Ling Wei sincerely felt that she might have walked into a nest of eccentrics, a group of people who entertained themselves at home by staging dramatic performances. There was no pay, no television broadcast, no awards. Why act with such professionalism?
There was even someone responsible for writing the script. Ling Wei very much wanted to tell Old Yan that this kind of melodramatic romance was no longer popular. Sweet, doting romances were the current trend.
Madam Xie walked over and affectionately took Ling Wei’s arm, leading her toward the dining room. As they walked, she discussed the earlier performance. “I originally wanted to prepare a small gift for you when we met, but I did not want it to be cliché. Bracelets and necklaces are too ordinary, so I thought of staging a little play instead.”
Ling Wei: …
She truly would not have minded being showered with bracelets and necklaces. She was exactly that kind of ordinary person.
Madam Xie continued, “We all know you are a professional actress. We were afraid you would spot the flaws, so we rehearsed for several days. It is a pity those two rascals disrupted the whole thing.”
Ling Wei forced a stiff smile. “Auntie, your acting was really good. You honestly scared me just now.”
Xie Qingyan followed behind them and commented coolly, “Too exaggerated.”
Mother Xie turned around and shot him a glare, then asked Ling Wei, “Which part do you think I acted best?”
Does she have to take it this seriously? Are we supposed to sit down for a discussion and take notes too?
“When you were drinking tea and looking at me, I could feel the emotion in your eyes. It was like there were blades hidden in your gaze.” Since she had been called a professional, Ling Wei naturally had to give a professional critique.
Mother Xie looked as though she had found a kindred spirit and said happily, “Was it like this?” After speaking, she lowered her eyelids, then suddenly raised them. Her gaze instantly turned cold and merciless, as if edged with icy knives.
Ling Wei covered her chest and said, “Auntie, don’t look at me like that. I’m scared.”
“Hahaha, you know what? I practiced that look for a long time. I even studied the evil mother in law characters from famous TV dramas like The Domineering CEO and His Pretty Stepmother, The Vicious Mother in Law’s Hardships, Schemes and Intrigue, and Stepmother. I learned a lot.” Mother Xie spoke with obvious pride.
Ling Wei fell silent.
Is it so hard to just be a normal person? Why work so hard to make yourself evil?
“Auntie, you said earlier that the script was written by Old Yan?”
Mother Xie nodded and said with great appreciation, “Old Yan is very talented. I think being a butler is wasting his gifts. He should be a screenwriter. Whenever he has free time, I ask him to make up some stories and we act them out together with the rest of the family for fun. But I still think playing an evil mother in law is the most exciting.”
Ling Wei was speechless.
“Auntie, were you ever an actress?”
“No. To be precise, I once dreamed of becoming an actress, but back in high school, Qingyan’s father tricked me into going home with him. After that, I just became a housewife.”
She had returned to family life right after finishing high school and had never truly stepped into society. No wonder Mother Xie, though no longer young, still seemed so innocent. The Xie family had protected her very well.
“When I have time in the future, I’ll come practice acting with you.”
“That would be wonderful. Stay over tonight then, and teach me more professional knowledge,” Mother Xie said cheerfully.
Ling Wei glanced back at Xie Qingyan, thinking that their earlier guess had indeed been correct. Mother Xie had been looking for an opportunity to make her stay the night.
Xie Qingyan stepped forward. “She has to rush back to film tomorrow. It’s inconvenient for her to stay here.”
Mother Xie was unmoved. “Then she can go straight to the airport from home tomorrow. I feel a connection with Xiao Wei and want to chat with her more. Is that not allowed? It’s settled.”
Ling Wei was speechless.
Fine, then tonight let Daddy Xie sleep on the floor.
The little boy in Xie Qinghua’s arms clapped happily when he heard Ling Wei was staying. “That’s great. I want to sleep with Mom tonight.”
Everyone fell silent.
Xie Qinghua said, “Ziyu has to sleep by himself. Mom sleeps with Dad.”
The little boy thought for a moment and asked in confusion, “Dad is already so big. Why does he still need Mom to sleep with him?”
Xie Qinghua felt the question was too profound to answer. “Ask your dad.”
Then they heard Xie Qingyan say, “Ziyu isn’t afraid of the dark. Dad is afraid of the dark, so Mom has to sleep with Dad.”
Everyone was speechless.
Is there anyone who discredits himself like that? Does he not care about his idol image at all?
They all sat down at the dining table. Old Yan directed the servants to serve the dishes, then asked, “The red wine has been decanted. Would everyone like a glass?”
Listening to Old Yan’s cool voice, Ling Wei found it hard to believe that someone as icy as him could write such melodramatic, over the top scripts.
“We’re happy tonight. Let’s all have a drink,” Mother Xie suggested.
Ling Wei sat beside Xie Qingyan, with Xie Qinghua sitting opposite her. She suddenly realized that apart from giving him a gift, she had barely spoken to him. So she smiled at him in a friendly way. “Are you teaching at Peking University?”
That sounded really strange.
Being addressed directly, Xie Qinghua froze. After meeting Ling Wei’s eyes for a few seconds, his ears turned red and he quickly looked away, ignoring her.
