Chapter 20: Son-in-law, Come to My Home for Dinner

Yang Le went back to the kitchen and stir-fried a plate of hot and sour shredded potatoes. When he brought the dish to the dining room, Fang Jing and Shen Zixuan were nowhere to be seen—and neither was the sweet and sour ribs. Only a lonely bowl, stained with remnants of the sauce, stood on the table.

A dark cloud hovered over Yang Le’s head. Hadn’t they agreed not to eat meat? Weren’t they supposed to stick to vegetables only? Not a single piece left for him—just one would have sufficed! He hadn’t even had a taste. No wonder it’s said that women are like pickled chicken feet—impossible to reason with.

Yang Le felt he should eat more meat at his age, but he wasn’t about to go out shopping again. He could only finish stir-frying all the dishes and make do with what he had.

Once all the food was on the table and the rice was cooked, Yang Le called out to Fang Jing and Shen Zixuan in the living room, “Dinner’s ready, the dishes are all done.”

After calling them, Yang Le went back to tidy the kitchen; he never liked leaving it in a mess after cooking.

“Yang Le, I’ve already served your rice. Come and eat!”

Fang Jing, feeling a little guilty for having polished off all the ribs, tried to make up for it by serving Yang Le his rice and handing him his chopsticks, putting on the airs of a model daughter-in-law.

Hearing that his rice was ready, Yang Le washed his hands and went to the dining table. With the taste of the ribs still lingering, Fang Jing and Shen Zixuan were already eating with great relish.

At first, Yang Le felt a bit self-conscious sitting down, taking small bites and chewing slowly. But when he noticed the dishes dwindling, he soon abandoned any pretensions and began to eat heartily.

After the meal, Fang Jing and Shen Zixuan, their bellies round and content, went to lie down on the sofa in the living room.

Yang Le patted his still-flat stomach—he hadn’t eaten his fill. There was still some rice left, but the dishes had all been devoured. He had no choice but to put down his bowl. The worst part was, he still had to do the dishes.

Carrying a stack of empty bowls and three pairs of chopsticks, Yang Le went to the kitchen to wash up. Halfway through, his phone rang in his pocket. His hands were greasy, so he decided to finish up before answering.

The phone kept ringing as Yang Le washed the dishes. By the third call, he was done. He washed his hands and took out his phone.

The screen showed Wang Peng was calling.

Yang Le pressed the answer button.

“Mile, how are you now? Did anything happen last night?”

As soon as the call connected, Wang Peng’s concerned voice came through.

Actually, when Yang Le was taken away last night, he had told Wang Peng and the others to enjoy themselves and not to worry. Wang Peng had been worried, unable to relax while eating, but with so many classmates still around, he couldn’t just leave. He planned to call Yang Le afterward, but before he could, Yang Le sent a message to the class group chat, reassuring everyone that he was fine and would be home soon.

After that, the group exploded with chatter, everyone saying Yang Le was a good man and would be all right.

Once Wang Peng knew Yang Le was safe, he relaxed. The Xiangzhou Grand Hotel, seeking to make amends, had even sent each of them a bottle of wine, all thanks to Yang Le’s presence. Wang Peng wasn’t much of a drinker, but with his classmates egging him on, he downed a whole bottle of red wine.

Full and tipsy, Wang Peng went home and slept until now. When he woke, he called Yang Le. After two failed attempts, he tried a third time, and this time got through. As soon as the call connected, he asked after Yang Le.

“I’m fine, no need to worry. How about you guys? Did you eat and drink your fill before leaving?”

With dishes worth over two hundred thousand, Yang Le couldn’t bear to see it go to waste. Even if he hadn’t eaten, his classmates shouldn’t miss out.

“Once you told us you were safe, we could finally eat without worry. But then I got drunk and just woke up now. Thinking about food, I’m a little hungry. See you at school.”

Knowing Yang Le was truly fine, Wang Peng was at ease. There was nothing more to say between men, so Wang Peng hung up and went to eat.

After hanging up, Yang Le went to the living room. Luckily, there were three sofas, not two. Otherwise, with Fang Jing and Shen Zixuan each claiming one, he’d have had nowhere to sit.

The two girls lay there, intently playing mobile games, oblivious to Yang Le’s presence.

He watched the two beauties with amusement.

Fang Jing was the cute type—her face round but in just the right way, sweet and lively, almost like a storybook heroine.

Shen Zixuan, on the other hand, had a classic, oval face—a traditional beauty with dimples when she smiled, though she smiled less often than Fang Jing. Perhaps their complementary personalities explained their friendship.

“Come help me! The enemy’s jungler is ganking again. Ahhh… I died again!” Fang Jing shouted as she played her game, making Yang Le find her all the more adorable.

Yang Le hadn’t played the game before, but he recognized it—it must be Honor of Kings.

Just as he was admiring the two of them, his phone rang again.

Yang Le glanced at the number—it was unfamiliar. Still, he answered.

“Son-in-law! Come have dinner at my place tonight.”

