Free Web NovelChapter 740: Chapter 495: Take This Tea Back to Drink_2
A boastful conversation suddenly had Yang Shaoqing filled with joy, and he intimately wrapped his arm around Fang Huai’s, giving him no chance to back out before bouncing into the house with him in tow.
"You said it yourself! You greet my parents, and then you tell them you want to take me out to have fun, to rescue this princess from the castle! I don’t want to dine with them; I want to go eat hot pot!"
Upon hearing this, Fang Huai was so nervous that he almost broke into a cold sweat.
"No, no, no, don’t panic! I think that’s not very appropriate. Our status is different now, we can’t be as thoughtless as when we were kids, I need to show them enough respect! Respect!"
"Forget respect! No need for that! We need to respect hot pot!" freewebnσvel.cѳm
Then, giddy with excitement, he ran inside shouting:
"Dad, Fang Huai is here, and he wants to take me out for hot pot!"
Yang Shaoqing had managed to lead the conversation and, once inside the house, he threw out the first line before Fang Huai could speak, putting him right on the spot.
Fang Huai felt a tingling in his scalp and had no choice but to follow inside.
Aunt Yang, with her fashionably permed hair, peeked down from the second-floor corner upon hearing the thumping of footsteps. Then she came downstairs and, seeing the significant change in Fang Huai’s appearance, looked puzzled for a moment before smiling warmly and saying:
"Fang Huai, it has been so long since I’ve seen you! You’ve grown so much!"
Fang Huai quickly adopted a deep breath and tried to conjure as mature a voice as he could.
"Aunt Yang! Happy New Year! You’ve become even more beautiful!"
He knew in his heart that he had to present a completely different attitude for Yang Shaoqing’s parents to reassess him. Otherwise, he feared he would have to do a lot of explaining in the future.
The best way to change someone’s negative impression is to disappear for a long time and then to reappear in an entirely different image to trigger a reassessment in their minds.
He had indeed disappeared for quite a while, by this lifetime’s count, it must have been two years since he last visited.
As expected, upon hearing Fang Huai’s voice now different, Yang Lan paused her steps as she came downstairs and scrutinized him.
"Yes, you’ve grown up, men change so much at eighteen! Dian Dian, fetch Fang Huai a pair of slippers!"
Dian Dian was Yang Shaoqing’s pet name; having a pet name was a luxury Chen Shuang didn’t have. Despite being the older brother, it was evident where he stood in the family hierarchy.
"Okay, okay, I’m getting them!" Yang Shaoqing searched and fumbled around.
Fang Huai had completely lost the swagger he had at the door, not reaching for the shoes himself, but instead stepping back and waiting for Yang Shaoqing to bring them to him.
"My brother’s shoes won’t fit you, wear my dad’s!" Yang Shaoqing handed him a pair.
Fang Huai took them, arranged them neatly on the doormat to swap them, then placed his own shoes on the outside shoe rack, neatly arranged them, and then picked up his belongings to place on the living room’s coffee table.
"Aunt Yang, I remembered Uncle Chen likes tea, so I bought some Pu’er. I also bought a tie, and I picked out a bracelet for you! Since Chen Shuang is in the Troops, he doesn’t have much use for many things, so I got him a pair of professional running shoes!"
He had originally planned to buy Chen Shuang a watch.
The tie mustn’t have stripes, as striped ties are to be bought by oneself; a bracelet gifted to elders should be of a wide type; clocks and watches should not be gifted as they are considered inauspicious.
Actually, shoes shouldn’t be gifted either, as they carry a bad connotation, but that applies only between men and women.
It’s all about attention to detail.
"Oh, you are too kind! You’re just a kid, showing up is enough, why bring so many things?"
Yang Lan was aware of the romantic relationship between Fang Huai and Yang Shaoqing but didn’t expect such formal gifts. She then turned her head and called toward upstairs:
"Lou Xiang! Fang Huai is here, and he brought you tea leaves!"
Yang Lan was feeling the situation was somewhat unexpected, not realizing that the truly formal affairs were yet to come. That day in Guiyang, Zhang Mei had spared no expense.
Now, Uncle Chen was also peeking from the stair corner, but with someone upstairs, he didn’t come down all the way.
"Fang Huai is here? Come on up and sit!"
When Yang Shaoqing saw they wanted Fang Huai to go upstairs and sit with the relatives, he was less than pleased.
"Dad, we’re not eating at home!"
Upon hearing this, Chen Louxiang hesitated for a moment before saying:
"Not eating at home or not, you should at least let him sit for a while!"
Fang Huai was taken aback.
Uncle Chen, being a businessman, was supposed to make some polite small talk to insist on hospitality. Yet he agreed not to have the meal at home so quickly?
Something was definitely up upstairs.
