Chapter 6

In the morning, Qin Nanshan called to ask about her mother’s preferences so he could prepare a gift. Wen Yi was surprised that someone from the high-IQ crowd actually understood social graces. She told him to simply buy some ejiao and American ginseng, plus some fruit.

Only after hanging up did she realize that in their exchanges over the past few days, he had never once mentioned words like “dad” or “father.” With this doubt in mind, she waited for him to arrive and specially went to the alley entrance to meet him.

The gifts were all bought exactly as she had instructed. Nothing for a man. She asked, “Did I ever tell you I’m from a single-parent family?”

Qin Nanshan carried several bags and closed the trunk. “No.”

“Then how did you know?”

He said, “In senior year one, when submitting registration forms, I accidentally saw it.”

Wen Yi raised an eyebrow. “You have a really good memory.”

“It is pretty good.”

“……”

Narcissist!

Curious, she asked, “What else do you remember?”

“A lot.” Qin Nanshan pointed toward the small alley to confirm. “This way?”

“Yes.” From the alley entrance to home was about two hundred meters. His hands were full, but Wen Yi had no intention of helping. She was a pregnant woman now, quite delicate. “You remember I was the class monitor, right?”

“I do.”

“Then what did you think of me?”

Qin Nanshan did not want to answer her roundabout question. “What exactly are you trying to say?”

“Nothing. Just wondering if we should enrich the story details. You’ve secretly loved me for years but never won my heart. Then upon reuniting, you launched a fierce pursuit. We burned like dry wood in fierce flames and fell into the river of love. That would make it seem more real.”

Qin Nanshan stopped walking. A glint passed through his eyes. He asked seriously, “Why can’t it be you who secretly loved me?”

“……” Wen Yi choked, then raised her brows. “We weren’t even close. How could I have secretly loved you? Besides, it’s just a story! A story! To make my mom happy, of course it’s you who secretly loved me.”

He continued walking ahead without a word, neither agreeing nor denying.

After a few steps, Auntie Wang from next door came out to throw trash. Wen Yi forgot about adding details and intimately linked her arm with the man’s, speaking in soft Wu dialect, sweet and tender. “Auntie Wang, this is my boyfriend.”

Auntie Wang’s curious gaze darted back and forth. “So handsome. What’s your name?”

Wen Yi smiled on her face, but out of sight, she pinched him hard. Qin Nanshan lowered his gaze to meet hers. Wen Yi tilted her head obediently, her eyes flicking toward Auntie Wang.

Qin Nanshan understood and said amicably, “Hello, Auntie. My surname is Qin.”

Auntie Wang asked again, “What do you do for work?”

Wen Yi answered for him with a beaming smile. “He teaches at a university. A professor.”

Associate professor counted as a professor too.

“Oh, impressive.” Auntie Wang grinned. “What about your family? What do they do?”

“They’re all teachers too.” Wen Yi peered into the alley while saying, “Auntie Wang, my mom is waiting. We’ll head in first. Lets’s chat next time.”

“Go ahead, go ahead.”

After walking another fifty meters, Auntie Li came out carrying a bag, looking like she was heading out. The same conversation repeated. Near home, Auntie Wu from the neighboring house also emerged to throw trash. They chatted yet again.

The short stretch took a full ten-plus minutes of starting and stopping. At the doorstep, Wen Yi released his arm, feeling a bit embarrassed. “Sorry for the trouble. The neighbors are quite nosy.”

“No problem. I understand. Let’s go in.” Qin Nanshan knocked on the half-open door and entered the small courtyard.

Wen Yi watched his back and sighed softly. She did not care about these things and did not live here often, but Ms. Wen did. The necessary face-saving had to be done properly.

No matter how thick-skinned she was, boasting about his looks, job, and family just now had been embarrassing. Now she truly seemed like a scheming woman with ulterior motives coveting him.

Ms. Wen clearly had no experience receiving a son-in-law. After accepting the gifts, she kept winking wildly at her. Wen Yi had no choice but to step in as mediator.

After a few awkward exchanges, Ms. Wen found her rhythm and assumed the mother-in-law posture to interrogate. “Xiao Qin, your work must be busy usually, right?”

Qin Nanshan sat straighter than at a UN meeting, his expression calm throughout, showing no signs of nervousness. “It’s alright. My time is relatively flexible.”

“What are the plans for when Wen Yi is in labor and confinement?”

“The due date should be late July. That happens to be summer vacation. For other times, if needed, I can take leave anytime.”

Ms. Wen nodded repeatedly. “What do your parents do?”

“They’re retired at home. These past couple of years, they enjoy traveling around the country.”

“Where do you plan to live after marriage?”

Qin Nanshan glanced sideways at Wen Yi, who had been silent beside him, then said to Ms. Wen, “There’s an apartment in the city center, but furniture hasn’t been bought yet. New furniture has strong formaldehyde smell. It would probably take two or three months to air out before moving in. If she doesn’t mind, we can live near A University first.”

Ms. Wen nudged the topic’s protagonist. “He’s asking you.”

Wen Yi had been listening. She answered, “Either is fine.”

