He Li turned his head to glance at Yu Qingge’s face resting on his shoulder. Her beautiful little face wore a sly smile. At first glance, what she said didn’t seem to have any problems. It was true they met on the street and fell in love at first sight—but that was only her falling for him. They had never done anything; at most, Yu Qingge would occasionally come up to him and cling a little.
But when those words came out of Yu Qingge’s mouth with that shy and sweet expression, the whole meaning changed. With the art of wording, her one-sided crush became a mutual, sweet love story. He Li’s mother believed it completely, and He Li couldn’t explain it clearly even if he tried.
Seeing Yu Qingge still chatting happily with his mom, He Li gave up altogether. [I was planning to find someone to act as my temporary girlfriend anyway, just to keep Mom from setting me up with blind dates. Now the whole family thinks Yu Qingge is my girlfriend. Fine, let it be. I can always explain later. It’s not like I’m really her boyfriend.]
With that thought, He Li suddenly felt relaxed. Although Yu Qingge was still chatting with his mom, she kept stealing glances at his face. She had once again used her little tricks to win over his mother, who now considered her the perfect daughter-in-law.
She was a little worried He Li might be angry. After all, this was already the second time she’d played this kind of trick. But after a few sneaky looks, she noticed he didn’t seem mad. Though she didn’t know what he was thinking, his calm attitude reassured her.
“Aunt, let’s add each other on WeChat?” Yu Qingge said. “If you ever need anything, you can video call me directly! It’ll be more convenient for us to stay in touch.”
Now that she felt more at ease, Yu Qingge began to push her luck. Getting He Li’s mom’s WeChat and chatting with her directly without him in the middle could help deepen their mother-in-law and daughter-in-law bond, and also let her learn more about He Li’s past. In Yu Qingge’s mind, this would definitely speed up her progress in winning him over.
He Li immediately understood what she was up to. He lowered his voice and said, “It’s just an act, and now you want to take it a step further?”
Yu Qingge shook her head. “I’m not just taking one step.”
“You better not!” He Li thought she was finally being honest.
But her next words made him lose it.
“I want to take several steps!” Yu Qingge giggled. “I want to be your girlfriend, and in the future, your little wife. So now I have to build a connection with my future mother-in-law and strengthen our relationship.”
“I suggest you don’t stop me. Aunt just said that if you bully me, I can go tell her. You’ll be in trouble then!”
He Li was about to say something when his mom’s voice cut in, clearly displeased. “Brat, why are you holding the phone so far away while talking to Xiao Yu?”
“You’re not saying anything bad about her, are you?”
“Bring the phone closer. I want to ask my future daughter-in-law something.”
“Forget it. Xiao Yu, just add me on WeChat now.”
“I’ll talk to you directly, no need to go through this brat’s phone.”
“That way he won’t interrupt our conversation!”
“Okay, Aunt!” Yu Qingge nodded cheerfully.
He Li couldn’t help muttering to himself. Who’s the real child here? Why is she defending Yu Qingge so fiercely?
He felt a little bitter, especially when he saw his mom happily chatting with Yu Qingge on WeChat after hanging up on him without hesitation. That just made He Li feel worse.
While chatting with his mom, Yu Qingge kept watching He Li from the corner of her eye. Seeing the frustration on his face, she couldn’t help but smile. After the call ended, she leaned in and hugged his arm, smiling brightly as she asked, “What’s wrong? Are you upset about earlier?”
“You already know the answer!” He Li pouted.
Yu Qingge lowered her voice and said, “Don’t be upset. I’ll be careful when chatting with Aunt.”
“Relax, I won’t say anything I shouldn’t.”
He Li looked at her disdainfully. “Do I look like I believe you? If you didn’t say something misleading, it wouldn’t be you.” Enjoying the story? Read on at g.com.
“You don’t trust me?” Yu Qingge acted wronged. “Tell me, which part of what I said just now was made up?”
“It wasn’t made up, just… easy to misunderstand, right?”
He Li rolled his eyes, and Yu Qingge laughed sheepishly.
“Come on, I won’t make things up from nothing. You know me, so don’t be upset, okay?”
“If you’re still angry… I’ll let you enjoy a little something, even if it means I suffer a bit.”
