Contractual Love: Mistaken for True

On the morning of the second day of the New Year, the two took a flight to City Y. At first, the two elders were against their departure, feeling it was too soon to leave after only a few days. As soon as Mom Xia spoke up, the elders didn’t dare to say a word and could only watch Xia Chen and Xu Xiaoyou get into the car and leave. With such a troublesome daughter-in-law at home, it was truly hard to manage.

In the afternoon, the flight arrived in City Y, and a special car came to pick them up right away. Xia Chen hadn’t planned to make a fuss about it, but somehow the developers knew about his whereabouts and kept announcing his name. Xu Xiaoyou was confused; wasn’t Xia Chen part of an entertainment company? Why were the developers looking for him?

When they arrived at Xu Xiaoyou’s home, Mom Xu immediately set off firecrackers to welcome them, causing the neighbors to come out and see the excitement. Xia Chen had visited before, so although he hadn’t been there long, he left a good impression. The neighbors were all speculating that this time he must be settling down, so they came to watch the fun.

Initially, Papa Xu was against Mom Xu’s grand welcome, arguing that they hadn’t even established anything yet, and setting off firecrackers would embarrass Xu Xiaoyou if things went south later. However, Mom Xu insisted on doing it her way. Papa Xu, finding it hard to argue with her, eventually relented.

“Mom, what are you doing?” Xu Xiaoyou pulled Mom Xu aside, questioning her. They hadn’t even arranged a marriage yet, and she was welcoming him so grandly.

“I’m welcoming my son-in-law!” Mom Xu replied cheerfully.

Xia Chen couldn’t help but smile at those words. If Mom Xu accepted him, then the following matters would be much easier to handle.

“What son-in-law? He hasn’t even passed my test yet,” Papa Xu said as he walked out of the house.

“Dad!” Xu Xiaoyou rushed over and hugged Papa Xu’s arm. “You’re the best, you can’t bear to hand me over.”

“Hello, Uncle,” Xia Chen greeted Papa Xu.

Papa Xu nodded at Xia Chen and then looked at Xu Xiaoyou. “You come inside with me; I have something to ask you.”

Xu Xiaoyou followed Papa Xu into the house, while Mom Xu invited Xia Chen in.

“You really intend to be with him?” was Papa Xu’s immediate question as soon as they entered.

“Um…” Xu Xiaoyou answered quietly.

“You really…” Papa Xu didn’t know what to say to her.

“What’s wrong with being with Ah Xia? Seriously,” Mom Xu chimed in. She couldn’t understand why her husband disliked Xia Chen so much. After all, Xia Chen was her son too; shouldn’t he be glad? She really didn’t know what he was thinking.

“I… I’m just trying to discipline my daughter. Can’t you at least support me?” Papa Xu glared at Mom Xu. “I’m not saying Ah Xia is bad, but look at how things are now; I’m still reluctant to hand my daughter over to him. Remember that incident from a while back? You were angry too. Shouldn’t we ask him what kind of explanation he has?”

Mom Xu then recalled the news from some time ago and asked, “Ah Xia, what was going on between you and that Dissie? People were saying you two were a couple and even planning to get married.”

Xia Chen scratched his head, hoping that Mom Xu and Papa Xu wouldn’t know about it. It was unexpected for them to be aware. Of course, with how developed the internet is nowadays, it was hard to keep anything under wraps.

“Auntie, Dissie and I were just engaging in some publicity; we’re just friends,” Xia Chen explained.

“Aren’t you the one who said you didn’t have any gossip? What is this then?” Papa Xu interjected.

Xu Xiaoyou couldn’t help but internally sweat for Xia Chen. Her dad had a habit of digging deep, and now he’d hit the nail on the head.

“I’m sorry, Uncle. There won’t be a next time, I promise,” Xia Chen said, unsure of how to explain. He had initially claimed there wouldn’t be any rumors, and all he could say now was that he was sorry.

“Alright, alright, let’s not talk about this during the New Year,” Mom Xu interjected to ease the tension. Since Xia Chen was in the entertainment industry, as long as there was an explanation for the news, it wasn’t necessary to make everyone unhappy.

