"So, you're my Xiao Mey's husband," Fan Bingbing was rubbing her chin thoughtfully as she observed Ye Jie.
"Also, my son!" He Susu chimed in.
"And my nephew," Zhu Qinyang didn't bother staying quiet as well.
Fan Bingbing smiled at them and added, "It's nice meeting you, Ye Jie. It's our first official meeting. I'm Wu Wang's mother, Fan Bingbing. You can address me as however, you like."
"Oh..." Ye Jie was quite surprised to hear her introduction. He really didn't expect Wu Wang's mother to be so... Young? But what Ye Jie liked about her, at first sight, was the fact that Fan Bingbing came to the dinner party in casual clothes. There was hardly any make-up or pretentiousness about her. "It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Wu!" He said politely in a courtly manner.
Fan Bingbing frowned a bit saying, "I didn't expect you to be this formal."
"Calling you auntie will be weirder." Ye Jie retorted receiving a wide grin from Fan Bingbing in return.
"I'm the same age as your aunt here. Don't be too polite." Fan Bingbing told Ye Jie surprising him since he knew that Zhu Qinyang was older than his own mother.
Ye Jie had greeted everyone officially as Zhu Chen and He Susu's son at the party. Since the people were only close family friends. This was the first time Ye Jie had a proper talk with Li Qiao's mother, Li Man and Lin Shen's father Lin Han.
He had heard before from Xu Mey that Wu Wang's mother, Fan Bingbing was a housewife. One could call her a socialite. But Ye Jie didn't find a single resemblance to the type of socialites he had seen in his life. The perfect example would be his own fake 'mother', Zhou Ning.
Fan Bingbing was modest but not servile. She had an elegance to herself while Zhou Ning only held a haughtiness. He used to cringe thinking about socialites but today, his stereotypical belief was shattered.
Also, what surprised him the most was the comfortability level between the older generation. They didn't seem like friends at all. One could literally call them one happy family. There was no doubt that at all. This friendship... This bond was quite rare.
"Ye Jie seems very happy," hearing the comment, Xu Mey turned to see Li Qiao standing behind her.
Xu Mey smiled at him and said, "Of course, he's happy. He's been hiding for too long. And this is the first time, someone is willing to love him so deeply." She stayed quiet for a moment before speaking again, "Qiao Ge!"
"Hmm..." He hummed softly in response.
"Why did you go to boarding school back then?" The question came as a surprise to Li Qiao. In all these years, Xu Mey had never noticed the fact there was no reason for Li Qiao or Wu Wang to enter a boarding school.
Li Qiao contemplated for a while before saying, "Because Wang said there is a cute little Princess who needs her knights to protect her." Stunned Xu Mey, turned her face to look at Li Qiao smiling tenderly at her. "And when I met that little Princess, I found her adorable with her cheeks puffed out. Even in rudeness, she was the most adorable little Princess that I had ever seen."
"And you followed him without thinking?" Xu Mey asked looking into his eyes.
"As you can see yourself, our families had been friends for decades. And naturally, each new generation creates a bond of friendship. Wu Wang and I also became friends but when He Jian and Lin Shen were added into this picture. We became the inseparable brothers." He patted her head as he added, "Therefore if one says let's go to hell, the rest would naturally follow without thinking for the reasons."
Xu Mey chuckled softly at his way of giving an example. But she knew that Li Qiao wasn't lying to her. Her best friends were really close to each other. They never thought about the consequences before speaking to each other. Even when they knew that their words might hurt the other one, they would still say it. And that made their friendship a very honest one.
Whether she was a little Princess or not? She didn't know. But she knew that she definitely found her knights. And as for her Prince Charming... No-one could possibly beat her Ah-Jie in that department.
She was glad that back then these four boys came to her life. No matter the reason, they accepted her even after her rudeness. But she also knew that the real bond with them started after she left her Sensei's side and came back to these four knights of her life.
The reason was simple, she had said back then, 'I'll fight my battle alone. With my own strength.'
'Are you alone?' Her sensei had asked her.
'Aren't I?' Xu Mey retorted stubbornly. 'Also, being alone means I won't be hurt by others.'
Her sensei had looked into a distance saying, 'Dear disciple, staying alone is not scary at all.' After a brief pause, the deep voice came again, 'But getting used to being alone is the scariest part.' Xu Mey's heart shook at those words. But that voice didn't stop, 'You have people who are waiting for you. Go to them! They'll show you a whole new world.'
Back then, she had chosen to meet her four knights because of her sensei's words. And today, she could happily smile and say that she didn't make the wrong choice. Life would have been awfully boring without her knights.
For the world, she might not be a princess. But she knew that these knights of hers definitely treated her as one. They dotted on her without second thoughts. And she'd always be grateful to them. No matter what happens, they were the people she'd never want to compromise on.