Ten in the morning.
Having just finished breakfast, Xiao Ling and Denia sat on opposite ends of the sofa.
Denia was on her phone playing the newly downloaded Wuthering Waves.
Had to say, the phone’s performance really was excellent — seemed that guy at the front desk had indeed put real thought into it.
Getting a Wuthering Waves character to play Wuthering Waves — now what a beautiful thing that was.
That aside, Denia’s gaming skill was unexpectedly decent.
She picked it up extremely fast.
In just a few short hours, she was already taking down red-name enemies without taking a hit.
So what was Xiao Ling doing on the other end?
“Aaahh…” Xiao Ling stared lifelessly at his WeChat chat window in a daze.
The contact name pinned at the very top was “Her Majesty the Queen Mother.”
Xiao Ling was currently mulling over how to ask his mother for money.
After all, following yesterday’s “spending a fortune to win a beauty’s smile,” his funds were genuinely tight right now.
The cost of renting a new place exceeded what he could afford.
If he didn’t call for reinforcements soon, he’d really be eating dirt this month.
Sure, he could pick up a part-time job or take game boosting orders, but distant water couldn’t quench a nearby thirst.
He needed money urgently.
He really did not want to keep sleeping on that sofa anymore.
In the end, after sufficient mental preparation, he tapped the voice call button for his mother.
…
A pleasant voice call ringtone roused Xiao Yue from her light nap.
“Hello?” Xiao Yue’s gentle voice traveled through the phone to Xiao Ling on the other end.
“Mom, what are you up to?
How’s your health?” Xiao Ling didn’t plan to dive straight into the main topic.
A greeting first, then see how things went.
“Out of money?” A mother knows her son best.
Although Xiao Yue was happy inside that Xiao Ling had called, she also knew full well that if he was calling at this hour, he was hardly up to anything good.
“Er…
yeah…
so, I’m thinking of switching to a different place, but things are a little tight lately…” Xiao Ling replied somewhat awkwardly.
“Shouldn’t that place be enough for you alone?
Why suddenly switch?”
“Ahaha…
well, I recently got a girlfriend, you see.
I want to change places, one room each would be more comfortable.” Xiao Ling scratched his head as he spoke.
Well, Denia should count as a quasi-girlfriend, right?
It wasn’t like the other party had raised any objections anyway.
Still fully immersed in the game’s story at that moment, Denia clearly had no idea she’d already been thoroughly arranged for by a certain someone named Xiao next door.
“You think I believe that?” Xiao Yue’s tone rose slightly.
“I think you believe it.” Xiao Ling said with confidence.
“Come on, video call.
Let Mom see what your girlfriend looks like.” Xiao Yue decisively switched the voice call to a video call, waiting for Xiao Ling to accept her inspection.
Xiao Ling sucked in a sharp breath watching the call suddenly switch to video.
Good grief, Her Majesty wasn’t playing by the book.
A direct video inspection, not even giving him room to maneuver.
But where there were policies from above, there were countermeasures from below.
To get the money, he’d go all out.
“Denia.” Xiao Ling called out to the girl engrossed in her game.
“Mm?” Denia replied with a questioning tone, her gaze still fixed on the phone screen.
“Say hi to our mom.” After connecting the video, Xiao Ling turned the camera toward Denia.
“Hello, Mom~” Denia’s voice was very soft and sticky, with a bit of laziness to it.
She waved in the camera’s direction, but her eyes weren’t looking at the screen at all.
She was still completely engrossed in the game’s story, totally oblivious to the astonishing words that had just come out of her mouth.
Xiao Yue’s surprise lasted only a moment before giving way to understanding.
In its place came a radiant smile, like lilies in May, her silvery laughter echoing through the living room.
‘Looks like Mom’s pretty taken with Denia?’ Xiao Ling was a bit surprised.
He hadn’t expected that lazy, listless demeanor of hers wouldn’t leave a bad impression on his mother.
Seeming to realize there was an extra female voice in the living room, Denia finally pulled herself out of the game and formally came face-to-face with this future mother-in-law.
She was a woman of gentle temperament.
Though her complexion bore a somewhat sickly pallor, the tenderness and resilience in her brows and eyes made one truly understand the saying, “A woman may be weak by nature, but as a mother, she is steel.”
Though her frame was on the thin side, her features were remarkably striking — pale complexion, delicate nose, a face of quiet, natural beauty No doubt in her youth she must have been the moonlight in the hearts of many a young boy just awakening to love.
Denia looked at the beautiful woman before her, and only then, belatedly, realized — had she, perhaps, just called someone else’s mother “Mom”?
“Wait, no, I mean, Auntie…
I just now…”
“Still calling me Auntie?
So distant.
Just call me Mom, same as Xiao Yu.” Xiao Yue’s voice was gentle.
“Or you could call me Sister Yue?”
(Wait, bro?!
The generational hierarchy is about to collapse, hello?!)
“Mo…
Mom.” Denia’s face flushed bright red as she stammered it out.
“Ay, good child.” Xiao Yue smiled even more happily, her shoulders shaking with laughter.
“If Xiao Yu ever bullies you over there, just tell me.
I’ll sort him out for you.”
“That hasn’t happened, really.
Ling treats me very well.” Denia quickly came to his defense.