“Exactly,” Xu Xiaoyou echoed. “Dad, Xia Chen actually mentioned it to me, and I agree with what he did.”

Papa Xu waved his hand at Xia Chen, saying, “Forget it. They’re all defending you, and I don’t have anything more to say. But having my daughter marry you right now? That’s out of the question…” With that, he went upstairs.

Mom Xu shook her head. “Why is Old Master’s temper getting worse? No matter how I look at Xia Chen, he seems like a good kid. Why doesn’t he like him? Wasn’t he crazy about my son when he was younger? Now that it’s her son, he suddenly dislikes him-it makes no sense at all.”

The next day, Xu Xiaoyou took Xia Chen for a stroll around town. When they arrived, Mom Xia had prepared a lot of gifts, but thinking about it, she realized she hadn’t bought anything for her parents. So she took Xia Chen out to look around. However, Xia Chen’s phone kept ringing nonstop along the way, and he didn’t answer. The caller didn’t give up and kept calling.

“Just answer it,” Xu Xiaoyou said as the phone rang again.

“I won’t. There’s no point in answering,” Xia Chen decisively turned off his phone. He truly had no idea who leaked his whereabouts; he just wanted a few days of peace to relax.

“Ah Xia, are you hiding something from me?” Xu Xiaoyou felt increasingly suspicious that Xia Chen was keeping secrets, especially since he wouldn’t answer his phone or give her a reason why.

“No, I don’t have anything to hide from you,” Xia Chen said, avoiding Xu Xiaoyou’s gaze.

“Then why can’t you look me in the eye when you answer?” Although Xu Xiaoyou could be a bit clueless at times, she was also quite perceptive.

Just then, a voice interrupted, giving Xia Chen an overwhelming urge to lash out.

“Mr. Xia, what a coincidence to find you here!” The newcomer, a man in his forties with an oily complexion, was clearly not someone with good intentions.

Xia Chen glanced at the intruder, realizing yet another person had come to disturb his plans. He really didn’t know where these bothersome people kept coming from; no matter how he tried to avoid them, they always seemed to pop up.

Xia Chen maintained a blank expression and nodded at the man, saying, “Mr. Hu, I see you’re here as well.” He particularly emphasized the word “here.”

The man chuckled awkwardly, having initially intended this to be a casual encounter, but now sensing that Xia Chen was upset.

Seeing that the man seemed to want to discuss business, Xu Xiaoyou told Xia Chen she would go shopping alone so they could talk. The man was pleased with her suggestion, but Xia Chen immediately disagreed. He was supposed to be accompanying Xu Xiaoyou, and there was no way he would let her go by herself. Besides, he hadn’t thoroughly explored the streets of this quaint town yet; he wasn’t about to discuss boring matters.

Noticing that Xia Chen was displeased, Mr. Hu offered to treat them to afternoon tea as a gesture of goodwill. However, Xia Chen ignored him entirely and simply took Xu Xiaoyou’s hand, leading her away, leaving Mr. Hu standing there in confusion, unaware of what had upset Xia Chen.

After getting quite a distance away, Xu Xiaoyou looked back at Mr. Hu. “Xia Chen, that was so rude! Mr. Hu is older than you; he should be considered an elder. You shouldn’t be so impolite, just walking away without a word. Ignoring his warm invitation is unacceptable, even if he is just the CEO of Tianchen.”

While Xu Xiaoyou spent her days at home eating, playing, or sleeping, Xia Chen’s routine wasn’t nearly as relaxed. Every morning, he accompanied Papa Xu for a jog and then went to buy breakfast. Papa Xu had some martial skills, and Xia Chen had to spar with him. Although he’d grown up fighting, facing off against Papa Xu proved challenging. Even with all his effort, it was merely a tie, and that was without Papa Xu giving it his all. Fortunately, unlike Papa Xu, Xu Xiaoyou wasn’t skilled in martial arts.

“Uncle, your martial arts skills are really impressive,” Xia Chen said, admiringly, while sitting on the floor during their break.

“I’m getting old; I can’t keep up with you young folks anymore,” Papa Xu replied, sitting down beside him. “Back in the day, I could take you out in just a few minutes, but I can’t do that now.”

