In the end, the result had been good.
Zhu Heqing still managed to win Yu Huan over.
On the very first day of their relationship, Zhu Heqing had already wanted to bring Yu Huan home. He couldn’t wait for his family to like her.
Or rather, he was eager for more people to know that he belonged to Yu Huan.
He had even wanted to post about it publicly the very second she agreed to be with him—despite never liking to post on social media.
But Yu Huan refused.
From the very beginning, she had been her usual willful and spoiled self.
“I don’t want to. We just started dating, I’m not going to your house.”
“You’re not allowed to post it either. What if we break up in a few days? That would be so embarrassing—what would people think of me?”
From the start, Zhu Heqing had placed himself in a very low position.
He almost obeyed everything Yu Huan said.
She didn’t allow him to post, but he still did—only visible to himself.
She didn’t want to go to his house, so he agreed.
And so it dragged on, again and again, until he had already visited Yu Huan’s home several times, while she had never once gone to his.
Was it because of this that his little girlfriend felt insecure?
Zhu Heqing thought back to what his mother had said to him before he left the Zhu family home:
“A He, that girl is still young. Girls her age tend to be sensitive. I asked Zhiheng, and he said you’ve been dating for years. After all these years, if you still haven’t brought her home, of course she’d feel unhappy.”
“Our Zhu family doesn’t care about background. As long as you truly like her and want to spend your life with her, your father and I will definitely agree.”
“Find a time to talk to her properly and bring her home for us to meet. Once we’ve met her, it’s basically settled. Later, when she’s older and wants to get married, we’ll hold a wedding for you.”
He had brought up visiting his parents several times, but Yu Huan had never agreed. He had thought that dating was just between the two of them—if she didn’t want to go, then she didn’t have to. He never forced her.
Looking at it now, he realized he hadn’t been thoughtful enough.
It wasn’t that she didn’t want to go—it was that he had been too dense to understand his girlfriend’s feelings.
Zhu Heqing quickly finished cleaning the last few shrimp, washed his hands, and gently touched Yu Huan’s warm, smooth cheek.
“It was my negligence.”
He looked apologetic. “I should have realized earlier.”
Yu Huan was stunned. “???”
What nonsense was he talking about?
She tilted her head up to look at him. “Did you catch a cold from riding an electric scooter in the wind?”
Zhu Heqing didn’t understand why the topic suddenly shifted, but he still answered seriously, “No. Your father doesn’t drive fast. There’s no way I’d catch a cold.”
“Then why are you talking nonsense?” Yu Huan frowned. “Or… were you scared by that horror game earlier today?”
The more she thought about it, the more plausible it seemed.
No one was perfect. Even someone like Zhu Heqing might be scared of horror things.
She reached out and gently patted his chest in comfort.
“It’s okay. Everyone gets scared sometimes. I won’t laugh at you.”
Feeling the soft pats on his chest, Zhu Heqing’s heart practically melted.
“Thank you for not disliking me, my girlfriend,” he said without denying it. Then he asked, “Baby, there’s a banquet next Wednesday. Yunshu’s grandfather is celebrating his 80th birthday. Do you want to go?”
Yu Huan frowned. “Banquets look like too much trouble. I don’t want to go.”
She had never attended high-society banquets before.
But domineering CEO novels were extremely popular these days. Many had even been adapted into short dramas, gaining huge views on short video platforms.
She had come across some of them occasionally.
From her shallow understanding, banquets existed just for the male and female leads to shine.
Of course, real-life banquets weren’t like that—but most of them were just business socializing, filled with boring formalities.
Yu Huan liked interesting things. She had no patience for anything dull.
Zhu Heqing knew that if she wasn’t interested, no amount of persuasion would work.
And he didn’t want to force her to attend something she didn’t like.
“Alright, I understand.”
“Little Zhu, are the shrimp ready?” Zhang Ya walked into the kitchen after unpacking a delivery.
“They’re ready.”
Zhang Ya took a look. The shrimp had been cleaned perfectly, and even the sink area had been wiped dry. Her impression of Zhu Heqing improved even more.
She tied on an apron. “Good, it’s about time to cook. For braised shrimp in oil, I have my own way of seasoning…”
She carefully explained the cooking method, while Yu Huan stood nearby, nodding along and telling Zhu Heqing to learn properly.
Zhu Heqing was a talented student.
After just one lesson, the dish he made already tasted almost identical—there was barely anything to criticize.
Zhang Ya was delighted. Since they had all the ingredients at home, she went on to teach him several of Yu Huan’s favorite dishes.
By the time the last dish was served, aside from one soup made by Yu Hezhang, everything else had been cooked by Zhu Heqing.
That evening, Yu Huan ate an extra bowl of rice—something rare for her. Her stomach was so full that she lay on the bed, whining in discomfort.
Zhu Heqing sat beside her, using a bit of pressure with his large hand to gently massage her stomach.
After a while, she finally felt better. “It’s all your fault. You made so many dishes that I got uncomfortable.”
“Mm, my fault,” Zhu Heqing said softly. “Do you want some water?”
“No. My stomach is already full. Drinking water will make it worse.”
“Alright, then no water.”
Yu Huan placed her hand over his and asked, “Are you going back tonight?”
“Mm. I’ll massage your stomach a bit more, then I’ll leave.”
She puffed her cheeks, a little unhappy.
But she knew that even if he wanted to stay, her parents wouldn’t allow it.
Looking at her fair cheeks, Zhu Heqing asked again, “Baby, when are you free?”
She countered, “Why?”
During summer break, she basically had nothing to do. She was free every day.
If she wasn’t free, it only meant she was too lazy to go out.
“If you’re free,” Zhu Heqing explained, “I’d like to take you to meet my parents.”
“Do I really have to go?”
Yu Huan didn’t sound very willing.
She wasn’t as mature as Zhu Heqing. To her, dating was just between the two of them—it hadn’t reached the stage of meeting parents yet.
Besides, she cared about her image and worried about leaving a bad impression on his parents.
“If you don’t want to go, that’s fine,” Zhu Heqing said, understanding her.
“But I want you to feel more secure.”
At the very least, she wouldn’t casually assume that he would one day treat her coldly because of another woman.
He wanted her to fully trust their relationship—and him.
Yu Huan didn’t speak for a while. After some time, she asked, “Will there be people I know at that banquet?”
The topic returned to what they had discussed earlier in the kitchen.
“Yes. Zhiheng and the others will be there. I’ll stay by your side the whole time. You won’t feel bored.”
Yu Huan hesitated for a long time before finally saying, “I’ll go to the banquet with you. As for meeting your parents… we’ll talk about it later.”
“But Baby…”
Zhu Heqing looked at her with a hint of tenderness.
“My parents will also be attending that banquet.”