen Ningxi (Happy Baby): Just got to the door, what’s up, Mom?"

"Peace is a Blessing: Nothing much. I need to video chat with you about something when you get home."

"Chen Ningxi: Got it, I’ll reply after I go upstairs."

"Peace is a Blessing: Includes a GIF of a blooming lotus and the words ’okay’ with dynamic rotation."

Cheng Qiaobei asked, "What’s up?"

Chen Ningxi tapped on the screen, "See that? They’re both keeping an eye on me."

Cheng Qiaobei had a smile at the corner of his mouth, "They don’t trust me, afraid I might snatch you away halfway."

"Pretty much," Chen Ningxi replied.

"Is Auntie called ’Peace is a Blessing’?"

"Yeah."

Cheng Qiaobei, purely curious, "What’s Uncle’s WeChat name?"

Chen Ningxi opened the group member list; there were only three people. Chen Weichuan’s nickname was "Peaceful Mountains and Rivers."

"No surprise, a good cadre of the state, showing noble ideological consciousness everywhere in life. Wait," Cheng Qiaobei discovered a new continent as he swiped up and saw Chen Ningxi’s nickname in the group...

"Happy Baby?" He stared at her.

Chen Ningxi quickly locked her phone screen, "Don’t laugh, my mom made me note that."

Cheng Qiaobei was touched, "Your family really has a good atmosphere."

"It’s pretty good. My dad holds us back a bit, he’s too serious," Chen Ningxi objectively evaluated. This was her impression of her father growing up.

"Is he? I didn’t feel that way, though a bit serious at first, but he warmed up as we talked. He’s actually quite gentle." Cheng Qiaobei didn’t want to compare Chen Weichuan to his father, but he was already doing that in his mind.

His relationship with his father was more like a superior-subordinate relationship, while with the seemingly serious Chen Weichuan, it felt more like father and son.

Watching TV and drinking tea after dinner, they talked about family matters and current politics. He listened attentively to his ideas. There was no impatience in his eyes, but more tolerance and patience.

"You still misunderstand him. You’ll understand slowly," Chen Ningxi looked at the time. "I should go upstairs; otherwise my mom will start video calling."

Cheng Qiaobei said, "I’m heading directly back to Zhoushan. Tomorrow Wei Lai starts her annual leave. She didn’t take it last year. I heard her father has some health issues, so she’s taking him to the hospital for a check-up."

Chen Ningxi said, "See you in a week?"

Cheng Qiaobei’s tone was helpless, "Yes, sorry I can’t accompany you."

"Why apologize? I have a lot of work too. I’m busy until the election results come out." Chen Ningxi got out of the car and waved to the person inside, "Bye-bye."

Watching her walk into the community, Cheng Qiaobei then started the car and left.

The first thing Chen Ningxi did when she got home was video chat with Ye Yujun. Once connected, Ye Yujun said, "Why did it take so long to get upstairs?"

"I went to the supermarket at the entrance to buy yogurt." Chen Ningxi lifted her shopping bag to show her, "There wasn’t any left in the fridge."

Ye Yujun was reassured that she was home and said, "Remember to brush your teeth after drinking yogurt tonight."

Actually, Chen Ningxi knew her mom was just finding an excuse to check on her, so she agreed, "Got it. Anything else?"

Ye Yujun said, "No, you wash up and go to bed early."

"Okay, hanging up."

Chen Ningxi indeed felt tired, having been under high mental pressure for several months. If it wasn’t the wind power project encountering bottlenecks, it was frequent dark dealings in the election. She constantly thought about these issues, causing her sleep quality to be very poor the last couple of weeks, with occasional night terrors.

While Cheng Qiaobei wasn’t in Danjiang, they both were busy with their own work. Although they couldn’t meet, their care on WeChat was not reduced, and they also had video calls after work.

He knew very well how to win someone’s heart. Even when not in Danjiang, he constantly made Chen Ningxi feel his presence.

When it snowed heavily in Danjiang, Cheng Qiaobei ordered hot milk tea and sweet snacks for her. She liked eating seafood, and just as she got home, she received a call from the seafood delivery person. She mentioned having a stomachache, and not even half an hour later, a delivery guy brought her piping hot brown sugar ginger tea.

In short, he did his best to accompany her in his way, and Chen Ningxi finally understood one thing.

Some men always use being busy as an excuse, only paying lip service to say they miss you. But if they truly like you, they’ll find a way to care for you no matter how busy, because liking someone is something you can feel.

A week slipped away in the busy lives of working people. Initially, she thought Cheng Qiaobei would return over the weekend, but she received news that he couldn’t come back. Wei Lai’s father needed surgery for gallstones, and she had to stay at the hospital to take care of him.

Cheng Qiaobei watched the person in the video. Sunlight shone on her face, making her skin glow white. Leaning against the chair back, he found it hard to take his eyes off her face.

"Don’t miss me too much."

Chen Ningxi gave a wry smile, and Cheng Qiaobei asked her, "What are you laughing at? Is it because I read your mind?"

"I’m laughing at how wishful your thinking is."

Cheng Qiaobei asked, "What did you have for lunch?"

"Haven’t eaten yet, was just connecting to your video."

Hearing this, Cheng Qiaobei went to end the video, "You should eat now, or there will only be scraps left."

Chen Ningxi checked the time, "It’s too late now anyway; I’ll order something in a bit."

"What do you want to eat?" asked Cheng Qiaobei.

Chen Ningxi knew what he meant and said, "I’ll order it myself."

"I’ll order for you. Tell me, what do you want?" Cheng Qiaobei was already operating the meal ordering app. "If you don’t say, I’ll just order randomly. Don’t blame me if it doesn’t taste good."

Chen Ningxi couldn’t refuse him, "Beef fried rice and a cup of lemon tea."

He worked on the meal ordering page, muttering, "Beef fried rice, one serving, lemon tea, hot, regular sweet," and then added, "Okay, ordered. Wait for it, my happy little baby."

Since discovering her nickname in the ’Happy Family’ group, Cheng Qiaobei had occasionally called her that.

"By the way, is Uncle off this weekend? If he is, have him come here to fish."