Chapter 125 - Feel Free To Do So, We’re Going To Be A Family Soon (2/2)

Then, she saw Qi Chengzhi who followed Song Yu in and stood behind her.

Before this, she only treated him plainly as the older brother of her daughter’s fiance. Even though Qi Chengzhi’s age was young enough to be her son, she was awed by the aura that Qi Chengzhi emitted, which had nothing to do with his age.

This made Yu Qianying feel as if Qi Chengzhi was not someone who was one generation younger than her. This feeling grew stronger ever since Qi Chengzhi became an adult.

Especially when Qi Chengzhi always puts on a stern expression, his features were so fierce that it made him very unapproachable. He did not interact much with her since he was quite taciturn. Even Yu Qianying herself had no clue how to communicate with Qi Chengzhi.

A person like him ended up being her daughter’s boyfriend. Looking at how determined Qi Chengzhi behaved, he would be her son-in-law very soon. The more she thought about it, the more she felt peculiar.

He was supposed to be Song Yu’s brother-in-law, but he was standing straight up in the kitchen as the boyfriend that her daughter brought home. Yu Qianying felt so unreal as though she was dreaming all of this.

Yu Qianying’s expression looked a little unnatural and could not force a smile out, but she still nodded at him and said, “You’re here, go and sit down. The meal will be ready in a minute.”

Song Yu could sense a shift in Yu Qianying’s attitude towards Qi Chengzhi. Even though she acted rather stiffly, but she did not resent him as much as before. Song Yu could not help but step forward and said, “Mum…” warm tears filling her eyes.

Yu Qianying plated the vegetables and put it down. She let out a sigh after she turned around to look at Song Yu. She put her roughened hands after all these years of house chores over Song Yu’s hand and tapped gently, “Bring him in to sit down. Don’t crowd over here.”

Song Yu took out the dish that was just plated but Yu Qianying stopped her from doing so, “Leave it, you’re dressed so nicely. It’s inconvenient with you holding the bag. Just go in and sit!”

“No worries, it’s on the way out anyway,” Song Yu relaxed a lot after she got Yu Qianying’s approval. She smiled and took the dish away with her.

Qi Chengzhi moved out of the way to let Song Yu through, but he did not follow her out. He folded his suit together with the long sleeves of his shirt up and exposed his well-defined forearm.

He extended his hand to another dish and lifted the plate with his fair and slender fingers. His thumb got stained by the sauce from the side of the plate, looking so out of place on his clean finger.

“Don’t touch it, you’ll stain your hand,” Yu Qianying said, “Head in and get seated.”

“It’s already dirtied anyway,” Qi Chengzhi knew that she was referring to the sauce stain on his thumb. He could even smell it.

“Chengzhi,” Yu Qianying hesitated for a little before moving her gaze from his slender fingers to his face. Even though he tried to soften his expression, those razor-sharp lines on his face made her unable to look at him directly, “Can I call you like this?”

“Feel free to do so, we’re going to be a family soonT” the corner of Qi Chengzhi’s mouth curved upwards slightly as he put the plate down.

After Yu Qianying heard what he just said, she did not know how to answer him in that instant. She always felt that Qi Chengzhi was not very approachable and made others fear him, yet she could not fathom how he managed to say something so shamelessly. The feeling he gave her was quite conflicting.

She drew a sheet of tissue from the table behind her for him to wipe his hand. She watched him while he casually wiped off the sauce on his thumb elegantly. Then, he just stood there without saying a word. It was obvious that he was waiting for her to initiate the conversation.

Yu Qianying said after a sigh, “How serious are you with our Song Yu?”

“I want to marry her.” His answer was short and determined. He used the word “want” instead of “thinking of”, showing the firmness in his decision.

“Even if your family is against it?” Yu Qianying took a deep breath, her voice sounded strained.

She did not want to put it so frankly, but Song Yu was her only daughter and she would never want any harm to come to her.

Song Yu would not understand since she was the one involved in it. Song Yu would not ask or think about it, that was why some things should be asked by her instead.

“You’ve seen my grandmother’s attitude. If she agrees, no one in the family would dare to oppose it,” Qi Chengzhi said. Their conversation was drowned by the noise generated by the kitchen exhaust fan.

“Can you promise that she would not be hurt by your family members?” Yu Qianying asked.

Qi Chengzhi nodded his head.

“I hope that you’ll keep your promise,” Yu Qianying said. “Song Yu is our only daughter. We gave her the best since she was young. Although we might be very strict on her upbringing, we never made her upset without any reason. She was our princess before the Song family went bankrupt. We owe it to her. Our incompetence cost us our company and made her went through so much.

