Chapter Ninety: Warmth and Harmony

The family laughed and chatted together, the house alive with warmth. The old man was overjoyed, and the mother was moved to tears.

This was the scene they had longed for half their lives: a dutiful son, an obedient daughter-in-law, and the simple bliss of family harmony.

The meal lasted the whole afternoon. Chen Yuxin had many connections locally; she had once covered a travel agency for a report and built a good relationship with them, so one phone call settled the old couple's trip. They were set to leave first thing in the morning.

But that evening, a problem arose: how were Liu Jingye and Chen Yuxin supposed to sleep?

"That is the advantage of having a son," Chen Yuxin said softly while washing dishes with Liu Jingye in the kitchen. "If a son brings a girl home, the parents will do everything they can to make sure they sleep in the same room. If a daughter brings a boy home, the parents will do everything they can to keep them apart."

"Then what are we supposed to do?" Liu Jingye asked in a low voice.

"Don't act all modest when you're the one benefiting," Chen Yuxin said, shooting him a glance. "You know perfectly well we'll be sleeping together tonight. You're secretly pleased, but you're still pretending to be clueless. How dull."

"I didn't know you were so open-minded," Liu Jingye said with a grin.

"I said sleep together. I didn't say we were doing anything. It just means spending the night in the same bed," Chen Yuxin replied coolly.

"That makes me happy too," Liu Jingye said smugly.

"You really are shameless," Chen Yuxin said with a playful air.

Human beings are creatures of feeling, so easily swayed by emotion. People who marry and divorce in a rush often do so simply because, in a single instant, they feel that they fit or do not fit together, and then they make a choice on the strength of that sudden surge.

Chen Yuxin was not quite like that, but the family gathering that afternoon, the warmth and affection of the two elders, and the comfort of home all made her heart swell. This girl, far from her parents and hometown, was genuinely moved and truly wished for a home like this.

Not only her, even Liu Jingye felt an urge to think, let it be like this, let it keep going like this. Everything seemed so harmonious, so complete.

"Wow, that intent could not be more obvious."

When the two of them came out of the kitchen and returned to the room, they were so shocked they nearly cried out. Mom had already spread the brand-new bright red wedding quilt across the bed, and was holding a pair of red candles, hesitating over whether to light them.

Chen Yuxin's face flushed crimson at once. She hurried into the bathroom, while Liu Jingye leaned over and said, "Mom, aren't you more anxious than I am? We only just met through a blind date."

"In this day and age, you can't afford not to rush," Mom said earnestly. "If a man misses his chance to confess once, the woman he likes may end up being someone else's wife."

"Well said. Profound and insightful," Liu Jingye praised.

At that moment, Dad appeared behind him, a cigarette in his mouth and a solemn look on his face. "Son, to be a man, either stay proudly single or marry with style. Never end up raising another man's wife for him."

"That makes sense. Very wise!" Liu Jingye exclaimed. "Did you two really just go to my sister's house to look after the child, or did you spend the last few days in the mountains attaining enlightenment?"

"Enough nonsense," Dad said. "A cloud of dark hair, a beautiful face, golden ornaments, and a warm canopy bed for a fine night."

Mom was even more direct. "May your first time be a smash hit!"

With that, the two old folks slipped away, snickering to themselves. Liu Jingye stared dumbly at their backs and muttered, "Are those really my parents? Have they been possessed by some lecherous spirit, or are they undercover assassins sent to provoke me?"

Only after their footsteps could no longer be heard did Chen Yuxin come out of the bathroom, her face still burning. She peeked upstairs, then said to Liu Jingye, "So this is what my future in-laws are really like."

Liu Jingye shrugged without comment and asked instead, "If I went to your place, would your parents demand a house, a car, and a bank account from me?"

Chen Yuxin thought about it and said with certainty, "They would."

Liu Jingye sighed. "A parent's heart is pitiful indeed."

Chen Yuxin said, "More like all parents in the world are the same."

The two exchanged wry smiles and climbed carefully into bed, one after the other, keeping more than two feet between them. Chen Yuxin lay on the outer side, ready to flee at a moment's notice, and strictly ordered Liu Jingye to face the wall.

In that posture, with that mood and in that atmosphere, neither of them could truly sleep. Yet both remained silent, afraid that the slightest word would become the spark.

"Hey," Chen Yuxin whispered at last, unable to relax. "Do you think your parents will be eavesdropping?"

"They wouldn't be that bored," Liu Jingye said. "Though maybe they would. This trip may have corrupted them."

"It isn't that they've turned bad," Chen Yuxin murmured with a bitter smile. "It's just that they never met anyone who could bring out their true nature."

"Then why don't you fake a couple of sounds, just to put them at ease?"

"Get lost..." Chen Yuxin said irritably. "Go to sleep. If you take one step beyond the line, I'll shout."

"Shout if you want. My parents are on my side anyway."

"Then I'll say you're going in through the back door."

"All right, all right, you've won. Sleep!"

Liu Jingye turned to the wall and faced his own conscience, silently reciting a calming mantra.

So the two of them drifted in and out of sleep, half awake and half dreaming, while the old couple upstairs remained awake the entire time, indeed listening at the door, sincerely hoping their son would turn raw rice into cooked rice.

