“Your cousin? Is she Second Aunt’s daughter? Her name is Wen… wait, say it again, what’s her name?”
Gan Tao, ever carefree, did not initially register what Wen Kai was saying.
Halfway through processing, she suddenly realised that her boyfriend, given his personality, would not bring up an unrelated person at a time like this. She mentally replayed his words and froze on the spot.
“She’s called Wen Ying, the ‘ying’ in cherry blossom.”
Wen Kai, steeling himself on the other end of the line, continued, “It’s the Wen Ying you know. Or, as you all prefer to call her by her pen name, ‘Niliu de Yu’.”
Boom!!!
A thunderbolt exploded in Gan Tao’s mind.
Xiao Yu, cousin, Wen Kai.
These keywords clashed in her head. It took a long while for them to settle into subject, verb, and object, reforming into a sentence she could comprehend: Xiao Yu is Wen Kai’s cousin.
Given that Xiao Yu is Wen Kai’s cousin, and I am Wen Kai’s girlfriend, that makes me Xiao Yu’s… future sister-in-law?!
Fangirls, of course, constantly fantasise aloud about connections to their idols: “my brother”, “my husband”, “my Xiao Yu”, “my wife”, every possible term under the sun!
But when it actually became real, Gan Tao did not feel ecstatic. She felt terrified.
What right do I have to be Xiao Yu’s sister-in-law?
I could buy ten keys for thirty yuan. How many of those would be a match!
Click.
Gan Tao hung up the phone, charged into the house, and nearly knocked the fruit platter out of Gan Mum’s hands.
“Taotao, aren’t you eating?”
“No, I’ve lost my appetite. I’m in no mood. Boo-hoo-hoo!”
Gan Tao buried herself in her room, locked the door, and refused to open it no matter how much Gan Mum knocked.
Gan Mum was baffled. “This girl is impossible to read. What’s wrong with her now?”
Tonight had been a complete turnaround for “Niliu de Yu”’s reputation. Just moments ago, Gan Tao had dragged her parents into fangirling with her, radiating happiness from head to toe. In the blink of an eye, everything had changed!
Gan Dad chuckled. “She was on the phone with that Wen boy earlier. Wouldn’t let me listen. They’ve probably had a row.”
A row would be good. A row would be wonderful.
Gan Dad very much wanted to fan the flames, hoping Gan Tao and Wen Kai would quarrel their way to a breakup!
Gan Mum thought her husband was being far too simplistic.
Young couples in love always quarrel. One second they are at each other’s throats, the next they are all lovey-dovey again. A single argument was never enough to end things.
“Give up. You don’t carry that much weight with your daughter. Familiarity breeds contempt. A whole truckload of your words wouldn’t sway her as much as one sentence from her idol!”
What a pity.
Gan Mum’s regret was that they had no connections to reach “Niliu de Yu”.
If “Niliu de Yu” herself told Taotao that dating wasn’t suitable, Taotao might dump Wen Kai on the spot!
…
“Taotao?”
The line went dead with a busy tone.
Straightforward Wen Kai was utterly confused.
Before confessing, he had imagined many possible reactions from Gan Tao, but this was not one of them.
Wen Kai had originally intended not to say anything.
But over the past week, watching Gan Tao fret endlessly over Wen Ying’s interview, he had not known how to comfort her.
Wen Kai had long since asked Wen Ying about the interview, but he could not tell Gan Tao. Even if he had, she would not have believed him, unless he revealed that he was Wen Ying’s cousin!
Perhaps he should have come clean earlier.
Wen Kai had summoned his courage to disclose the relationship, but Gan Tao had not followed the script. All his prepared responses were useless.
Since Wen Ying rose to fame, Wen Kai had avoided troubling her. This was the first time he had ever asked his sister for anything.
“…Did I do something wrong?”
Wen Kai briefly explained the situation.
Wen Ying was speechless. “Brother Kai, you picked the worst possible timing to confess! You had plenty of chances these past few days. Why wait until now?”
Even right after the first episode aired, when the hired trolls were attacking Wen Ying across the internet, Wen Kai revealing their family connection would have been better than this.
From Gan Tao’s perspective, she might feel that Wen Kai knew everything yet kept it secret on purpose, just to watch coldly and see how anxious she would get.
After Wen Ying’s analysis, Wen Kai’s headache doubled. “Do girls really think like that?”
“It’s not just girls. Any normal person would think that way! Brother Kai, you called me for help because you want me to coax your girlfriend?”
Wen Ying had no interest in helping with that.
Wen Kai hastily denied it. “I absolutely did not mean that. I just wanted to give you a heads-up. Now that Taotao knows about our relationship, if she asks for an autograph or something, please be understanding!”
That was all Wen Kai wanted.
In his view, asking Wen Ying for an autograph was reasonable. Anything else was out of the question.
“An autograph is no problem, but you need to patch things up with your girlfriend first. If she decides she’d rather dump you than get a signature, a hundred autographs from me won’t help!”
The truth always stings.
Wen Kai gained no comfort from the call. He only felt more worried.
…
Wen Kai’s romance hit a small snag, while Wen Ying’s progressed exceptionally smoothly.
In the Xie family, everyone except Xie Jinghu had always liked Wen Ying. With the interview causing such a stir, the whole household was concerned.
Old Madam Xie specially praised her eldest son, Xie Yuping, for handling things well.
Xie Yuping did not take the credit. “It had little to do with me. Xiao Wen is simply talented enough herself. Her books sell well overseas, so the television station was already determined to protect her.”
Xie Yuping had asked Zhong Yong to follow up, and Zhong Yong had barely contacted the programme team before learning their intentions.
The producer had never wavered from the start!
The old lady was delighted. “That child truly has talent and is so perceptive. The way she spoke on television was clear and logical. The more I see of her, the more I like her.”
Old Madam Xie had previously been unable to picture what kind of girlfriend Xie Qian might have. Now Wen Ying perfectly filled that gap in her imagination.
Xie Qian’s girlfriend should be exactly like Wen Ying!
The old lady cautiously asked Xie Yuping, “Could Xie Qian bring her home so we can all meet her first?”
The Xie family had come to know Wen Ying through television, but Wen Ying had not yet met all of them properly.
If they bumped into her on the street, the Xie family would not even know how to greet her.
Most importantly, the old lady very much wanted to meet Wen Ying.
She assured her eldest son that she would be perfectly polite, would not pick faults with the girl, and would not overwhelm her with excessive enthusiasm.
Xie Yuping, ever filial, could not bear to disappoint his mother. “Please wait a little longer. I’ll ask Xie Qian’s opinion, alright?”
He immediately called Xie Qian.
Xie Qian listened quietly as his uncle explained the purpose.
The Xie family was not short of filial sons. Xie Qian was just as devoted.
But there was still one matter he needed to resolve first.
“Uncle, before I bring Wen Ying to the Xie family home, I must first formally visit Wen Ying’s elders as her boyfriend.”
Xie Yuping: …
After all this, you haven’t even visited Wen Ying’s family yet? Your “boyfriend” status hasn’t received official approval?!
