Chapter 130: Then wouldn't I be an idiot?

"Can I tell you?" Zhou Yanqiu glared at Zhou Yinhe.

Wen Ling covered her mouth, smiling as she stared at Zhou Yinhe, but Zhou Yinhe was thick-skinned, eating his meal slowly and calmly, showing no embarrassment at all.

Shang Zhiyu gave Zhou Yanqiu a look, signaling him not to puncture his younger brother's tire in front of Wen Ling.

Zhou Yanqiu snorted and continued eating with his head down.

Wen Ling, however, earnestly looked at Zhou Shuanglin and Ning Qing, saying, "Uncle, Aunt, don't worry."

On the way back to Chen Yue Fu, Zhou Yinhe finally spoke up, asking, "Are you serious about what you just said?"

Wen Ling teased him on purpose: "What?"

"That's what you said—you've already figured it out."

"Figured out what?"

Wen Ling just wanted to see him anxious, but Zhou Yinhe guessed her thought, pulled the car over to the side of the road, and quietly watched her.

"Are you mad?" Wen Ling leaned in, narrowing her eyes to meet his gaze.

Zhou Yinhe curled his lips, bit the corner of Wen Ling's lip, and whispered, "I'm not mad; after all, you're already preparing to marry me."

Wen Ling cried out in pain, pushed him away while covering her mouth, and said, "When did I ever say I was preparing to marry you?"

"Just now." Zhou Yinhe raised an eyebrow, turned and continued driving, saying as he drove, "We'll leave the day after tomorrow for Sea City."

Wen Ling rolled her eyes, "I never said that; stop talking nonsense."

Zhou Yinhe didn't care; the car drove slowly on the road, and bored, Wen Ling looked up tourist spots in Sea City, muttering about which place she'd check in to after they arrived.

Throughout, Zhou Yinhe's responses were just: "Hmm, okay, sure, go."

Back at Chen Yue Fu, Wen Ling went to the bathroom to shower, she tossed her phone onto the first-floor lounge, and Zhou Yinhe stayed there playing with Hehe.

The phone suddenly rang; Zhou Yinhe glanced at the caller ID, saw it was Qin Yuchen, frowned, thought about hanging up but answered anyway.

As Zhou Yinhe expected, the caller wasn't Qin Yuchen at all, but Wen Ling's mother, Qin Siqing.

"Ah Ling."

Zhou Yinhe said, "Aunt, hello. I'm Wen Ling's boyfriend, Zhou Yinhe; you can call me Xiao Wu."

On the other end, Qin Siqing froze for a moment, recalling what Wen Lao had said, then replied softly, "Hello, Xiao Wu."

"Aunt, Wen Ling isn't available to take the call right now; if you have anything to say, just tell me and I'll pass it along."

He tried to keep his tone respectful yet distant, knowing that although Wen Ling seemed resentful toward her parents on the surface, she actually still loved them.

Because of Wen Ling's attitude, he couldn't overly curry favor, yet he also couldn't outright offend his future parents-in-law.

Qin Siqing fell silent for a while, then said, "There's nothing particular; I and her father just want to see her, but she refuses to meet us no matter what."

She hesitated a bit, but then forced herself to say, "Could you help us by saying a few good words in front of her, so she won't be so hostile toward us?"

"I know this request is excessive, almost like moral blackmail, but Xiao Wu, we just want to apologize to her in person."

Zhou Yinhe lowered his gaze, watching Hehe stride elegantly onto the sofa and climb onto him to be held, and calmly said, "Aunt, I understand what you and Uncle think, but I believe Wen Ling has her own considerations; I can't make decisions for her, nor interfere with them."

After hearing that, Qin Siqing felt both relieved and heartbroken—relieved that her daughter had found someone who loved and respected her, yet saddened that everyone knew the daughter resented her parents, while only the two of them were burying their heads in the sand, having not considered their daughter for years abroad.

"I understand, Xiao Wu." Qin Siqing let out a light sigh, "We'll stay a few more days at the Qin Family's place; if she decides she wants to see us, just give us a call."

Zhou Yinhe whispered, "Okay, Aunt. We'll be traveling out of town the day after tomorrow; when we return, I'm sure she'll know her own decision in her heart."

Qin Siqing agreed, then gave her phone number for Zhou Yinhe to save.

Zhou Yinhe hung up, rose to go upstairs, and as he lifted his head he saw Wen Ling standing on the stairs, arms crossed, looking at him coldly.

"When did you come out?"

Wen Ling didn't answer his question, instead asking, "Do you want to persuade me to forgive my parents?"

Zhou Yinhe laughed, shook his head, set Hehe down, went upstairs and embraced Wen Ling, saying, "I won't; I know you have your own mind, so there's no need for me to meddle."

Wen Ling snorted coldly, then heard Zhou Yinhe continue explaining, "I'm not just trying to curry favor with my future mother-in-law; if I told her, 'Don't call my girlfriend,' and said my girlfriend doesn't intend to acknowledge you, and that I'm enough for her later—wouldn't that make me an idiot?"

"You're already an idiot." Wen Ling, successfully amused by him, pushed him away and went upstairs; seeing she wasn't angry, Zhou Yinhe sighed in relief and followed her back to the room.

They did nothing; Zhou Yinhe was especially well-behaved tonight, and the two leaned together while Wen Ling scrolled through videos.

Since Ruan MiaoMiao was exposed earlier, the video app is full of her awkward acting moments and cringey hair-flip cuts; Wen Ling finds it entertaining, giggling at the funny bits, while Zhou Yinhe's humor threshold is high—he doesn't get the jokes and soon yawns while watching.

"Not funny?" Wen Ling gave him a sideways glance.

Zhou Yinhe shook his head, speaking frankly: "Although it's embarrassing, I don't see the joke."

Wen Ling pursed her lips, slipped out of his embrace, lay down facing outward, and continued scrolling through videos.

Zhou Yinhe also lay down, pressed close to her, inhaling her fresh scent, and soon couldn't keep his eyes open.

He quickly fell asleep, his breath gently exhaling onto the back of Wen Ling's neck, slightly itchy; she shifted, trying to slip out of his arms, but when she moved outward he followed, almost pushing her off the bed.

Wen Ling took a deep breath, shifted Zhou Yinhe's arm, sat up, and rolled her eyes hard.

She shoved him to the edge of the bed, leaving a large empty space behind him that he refused to sleep in, instead crowding her; Wen Ling gritted her teeth, grabbed a pillow, shoved it into Zhou Yinhe's arms, then lay down behind him.

In the middle of the night Zhou Yinhe woke once, instinctively rubbed the Wen Ling-shaped lump in his arms, found the feel odd, blinked open his eyes, and realized he was actually holding a pillow.

His eyes widened, panic rising in his chest; he sat up, about to get out of bed to find Wen Ling, when he felt a warm body pressed against his back.

His heart was still pounding; he turned his head, glanced, and then relaxed.

Zhou Yinhe pulled Wen Ling into his embrace, easing the slight discomfort from his racing heart, pressed his lips to her forehead, closed his eyes, and exhaled.

After waking, Zhou Yinhe asked her, "Why were you on my right side before I fell asleep last night, but on the left when I woke up?"

Wen Ling rolled her eyes hard and gritted her teeth, saying, "You tell me."