76 Chapter 75: Holidays (2/2)

”Who could it be?” I wondered out loud. Ji shrugged.

”Who knows?”

Well, he couldn't be bothered to answer the door, too busily playing Fate/Grand Order on his cellphone or something. So I took the initiative to rise to my feet and beat my Dad to it, especially since my Dad had his hands full with kiwi and his shoes.

”Who is it?” Dad asked when I opened the door. Calm down, Dad. I haven't even opened the door fully to have a good look yet.

”Whoa!”

I almost fell over when I saw the person waiting outside the door. Tang Qi Hong was dressed prettily in a red dress, waving excitedly when she saw me.

”Tang Qi Hong? What are you doing here?”

”Hey.” Tang Qi Hong smiled nervously as she glanced inside my house. My brother glanced up curiously for a few seconds before looking back at his cellphone. In contrast, my dad placed his shoes down and got up to see what was going on, a puzzled expression on his face.

”Hmm? Is that…?”

”A friend of mine,” I informed him. ”Tang Qi Hong.”

”Hello, uncle.” Tang Qi Hong politely bowed her head. She glanced at me hesitantly. ”Do you mind if I come in?”

”Sure, sure! We're about to leave, but you're welcome to sit in for a few minutes.” Dad was as polite as ever, gesturing for her to come in. he turned to me. ”Wu, get your friend a drink.”

”Okay.” I nodded and headed toward the refrigerator.

”No, it's fine. Did I come in at a bad time?”

”Well…” Dad scratched his head a little. ”We were about to leave.”

”Ah…”

”What did you come for?” I asked as I brought a can of soda from the fridge and placed it in front of her. Tang Qi Hong nodded her thanks, but she didn't touch the can.

”Well, actually…do you mind if I join you for reunion dinner?”

”Eh? What happened?” I blinked in confusion, trying to comprehend what I had just heard. ”What about your family?”

”You didn't know?” Tang Qi Hong stared at me. ”Oh, I didn't tell you or anyone. Um, I'm an orphan, so I don't have a family to celebrate Lunar New Year with.”

Dad and I stared at her sympathetically for a few moments. Then Dad clapped his hands and smiled.

”Sure. You're very welcome to join us.”

”Is that fine? I mean, I don't want to impose…”

I raised an eyebrow at that, having a sneaking feeling that wasn't the case. Tang Qi Hong was pretty sly and slightly manipulative. After all, if she really had no intention to impose, she wouldn't show up at my doorstep abruptly, completely unannounced, and then dropped quite the bombshell into our laps. I was pretty sure she had planned this out.

”Why? What's happening?”

Mom emerged from the room, finally done with her makeup and whatever she needed to get ready for our Reunion Dinner. As this was a big occasion, she insisted on dressing up fancily for the occasion and ensured that Ji and I at least wore more formal clothing than usual. When she saw Tang Qi Hong, she did a double take.

”Eh? You're…?”

”She's Tang Qi Hong, a friend of mine.”

”Do you mind if she joins us for reunion dinner, dear?” Dad quipped.

Mom took a while to digest what she was hearing, and then she beamed happily and nodded excitedly.

”Sure, sure! You're more than welcome!”

I could already tell what she was thinking. Those delightful eyes of hers…she was overjoyed that I found a girlfriend, or so she thought. The next thing I knew, she would be asking Dad to prepare red rice, except that red rice was a Japanese tradition and not a Chinese one.

And so Tang Qi Hong rode in the car with us. Mom wouldn't stop gushing over how beautiful she was, her cheeks glowing brightly.

”You must be very close to Wu, right?”

”Yeah, sort of…he has helped me a lot in school.”

Tang Qi Hong didn't look uncomfortable at all, and chatted happily with Mom. Beside me, Ji raised an inquisitive eyebrow, but didn't say anything. Like Mom, he had concluded that Tang Qi Hong was my girlfriend.

”Ha ha ha, sorry…as you know, my son is a little…eccentric. He likes reading more than socializing, and rarely goes out. Please continue to take care of him.”

”No, not at all.” Tang Qi Hong shook her head. ”I'm the one who has always been in his care, and I'm grateful to him for it.”

”Heh…”

Mom was grinning, obviously taken with this new addition to our family, or so she thought. She nodded at me.

