Moving On from the Tsundere, I Choose the Perfect Sweetheart

Chapter 37: Chapter 37: An Awkward Scene? Four Women, One Drama

”Aunt Qing, what are you...?”

Gu Yifan said, a little surprised.

That was right!

Standing at the door was none other than Han Ning’s mom—Ye Wanqing!

”Yifan, I hope Xiaoning’er and I aren’t bothering you by stopping by at this hour?”

Ye Wanqing said with a smile while Gu Yifan was still dazed.

”Huh?”

Coming to his senses, Gu Yifan realized he had been a bit rude. He quickly said, ”Oh, oh, Aunt Qing, please, come in!”

After speaking, he stepped aside to let Ye Wanqing and Han Ning in.

At the same time, he turned his head and shouted toward the dining room, ”Mom, Aunt Qing and her daughter are here!”

Hearing his voice, Chen Dongmei froze for a moment.

”Hmm?”

She frowned in confusion, then got up and walked toward the door.

As soon as she reached the living room, she saw the mother-daughter pair, Ye Wanqing and Han Ning, walking in carrying several bags.

”Hey, Wanqing, what brings you here?”

Chen Dongmei said, surprised.

”Dongmei, it’s been a while since I last visited, so I thought I’d take advantage of the time today and bring Xiaoning’er over to say hi!”

”Plus, my family back home just sent over some local specialties, so I brought some for you and Yifan to try!”

Ye Wanqing said with a smile.

”Honestly...”

”Is that all? And here you are with all these bags. I was wondering what was going on!”

Chen Dongmei said, shaking her head.

”Hmm?”

Just then, Ye Wanqing noticed Su Qinghe by the dining table. She paused for a second, then said, ”Dongmei, you have a guest?”

Su Qinghe was standing quietly to the side, but her fidgeting hands revealed her nervousness and unease.

”Oh, you mean Qinghe!”

”Come, Qinghe, let me introduce you. This is your Aunt Wanqing.”

”And this is Aunt Wanqing’s daughter, Xiaoning’er. Oh, right, she goes to the same school as you and Yifan.”

Chen Dongmei said with a smile, holding Su Qinghe’s hand.

”Hello, Aunt Wanqing.”

”Hello, Classmate Han.”

Su Qinghe’s face was slightly flushed as she greeted them softly.

”Qinghe, hello, hello.”

”We met this morning, remember?”

”Hehehe...”

Ye Wanqing said with a laugh.

Han Ning, however, didn’t say a word. She just gave Su Qinghe a slight nod.

”Dongmei, I... We’re not interrupting anything, are we?”

After the pleasantries, Ye Wanqing turned to Chen Dongmei and spoke.

”Oh, it’s nothing!”

”Um... Wanqing, Xiaoning’er, have you two eaten yet? If not, sit down and have a bite with us!”

Chen Dongmei waved her hand dismissively, inviting them to sit down and eat together.

Ye Wanqing hesitated for a moment. ”Well... we haven’t yet. But is it convenient?”

”Nonsense, we’re all close friends here. What’s there to be inconvenient about!”

”It’s just a matter of adding another set of bowls and chopsticks!”

Chen Dongmei said magnanimously.

”Alright!”

”Then I’ll be shameless and freeload a meal at your place. It saves me the trouble of cooking anyway!”

”Hehehe...”

Ye Wanqing said, joking with a smile.

”Honestly!”

”Listen to you! Our families have known each other for so many years, and you’re still talking so formally!”

Chen Dongmei feigned a bit of anger and chided, ”Come on, sit down. Xiaoning’er, you sit too!”

Then she turned to the somewhat awkward Gu Yifan standing nearby and said, ”Hey, Yifan, go to the kitchen and get a bowl and chopsticks for your Aunt Wanqing and Xiaoning’er!”

Then she took Su Qinghe’s hand, and the two of them sat back down as well.

Gu Yifan looked at the sudden scene unfolding before him. ’Something about this feels strange.’

Shaking his head, he turned and walked into the kitchen.

He came back out quickly with a new set of bowls and chopsticks.

After ladling a bowl of soup for both Ye Wanqing and Han Ning, Gu Yifan finally sat down in the spot next to Su Qinghe.

”Come on, everyone, let’s eat!”

”We can talk while we eat!”

Chen Dongmei said with her usual enthusiasm.

For some reason,

despite the seemingly harmonious scene, Gu Yifan felt a persistent sense of awkwardness.

Their two families had eaten together many times before, but this time, something felt different.

’Maybe the timing is off?’

’Or maybe it’s because of the presence of an outsider like Su Qinghe?’

’No!’

’That’s not it!’

’In fact,’ Gu Yifan thought, ’today it’s Ye Wanqing and Han Ning who feel like the real outsiders!’

...

Throughout the meal, Gu Yifan was silent, Su Qinghe was silent, and Han Ning, at the side, was also silent.

Only Chen Dongmei and Ye Wanqing would occasionally exchange a few casual words.

”Come, have some fruit after the meal to help with digestion!”

In the living room, Chen Dongmei brought out a plate of sliced fruit and offered it to everyone on the sofa.

”You mentioned just now that Qinghe is also a senior at Mountain City First Middle School, right?”

Ye Wanqing asked Su Qinghe after eating a piece of fruit.

”Huh?”

Caught off guard by the sudden question, Su Qinghe froze for a moment.

”Mm.”

When she came to her senses, she gave a slight nod, though she was still a bit confused.

”I see!”

”So Qinghe will be taking the college entrance exams soon, just like Yifan and Xiaoning’er!”

Ye Wanqing nodded. Then, she suddenly changed the subject, casually asking Chen Dongmei, ”So... Dongmei, since she also goes to First Middle, how come I’ve never seen Qinghe visit your home before?”

This seemingly casual question actually carried a deeper meaning.

Hearing Ye Wanqing’s words, Gu Yifan turned and gave her a deep look.

Before his own mother could speak, he jumped in. ”That’s because Qinghe is a boarding student. Plus, the workload for seniors is pretty heavy, so she doesn’t have much time to come over. It’s perfectly normal that you haven’t seen her, Aunt Qing. Heh heh...”

”Oh, oh... I see!”

Ye Wanqing nodded, then casually asked another question, ”Which one of your relatives is Qinghe the daughter of? I don’t think I’ve ever heard you mention her before.”

”Oh, Qinghe is the daughter of an old friend of my mom’s.”

Gu Yifan said with a straight face.

”Hmm?”

Chen Dongmei, at his side, gave her son a confused look, but she didn’t expose his lie.

It wasn’t just her. Su Qinghe, also beside him, was staring at him with wide eyes.

Meanwhile, Han Ning, who had been sitting quietly with her head down, took in the entire scene. Based on her understanding of Gu Yifan, she knew he was lying.

Her mouth opened slightly, as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, she said nothing at all.

”I see!”

Ye Wanqing nodded and didn’t ask any more about it. She turned to Chen Dongmei and started making small talk.

...

After a little while, Gu Yifan glanced at the time and decided it was time to make a break for it with Su Qinghe.

So he said, ”Um, Mom, it’s getting late. I’m going to take Qinghe back to school now.”

With that, he stood right up...