“Hmm?” He Li looked at her suspiciously. “Enjoy what exactly?”
Seeing him so curious, Yu Qingge smiled but didn’t explain. She just said, “You won’t be disappointed, that’s for sure. Let’s go shop around some more while there’s still time.”
“Oh right, wrap up those few outfits from earlier. I’ll take them all. Swipe the card!” She turned to the store clerk.
The store clerk, who had been watching their sweet interaction with an aunt-like smile, snapped back to reality upon hearing Yu Qingge’s words.
“Yes, ma’am. Please wait a moment!”
Taking the black-gold card Yu Qingge handed over, the clerk’s eyelids twitched as she nervously swiped the payment and respectfully handed over the shopping bags, watching them leave together…
“Where did this rich heiress come from? She even has a black-gold card!”
“Aren’t you jealous of the guy instead?”
“Tsk, being handsome really has its perks. Even a stunning, clingy heiress with a fortune falls for you!”
“Sigh, why wasn’t I born a guy?”
“Haha, even if you were, she still wouldn’t pick you!”
“…If you can’t say something nice, just don’t talk!”
…
Hearing the voices behind him, He Li glanced at Yu Qingge, who looked radiant with joy. He had to admit, she was indeed perfect. But perfect women were usually high-maintenance, and that meant she wasn’t his type.
Shaking his head, He Li stopped thinking about it. He simply followed Yu Qingge, checking out every floor from top to bottom. Strangely enough, after visiting over a hundred stores across more than ten floors, He Li felt exhausted, yet Yu Qingge still looked full of energy.
Are women this terrifying when shopping? Even a transmigrator’s body can’t keep up?
He was amazed and puzzled. They had walked around for so long, but Yu Qingge hadn’t actually bought anything—she just picked things up, looked at them, and put them back.
“Didn’t find anything you liked?” he asked when they finally reached the ground floor. Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
Yu Qingge shook her head. “I didn’t want to burden you!”
“Of course, there really wasn’t much I liked either.”
He Li was speechless. “If you didn’t want to burden me, you should’ve let me rest in the car. We walked all over the place for nothing…”
Yu Qingge smiled but didn’t explain. She glanced around, then suddenly her eyes lit up and she skipped over to a claw machine and started playing.
Unfortunately, she was terrible at it. She put in over ten coins and didn’t catch a single thing.
“So bad, yet still obsessed with playing,” He Li muttered. Seeing that she was about to buy more coins, he couldn’t take it anymore. He reached out, snatched the last coin from her hand, and tossed it in himself…
Click! With a soft sound from the machine, a cute little squirrel plush toy dropped into the prize slot.
“What are you spacing out for? If you don’t want it, I’ll take it,” He Li said when he saw her staring blankly.
“I want it!” Yu Qingge quickly snapped out of it.
Seeing people around them casting strange glances, her face turned red as she pulled He Li back to the car in a fluster. Once they were back inside, she finally relaxed and asked curiously, “How did you catch that plush toy so easily?”
“You just need hands. What kind of question is that?” He Li said proudly.
Yu Qingge, grinning as she held the plushie, looked at him and asked, “So… does this count as a gift from you?”
He Li frowned at how happy she looked. What the hell? Why did he suddenly feel guilty?
“It doesn’t count,” he said. Yu Qingge looked a bit disappointed.
“It’s too cheap. I’ll give you something better next time.”
Hearing that, Yu Qingge’s smile bloomed. “Then… it’s a promise. You’re not allowed to forget!”
“Yeah.” He Li nodded and checked the time. It was 5 p.m.—time to get off work.
“Time’s up. I’m heading out.”
He stood up, but Yu Qingge quickly grabbed him.
“What’s the rush? Did you forget I said I’d let you enjoy something?”
“Oh, right. So what is it you’re letting me enjoy?”
“Well…” Yu Qingge grinned. “Sit in the back seat first, and I’ll tell you.”
Suspicious, He Li moved to the back seat. Yu Qingge followed, then wrapped her arms around him, leaned against the car door, and gently pulled him down so the back of his head rested on her chest. She softly embraced him and leaned close to his ear, whispering, “Is it comfortable?”
“It’s alright…” He Li replied.
Actually, it was very comfortable. Especially soft. It felt even better than a pillow…