Mo Liuxi laughed. “Jiangxi is a good place. Nice people and a good location. There’s the famous Jingdezhen city and the Jinggang mountain. They are all beautiful places. This town as well reminds me of a quaint Jiangnan town by the riverside.”

Yan Lv had grown up immersed in the beauty of the region, against the cultural backdrop of his era. He was glad to hear someone compliment Jiangxi like that, “You can sleep in the guest room tonight, but you haven’t gotten my approval yet. I need to observe you a little more to gauge your actual performance, despite everything that you’ve said. I don’t necessarily have to give you my blessing just because you are Yan Yan’s father. Marriage is forever, and you are both still young and immature. As elders and parents, we have to evaluate things carefully, especially when it comes to Yan Su. I really don’t trust her taste.”

“Thank you for giving me a chance, Uncle,” Mo Liuxi nodded his head.

The atmosphere at the Yan family home had finally calmed down.

That night, Yan Su slept with their daughter while Mo Liuxi could only watch enviously from afar as the two of them cuddled together. Although he really wanted to sleep with both of them, he knew that he shouldn’t push the limits on his first night with the Yan family. He said to Yan Su, “Susu, just call me if Yan Yan needs to drink milk in the middle of the night—I’ll go make it for her. It’s cold now, you shouldn’t come out.”

“It’s fine,” Yan Lv interrupted him and said cautiously, “You’re young adults. Who knows if you end up staying in their room after going in. Let me tell it to you straight—I don’t care what happened before, but seeing as how you’re both still unmarried, you better not try anything funny.”

“I’m just worried that Yan Su would be too tired to feed Yan Yan… but I’ll listen to you, Uncle,” Mo Liuxi replied respectfully.

Back in his room, Mo Liuxi couldn’t fall asleep, even though he had been driving for an entire day. He was physically exhausted but he wanted to video call Yan Su after he showered.

Yan Su was playing with their daughter on the bed and Mo Liuxi could hear Yan Yan’s giggles from across the screen. He desperately wanted to run to the room next door and kiss both mother and daughter on their cheeks. “Susu, what did you think of my performance tonight?” he asked.

Yan Su was amused, her face embodying her expression perfectly. “You really went all out with your acting, I can’t believe you even brought a washboard along. And you managed to shove all the responsibility onto me. Now, in my parents’ eyes, I’m the cold-hearted girl who slept with you and ran away.”

“Susu, I was telling the truth, you did run away after sleeping with me.” Mo Liuxi grinned, his voice magnetic. “Or do you want me to tell your father about An Ning? About how I was the victim in that story as well…”

Yan Su kept quiet.

“Susu, you have to understand why your parents took my word for it,” Mo Liuxi said. “Your parents must think that you are a gullible woman who has poor taste in men. I’m being dragged down by your bad reputation now. I’m just trying my best to make a good impression. I’ve never sucked up to anyone in my life before, and this is the first time I’m doing it.”

Yan Su smiled as she said, “Although it’s your first time, you were so good at it that I think you can be the textbook example now.”

“Why, thank you. It’s all worth it for you,” Mo Liuxi said gently.

Yan Su was caught off guard. She felt a surge of warmth in her heart. She knew how much effort he was putting in to be with her. “Go to bed now. Sleep well.”

The night went by peacefully.

The next morning, Yan Su woke up first; Yan Yan was still asleep. After washing up, she went out and found her whole family sitting at the table eating rice noodles. Mo Liuxi wasn’t there sitting with them. There were eggs, Siew Mai, and fried dough-sticks on the table.

“Come on and have a bite,” Jiang Peiying waved her over. “Xiao Mo made all of these. The rice noodles taste delicious. And so do the Siew Mai and fried dough-sticks. He is a really good cook.”