Rock Sugar And Pear Stew

Chapter 84 – Meeting their daughter-in-law (Translated and edited by Xing)

Li Yubing sent Tang Xue a red packet .

The attached audio said, “Let me know if you need money . Don’t sell your boyfriend’s photo . ” His tone was a little aggrieved .

Tang Xue replied, “With how you’re showing off to so many people in WeChat, does it even matter that I’m selling that photo?”

When Li Yubing heard this message, he broke into a smile .  So someone’s jealous?

That idiot .

Smiling, he replied softly, “That’s only for your eyes . ”

Tang Xue accidentally played this audio message on her speaker . Li Yubing’s low voice—which had a hint of a come-hither tone—rang out in the room . Her three roommates turned in unison to look at Tang Xue when they heard it .

Xia Menghuan tried to sound her out . “My king, what does Consort Dog want you to see? Is it what I’m thinking of?”

“No…” Tang Xue felt that there was no way that Xia Menghuan was thinking of anything decent .

Zhao Qin was curious . “Who’s Consort Dog?”

“Li Yubing, of course . ”

Zhao Qin almost fell . “If Li Yubing’s fans know that you call him Consort Dog… they would probably murder you…”

“Nah, don’t worry . We’ll just say this in our room . Li Yubing’s fans won’t know . ”

Ye Liuying was originally reading a book . Here, she snapped the book shut and put it onto the table with a heavy thud .

“I need to find a boyfriend,” she said .

“That’s easy . ” Tang Xue raised a finger . “I heard from Jiang Shijia that there are quite a few guys in the ice hockey team who are single . I’ll organize a matchmaking event for all of you . You can have your pick out of them . ”

Ye Liuying asked, “That’s strange . Isn’t the ice hockey team also known as the ‘male models team’? Why are there so many guys who are single?”

Eh?

Tang Xue felt that this question was a bit astute . She went to ask Li Yubing as she was unable to answer it .

Li Yubing was also unable to answer it . In turn, he went to ask Jiang Shijia .

When Jiang Shijia heard this question, he was extremely peeved .

He ranted: Fk, fk, fk, don’t you feel ashamed asking this? It’s all your fault! Feel my little fist on your chest! Imma kill you, you dastardly trash!

Li Yubing: Speak human .

Jiang Shijia: Brother Bing, do you really not know or are you pretending to not know? Your esteemed self is the star of our ice hockey team! There are so many girls queuing up to date you . The rest of us don’t even exist to them because of you! Whenever any of us set our sight on a girl and plan to chase her, we would end up helping her to set a date with the ill.u.s.trious Ice G.o.d instead . After this happened a few times, all of us have learnt our lessons . We’ll all wait for Brother Bing to get into a relationship before finding a girlfriend . No need to rush . We can afford to wait since we’re still young .

Li Yubing: ……

He was not yet shameless enough to pa.s.s on this explanation . No matter how he rephrased it, it seemed extremely narcissistic . Thus, he straightforwardly sent screenshots of the messages to Tang Xue .

Tang Xue was a bit embarra.s.sed after reading it as well . She was not thick-skinned enough to pa.s.s it on either .

Li Yubing’s next message requested her to delete her WeChat post .

Tang Xue: Not deleting . I want to see if someone will really contact me to buy your photo . It’s an entrapment .

Li Yubing thought, everything you say is right since you’re so adorable .

Li Yubing felt re-energized after chatting with Tang Xue . Earlier, he was feeling a little down after his shower but now his mood was lifted . A girlfriend was indeed magical .

Right at that moment, “A Flower in Tianqin Bay” texted him: You rotten rascal, return my call right now!

Li Yubing’s newly-charged energy deflated a little .

Sensing the stern tone of his mother’s message, he did not dare to delay and immediately returned her call .

“Yubing . ” Mama Li uttered his name . She spoke slowly but her tone was a little clipped . From her voice, it was likely that she was angry . She continued, “How can you behave that way to a girl . ”

Li Yubing was confused . “What did I do?”

“What did you do? I saw those photos . Behaving like that to Tang Xue in public—don’t you feel obscene? How do you expect her to still face the public? Do you think that you can fool around just because you’re young? Don’t you have any self-control? How do I usually teach you? Ah? I—”

“Mom,” Li Yubing drew in a deep breath and cut her off, “That was a misunderstanding . I did not expect someone to secretly take photos . ” Not to mention how that person had G.o.dly editing skills that made it seem like they did everything when they did nothing…

“Think,” Li Yubing explained patiently, “I just had my first kiss today and it was interrupted by you…”

After summoning up the courage to pleasure himself with much difficulty, it was interrupted as well .

This was simply… a tale that would make anyone weep .  

