Belated Romance (Mu Tongrui)

Jiahe swallowed and slowly followed Mrs. Lu into the adjoining bedroom.

Mrs. Lu paced to and fro agitatedly as if she had a great deal to say to her wayward daughter but did

not know where to even begin. She finally spun around and pointed at Jiahe. "Go stand in the corner

there!"

Jiahe obediently scuttled to the corner like a shrinking violet. Hunching her shoulders as if in surrender,

she stammered, "Mother…earlier…I…just now we weren't up to anything…we weren't doing that..."

The corner of Mrs. Lu's eye twitched. "Excuse me? Both of you were actually in the middle of that?"

Even Jiahe's ears were red with embarrassment as she faltered, "N…no, no, we weren't…"

"Lu Jiahe! How dare you? What have I always told you since you were a child?"

"G…girls should be proper and restrained; they should guard their virtue and not fool around."

"They shouldn't fool around. I see your memory's still working. Well then, what was that just now?"

Jiahe stole a glance at her mother's furious face. She felt slightly aggrieved. "I wasn't the one who

wanted to kiss him! He…"

"You kissed him, he kissed you, what difference is there, Jiahe? You tell me right now, have you ever

messed around with him? Don't you dare lie to me!"

Jiahe began nodding instinctively, then recalled herself and frantically shook her head. "No! I haven't!

Mother, I haven't done anything..."

Mrs. Lu strode in front of Jiahe and said in her most forbidding manner, "Listen to me, Lu Jiahe. I'm not

objecting to you having a boyfriend. But you need to remember that even though we're not some

fabulously wealthy family, we still have morals and standards. I have no problems with you and Chi

having a relationship, but don't take it one step further and sleep with him! That must not happen! Do

you hear me?"

Jiahe wondered what her mother would do if she found out she and Xinghe had spent the night

together before. Would she come after her with a hatchet…or would she go after Xinghe instead?"

"Yes, Mother. I understand."

Mrs. Lu took hold of Jiahe's ear. "Don't just say yes, you'd better mean it! Earlier you were messing

around here, in our very own house! What were you and Chi doing? How did you end up on the bed? If

you were somewhere else, who knows if you two…"

The more Mrs. Lu thought about it, the more anxious she became. "Anyway, Jiahe, you'd better watch

your step and guard yourself properly! Understand?"

"Yes, Mother. I will."

Mrs. Lu fixed her with a hard stare before letting her go. Jiahe scuttled out of the room behind her.

Xinghe's nose was bleeding from Jiahe's punch earlier. Mrs. Lu blinked and asked, "Chi, why is your

nose bleeding?"

Xinghe eyed Jiahe meaningfully for a while, then answered blandly, "Oh, I got just a little over-excited,

that's all."

D*mn it! This wretched man would hang onto that grudge forever! Jiahe did not dare imagine what he

would do when they returned to work at the hospital; he would likely make things difficult for her!

She hurriedly ran over to him and grabbed some tissue, then helped him wipe his nose.

Xinghe watched as she tried to clean off the blood, and his expression softened considerably.

Jiahe muttered in a small voice, "I didn't mean to hit you. Who asked you to be such a brat?"

"I didn't do anything wrong! That's entirely on you!"

Mrs. Lu watched the bickering pair and suddenly chuckled. She took Mr. Lu by the arm and pulled him

into their bedroom, leaving the living room free for Xinghe and Jiahe.

Mr. Lu still had his newspaper in one hand. Slightly bewildered, he asked, "Why are you dragging me in

here? My tea's still brewing in the living room, you know."

Mrs. Lu rolled her eyes at him. "It's already so late at night, why are you still drinking tea? You're not

going to be able to sleep. Didn't you see Honey and Chi out there?" She looked pointedly at him.

Mr. Lu got the message. Rubbing his nose, he said thoughtfully, "Chi and our girl seem to get along

very well. They're not a bad match at all."

Mrs. Lu laughed. "If Chi really likes Honey and treats her well, that's our girl's good luck in getting a

treasure of a man. Chi's more than worthy of her."

"I say, my dear! Why are you suddenly taking the other party's side? How can a mother say that about

her own daughter?"

"This is just between us. After all, I'm not saying it in front of Chi. Don't you know that every mother's

dream is to have a good son-in-law?"

Mr. Lu sighed. "Wait a minute, dear. I haven't even agreed to let him marry Honey; why are you

suddenly talking about being his mother-in-law? Let me tell you now, I'm not ready to marry my only

daughter off to anyone yet!"

"Very well then, keep her at home until she becomes an old spinster, then. Don't expect her not to

complain!"

Mr. Lu shook out his newspaper and sat on the edge of the bed to read. With a huff, he retorted, "So

what if she's an old spinster? I just want her to be here with us for a few more years, that's all."

"Oh, whatever! I can't be bothered trying to make you see sense."

Mrs. Lu went to the door and peeked out at Jiahe and Xinghe in the living room. "Dear, what time do

you think Chi will leave tonight?"

"Probably soon. No, wait a minute. If he leaves, where's he going to stay?"

The same thing occurred to Mrs. Lu as well. She scrunched up her brow, thinking. "I don't know either.

We haven't got a spare bedroom for him. In any case, he can't sleep in Honey's room."

"Of course not! They're not even married yet!"

"I know, but from the looks of things…Chi doesn't look as if he's about to leave any time soon. If I ask

him when he's going, wouldn't it look as if we're chasing him out? That wouldn't be very polite. Why

don't you go and ask him instead?"

Mr. Lu furrowed his brow. "It's not going to sound any better if I ask him. It's better if you do it, I think."

"Excuse me? What's this? Humph! Fine, I'll ask him myself!"

In the living room, Jiahe was still attending to Xinghe's injury. Mrs. Lu came in and coughed discreetly;

both of them turned to look at her.

"Chi, I think…well, it's rather late now. Tonight, where will you be…"

Before she could finish, Xinghe answered very courteously, "I plan on staying at one of the hotels in

town, Mrs. Lu."

Mrs. Lu could not help feeling relieved. "Oh, excellent! I was afraid you didn't have anywhere to stay.

We've only two rooms here and I wouldn't feel right about asking you to sleep in the living room. It'll be

much more comfortable in a hotel."

When Xinghe took his leave, Mr. and Mrs. Lu accompanied him to the door. Mrs. Lu turned to Jiahe

and said, "Honey, why don't you see Chi off? Chi, tomorrow would you like to come over for breakfast?"

Xinghe smiled faintly but declined. "It's alright, Mrs. Lu. I have some personal matters to settle

tomorrow, so I won't be able to come anyway."

"Oh, I see. Well, next time you come home with Honey, I'll cook something really tasty for you!"

After Xinghe bid his farewells, Jiahe accompanied him downstairs. Her parents watched them both

from the window and noticed the BMW parked at the curb.

Mrs. Lu blinked. "Chi's so young, but he's driving a BMW already? Do you think he's from a wealthy

family?"

"Honey can't marry him if he's from one of those super-rich families. Who knows if his mother will bully

her?"

Mrs. Lu looked worried. Frowning, she sighed and said, "Yes, that's true. If he's very rich, the family

situation tends to be more complicated. Honey's still very innocent. If Chi's mother doesn't get along

with her, that's going to be a problem. Chi is very well-mannered, though, and he's quite modest and

unassuming. He seems to have been brought up well, which means his parents are probably fairly

decent folks as well."

"I'm not going to worry about it anymore tonight. In any case, if he can't make our daughter happy, I

don't care if she stays at home with us for the rest of her life; we can't allow her to marry the wrong

person."