Qiao Tiancheng, Qiao's father, arrived home a bit earlier. After taking a shower and stepping out of the bathroom, he called out, "Honey... Honey… Didn't you say Meina is bringing a younger brother back—"
Before he could finish, he caught sight of Wang Min in the guest bedroom. She was wearing a nightgown and making the bed. From his angle at the doorway, her curves were full and round, like a juicy, ripe peach.
"Little black stick is coming~"
Qiao Tiancheng pounced, pushing Wang Min down onto the bed and immediately launching into a round of "I shall seek above and below."
"Stop, stop, our daughter's about to come home— you rascal~"
"She's not back yet, is she? Come on, let's make the most of it."
Ding dong, ding dong~
"Sigh…"
"Hehehe~ Get off, you're always so rough."
Wang Min pushed Qiao Tiancheng away, fixed her bra, and swayed out of the guest room to open the front door.
"Auntie, good evening."
"Oh, no need to bring fruit when you're just visiting."
"It's only right. Auntie, your face is so red—are you feeling unwell?"
"I…" Wang Min shot a glare at Qiao Tiancheng who was walking over, then smiled warmly, "Auntie's fine."
"You must be Lin Can, right?"
"Good evening, Uncle. Sorry for dropping by so late—it's really impolite of me."
Qiao Tiancheng sized up the tall, handsome young man before him and had to admit—he was good-looking and had a likable presence. First impressions definitely scored him some points.
"No need to apologize. Come in, have a seat. Meina, make some tea."
"Uncle, that's really not necessary."
"Oh, but it is! Come, come, have a seat."
The couple was very warm and welcoming. They already knew Lin Can was Meina's "little brother," and after their journey to the Western Regions—where Lin Can had taken care of the four girls in the wilderness—they respected him even more. Most of all, Wang Min had told Qiao Tiancheng that Lin Can came all the way to Shanghai just to see his "sister." With such sincerity, how could they let him stay at a hotel?
After sitting on the couch, Qiao Tiancheng noticed his daughter's dress. "Meina, you got a new dress?"
"Ah Can bought it for her," Wang Min replied with a sweet smile.
Lin Can added, "I came to Shanghai and wasn't sure what to get for Meina-jie, so I picked up a dress."
At dinner earlier, Wang Min had already noticed the dress and asked about it. Meina had said Lin Can bought it but didn't mention the price. Lin Can didn't either. There was no need to flaunt how much the dress cost.
Meina came over with a tea set, brewed two cups, and handed one out. Qiao Tiancheng reached for it, but Meina passed it to Lin Can instead, gently reminding him, "Careful, it's hot," before pushing the other cup to her father.
"..." Qiao Tiancheng suddenly felt like his little cotton-padded jacket was no longer keeping him warm. With a sigh, he sipped his tea, then froze. "Meina, what tea did you brew?"
"Oh, just that Anxi Tieguanyin your friend gave you, the one that costs over ten thousand yuan per 50 grams. I made it for Ah Can."
Meina sat down next to Lin Can, snuggled up to his arm, and said it casually, as if it weren't a big deal.
"..."
Then they heard her say to Lin Can, "Is it good? If you like it, there's still half a jin left. Take it with you, don't be shy. My parents said we're family."
Qiao Tiancheng's heart was bleeding.
This precious daughter of his was far too generous. Even he couldn't bring himself to drink that tea! Yet she was not only serving it to this "little brother" but even offering to give it away?
Today, Qiao Tiancheng truly saw a new side of his daughter. If she got married one day, she'd probably come back under the banner of "we're family," and clean out their house—carting off anything valuable to her husband's place.
Wang Min already knew her daughter was like this. At home she acted like a princess, but in front of others, she was the perfect little maid.
"Oh, right, Ah Can…" Qiao Tiancheng put down his teacup. "I heard you just finished high school. How did you do on the college entrance exam?"
"I messed up two math problems—lost 20 points. Only got a 649."
"649 and you say only? Hahaha… Didn't expect you to be a top student too. Which university?"
"Ningda, back in my province."
"What major?"
"Finance."
"Finance is great! Uncle here is in finance too. Study hard. When you graduate, come work in Shanghai. I'll help you find a good job."
"Thank you, Uncle. I'll toast you with tea instead of wine."
"..." Meina leaned over and whispered, "Wow~ You're really out here pretending to be a normal guy? You're a super rich second gen, and you're still talking about getting a job. Can you even survive on a normal salary?"
Lin Can just smiled and turned his head to look at her lovely face. Meina instinctively shifted a little farther away—after all, her parents were watching.
"Meina said you liked photography, and you took all their photos during that Western Regions trip. Got any other work? Uncle's been getting into photography lately—mind showing me?"
"They're all saved on my phone—I can show you."
"Phone's too small. My eyes aren't so good. Cast it to the TV. Let's all take a look."
"Sure."
Lin Can was confident in his work. He cast the images to the TV, showing one photo after another—landscapes, people, street shots, and pictures of the girls.
Wang Min commented, "Ah Can~ Auntie means no offense, but I think your photos of women are way better than your landscapes."
Lin Can replied, "Yeah, I think so too. I've studied landscape photography for a long time, but it never feels quite right. But with portraits, even casual shots turn out great."
Wang Min gave an "oh": "That's impressive. Auntie's been thinking about taking some artistic portraits—would you shoot a set for me sometime?"
"Of course, Auntie. Just tell me when you'd like to shoot, I'm always free."
"Such a sweet boy."
Meina poked Lin Can in the waist.
He turned. "What?"
Meina gave him a suspicious look. "It's just… why does it feel like the way you're flattering and pampering my mom is the same way a son-in-law would treat his mother-in-law?"
Lin Can leaned in and whispered, "Because that's exactly what I'm doing. Look how happy your mom is."
Meina chuckled. "Aren't you tired? You've got to sweet-talk the ones in Shanghai, then the ones in Chengdu, the Western Regions, and Dali too."
Lin Can shrugged. "Can't help it. Too many mothers-in-law."
"They're auntie-fans, not your mothers-in-law. Tch~"
Meina snatched the phone from him and started flipping through the photos.
It was from their Western Regions trip—watching the sunrise that day. Meina had used Lin Can as her prop, hooking her arm around his neck and pretending to kiss him for a photo, though she didn't actually kiss because "the flower was already taken."
Looking at it now, it felt really special.
She leaned her head against Lin Can's shoulder. The two of them openly admired the photo together.
"You said back then I was just a stand-in, and when you had a boyfriend, you'd go watch the sunrise with him."
"I don't want that." Meina turned her head, "In the future, I just want to watch it with you… and everyone else."
Lin Can smiled.
Watching them in the photo—handsome young man, beautiful daughter—Qiao Tiancheng and Wang Min couldn't help but admire how good they looked together.
Then Meina swiped to the next photo.
It was Lin Can with Chu Qingning, taken by Meina herself. In the shot, Chu Qingning had her arm hooked around Lin Can's neck. In the previous photo, Meina had just pretended to kiss him. In this one, Chu Qingning had actually planted a kiss on his cheek, and Lin Can wore a blissful expression.
Seeing it again now, Meina suddenly felt… not so great.
Wang Min and Qiao Tiancheng stared at the screen, completely baffled.
What's going on?
This whole situation… is a mess.