EAY Chapter 67

Love is Always Feeling Indebted

Love is Always Feeling Indebted

67

Shi Ran: “I am eating.”

Qi’s mother also noticed that Shi Ran hadn’t eaten much: “What’s wrong? No appetite?”

Qi Ye: “He’s been observing you guys, worried that you wouldn’t like the food.”

“Oh, you kid, why do you think so much?” Qi’s mother said with a smile, “We’ve tasted every dish here, and they’re all delicious.”

Qi’s father and Qi Xue also nodded in agreement.

Shi Ran breathed a slight sigh of relief and said a little embarrassedly, “Uncle, Auntie, Sister, I’ve been troubling you all a lot lately. As Qi Ye’s friend, I’ve received too much care. So I’ve always wanted to find an opportunity to thank you. It’s not just being polite or distant, I just hope you can feel that I also really like you, and then—”

Shi Ran suddenly blushed and covered half of his face with his hand: “I don’t know what to say all of a sudden.”

The others burst out laughing, and Qi’s mother looked at Shi Ran, liking him even more: “You’re such a cute kid.”

Qi Xue clutched her chest: “You almost moved me for a second there.”

Shi Ran: “I was being too formal just now and didn’t know what to say. Sorry, everyone.”

Qi Ye just looked at him and smiled.

Qi’s father said, “You just put too much pressure on yourself. Actually, we haven’t done much for you. You don’t need to remember so much. Just work hard and continue to be good friends with Qi Ye. Your kind of friendship is so rare. Maybe one day you’ll each start your own families, and the two families will get along well, and your children will still be friends. That would be great.”

Shi Ran and Qi Ye looked at each other, speechless.

Qi Xue noticed their emotions quickly dropping and quickly smoothed things over: “Hey Dad, why are you thinking so far ahead? They’ve only just entered society. It’s still early.”

Qi’s father: “It’s a beautiful vision.”

Qi Xue: “But look at my brother, he hasn’t even dated a girl since he was little. Maybe he just doesn’t have the luck with girls.”

Qi’s mother immediately said, “Hey, don’t say that. Your brother was very popular in college. So many girls were after him.”

Qi Xue: “Even if there were many, there’s nothing he can do if he doesn’t want to.” She coughed lightly, “You’re not the kind of parents who push marriage, are you?”

“What are you talking about? You’re all so young.” Qi’s mother reached out and touched her daughter’s hair, “Even if you get older in the future, your dad and I won’t push you.”

“You said it. You can’t go back on your word later.” Qi Xue pointed to the others, “Everyone here can be my witness.”

Qi’s father said with a smile, “Your mom and I have always felt this way. We just hope you’re all happy. If you’re not ready to get married, we’re just putting pressure on you for nothing if we push you.”

“My mom and dad are the best!” Qi Xue acted like a child in front of her parents, “I want to be your daughter in my next life too!”

Saying it herself wasn’t enough, she had to pull her brother in: “Qi Ye, do you feel the same way?”

“Huh?” Qi Ye was completely out of the loop.

Qi Xue gave him a look, and Qi Ye had to bite the bullet and say, “Yeah, me too.”

Shi Ran quietly teased him, “You’re too stiff.”

Qi Ye: “I can’t do that.”

But thinking about it, boys rarely act so openly affectionate with their parents, especially when they’re outside. As for Shi Ran himself, he wasn’t close to his parents to begin with, and he’d only learned to soften his tone when speaking to his grandfather, who had raised him, in the past year.

“This time Shi Ran spent a lot of money. How about this, let’s go shopping together this afternoon, and I’ll treat you to afternoon tea.” After the meal, Qi’s mother suggested cheerfully, “I saw an afternoon tea place nearby that’s really popular online. The food is delicious, and it’s great for taking pictures!”

“I want to go, I want to go. I haven’t posted on Moments in a long time.” Qi Xue said quickly.

Qi’s father said, “Then we men will be the photography tools, I’m already very skilled.”

Qi’s mother: “And you have to pay the bill.”

“Okay, okay, as long as my wife is happy, I’ll make sure you’re satisfied.” Qi’s father said gentlemanly.

As they walked, Qi Ye and Shi Ran fell behind. Shi Ran said with emotion, “I might have said this before, but I still have to say it. Your parents have such a good relationship. They have the best relationship of all my friends’ parents that I’ve ever seen.”

Qi Ye nodded with a smile: “They’ve already planned their retirement trip. Just the two of them, without me and Qi Xue.”

Shi Ran: “That’s good. When they were young, they were busy with work and busy with the kids. Now they can finally have their own time together.”

“Yeah, my dad always says that my mom suffered too much following him when they were young. They had nothing when they got married, and he always feels like he owes her.” Qi Ye said.

It’s said that you only feel indebted to someone you love, that you feel like you’re not giving enough. Shi Ran thought of his own parents, who were always verbally abusive and couldn’t stand each other. Two people like that together were just torturing each other. Their divorce was the best thing they could have done for Shi Ran.

Qi Ye seemed to see what Shi Ran was thinking and reached out to hold his hand to comfort him, but he didn’t expect to scare Shi Ran into jumping up. Qi Ye’s parents heard the commotion and looked back. Shi Ran quickly waved his hand: “It’s nothing, it’s nothing. I just saw a mouse run by.”

Qi’s mother immediately looked horrified: “A mouse?! Where?! How can there be a mouse on the road!”

Shi Ran: “It’s nothing, it’s nothing. It ran away. There are too many restaurants nearby, so they probably attract mice.”

Qi’s mother felt relieved.

Qi Ye kept suppressing his laughter and only pretended to be serious when he noticed Shi Ran glaring at him.

Qi Xue in front also turned around and signaled them to behave themselves. She didn’t believe it was a mouse.

After afternoon tea, Qi Ye’s parents still had other places to go, and the kids couldn’t accompany them. They all had to go to work tomorrow.

So Qi Xue was responsible for driving Qi Ye and Shi Ran home. When they arrived at the apartment building, Shi Ran asked Qi Xue if she wanted to go upstairs to play games. Qi Xue sighed: “I want to, I haven’t played in a long time, but I have to go on a business trip early tomorrow morning. Ah, my poor life. Hey, but how about next Saturday? Do you guys have time?”

Shi Ran nodded, “We have time. We just finished a project and we’re back to having weekends off.”

“That’s good.” Qi Xue looked at them, “How is it? You’re not so nervous now, are you?”

Shi Ran: “What?”

Qi Xue: “You guys are too bad at hiding your expressions. When my dad mentioned marriage, your faces instantly turned gloomy. Especially you, Shi Ran, I could tell you were troubled right away.”

Shi Ran scratched his head. His mood really did plummet at that time.

Qi Ye in the back seat said, “Who wouldn’t be startled when Dad suddenly brought that up?”

“But according to his way of thinking, it’s a very natural thing.” Qi Xue said, “But Shi Ran, you don’t have to worry. You can probably tell that my parents are very open-minded people, they just need time. Don’t worry, I’ll be there to help you slowly integrate.”

“Thank you, Sister.” Shi Ran said sincerely.

Shi Ran was already touched enough when Qi Xue found out about him and Qi Ye and not only didn’t object but also expressed her support. Now hearing her say these things, Shi Ran really felt like he was so lucky.

He must have done something amazing in his past life.