“Mom, do I look like the kind of person who’d bully his girlfriend in your eyes?” Xiao Ling strongly demanded to clear his name.
“I think you look like the kind of person who’d bang his head against the computer screen while shouting ‘I want to marry my 2D waifu.'” Xiao Yue wore a smile as she casually roasted her own son with an air of breezy nonchalance.
‘Damn it, who roasts their own son like that, Mom?!’ Xiao Ling was instantly hit with a Super Break, retreating to a corner to draw circles, his entire being fading to grayscale.
Denia watched this comical sight of Xiao Ling and couldn’t help giggling out loud.
“Alright, Mom won’t disturb you two lovebirds from bonding any longer.
I’ll handle the money and the apartment.” Before ending the call, Xiao Yue gave Denia a heads-up.
Only then did Denia understand the true purpose of this video call.
So she wore a smile and replied, “Mm-mm, sorry for the trouble, Mom.”
“We’ll be family from now on.
No need to be so polite.” A trace of a smile lingered at the corner of Xiao Yue’s lips.
“That’s all then.
Mom’s hanging up now.”
“Mm, goodbye, Mom.”
Two beeps, and the video call ended.
Only after the call disconnected did it suddenly hit Denia — did this sort of count as meeting the parents?
At that thought, her face went bright red all over again, even her neck was dusted with a layer of alluring crimson.
She couldn’t even focus on the game story she’d been pushing forward.
Still, who’d have thought that the ever-so-serious Rover was this wild in private?
Meanwhile, Xiao Ling was still immersed in the collapse of his social death, continuing to draw circles in the corner.
Seeing him in this state, Denia felt a mischievous impulse stir.
She stealthily drew close to the still-grayscale Xiao Ling and whispered in his ear, “So I hear you call 2D characters your waifu every day?”
Xiao Ling jolted, instantly regained full color, spun around, and pulled her right into his arms.
“Isn’t my 2D waifu right here?” He kneaded her soft, delicate cheeks as he fired back.
“I shtill…
haven’t…
admidded to anyfing.” Denia stubbornly insisted, her face being squished and kneaded.
“Still being defiant?
You already called her Mom.
“An’ whoshe fault ish that!” Not willing to back down, Denia attempted to counterattack.
“Who was da one who shuddenly shtarted a video call wif Mom!”
“Bleh bleh bleh.” Xiao Ling made a silly face.
Denia grabbed and pinched his annoying face, while Xiao Ling continued kneading her cheeks right back.
For a time, laughter and playful scuffles rang out without end.
…
Xiao Yue hung up the video call thoroughly satisfied.
That “Hello, Mom” from Denia earlier had truly made her heart bloom with joy.
The corners of her mouth hadn’t come down since.
“Little Sis, what’s got you so happy?” A deep male voice sounded before her.
The moment Xiao Yu walked in, he saw his little sister suddenly smiling so happily, as if she’d run into some heaven-sent good fortune.
“Hehe, Little Yu’s bagged himself a girlfriend.
Can’t a mother be happy about that?” Xiao Yue answered with a smile, a difficult-to-conceal joy in her voice.
“Hah?
That little ungrateful brat’s not pulling one over on you, is he?
Didn’t he just make up some story to ask you for money?”
Xiao Yu knew this spendthrift nephew of his all too well.
Xiao Ling had poured more money into games than he’d ever spent on himself.
Stingy as could be day to day, yet for his 2D waifus, he gave nothing but the best.
Of course Xiao Yue knew this too.
But every time, she’d lecture him a bit and then transfer the money over regardless.
This pained Xiao Yu deeply.
Still, he could understand why his little sister spoiled Xiao Ling.
Xiao Yue only had this one child.
But because of her stubborn temperament, her child had endured several years of hardship.
Now that life had gotten better, she surely wanted to properly make it up to her one and only.
Of course, the nephew had also proved himself worthy.
He’d tested into a pretty good university for the college entrance exams, not letting his little sister’s expectations go to waste.
“Got a photo?
Let me take a look.”
Xiao Yue just smiled, then typed a message on her phone and sent it to Xiao Ling.
A moment later, a photo came through from his end.
“Here.” Xiao Yue handed the phone to Xiao Yu.
Xiao Yu opened the photo.
Displayed prominently on it were his nephew and his future niece-in-law, together.
Xiao Ling had a bird’s nest of hair, clearly not often tended to.
But he was grinning wide, throwing up a peace sign with his left hand, his face constantly nuzzling against his girlfriend’s cheek.
He really did seem utterly smitten.
And that girl — she had a gorgeous head of long pink hair, and her eyes were a dreamy, starry blue.
She wore a slightly troubled smile, likewise mimicking Xiao Ling with a peace sign of her own from her right hand.
Though she seemed a bit exasperated, the mirth rippling at the bottom of her eyes let one feel that this girl was truly content with her life right now.
‘This kid’s finally woken up.
Finally stopped going on about those 2D waifus of his every day.’ From the bottom of his heart, Xiao Yu felt the gratification of an old father.
“What did he say he needs?” Xiao Yu turned to ask about Xiao Ling’s request.
“He wants to switch apartments.
Probably wants to give the girl some private space.” Xiao Yue answered.
“Fine.
I’ll handle it.” Xiao Yu said, light and casual.
Pfft.
Just an apartment.
No need to rent.
Buying it outright would do.
Comment it and let me know.