Huang Xiaojue stared at her, his mind clear. This chill between them hadn’t ford overnight. He didn’t know when she’d started to be so guarded, no longer taking for granted that ’what’s yours is mine.’ Had he failed to give her enough security? Or was it his mother’s warnings, laced with mockery sharper than any knife?
The Huang family’s dinner was sumptuous. Father Huang had pulled out all the stops, preparing nearly ten dishes, both large and small. Mother Huang was very pleased. "Our family of three hasn’t had dinner together in so long! Son, you must eat more. Look, you’ve lost so much weight recently; you need to build yourself up."
Huang Xiaojue put down his chopsticks. "Mom, I want to ask you for a favor."
Mother Huang felt a little uneasy. "What is it, son?"
"I really like Xixi, and we’re definitely going to get married. If she were to break up with , I don’t think I could find happiness for the rest of my life..."
Mother Huang’s expression changed.
Huang Xiaojue was very sincere. "Mom, please, for my sake, alright? I’m not asking you to like her, nor am I asking you to treat her exceptionally well. Just as long as things are outwardly agreeable, please stop making things difficult for her. That’s all I ask."
Mother Huang slamd her chopsticks down with a CLACK. "Son, has she been complaining about to you again?"
"Mom, you know Xixi isn’t like that. In fact, she hasn’t said a thing. I just wish you’d stop bringing up that unpleasant past."
"Her past? So you also know she has a shaful past?"
Huang Xiaojue maintained his patience. "Everyone has a past; I’m no exception. Back then, we were both single. At worst, Xixi just had one more romantic relationship than so. What about the other girls you wanted to go on blind dates with? Didn’t they all have pasts too? So of them had even been in three or four relationships, and you didn’t find anything disgraceful about them, right? So why are your standards suddenly so high when it cos to Xixi?"
Mother Huang flew into a rage. "Son, since you’ve brought it up, I have nothing to hide. Do you know how Zhou Xiaoxuan’s cousin and her mother ridiculed the last ti I ran into them? Her mother mocked to my face, saying that no matter how capable your son is, he still ended up with a woman who was kept! I can’t bear that kind of humiliation..."
Father Huang imdiately tried to stop her. "Old woman, what nonsense are you spouting?"
"Nonsense? Am I speaking nonsense? Yes, other won have relationships—three, four, even five tis! So what? Other won don’t carry the stigma of having been ’kept.’ Who asked Yan Xixi to be so unfortunate? She brought these troubles on herself; can you bla for that? Am I supposed to pay for her past?"
Mother Huang was resolute. "Son, I don’t want you to be cuckolded for the rest of your life; it’s not worth it. There are so many virtuous won in the world, why must you choose the absolute worst?"
Huang Xiaojue’s face was livid, and his breathing grew ragged. "Mom, you know those gossips were deliberately trying to sabotage things..."
Mother Huang cut him off sharply. "Son, since we’re speaking plainly, I’ll make my position clear. As long as I draw breath, Yan Xixi will never set foot in the Huang family ho! From this day forward, I forbid her from ever visiting again, and I will absolutely never acknowledge her as my daughter-in-law. You choose—that shaless woman or your mother! It’s her or ; if she’s here, I’m not!"
Huang Xiaojue shot up from his seat and strode out.
Mother Huang chased after him, roaring, "Xiaojue, if you walk out that door today, then from this day on, I don’t have you as a son anymore!"
(Dear readers, have I told you? "Marriage Alipay" won first prize in the Tencent Literature Original Novel Competition! Haha.)
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