Sweet slice-of-life love story: Wife, Let's love again
Chapter 203 - 200: Keep Going

Chapter 203: Chapter 200: Keep Going

After the meal was over, Qin Guanglin was sweating profusely.

There was no special reason for it; He Fang had pushed the remaining half bowl of rice she couldn’t finish toward him, and he had, without thinking, taken a couple of bites. Then he realized that all eyes at the table were suddenly on him.

"..."

"..."

However, thankfully, during the course of the meal, he had got to know He Fang’s family. His sister-in-law was called Zhao Qing, and his nephew was He Cheng; only He’s Daddy remained somewhat of a mystery to him.

"I’ll do it, I’ll do it."

After they had finished eating, Qin Guanglin wiped the sweat from his brow and saw that everyone had put down their chopsticks. He quickly tried to show some initiative by offering to clear up the dishes.

"Let me do it. It’s not right to have the guest do the work." Zhao Qing declined with a warm smile, wiped her son’s mouth, and started stacking the dishes, "Fang, take him to rest for a while."

He Fang noticed Qin Guanglin was feeling a bit uneasy and suggested, "How about going out for a walk to digest the food?"

As He Fang took Qin Guanglin by the arm to stand up—almost as if she couldn’t help but cling to him—Teacher He harrumphed and couldn’t resist giving her a stern look. Seeing her giggling, he felt a bit helpless and decided to adopt an ’out of sight, out of mind’ approach, taking his large tea mug and retreating to his room.

All of a sudden, after being away at school for half a year, he found out she had quietly been charmed by someone.

It was quite sudden.

"Do you feel like Fang has changed quite a bit?" He Shan leaned against the kitchen doorway watching Zhao Qing wash dishes. He waited until He Fang and Qin Guanglin had left the house, the front door closing behind them, before speaking up.

"It’s normal, isn’t it? It would be odd if there weren’t changes during the honeymoon phase."

"What do you think of that boy?"

"Hmm..." Zhao Qing paused as she washed the dishes, pondering before she said, "So far so good, but aren’t the two of them a bit too clingy? I see them both..."

"Damn!" He Shan reacted to her words and thought it was indeed possible. His eyes suddenly widened with realization, "She’s so young, this boy..."

"Oh, come on, she’s graduated." Zhao Qing glanced at him, "How old was I back then?"

"..."

"The law says they can marry now; stop treating her like a child. Look at that Qin... Look how nervous he is, much better than your thick-skinned face when you visited my family back then. His attitude is actually pretty good."

Seeing He Shan still looking unhappy, Zhao Qing couldn’t help but laugh, "Just keep observing anyway, it’s just a first visit. If your sister kept him hidden and never introduced him to you, then you’d really have something to worry about—not even knowing whether he’s good or bad—

From what you can see, at least he looks alright. Fang can handle him, even if he is a bit introverted and not too talkative, which isn’t necessarily a big problem."

"You’ve decided he’s decent just over the course of one meal?" He Shan scoffed, "You see how Fang is around him, she can handle him, I think she can’t wait to be glued to the boy."

"He’s a guest, and this shows that our family has good manners; we won’t be looked down upon by him and it won’t make things awkward for me. He’s only pretending to be congenial right now. Who knows how he and my sister-in-law are evaluating you at this very moment."

He Shan grumbled and turned to see his son sitting on the sofa watching cartoons, "He Cheng! Get your homework!"

...

"Your brother’s son is quite big, how old is he?" Outside the door, Qin Guanglin relaxed a lot and strolled casually down the street with He Fang.

"Seven years old."

"How much older is your brother than you again?"

"Also seven years."

"..." Qin Guanglin paused, "Then he was just a graduate when..."

"No, he hadn’t graduated yet." He Fang winked at him, "My nephew’s birthday is in March, just a few days away from mine."

"Your brother is really something!"

Qin Guanglin was somewhat amazed; considering the ten months of pregnancy, it meant He Shan had become a father-to-be during his junior year of college...

This brother-in-law was out of the ordinary.

"I feel like your dad... doesn’t seem to like me much. He barely spoke, but your brother seems nice. What should I do? Think of something quick."

"You saw it wrong." He Fang looked at him with a grin, "Actually, my brother doesn’t like you much either."

"..."

"Being a guest, they must show hospitality to make my family appear cultured so you won’t look down on us, and to make things easier for me. He just put on a facade of being nice. Right now, he and my sister-in-law are probably judging you."

"..."

Qin Guanglin looked at her somewhat dejectedly, "Did I screw up?"

