“Ahem!”
Lu Ye coughed lightly, tossing that strange thought out of his head before getting down to business.
“Uncle, Auntie, I heard Jiaojiao say…”
He didn’t finish, but his meaning was obvious.
Tang Hao put down his chopsticks and sighed.
“That’s how things stand. We have at most another half a month. Just to be safe, we’re thinking that you and Jiaojiao should get married as soon as possible.
“Would you be willing?”
“Of course I would.”
Lu Ye’s face lit up with joy, but when he thought about what the Tang family would soon be facing, he forcibly suppressed his smile.
Hearing his immediate answer, Tang Hao was naturally pleased.
But there were still some things that needed to be made clear.
“Don’t agree so quickly. The consequences of the Tang family being liquidated are serious. Once you and Jiaojiao get married, it means the Lu family could be affected as well…”
“I’m not afraid—”
“No!”
Tang Hao interrupted him.
“I’m not saying you’ll be afraid, nor do I think you’ll regret it. Your Auntie Zhou and I both know you’re a good kid.
“But marriage is a major matter. It’s about joining two families together. No matter what, you should discuss it with your parents first.”
“This…”
Lu Ye hesitated and looked toward Tang Jiaojiao.
Tang Jiaojiao was holding onto Tang Youyou’s arm and leaned closer to her.
She raised her chin slightly, looking like a proud peacock.
“Why are you looking at me? Either we get married or we don’t. It’s just one sentence.”
Her words sounded carefree, but Tang Youyou could clearly hear the nasal quality in her voice.
Clearly, after all these years together, this silly girl wasn’t capable of simply cutting off her relationship with Lu Ye.
Tang Youyou gently stroked Tang Jiaojiao’s hair and looked at Lu Ye.
“Go home and discuss it with your parents. If they don’t agree, tell us as soon as possible.
“If things weren’t so urgent, my sister, Tang Youyou, wouldn’t be hanging herself from your tree forever.
“When that time comes, whether she gets sent down to the countryside or finds some other way to stay in Beijing, it won’t have anything to do with you.”
Lu Ye’s expression changed.
*What did she mean?*
*Was she planning to find Jiaojiao some random man to marry?*
“What are you looking at?”
Tang Jiaojiao glared furiously at Lu Ye.
Her sister couldn’t be bullied by anyone.
Then she leaned her head against Tang Youyou’s shoulder and coquettishly said,
“Sis, don’t be angry. It’d be even better if he doesn’t want to marry me. Then I can stay with you for the rest of my life.”
Lu Ye: “…”
Four years of his unwavering care and devotion were apparently worth nothing compared to Tang Youyou.
Tang Hao knew they couldn’t completely shut down Lu Ye’s path.
Since his eldest daughter had played the bad cop, he would play the good cop.
He patted Lu Ye’s shoulder apologetically.
“Little Lu, don’t be upset. Youyou is just too protective of Jiaojiao.
“You know that once the Tang family is liquidated and we’re forced to leave Beijing, Jiaojiao will only have you as family here.
“If even you don’t care about her, then if someone bullies her in the future, there won’t be anyone to stand up for her.”
As he spoke, his voice gradually lowered, as though he could already picture Tang Jiaojiao years from now—pitiful and helpless, with no one to protect her.
Lu Ye’s heart ached.
He immediately promised,
“That won’t happen, Uncle. I promise I’ll take good care of Jiaojiao.”
Tang Hao gave his shoulder another heavy pat, looking deeply moved.
“Uncle believes you. There’s nothing else I can do except entrust her to you.
“It’s getting late. Go home and discuss it with your parents first. Whatever the outcome, Uncle will understand.”
Then he reminded Tang Jiaojiao,
“Jiaojiao, go see Little Lu off. Talk to him properly. Don’t lose your temper.”
“No need. I’ll head back right away. It’ll be quick. Jiaojiao, wait for my news.”
Lu Ye gave his promise.
Tang Jiaojiao still stood up and walked over to him.
“Let’s go,” she muttered.