The two-bedroom apartment near his school was old and small, but in that prime location, every inch was gold. Surrounding facilities—kindergartens, elementary and middle schools, hospitals, malls—were complete. Money alone could not buy it.

For now, the little tenant lived in her belly. Where after birth was another matter. Anyway, what was his would belong to her daughter. It could not run away.

Qin Nanshan nodded. “Then we’ll go look at furniture in a few days.”

“No rush, no rush.” Qin Nanshan’s demeanor was affable, his voice gentle. Ms. Wen was immensely satisfied and stopped asking. “Let’s eat. The dishes are getting cold.”

Three people, yet Ms. Wen had prepared a full six dishes.

At the dinner table, the classic play of “mother-in-law looks at son-in-law, the more she looks the more she likes” continued. Wen Yi ate silently, occasionally chiming in passively when prompted.

Past eight o’clock, the mother and daughter saw him out. Wen Yi thought the day had gone smoothly. But the moment the door closed, Ms. Wen’s smile collapsed. “Come in here with me!”

Wen Yi’s right eye twitched wildly. She instantly sensed something terribly wrong.

Once inside, Ms. Wen sat down on the sofa and put on a stern face. “Wen Yi, tell me honestly. What is your relationship with him?”

Wen Yi hemmed and hawed. “I told you. We were high school classmates. We’ve been together for half a year…”

Ms. Wen narrowed her eyes. “Half a year? That’s not short. Doesn’t he know you hate tomatoes?”

Wen Yi’s heart sank. Was her mom Sherlock Holmes reincarnated?

During dinner, Qin Nanshan had been exceptionally attentive. While answering Ms. Wen’s questions, he kept serving Wen Yi food. She had mentally given him a thumbs up. When he placed a piece of tomato on her plate, she had forced herself to eat it.

She never thought twice about it. Who knew Ms. Wen Hongyu would notice such a tiny detail.

Wen Yi clenched her fists tightly and stuck to her story. “Whenever we eat out, I order. Of course I never choose tomatoes. It’s normal he doesn’t know. You two were chatting so happily just now. I didn’t want to be picky and ruin the mood.”

Ms. Wen glanced at her clenched hands and understood everything. She closed her eyes.

The daughter she had raised for over twenty years always clenched her fists when nervous.

Wen Yi moved to her side, trying to use her ultimate weapon of acting cute. But Ms. Wen was still angry and shook off her hand. She said sharply, “Wen Yi, unmarried and pregnant. You’re not a child anymore. Why can’t you have some self-respect!”

The warm and harmonious atmosphere from minutes ago vanished completely. Wen Yi’s eyes reddened instantly, glistening with tears.

Ms. Wen’s voice grew heavier. “Do you think a child can tie a man down? Wishful thinking. If you don’t respect yourself, who will love you?”

“How much do you really know about this man? Or are you just after his family’s conditions? Let me tell you, that kind of family is not one we can fit into. I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt that his parents agree as you said. But how much of that agreement is because of the child in your belly, and how much is because of you? What good life will you have after marrying him?”

“Wen Yi, I thought you were clear-headed and sensible. Until yesterday, I was even happy inside, thinking you had truly found happiness.” Ms. Wen supported herself on the arm of the sofa and smiled bitterly. “A loveless shotgun marriage. Truly my good daughter.”

Wen Yi bit her lower lip hard and said nothing. Her gaze dropped. Her nails dug into her palms, yet she felt no pain.

She lacked self-respect. She was unmarried and pregnant. She coveted his family’s conditions. She was forcing marriage with a child. It was all her fault.

She should have foreseen this argument the day she left the gynecology department. The future chaos would surely follow one after another. One wrong step led to many. The fig leaf was torn away. Their unsightly union would forever be a fuse ready to ignite at any moment.

Wen Yi’s voice was strained and hoarse. She knew it would hurt, yet she said it anyway. “It’s still better than the child being born without a father and called a bastard by others.”

Nicknames were the most helpless product of growing up. They were passive, imposed, branding the person with prejudice and stereotypes. Even if adults tacitly avoided it, there were still ignorant children who called her “bastard,” and it lasted for years.

She had nowhere to complain and dared not tell Ms. Wen. Wen Yi did not know how she endured that period of verbal bullying during the best years of her childhood. She only knew she learned many things: to hide sadness with smiles, to make peace with herself, to survive under a friendly exterior.

Fortunately, before starting elementary school, Ms. Wen moved to the current Changle Lane. Times changed. Those groundless speculations and gossip faded away. Wen Yi could finally breathe.

Ms. Wen looked over. Her eyes shifted from anger to disappointment bit by bit. “Are you blaming me?”

Around the time of heavy snow, winter arrived in Shencheng as expected, as cold and biting as ever. Cold wind slipped through the door that was not fully closed. The room temperature dropped rapidly. The chill seeped into their hearts.

On the shoe cabinet hung a pair of bells at some unknown time. Now, with the wind, they jingled and jangled.

Wen Yi wiped the corner of her eye and went to close the door properly.

When she returned, her tone was much calmer. “Mom, why didn’t you abort me back then?”

