Chapter 164: Have You Taken Safety Precautions?

  "Xue Er! I'm telling you sincerely, you look really beautiful in this dress today!"

  Su Lin was never stingy with his praise for beautiful girls, and in fact, Lin Qingxue looked even more elegant and refined in this white long dress, her long hair fluttering like a fairy who had descended to the mortal world without being tainted by worldly desires.

  "Hum! Su Lin, the teacher thinks you're just good at talking. With that honey-coated mouth of yours, who knows how many girls' hearts you've deceived."

  On the surface, Lin Qingxue didn't buy it, but in fact, Lin Qingxue's heart was delighted by Su Lin's praise, and she looked at herself in the mirror with satisfaction.

  At this moment, Lin Mu outside had already stir-fried the remaining two dishes and brought the hot food to the dinner table. She shouted at Su Lin and Lin Qingxue inside the house: "Qingxue, Xiao Su, the meal is ready, come out quickly to wash your hands and eat!"

  "My mom is calling us to go out for dinner, Su Lin, let's go..."

  Lin Qingxue at this time was very unceremoniously forward, grasping Su Lin's arm and walking out of the bedroom with a very intimate lean.

  "Dead girl! Still acting like a sticky person at home, and not even ashamed!"

  Lin's mother saw Lin Qingxue and Su Lin walking out together, smiled and said something to her, then politely pointed at the table of dishes and said: "Little Su, aren't you fond of tasting Auntie's cooking? Look, today Auntie made all these signature dishes. Sweet and sour pork ribs, sautéed liver tips, ham and chicken soup, jade bamboo old duck soup... come on, hurry up and wash your hands to eat!"

  Looking at the table full of dishes, Su Lin knew that Lin's mother had splurged today. The quality of these dishes alone was enough to make one's appetite open wide. Su Lin and Lin Qingxue hastily washed their hands and quickly sat down at the dinner table, starting to eat.

  "Come on, come on... Little Su, eat more ribs, you're so thin, how can you gain weight if you don't eat more meat?"

  At the dinner table, Lin's mother smiled and asked while serving Su Lin food, "Xiao Su, your parents are in Jian'an City, right? They should know about you and our Qingshu being a couple?"

  "I know, I know! Auntie, I've already told my mom and dad..."

  "What... how do your parents think about our family clearing snow? Do they agree with what you two are doing?"

  She was proud of her daughter's good looks and university degree. But now, compared to Su Lin's conditions, who also had a university education and was self-employed, running his own company as the boss, and could easily take out one million RMB, Lin's mother felt less confident, fearing that Su Lin's parents would think they were not of equal social status.

  "No! No! Auntie. My parents especially like Xue Er and are very fond of her."

  At this time, Su Lin couldn't afford to slip up. While eating the delicious food, he carefully replied. Lin Qingxue was also helping Su Lin out of the predicament, saying to her mother: "Mom, why are you asking so many questions now? Things between me and Su Lin haven't been arranged yet!"

  "What's wrong with that? Your mom thinks Xiao Su is a reliable young man, even though he's younger than you. She's set her heart on him. This time when we go back, she'll discuss it with your dad. If everything goes smoothly, in a few days they'll come to Jian'an City from Fuzhou City, and at that time they'll also invite Xiao Su's parents out, so our two families can formally meet and have dinner together! And if possible, since you're not young anymore, we can arrange the engagement between you two first."

  Lin Mu's heart had an abacus, where she was calculating and planning out all her next steps.

  But Lin Qingxue quickly changed the subject when she heard her mother's tone, saying: "Mom! This is too fast, Xiao Su just graduated from university and everything is still unstable."

  "Auntie, yes! Although my parents said they are in Jian'an City, but usually work is quite busy. Your two elders in Fuzhou City still have to make a special trip to come over, taking the car is also very tiring, so no need to bother. After some days, I will go to Fuzhou City and personally visit your two elders."

  Su Lin also hastily advised. In her heart, she was bitterly smiling, afraid that coming alone to pretend to be Lin's teacher's boyfriend was not enough, and she had to involve her own parents as well.

  "Alright alright... Let's not talk about this for now, there's still plenty of time. Come on come on... Little Su, eat your vegetables..."

  Lin's mother also tactfully avoided continuing the topic, while serving Su Lin dishes and chatting about some unrelated family matters. This meal was still quite successful. However, it was a slow process of eating and talking at the same time, laughing and chatting for a few sentences, eating a few bites of food, and before they knew it, it was already 9 o'clock in the evening. The dishes on the table were almost all eaten up, and those that hadn't been eaten had gone cold.

  "Xiao Su, are you full? If not, Auntie will make some more for you..."

  "Auntie, no more, I'm really full, look at my belly it's all bulging."

  Rubbing his own belly, Su Lin couldn't help but give Lin Mu a big thumbs up. Lin Mu's cooking skills were on par with his own mother's. It seemed that women of his mother's generation were indeed virtuous and capable, able to excel in both the hall and the kitchen.

  "Go! Then... Qingxue, you accompany Xiao Su to the bedroom to play for a while, Mom will clean up the dinner table and wash the dishes..."

  Looking at the messy table, basically everything has been eaten, Lin's mother also felt a strong sense of accomplishment, thinking that she had grasped this future golden son-in-law's stomach for her own daughter.

  "Sulin, I think we can't go on like this. We must find a time to have a clear talk with my mom, or just break up peacefully. Otherwise, if we continue like this, my mom might really run to your home to see your parents."