As soon as the call connected, a familiar voice greeted him. Only Song Yiming would speak to him like that.

“Uncle Song, when did I become your son-in-law?” Yang Le replied, a little bewildered.

The two girls, hearing Yang Le say he was someone else’s son-in-law, turned to look at him, pausing their game.

“Don’t deny it! You two bought matching watches, didn’t you? Those watches are expensive! If my daughter wasn’t your girlfriend, would you have bought her a watch? And matching ones at that.” Song Yiming paused, then continued before Yang Le could respond. “Or are you saying your relationship with my daughter isn’t heading for marriage? If you’re not dating her with marriage in mind, then you’re just playing with her! Are you sure you want to mess around with my daughter?”

Song Yiming had settled on Yang Le and was shamelessly persistent, resorting to threats and cajoling. He simply refused to believe that, with a daughter as beautiful as his, he couldn’t win Yang Le over.

“Uncle Song, it’s not like that! I’m not a player,” Yang Le blurted out in panic.

Which was exactly what Song Yiming wanted to hear.

“Then it’s settled. Come to my place—I’ll meet you at the entrance to the neighborhood. If you don’t come, I’ll call your father and tell him you’re being irresponsible with my daughter.”

To ensure Yang Le came to his home, Song Yiming even threatened to involve his father.

“All right, I’ll be right there.”

Hearing his own father brought into it, Yang Le had no choice but to go to Song Fei’er’s house.

“Good. Come now, and I’ll have your auntie start dinner.”

Yang Le checked the time—it was already past seven in the evening. Was the Song family really eating this late?

“Fine.”

He hadn’t eaten his fill anyway, but whether he’d have the appetite at Song Yiming’s place was another matter.

“What’s going on? Did you get some girl in trouble and now her father wants you to take responsibility?” Fang Jing speculated, convinced her guess was on point.

“What else could it be? Men are all the same,” Shen Zixuan said coldly, dismissing men with a single sentence.

“You don’t need to rent the apartment anymore, Fang Jing, refund his money,” Shen Zixuan announced, unwilling to share a flat with a scoundrel.

Hearing that he was about to lose his place, Yang Le hurried to explain.

“I won the lottery, remember? She came with me to buy a car today, then we went shopping for clothes. While we were shopping, Song Fei’er ran into a suitor she didn’t like, so she used me as a shield. Afterwards, I noticed we could look at watches together, so we did…” Yang Le recounted the day’s events in detail, only shrinking the price of the eighty-thousand-dollar watch down to eight thousand.

The two girls didn’t care much about the eight thousand yuan.

Shen Zixuan gave up the idea of kicking him out—at least for now. If she ever found out anything bad about him, she’d still send him packing.

“Then who was that on the phone, and why did he call you son-in-law?” Fang Jing pressed, as curious as any young woman.

“My dad and Song Fei’er’s dad know each other. Last time, my dad took me to dinner with him. Maybe her dad thought I was good-looking and decided I’d make a good son-in-law,” Yang Le replied offhandedly. Some things were hard to explain; he wasn’t sure himself what Song Yiming saw in him. Even though his family was well off, Song Fei’er’s wasn’t lacking either.

“I’ll believe you for now, but you’re still under observation. If we find out anything bad about you, you can leave on your own—I don’t want to have to kick you out,” Fang Jing said casually, though she clearly meant it.

“I’ll head out now,” Yang Le said, and on his way out took out the trash as well.

He texted Song Fei’er: “What’s going on? Why did your dad invite me over?”

Song Fei’er replied quickly: “I was going to ask him to pay you back for the watch, but instead he just called you. But I never said you were my boyfriend, don’t get the wrong idea!”

Seeing her message, Yang Le felt a twinge of disappointment, but then realized he hadn’t considered her his girlfriend either. He shoved his phone back into his pocket, feeling a bit down.

He went to the parking lot, got in his car, and with his less-than-expert driving, headed toward Song Fei’er’s home.

Half an hour later, Yang Le arrived outside the Peace Garden neighborhood. From his car, he spotted Song Yiming looking eagerly up and down the street.

Yang Le didn’t dare to keep him waiting. He parked, got out, and called, “Uncle Song, I’m over here!”

Song Yiming, hearing his voice, paused in surprise, then hurried over.

“Well, Yang Le! All dressed up, you’re so handsome I almost didn’t recognize you. Is this your car? Not bad, not bad. But why tell my daughter it was a lottery win? Anyway, let’s go to my place first.”

With that, Song Yiming casually opened the car door and got in.

Yang Le took the driver’s seat and started the car. Following Song Yiming’s directions, they soon arrived at his building.

On the way, Yang Le explained he didn’t want to show off, so he claimed the car was a prize.

Song Yiming agreed that Yang Le should keep a low profile—if he was too flashy, other girls might try to steal him away, and then he’d lose the chance to be Yang Le’s father-in-law. He decided not to tell his daughter about Yang Le’s wealth, fearing word would spread and more girls would set their sights on him.