“Auntie?” Song Mianfeng reacted for a moment, “My mom?”

“Yeah.” Lu Yin Zhen’s shoulders sagged slightly, “She asked why you slept so late last night.”

Song Mianfeng didn’t react much, he picked up the spoon and continued to drink the porridge, “And then?”

Lu Yin Zhen whispered, “I just said we stayed up late playing last night, so you were still asleep, and I told her I would ask you to call her back later.”

Song Mianfeng smiled faintly, “Is that all?”

“I feel… Auntie didn’t sound too happy.” Lu Yin Zhen’s tone sounded somewhat sad, “She also asked when you would go back home.”

It made sense. During the time Song Mianfeng was with him, he had been resting at home due to health reasons. They were in a long-distance relationship, and both of them had come to B City from A City, so Su Jieyi had every reason to be concerned.

“It’s fine.” Song Mianfeng reached out and pressed his lips up, pulling out a shallow curve, “You’re thinking too much. My mom was probably too happy. She was afraid of scaring you, so she deliberately held back, which made you misunderstand her cold tone.”

“Too happy?”

“Early in the morning, she called me and you picked up, which means we were sleeping together. How can my mom not be happy?”

The “sleeping” here obviously referred to it as a verb. Lu Yin Zhen was at a loss for words for a moment, “What kind of words are these…”

“I’m sorry?” Song Mianfeng chuckled, “I’m speaking euphemistically. It means that last night I was with you, not fooling around outside. When I went back to last month, I took the time to visit my family and told them about us being together. They have been urging me to bring you back, but I’ve been using your business trips as an excuse to put them off. Now that they know I came to B City to find you, and our relationship is stable, why would my mom be unhappy?”

Lu Yin Zhen was somewhat comforted by his words, but he still remembered Su Jieyi’s question, “But Auntie asked when you’re going back.”

Song Mianfeng furrowed his brows, “That’s a problem.”

Living at the Meng family’s house was too comfortable for him. He was starting to feel reluctant to leave. But his vacation time was only a little over ten days. It was almost time for him to go back.

“The 17th is the Qi Xi Festival, but I definitely won’t stay until then. Maybe I’ll accompany you for two or three more days, then I’ll have to go back.”

Song Mianfeng felt the sweet lotus seed porridge had lost its taste. He stirred it a few times and set the spoon aside, “When I get home, my parents will definitely ask me when I’m bringing you back, give me a definite answer, when are you coming home with me?”

“And about the future…” Song Mianfeng continued, “It might be a bit early to talk about these things now, but you need to think about it. I have my job, you have yours, and we have our families, friends. Long-distance relationships aren’t a long-term solution.”

“After the Mid-Autumn Festival, okay?” Lu Yin Zhen listened attentively. He had also thought about these questions. On the nights when Song Mianfeng kept him awake with his antics, he had thought about their future together. But those were just his thoughts. If Song Mianfeng wasn’t willing, they wouldn’t count. “After the Mid-Autumn Festival, I’ll go back with you to see uncle and aunt.”

“Okay.” Song Mianfeng smiled, “Then it’s settled. After the Mid-Autumn Festival, you’ll come home with me to meet my parents.”

“As for the future.” Lu Yin Zhen continued, “My grandparents have always felt that S City is a sad place. They’re getting old. I want to accompany them until… the end of time. By then, I’ll let the company in B City be managed by my eldest brother and second brother. I’ll go with you to S City. Before that, if you find it too hard to travel back and forth, then you stay in S City, and I’ll come to you.”

“You also said traveling back and forth is too difficult.” Song Mianfeng sighed, “How can I bear to see you suffer so much?”

“Before that, I can stay with you.” Feeling that his words were too empty, as if he had made a promise in a moment of love, he added, “My parents are healthy and have a pension. There’s no need to worry. They’re reasonable people. I can discuss it with them. If they agree, I’ll come to B City to be with you and take care of your grandparents together.”

“As for work, Letian has been wanting to open a studio for a long time, but his family has been causing trouble, earning as much as he loses. Mei Siyu’s job is always unstable, so he hasn’t been able to start it. I wanted to persuade him to open a studio together before, but he refused, saying he was afraid of dragging me down. In this way, we can discuss this matter again. I’m confident in entrusting the studio to him, whoever is suitable for the job will take it. It’s just that there might be frequent business trips.”

After Song Mianfeng finished speaking, he felt a bit dry in his mouth. He didn’t know if he was nervous or what. He picked up his cup and took a sip of water before asking softly, “Is it too much what I’m saying?”