Lu Ye’s eyes immediately brightened, and he hurried after her.
The two of them left the dining room one after another.
The moment they were outside, Lu Ye could no longer resist and reached out to take Tang Jiaojiao’s hand.
Tang Jiaojiao made a token attempt to pull away twice, but Lu Ye held her hand tightly.
After walking out through the Tang family’s front door, they stopped in the courtyard.
Lu Ye looked at her.
“Jiaojiao, don’t worry. I’ll go home and talk to my parents.”
Tang Jiaojiao stubbornly kept her head turned away and refused to look at him.
She gave a soft “Oh” in response.
After thinking for a moment, she added,
“Actually, you don’t have to rush. I know your parents might not like—”
“Don’t be ridiculous!”
Lu Ye’s voice became slightly stern.
“My parents don’t know how much they like you. They just look a little serious.
“Every time you come to our house, they run around preparing things for you. They practically want to bring out the best of everything just to entertain you.
“Don’t worry. You’ve got me.”
Tang Jiaojiao could no longer hold back.
Her eyes reddened as she looked at Lu Ye, tears shimmering in them.
Just as a crystalline tear was about to fall, she quickly wiped it away.
She sniffed and said worriedly,
“You don’t have to argue with your parents because of me either. I don’t want you to have a falling-out with them.”
Lu Ye’s heart tightened.
He could no longer resist.
He pulled her into his arms and promised once again,
“Don’t worry. I’ll talk to them properly.”
Tang Jiaojiao wrapped her arms around his waist.
But the embrace lasted only a moment before she pulled away again.
Pretending to be magnanimous, she said,
“Go home. I’ll wait for you.”
Lu Ye rubbed his fingers together, reluctant to leave.
Tang Jiaojiao followed him for a few steps.
She stayed at the gate in the courtyard wall and watched him leave.
Every time Lu Ye turned around, he could see her limpid, tear-filled eyes.
His resolve only grew stronger.
Tang Jiaojiao didn’t return until more than ten minutes later.
The other three were sitting on the living-room sofa, looking at her with teasing expressions as she walked in proudly.
“As expected of my daughter.”
Tang Hao gave her a thumbs-up.
Zhou Ping playfully slapped his hand down.
“Keep your voice down. What if Little Lu hears you?”
“Don’t worry. He’s already gone.”
Tang Jiaojiao happily plopped down beside Tang Youyou and wrapped her arms around her.
“Sis, how was it? Did I train him well?”
Tang Youyou ruffled her hair and nodded with a laugh.
“Yes, yes, yes. Our Jiaojiao is so clever. I didn’t realize Lu Ye was that stupid.”
Honestly, Tang Youyou was quite satisfied with Lu Ye in every other respect.
Not only were his overall conditions excellent, he also practically gave Tang Jiaojiao whatever she asked for.
He was just too naive.
It made him easy for others to manipulate.
Tang Jiaojiao pouted coquettishly.
“Hmph! He’s not stupid. Didn’t you realize he was pretending?”
“Pretending?”
It wasn’t just Tang Youyou.
Even Tang Hao exclaimed in surprise.
Tang Jiaojiao shrugged.
“Of course he’s pretending.
“I already told him yesterday that the Tang family was going to face liquidation, and I also told him about Dad’s general plan.
“Sure, he can make his own decisions, but his family has a really good atmosphere. Everyone discusses things together and makes decisions as a family.
“Given his personality, how could he possibly have waited until today to bring it up?”
The three of them exchanged glances.
Tang Youyou frowned.
“Then isn’t he deceiving you? No. Someone like that can’t—”
“Aiya!”
Tang Jiaojiao interrupted coquettishly.
“It’s not that serious.
“Just like how I told him yesterday about the situation so that I could leave a good impression on his parents as a sensible and considerate girl.
“Today, he pretended to be troubled so that his parents would think he’d gone through a lot of effort just to marry me.
“He’s only doing it to make both sets of parents like each other more.”
Tang Youyou: “…”
*What could she possibly say?*
These two really had their little couple’s flirting games figured out down to the last detail!