Chapter 239: Meeting the Parents
“Where’s my Moutai?! Where’s my Moutai?! Yu Miao! Did you take it to play with?”
“I didn’t!”
Early in the morning, Yu Fan’s house was already in chaos. Yu Fan's dad was running around looking for his missing bottle of Moutai, while Yu Miao sat there innocently doing his winter break homework. Meanwhile, Yu Fan’s stepmother kept scolding Yu Fan's dad.
“I always tell you, put things back where you got them from! That bottle cost thousands of yuan, and now it’s gone?”
“I didn’t even touch it after I bought it!”
Yu Fan's dad had planned to bring the Moutai when visiting his future in-laws, it would make a good impression. But now it had mysteriously disappeared.
Just then, Yu Fan opened the door and walked in, only to find his whole family turning their heads to stare at him.
He had been kicked out by Li Mu’s dad and had nowhere else to go, so he simply came back home.
But something felt off…
“You took my liquor, didn’t you?” Yu Fan's dad asked with a dark face.
Yu Fan answered casually, “Yeah, I gave it to my girlfriend’s dad. Weren’t you the one who told me to spend New Year’s Eve at her place to get closer to her family?”
Yu Fan's dad’s face turned even darker. “I told you to go, but I didn’t say you could take my liquor!”
“Well, her dad likes to drink, so I thought it was perfect.”
“You’re not even officially engaged yet, and you’re already giving away stuff worth thousands?! Always siding with outsiders!”
Yu Fan just stood there with his hands in his pockets, looking totally carefree while his father scolded him.
Outside the house, he always seemed cheerful and polite, but at home, he acted like a rebel.
Yu Fan's dad was so mad he could hardly catch his breath. He pointed at Yu Fan, but couldn’t say a word.
Then Yu Fan’s phone rang.
“Really?”
“Alright, got it.”
He looked up with a smile on his face.
“You still have the nerve to smile?!”
“My girlfriend said she’s coming over tomorrow, with her parents. They’ll probably want to talk about the engagement.”
Yu Fan's dad froze for a second, and then, like a dramatic face change in opera, his face lit up with a huge smile. His eyes widened, and he clapped Yu Fan hard on the shoulder.
“Well done!”
“You can’t catch a big one without giving something up!”
“It’s just a bottle of Moutai!”
Even though Yu Fan wasn’t quite at the usual marriage age yet, he was already dating after all.
The next day at noon, Li Mu’s whole family arrived at Yu Fan’s house.
Li Mu looked a bit nervous, Xiao Jing was unusually excited, and their parents came with serious faces, clearly ready to give someone a talking-to. They were both frowning darkly.
Even though Li Mu had explained everything multiple times, the problem was, they simply didn’t believe her!
She followed behind her parents helplessly, while her father, with a stern face, knocked on Yu Fan’s door.
A moment later, Yu Fan's dad opened the door with a big, warm smile. “You’re here! Come in, come in!”
He quickly glanced at Li Mu standing behind them and his eyes lit up. She's even prettier in person than in the photo. He was very satisfied with this future daughter-in-law.
He hurried to place three pairs of slippers on the floor and turned back to call into the house.
“Yu Fan! Your girlfriend is here!”
“I’m coming!” Yu Fan replied. He had styled his hair with gel, just taken a shower, and put on his best formal clothes.
Even little brother Yu Miao was dressed up nicely. He already had a youthful look, and today he looked like a little doll.
Yu Miao and Xiao Jing looked at each other, and his face turned completely red. Then he shyly hid behind Yu Fan.
Xiao Jing happily ran up and grabbed Yu Fan’s hand. She glanced at Yu Miao and snorted with a proud face, “Little kid!”
“I’m not!” Yu Miao’s face turned even redder.
Li Mu’s parents noticed Yu Miao’s expression and felt a wave of sadness.
So, after being gone for years, not only had the "pig" taken their precious "cabbage", but now even the second "cabbage" would be taken too?
“Have a seat, I’ll go get the tea. It’s top-quality oolong, bought through a friend. I’ve been saving it and haven’t even touched it yet.”
Yu Fan's dad warmly invited Li Mu’s family to sit down.
The more he looked at Li Mu, the more he liked her. He thought his good-looking son should be with a girl like her, graceful and elegant.
She looks very gentle and refined, has a good figure and big breasts, and looks like she'd be a good mother, though she seems a bit cold on the outside. But Yu Fan should be able to handle her.
She was just too pretty, and might attract too much attention from men.
Meanwhile, Li Mu’s parents were also observing the house.
“It’s so close to our place, and the decoration looks pretty simple. Doesn’t really feel like a rich family,” her mother mumbled quietly. “And there’s a younger son too. That means Yu Fan probably doesn’t get all the family’s support.”
She noticed Li Mu frowning at her words and quickly explained, “We’re not materialistic. Whatever they give as bride price, we’ll return as dowry. But we also don’t want you to live a hard life after marriage.”
“I heard they don’t even have money for a house,” Xiao Jing, who had sharp ears, immediately chimed in loudly. “Sister and her boyfriend will have to earn money themselves to buy one!”
Just then, Yu Fan's dad came out of the study holding the tea leaves, and his face turned awkward after hearing that.
But being a middle-aged man, he quickly adjusted his expression and sat down smiling across from Li Mu’s parents.
Yu Fan and Yu Miao also sat down, but the room fell into an awkward silence because of Xiao Jing’s comment. No one knew how to start the conversation.
“Yu Fan, where’s your mother?” Li Mu’s father was the first to speak.
He felt that something this important should include both parents to show respect.
“She’s in her room,” Yu Fan replied.
Li Mu quickly leaned over and quietly explained Yu Fan’s family situation to her parents.
Yu Fan wasn’t close with his stepmother, so she didn’t join this family meeting.
After understanding the situation, Li Mu’s father nodded and looked at Yu Fan.
He let out a deep sigh. Although he had asked Li Mu many times if she was sure, she still chose Yu Fan.
“This visit is just for our two families to meet. They’re still too young, not even at the legal marriage age,” he said again.
Yu Fan's dad kept nodding in agreement.
“Even though we’re talking about an engagement, we’re not asking for any bride price or anything. And if the two of them ever have serious problems, this engagement won’t count.”
“Don’t worry. If there’s a problem, I’ll beat up Yu Fan first,” Yu Fan's dad said.
Although it was the first time he met Li Mu, the more he looked at her, the more satisfied he felt. At first, he thought his son was at least a match for her in looks. But now he felt Yu Fan was just a toad dreaming of eating swan meat.
“Let’s stay in touch more from now on, so our families can get to know each other better,” Yu Fan's dad said cheerfully as he poured tea for the parents. “Try it.”
The adults’ conversation was a bit boring. Li Mu sat there stiffly, but soon her mind drifted. She kept exchanging glances with Yu Fan, secretly giving him little signals. She even started teasing him under the table, her toes reached across and gently kicked his shin when the adults weren’t looking.
When Yu Fan didn’t react, she stretched her foot to touch his.
Yu Fan’s face slowly turned red. He glared at Li Mu, but he couldn’t hold back a smile because he was very ticklish.
“What are you smiling at?” Li Mu’s father looked at him.
Yu Fan's dad didn’t hesitate and gave Yu Fan a slap on the back of his head. “Apologize!”
“I’m sorry…” Yu Fan mumbled, looking wronged.
“We’ll go out for lunch and find a nice restaurant,” Yu Fan's dad said with a smile. “We can continue talking over the meal.”