RGL – Chapter 148

William immediately felt that he shouldn’t have listened to Shu Jing in the first place. If he had followed his own plan, maybe he would have won her over already.

He frowned, briefly greeted Su Min, and hurried away.

Seeing William leave in such a confused and abrupt manner, Su Min was also full of surprise. She had thought he would do something more—like go ask Zhang Qingqing or Granny Zhang, or at least confirm things with her again. But instead, he left without a word. Did this mean he was giving up?

When Zhang Qingqing and Granny Zhang came out after tidying up and saw that William was gone, both of them breathed a sigh of relief.

“We really should’ve invited Su Min over for dinner today. She’s studying alone here, far from home. Spending the holiday alone must be so lonely.”

As soon as the Xue family started dinner, Grandma Xue was already grumbling as she sat at the table.

Grandpa Xue chuckled. “That child is reserved. Even if she came, she might not eat much. Besides, she has friends here—probably celebrating with them. Might be livelier than with us.”

“Isn’t Mianmian her friend too?” Grandma Xue frowned. The last time Su Min came to see her, she had been asleep upstairs and hadn’t gotten the chance to meet her. It had been a long time since then, and she was still thinking about it. Her son and daughter had all had boys—it was rare to come across a young person she liked, and since Su Min was close friends with her grandson, she wanted to get closer.

Li Aiyun pursed her lips at this and couldn’t help but say, “Mianmian has many classmates. She’s not the only one.”

“Mom,” Xue Mian looked up, clearly displeased, “don’t speak about her in that tone. I don’t like it.”

“Mianmian, what kind of attitude is that?” Li Aiyun glared at her son angrily.

He already favored the old lady, and now even a little girl ranked higher than her?

Xue Jun interjected, “Mianmian, you should apologize to your mother.”

“Then you should apologize to Grandma first,” Xue Mian said expressionlessly.

“Why should I apologize?” Xue Jun looked completely baffled.

Xue Mian’s mouth twitched slightly as he swallowed his anger. “If Dad isn’t wrong for defending someone important to him, then I’m not wrong either. We’re both standing up for the people who matter to us. What’s wrong with that?”

“That’s enough, Xue Mian. Eat.” Grandpa Xue said seriously.

It was rare to have a family gathering on a holiday—why did it have to be so difficult?

Grandpa Xue still held some authority in the household. Once he spoke, both Xue Mian and Xue Jun dropped the issue and quietly continued eating. Grandma Xue silently wiped away tears and lowered her head to eat. Grandpa Xue gently held her hand.

Grandma Xue said softly, “Nian Nian should be coming to visit me soon, right?”

Seeing that she was changing the subject, Grandpa Xue quickly replied, “Yes, she is. Xiao Zhao is about to be promoted and transferred to the city where they are. Nian Nian said she’d come visit while he settles in.”

“Ah, it’s been such a long time since we saw her.”

Hearing this, Xue Jun felt a bit uneasy. At home, the old lady didn’t even talk to him, but her heart was still with her youngest daughter.

“Mianmian is getting more and more out of line. Today he even talked back to me for the sake of a classmate. If I’d known his grandparents would raise him into this, I would’ve sent him abroad back then.”

In a well-known Western restaurant in B City, Li Aiyun was venting about the incident during lunch.

After complaining, she looked up at the quiet girl sitting across from her. “Manli, why didn’t you come to our house for dinner today? You could’ve helped me say a few words.”

Sun Manli pressed her lips together and smiled. “It’s a family holiday, so it didn’t seem appropriate for me to be there. Besides, Grandma…”

“She just wanted to invite someone else over. Why are you being so sensitive? And besides, your mother and I have been friends for so many years. Are you still treating me like an outsider?”

“Aunt Yun, I’m not. I just didn’t want to cause any trouble.”

“You really are a thoughtful girl. Your mother raised you well.” The more Li Aiyun spoke, the more emotional she became. Then, looking at the beautiful young girl in front of her, she suddenly recalled something from the past and laughed. “Come to think of it, your mom and I used to joke about having you marry my son.”

Sun Manli blushed and lowered her head with a smile.

“Xue Mian and I are just friends.”

Seeing the girl’s shyness, Li Aiyun smiled. “I know you’re friends now, but that’s only because you were young back then. Now that you’re almost adults, it’s time to think about the future. Xue Mian has started his own company. Though I don’t quite support his career choice, I believe he’ll make something of himself. You’re studying fashion design, and whether you start your own brand or work somewhere, it’ll be a great future. The two of you together would put my mind at ease.”

Sun Manli blushed even more. “Aunt Yun, please don’t say that. Xue Mian probably doesn’t think that way.”

