Going public wasn't something they wanted to do for now, but getting parental approval at home was necessary this year, mainly because her mother had been nagging her for half a year already.
"Does Teacher Yu's family still not know?" Ling Jie asked over the phone.
"No, his parents aren't as gossipy as my mom, who somehow knows more insider news than I do." And they could actually recognize Yu Tu at a glance from such blurry photos.
"When will Teacher Yu tell his family? He won't just bring you over to shock them, will he?"
"...You're the one who's shocking. He said he'd tell them today, and I'll visit his place in a few days. He's been on missions all second half of the year and just returned from the launch site a few days ago. You can see how busy they are from the news. There just hasn't been a good opportunity to tell his parents. Why are you asking so many questions? What gifts should I bring to his house anyway?"
In the living room of her Lujiazui home, Qiao Jingjing squatted on the carpet, talking to Ling Jie on the phone while staring worriedly at the pile of gifts on the floor.
"Haven't I told you already? Two sets of silk pajamas, a scarf, and two bottles of liquor are enough. Put away those high-end skincare products - they're too expensive."
"Oh... my mom uses these." Qiao Jingjing moved the skincare set aside.
Just as she spoke, there was movement at the door - probably Yu Tu returning from work. Qiao Jingjing said, "I have to go. Yu Tu is here to pick me up."
"Tell him to thank me for covering so much work for you!"
"Are you ready?" Yu Tu hung up his coat and walked into the living room.
Qiao Jingjing put the phone on speaker and held it up to him. "Come here, Ling Jie says you should thank her for not scheduling work for me during Spring Festival."
Yu Tu approached, bent down, and said smiling into the phone, "Thank you, Ling Jie, for taking care of Jingjing this year."
Ling Jie: "..."
Did he have to be so charming?
She just wanted some gratitude, but somehow it felt like she'd been served a bowl of dog food instead. Speechless, she hung up.
Qiao Jingjing waved Yu Tu over. "See what your mother would like."
Yu Tu glanced at the items on the floor and pulled her up. "Just bringing yourself is enough. My mom likes pretty girls the most."
Was Teacher Yu teasing her?
Qiao Jingjing's eyes sparkled mischievously. "Well, I have many ways of being pretty. I can be innocent, mature, or dignified. Which do you like... oh, which does your mother prefer?"
Mr. Yu spent considerable "effort" proving that he liked all versions, which delayed their departure significantly beyond the planned time.
They drove back to Whale City in Yu Tu's newly purchased ordinary sedan. Actually, before getting together with Qiao Jingjing, Yu Tu hadn't planned to buy a car in the short term, since his apartment was close to his workplace and still had over a decade of mortgage payments. But having a girlfriend really changed things.
Settling into the car, Qiao Jingjing replied to a few WeChat messages. "My mom is asking when we'll arrive."
Yu Tu checked the time. "Probably around 9:30."
Seeing how calm he appeared, Qiao Jingjing asked, "You're about to meet my parents, and you're not nervous at all?"
"Why would I be nervous about something I've been longing for?"
Hmph, making her gift selection seem insecure. Qiao Jingjing deliberately asked, "Do you need me to turn on the navigation for you again this time?"
"For such a small map, we shouldn't trouble our beautiful..." Before Qiao Jingjing could feel proud, Yu Tu changed his tone, "...phone."Qiao Jingjing's phone case always sparkled, and it was indeed quite beautiful.
"Hey!"
Yu Tu smiled and leaned over to kiss her on the lips. "Buckle your seatbelt."
Tomorrow was New Year's Eve, and there were many vehicles leaving the city. Qiao Jingjing still turned on the navigation—not because she was afraid he would get lost, but mainly to check if the highway was congested.
Not long after leaving the residential area, Yu's mother called. Since Yu Tu was driving, he put it on speakerphone.
Qiao Jingjing immediately fell silent.
"Mom."
"What time will you get home?"
"Probably around eleven." Yu Tu included the time he had spent at Qiao Jingjing's place.
"Should I save some food for you?"
"No need, I've already eaten."
Yu's mother let out an "oh," then suddenly sighed and called his name, "Yu Tu."
She sighed and said, "Last year, your aunt wanted to set you up on a blind date, but you refused to go. This year, that person is already married and pregnant. You should start thinking about your own future. Mom isn't rushing you, but your dad and I are getting older year by year, and our health is declining..."
Her voice grew hoarse toward the end, and she sounded quite pessimistic. Yu Tu's heart tightened. Without explaining that he already had a girlfriend, he quickly asked, "Mom, what's wrong?"
