As Mother Jiang would be coming on saturday, Jiang Qi had ample time to prepare, so he wasn’t anxious.
After coming back home and finishing his dinner, Jiang Qi read a little until he lost interest, then went to take a hot, steamy shower before sleeping.
Drilling into his bed, he shivered. The weather had been getting colder and colder recently, and without Ke Yan warming the bed, it felt really cold before sleeping.
Rubbing his feet together, Jiang Qi wrapped the blanket around himself tighter. He rolled around on the bed, feeling as if the bed was too empty, too spacious. Usually, when Ke Yan was with him, he didn’t realised it, but now, he felt that the bed was a little too big.
Jiang Qi kept feeling as if a cold wind had been constantly blowing at his neck. He pulled the blanket up a little more, wrapping himself tighter.
Aye1, come home earlier, Ke Yan.
On the second day, Jiang Qi woke up very early. Not long after waking up, he received Ke Yan’s phone call.
“Awake?”
“En2, just woke up. It should be the wee hours for you over there, why did you wake up so early?”
“I didn’t sleep the whole night. I remembered that you should be awake around this time so I just decided to call you.” Ke Yan tiredly rubbed the corners of his eyes.
“So busy? Your body would be too tired.” Jiang Qi said, feeling heart ache for him.
“No matter, I should be able to return next monday. Was it cold sleeping at night?”
“Nope, not cold at all.”
“Still learnt to lie to me?”
“I didn’t.” Jiang Qi’s voice immediately lowered, replying in a small voice.
“Wear slightly thicker clothes today when you go to work, the temperature is very low.” Ke Yan instructed.
“How did you know the temperature here would be low?” Jiang Qi asked.
“Saw the weather forecast. Figured you probably won’t check. I’m afraid you’ll wear too thin for work. What would I do if you catch a cold and fall sick?”
Jiang Qi’s heart warmed, “Got it. Alright, you too, take care of yourself, wear thicker clothes, don’t be too busy, remember to have your meals, don’t drink too much alcohol, and don’t fool around with women.”
Ke Yan was amused by Jiang Qi’s last sentence. Both of them chatted a little longer, then reluctantly hung up the phone.
“Manager Jiang? You came in a little late today?” Jiang Qi met Sun Nian Qing in the lift, and she greeted Jiang Qi with a smile.
Jiang Qi nodded, but inwardly, he was puzzled. Why was Sun Nian Qing always smiling whenever he saw her?
The elevator reached. Jiang Qi walked into his office, saw the full table of documents and felt his head hurt a little. Looks like I’ve been indeed a little lazy, looks like it’s time to retire early, Jiang Qi mocked himself in thought.
Actually Jiang Qi’s words were accurate, he did retire early by almost ten years, but still left the house and came home together with Ke Yan.
During Ke Yan’s business trip, Jiang Qi always felt as if time passed very slowly, but unknowingly, it was already thursday. Jiang Qi had been feeling as if he was forgetting something recently.
As usual, he left work, and prepared to go home and eat, but was suddenly stopped by Jiang Lu’s call for him, “Ge3, can I follow mom and go together with you to your rented house two days later?”
“Hm?” Jiang Qi did not react for a moment.
“Ge, you didn’t forget about it right? Didn’t mom already say she’ll be going over to your place on saturday?”
“Oh right.” Jiang Qi panicked, he finally remembered.
“Didn’t expect that your memory would be so poor.”
Jiang Qi nodded in a flurry, and hurriedly left.
Jiang Lu watched Jiang Qi’s back view, wondering why would he be so flustered, was he hiding something secretive in his house that couldn’t be revealed?
Jiang Lu unexpectedly hit the truth.
Jiang Qi reached home, looked at the big house, at a loss as to where to start packing up from. He just simply started to keep the pictures of him and Ke Yan, then separated the couple pajamas and clothes, tidied up the guest room, stuffing his own clothes in the guest room’s closet, then carried over some of his own stuff. After packing up, Jiang Qi sat on the guest bed. Why must he tire himself out, might as well just confess to Mother Jiang, but Ke Yan wasn’t at home.
In Jiang Qi’s heart, when facing parents, the two of them must be together.
Since two of them decided to accompany each other for life, then they must meet the parents. No matter if the parents were satisfied or not, they must still face them together courageously.
Jiang Qi also knew, not in every relationship were the couple able to accompany each other for life, but Ke Yan and him would definitely be able to do so.