“You never know. Among all the kids your age I’ve met, you’re the best looking, the most refined, and most importantly, you’re talented and have a good personality. A girl like you—he probably wouldn’t even dare to dream of marrying. Your studies aren’t too heavy right now. If you visit our house more often, you’ll get more familiar.”

The more she said it, the more convinced she became.

She didn’t have a daughter of her own, and she really liked her best friend’s daughter. The girl had a similar temperament to hers—confident and poised. Someone like her truly matched her son.

As for that Su Min—she would never approve. Whatever “important person” her son was talking about, she was the most important one in his life.

Su Min, meanwhile, had no idea she had unknowingly become Li Aiyun’s imaginary enemy.

She was still in a state of shock.

Just now, at the teahouse where she and Zhang Qingqing were having afternoon tea, William had suddenly appeared and played a supposedly romantic piece on the piano—and then publicly proposed to Zhang Qingqing!

Zhang Qingqing was so red in the face that she could hardly sit still. She crouched behind the table in embarrassment.

Granny Zhang’s face turned pale with anger and she pulled Zhang Qingqing to leave.

“We’d better go home now. This is too humiliating, absolutely humiliating,” Granny Zhang said, her face ashen.

Zhang Qingqing kept her head down as she followed Granny Zhang to get up and leave. She still hadn’t recovered from the shock. Mr. William had actually confessed to her on stage.

“Grandma, Qingqing—”

William had come down from the stage and was walking toward them under everyone’s gaze. Seeing them about to leave, he panicked. He looked to Su Min for help. Su Min swallowed hard and helplessly spread her hands, clearly unable to do anything.

If it had just been in front of Zhang Qingqing, she might have only felt embarrassed and awkward. But with Grandma Zhang present, this Mr. William actually confessed so bluntly to her granddaughter in public—wasn’t this deliberately provoking the elderly?

Su Min thought that if she spoke up for William at this moment, Grandma Zhang would definitely hold a grudge against her as well.

William was sweating like crazy in his panic. “Grandma…” Perhaps due to nerves, his accent became unsteady, and his words were all jumbled.

When Shu Jing came downstairs from the office, what she saw was her good friend shamelessly blocking the old lady and the young girl, refusing to let them leave—a thoroughly awkward scene.

“What’s going on here?”

“Sister Shu Jing?” Su Min looked at the suddenly appearing Shu Jing in surprise.

“This teahouse is mine. I just heard someone causing trouble downstairs and came to take a look—didn’t expect it to be you all.” Shu Jing had a look of amusement on her face. “I heard it was a foreign friend publicly confessing and getting rejected, so now he’s trying to restrict their freedom.”

Su Min couldn’t hold back her laughter at the teasing remark and let out a snort.

Meanwhile, Grandma Zhang, furious, pushed William away and pulled Zhang Qingqing with her as she left.

Seeing this, Su Min followed along with Sun Yan. As they were leaving, she winked at Shu Jing and glanced at William’s dejected look before walking away with a smile.

Watching everyone leave, William slumped down in defeat.

He just couldn’t understand—how could things turn out like this? Weren’t women supposed to be moved to tears?

Or at least call him “darling” with passion?

But just now, Grandma had actually called him a pervert…

Shu Jing, still having a bit of conscience, walked over and patted him on the shoulder. “Come on, let’s go upstairs and have a drink.” Looks like if she didn’t give her old friend some guidance, his romantic path was doomed.

“Mr. William turned out to be that kind of person—too much!”

Back in the car, Grandma Zhang began to scold William’s earlier behavior. If this had happened in the old days, her granddaughter would have been drowned in spittle by gossip alone. Even now, back in their hometown, if people found out a man had publicly spoken of love like that, Qingqing wouldn’t be able to step outside.

Zhang Qingqing kept her head down, shoulders hunched, clearly nervous and frightened.

Su Min thought for a moment and said, “Grandma, don’t be angry. William really did go too far, but I’m sure Shu Jing will give him a good scolding. You and Qingqing shouldn’t let it upset you—it’s not worth making yourself sick over it.”

Hearing Su Min speak reminded Grandma Zhang that William was Su Min’s business partner. Her face showed a bit of concern as she said, “Do you think what I said just now will make Mr. William not want to work with you anymore?”

“Oh no, he’s not that petty,” Su Min said, indirectly praising William.

Hearing that reassured Grandma Zhang. “Sigh, I was just so angry earlier. So many people around—how could he say something like that?”

Sun Yan chimed in, “Actually, it’s not so unusual. I’ve heard that foreigners are pretty open and don’t hold back when they speak.”