”Wu, make sure you take good care of Qi Hong, okay? Girls like her are rare. Ah…you so aren't worthy of her…”

”That's not true at all!” Tang Qi Hong hurriedly interjected.

As for me, I was shaking my head and maintaining my sullen silence. Trust my mom to jump into conclusions like that. Then again, it was pretty hard to blame her. After all, how was I supposed to explain a girl who showed up, basically introduced herself to my family, and asked to join the reunion dinner and participate in the relative visits over the next few days?

”Don't you usually spend your New Year holidays with Sect Leader and Sect Mistress, especially over the last few years?” I asked.

Tang Qi Hong nodded. ”Yeah, usually I will have dinner at their place and follow them to visit their relatives. But this year, both Sect Leader and Sect Mistress are out on a mission. They won't be back for another three months or so. I'm left alone this year.”

”That's all right!” Mom assured her. ”You're welcome to join us from now on, every year!”

”Thank you.”

”I'm surprised that Elder Zhao or Lian Rou didn't ask you to join them,” I remarked off handedly. A shadow crossed over Tang Qi Hong's beautiful face.

”I actually asked Rou if I could join her, but she refused.” She frowned. ”In fact, Rou was the one who suggested that I turn to you.”

That Lian Rou…I should have known that she was such a schemer…

”Well, everything's fine, right?” Dad shot me a look in the rear view mirror, even though his attention was half on the road. ”I think it'll be great to have Qi Hong join us every year.”

”…right.”

I nodded, and didn't argue. Evidently my parents were going to take Tang Qi Hong's side over mine, and not without good reason. It would be cruel to leave her alone by herself. The problem was how everyone was going to perceive our relationship after this…

*

What I feared would happened had come to pass. Tang Qi Hong was introduced to my extended family, and participated in visiting all our relatives. Even though I did not outright say anything, everyone seemed to assume that Tang Qi Hong was my girlfriend, and treated her as such. She even received a few red packets from my impressed relatives.

This is going to unfold into one gigantic misunderstanding, isn't it?

Rubbing my head, I exhaled and shook my head in despair. Tang Qi Hong herself didn't seem upset by everyone treating her as my girlfriend. In fact, she seemed to exalt in it happily chatting with my female cousins and socializing with them as if she was already part of the family.

”You found a great girl, Wu,” Mom told me approvingly. ”I was worried what kind of girlfriend you would find, but Qi Hong is really top tier. You really aren't worthy of her. I'm impressed. How did you get her to fall for you?”

”I didn't.”

Mom raised an eyebrow disbelievingly. On Tang Qi Hong's part, she did nothing to dismiss the perception that she was my girlfriend, and she in fact actually encouraged that image even though she made no mention of the status of our actual relationship to me. I had no idea what that girl was thinking, and I had a feeling that trying to push her would result in disaster.

Qi Hong is probably making use of me…hiding behind me to prevent other suitors from approaching her. Or something like that…

Admittedly, I wasn't dense like most Japanese light novel protagonists, and I could tell that she had positive feelings toward me. But as mentioned before, my past experience informed me that being overly self-conscious would be highly awkward and embarrassing. What if, like my former classmate, Tang Qi Hong would laugh at me for deluding myself that she was in love with me? That she was merely using me as a cover, and I was flattering myself for thinking otherwise?

Just like what happened with my former female classmate…things would become awkward, and the rest of my class would tease me…

On the other hand, the people in high school are a lot more mature, so I doubt they'll resort to such things…

Then again, I was a thirty-year-old in a sixteen-year-old body. I might be forgetting just how immature high school students were.

”Why did she choose you then?”

”Huh?

I broke out of my thoughts when Mom asked me that. Shaking my head, I blinked in confusion, and then realized that she had been asking me a question.

”I helped her once, and she's been grateful to me ever since.”

”You mean she fell for you because you helped her once?” Mom began laughing. ”What is this, a shounen manga or something? Since when does something so convenient happen? If that's the case, why hasn't she fallen for any other guys? I hardly think you're the only guy in her life to have helped her.”

Mom had a point. I merely shrugged and shook my head.

”I don't know. I honestly don't.”

Mom looked at me sympathetically and placed a hand on my shoulder, glancing at Tang Qi Hong, who was laughing with the rest of my female cousins.

”Well, make sure you keep hold of her. You have no idea how much of a treasure you have in your hands.”

I smiled bitterly at that. If only you knew, Mom. If only you knew…