Liu Lexian was a little scared by Liu Tongjiaâs attitude.
âNo. My cousin said that sheâs my cousin-in-law. He said her name is Su... Uh... Su...â
Liu Lexian didnât remember the girlâs name. Liu Tongjia snorted and said, âSu Qingsang.â
âYes. Thatâs her name.â
Liu Lexian thought Liu Tongjia seemed very angry, but he wasnât sure why.
Was she angry because Huo Jinyao had gone to hang out with Su Qingsang, or because of Su Qingsang? Her tone sounded a little strange.
Old Master Huo, who was sitting on the other side, didnât look happy either. As for Huo Mingguang, he looked sour-faced too.
Liu Tongjia was the most displeased of them all. She abruptly stood up and looked at Old Master Huo.
âFather, see, what did I say? I said a girl from a humble family like that wouldnât know the right thing to do. What did you say to me back then? You said Jinyao chose her and nothing else matters as long as he likes her. What happens now? Sheâs come back to Rong City, but not home. Instead, theyâre hanging out somewhere together. Does this family mean anything to Huo Jinyao? Does he have any respect for us, his elders?â
Old Master Huo was indeed a little unhappy, but he stayed calm. âWe havenât talked to him about it yet. Maybe there are other reasons.â
The more Liu Tongjia thought about it, the angrier she got. âIâve wanted him to break up with that woman for such a long time, but he never listened. Now heâs obsessed with her.â
âAll right, thatâs enough.â
Old Master Huo held no grudges against Liu Tongjia, his daughter-in-law, but sometimes, he found her a little too fierce.
He was indeed unhappy about the fact that Su Qingsang hadnât come home right after she had arrived in Rong City, but he wouldnât make a scene because of that.
âCall Jinyao and ask him whatâs going on.â
Liu Tongjia was angry. âNo,â she said. âI just want to see when he plans to bring that girl home. I also want to know how proud this Su Qingsang is, exactly. She had better not ever come into our family house.â
Old Master Huo furrowed his brows. He didnât agree with Liu Tongjia, but he didnât say anything.
Liu Lexian sat on the other side, wearing a gloating smile.
...
Huo Jinyao held Su Qingsangâs hand as they headed toward the cafe where Li Qianxue and Old Master Li were waiting.
âHow have you been these days?â
Huo Jinyao had back to Rong City ahead of schedule so that Su Qingsang would have more time to spend with Li Qianxue.
Judging by their conversations on the phone, things were going well.
âNot bad.â Su Qingsang smiled at him and talked to him about Li Qianxue coming to Rong City with her.
âI think sheâs nice. Actually, she wanted me to spend a few more days with her, but in the end, she traveled so far with me. Itâs cold here. I can tell that she doesnât like the weather here.â
âHmm.â
âShe also wants to buy me a house.â Su Qingsang told Huo Jinyao about what Li Qianxue had said to her. âHow could things ever be like that? If you did something to hurt me, Iâd simply move into a hotel.â
Huo Jinyao abruptly stopped walking, stepped before Su Qingsang, and looked down at her.
âDonât you trust me?â
âItâs not like that. Thatâs not what I said.â Su Qingsang wore an innocent look.
Huo Jinyao narrowed his eyes and lowered his head toward Su Qingsang, saying, âYou better not think that way.â
âWhat if I do think that way?â Su Qingsang raised her head provocatively.
Huo Jinyao suddenly bit her on the lip. Su Qingsang took a step backward when she felt the pain.
Huo Jinyao quickly put an arm around her waist, squinted at her, and said, âIf you have those kinds of thoughts, I donât mind proving my loyalty to you with my actions.â
Su Qingsang was deeply aware of what he meant by âactions.â She blushed immediately.
âStop it. My mom is waiting for us.â
Huo Jinyao turned, holding her hand as they headed toward the cafe.
The buildings nearby had been constructed in exotic styles, but the ones two blocks away had been designed in the typical local style.
After taking a rest in the cafe, Huo Jinyao brought Old Master Li and Li Qianxue to that area.
Many small, unique things were sold in the stalls that lined the streets. Old Master Li had no interest in those.
Unlike them, Su Qingsang looked at those small things excitedly, turning from stall to stall.
Every time her eyes lingered on something for a few extra seconds, Huo Jinyao offered to purchase it.
Su Qingsang couldnât bear that, so at last, she stopped looking at them.
âThese things look interesting, but we donât have enough room in our home for them.
âLetâs go. I heard thereâs a snack street over there.â
Huo Jinyao raised his eyebrows and glanced at Li Qianxue and Old Master Li, who were behind him. They would never eat anything from a snack street.
Su Qingsang stuck out her tongue. She wanted to visit the snack street.
âIf Qignsang wants to go, letâs go.â Li Qianxue never ate street food, but she was happy to do anything that her daughter liked.