“Good thing our people aren’t like that, or everything would be chaos,” Grandma Zhang muttered, clearly unable to accept it.

Seeing her strong stance, Su Min didn’t bring up William again.

After all, this was a private family matter, and at its core, it was between Zhang Qingqing and William. Even if she personally thought the two of them suited each other, that didn’t mean others agreed. It wasn’t really her place to say too much.

Once the car arrived, Su Min dropped the three of them off and drove herself back home.

Zhang Qingqing didn’t say a word after entering the house. Worried she was still frightened by what had happened at the restaurant, Grandma Zhang pulled her aside for a chat.

“Qingqing, don’t be scared. This isn’t our hometown—no one here knows you. Even if someone heard, they wouldn’t know it was about you.”

Zhang Qingqing nodded, her face even more awkward as she thought back on what happened. But when she remembered the serious look on William’s face as he stood on that stage, her feelings grew complicated.

She’d only ever dated Zhao Liang, whom she met back in school. They grew close as they got older. Zhao Liang had said a few sweet things—promised marriage and such—but he had never said he loved her or liked her.

She didn’t really understand these things.

But when she heard Mr. William say it today, she realized how nerve-wracking those words could be—she had nearly stopped breathing.

“Qingqing, why don’t you go back home? The apprentices at the shop are picking things up quickly. Before long, they’ll be just as skilled as you. You don’t have to stay here all the time. Go home, find someone suitable to marry, and then come back if you want—save your family from worrying.”

Zhang Qingqing got flustered at the suggestion. “Grandma, I said I don’t want to just marry anyone. I’m not staying here just to repay a favor—I want to accomplish something, too.”

“But this Mr. William… Qingqing, Grandma’s not being difficult, but he is a foreigner. Even if he’s serious, we can’t let you go abroad all by yourself. What if someone bullies you?”

Just the thought of Zhang Qingqing marrying overseas and maybe never seeing her again filled Grandma Zhang with pain. “If I hadn’t been forced to flee all those years ago, I wouldn’t have married so far away either. Then at least I’d have had some family support over the years. Qingqing, the hardships I went through—I don’t want you to suffer the same. You still need to find a good man and settle down.”

“Grandma, I know… I—I’ll plan for myself carefully.”

“Sigh… alright. If you’ve got your own ideas, Grandma won’t hover over you anymore.” Grandma Zhang sighed and got up to leave the room.

After she left, Zhang Qingqing rolled over and lay face-down on the bed, staring blankly at the bedding, seemingly deep in thought.

It had to be said—foreigners really have thick skin.

Just yesterday, William had been scolded by Grandma Zhang so badly he looked completely disheveled—she nearly hit him. But today, he still showed up at the shop as usual.

Grandma Zhang was furious and wanted to kick him out, but because the shop was full of familiar faces, she couldn’t make a scene. She didn’t want anyone to find out about what had happened yesterday, so she had to swallow her anger.

William saw this clearly and followed behind Grandma Zhang, coaxing her all the way.

After what Shu Jing had told him yesterday, he finally realized that if you want to marry a girl from China, you must first win over her family.

No wonder he hadn’t made any progress all this time!

While William was busy pestering Grandma Zhang in the next office, Su Min slipped into Zhang Qingqing’s workshop.

Zhang Qingqing was spacing out, but when she saw Su Min come in, she immediately lowered her head.

Su Min smiled. “Mr. William is here. He’s in the other room talking to Grandma Zhang.”

“Again?” Zhang Qingqing looked surprised. “He really is something…”

“Thick-skinned,” Su Min finished for her. Seeing how embarrassed Zhang Qingqing looked, she added, “But from the way Grandma’s acting, I don’t think she’ll agree to it. You don’t need to worry—Mr. William will give up after being rejected a few more times.”

Zhang Qingqing didn’t say anything, keeping her head down.

Su Min pulled up a chair and sat next to her, testing the waters. “So… are you interested?”

“…Min, I—I don’t know.” Zhang Qingqing hesitated for a long time before stammering out what was on her mind.

She didn’t say it outright, but Su Min could sense it—Zhang Qingqing didn’t completely reject the idea of being with William. She was just unsure.

“What do you really think about Mr. William?”

After thinking for a while, Zhang Qingqing said, “I don’t know… I just keep thinking, if I miss this chance, what kind of person will I meet next?”

After things ended with Zhao Liang, she no longer focused purely on love. What do people marry for anyway? Isn’t it just for a decent life? But going home and marrying just anyone—her heart wasn’t willing.

After spending so long in the big city and becoming someone who could earn her own money, the idea of going back and marrying a farmer or someone from a small town just didn’t sit well with her anymore.