"No, you did great," He Fang stretched out her hand to rub his face, her eyes filled with unstoppable mirth, "It’s normal. I was just going to school, and then out of nowhere, some kid snatched me away. If you were in my shoes, would you be happy?"

"Wasn’t it you who snatched me?"

"They don’t know that... Let’s get some milk tea." She pulled Qin Guanglin around a corner towards a roadside milk tea shop, continuing, "You see how my dad doesn’t smile much? He’s just putting on an act. He’s probably more nervous than you are on the inside—

I bet he’s been looking up strategies online too, haha... Like how to act when meeting his daughter’s boyfriend for the first time. He was the same when my sister-in-law first came home. Once you two get familiar, it’ll get better."

"Really?" Qin Guanglin found it hard to believe. Could Teacher He’s quiet demeanor really be just like his?

Hardly likely.

"Really," He Fang nodded affirmatively, "He’ll definitely want to have a chat with you at some point, then you’ll see."

"Okay..."

He felt a bit more at ease, entered the shop, glanced at the menu which had no fresh juice, and ordered, "Two cups of kumquat lemon, one with less ice and sugar, the other with less ice but more sugar."

After paying, they found a table to sit down, and Qin Guanglin grabbed He Fang’s hand, not wanting to let go, gently kneading it in his own, "After we finish our drinks, we’ll go back to your place for a bit, then I’ll find a hotel to stay in. In a few days, we’ll head back to Luo City together."

"Aren’t you going to have dinner at my house?"

"Having met them once is good enough. It’s not great to keep hanging around your house. Plus, you haven’t been back in a long time. You should talk with them, and it’s inconvenient for an outsider like me to stay there."

"They want to talk to you even more now," He Fang said, shaking her head with a smile. "Stay for dinner before you go."

"We’ll see. If your dad keeps staying silent, it’ll be awkward. It makes me uncomfortable."

Qin Guanglin felt a bit helpless. Meeting the parents was an inevitable step and there wasn’t much he could do. He could only hope that what He Fang said was true, that his future father-in-law kept quiet because he was more nervous than him.

Wishing for an immediate deep connection and long heart-to-heart talks was out of the question now. Keeping things smooth and steady through this visit was his current goal. After all, there was plenty of time ahead. They’d just met and weren’t familiar with each other. The next visit was bound to be much better.

"Hang in there."

He Fang took Qin Guanglin’s hand, kissed the back of it fiercely twice, cheering him on, "Don’t be scared. They’re all going to be your family someday anyway."

"That’s not enough, you need to kiss here to really cheer me up," Qin Guanglin said, tilting his head towards her.

"In public? Have you no shame?" He Fang muttered softly, looking around before quickly pecking him, "Happy now?"

"Happy, feels like I just ate a Snickers."

After finishing their milk tea, the pair leisurely strolled back to the apartment. The Snickers-energized Qin Guanglin started to feel nervous again. He had barely spoken at lunch, exchanging only a few polite words with his sister-in-law before the meal, and there was a good chance he’d be pulled aside for a "chat about this and that" upon returning.

In the living room were only He Shan and his son, He Shan sitting in a chair watching He Cheng do his homework. On seeing the two return, he greeted them without saying much, continuing to watch his son scribble in his notebook.

"This is my room." He Fang led Qin Guanglin into the innermost room, leaned back against the door to close it, and smiled at Qin Guanglin, "You are the first man to come in here, apart from my dad and brother."

"What an honor..." Qin Guanglin turned his head to survey the room: a bed, a wardrobe, a desk, and nothing else unnecessary—the very epitome of Teacher He’s minimalist style.

He walked over to the desk, glanced at the books on top, and raised his eyebrows with a hint of pride, "I knew your place would still have a bunch of novels."

"What’s so surprising about that? Books are too much trouble to carry. Otherwise, I would’ve moved them all over. Then I could just pick one up anytime I want to read."

He Fang walked to the bed, lifted the dust cover, patted it a couple of times, then lay down on her back and waved to him, "Come here, let me show you what a girl’s boudoir bed feels like."

"Teacher He’s boudoir bed, to be exact."

Qin Guanglin lay down beside He Fang and sighed, looking all around.

This was Teacher He’s room, where she had lived since she was young. It really was... a bit magical.

"Got any photos from when you were little? I want to see them."

"Wait a second... Let me show you how I looked with my ’immortal qi’ when I was younger." He Fang got up and started rummaging through the desk.

Knock, knock, knock.

A knock at the door.

Qin Guanglin quickly got up and sat on the desk chair, pulling out a book to hold in his hands, then gestured to He Fang to answer the door.

"Look how scared you are," He Fang laughed at him, shaking her head as she went to open the door.

"Dad, what’s up?"