Jiang Qi believed.
Jiang Qi dazedly lied on the guest bed, covered himself with the blanket and fell asleep.
On the second day when Jiang Qi awoke, he froze for a moment, where is this place? Recalling yesterday’s events, he seemed to have fallen asleep in the guest room.
“Hoo..4 time to get up and go to work.” Jiang Qi lied on the bed, stared at the ceiling, and got up after a while. It’s so difficult to get up from bed in the winter.
Taking his clothes from the master bedroom, he washed up, had breakfast and went to work.
Yawning a couple of times, he felt that sleeping in the guest room didn’t feel very comfortable.
In a flash, it was already saturday. The night before, Jiang Qi did not rearrange the other things, because he felt that just keeping his and Ke Yan’s intimate items for a while was sufficient.
Jiang Qi believed that he definitely would not be living in such a big house alone, so Jiang Qi decided to bluff Mother Jiang that he was cohabiting with another person.
Luckily, it was on a monday that Ke Yan would return, if not he would be frightened if he suddenly saw Mother Jiang at home.
When Jiang Qi was about to leave the house to fetch Mother Jiang, he eyed the house. It should be fine.
Picking up Mother Jiang, Jiang Lu also came over to create more trouble.
The three of them walked into the neighborhood. Jiang Lu glanced around the surroundings, “Wah5, Second Brother, how did you manage to live in such a high class district? Isn’t this area unavailable for rent, the houses are selling at a very high price too.”
“Is that so?” Jiang Qi actually forgot about this question momentarily, “En, this is my friend’s house, I’m paying him rent every month.”
“Oh, then your friend should be very rich.”
“Living well is still living well, it should be safe here.” Mother Jiang nodded.
“We’re here, come on in.” Jiang Qi opened the door, allowing Mother Jiang and Jiang Lu in.
“Wah, it’s really big.” Jiang Lu commented after taking a look.
“How much is one month’s rent?” Mother Jiang was also looking at the big house.
“En, not a lot, because it’s a friend, so it’s only 2 thousand per month.”
“How come I haven’t heard that you’ve such a friend?” Mother Jiang looked at Jiang Qi.
“Oh, I may have forgotten to mention.” Jiang Qi couldn’t help feeling a little guilty.
“This house is really nice.” Mother Jiang and Jiang Lu sat on the sofa, Jiang Qi went to pour two cups of water for them.
“And it’s very clean and tidy too, I was still thinking that today would be a big cleanup day.”
Mother Jiang nodded, wasn’t expecting that the house would be so clean.
“Just as I’ve said before, I can take care of myself.”
“Hm, hm? What is this?” Mother Jiang felt something beside the pillow, lifted the pillow, saw a box, and took the box……
Jiang Qi also saw the familiar looking box in Mother Jiang’s hand, his heart jumped and immediately shouted, “Don’t open!”
But it was too late, Mother Jiang had already opened it.
Jiang Qi screamed loudly in his heart that he was dead meat6, how could he have forgotten about this!
Mother Jiang and Jiang Lu stared blankly at the safety gloves7 in the box.
Jiang Qi was also silent, he did not know what to say.
Why would such a thing be here? Was it because of the previous time? Both of them were seated on the sofa, and in a moment of passion, Ke Yan pressed Jiang Qi down on the sofa, ready to do that sort of thing, but Jiang Qi was afraid of dirtying the sofa, so he asked Ke Yan to put it on, and as a result, after the deed, they both forgot to keep the box.
It’s all Ke Yan’s fault, insisting on doing it on the sofa, and now he (JQ) was dead meat.
Jiang Qi completely forgot that it was he who insisted that Ke Yan put it on.
“Um, that, that isn’t mine.” Jiang Qi stuttered.
“Then whose is it?” Mother Jiang closed the box.
“It’s my friend’s, yup, his, should be, en, he forgot to keep it.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, he uses that.” Jiang Qi didn’t say anything wrong, wasn’t it just Ke Yan alone using it?
“Oh, by the way, Xiao Qi, if you have a girlfriend, just say it. Mom would not object.”
“Got it. But I don’t have a girlfriend.”
“Second Brother, show us your room.” Jiang Lu suggested.
“Sure.”
Jiang Qi brought both of them to the second level, rejoicing secretly, relieved that he managed to pass the hurdle.
*