Chapter 328: My Son is a Gigolo
Sister Xia Zhilan? Auntie? Future mother-in-law!?
Lin Yibai felt her mind go blank. It was like her brain's CPU was about to overheat. What on earth was going on!?
She stared at Xia Zhilan for a long time before finally managing to squeeze out a sentence through her teeth.
“Sister Xia, why are you here? I’m not seeing things, am I?”
The two of them often chatted on WeChat. Xia Zhilan would frequently give Lin Yibai advice, even teaching her how to handle Xia Changyu.
But now that she thought about it carefully, this whole thing felt so suspicious!
They were teaming up to deal with Xia Changyu… which meant they were actually teaming up against her own son, right?
But then again, maybe that was just another way of secretly helping her son win over the daughter-in-law she was super happy with?
Xia Zhilan covered her mouth and laughed. “Why are you so surprised? Didn’t you just ask me a few days ago for tips on how to behave when meeting your future mother-in-law? I told you then, just showing up is the best gift you could give.”
Lin Yibai was still trying to wrap her head around it. She frowned slightly and said, “Wait, wait… let me sort this out. So you’re Sister Xia, the one who said you were a music professional invited by Xia Changyu... and at the same time, you’re also his mom?”
Xia Zhilan smiled and corrected her. “First of all, I want to apologize for hiding the fact that I’m Xia Changyu’s mother. But yes, I’m also the Sister Xia who helped you scold that ‘bad guy’ back then.”
Lin Yibai muttered, “But... but this still feels so weird…”
Xia Zhilan pulled her aside, looking her up and down with more and more happiness and satisfaction.
“There’s nothing weird about it! I hope you can understand how thrilled a mother can be when she meets a daughter-in-law she really likes. I was so excited that I went a little crazy trying to get you and Changyu together. I even told him that if he didn’t marry you, he might as well not come back home!”
Lin Yibai: “Pffft~”
Okay! The awkwardness was starting to fade.
After all, if her future mother-in-law turned out to be the same sweet “big sister” who always chatted with her on WeChat, what was there to be nervous about?
And when they first met, it had been during a pretty dramatic time. Xia Changyu had just been messed up by his crazy ex-girlfriend and beaten up.
Xia Zhilan naturally went to check out her son’s crush, and unexpectedly liked her so much that she mentally decided right then, this girl will be her daughter-in-law.
Lin Yibai scratched her head and went to help with the cooking. “Auntie...”
Xia Zhilan crossed her arms and said, “Auntie? What auntie? You can call me ‘mother-in-law’, or just call me Sister Xia! Don’t make me sound like some old lady!”
Lin Yibai blushed, “Mother—uh... Sister Xia, you really don’t need to cook so much food. We can’t finish it all!”
Xia Zhilan smiled, “But we already talked about these dishes on WeChat. These are all your favorites! Since you like them, of course I’m going to make them for you.”
‘Beep beep~’
While the two were chatting, a car pulled up outside. Lin Yibai, who had just started to relax, suddenly tensed up again.
Because Xia Changyu’s dad might be back.
Xia Zhilan quickly grabbed her hand and comforted her, “Don’t be nervous. His dad might look serious, but he’s actually a good person. He might even be more nervous than you right now!”
Before she could finish her sentence, a flustered voice came from outside the door. Even before stepping in, the man was already shouting.
“Zhilan, hurry up and get my suit! Our son’s girlfriend is about to arrive. I need to change clothes first so I don’t leave a bad impression!”
Clearly, he had the wrong information. Xia Changyu had already brought his girlfriend home earlier than expected.
Holding a bottle of juice, Xia Changyu walked over from the fridge while pouring a glass and called out. “Dad, what’s going on with you?”
His father, Xia Sicheng, said, “Ah! You little rascal, why are you back so soon?”
Xia Changyu replied, “Soon? You think that was fast?”
Then Xia Sicheng looked toward the kitchen and saw a pretty young woman. His whole body froze as he stammered, “A-ah, d-daughter-in... I mean, young lady... miss…”
Even his brain was starting to feel fuzzy.
He thought to himself, ‘What’s wrong with me? I’m not usually like this! At work, I’m always calm, confident, and respected!’
But now he couldn’t even figure out what to call Lin Yibai.
Still feeling a bit shy, Lin Yibai walked over politely and said, “Hello, Uncle. My name is Lin Baiyi. You can call me Baiyi, or just Xiao Bai if that’s easier.”
Xia Sicheng quickly replied, “Oh! Baiyi, right! Come in, come in! And you, kid, what are you standing there for? Go get that fancy tea I keep. Yes, that one exactly!”
This was his future daughter-in-law, after all. Even the best tea in the house should be shared with family, no need to be stingy!
The men didn’t really have much small talk to make. As expected, the conversation quickly moved from politics, to the economy, to international affairs, and then finally to work.
At least Xia’s father was a sincere person. He didn’t know exactly what Lin Yibai was doing for work now, but he kindly said, “You must still be doing your internship, right? If you don’t mind, how about coming to work at our company?”
Was he seriously offering her a job in their company right away?
Thinking about it carefully, it wasn’t that strange.
Sure, she could just be a full-time housewife, but since their company was doing so well, offering a good position to his future daughter-in-law didn’t seem strange at all.
Lin Yibai thanked him first, then said, “Thank you so much for the offer, Uncle. But once I graduate, I’ll probably have to go report to a government office right away.”
Xia Sicheng froze. “What?”
Lin Yibai said in a quiet voice. “I... I passed the civil service exam for a government position. Uncle, you don’t look down on that, do you?”
Xia Sicheng suddenly clapped his hands in joy, eyes full of excitement. “Nonsense! Why would I look down on that? I mean, this is great! Really great!”
Lin Yibai added, “But my salary will only be about seven or eight thousand a month…”
Hearing this, Xia Sicheng gave his son a sharp look and said through gritted teeth.
“Do we look like we’re short on money? Wait a minute, son, don’t tell me you haven’t been spending much on Xiao Bai?”
Lin Yibai quickly jumped in to defend him.
“No, no, that’s not true, Uncle! Don’t get the wrong idea. I used to earn three or four thousand yuan a month at my old job. After paying rent, utility bills, and buying groceries for me and Changyu, there wasn’t much left, but it was still enough. And after I passed the civil service exam, I quit my job early to avoid any trouble and borrowed some money from Changyu. I’ll pay him back after I start working.”
See? Her boyfriend was a great person!
But Father Xia viewed the situation from a different angle. He just looked at his son, gritting his teeth, like he was saying, ‘What on earth did I just hear?’
So this brat has been hanging out at her place every day, eating her food, not even helping pay the bills?
He really wanted to take off his belt and give his son a good beating.