Chapter 59Pei Ying bringing CEO Song home for New Year’s!
(t/n: In this chapter, New Year or ‘the new year’ is referring to Chinese/Lunar New Year, which occurs roughly around end of January / start of February.)
Before the New Year arrived, Song Nanchuan took a secret trip back to C City, for the single purpose of retrieving his family registration booklet.
He hadn’t notified his parents about it, intending on acting first and reporting later. Who’d have thought that the ginger had been spicy from the start? When he got home, his father was already waiting for him in the living room. (t/n: There’s a saying that goes, ‘the older the ginger, the hotter the spice’ which means you gain experience with age.)
Song Nanchuan was a bit surprised, but he kept a cool and nonchalant expression on his face. “Dad, you didn’t go to work today?”
Mr Song glanced at him and scoffed. “Aren’t you taking the day off as well?”
“I’m making a visit to you see you guys.”
“To see us? From the looks of it, you came back for this.” Mr Song lifted his right hand, which just happened to be holding the family register book that Song Nanchuan was looking for.
Song Nanchuan bit his lip. He walked over and took a seat on the sofa across from his father. “What are your conditions? Just tell me.”
Mr Song chuckled. “Is CEO Song making a business deal with me?”
Song Nanchuan looked at his father silently. Then he asked, “How did you know I was coming back?”
“Who do you think raised you? Once you stick your a.s.s out, I know what kind of s.h.i.t you’re going to take.”
Song Nanchuan, “…Dad, your words are getting coa.r.s.er.”
“Right. Not everyone can be as whimsical as you, flying to New York for lobster whenever you fancy it.”
Song Nanchuan, “….”
Had his father hired someone to monitor Pei Ying’s Weibo activities?
“In any case, I’m dead set on this wedding.” Song Nanchuan leaned against the back of the sofa with a demeanor that said ‘Do whatever you want to.’
Mr Song frowned. “I just don’t understand what you like about her.”
“Everything,” Song Nanchuan replied directly.
The living room grew silent. Two sets of eyes collided in a silent confrontation. After a long moment, Mr Song sighed. “Fine. Your mother was right. Among you three, your eldest brother’s the only one who listens. I don’t know why we bothered having two more kids.”
Song Nanchuan responded, “If not for Second Brother and me taking on two thirds of Mom’s energy, Eldest Brother would have been broken from all of Mom’s activities.”
Mr Song, “….”
That did seem to make sense.
He coughed, and then said, “Since you’re bent on marrying Pei Ying, you should make sure she’s clear about certain things. Now that she’ll be joining our family, she should be more cautious about her behavior. Make sure she doesn’t get caught up in those tabloid reports, like the ones with that Yu Kaize.”
“You don’t have to worry about that,” he said with a slight smile. He looked at his father and said, “But on that topic, you seem to be rather concerned with the entertainment industry.”
“Hmph. Seeing you in the entertainment headlines every day is really a disgrace for me.”
“I’ll work hard to make the finance headlines in the future. Can you give me the family registration then?”
“….” Mr Song frowned and glared at him. Then he placed the registration booklet on the table. “Take it.”
“Thanks, Dad.” Song Nanchuan’s expression immediately changed. The corner of his lip raised slightly as he picked up the booklet. Then he got up and walked towards the door.
Mr Song called from behind, “You’re not staying for lunch?”
“No. I’m busy with wedding preparations. I’ll let you know about it when we’ve got things settled.” Song Nanchuan lifted his hand and waved the register booklet, walking out with a smile on his face.
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After leaving the Song manor, he couldn’t wait to return to A City, so he gave Pei Ying a call. Since she was currently getting ready for her wedding, she hadn’t accepted any new work, and she happened to be cooking lunch at that moment. When she heard her phone ring from the living room, she lightly kicked away Blackie, who was sitting on her foot. Then she walked over to pick up her call. “Chuan Chuan?”
“I’ve got the household registration, and my dad’s given permission for the wedding.” Song Nanchuan’s voice was quite joyous.
“Really? That’s great!” As if being infected by his cheer, Pei Ying’s lips perked up as well.
Song Nanchuan continued, “But he wanted to tell you that after we’re married, you should be more careful, and make sure not to get into scandals with other people. Especially Yu Kaize.”
Pei Ying, “….”
Did her story with Yu Kaize count as a scandal? The media had obviously just made up the story about them. But still, she replied, “I’ll be sure to keep that in mind.”
Aside from work, she didn’t really interact with any male celebrities anyway.
“Alright then. I’m heading back to A City now. You should set a time with your parents.”
“Okay. Have you eaten yet?”
“Not yet.”
“Then I’ll wait for you to get back and we can eat together. I’m cooking lunch right now.”
Song Nanchuan laughed and said, “Don’t wait for me. You should eat first, otherwise you’ll go hungry.”
“It’s okay. I can eat some snacks first, haha. Food tastes better when you’re eating with someone else.”
Song Nanchuan couldn’t help chuckling again. “Then, what about all the meals you used to eat by yourself?”
“I guess it was all dog food?”
“Pfft.” Song Nanchuan finally stammered out, “Ying Ying, why are you so lovable?”
When he said the word “lovable,” Pei Ying started picturing just how Song Nanchuan loved her, and then she felt that the phone in her hand was suddenly very hot. “I’m done talking to you. I have to call my mom.”
She hung up the phone shortly after. She clapped her cheeks and then gave her mom a call.