"Nothing, I just suddenly thought of saying a few words. Call us when you're almost here." She brushed it off with a couple of sentences and hurriedly hung up.
Feeling uneasy, Yu Tu pulled the car over to the side of the road and called his father's phone. He got straight to the point: "What's wrong with Mom? How has her health been lately?"
"Nothing's wrong, she's fine. She watches TV every day." Yu's father spoke loudly.
Yu Tu breathed a sigh of relief. "She sounded off when she called me just now."
"It's nothing. She's being ridiculous because of a TV drama—the one starring that big celebrity from our city, Qiao Jingjing. Her show has been airing recently, and your mom watches it every day. Yesterday, the character she plays had a father diagnosed with a terminal illness. Your mom cried while watching it, and she cried again during the rerun just now. She kept saying how unfortunate the girl's life is. When I told her it's fake, she said I don't understand. Just let her be."
Yu Tu: "..."
Yu's father grumbled for a while before reluctantly hanging up.
Silence fell between the two on the other end of the line.
"...This drama is a bit melodramatic... but the ratings are high..."
"Isn't it a bit unkind to air such a plot during the New Year holidays?"
"The TV station arranged it!" Qiao Jingjing protested.
Yu Tu restarted the car and said helplessly, "It seems I have no choice but to bring the female lead back for her to see."
"Actually, in a few more episodes, her father will be saved, but the next few episodes are really heartbreaking..." Qiao Jingjing muttered. Suddenly, an idea flashed in her mind, and she quickly exclaimed, "I've got it! Turn around, turn around, let's go to Ling Jie's house. I've thought of the perfect gift for your mom—it's much better than what I prepared earlier!"
In Whale City.
Yu's mother was at home, watching TV while waiting for Yu Tu, when her phone suddenly rang. She answered it.
"Mom, I've just gotten off the highway. I'll be home in about twenty minutes."
Yu's mother glanced at the clock on the wall—it was only a little past ten. "Why are you so early?"
Yu Tu hummed in agreement and said, "I was supposed to drop a friend off first, but the plans changed."Yu's mother didn't think much of it. She knew her son had recently bought a car with his bonus and savings, and instinctively assumed it was probably a colleague or classmate catching a ride. After hanging up, she couldn't sit still anymore and simply called Yu's father to go downstairs with her to wait.
They waited downstairs for over ten minutes before a black sedan appeared at the intersection, bearing the Shanghai license plate she recognized. She thought it must be Yu Tu's car. Sure enough, the car stopped right in front of her. The door opened, and her long-unseen son stepped out wearing a handsome coat she had never seen before.
"Mom, why did you come down?"She took a step forward to greet him, just about to speak when her peripheral vision caught the passenger door opening too." A slender figure emerged from the other side of the car.
She couldn't help but freeze.
The person her son gave a ride to wasn't a male colleague?
Before she could recover from the shock of "my son actually brought a girl along," the slender figure had already walked up to her and gave her a sweet smile.
"Auntie, hello, I'm Yu Tu's girlfriend."
"I heard you were upset about the TV drama, so I got you all the remaining episodes. You can start from episode 30 - it's not heartbreaking at all from there, just super sweet."
Beaming, she held out (the laptop she'd snatched directly from Ling Jie's house without time to copy the files), her eyes curving into little crescents, looking utterly delightful.
Yu's mother looked at her, then at the computer in her hands, then at her smiling son nearby, and was completely stunned.
The next afternoon, in the living room, Yu's mother had gathered all the aunts to watch the drama together. The show was really popular lately, everyone was following it.
Yu Tu's aunt was astonished: "Where did you get this? You have so many later episodes - it's only up to episode 20 on TV. These pirated versions come out so fast."
"It's not pirated! It's legitimate!" As legitimate as it could be - given directly by the female lead herself.
"Can you copy it for me? I'll have my Binbin come over to copy it."
"No, you can only watch it at my place. I need to return the computer to its owner."
After watching for a while, the aunt remembered to ask, "Where's Yu Tu? Didn't he come back yesterday?"
"He went to a friend's place for dinner, helping them shovel snow." A faint smile appeared on Yu's mother's face.
"Going to someone else's place for dinner at this time? By the way, have you told Yu Tu about the blind date arrangement?"
"Not yet, and I won't be telling him." Yu's mother said calmly, pointing at the female lead on the computer screen. "Right now, I want a daughter-in-law like this."
The aunt: "..."
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