Chapter 16: Taking Care of Her for a Lifetime

Chapter 16: Taking Care of Her for a Lifetime

Song Xilan, with a hint of apology, refused without hesitation: "No, thank you, my parents are waiting for me to go home for dinner!"

After thinking for a moment, she added an explanation: "It's a family tradition. On holidays or important days, the whole family must eat together. Today is New Year's Day. Wait, are you eating alone?"

Jiang Chengxiao smiled helplessly: "Yes, a stranger in a foreign land. Besides you, I don't have any other friends here."

Facing Jiang Chengxiao's expectant gaze, Song Xilan anxiously said: "You should hurry and find a place to eat then. Today is a holiday, some restaurants might be closed."

Jiang Chengxiao gave a bitter smile this time. Indeed, they had only known each other for a couple of days. How could she possibly invite a man she just met to her home!

"Alright, I'll take you home first, then I'll grab something to eat."

"No, no, you should go right now. I need to go home too, goodbye! Oh, here, take this." Song Xilan returned the candied haws she had been holding for him.

Jiang Chengxiao stared at the candied haws for a while, and finally stuck it into the window crack.

The bright red string actually looked quite nice as a decoration.

"Suddenly craving candied haws, anyone else?"

"Already opened the takeout app."

"Honestly, these two are pretty sweet, I feel like joining the Song Jiang fan club."

"Did anyone else notice they didn't exchange contact info? I'm so worried they might miss each other!"

"Our Xilan is brave when it comes to love, she’ll definitely reach out to Xiao Jiang!"

"But I feel like it’s Jiang Chengxiao who’s falling for her, not the other way around!"

The winter chill couldn’t cool the heat on Song Xilan’s face. How could they say such things!

She didn’t mean it that way originally, but now they made it seem like she did.

"Brave pursuit of love? Please, she’s a very reserved girl!"

Though she didn’t know why, Song Xilan instinctively felt she couldn’t let them know she could see their comments, otherwise, they might stop talking.

The comments, though sometimes annoying, were also pretty interesting. She didn’t want to lose this ‘gift.’

When she got home, Tan Aizhi immediately noticed that her daughter was in a good mood.

"Did the afternoon blind date go well?"

"How was that Xiao Qin?" Tan Aizhi asked eagerly.

Hearing the name, Song Xilan immediately frowned: "Don't mention it, this guy has problematic thoughts."

Tan Aizhi became nervous: "What problem?"

Song Xilan then told her the whole process of the blind date.

The more Tan Aizhi listened, the tighter her frown became, and she scolded her husband while listening: "That old fool can't do anything right, how dare he introduce such trash to our daughter."

Song Baili felt wronged: "Old Qin kept saying his son was good, capable, filial, and family-oriented. How was I to know he was like this!"

Tan Aizhi comforted her daughter: "Don't be upset, from now on we won't listen to your dad. Wait, no, you don't seem upset. You came back glowing—what happened?"

Song Xilan: "No way!"

"What do you mean, nonsense? When you first met Yang Jingyu, your expression was exactly the same as just now!"

"That's not true at all! Don't compare him to that jerk Yang Jingyu."

"So... have you met someone new?"

"It's not like that. It's just the guy who helped me twice this morning. When I went to the café in the afternoon, he happened to be there too, and we just chatted a bit, that's all!"

Song Xilan wasn't sure why. She usually tells her parents everything, but when it came to Jiang Chengxiao, she suddenly didn't want to share everything.

Tan Aizhi and Song Baili exchanged a glance, both filled with concern: "What's his name? Where's he from? Where does he work? What do his parents do?"

"Oh, I don't know! I'm not planning to get involved with him, so why all the questions? Mom, Dad, from now on, I'll listen to you about relationships and won't make decisions on my own."

"Alright, alright, we won't ask, we won't ask."

The Song family doesn't like to gossip, and the matter of the blind date was considered over. They didn't think to spread bad words about Qin Hailin outside.

Who knew that in just two days, rumors about Song Xilan would start spreading? They said she was spoiled, rude, lazy, and a big spender, that she didn't contribute to the household with her salary, spent all her money, and still needed her parents to subsidize her every month.

A girl like that is definitely unmarriageable and will end up an old maid.

Who would want to marry someone just to worship them?

When these words reached Tan Aizhi's ears, she was furious. It was clear that these rumors came from the Qin family.

She didn't even go to work; she rushed straight to Qin Hailin's workplace, confronted him, and said Qin Hailin was shameless, that he looked decent but actually wanted a wife to be a workhorse for his family, not only handing over her salary but also serving his family tirelessly, not allowed to eat at the table, only wearing hand-me-downs, and not even allowed to eat meat.

Any girl marrying into that family would be in for a world of hurt, and she warned the girls at his workplace not to be fooled by his gentle appearance, as he was actually a black-hearted person who would eat people without spitting out the bones.

Poor Tan Aizhi, who had always been gentle and polite, was forced to become a gossipy shrew for her daughter.

Even after spreading the gossip, she wasn't satisfied, and when she got home that night, she made Song Baili kneel on the washboard all night, which finally eased her anger a bit.

"Our daughter is raised like a treasure—she eats well, drinks well, doesn't do housework, and spends money. So what? If she ever gets married, it's to live a good life, not to suffer. If anyone can't treat her as well as we do, they shouldn't even bother," Tan Aizhi said.

Song Baili took the opportunity to stand up from the washboard: "That's right, even if Lan Lan doesn't get married, we can support her for a lifetime."

Tan Aizhi glared at him: "Who told you to get up? Kneel down and speak."

Song Baili obediently knelt back down.

Tan Aizhi continued: "It's not ideal if she doesn't get married, so we still need to keep an eye out for her. And don't ask your old friends anymore; none of them are any good!"

"Wuwuwu, Dad Song and Mom Song are so great, unlike other parents."

"Dad Song and Mom Song, do you still need a child? The 240-month-old kind."

"I declare, these are my godparents."