Hearing that Song Nanchuan would be personally visiting them, Pei Ying’s family were extremely happy and welcoming. They set the meeting date for the fifth of the new year.
Pei Ying’s hometown was in a small northern city. There was no airport there, so she and Song Nanchuan had to fly to the provincial capital’s airport and then take a car back to her house.
The moment they got off the plane, Pei Ying started shivering from the cold. The temperature there was much colder than in A City, and the brisk air made her want to run back onto the plane.
“Are you very cold?” Song Nanchuan pulled her hands into his, breathing on and rubbing them. “Don’t they say that people who grew up in the north aren’t afraid of the cold?”
“That’s not true! Our houses have heat! You try hanging around outside in the freezing cold!” It wasn’t the first time someone had said this to Pei Ying, so she could only wrinkle her face at Song Nanchuan.
He smiled and then pulled off his scarf to wrap around her neck. “How about now? Still cold?”
Pei Ying shook her head. But seeing him left with only a sweater collar to cover his neck, she asked, “Aren’t you cold?”
“I’m not. I’m a man.”
Pei Ying, “….”
Men and northerners not being afraid of the cold were two of humanity’s biggest lies!
“You’ll catch a cold like that. You should take your scarf back.” Pei Ying started to pull of his scarf, but Song Nanchuan stopped her. He said, “I’m really not cold. But you, your face has turned red from the chill.”
“Even if you’re not cold, you should wear your scarf. It doesn’t look right if I have two scarves!” Pei Ying tiptoed and wrapped the scarf back around Song Nanchuan’s neck.
A crease appeared on the forehead of the flight attendant beside them. If it’s cold, then please start walking! Will your lovey dovey act here keep you warm?!
What do you guys think? With this kind of couple in front of you, would you be able to smile and continue working courteously?
The flight attendant recognized both Pei Ying and Song Nanchuan. When she’d first seen them, she’d been rather excited, but now, she really wanted to hang them out on Weibo.
And she really did. During her break, she logged onto Weibo to expose those lovers.
“I saw Pei Ying and Song Nanchuan at the airport today. The two of them were such dog abusers, acting as if there was no one else around. I was so deeply pained. (pleading) Oh yeah, their conversation was basically as follows: ‘Are you cold? I’ll give you my scarf.’ ‘No, I’m not cold. You take the scarf.’ ‘I’m not cold either. You should take the scarf.’ I’m cold! Give me the scarf! And please, move along! (angry)”
Although the flight attendant’s Weibo didn’t have lots of followers or anything, for some reason, her post got picked up by a major tabloid account, which naturally attracted a whole lot of netizens.
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“Wow! CEO Song’s so rich, why doesn’t he just buy an extra scarf?! (pleading)”
“My heart goes out to the flight attendant (laughing to tears) But I’m actually a bit jealous not to have seen the dog abuse in person (laughing to tears)”
“This conversation… Did Granny Chiung Yao help you write the script? (laughing to tears) @Pei Ying” (t/n: Chiung Yao is a very famous romance novelist; she also penned the Princess Returning Pearl / Huan Zhu Ge Ge drama, among other things)
“You guys are all here watching the dog abuse, but did anyone realize that the flight attendant flew to H City today?! Pei Pei’s hometown is right near H City!”
“Σ(°△°|||)︴ The words H City really woke everyone up! Is Pei Ying bringing CEO Song home for New Year’s???”
“Paparazzi, where are your followup reports?! Where’s episode 8?! The two of them are going to her hometown for New Year’s! Don’t you guys want to be there?! (scolding)”
“I have a very strong suspicion that a dog ma.s.sacre is coming upon us. I’m panicking.”
With so much attention on her blog, the flight attendant anxiously deleted her post. but the topic of Pei Ying and Song Nanchuan’s New Year’s activities was rising up the trending list.
Song Nanchuan and Pei Ying, however, were completely unaware of this.
When the driver pulled up to the Pei’s apartment complex, the security guard’s mouth dropped so wide open that you could stuff a whole apple inside.
After working there for so many years, it was his first time seeing a car that luxurious! Whose relative was this?!
As the car drove off, the guard’s stunned eyes couldn’t help remaining glued to the car.
“It’s here.” When the car stopped at the bottom of the building the Pei’s lived in, Pei Ying had the driver stop.
Mrs Pei and Pei Xiuran were already waiting outside. Pei Xiuran recognized the car, and called out, “That’s Brother-in-law’s car!”
As he spoke, the car door opened and Song Nanchuan stepped out. Pei Ying nervously followed him out and made some introductions. “This is my mom. And you’ve already met my brother.”
Song Nanchuan nodded to her, looking over Mrs Pei, wearing a brand new red coat. It was only natural that Mrs Pei and Pei Ying looked very much alike. Even though she’d aged, Mrs Pei still carried a youthful charm.
“Auntie, h.e.l.lo. I’m Song Nanchuan.”
“Mr Song, h.e.l.lo, h.e.l.lo.” Mrs Pei couldn’t pull her eyes away from Song Nanchuan. She’d previously seen pictures of him in the news, but in person, he was many times more handsome than his pictures. Being good-looking was simply a plus though. He was also rich. They must have done great things in a past life for him to fall for Pei Ying!
Seeing her mother staring so obviously at Song Nanchuan, Pei Ying pressed her, “Mom, let’s go upstairs to talk. We shouldn’t just stand here.”
“Right, of course. Let’s head upstairs. Mr Song, this way,” Mrs Pei pa.s.sionately invited Song Nanchuan inside.