IROAWTMTFL Chapter 25

At the beginning, Zhuang Xian was surprised when she heard from Qian Ruqing that the two kids had gotten married, but she managed to keep her composure. In her view, Yan Yan was quite scheming, and even if her son were truly gay, he wouldn’t like him. Later, when Zhuang Yiyun started working overtime every day and not coming home, it further confirmed her judgment.

However, she didn’t expect that when she wasn’t paying attention, things would completely slip out of her control. First, Zhuang Yiyun moved without a word, then he took people to the company’s annual meeting. If it weren’t for someone telling her, she wouldn’t even know where they had moved to. Seeing her son again after two months, she couldn’t help but furrow her brows tightly.

Yan Yan glanced at the mother and son, their family dynamics were worlds apart from his. If this had been before, he would have definitely tried to ease the atmosphere, but now… Well, Zhuang Yiyun had already explicitly refused to reward him for his services, so he wasn’t about to make an effort. After exchanging greetings, he went straight to the door without hesitation.

Without waiting for Zhuang Yiyun to invite her, Zhuang Xian followed Yan Yan into the house. Yan Yan brought out a pair of guest slippers for her. They were light pink and clearly designed for women, elegant and beautiful. There were slippers prepared for her at the new house, and this subtle detail eased the tension in the air. Yan Yan, who was responsible for the purchase of household supplies, would have told her that it wasn’t prepared especially for her; it was a standard purchase, with both men’s and women’s styles. In the tradition of the Yan family, whether the guest is male or female, one should be prepared; it would be impolite not to have them ready.

Due to his upbringing, as soon as they entered the house, Yan Yan seemed to activate like a program, going directly to make tea. Zhuang Yiyun stood by the door, looked at Zhuang Xian sitting on the sofa, and then at Yan Yan who went to prepare tea.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“Making tea.”

Yan Yan came out with a cup, and Zhuang Yiyun handed him tea leaves. After some thought, he said, “You should go to your room and rest first.”

Yan Yan: “Why?”

Zhuang Yiyun didn’t answer for a while. He only spoke when Yan Yan finished making the tea and was about to leave with it. “She’s not here with good intentions.”

‘Not here with good intentions.’ Yan Yan didn’t expect Zhuang Yiyun to describe someone with those words, especially when it was his own mother. Yan Yan could guess that he had a difficult relationship with his family, but he didn’t expect it to be this bad.

Yan Yan didn’t respond. He wasn’t the obedient and cute husband anymore. He wanted to see for himself. After preparing the tea and coming out with it, Zhuang Yiyun still didn’t give up. He grabbed Yan Yan in front of Zhuang Xian and said, “You should go to your room and rest.”

“Huh?”

“You just came back from the hospital, so you should lie down.”

Zhuang Xian’s gaze shifted, her previously smoothed brows furrowing again.

Yan Yan understood. Zhuang Yiyun was quite good at this, pretending to be considerate of his husband. Was he deliberately provoking his mother? Zhuang Yiyun was wronged this time, he was genuinely concerned. It was better for him not to know what Yan Yan was thinking.

“Yan Yan, stay. Can’t this mom have a chat with her son-in-law?” Yan Yan didn’t want to become a pawn in their mother-son conflict, so he nodded and moved forward. Entertaining a guest was only polite. However, as he took a step forward, Zhuang Yiyun grabbed him and held him back.

“He just got out of the hospital and hasn’t fully recovered. It’s not convenient.” With an attitude that brooked no resistance, he pushed Yan Yan toward the bedroom.

“Zhuang Yiyun!” Zhuang Xian’s voice rose two octaves, clearly irritated.

Zhuang Yiyun ignored her. He didn’t even bother to serve the tea, and simply left it on the table. He held Yan Yan’s wrist and guided him toward the bedroom.

Yan Yan looked up at him. He saw the cold, stern lines of his profile, and the abyss-like pure black eyes devoid of any warmth. He had always been cold, but he had never been this cold to the point of isolation, like the moon reflected in an icy lake, so cold it felt unreal.

Yan Yan sighed deeply in his heart. This man was truly irresistible, making it impossible for him to just stand by. He suddenly reached out and covered Zhuang Yiyun’s hand that was holding him, stopping in his tracks. The warmth of his hand transferred through the contact of their skin, breaking the ice on the surface like a crack in a frozen lake.

“It’s okay, I’m fine. Gege, you don’t need to worry about me. I’ll keep Auntie company. You can go get us some fruit.”

The ice cracked, revealing a small hole, and the moon fell into the lake. Yan Yan returned to pick up the cup of tea that Zhuang Yiyun had left and brought it over to Zhuang Xian.

“Auntie Zhuang, have some tea.”

Zhuang Xian had initially been reluctant to accept, considering Yan Yan was the young man trying to be close to her son. However, Yan Yan’s smile appeared genuinely warm, and seeing that she didn’t respond, he added, “My mom always says she wants to invite Auntie to our house. When would Auntie have time?”

That’s right, he was an old classmate’s son. If these were just old classmates who hadn’t been in touch for years, she might not bother. Unfortunately, they were prominent figures from their school days. Her son was good at calculations, he had probably thought about this well in advance. As long as she didn’t want to lose face in her circle of friends, she had to restrain herself.

Zhuang Xian accepted the cup of tea and looked a bit more relaxed. She had made a mistake. She shouldn’t have invited Yan Yan over in the first place, and now he was skillfully taking advantage of the situation.

“I’ve been busy lately,” she replied after adjusting her skirt.

