Chapter 453: Time to Change How You Address Me
Xiaomuqing took out her pajamas and then put them back, feeling a bit inexplicable. Did she want to stay at his place? Hmm, it seemed like she did, as long as her good brother wouldn’t do anything to her. Hmm, she suddenly felt conflicted. She wanted to stay there, but she was also afraid of a repeat of that night, a situation not suitable for children.
Just as she was staring at her pajamas and inadvertently spacing out, her phone suddenly rang its ringtone. She picked it up and saw it was her good brother calling.
“Hello, boss, what’s up?”
“Huh? Downstairs from my house?”
To her surprise, the person on the phone said her good brother was already downstairs from her house, waiting outside her door. Without thinking too much, Xiaomuqing went downstairs to open the door for her good brother and ask why he came so early.
“To pick you up.”
“Ah?”
“To take you to my place to live.”
Ye Ziming didn’t beat around the bush, directly stating his intention: he was here to pick her up and take her home. His directness left Xiaomuqing a little taken aback. She hadn’t agreed to stay at their place yet, so why was he here to pick her up?
As they spoke, Ye Ziming raised a hand towards Xiaomuqing, palm facing upwards, his meaning very clear. Xiaomuqing looked at her good brother’s eyes, then at his hand. As if possessed, she also raised her hand and slowly placed it in his. Then, she was led back to the Ye family villa, holding hands with Ye Ziming, very smoothly.
“What do you want to eat for lunch today?”
Upon returning home, the first thing Ye Ziming did was ask Xiaomuqing what she wanted to eat for lunch.
“Ah… Ah?”
Hearing her good brother’s words, Xiaomuqing suddenly froze, then sharply came back to her senses. When he took her hand just now, her mind had wandered somewhere else, and she felt a bit strange. When he let go of her hand, she felt a bit… reluctant for it to end.
“What dishes do you want to eat? I…”
“Oh my, Xiaomuqing is here.”
After coming back to her senses, Xiaomuqing hesitated and was about to say she didn’t want to eat anything when Li Muning suddenly walked out of the kitchen. Seeing Xiaomuqing’s arrival, Li Muning’s mood couldn’t have been better. She immediately took Xiaomuqing’s hand and led her to sit on the sofa.
“Auntie.”
Looking at the enthusiastic Li Muning, Xiaomuqing blinked. Even after spending so much time together, she still felt a bit overwhelmed. Auntie was really good to her, so good that she felt embarrassed to visit her good brother’s home so often. She always felt that Auntie treated her differently from others, and she wasn’t sure if it was her imagination.
“Oh, calling me Auntie sounds so distant. Change how you address me.”
Holding Xiaomuqing’s hand, Li Muning frowned and pretended to be unhappy, but the smile on her face was still clearly visible.
“Ah?”
Calling her Auntie sounds distant? Didn’t she always address her like that before?
“Why don’t you understand?”
Seeing Xiaomuqing’s bewildered expression, Li Muning frowned even more, suddenly feeling a pang of disappointment. However, she wasn’t truly unhappy. After waiting a short while and seeing that Xiaomuqing still didn’t understand her meaning, she smiled and explained:
“You’re about to get engaged. You’ll be fiancés then, so you need to change how you address me, right?”
“Er…”
Only then did Xiaomuqing finally realize what Auntie was talking about. Speaking of engagement, Xiaomuqing suddenly felt embarrassed and instinctively glanced at her good brother sitting beside her. Engagement can be said to be preparation for marriage. Once engaged, barring any unexpected circumstances, the two will walk down the aisle, and she will wear a wedding dress and marry Ye Ziming. It seems a bit too early, Xiaomuqing thought, poking her fingers.
After some thought, under the gazes of Ye Ziming and Li Muning, Xiaomuqing slightly opened her mouth and softly said:
“Mother-in-law?”
“Yes!”
Without the slightest hesitation, Li Muning responded, her face instantly beaming with a smile. Although she wished Xiaomuqing would call her “Mom,” as that’s how it’s usually done here, the meaning was conveyed, and she was very satisfied.
“Come on, tell me what you want to eat for lunch today, so I can go buy the ingredients and cook for you.”
“Er…”
Li Muning was so enthusiastic that Xiaomuqing felt really embarrassed. She wanted to say “whatever,” but saying “whatever” in this situation would be very impolite, wouldn’t it? If she put herself in Li Muning’s shoes, when she asked others what they wanted to eat, the reply she hated most was “whatever.” Saying “whatever” makes oneself feel relaxed, but it puts the other person in an awkward position. So, Xiaomuqing racked her brains and came up with two simple dishes she quite liked.
“Just these two?”
Li Muning was a little surprised but didn’t say much, thinking she would add a few more dishes later. After interacting with Xiaomuqing, she got up to go grocery shopping, not forgetting to remind Ye Ziming to treat Xiaomuqing well.
“Hoo~”
Seeing Li Muning leave, Xiaomuqing secretly breathed a sigh of relief, feeling it was a bit difficult to handle. Calling her mother-in-law was quite embarrassing, especially saying it in front of her good brother. Hmm…
Then, Xiaomuqing decided to skip over the previous events and prepare to talk about other things with her good brother, when Ye Ziming suddenly looked at Xiaomuqing meaningfully, a smile curving his lips, and asked:
“What should you call me now?”
“Ah?”
The time interval was very short, and Xiaomuqing was stunned again, not understanding what her good brother meant.
“You even called your mother-in-law, don’t you need to change how you address me?”
“!? ”
Alright, Xiaomuqing understood what he meant. Her good brother meant he wanted her to change how she addressed him, to stop calling him “boss” and start calling him “husband”… just “husband”… How could she say that!
(╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻
“Hmm? What should you call me?”
Seeing Xiaomuqing’s expression change from stunned to wide-eyed shock, and then to shy avoidance, Ye Ziming found it extremely amusing. What kind of stupid loli had such rich facial expressions? It was too cute. Thinking this, he leaned closer to Xiaomuqing, smiling, and repeated his question.
“I… I don’t know.”
Seeing her good brother getting closer, Xiaomuqing turned her head and looked elsewhere, her expression very unnatural. She was deliberately playing dumb, trying to muddle through. But Ye Ziming wasn’t going to give her a chance. Today, he was determined to make Xiaomuqing say those two words. So, he put an arm around Xiaomuqing’s slender shoulder, bringing them close together.
“You don’t know?”
“Yeah, I don’t know.”
Her small face flushed and her lips pouted, she simply wouldn’t say it. La la la la.
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Author’s Say:
Happy New Year, please take care of me.
