January 18th
Tuesday
The winter sun made everything feel exceptionally warm as it shone into the classroom.
The teachers were energetically imparting knowledge, while the students in the front row were absentmindedly daydreaming about alpacas.
Wang Yan was out of sorts all day. The idea of Tang Qing eting her parents for the first ti made her anxious. Even though her parents were told about Tang Qing’s outstanding qualities last night and showed great admiration and interest, she still felt restless.
Tang Qing noticed Wang Yan’s unusual deanor, but he kept his silence, for he was even more flustered.
The impending eting stirred up hidden mories.
In his past life, he only t Wang Yan’s mother, Shi Lan, once. It was during their fourth year when Shi Lan had suddenly requested to et, and took him to a coffee shop. Rather than straightforwardly asking him to break off the relationship with Wang Yan, she had attempted to reason with him, describing how wonderful Wang Yan was and how much she was loved and spoiled at ho. Despite understanding Shi Lan’s intentions, Tang Qing remained silent, internally conflicted. Ultimately, Tang Qing’s resolve was not weakened by re words, so he decided to stand his ground to see what Wang Yan had to say about this.
Unexpectedly, Shi Lan brought up his own family. Not in a particularly humiliating way, just emphasizing the fact that his family could not possibly be a match for Wang Yan’s, and that she deserved a better life.
This statent managed to infuriate the young and impulsive Tang Qing, who walked away in a huff and drifted apart from Wang Yan thereafter. In retrospect, Tang Qing conceded that Shi Lan’s strategy was simply to provoke him rather than to humiliate him. But that didn’t change the fact that he genuinely felt he was not good enough for Wang Yan.
So, they drifted apart until it was too late to nd things.
Tang Qing would often lant over his ludicrous self-esteem and self-deprecation, both of which brought nothing but trouble.
If he could not respect himself, who else would? Therefore, he did not bla Wang Yan’s mother. In fact, he felt that any reasonable mother would do the sa. It all ca down to him not being good enough.
So, one was lost in a daze and the other was caught up in mories as they spent the rest of the day.
School ended in the afternoon.
Tang Qing followed Wang Yan straight ho. He’d already told his aunt at lunchti that he’d be dining at a friend’s place. His aunt didn’t ask too many questions but told him to be careful on the road.
For his first visit, Tang Qing couldn’t possibly turn up empty-handed. Knowing that Wang Yan’s father enjoyed drinking Tie Guan Yin tea, he had bought the most expensive tea during lunch break, spending nearly 3500 RMB. He also planned to pick up so fruits on his way to her house in the afternoon.
Such a large box of tea would’ve stirred up questions if he carried it to school, so he left it at a dumpling shop near his school.
Just at the entrance of Wang Yan’s neighborhood, Tang Qing picked up a couple types of fruit. He intended to buy more but was stopped by Wang Yan who insisted that it was the gesture that mattered. Tang Qing didn’t argue.
When they reached Wang Yan’s ho, the familiar noise from the TV wasn’t heard. Wang Yan heaved a sigh of relief as she was worried that Tang Qing would learn about her mother’s TV habit.
As soon as they entered,
Upon hearing them, Shi Lan hurriedly ca out from the kitchen. She couldn’t help but feel a sense of familiarity when she saw Tang Qing’s handso face. To Shi Lan and probably any woman, an attractive man was universal currency.
"Yanzi, this is your classmate Tang Qing, right?" Shi Lan enthusiastically greeted him and sized him up approvingly. In her opinion, her daughter had a good eye since Tang Qing was handso and had an appealing deanor.
Tang Qing, however, was starting to feel uncomfortable under Shi Lan’s gaze, which he had only experienced before with his Aunt Lin. Seeing Shi Lan, a decade younger, stirred up a whirlpool of thoughts about life’s unpredictable ups and downs in Tang Qing’s mind.
"Mom... stop staring. Tang Qing, this is my mom." Wang Yan complained gently.
She then fetched a pair of new slippers for Tang Qing from the shoe rack.
"Auntie, it’s a pleasure to et you. You look so youthful. I brought a little token of appreciation. I hope you like it," Tang Qing said as he handed over the gift. Tang Qing wasn’t lying — Wang Yan’s mother indeed looked much younger than his own. She also bore a striking resemblance to Wang Yan. The ntion of his mother made Tang Qing miss her. However, knowing that the holidays were just a month away and he would see her soon, comforted him.
Shi Lan’s heart swelled with joy. "Oh, you shouldn’t have. We’re old and irrelevant. Your visit is more than enough. Why would you waste money on gifts?"
"It’s nothing big or fancy," Tang Qing replied as he changed into the slippers.
Shi Lan knew better though. She recognized the high-priced tea leaves at once since they had previously gifted the sa ones to a leader. Knowing Tang Qing’s net worth, she understood that this price, although equivalent to a common man’s two months wages, was nothing major to him. She found herself thinking that Tang Qing would be a good son-in-law. However, she decided to observe him further before making any decisions.
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