After thinking for a while, Mama Li felt that her son’s usual behaviour was indeed quite pure and not as lewd as the pictures showed . This was something that could not be faked . Thus, she said, “Yubing, sorry . Mommy was too worried . ”

“It’s fine . ”

“However, your behaviour was still wrong . That incident might perhaps be nothing for you but it is very damaging for a girl . I hope that my son is a person with a sense of responsibility . At the same time, I also hope that he would not, because of impulse, do something that he would later on regret . ”

“Mm, I understand . ”

After Mama Li concluded this topic, she added, “Oh, right, I will be visiting you at your school this weekend along with your father . ”

Li Yubing was startled . “Why?”

“Can’t I miss my son? Do you need a reason for everything?”

“Actually, you two just want to see Tang Xue, right?”

“Mm, if it’s convenient, we can meet her as well . It’s been years since I last saw her . I wonder how she is like now . ”

Li Yubing was a little hesitant . “We only got together very recently . Is this too soon?”

Mama Li was unsatisfied . “Oh? So are you saying that mommy is making things difficult for you?”

“That’s not what I—”

“Yubing, remember how wilful you were as a child . Back then, it was always mommy, I, who helped you to be more likeable in front of Tang Xue . This was why you had an edge in pursuing her . ”

“… Ok, I’ll let her know . ”

……

When Mama Li hung up, Papa Li who was beside her closed the book in his hands and put it on the bedside cabinet . He helped his wife to tug up the blanket . “Sleep early . ”

“Sigh,” Mama Li exhaled . “Rotten rascal, always making us worry . ”

“To be fair, Yubing has caused us less worry than other children,” Papa Li defended his son .

Mama Li suddenly laughed . “Fate is indeed amazing . After being apart for so many years, they still ended up together in the end . It’s as if they were always tied together . No matter how far they drifted, they’ll always end up going back to each other . Mm, that’s Yue Lao’s red thread of fate[1] . ”

“You always mention Tang Xue but after so many years, she definitely has changed quite greatly . Dear, keep your expectations in check . What if…” What if you get disappointed?

“Hubby, though I don’t know how Tang Xue is like now, I think there’s something worth noting . ”

“Oh?”

Mama Li picked up her phone, searched for Tang Xue’s Weibo and clicked into that video for her husband to watch .

The trauma in Papa Li’s heart was as big as the Pacific Ocean when he saw his son singing “chrysanthemums strew on the ground” .

Mama Li said, “Tang Xue handled this very well . ”

Papa Li’s face was filled with doubts . “Are you sure?”

Mama Li waved her hand . “You don’t understand how those children think . ” She shared her experience from lurking in the fan groups and continued explaining . “Those young fans are innocent but fragile, and easily incited . Ultimately, they’re still Li Yubing’s fans and on the same side as him . By responding this way, Tang Xue managed to prevent Yubing from being torn between both sides and at the same time allowed him to express his stance . At most, he merely sacrificed his image but that’s not important . The way Tang Xue handled this is not only tactful but also humorous, displaying great PR skills . ”

“The world of young people these days is so complicated . ”

“All right, go to sleep . We’ll pick a meeting gift for Tang Xue tomorrow . ”

“Mm . ”

——

The next day, Tang Xue encountered some stray cats on her way to cla.s.s . She and Xia Menghuan fed them some snacks and took some photos . She promptly sent the photos to Li Yubing .

Tang Xue: Cute?

Li Yubing: Still all right, I’ve seen cuter .

Tang Xue: Do you have photos? I want to see it .

Li Yubing sent her a photo of her .

Tang Xue’s heart fluttered for a few beats . She had the urge to see him and listen to his voice .

Right when she had this thought, Li Yubing’s call came in . Mm, they were that in sync .  This chapter is a labour of love that should not be found outside of teafragrance[dot]wordpress[dot]com .

Over at his side, Li Yubing was smiling . “I dreamt of you last night . ” His voice was a little hoa.r.s.e and he spoke slowly . It felt like he wanted to say more but was leaving some words unspoken .

Tang Xue was tickled . “What a coincidence; I dreamt of you too . ”

“Mm? Dreamt of me doing what?”

“Li Yubing, I dreamt that you turned into a pangolin and my dad bought you back from the market . ”

“Then? Released me back into the wild?”

“Then cooked a pot of stew . ”

“…” What an amazing story direction .

“I cried while I ate . It was terrible . ” Thinking of that immensely sad scene, Tang Xue’s voice could not help becoming a little sorrowful .

Li Yubing was utterly speechless . “Then why did you still eat…”

“I don’t know, couldn’t help it in the dream . ”

Li Yubing thought for a while and summarized, “You ate me in your dream . ”

“Ah, that’s the gist, I guess… So what was your dream about?”

“Around the same as yours . I dreamt that I ate you . ”

Tang Xue did not think that anything was wrong . She sighed, “That’s really such a coincidence . ”

Li Yubing held in his smile . He thought of something and said, “Oh, right, my parents are coming over this weekend?”

“For what?”

“Meeting their daughter-in-law . ”

Translator’s Notes:

[1] Red Thread of Fate: It’s a Chinese belief that fated couples have an invisible red string tied around their little fingers that links them together . Check out Wikipedia for more interesting info!