Chapter 54: Siding with an Outsider
Chapter 54: Chapter 54: Siding with an Outsider
Hearing the inquiry from his junior’s elders, Zhang Yan knew he couldn’t dodge this after all.
However, since he had chosen to follow his junior straight back to her hometown and face her relatives, he was already mentally prepared. The casual mention of his parents being on a round-the-world trip—which previously seemed like mere showing off—now served as the perfect excuse. If they asked, his parents were traveling and hadn’t returned. They could talk about it later.
Yet, before he could open his mouth to make an excuse, his junior beside him beat him to it. "Senior, why don’t you go to my room first? I want to have a private chat with my elders."
"Alright." Zhang Yan gave her a look of surprise.
Normally, as the boyfriend who didn’t actually intend to marry her, he should have been the one to handle this. Leaving it to the "victim" to take the lead felt somewhat inappropriate. But seeing the firm, stubborn look in her eyes, Zhang Yan simply pinched her cheek and did as she said, heading into her childhood bedroom and closing the door behind him.
Only then did Chi Xinyue turn back to the two elders. "Oh, Uncle! I’m only twenty, and I’m still in school. No matter what, we should wait until I graduate to talk about this."
"Look at my memory, I almost forgot you’re still a student. Then you definitely need to prioritize your studies. There’s no rush to get married. But you could get engaged first," her uncle said.
The older generation still felt that securing an official status was the most important thing. But Chi Xinyue didn’t think so. "Times have changed. That’s not popular anymore. Just don’t worry about it; we can make our own decisions regarding our relationship."
Seeing his daughter constantly taking an outsider’s side, Father Chi couldn’t help but worry that his silly girl would be taken advantage of. "Daughter, your uncle has a point. If you get engaged, we’ll feel a bit more at ease."
"Dad, your thinking is so outdated! Do you know how many people get divorced every single day?
"Even having a marriage certificate is useless nowadays, let alone an engagement with zero legal binding. Compared to all that, I believe in our feelings for each other much more!"
"Feelings are invisible and intangible, and they can change, daughter! Right now your relationship is great, so it’s fine, but you have to consider the future."
Father Chi didn’t necessarily doubt Zhang Yan’s character right now; he merely wanted to seek a reliable guarantee for his daughter.
Both elders meant well. Although Chi Xinyue intended to persuade them, she couldn’t be unreasonable or speak too harshly. After a moment of thought, she decided that since her elders wanted a guarantee, she would bring up material things.
"Dad, Uncle, you don’t know this, but in just the past week alone, the gifts my senior bought me were already worth over two hundred thousand!
"Everything I eat and wear now is like that of a rich heiress. What else could I be dissatisfied with?
"Not to mention he’s taken complete charge of treating my dad’s illness. That’s going to cost over a million more. He has already been more than good enough to our family!
"Don’t all these things and actions bring more peace of mind than some arbitrary guarantee?"
Hearing that his future son-in-law was so willing to spend money on his daughter, Father Chi was surprised but also slightly relieved. "Sigh, a grown daughter can’t be kept at home. You can make your own decisions."
Beside them, Chi Chenglong felt extremely gratified and envious. His younger brother’s family had clearly reached their darkest hour of life and death, but they had ultimately hit rock bottom and bounced back! It was a classic case of surviving a great disaster and being bound for good fortune. There would be plenty of good days to enjoy in the future, and their branch of the family might even get to bask in some of that light.
After all, Chi Xinyue was still in school, and Chi Chenghu would always need someone by his side to look after him. Outsiders could never be as reliable as family. And there was no way this wealthy son-in-law would mistreat his own relatives, right?
He had already made up his mind. Once he got home, he would discuss it with his wife and simply quit his job that barely paid three or four thousand a month! Thinking of Zhang Yan, he couldn’t help but feel incredibly envious. If only his youngest daughter were ten years older, she could have found a son-in-law like this too.
Knowing that his junior was taking on the elders all by herself, Zhang Yan actually felt quite relieved. After all, no matter what he said, it would sound like an "outsider" trying to "shirk responsibility."
Even the best excuses left room for doubt. Even if her family didn’t press the issue verbally, they would still hold a grudge in their hearts. But it was different with his junior stepping up personally. As "one of their own," her words carried far more persuasive power. Zhang Yan simply left the entire matter for her to handle.
She was so sensible; it made all of Zhang Yan’s recent doting completely worth it.
He pulled back his thoughts and looked around his junior’s secret garden with great interest. It was not a large room. His first impression was that it was small and... snug. The white paint on the walls was slightly cracked. The overall color scheme of the furnishings leaned toward light pink. The window wasn’t large, covered by light pink printed curtains that offered mediocre light-blocking. A pot of clivia sat on the windowsill, growing quite well, clearly tended to with great care.
The old, golden-yellow floorboards let out faint CREAKING sounds when stepped on. A few posters with curling edges were stuck to the walls, featuring some Korean celebrity who didn’t look nearly as handsome as him (he was dead serious about this).
An old-fashioned wooden bed took up the vast majority of the space, covered with a plain floral bedsheet. The pillowcases and quilt featured cartoon patterns and felt slightly firm to the touch. Opposite the bed was a modest vertical wooden wardrobe with slightly peeling paint on the outside. A small Doraemon charm hung from the cabinet door.
With a CREAK, he casually pulled the door open. Inside were some of his junior’s old clothes, mostly plain T-shirts and jeans. A faint, mint-like synthetic fragrance lingered in the air.
"Huh, what’s this..."
Zhang Yan reached into the corner and picked up a small wad of white fabric. Unfolding it, it formed a triangle. It felt like pure cotton, soft to the touch, and the style was rather conservative. He awkwardly folded it and put it back, only to helplessly pick up another light pink wad...
He didn’t do anything weird with it.
The last large piece of furniture in the room was a wooden desk with obvious signs of wear and tear on the edges. The desk wasn’t large. On one side sat a face-down standing round mirror. On a small raised shelf next to it lay an exquisite wooden comb and a few colorful hair ties. On the other half of the desk was a small standing bookshelf, holding a stack of neatly folded certificates of merit and a photo album.
Even though his junior hadn’t been home for a long time, the room was kept spotless, with the bedding neatly arranged. Looking at this room, he felt like he understood his junior a lot more.
Zhang Yan opened the album and proceeded to flip through the story of her life.
Chi Xinyue finally managed to persuade her two elders. Opening the door and entering the room, she saw Zhang Yan flipping through her childhood photo album.
She turned pale with shock and hurried over, trying to snatch the album back. "Senior, don’t look!"
Smiling, Zhang Yan raised the album high. As his junior reached up to grab it, she inevitably threw herself right at him. Having gotten his way, he wrapped his arms around the little kitten who had thrown herself into his net, and smoothly fell back onto the bed she had slept in for over a decade.
"You’re just in time. Let’s look at it together!"