Just then, a woman’s voice came from upstairs: "Shaoqing is going out? There’s a young man coming over in a while!"
Fang Huai instantly got the gist of the situation.
Were they trying to set up Yang Shaoqing on a blind date?
He looked at Yang Shaoqing and flashed him a gentle smile.
Yang Shaoqing felt utterly aggrieved.
Fang Huai and she were in a long-distance relationship, and she didn’t want Fang Huai to know about these things, fearing he would overthink, so she had kept dragging him out with her.
Yang Lan was also a bit embarrassed; today, she had braced herself for her son’s sake, dealing patiently with this relative. Unexpectedly, Fang Huai had showed up.
However, having managed her household for many years, she had some shrewdness; it was impossible to leave Fang Huai hanging downstairs, so with an unruffled smile, she said, "Right! Let Fang Huai come up for a visit. Your dad is with Uncle Wu and can’t come down easily, Fang Huai, why don’t you go keep Uncle Chen company, have a chat? Uncle Chen hasn’t seen you in a long time."
As she spoke, she tried to communicate with Fang Huai through her gaze.
She was betting that this young man would understand their awkward situation and would restrain himself a bit, to avoid making it too uncomfortable.
Fang Huai gave a slight smile.
Message received.
He was confident enough in his own merits; coming today was to show off his maturity and steadiness!
Isn’t this the opportunity to demonstrate it?
As for this matchmaking thing, he had listened and understood both before and after, it was just the wishful thinking of that family; he didn’t care at all.
However, he still needed to make his position clear.
"Shaoqing, then you don’t come up, I’ll sit with Uncle Chen."
"No, no, no," Yang Shaoqing was afraid that Fang Huai would get upset upstairs and insisted on following.
Then Fang Huai employed his trump card, pointing to the pile of gift bags, "There’s a gift for you inside, why don’t you go and open it to see? When you’re done admiring it, I’ll take you out for hotpot."
As he said this, he gave Yang Shaoqing a reassuring look.
"Then... be quick, I’m really hungry."
Only then did Fang Huai smile and nod at Aunt Yang before heading upstairs.
Yang Lan watched Fang Huai’s composed back with admiration.
He didn’t let Yang Shaoqing come up, he must have understood.
Her daughter liked Fang Huai, and she knew that. Since coming home for the holidays, she would always hole up in her room waiting for calls and even lock her door.
Having been through that age herself, how could she not understand?
Yang Shaoqing was forthright, and once upstairs, she would definitely clarify their relationship and might even say something cheeky.
This young man had grown up quite a bit.
The wooden stairs creaked and groaned.
Uncle Chen upstairs, hearing the footsteps of a man, began talking about Fang Huai.
"Fang Huai is also a soldier; he enlisted the same year as my son, and they get along very well. He used to come over to our house to play as a child."
Before anyone inside could speak, Fang Huai’s laughter rang out first.
"Uncle Chen, you don’t have to bring up the mischievous things I did before. I didn’t break that teacup! Chen Shuang broke it and, fearing you’d scold him, made me come over to take the blame because he knew you’d go easy on me!"
Fang Huai’s voice was hearty, and upon reaching the second floor, he went straight into the room with the open door.
Inside the room was a typical tea space, with a table of unusual patterns, clearly custom-made, and incense burning, showing a taste for the finer things in life.
Uncle Chen was brewing tea, accompanied by a standard trio: a man, a woman, and their son.
Uncle Chen’s gaze examining Fang Huai was much more transparent than Yang Lan’s.
Any normal father would dote on an energetic and cute "enhanced" little cotton-padded jacket like Yang Shaoqing; Fang Huai coming to undress her would rightly cause concern.
"I know! You, young fellow, have truly changed. How’s the military treating you? Shaoqing mentioned you received high honors?"
Fang Huai replied modestly, "Not bad, I’ll make a special trip to report to you when you’re less busy!"
"Heh, you’re quite something, son. Last time you helped Shaoqing land the chance to record that promotional song, and you got her a big commendation from the military in the earthquake area. She received a lot of praise at school, haven’t properly thanked you yet!"
While speaking, Uncle Chen stood up, went behind the large tea table to the glass cabinet, took out a packet of tea leaves, and handed it to Fang Huai.
"Your dad drinks tea, right? Take this back for him to enjoy."
Fang Huai was momentarily startled, instinctively glancing at the three other people and noticing some indiscernible looks in their eyes as they eyed the tea leaves.
Hadn’t Yang Shaoqing said she bought tea for this relative, and they hadn’t accepted it?
Could it be this packet?
Damn, he’s also a master at throwing shade!
Fang Huai responded immediately with a laugh, "That’s not necessary! Uncle Chen, how could I accept it for such a small favor?"
The expressions of the other three people clearly turned sour.