Ling Wei was speechless.
That was awkward.
She had originally thought Xie Qinghua was the only relatively normal person in this family. But this reaction did not seem very normal either.
Ling Wei turned back to look at Xie Qingyan with an innocent expression, silently asking him to save the situation.
Xie Qingyan suppressed a smile and said, “He’s currently a teaching assistant at Peking University. What you don’t know is that he used to be your fan. Ever since he found out you became his sister in law, he’s been sulking at me.”
When Xie Qinghua heard his brother exposing his secret, he only shot him an indignant glare and did not refute it.
Xie Qingyan continued teasing, “Think about it. When he found out his goddess had been snatched away, how could he not be angry? Especially since the one who carried her off is his own older brother, whom he can’t even beat.”
Ling Wei was speechless.
Are these two really biological brothers?
Mother Xie chimed in cheerfully, “That’s right. I was watching a Republican era drama where you played a delicate young lady from a wealthy family. Qinghua was stunned after just one look. Hahaha.”
Ling Wei was speechless.
Are these two really mother and son?
Come to think of it, the Republican era drama Mother Xie mentioned was the first show she had taken on in her sophomore year of college. It was also her first production after entering the entertainment industry. Her role was not large, but it was an important one.
She had not expected that Xie Qinghua would become her fan because of that role. It was truly unexpected.
That meant this family had known about her for a long time, including Xie Qingyan. Yet when they first met, he had acted as though he were completely unfamiliar with her.
He had hidden it well.
After dinner, Xie Ziyu was taken by a servant to bathe. The little boy enthusiastically invited Ling Wei to join him, but his father refused fiercely.
After that, Ling Wei kept Xie’s mother company, drinking tea and chatting about acting. They even sparred a little, and it was not until ten o’clock that Xie Qingyan brought her back to the room.
As soon as Ling Wei followed Xie Qingyan inside, her first words were, “What should I do? Your younger brother really seems to be ignoring me!”
Xie Qingyan unbuttoned his shirt with an air of nonchalance. “Why do you care about my brother? The one you should be more concerned about right now is me. A single man and a single woman alone in a room, that’s very dangerous.”
Ling Wei rolled up her sleeves as well, looking ready to throw down. “You are pretty dangerous. You already knew me before the dance, didn’t you? Yet you acted so innocent!”
Xie Qingyan spread his hands. “I was absolutely innocent. I only knew of you back then, that doesn’t mean I knew you. And the one who stroked my palm and tried to seduce me was you. I was truly innocent.”
Ling Wei was speechless. “So was that the reason you agreed so readily?”
Xie Qingyan hesitated for a moment before saying, “More or less.”
For some reason, hearing that answer made Ling Wei feel a little disappointed. Deep down, she had held certain expectations toward him, thinking he might have had some interest in her, which was why he had let her get close so easily.
Now it seemed she had been overthinking.
Xie Qingyan’s room was a suite, spacious and divided into several areas, a bathroom, a study, a sitting room, and a bedroom. After walking around once, Ling Wei pointed at the sofa and said, “You sleep on the sofa.”
“This is my bedroom. Why should I sleep on the sofa?” Xie Qingyan replied with a wicked grin.
“Because I’m the guest. You should give way to me.”
“I won’t.”
Ling Wei was speechless.
Could he be any more stingy?
He continued, “I’m not sleeping on the sofa, and you’re not sleeping on the sofa either. We both have to sleep on the bed.”
Ling Wei was speechless again.
Was he finally about to reveal his true beastly nature?
Seeing her conflicted expression, Xie Qingyan could not help laughing. “You underestimate my mom. She might very well sneak in with a key in the middle of the night to check whether we’re actually sleeping together.”
Ling Wei was at a loss for words.
An hour later, after washing up, the two of them lay down on the bed. Ling Wei kept as far away from him as possible and sighed. “I must have had a hole in my brain back then to go and seduce you.”
“I think it was the most beautiful encounter,” he replied.
Ling Wei was speechless yet again.
“Oh, by the way, my birthday is next month,” Xie Qingyan said.
Ling Wei sighed. She did not even need to think to know it would surely turn into another grand spectacle.
“I know,” she answered weakly.
“Set a reminder,” he suggested.
“Just remind me a few days in advance,” Ling Wei said perfunctorily. She turned over with her back to him, preparing to sleep.
Unexpectedly, Boss Xie would not let it go. “Give me your phone. I’ll set it for you.”
Helpless, Ling Wei fumbled and handed her phone to him. Wrapped in the soft bedding, she shifted slightly to find a comfortable position and soon drifted into a hazy sleep.
The next morning, when Ling Wei woke up, Xie Qingyan was no longer in bed. She lay there blankly for a while before picking up her phone and scrolling through her Moments feed.
Daddy Xie’s Moments post:
“My baby is just this sweet~”
Attached was a screenshot of a phone reminder. On a certain date it read “Husband’s birthday,” and in a completely outrageous move, reminders had been set for every single day for the half month leading up to it, once a day.
Ling Wei was speechless.
She did not even know she could be this sweet!