They muddled along until deep into the night, and just when the old man and woman were nearly unable to hold on any longer, they suddenly heard Liu Jingye's voice.

"Can I come in?"

"No," Chen Yuxin replied icily.

"If I come in, I promise not to move, all right?"

"I said no means no."

"Look how uncomfortable I am. My head is already in. Please, let me in just a little more."

Hearing this, the old man and woman exchanged coy, embarrassed smiles, closed their room door, and went to sleep.

Downstairs, however, Liu Jingye and Chen Yuxin had actually been fighting over the blanket.

A little earlier, Chen Yuxin had woken up from the heat. Summer was almost upon them, and after several rains the weather had turned stiflingly hot. That bright red wedding quilt was thick cotton; it would have been strange not to break out in a rash beneath it.

She got up and dragged over a light summer cover from the bedside. Liu Jingye was hot too, but there was only that one thin blanket, and he was afraid of mosquito bites, so he wanted to squeeze under it as well. That was what led to the suggestive exchange above.

In the end, Chen Yuxin still would not let him in. Liu Jingye could only roll helplessly to the side, refusing to cover himself with the cotton quilt no matter what.

He said irritably to Chen Yuxin, "If we ever have a child, we'll name him Liu Mosquito Bait."

"Yun Wen? That's a very nice name."

"I said mosquito bait, the bait for mosquitoes," Liu Jingye replied. "It'll be our little memorial to this wonderful first night, and to my miserable fate."

Chen Yuxin burst out laughing. Once the joke had passed, sleep vanished from both of them, but neither spoke again. If they kept talking, something might genuinely happen.

Not long after, sounds came from upstairs. Dad and Mom were up, packing their things. They had only just returned yesterday, and before dawn today they were already leaving again. Though they were happy to be going to see the in-laws and formally discuss the marriage, such a hurried coming and going still left Liu Jingye feeling a little heavy-hearted.

He thought to himself, We have to get rid of Huang Guangzong and the others as soon as possible.

When the sky began to pale, Chen Yuxin got up as well. After washing her face and brushing her teeth, she seemed much more alert. She called the travel agency again to confirm the time; soon they would meet at the train station, and the whole group would depart together. She then called for a taxi to wait outside.

"What a considerate and thoughtful daughter-in-law," Liu Jingye said. "But somehow I feel more like you're eager for your in-laws to leave."

Chen Yuxin shot him a glare and said nothing. She took the initiative to go upstairs and help with the luggage. The two elders' warmth toward her rose yet another level, as though she were their very own daughter, leaving Chen Yuxin flustered and overwhelmed.

Her parents kept reminding Liu Jingye to treat that girl well, and if he dared to mistreat her, Dad would come back and break his legs.

Liu Jingye could only smile helplessly and keep assuring them. Then he personally escorted them to the station and watched as they joined the forty or fifty others from the travel agency. Under the guide's lead, they boarded the train together. Only then did he finally relax.

After that, he sent Chen Yuxin to the television station. As a famous female host and one of the city's leading faces, she had a huge amount of work every day, and in the station, where people came and went, it was actually the safest place of all.

"You need to be extra careful," Chen Yuxin reminded him at the gate, her eyes suddenly soft as water.

Liu Jingye comforted her. "Just go and do your work in peace. Don't worry about this. I'll handle everything."

A man must have the courage and ability to shoulder everything. Chen Yuxin nodded. The more she said now, the more it would affect Liu Jingye's morale. Great heroes are often hindered by tender feelings, after all.

As Chen Yuxin turned to leave, Liu Jingye called her back instead.

"Are you still going to host that home economics and cooking show lately?"

"I should be," she said, puzzled.

"Then are all those dishes really melt-in-your-mouth good?" Liu Jingye asked with a smile.

Chen Yuxin's expression turned stern. She walked right up to him, grinning mischievously, and said, "Why don't I give you a lick and see?"

"Better not. I wouldn't dare take that risk."

After saying that, Liu Jingye mounted his little motorcycle and rode off. The show was about to begin.

First he made a circuit of the large market, where hundreds of shops sold every imaginable household item. Then he went to the electronics district and quietly made a few small exchanges.

By the time he appeared in front of the government office building, he looked like a standard blue-collar laborer, wearing a blue work uniform, old and stained all over with grease.

"Hey, what are you here for?" the guard at the gate stopped him and asked warily.

Liu Jingye pointed to the tool pouch hanging at his side. "Mechanic. A guy named Zhang He called me. Said it was urgent."

The young guard turned and asked the old man in the gatehouse, "Sir, do we have someone here named Zhang He?"

"The secretary general's driver," the old man said without even looking up from his newspaper. Working in a government office, even the gatekeeper was treated with a certain deference. Drinking tea and reading the paper, he knew the internal affairs inside and out.

Even so, the guard still had Liu Jingye register his name. Liu Jingye scribbled down a bunch of nonsense, then strode grandly toward the parking lot.

"It's easier to get things done when someone inside is helping you," Liu Jingye thought. "Good thing Yuan Xiaoying gave me such detailed information. Now let's see what tricks you people are really hiding."