The Complete Guide to the Use and Care of a Personal a.s.sistant
Translator: Jury
Editor: NomNom
First Published on Chaleuria
Chapter Eighty-nine
The atmosphere in the room was already tense, and now it felt like there was a pump sucking the air out of the room.
Ling Miao hung his head and said nothing. Su Yuyang held Ling Miao"s hand under the table. Observing Ling Miao, Su Yuyang"s dad guessed that Ling Miao hadn"t told his parents about his relations.h.i.+p with Su Yuyang.
Su Yuyang"s dad said with displeasure, "Ling Miao, since your parents don"t know about you and Xiao Yu yet, I can"t accept you calling me "Dad." When your parents approve of you and Xiao Yu, then call me that." He got up and walked out of the room.
Ling Miao looked at Su Yuyang nervously, and his panicked gaze made Su Yuyang"s heart hurt. Su Yuyang squeezed Ling Miao"s hand and laughed, "My dad"s like that. Don"t worry. Just remember that I want to be with you and I"ll get rid of all obstacles. If your parents don"t agree to our being together, and you don"t want to upset them, we can separate for a while, but I won"t give up."
"Am I someone who gives up, then? Ling Miao smiled with satisfaction. "I fell out with my parents because of job reasons. Do you think I won"t elope with you?"
"Elope?" Su Yuyang"s mom said, surprised. Ling Miao and Su Yuyang turned their heads to look at her, but she was still leisurely eating. Seeing the two look at her, she said casually, "Where will you elope to? Just stay right here with me. If Xiao Miao"s parents don"t agree to the two of you, I"ll convince them." Su Yuyang"s mom patted her chest and a.s.sured.
Ling Miao said awkwardly, "Thank you."
"What"s there to thank?" Su Yuyang"s mom asked back. "This has got to do with my son"s happiness. As his mother, of course I"ll help him! Xiao Yu, what are you both standing there for? Eat!"
Ling Miao looked at the doorway and said worriedly, "Is Uncle all right?"
"Don"t worry, he won"t starve." Su Yuyang"s mom dismissed it but Ling Miao sensed a hint of gunpowder in her voice. When they got home, Su Yuyang"s dad wouldn"t have a good time!
"Right, Xiao Miao, are you still Xiao Yu"s a.s.sistant?" Su Yuyang"s mom suddenly asked.
Ling Miao nodded. Su Yuyang"s mom banged her chopsticks and lectured, "Xiao Yu, why are you still asking Xiao Miao to be your a.s.sistant?"
"Eh…" Ling Miao raised his head to look at Su Yuyang"s enraged mom and explained on Su Yuyang"s behalf, "Actually, I don"t really count as his a.s.sistant, but sometimes he"ll ask me to help him with some things."
"Mm, that"s better. I tell you, Su Yuyang, treat Xiao Miao better. Where will you find a man as good-tempered and good-looking as Xiao Miao nowadays?" Su Yuyang"s mom warned.
Su Yuyang lowered his head and continued eating, giving no sign that he was going to reply. No matter what his mother said, he just smiled. Ling Miao thought that Su Yuyang"s behavior was very strange and kicked Su Yuyang, who leaned close to his ear and said, "When my mom talks, just listen. If you answer, she won"t stop talking."
The meal concluded amidst Su Yuyang"s mother"s various warnings.
Su Yuyang"s mom held onto Ling Miao"s arm again when they left, and as they walked she enumerated Su Yuyang"s various flaws. Su Yuyang was walking behind the two of them. Hearing his mom put down her own son, he couldn"t tell if he was sad or happy. His parents had acknowledged Ling Miao. He felt like a weight in his heart had been put down.
When they got to the parking lot, Su Yuyang"s father was already in the car.
On the way back, Su Yuyang"s dad drove. Su Yuyang"s mom shunted Su Yuyang to the pa.s.senger seat and sat with Ling Miao in the back.
Ling Miao blinked his eyes pleadingly at Su Yuyang, who spread his hands helplessly. Seeing their interaction, Su Yuyang"s mom said aggrievedly, "Xiao Miao, do you not like me?"
Ling Miao smiled and explain, "No, I"m just not used to it."
Su Yuyang"s dad said severely, "Hmph. You"re not acting like an elder." Ling Miao"s heart skipped a beat.
Su Yuyang"s mom took Ling Miao"s hand and said with feeling, "When Su Yuyang"s dad found out he was gay, he almost beat him to death. My heart is soft and I couldn"t bear to see Xiao Yu getting hit, so I tied his dad up and Xiao Yu fled. Actually, at first I thought this was a sickness, too, and went online to look for a cure. But the more information I found the more I felt this wasn"t a reversible situation, so I stopped trying to make Xiao Yu change. I just gave him two rules: firstly, not to deceive women because of pressure from the outside world, and secondly, not to come back before he found a boyfriend. He hasn"t done either. The first boyfriend he brought back was Feng Ji. I"m not sure why, but I felt that Xiao Yu didn"t have feelings for him, so I asked Xiao Yu to end it, and not long after that, Feng Ji dumped him. The second one—that, who was it—I didn"t like his personality so I asked Xiao Yu to leave him, and likewise, they separated after a few months."
"Xiao Miao, I"ve said a lot to you. Firstly, I feel that you and Xiao Yu do have feelings for each other. Secondly, I don"t want Xiao Yu to keep being alone."
"Mom…" Ling Miao tentatively called. As expected, a cold "hmm" came from the front. Su Yuyang"s mom held Ling Miao"s hand and said to the person who had huffed, ""Hmm," what "hmm?" If you scare Ling Miao away, you find another son for me!"
"His parents haven"t even agreed. If you ask him to change his form of address now, will his parents blame you?" Su Yuyang"s dad snapped. "Also, you"re putting someone else"s son on this path of no return, and keeping it from them. Even if we haven"t met I know that Ling Miao"s parents won"t agree to the two of them."
"Can"t you just say something nice?"
"I"m only telling the truth!"
"You!" Su Yuyang"s mom was rendered speechless by Su Yuyang"s dad, not because she couldn"t rebut, but because she saw the sadness in Ling Miao"s eyes.
Su Yuyang"s mom caught Ling Miao"s shoulder and consoled, "Xiao Miao, when you have time, tell your parents about you and Xiao Yu. If they agree, then we two sets of parents can meet. If they don"t, then I"ll go see them."
"But…"
"No buts," Su Yuyang"s mom said firmly. "Since you"re both willing, why wouldn"t they let you be together?"
Ling Miao didn"t reply.
The car kept moving, making frequent stops. Ling Miao raised his head to the gray sky and his heart grew even heavier.
"Don"t overthink so much," Su Yuyang"s voice suddenly came at his ear. Ling Miao turned his head to look—Su Yuyang and his mom had switched places while Ling Miao wasn"t paying attention.
"Not thinking about it doesn"t mean it won"t happen," Ling Miao said worriedly.
Su Yuyang laughed: "Since it hasn"t happened, don"t go thinking about it. It"ll wear on your nerves if you think too much. And since I"m home, let"s have a good time for a few days. When the Authors" Gathering is done, I"ll accompany you to your old home to see your parents."
"I"m worried…"
"Xiao Miao, whether the thing you"re worried about happens or not, you"ll have to face your parents eventually." Su Yuyang laughed lightly. "The quicker you die, the quicker you reincarnate!"
Seeing Su Yuyang"s resolution, Ling Miao swallowed the words he had been about to say.
While they still had time to have fun, they would have fun!