Chapter 16: I’ll Take Care of You for Life

Song Xilan felt a bit apologetic but refused without hesitation. “No need, my parents are waiting for me to have dinner at home.”

She thought for a moment and added, “It’s a family tradition. On important days, especially during holidays, we always have dinner together. Today is New Year’s, oh, are you eating alone?”

Jiang Chengxiao let out a helpless smile: “Yeah, alone in a foreign place, I’m a stranger here. Besides you, I don’t have any other friends.”

Seeing the hopeful look in Jiang Chengxiao’s eyes, Song Xilan quickly said, “Then you should hurry and find a place to eat. It’s a holiday today, and some restaurants might be closed.”

Jiang Chengxiao genuinely smiled bitterly this time. After all, they’d only just met a couple of days ago. How could she possibly invite a man she barely knew to her home?

“Alright, I’ll send you home first, and then I’ll go eat.”

“No, no, you should go right now. I need to go home too. Goodbye! Oh, right, here’s this for you.” Song Xilan handed him the candied hawthorn she’d been holding for him.

Jiang Chengxiao stared at the candied hawthorn for a while, then finally slid it into the crack of the window.

The bright red string of hawthorn, just hanging there, somehow looked a little nice.

[Suddenly craving candied hawthorn.]

[I’ve already opened the food delivery app.]

[Not gonna lie, these two are pretty sweet together. I feel like I’m joining the ‘Song-Jiang’ couple cult.]

[Did anyone else notice they didn’t exchange contact information? I’m worried! What if they just miss each other?]

[Our Xilan is a brave one when it comes to love! She’ll definitely take the initiative to find Jiang Chengxiao!]

[But I feel like it’s Jiang Chengxiao who’s falling for her, not Song Xilan!]

The winter wind couldn’t cool the warmth on Song Xilan’s face. How could those people say whatever they wanted?

She felt like, although she hadn’t meant anything, after hearing them talk, it kind of felt like there was something to it.

Brave in love? She was a very reserved girl, okay?

Even though she wasn’t sure why, Song Xilan instinctively felt she couldn’t let them know she could see their comments, or they might stop saying them.

These endless messages were sometimes annoying, but still kind of interesting. She didn’t want to lose this “special ability.”

When she got home, Tan Aizhi immediately noticed her daughter was in a good mood.

So the blind date in the afternoon went well?

“How was that guy, Qin?” Tan Aizhi asked eagerly.

Hearing the name, Song Xilan immediately furrowed her brows. “Don’t mention him. He has issues.”

Tan Aizhi grew anxious. “What kind of issues?”

Song Xilan recounted the whole blind date to her.

The more Tan Aizhi heard, the more tightly her brows furrowed. She muttered angrily about Song Xilan’s father, “That old fool can’t do anything right. He dared introduce such a person to our daughter.”

Song Baili, feeling wronged, said, “But Old Qin kept saying his son was good—capable, filial, and family-oriented. How was I supposed to know he was like this?”

Tan Aizhi comforted her daughter, “Don’t be upset, dear. From now on, we won’t listen to your dad. Hey, wait a minute, you don’t seem upset. You’ve been glowing since you came in. Did something good happen?”

Song Xilan quickly denied, “No, nothing!”

“How could that be? When you first met Yang Jingyu, you had the exact same expression on your face!”

“Not at all! Stop comparing him to that jerk Yang Jingyu.”

Tan Aizhi asked, “So… did you meet someone new?”

“It’s not like that. It’s the guy who helped me twice this morning. He was at the café in the afternoon, so we talked for a bit. That’s all, really.”

Song Xilan wasn’t sure why, but usually, she would tell her parents everything. But for some reason, with Jiang Chengxiao, she suddenly didn’t want to say much.

Tan Aizhi and Song Baili exchanged a worried look. “What’s this young man’s name? Where is he from? What does his family do?”

Song Xilan waved her hands, “I don’t know! I’m not planning to be involved with him like that, so why are you asking these things? I’ll listen to you both in the future about relationships. No more decisions on my own.”

“Alright, alright. We won’t ask, we won’t ask.”

The Song family wasn’t particularly gossipy. After today’s blind date, they simply let it go. They didn’t have the intention to spread rumors about Qin Hailin’s bad qualities.

Who knew, just a few days later, rumors about Song Xilan began to spread, saying she was spoiled, rude, lazy, and wasteful with money. She didn’t contribute to household expenses, and even though she was getting a salary, she still needed her parents to subsidize her.

Such a girl clearly wasn’t going to get married. She would end up staying at home as an old maid.

Who would want to marry a girl like that?

When Tan Aizhi heard this gossip, she was furious. It was clear that the Qin family was the source of the rumors.

She skipped work and rushed to Qin Hailin’s workplace, confronting him. She scolded him for being shameless. Despite his good appearance, he wanted a wife who would serve his family like a servant. Not only would she have to give him her salary, but she would also have to work tirelessly for his family. She couldn’t even sit at the dinner table, had to wear second-hand clothes, and couldn’t even eat meat.

What family would want their daughter to marry into such a family? They were ruining their lives. She warned the women at his workplace to be cautious, as he had a soft, polite appearance but a dark heart. He was the type of man who would consume you and spit out the bones.

For the first time in her life, Tan Aizhi, always gentle and polite, was driven to gossip and slander someone to this extent for the sake of her daughter.

After the gossip had circulated, she was still unsatisfied and went home to make Song Baili kneel on the washboard for the entire evening to vent her anger.

“Our daughter is a treasure. She’s raised to eat well, drink well, and not do chores. So what if she spends money freely? If she gets married in the future, it’s to live a good life, not to suffer. If anyone can’t spoil her like we do, then they shouldn’t even try.” Tan Aizhi said.

Song Baili, seizing the opportunity, got up from the washboard and said, “That’s right. Even if our Xilan doesn’t get married, we can take care of her for the rest of her life.”

Tan Aizhi glared at him fiercely, “Who told you to get up? Kneel while talking!”

Song Baili obediently knelt back down.

Tan Aizhi continued, “If she really can’t get married, that’s fine too, but we still have to keep an eye on her. Don’t go looking for any of your old friends again—none of them are any good!”

[Wuwuwu, Song Dad and Song Mom are so wonderful. They’re the best parents! ]

[Song Dad and Song Mom, do you need another child? One that’s 240 months old?]

[I declare, these are now my godparents.]