Cold water couldn’t extinguish the heat on Yu Qian’s face. She looked at her reflection in the mirror, her face full of warmth, and awkwardly turned her head away.

Had she been too forward just now?

Yu Qian began to reflect on her actions, but when she thought of Jiang Zheng’s reaction, she couldn’t help but chuckle softly.

They were already a couple, so kissing was perfectly normal, right?

Besides, she couldn’t always let Jiang Zheng be the one to take the initiative. Feelings should be mutual. She liked Jiang Zheng and wanted him to feel her affection as well.

Yu Qian burrowed into her blanket and, lost in her wandering thoughts, drifted into sleep, where she had an indescribable dream.

────ρя


The next morning, when Jiang Zheng got up, his mother was already fully dressed and ready to leave.

“Mom, where are you planning to go this time?”

Jiang Zheng looked at his mother helplessly. Unlike other mothers who constantly worried about their children, his mother spent half the year traveling. His younger brother probably spent more time with the nanny than with her.

He had to book an appointment with her a week in advance just to get her to come back this time.

“Australia.”

Mother Jiang responded casually while continuing to pack.

“Mom, while you’re there, can you bring something back for Little Fish?” Jiang Zheng grinned cheekily and moved closer to his mother, acting especially attentive.

After the New Year’s gift incident, he realized that Yu Qian seemed to prefer gifts chosen by women.

His mother had a great sense of style and loved fashion, so anything she picked would probably suit Yu Qian better.

Hearing that, Mother Jiang paused and gave her son a scrutinizing look. “I didn’t expect you to be so thoughtful, Da Bao.”

Jiang Zheng raised an eyebrow. “Little Fish is your future daughter-in-law. Of course, I have to put in the effort for my wife.”

Mother Jiang was used to her son’s shamelessness, but she still advised him earnestly, “Da Bao, it’s fine to say things like this to us, but if you say them in front of Qianqian’s mother, you might lose your girlfriend altogether.”

If Yu Qian’s mother heard such words, she would probably want to beat this shameless rascal to death.

Mother Jiang was still a bit dazed when she thought about last night. But she couldn’t deny that seeing her son find a girlfriend made her genuinely happy.

Jiang Zheng had always been different from other kids. Due to the influence of his paternal grandmother, his first words as a child were actually curses.

Back then, Grandma Jiang adored him, but she was elderly and suffered from dementia. When her illness acted up, she would curse at the TV, arguing with the people on the screen.

She always kept Jiang Zheng by her side, and under her influence, the first word little Jiang Zheng ever said was ‘bastard.’ By the time he turned three, he had already mastered the art of swearing fluently.

Though he had a better grip on his temper now, he had been utterly insufferable as a child— making other kids cry and even driving his own father crazy to the point where he’d rather stay at the office than come home.

The only relief for Mother Jiang was that her mother-in-law had been a cultured woman, so at least the insults Jiang Zheng picked up weren’t too vulgar. Otherwise, she couldn’t even imagine the things he might have said.

Thinking back, Mother Jiang sighed. People always said a child’s nature was evident by the age of three. Ever since Jiang Zheng started making little girls cry, she had thought he would stay single forever.

Luckily, before she even had to worry, he had taken care of things himself.

“What does Qianqian like?” Mother Jiang asked, wanting to know what to buy.

What did Yu Qian like? Aside from eating, sleeping, and grocery shopping, there didn’t seem to be much else.

“You can just pick whatever you think she’d like.” Jiang Zheng said, eagerly handing his mother’s hat to her.

Once she had finished packing, Mother Jiang left swiftly. With how carefree she looked, no one would believe she was the mother of two children.

After sending her off, Jiang Zheng turned on his heels and headed straight for the Bai family’s house.

────ρя


At that moment, Yu Qian and Lin Niannian sat in silence, staring at each other.

Yu Qian had never expected her relationship with Jiang Zheng to impact Lin Niannian so much that she would come over early in the morning just to chat.

And all of her questions were about romance.

“Qianqian, how did you realize you liked Jiang Zheng?

Have you two held hands?

What does it feel like to be in love?”

One after another, she asked questions that sounded incredibly naive but also extremely embarrassing to answer.

Yu Qian found it harder to talk to Lin Niannian than to talk to her mother. And to make things worse, Bai Qiming, who normally would have stopped Lin Niannian from acting out of character, was oddly silent today.

So, blushing furiously, Yu Qian carefully chose her words, struggling to say things that wouldn’t corrupt this innocent girl.

They kept up their awkward back-and-forth until Jiang Zheng walked in, finally breaking the tension.

“Morning.” Jiang Zheng strolled in casually and sat right next to Yu Qian. Lin Niannian’s eyes sparkled as she glanced at the two of them.

Yu Qian instinctively sat up straighter under her gaze.

“I say, Niannian, if you’re so interested in romance, you should just watch some cliché idol dramas. Staring at us like this is making Little Fish too shy to even hold my hand.” Jiang Zheng teased, smirking as he shot a glance at Bai Qiming before raising an eyebrow at Lin Niannian.

Lin Niannian blushed at his words, but she was genuinely curious about how the two had gotten together. She had racked her brain last night and still couldn’t recall any moment between them that had seemed romantic.

“Little Fish, let’s go on a date later.” Jiang Zheng said, his expression smug and self-satisfied.

“Sure, why not just go now?” Yu Qian eagerly agreed. She really couldn’t handle any more of Lin Niannian’s embarrassing questions and, for the first time, felt that being outside was preferable to staying at home.

The two of them stood up in perfect sync, and Yu Qian quickly bid farewell to Lin Niannian and Bai Qiming before dragging Jiang Zheng out the door.

“Are you really that scared of facing Niannian?” Jiang Zheng asked, naturally intertwining his fingers with hers as soon as they stepped outside.

Yu Qian tensed slightly but didn’t pull away. Feeling awkward, she muttered, “I just feel like I’m corrupting an innocent girl.”

Jiang Zheng didn’t quite understand this sentiment, but he had learned his lesson— never argue with his girlfriend.

“Aren’t you cold? Come closer.” Jiang Zheng said. He pulled her in and, without hesitation, tucked her hand into his coat pocket.

Yu Qian’s palm grew slightly sweaty, especially when she felt Jiang Zheng’s fingers gently playing with hers. Her heart pounded so loudly she thought it might leap out of her chest.

Although they called it a date, they had no real destination in mind. So, they simply strolled around until they ended up at the supermarket, where they bought a pile of Yu Qian’s favorite snacks before heading back.

────ρя


Ever since they officially got together, Jiang Zheng had become bolder.

On days when he had no classes, he even accompanied Yu Qian to hers.

Yu Qian’s department only had 22 students in total, and usually, only half of them would show up.

The professor knew every student well, so when he spotted an unfamiliar face, he glanced around at the others’ reactions before giving Yu Qian a knowing smile.

By the end of class, Yu Qian had kept her head down the entire time. Meanwhile, Jiang Zheng, clearly enjoying her embarrassment, would occasionally squeeze her hand just to watch her blush.