They had all said privately that they would not follow the path taken by their eldest brother and sister-in-law.
That path was impossible to replicate anyway.
Hai Tong smiled. “Although your eldest brother and my love story cannot be copied, love is simply a matter of the heart.”
“If you genuinely like Doctor Zeng, what is there to fear in confessing to her?”
“I will wait a little longer. I want to be completely certain.”
Since Zhan Yue was in no rush, Hai Tong could say nothing more.
The old lady remarked, “Lao Ba is just too slow and dawdling. I get anxious just watching him. If I had not intervened, he would still be treading water in the same spot.”
“Alas, every one of my grandsons is a pig. So handsome, yet none of you knows how to court a cabbage. I have to help you, otherwise, with a grandma like me, you would all end up old bachelors.”
Zhan Yue hastened to agree. “Yes, yes, yes. We are all pigs who cannot court cabbages. Grandma never taught us how.”
The old lady laughed. “Does this really need teaching? You are all brilliant. Such things are human instinct. No teaching required.”
“When does Xiaoya get a day off?”
“She said, unless something unexpected happens, it will be this Saturday.”
The old lady turned to Hai Tong. “Tongtong, on Saturday, bring the children over. Make it lively, so Xiaoya will not feel too awkward.”
“Invite everyone still in Guancheng. Let us all gather and be noisy together. It will help Xiaoya understand our big family. She is bound to have some concerns.”
The Zeng family cannot compare to the Zhan family. The old lady would never disdain Zeng Xiaoya’s background. As long as Xiaoya has good character, a clean family history, and her grandson likes her, that is enough.
But Xiaoya would probably feel a psychological burden, sensing the vast gap, believing she could never be worthy of Zhan Yue.
They needed Zeng Xiaoya to grow familiar with Hai Tong and the others. Only when she truly entered the Zhan family and came to know the Zhan people could her worries be eased.
“Fine. I will let Yun Chu and the others know.”
“Grandma, with so many of us, will we frighten Doctor Zeng? Might she feel even more embarrassed?”
Hai Tong worried that too many people could have the opposite effect.
“No. Xiaoya is not someone who has never seen the world. She is easy to get along with, and none of you are difficult.”
The old lady trusted her own judgement.
She had liked Zeng Xiaoya from the first moment.
Well, she liked every granddaughter-in-law at first sight.
Zhan Yue asked, “Grandma, what should I do on the day?”
As soon as he spoke, both Grandma and his sister-in-law glared at him.
Zhan Yue rubbed his nose and gave an awkward smile. “Pretend I said nothing. I know what to do.”
“I called you a pig, and you really became one.”
The old lady poked his forehead in exasperation. “Sometimes you lot really could anger me to death. Fortunately, I am tough, or I would have died of anger long ago.”
“If my constitution were even slightly weaker, you could have killed me hundreds of times over.”
Zhan Yue kept smiling agreeably. Whatever Grandma said was right.
“Perform well on Saturday. Show your very best side. No matter how much we do, it will be useless. You must win Xiaoya’s heart yourself, make her fall in love with you. Only then is there hope.”
They were merely supporting roles, there to create atmosphere.
In the end, it still depended on Zhan Yue.
“Grandma, I understand.”
The old lady gave him a few more words of advice, then said to Hai Tong, “Tongtong, let us head back. Although A Yin is at home with the children, I still do not feel easy.”
“Beibei will cry for you. He will not be able to soothe her.”
When it is bedtime, the little girl insists on her mummy. At that hour, even her own father is no use.