Yan Yan, seeming unfazed by her coldness, also sat down on the sofa. He didn’t inquire about the relationship between the mother and son, and he didn’t exhibit the usual caution one might have in front of a mother-in-law. Zhuang Xian suppressed a cold smile. Was she really a mother-in-law if her son hadn’t even officially introduced his husband to her? There wasn’t a trace of awkwardness, and his attitude was quite calm.

“Then, we can arrange for another time when Auntie Zhuang is free.”

Yan Yan continued along her words and then changed the subject, asking, “Why did Auntie Zhuang come over today without saying a word?”

“Why? Yan Yan, do you have a problem with it?” Zhuang Xian placed the tea on the coffee table gracefully, almost without making a sound. “You young people have your freedom, but marriage is such a significant matter. I don’t even have the right to know? When were you planning to visit me of I hadn’t come?”

Zhuang Xian’s words were deliberate and methodical. If it had been Qian Ruqing saying these words, they would have sounded like advice from an elder. But coming from Zhuang Xian, it sounded more like an accusation. Yan Yan found it amusing. How could someone be so confrontational when they came to their son’s house. All her words were either angry or blaming? She spoke with a mix of emotions that was hard to grasp.

Yan Yan’s smile became even sweeter. It was indeed a worthy opponent. “Gege has always wanted to bring me to see Auntie Zhuang, but my mom said that Auntie Zhuang hadn’t visited our home together with gege, so I shouldn’t rush to visit. It wouldn’t hurt to go later. If you’re asking why your son hasn’t brought his partner to visit you, maybe you should ask yourself if you’ve given him the respect he deserves.”

“Is that so, Yiyun?” Zhuang Xian asked.

“Why don’t you go wash the fruit, gege?” Zhuang Yiyun, who was now considered a burden, was ordered to go handle the logistics.

When Zhuang Yiyun met Yan Yan’s gaze and saw the disdain in his mother’s eyes, he couldn’t help but want to laugh. His mood, which had been tense just moments ago, relaxed.

“Alright.”

With Zhuang Yiyun gone, Yan Yan and Zhuang Xian engaged in conversation more freely.

“It’s been two months since we last saw each other, and Yan Yan has changed quite a bit,”

Yan Yan casually adjusted his hair and smiled sweetly: “Gege said that a little sunshine like me should dye my hair blonde to match me. Does it look good, Auntie Zhuang?”

“Seems a bit too flashy,” Zhuang Xian remarked.

“Yes, but I’m still young, and I can pull it off. If gege did it, it might not be suitable. He’d look good in purple, noble, elegant, mysterious, and cool. Auntie Zhuang, have you heard of this saying? ‘Purple for the gays.’ Purple is the symbol of us gays, ah~”

Zhuang Xian’s face grew darker, and her anger, which had been suppressed earlier, surged again.

“Yiyun has never worn such extravagant clothing, and his job doesn’t allow it. Yan Yan, you’re still young; you’re looking at things too one-dimensionally.”

“He might not wear them, but perhaps he likes them. Gege bought me a lot of clothes, many of which I wouldn’t have dared to buy or wear before. Let me tell you a secret, Auntie Zhuang. I’m a bit sad, gege must have wanted to wear them himself but couldn’t, so he decided to dress me up instead.”

Zhuang Yiyun, who had just come back into the living room with the fruit, heard this and didn’t know whether to continue forward or go back and wash more fruit. He had no idea when he had bought Yan Yan clothes he wanted to wear but couldn’t. This little liar not only spewed lies to him but also fabricated lies in front of his mother. The little liar deviated from his own principles, but when he saw his mother lose the argument, he strangely found it acceptable.

“What clothes?” Zhuang Xian blurted out, and instantly regretted her hasty words.

“So many thing, studded boots, red leather pants, skull necklaces, leopard-print tank tops, and even skirts.”

Zhuang Yiyun: “…” What on earth are these??? A leopard-print tank top is already hard to fathom, now there are skirts?!

Zhuang Xian: “…” She was too shocked to even counter. Did her son really like these things?

The look in Zhuang Xian’s gaze shifted from shock to disbelief, the aloof demeanor even fading. Zhuang Yiyun was afraid that Yan Yan would reveal something even more shocking, so he quickly brought the fruit over with unprecedented enthusiasm.

However, even the fruit couldn’t stop the two of them from continuing their confrontation. At first, they ignored the fruit, and Zhuang Yiyun pushed the plate twice. Then the two began to make veiled remarks.

“Yan Yan, have some strawberries. Strawberries this season look and smell sweet, but they taste sour, they are also very petty.”

Yan Yan didn’t respond and instead picked up grapes from the plate, saying, “But gege says I’m like grapes, sweet to the point of fermentation, exceptionally intoxicating. I’d better eat grapes, right, gege?”

Zhuang Yiyun: “…” Don’t look at me, I’m not your gege. I can’t say such things.

“You should have some cantaloupe, it’s sweet.”

“Auntie Zhuang, have a piece of persimmon. I picked the softest one for you.”

The fruit battle reached a temporary ceasefire. Zhuang Xian, feeling somewhat defeated by a junior, couldn’t save face and changed her tactics. She said, “This is my first time here. Won’t you show me around?”

“I’ll do it. Please, Auntie Zhuang.”

Yan Yan led her around the house, offering only brief explanations. Zhuang Xian initially didn’t take it seriously. However, when she noticed that both the master bedroom and the guest bedroom clearly had occupants, she became more alert. Pointing to the two rooms, she asked, “Are you two sleeping in separate rooms?”