Chapter 160: Some Thoughts
When Ye Ziming finished scooping two bowls of rice and was about to leave the kitchen, he already knew there was no way he’d get a good night’s sleep tonight.
There were plenty of rooms in his house, but none prepared for Lin Muqing. That meant... she’d have to share a room with him tonight.
Honestly, that was a great thing, and a big win for him, but…
How was he supposed to tell her that?
As he thought about it, he turned to look at his mom, hoping to get just a little bit of help.
"Aren’t you two already living together?"
Seeing her son glance over at her, Ye’s mother immediately understood what he meant just from the look in his eyes. Her expression turned a bit amused as she spoke.
Before this, she had already asked Ye Mengze and found out that not only were these two living together, but they were apparently getting along very well.
This was about that weekend two weeks ago when Lin Muqing didn’t have anything to wear and ended up wearing Ye Ziming’s clothes, right when Ye Mengze dropped by for a visit.
"But we haven’t shared the same bed."
Ye Ziming quickly caught the meaning behind his mom’s words and responded, feeling a bit helpless.
"Oh? You’ve already brought her home, and you’re still not thinking about sharing a bed?"
His mom jumped at the chance to tease her son again, and it was clear she was enjoying it a lot.
Ye Ziming didn’t know what to say. Honestly, this whole thing was getting hard to explain, especially because that cute little girl still thought they were just pretending to be a couple. She believed coming home was just for show, to deal with the parents.
She had no idea that wasn’t what he thought at all.
He brought her home for real, so she could officially meet the parents.
After all, getting their approval was an important step toward marriage, wasn’t it?
"Alright, I’ll talk to her later,"
Seeing the troubled look on his face, Ye’s mother smiled and gave his arm a pat. Then she picked up the last dish and headed toward the dining table. Ye Ziming followed right behind, carrying the rice and chopsticks.
While the mother and son were chatting in the kitchen, the two outside weren’t just idling.
Aunt Lin was sitting on the sofa, and Lin Muqing was sitting at the dining table. They were looking at each other, as if having some kind of conversation. But they had only exchanged a few words when the mother and son came out of the kitchen, ending the talk.
"Don’t be shy, eat whatever you like. From now on, this is your home too."
After Ye Ziming sat down next to Lin Muqing and placed a bowl of rice in front of her, his mom smiled warmly and spoke.
"Mm-hmm."
Hearing that, Lin Muqing thought she was just being polite, so she nodded sweetly and gave a polite smile.
"Auntie, have you guys eaten yet?"
With rice and chopsticks in hand, Lin Muqing tried to ignore her hungry stomach and turned to politely ask Ye’s mother.
"Aiyo, so thoughtful! You’re even more caring than my own son."
Ye’s mother laughed softly, covering her mouth with one hand. She playfully gave her son a look, then reached out to gently pat Lin Muqing on the head.
"Go ahead and eat, don’t worry about me."
After saying that, she didn’t sit down at the table but instead walked over to the sofa.
Ye Ziming was a little embarrassed. Once his mom left, he finally "came back online" and started introducing the dishes to Lin Muqing, even picking out a few items for her.
It was already close to 10 p.m., meaning Lin Muqing hadn’t eaten anything for nearly ten hours.
So, as soon as Ye Ziming put some food into her bowl, she immediately entered serious eating mode, completely focused on her meal.
"Eat slowly, there’s plenty more in the kitchen."
“Mm-hmm.”
“Eat more of this.”
“Mm-hmm.”
Once she entered “eating mode,” no matter what Ye Ziming said to her, Lin Muqing would just nod and agree without hesitation. She wasn’t shy at all. Seeing her eat so happily, Ye Ziming also started eating, and surprisingly, he had a great appetite too.
While they were focused on their meal, Ye’s mom brought Aunt Lin to sit a bit farther away and began whispering.
“What do you think? She’s well-mannered, thoughtful, not spoiled or fussy, and super cute. I like her already.”
Ye’s mom couldn’t stop praising Lin Muqing. Someone who didn’t know better might think she was a matchmaker trying to sell her daughter-in-law to Aunt Lin.
“Why are you telling me this? You want her to be my daughter-in-law?”
Aunt Lin raised an eyebrow and joked back, “Keep dreaming. But I have to say—this girl...”
Ye’s mom then spent quite a bit of time quietly explaining Lin Muqing’s background.
“Aiya, that’s really not easy.”
Even before Ye’s mom finished, Aunt Lin couldn’t help but let out a sigh and turned to look at Lin Muqing, who was still eating at the table.
Her emotions were all mixed up. Especially after hearing how Lin Muqing had to grow up on her own, she felt a strange ache in her heart. From the moment she first laid eyes on the girl, she felt a strong pull, enough to make her secretly eavesdrop on their conversation.
And that sweet little face even reminded her of her youngest son who went missing years ago, her expression was almost exactly the same.
Looking at Lin Muqing now, Aunt Lin’s eyes were filled with overflowing motherly love. She even had the sudden urge to go over and give the girl a big hug.
“Didn’t you say not long ago that you were thinking about adopting a daughter?”
Ye’s mom purposely paused mid-sentence, just to carefully observe Aunt Lin’s reaction. From the look on her face now, Ye’s mom was sure her plan might actually work.
“Yes, I did.”
Hearing the question, Aunt Lin quickly looked away and turned to Ye’s mom.
But as she thought about some upsetting things, she frowned slightly, a bit of frustration showing on her face.
The Lin family had plenty of boys, but not a single girl.
Aunt Lin had three sons, and she had always dreamed of having a daughter, but all she ever had were sons.
Since she never got a daughter, she gave up and thought, “Well, with three sons, I’ll have a granddaughter someday.”
But what she didn’t expect was, all three of her sons, despite being decent and successful, were all afraid of marriage!
Now forget about having a granddaughter, she didn’t even have a daughter-in-law. That’s why she had been talking about adopting a daughter lately. It was also one of the reasons she didn’t stay home today and came to her friend’s house instead.
Because when her three sons heard her plan, they actually teamed up to support her, so she got so mad, she came here to cool off.
“So? Now that you’re looking at my precious daughter-in-law, don’t you feel a little tempted?”
“......”
Aunt Lin was already deep in thought after hearing Ye’s mom’s question.
But what she was thinking wasn’t whether or not to go along with Ye’s mom’s plan to adopt Lin Muqing as her own daughter.