“What did you do in the past?” Xia Chen asked, intrigued. Papa Xu’s skills felt somewhat familiar, but Xia Chen couldn’t recall when he might have encountered someone like him.

Papa Xu chuckled and said, “Are you suspecting something, kid?”

Xia Chen admired how quickly Papa Xu could read his thoughts. Just as he was formulating a question, Papa Xu had already guessed it.

“Your skills remind me of someone…” Xia Chen ventured, unsure.

Papa Xu gave Xia Chen a mysterious look and then turned his gaze away, finally saying after a moment, “The person you’re talking about and I share the same background…”

Xia Chen hadn’t expected that answer. He thought he might learn they knew each other or had sparred in the past, but he hadn’t anticipated that this individual was the one who occupied Mom Xu’s thoughts so much. For a moment, they both fell silent.

The quiet was broken when Xu Xiaoyou came to call them for dinner. Xia Chen stood up first and then helped Papa Xu to his feet as they walked out of the dojo together.

When they returned home, Mom Xu had already prepared dinner. Seeing them enter, she instructed them to wash their hands before eating. Xu Xiaoyou leaned closer to her mother and whispered, “Mom, do you think Dad has accepted Xia Chen?”

Every day, Dad summoned Xia Chen early in the morning to practice martial arts, and it had been years since she had seen him show such enthusiasm.

Mom Xu glanced toward the washroom where the two were cleaning up. She had asked Papa Xu about his feelings the night before, but he had refused to give a clear answer, no matter how she probed.

“Perhaps your dad has accepted him; he just doesn’t know how to say it. Let me ask again tonight. Are you in such a hurry to get married?” Mom Xu teased.

Xu Xiaoyou blushed. It wasn’t that she was eager to marry; it was just that Xia Chen’s nightly phone calls were disturbing her sleep. She wanted to reassure him, especially since they were already technically married, so there was no rush.

“What are you two talking about?” Xia Chen asked as he walked over after washing his hands.

“Oh, nothing… just chatting with Mom,” Xu Xiaoyou replied.

“Come eat,” Mom Xu said, leading them to the dining room.

Later that night, Xia Chen took Xu Xiaoyou outside. They had spent the day with Papa Xu practicing martial arts and hadn’t had a chance for a proper conversation, so he wouldn’t let this time slip away.

Seeing them heading out, Mom Xu took the opportunity to ask Papa Xu about something that had been weighing on her mind for a while.

“What are you planning? Have you accepted Xia Chen?”

“What are you so anxious about? It’s still early. I want to see how he performs,” Papa Xu said, his serious expression slightly betraying his true feelings, much to Mom Xu’s notice.

She continued to ask casually, “How much longer do you need to observe?”

Papa Xu thought for a moment and replied, “Well, our Xiaoyou is still young. I don’t want her to get married too soon.”

“Are you afraid of seeing Mei Yun?” Mom Xu asked pointedly.

“What?” Papa Xu was startled. Had she figured it out? But quickly regaining his composure, he said, “Of course not! Why would I be afraid to see her? I’m not scared at all.”

“Then why do you keep nitpicking about Xia Chen?” Mom Xu couldn’t understand. If it wasn’t because of fear of meeting Mei Yun, then what was preventing him from accepting Xia Chen? Anyone could see that Xia Chen had been a good potential son-in-law lately.

“Well, actually… actually…” Papa Xu was trying to come up with an excuse. He knew Xia Chen’s performance had been satisfactory. Although he couldn’t exactly fulfill his own standards, it wasn’t far off either.

“What do you mean, actually?” Mom Xu pressed on.

“Actually, I’m worried about Xiaoyou being bullied by their family,” Papa Xu finally thought of a reasonable explanation. “Just think about it-Mei Yun has a bad temper, and Xiaoyou can be a bit scatterbrained. If she accidentally makes Mei Yun unhappy…”

“Only you would think of such things,” Mom Xu shot him a glance. “Xiaoyou told me Mei Yun is really nice to her. Besides, they’ve spent some time together, and Xiaoyou hasn’t said anything negative about her.”

Papa Xu felt completely overwhelmed. If this relationship ended up being settled, he would inevitably have to meet Mei Yun. Who knew what might happen then?