“You’ve thought about it very thoroughly.” Lu Yin Zhen looked at him and smiled slowly, “I really want to spend my life with you.”

“Ah?” Song Mianfeng suddenly froze for a moment, and whispered, “Can I think about it again?”

“There’s no need to think about it.” Lu Yin Zhen hugged him, his arms wrapped around him like vines, gently imprisoning him, “You’ve already stepped into this muddy water. From now on, apart from loving each other until death, you have no other choice.”

Song Mianfeng was bothered by his warm breath in his ear and turned his head slightly to avoid it, “Okay, I surrender, stop teasing me.”

“I’m not teasing you.” Lu Yin Zhen kissed his temple, “I just want to hug you.”

He added, “Actually, we don’t need to be so clear-cut. We can spend a few months in S City each year, a few months in B City. We can also plan a trip together. I want to visit the places you’ve been to, and on sunny days, I can accompany you to sketch. On rainy days, you can stay at home with me while I work. Anyway, we have plenty of time to slowly plan our future, right?”

Song Mianfeng softly hummed in agreement.

“Then let’s talk about the present.” Lu Yin Zhen said, “If possible… Can we leave after the 13th?”

Song Mianfeng smiled, “I thought you’d keep me until the 17th.”

“Let’s put romance aside for now.” Lu Yin Zhen sighed softly, “I want to take you to pay respects to my mother.”

“The 13th is…”

Song Mianfeng suddenly stopped speaking. Lu Yin Zhen’s lips brushed against his earlobe, and he whispered, “It’s her death anniversary.”

“Okay.” Song Mianfeng patted his back, “I’ll accompany you.”

…

In order to reassure Lu Yin Zhen, after breakfast, Song Mianfeng made a call to Su Jieyi in front of him, indicating for him not to speak, and then put it on speakerphone.

“Mom, Yin Zhen said you called me this morning.” Song Mianfeng joked, “Miss me?”

“Waking up so late at other people’s home?” Su Jieyi scolded him with a hint of annoyance, then laughed, “When did you learn to play mahjong?”

She saw Song Mianfeng’s late-night post on WeChat this morning and thought it had been some time since he had called home. Now that he was away, she called to check on him, but she didn’t expect the person who answered the phone to be Lu Yin Zhen.

“You still don’t know me? I got on the table and lost everything.” Song Mianfeng laughed, “Yin Zhen won.”

He continued, “We didn’t go to a teahouse to play, it was his birthday yesterday, and we had guests at home, so we played for fun.”

He knew what Su Jieyi was worried about. Playing mahjong could be gambling. A little gamble for fun was fine, but if he really got addicted, Su Jieyi and Song Shaochen would be the first ones to deal with him.

Su Jieyi was somewhat relieved, but she sensed something amiss, “Guests at home? Didn’t you say Yin Zhen was on a business trip these days? How did you end up together?”

Song Mianfeng had told them it was for work, and Su Jieyi and Song Shaochen didn’t inquire further. When Lu Yin Zhen answered the morning call, she didn’t ask much either, but she had a lot of questions she could only suppress and ask Song Mianfeng.

Song Mianfeng glanced at Lu Yin Zhen, thought for a moment, and decided to tell a half-truth to prepare his parents mentally in advance, “Mom, let me tell you something, Yin Zhen isn’t actually on a business trip. He has his own company, and he needs to personally handle some work at the B City branch, so he’s been in B City during this time.”

“I’ve been in B City for a photo shoot during this time, so we’ve been together.”

Su Jieyi knew that Lu Yin Zhen was originally from B City. He had told Song Shaochen about it from the beginning, and Song Shaochen had hesitated at first. After some investigation, they thought Lu Yin Zhen’s talents, appearance, and character were outstanding, and since Lu Yin Zhen had a stable job in S City, they overlooked the issue of the long-distance relationship. Now, hearing Song Mianfeng’s explanation, Su Jieyi became somewhat worried, “So, what about his presence in S City?”

“He also has a company in S City,” Song Mianfeng said, “During this time, he’s been busy with matters at his B City company and couldn’t get away. When he returns to S City in a while, I’ll bring him home.”

Actually, there were still some loopholes in Song Mianfeng’s words, but Su Jieyi didn’t dwell on it. She just sighed and asked, “When do you plan to come back?”

“I bought a ticket for the 14th, in the afternoon. It’s perfect for dinner in the evening.”

Su Jieyi’s tone relaxed, and she smiled in response, “Okay.”