  In her bedroom, Lin Qingxue had a worried and bitter expression on her face. She already felt that her mother probably really liked Su Lin as her son-in-law.

  "Xue Er. It should be fine, right? As long as Auntie wants to see me, just give me a call and I'll come over for dinner like today."

  Su Lin actually quite likes this, pretending to be Lin Qingxue's boyfriend, being able to hold hands with Lin Qingxue and lean on her, it feels just like the real thing. And seeing Lin's mother's tension, speaking carefully, also feels like really facing his own mother-in-law. Deep down, Su Lin is still very much enjoying this feeling.

  "My mom wants to see you, can you come? In two months you'll be going off to college, will you still be able to come and go as you please?" Lin Qingxue retorted, but it was herself who didn't want to face the reality of the situation.

  Yes! As long as the college entrance examination scores are released, Su Lin will fill out her application and report to university within two months. If she goes to a faraway university, it's possible that she'll only be able to return to Jian'an City twice a year during winter and summer breaks. How can she be summoned at any time like now?

  "This..."

  Lin Qingxue asked, Su Lin was also a bit tongue-tied, this is indeed a problem. He will eventually have to go to university. And Lin Qingxue is still teaching at Jian'an No. 1 Middle School, which is fundamentally a difficult contradiction in terms of location.

  "Ah! Never mind, Su Lin, don't think about it for now. We'll talk about it later! I'm going out to help my mom wash the dishes, you just sit inside and rest..."

  Seeing Su Lin also frowning and looking hurt, Lin Qingxue sighed and decided to let each other calm down for a while.

  In the kitchen, Lin's mother was washing dishes. Lin Qingxue walked out of the bedroom and went to her side, picked up a bowl next to her and started washing it: "Mom, I'll help you."

  "You little girl, just a few pieces of bowl. Mom doesn't need your help, you quickly go to the bedroom to accompany Little Su. Since Little Su came to our house, how can you leave him alone in the bedroom?"

  Lin Mu smiled and rolled up her sleeves.

  "Oh no! I won't accompany him! I want to be with Mom..." Xiangxiang smiled sweetly and said to her mother in a slightly spoiled tone.

  Lin Qingxue looked at her mother, whose temples were also flecked with white hair. She thought about how she had spent less and less time with her parents since entering university, when she would still often return home during winter and summer breaks. Now that she was working, she spent most of her time in Jian'an City, only returning to her hometown two or three times a year, each time for just a few days.

  Lin Qing had forgotten how long it had been since she and her mother spent a leisurely afternoon together, washing dishes and chatting.

  "Oh yeah, you only know how to say nice things. Haven't you heard? A daughter who gets married is like water that's been splashed out - she's gone! Wait till you marry Xiao Su later and see if you'll still think this way about your mom!" Lin Mu smiled and glanced at her daughter Lin Qingxue, also speaking in a cheerful tone.

  "Mom. Why do you always say that? I haven't even married Su Lin yet, have I? This was originally a pointless thing to begin with, who knows, maybe tomorrow morning I'll break up with him?"

  Lin Qingxue said with a slightly guilty conscience, actually also wanting to give her own mother a "preventive shot". Because after all, she and Su Lin were not really boyfriend and girlfriend, just pretending. If they continued like this, they would eventually be exposed, so it was better to find an appropriate opportunity to make a peaceful breakup.

  "Break up? You dare!"

  "Lin's mother was anxious as soon as she heard the two words 'break up'. "Such a good man, you don't want him, who else do you want? Look at Xiaosu, he's tall and handsome, almost 1.8 meters, although a bit thin, but also a talented person. Although his family wasn't very good before, now he's relying on himself to start a business, and he can take out one million yuan without hesitation. For your sake, he doesn't mind at all. If you marry him, will you still have to suffer? At that time, it won't matter if you're a teacher earning two or three thousand yuan a month. The most important thing is, mom can see that Xiaosu really likes you and treats you well. What do women want for their whole lives? Isn't it just to find someone to rely on? It's not easy to find such a man, but you don't know how to cherish him?"

  As an experienced person, Lin's mother taught her daughter with great care.

  Lin Qingxue listened and sighed in her heart: "Yes! Su Lin is not bad, but is he really good to me? Does he really like me? Even if it's true. What can I do? Can we really be together? I'm his teacher, and there are so many other beautiful and excellent women around him."

  "Alright, that's all. Mom has said enough. You and Xiao Su's matters are your young people's business after all. Mom is just concerned about you, do you know? Xiao Su is such an excellent young man even with mom's picky eyes. In the future, be good to him a bit more, during holidays buy some gifts and visit his parents, got it?"

  The bowls and chopsticks have all been washed, Lin's mother shook the water off her hands on her apron, then looked at Su Lin who was still in the bedroom and hadn't come out yet. She said to her daughter Lin Qingxue in a low voice: "Right, Qingxue, there's one more thing, Mom has been meaning to tell you but kept forgetting, now that I've remembered, we need to have a good talk."

  "What? Mom, what's wrong?"

  Lin Qingxue's mind was currently filled with Su Lin, entangled in her feelings towards Su Lin and what Su Lin felt towards her, as well as how to resolve their complicated relationship. All these thoughts were a jumbled mess in Lin Qingxue's head.

  "Qing Xue, you're not young anymore. There are some common sense things that you should know. Tell mom, when you and Xiao Su did that, did you take safety measures?"