âLetâs go and take a look, then, shall we?â
Su Qingsangâs extra-careful attitude made Li Qianxueâs chest hurt. She stepped forward, took Su Qingsangâs hand, and turned to look at Old Master Li.
âDad, Iâve never visited a place like this. Letâs just go and take a look.â
Old Master Li surely wouldnât disagree. Soon, the four of them turned around and headed toward the snack street, which was not far away.
Su Qingsang didnât want to eat in front of so many people. However, she failed to resist the temptation of roast sweet potatoes.
âI want one.â
The fresh snowfall had made the temperature drop. Having a hot roast sweet potato in such weather sounded like a comfortable thing to do.
âNo.â Huo Jinyao responded without thinking. âYou wonât eat anything for dinner if you eat such a large sweet potato.â
âWe can share it.â
Huo Jinyao looked skeptical.
âDo you want it or not?â Su Qingsang began to lose her patience.
âNo.â
Huo Jinyao was rather determined. âHavenât you watched the news? This...â
He stopped talking when the old man selling the roast sweet potatoes looked at him. Su Qingsang gave him a cheery glance and bought two roast sweet potatoes.
The old man put the sweet potatoes in a plastic bag for her. Hearing her say that she didnât have any change, he took out his phone to let her scan the QR code and pay via phone.
âMister, you are so fashionable. Iâm surprised that you know about this online payment app.â
âYeah, everyone should get with the times. I spent a long time learning how to use it from my son.â The old man laughed, then looked at Su Qingsang. âGirl, are these two sweet potatoes enough for all of you? How about I give you another one for free?â
âOh, thank you, but you donât have to do that. These are enough.â
Su Qingsang was a little shocked by how friendly the old man was. Hurriedly, she brought the roast sweet potatoes back to her family.
She glanced at Li Qianxue and said, âMom, would you like to try some?â
Li Qianxue had a very complicated look on her face. She had never in her life eaten something like that.
She looked at that steaming roast sweet potato, not knowing how to react.
âMom, arenât you gonna try some? This is really good.â
Seeing the look on Li Qianxueâs face, Su Qingsang figured that she had never tried food like that.
âItâs really good. Shi Mengwan and I often went out after night class to buy these when we were in college.â
âLetâs give it a try, then.â Old Master Li responded to Su Qingsang first.
He took the sweet potato, broke it in half, and handed half to Li Qianxue. âI ate a lot of these when I was a boy. Iâm old now, but I think I can still eat it.â
âDad.â Li Qianxue had no other choice but to take it. âYouâre not gonna let me eat this here on the street, are you?â she said with embarrassment.
âWhatâs the big deal? These people donât know us.â
Su Qingsang smiled. She turned around, split the sweet potato in two, and handed half to Huo Jinyao. The look she directed at Huo Jinyao contained an obvious meaning.
Even her grandpa and her mom had agreed to try it. Was he even pickier than them?
Huo Jinyao mussed Su Qingsangâs hair, helplessly taking the half sweet potato.
He took a bite and found it rather sweet.
âItâs not bad.â
âItâs good!â Su Qingsang was happy. âLetâs go.â
Huo Jinyao felt a little embarrassed. When had he, Young Master Huo, ever eaten on the street? He would only do it for Su Qingsang.
Su Qingsang liked watching Huo Jinyao eat a roast sweet potato on the street.
Feeling people looking at him, Huo Jinyao wanted very much to throw the sweet potato away.
Li Qianxue felt very awkward too. After all, she had been raised as a fair lady by Old Master Li.
When had she ever done something like this?
However, seeing Su Qingsang eat happily, she convinced herself to take a bite.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
It wasnât as good as Su Qingsang described, but it was something new for her. Also, eating the food that her daughter liked made her feel that she and Su Qingsang had grown closer to each other.
The four of them spent the whole afternoon this way.
At dinnertime, Huo Jinyao brought the three to a restaurant to try the local food.
Following that afternoon, Li Qianxue and Old Master Li liked Huo Jinyao more than before.
It was not because of who he was. It was because what he was trying to do was not easy for a man like him.
After dinner, Huo Jinyao drove Old Master Li and Li Qianxue back to the hotel.
âGrandpa, Mom, what time do you plan on getting up tomorrow morning? Iâll send someone here to pick you up.â
âWeâre going to visit your family tomorrow morning. We donât want to go too early or too late because thatâd be inappropriate. I think nine oâclock will be good.â
âAll right, Iâll tell Wenchang to come here at eight-fifty.â Huo Jinyao looked at Li Qianxue. âWenchang is my assistant. I think youâve met him.â
âItâs okay. Itâs up to you.â
Li Qianxue had started to like Huo Jinyao more and more.
âQingsang and I are heading home, then.â
âOkay.â
Su Qingsang picked up her luggage and followed Huo Jinyao home.
She didnât know that people were gathering in the Huo family at that time.