Little Meteor Chapter 40
byChapter 40: For the Future Daughter-in-Law
Leaving the Wellness and Rehabilitation Center, they reached the entrance. Shen Mu’s father said he still had something to instruct the doctor about and asked Jiang Chengxuan to wait for him at the door.
The Wellness and Rehabilitation Center was in the suburbs, and the surrounding environment and air quality were quite good. Shen Mu’s father went in and didn’t come out for a long time. Bored while waiting, Jiang Chengxuan picked up a few small pebbles and tossed them into the river. His phone suddenly rang—a video call from his mother. Jiang Chengxuan tapped to answer. As soon as the call connected, his mother’s eyes seemed glued to the screen: “Son, did you get beaten up?”
Jiang Chengxuan couldn’t help but laugh out loud: “Do you think this is a gangster movie? Uncle and Auntie are civilized people; they talk, they don’t use their fists.”
“Are you sure you weren’t hit?” Jiang Chengxuan’s mother didn’t quite believe him. “Your father didn’t sleep well all night. He was worried you’d get your legs broken. I told him maybe a beating wouldn’t be so bad, as long as it calmed them down.”
“Mom!” Jiang Chengxuan was torn between laughter and tears. “Are you worried about me or enjoying my misfortune?”
“Of course I’m worried about you,” Jiang Mom sighed. “But this matter, it’s normal for the parents to not accept it immediately. If you can’t handle it, then we’ll go over. We have to meet them sooner or later.”
Jiang Chengxuan smiled: “Don’t worry, I can handle it. I’ll call you if I need help. Don’t come over right now.”
“Alright. By the way, how is Xiao Mu? Is he holding up okay?”
“He’s fine,” Jiang Chengxuan answered, seeming a little distracted, but unwilling to elaborate. “Don’t worry, I have something to do here. I’ll hang up now.”
Shen Mu’s father came out from inside. He had overheard a few sentences just now. He walked over and asked him, “Your family?”
“Yes,” Jiang Chengxuan opened the passenger door. “Just checking in.”
Shen Mu’s father hesitated before speaking: “Does your family… know about this?”
Jiang Chengxuan smiled: “They know.”
“And they don’t object?”
Jiang Chengxuan fastened his seatbelt for him: “They objected at first, but later…”
Jiang Chengxuan wanted to use the word “accepted,” but changed it at the last minute: “They compromised.”
Shen Mu’s father didn’t speak again, staring out the car window, lost in thought.
Jiang Chengxuan drove to the alley entrance, parked the car, and said goodbye. Just as he pushed the door open to leave, Shen Mu’s father called out to him: “Don’t go yet. Stay for lunch.”
Jiang Chengxuan joked: “Do you think I’d be able to eat?”
Shen Mu’s father shot him a look: “Forget it if you don’t want to eat.”
“How could I not want to eat?” Jiang Chengxuan got out of the car and discussed with him: “How about I take a detour and not go inside with you?”
“No need,” Shen Mu’s father walked quickly ahead. “If you want to eat, hurry up. Don’t be so fussy.”
Shen Mu had suffered from insomnia last night and only fell asleep around five in the morning. When his mother woke him up for lunch, he was still groggy. After washing up and coming out, Jiang Chengxuan was setting the dishes on the dining table. Seeing him, he smiled: “Are you awake?”
He probably wasn’t fully awake.
Shen Mu’s expression was a little blank. He walked over and pinched Jiang Chengxuan’s face hard. Jiang Chengxuan hissed in pain. Shen Mu said blankly, “It’s really not a dream.”
Shen Mu’s father sat nearby with a cold face: “It is a dream. Go back to sleep.”
Shen Mu immediately ran to the kitchen to wash his hands, quietly asking his mother: “How did Jiang Chengxuan get in?”
His mother smiled: “Your dad brought him in. How else? Climbed in through the balcony?”
His mother had prepared a large table of dishes. Shen Mu helped fetch the bowls and chopsticks, and Jiang Chengxuan helped arrange them. The four of them sat around the square table, and for a moment, the only sound was the clinking of tableware. His mother served Jiang Chengxuan a bowl of chicken soup: “Drink some of this. It’s free-range chicken, hard to find in the big city.”
Jiang Chengxuan thanked her with a smile: “Auntie, your cooking is excellent.”
“Eat more if you like it,” his mother said, picking up some green vegetables for him. “You need balanced nutrition.”
Shen Mu lowered his head and ate silently, stealing glances at his father’s expression. But his father was just quietly eating, occasionally looking up at Jiang Chengxuan.
With Jiang Chengxuan there, Shen Mu didn’t dare to speak much. His father hadn’t accepted the situation, so naturally, he couldn’t bear to see him being affectionate with Jiang Chengxuan.
After the meal, Shen Mu’s father asked the two of them to come into the room. Shen Mu felt anxious. Jiang Chengxuan secretly squeezed his fingers under the table and mouthed the words: “It’s okay.”
Once they entered the room, his father closed the door and the windows, just like yesterday, and kept his voice as low as possible: “I still can’t accept your relationship.”
Shen Mu’s father frowned, his attitude still very firm: “I’ll be direct. In this lifetime, I probably won’t accept it, even until I die.”
Shen Mu had anticipated this outcome and turned his head, preparing to say goodbye to Jiang Chengxuan.
“But if you insist, what can we, as parents, do?”
Shen Mu’s voice trembled slightly: “Dad.”
Shen Mu’s father sighed, looking at Jiang Chengxuan, and said coldly: “If you two had come together a few days ago, I would have beaten both of you.”
“Yes,” Jiang Chengxuan smiled. “You can beat me up now if you want.”
His father warned: “Don’t be glib.”
Jiang Chengxuan immediately shut up.
His father looked at Shen Mu: “If being our son makes you so unhappy, and the things we can’t give you, the person standing beside you can, then I can only concede.”
Shen Mu rarely cried since childhood, but hearing his father’s words, tears immediately welled up. Shen Mu’s father’s eyes also reddened seeing his son like this. He stood up, walked to the desk, and took an old wooden box from the drawer. He opened it and took out something wrapped in red cloth—a jade pendant of excellent quality.
He handed the jade pendant to Jiang Chengxuan: “We don’t have anything valuable in our family. This jade pendant was originally intended for my future daughter-in-law… Now, I’ll give it to you.”
Jiang Chengxuan took the jade pendant with both hands. He felt it was too precious and wanted to return it, but Shen Mu’s father waved his hand: “Go out. I still have things to talk about with Xiao Mu.”
Jiang Chengxuan patted Shen Mu’s shoulder and closed the door behind him as he left.
Shen Mu’s mother was waiting at the door. Seeing the jade pendant in his hand, she smiled: “He gave you the jade pendant?”
Jiang Chengxuan handed the jade pendant back to her: “This is too valuable. Auntie, please secretly take it back.”
“Keep it,” Shen Mu’s mother smiled. “It’s our custom here. When an elder gives a gift, if you accept it, it means the engagement is set. If you return it, it doesn’t count.”
“Is that so?” Jiang Chengxuan immediately put the jade pendant around his neck, tucked it close to his body, and patted it. “Then I will definitely keep it safe.”
Shen Mu’s mother listened to the sounds inside the room and whispered: “Let’s go outside for a bit and let them have their cry.”