Chapter 256: Elders
Early in the morning, the noisy voices of children playing outside woke An Han up.
She rubbed her sleepy eyes, held herself up with one hand, and looked toward the floor-to-ceiling window not far away.
Outside the window was a fence made of bushes, about as tall as a person. It could block people’s view and protect the privacy of the first floor.
An Han sat on the bed in a daze for a long time. After looking around the roughly 30-square-meter guest room, she scratched her messy hair, slowly got out of bed, and walked into the private bathroom in the living room area.
It seemed like every bedroom had its own bathroom. This one even had a small bathtub. She had wanted to take a bath last night, but she was worried she might accidentally damage or dirty something in Su Peng’s house.
The housekeeper aunt had prepared toiletries before An Han arrived. While she brushed her teeth, she looked at herself in the mirror, her face was a bit puffy from just waking up, and then noticed the white flakes of dry skin on the sides of her nose. She sighed helplessly, “I forgot to bring my skincare…”
It was only 7 a.m. The bed in Su Peng’s house was too soft, so An Han didn’t sleep well.
From the living room area, she seemed to hear quiet voices. She looked up curiously, but then got scared. She didn’t even want to see the housekeeper aunt.
So after washing up, she just sat on the bed with nothing to do.
“Rich guy…”
An Han muttered softly. When they were at school, she couldn’t really feel how rich Su Peng’s family was. But now she felt nervous and even more curious about him.
People say rich kids like to play around a lot…
But from how she usually interacted with Su Peng, he didn’t seem different from other guys his age. He liked games, was a bit of a homebody, didn’t seem to have any strange hobbies, and she never heard of him going to nightclubs or anything like that.
He didn’t even have many female friends around him.
Feeling bored in the room, An Han grew restless. She walked to the door and listened carefully to the voices outside.
She couldn’t hear clearly, but it was probably the auntie housekeeper?
After hesitating for a moment, she still walked out of the room, wanting to see if Su Peng had woken up.
She carefully peeked around the corner in the hallway.
But just as she stuck her head out, she saw a middle-aged man and woman sitting on the sofa, and they both looked directly toward her.
“……”
She quickly pulled her head back. She really didn’t understand why Su Peng’s father was at home.
Didn’t he say they went to visit relatives and wouldn’t come back?
“Hey, girl, come here a moment.”
An Han instantly got nervous. She wanted to run away, but that would be too rude. She took two steps forward, then suddenly realized she was still wearing pajamas.
She touched her messy hair, panicked, and ran back to her room to fix herself up.
Then she put on her trench coat, trying to look more mature, like an older sister type.
Most people like it when their kid’s friend looks mature, right?
She returned to the hallway corner and peeked again. Su Peng’s parents were still smiling warmly at her and even waved for her to come over.
It looked like she had no choice but to meet uncle and auntie.
And judging by their burning gazes, they probably mistook her for Su Peng’s girlfriend.
Feeling awkward, An Han walked forward with tiny nervous steps under their slightly judging eyes. “Hello, Uncle, Auntie.”
She bent forward a little to show respect, then stood beside the sofa, not knowing where to put her hands. At the same time, she secretly looked at them.
“This is Su Peng’s girlfriend. I saw her once yesterday,” Su Guangyu said to his wife. “She’s a pretty cute girl.”
Zhang Peiling nodded and warmly patted the seat beside her. “Sit down, why are you standing?”
Right now, An Han only regretted her own curiosity. If she hadn’t peeked out earlier, she would still be lying in bed playing on her phone instead of being surrounded by Su Peng’s parents.
“I’m not Su Peng’s girlfriend, we’re just classmates,” she explained quickly. She sat down stiffly, her cheeks already turning red.
“We know, we know,” Su Guangyu said with a cheerful smile.
No matter how lively she normally acted, when facing completely unfamiliar elders, An Han still felt very nervous.
Sitting there with her head down, looking at her tightly pressed-together legs, she could feel their eyes on her from both sides, sometimes looking at her face, sometimes at her chest, and their expressions slowly became more and more satisfied.
“So pretty~” Zhang Peiling said with a gentle, motherly smile.
“An Han~ Are you comfortable staying here?”
“What do you want to eat later? Auntie will cook it for you.”
They spoke at almost the same time, making An Han even more flustered. She shook her head quickly, and the girl who was usually good at talking could now only answer questions in a stiff, robotic way.
“It’s very comfortable… and for breakfast, I’ll eat whatever you make. I’m not picky.”
Her thoughts were a mess, drifting far away.
Would Su Peng’s parents suddenly throw a bank card at her and tell her to stay away from their son like in those cliché TV dramas?
They always show that in dramas.
“We… live in Changle. At home, it’s just my parents and my little sister. She’s twelve this year.”
Another scene from idol dramas flashed through her mind, the cold rich family couple who always look strict. But when she looked at the friendly couple in front of her, they didn’t match that image at all.
This uncle wasn’t even dressed as nicely as her father. He wasn’t in flip-flops and a tank top either, just a simple shirt and a knitted sweater. The auntie had light makeup, about the same level as her own mother. They didn’t have big gold necklaces, fancy jewelry… actually, they didn’t have any jewelry at all.
“I’m… twenty-two in chinese age, twenty in actual age.”
Zhang Peiling smiled brightly. “Just the right age for marriage.”
“Mm, just the right age for marriag—ah? I’m not thinking about marriage!”
An Han suddenly reacted and quickly added, “Su Peng and I are only friends.”
“Friends,” the couple repeated at the same time, almost laughing.
One of them had seen how excited An Han looked when she saw Su Peng yesterday. The other had never seen Su Peng bring any girl home before. Based on those alone, they could pretty much guess the real relationship.
An Han felt like she was being teased…
“I’ll go make breakfast for you. Don’t be too nervous, just treat this like your own home.” Zhang Peiling got up with a smile and walked to the kitchen.
Su Guangyu checked the time, then suddenly stood up loudly. “Why isn’t that boy Su Peng up yet!”
Saying that, he walked upstairs with big steps.
Left on the sofa, An Han let out a hopeless sigh. Luckily, Su Peng’s parents were actually very easy to talk to. She just didn’t know how to handle elders who were this warm and enthusiastic and who misunderstood everything.
They only talked for about ten minutes, but she almost told them everything about her entire family history.
“Good thing I can escape this afternoon.”
She had a 2 p.m. ticket. After lunch, she should be able to leave and no longer face the overly friendly parents.
“Don’t they think… we’re from different worlds? Why are they so eager to find a wife for Su Peng?”
She muttered softly, feeling strangely a little happy.