Why, knowing the pointing fingers and gossip, did she still give birth to her? Why had she never married all these years? Why had she fallen ill from prolonged depression because of her?

Why… why was the first to object her own mother? She should understand her best.

She feared nothing anymore. No longer afraid of gossip or harm. She only feared Ms. Wen would disagree.

Ms. Wen paused. After a few moments, she sighed deeply. “I can’t control you. Decide for yourself.”

With a “bang,” a door separated mother and daughter, declaring the end of the argument.

Her phone received a WeChat message. Wen Yi had no mood to check. She squatted down by the window under the cold, desolate moonlight, buried her head in her knees, her whole body drained of strength.

She squatted until her legs went soft. The pregnancy reaction surged strongly. Wen Yi rushed to the bathroom.

The house was old. The sound of flushing the toilet echoed through the entire place. She flushed no less than ten times. Ms. Wen’s room remained silent as ever.

She was truly angry, angrier than ever before.

……

Qin Nanshan had not been able to reach Wen Yi for many days. Calls unanswered, WeChat messages unread. He did not know her address and felt it improper to go to Changle Lane uninvited. At noon that day, he messaged her again, explaining the time was short. If convenient, they could go together to meet his parents.

No reply until after work. Qin Nanshan had no choice but to go home first.

Qin Heng and Xuan Ying had just returned from Yunnan the day before. The moment their plane landed, they received their son’s message saying he would bring his fiancée home. The couple beamed with joy.

Old Master Qin had a sharp mind. In the early days of Jiangdong’s opening and development in Shencheng, he seized the opportunity to build a factory making furniture. Later, as the factory grew, the land value skyrocketed. The demolition compensation alone was enough for several families to live lavishly for life. Though manufacturing was tough now, the Qin family stood firm and was a major taxpayer in the area.

Qin Heng was the second son. He loved research more than money. The eldest brother inherited the factory. Qin Heng and his wife focused on academics. Before passing, Old Master Qin divided the assets, giving Qin Heng and his sister each a valuable property. The couple lived in a villa in the eastern suburbs, plus twenty percent company shares. Their days were comfortable.

When Qin Nanshan got home, he was startled. The house was spotless. The shoe cabinet at the entrance now held a pair of exaggerated fluffy slippers. The sofa and curtains were new. The desk in the living room, formerly piled with books, had transformed into a tea table.

Of course, there were also the middle-aged couple standing respectfully and properly at the entrance to welcome him.

Xuan Ying leaned forward to look, her eyes lighting up. “Where’s the daughter-in-law?”

Qin Nanshan changed his shoes. “I didn’t say she was coming today.”

Xuan Ying looked disdainful. “Then why are you back?”

“……”

Qin Nanshan had inherited the high intelligence of both parents. From childhood, he was extraordinarily smart, but his personality was taciturn, eccentric, and not particularly likable. They had hoped he would improve as he grew older, but unexpectedly, it only worsened. His social circle was so narrow it probably consisted only of himself.

His romantic life became the top priority for Qin Heng and Xuan Ying after retirement. They had introduced countless blind dates to him: gentle or fiery personalities, similar or opposite careers, all heights and builds imaginable. As his younger sister Qin Xi put it, her brother was like an ancient emperor selecting concubines.

But Qin Nanshan had not taken a liking to any. Or rather, he had not even gone to meet a single one. His ascetic ways made them think he was about to become a monk.

Things took a turn two years ago. An old colleague of Qin Heng’s, now the vice president of A University, introduced his daughter. Qin Nanshan finally agreed to meet.

They met a few times and started dating. If fireworks were allowed in the city, they would have set them off for three days and nights.

Unfortunately, this fleeting romance ended after two months. Xuan Ying worried once more.

Now he said he was bringing a girlfriend home. What a rare event. Xuan Ying was delighted on one hand, but on the other, eager to see what kind of girl could tame this stubborn, unevolved man.

She gently urged. “Is she still busy with work at this hour? If she’s shy about coming home, that’s fine. We can eat out.”

Qin Heng chimed in. “Call Xi Xi back. She can liven things up.”

Qin Nanshan stood in the living room, hesitated a moment, then told them. “Mom, Dad, she’s pregnant. We’re planning to get married.”

Xuan Ying and Qin Heng froze. Their eyes widened behind their glasses.

“We were high school classmates. We met again a year ago. I like her a lot. I pursued her for half a year before we got together.” He was not good at storytelling and stated it simply.

The couple froze again. One asked, “High school classmates?” The other, “Together that long?”

Qin Nanshan nodded yes.

After a moment, Xuan Ying came to her senses, overjoyed. “Good news, good news. We need to get married quickly then. Otherwise, when her belly grows big, the wedding will be tiring.”

Qin Nanshan fell silent. He lowered his eyes to glance at his phone. Still no reply.

Xuan Ying mistook it for a message from Wen Yi. “Did the girl contact you? Can you call her? Let Mom talk to her. First time strangers, second time friends. It’ll be more familiar next meeting.”

Qin Nanshan wanted to decline, but could not resist the elders’ eagerness to meet their daughter-in-law. He dialed the number into the unknown.

Fortunately, Wen Yi gave him face. The call connected.