Chapter 160: When do you plan to marry her?

Aside from important matters, Cheng Xingye and Guo Mengyun rarely called each other.

Cheng Xingye paused for a moment, then finally let go of Lu Qingyue and swiped to answer the call.

He walked over to the window. Whatever the person on the other end said to him, his initial trace of impatience gradually shifted into a hint of respect.

After hanging up, Cheng Xingye turned back to see Lu Qingyue sitting on the edge of the bed, swinging her legs out of boredom while looking up at him with curiosity.

He walked over, raised a hand to ruffle her hair, and said,
"My grandfather is here. I need to go home."

Cheng Xingye had been raised by Elder Cheng for a period when he was young, and the old man was practically his closest relative in the family. Whenever he came to Jiang City, Cheng Xingye always had to go back to visit him.

Hearing this, Lu Qingyue obediently let out an "oh" and jumped down from the bed.
"Then I'll walk you out."

"Alright." Cheng Xingye stroked her head and let her lead him downstairs.

After saying goodbye to Lu's parents, Cheng Xingye was escorted all the way to the front door by the reluctant young girl.

Only to find someone squatting right at the entryway.

Lu Yi was crouched in front of the pile of gift bags Cheng Xingye had brought, seemingly quite surprised that he had gone to such great expense on his very first visit.

Seeing the two of them approach, he nudged one of the bags with his hand and deliberately picked a fault.
"Bringing all this stuff over, I suppose I should admire your thoughtfulness. But how come it's all just cigarettes and alcohol?"

Upon hearing that the bags were full of cigarettes and alcohol, Lu Qingyue let out an "ah" and blurted out without thinking,
"All cigarettes and alcohol? But my dad doesn't smoke and he doesn't drink either. Normally, his only vice is women..."

Before she could finish her sentence, she caught sight of a familiar shadow looming from behind, along with Lu Yi's shoulders trembling as he tried to hold back his laughter in her peripheral vision.

A chill instantly ran down the back of her neck, and she loudly corrected herself on the spot,
"However, having my mom is more than enough for him, hehe."

Lu嘉辰 (Lu Jiachen) had walked up at some point and was currently wearing a frosty expression, having clearly heard every word she uttered.

He had originally intended to see his future son-in-law off, only to reach the doorway and overhear his own daughter behind his back, spreading rumors about him being a womanizer.

The aging father's mouth twitched, and after falling into a speechless silence for a long moment, he suddenly felt that this little troublemaker really shouldn't be kept around any longer. He turned to Cheng Xingye and asked, with a serious and earnest expression,
"When do you plan to marry her and take her away?"

Lu Qingyue: "? ? ?"

Cheng Xingye: "....."

He hadn't expected good fortune to arrive so suddenly, and it caught him so off guard that his mind went blank for a second.

Seeming unable to believe it, he was struck dumb for a good while. Seeing that Lu Jiachen didn't look like he was joking, Cheng Xingye finally turned his gaze to the little rascal beside him.

Lu Qingyue was equally stunned, standing frozen and looking as helpless and pitiful as a basin of water ready to be splashed away at any moment.

He gave a very slight curve to his lips. His previously indifferent expression suddenly turned serious.
"If you agree, I plan to take her to get our marriage certificate the moment she turns twenty."

If these words had been spoken half an hour ago, the knives in the kitchen probably wouldn't have been enough for the father.

Yet, the two grown men of the family fell silent in unison.

Hearing this, Lu Yi raised an eyebrow in genuine surprise, thinking to himself that his future brother-in-law was truly a beast!

The date for registering their marriage was clearly something he had been plotting for ages, not even willing to let her wait a single day extra!

Lu Qingyue was utterly dazed as well, unable to tell whether he was joking or serious.

Lu Jiachen, on the other hand, maintained a calm expression. After pondering for a few seconds, he suddenly reached out a hand toward Cheng Xingye and shook it solemnly,
"Thank you, thank you..."

Cheng Xingye & Lu Qingyue & Lu Yi: "......"

The father, who had been overwhelmingly reluctant to part with her just moments ago, now felt a profound sense of relief in his heart, thinking that this leaky little cotton-padded jacket of his was finally about to go torment someone else.

....

Having unexpectedly won the approval of the young girl's father, Cheng Xingye was in high spirits on his way home, the corners of his mouth curving upward in a smile that he could barely suppress no matter how hard he tried.

Half an hour later, the car arrived at the Cheng family estate.

The sprawling Chinese-style courtyard was quietly and solemnly tucked away in the bustling city. Upon entering, one was greeted by white walls, black tiles, pavilions, and terraces, all arranged with exquisite care throughout the grounds.

Hearing the sound of the car pulling into the garage, Guo Mengyun wrapped a shawl around her shoulders and walked out from the garden archway to welcome him.

Cheng Xingye stepped out of the car, and before he even had a chance to ask anything, Guo Mengyun grabbed his arm in excitement.
"Were you with Diandian last night?"

On the young man's sharp, prominent Adam's apple, an ambiguous reddish mark was faintly visible.

Seeing her staring intently at his neck, Cheng Xingye realized what she was looking at. He nonchalantly reached up to touch the spot, a very faint arc playing on his lips.
"Yeah. What's wrong?"

His expression remained cold and effortlessly arrogant, yet his tone carried a lazy, smug undertone.

Amidst her surprise, Guo Mengyun was suddenly overwhelmed with delight.

Judging by his triumphant look, it seemed her son had completely and utterly won the little girl over.

Since the two of them had already crossed that boundary, wouldn't she inevitably become her daughter-in-law sooner rather than later?

At this thought, Guo Mengyun's heart swelled with joy. Feeling that the day she would hold a grandchild was practically right around the corner, her tone instantly softened.
"Nothing, I just wanted to ask—when do you plan to bring her home?"

Cheng Xingye lowered his head and stepped up the stone stairs, passing through the archway as he replied casually,
"I went to her house this morning. To be honest, her dad doesn't think our kind of family is a good match at all. He's afraid that if he marries his daughter off here, without power or backing, she'll end up being bullied by us."

Although the old father-in-law's exact words hadn't been quite like that, the meaning was practically identical.

Cheng Xingye threw in a little embellishment mainly because he wanted to test what Guo Mengyun's true attitude would be.

As expected, Guo Mengyun took it completely seriously, her eyes widening in immediate shock.
"How could we possibly bully her?"

Leaving aside the fact that the girl was her future daughter-in-law, even if she were just an ordinary young stranger, Guo Mengyun could never find it in her heart to bully an innocent child.

In truth, Guo Mengyun had always possessed a soft spot for young girls.

Back when she was young, besides giving birth to Cheng Xingye, she had actually fallen pregnant once more, right around the time Cheng Xingye was six years old.

At that time, she and Cheng Li were expanding their markets overseas. Heavily pregnant and still running herself ragged, she ultimately lost the baby when the pregnancy suddenly stopped progressing at a late stage.

In the operating room, unable to hold back, she asked the doctor to bring the baby over so she could take one glance.

It was a girl. With long eyelashes, closed eyes, and skin as white as snow.

One could easily imagine what a breathtakingly beautiful young girl she would have grown up to be, had she safely come into the world.

Guo Mengyun had weathered a terribly difficult period back then, spending almost every day weeping tears, which ultimately left her with an obstinate, deep-seated partiality toward girls.

And that was precisely why, even though she knew the Ye family had been exploiting their sense of gratitude in an attempt to marry their daughter into the family, she had never been able to bring herself to give Ye Zixuan a definitive rejection.