I can’t help much if she gets troubled by her work. The least I can do is not give her the chance to be upset at home. She was pampered from young by us. If she really got married to you, I won’t expect your family to love her as much as we parents do, but please do not bully her or upset her on purpose.

We raised her with so much love. She’s not a target for others to bully. Since you promised me today, I hope that you’ll stay true to your words.”

“Also,” Yu Qianying inhaled deeply and continued, “Your family probably won’t give her a formal wedding ceremony with her relationship with Chengji in the past, right?”

Without waiting for Qi Chengzhi’s reply, Yu Qianying continued, “You don’t have to deny. I used to be a member of that social circle. I know how they think. Nevertheless, there’s nothing to be embarrassed about my daughter. I won’t demand a grand wedding, but at least she should get married in a formal ceremony and not be swept under the rug. Can you do it?”

Song Yu was hiding behind the kitchen door. She came back to help take the dishes out, but she overheard Yu Qianying talking.

Her throat tightened and hot tears misted over her strained eyes. Before she could even hear Qi Chengzhi’s answer, someone touched her shoulder.

She turned her head around and saw Song Donglin. He had walked over without her noticing. He said softly, “Let’s go. This is between your mum and him.”

She did not manage to listen to Qi Chengzhi’s reply as Song Donglin brought her away.

In the living room, Song Donglin took off his reading glasses and sat with Song Yu on the sofa.

“We’ve already discussed the questions for your mum to ask him. Her rejection in the past was all for the sake of your well-being. Now, since he’s the only person you like, we can’t force you guys. However, we still have to get some things straight,” Song Donglin looked at her. Even though he looked much older than before, his eyes were still gleaming.

“Parents are different from other people. We always put our child’s happiness first. Who else would care about your happiness other than us? Although we’re not quite capable now, we still want to protect you in the best way possible.”

Song Yu nodded and used all her strength to hold back those tears from falling out of her eyes.

She sniffed and choked, “Dad, I’m sorry to let you guys worry so much about me. If… I found a regular guy, you guys wouldn’t be so troubled.”

Song Donglin let out a sigh and patted her shoulders, “No matter what, we still want you to be happy. If you’re happy with him, you’ll have our support. In fact, it was us that let you down. If only I was more capable of saving the company, we would not be so passive and those from the Qi family won’t have the guts to bully you.”

Song Yu shook her head, “Dad, don’t say that. I have no regrets. If the company’s still running, Qi Chengzhi and I won’t be able to be together today. You’ll also be busy with the company and can’t enjoy the leisurely lifestyle that you have now.

I always felt that even if we can’t live and eat as luxuriously as before, we own a much more comfortable state of mind. What’s good about having a life like the Yu family? They can’t live in peace since they have endless desire and greed for money. They’re not necessarily living as freely as you guys. That’s why I’ve never blamed you guys. It never crossed my mind that bankruptcy was unacceptable and that I had to live in regret and sorrow every day onwards.”

Song Donglin sighed while he nodded his head. He glanced towards the direction of the kitchen and took a tissue from the coffee table and gave it to Song Yu, “They’re coming over.”

Song Yu received the tissue and pressed gently on her eyes to absorb the tears. She took a few deep breaths. When Yu Qianying emerged from the kitchen with the dishes in hand, she had regained her composure.

Yu Qianying acted normally. If it was not for Song Yu overhearing them, she would never have thought that they could have such an exchange in the kitchen.

Qi Chengzhi followed behind. It was hard to imagine him holding a dish in a small dining area. It looked as though he could not extend his long limbs fully in the limited space.

He was definitely not suitable to be in a small house.

The atmosphere throughout the meal exceeded Song Yu’s expectations. Song Donglin opened the bottle of brandy that Qi Chengzhi brought.

When Grandmother Qi visited the last round, she brought a case of red wine with her. Song Donglin asked Qi Chengzhi if he wanted to have some red wine, but Qi Chengzhi knew that Song Donglin preferred brandy. Therefore, he suggested him to drink brandy instead. This made Song Donglin very happy.

After dinner, Song Yu was about to wash the dishes when Yu Qianying stopped her from doing so. She told her to have some rest after a whole day of work.

This was their usual daily conversation. This scene was not uncommon and happened quite often. When Song Yu wanted to cook or carry out house chores, Yu Qianying would not allow her to do so if she was at home. The reason she gave was that it was already very tiring after work, she should rest well when she comes home.

Such an unintentional move proved to Qi Chengzhi that Song Yu was indeed pampered by her parents at home. Even though she was no longer the lady from a notable family, they still tried their best not to let her suffer. This was completely out of parental love.

Song Donglin told them to sit down and ran to the kitchen. He washed some apples, pears, and strawberries before cutting them into cubes. Then, he cut up a grapefruit and brought them to the living room for Qi Chengzhi and Song Yu to eat.