Chapter 100

Zhao Ya saw the confrontational father and son, and couldn't help but feel a headache coming on.

Especially Song Zhenhui - they had agreed on the way here that the main purpose of their visit today was to have a good chat with Song Anan.

How could they chat like this!

Zhao Ya silently sighed to herself - this father and son were really hard to rely on, causing trouble here.

"Alright, what are you two arguing about? Don't scare Anan over some minor issue."

Neither the Song father nor son dared to retort against Zhao Ya's authority in the Song household.

Seeing that she had subdued the two, Zhao Ya looked kindly at Song Anan, "Anan, shall we go to your room? Sister-in-law wants to chat with you."

Song Anan obediently nodded.

But before leaving the living room, she still looked worriedly at Song Linchuan, signaling him with her eyes not to argue with her older brother.

Song Linchuan felt pleased in his heart - see, his auntie still cared about him!

The two women left the living room and went straight to Song Anan's room.

Under the expectant gazes of the Song father and son, Zhao Ya still left a crack in the door as she closed it.

Song Anan knew what Zhao Ya wanted to chat about with her - they were close as sisters-in-law, and had nothing they couldn't say.

But because things with Song Linchuan hadn't been brought up yet, she had chosen to keep it from the family. She didn't expect her older brother and sister-in-law to react so strongly.

"Sister-in-law, I'm sorry for keeping this from the family for so long." She looked apologetically at Zhao Ya.

Zhao Ya, having gone through this herself, naturally understood young people in love.

"It's alright Anan, your brother and I both understand people your age - falling in love is very normal. Rest assured, our visit today is not to stop you from dating."

Song Anan softly murmured in agreement.

Zhao Ya smiled and continued, "But sister just wants to ask, do you really like Pei Kuang?"

Song Anan responded truthfully: "I really do."

Zhao Ya nodded, then asked again, "What do you like about him?"

Song Anan gasped - this question really stumped her.

What did she like about Pei Kuang?

She seemed to have never considered this question before. When she first realized she liked him, she had just focused on confirming her own feelings.

Wanting to see him, unconsciously waiting for his messages, fretting over anything related to him, heartbeat quickening from physical contact - things like that.

After they got together, Song Anan thought about it even less.

She was very certain she liked Pei Kuang, but couldn't come up with a concrete answer for what exactly she liked about him.

If she had to answer, it would be that she simply liked everything about Pei Kuang as a person.

But Song Anan also knew if she said that, her sister-in-law would think she was just giving a perfunctory response.

Seeing Song Anan's dilemma, Zhao Ya changed her line of questioning. "Let me ask this - what was your first impression when you met him?"

Song Anan pursed her lips, murmuring, "The first meeting..."

She earnestly recalled the scene of their first encounter at Song Linchuan's place, when they were filming the show. Pei Kuang had been in the living room while she came out from the bedroom.

"This guy is too handsome!" Song Anan responded truthfully.

Zhao Ya uttered an "Oh", looking pensive.

But at the same time, she had also come to a conclusion in her heart - so it was love at first sight!

Perhaps their hearts were aligned, as the eavesdropping Song Linchuan outside the door also thought of this, feeling vexed.

He should have realized - his auntie was a bit looks-oriented to begin with. Humph! That Pei Kuang must have seduced her! Zhao Ya nodded sagely, "It's true, there's no flaw in that child Pei Kuang's looks."

She then sighed sentimentally, "Even your sister-in-law here, who's seen many good-looking people, can't think of anyone who surpasses that boy."

Song Anan blinked, not knowing how to respond.

The eavesdropping father-son pair outside exchanged silent glances, with stubbornness visible in each other's eyes.

After asking some more questions, Zhao Ya clearly didn't intend to let the father and son keep eavesdropping. She waved her hand towards the door, signaling for them to leave.

Though unhappy about it, the Song father and son could only close the door crack under Zhao Ya's imposing manner, before tiptoeing back to the living room.

Seeing the door close, Zhao Ya took Song Anan's hand and started chatting about private topics between sisters-in-law.

"Anan, sister used to think you were young and naive in relationships, so never talked to you about many things." Zhao Ya said solemnly.

"So today, I want to give you some advice from my experience as someone older. Just listen as a reference, okay?"

Song Anan obediently nodded.

"I don't know if you've heard this saying - women are inherently maternal. No matter the man's age, when a woman sees a man's distress, she feels like only she can save him. But that is sympathy, not love. So you must not confuse the two, understand?" Zhao Ya said.

Song Anan blinked.

Save a man? Sympathy?

Wait, her sister-in-law couldn't be thinking she felt that way about Pei Kuang right!

It was true she felt heartache after learning of Pei Kuang's past.

But Song Anan was clearer than anyone - whether her feelings for Pei Kuang were sympathy or love, she was the clearest on this.

After all, she had fallen for him before even knowing about his family circumstances!

"Sister-in-law, I don't...we aren't like that..."

She anxiously tried to explain, but didn't know where to start.

Zhao Ya patted her hand reassuringly, "Don't panic Anan, we're just casually chatting, didn't say you two were like that."

Song Anan felt somewhat confused.

So it wasn't about them? Then she had misunderstood.

"Oh," she said, "then please continue sister-in-law."

Zhao Ya nodded, "Where was I? Oh right, saving men!"

"When young, girls all think they can save men, feeling they're the exception. Like with playboys - women always believe they can be the one to make the man settle down. But it's not so easy for players to change their ways."

"I won't hide it from you - I was fooled by this when I was young. So like the saying goes, when choosing a man, women should only select, not educate, and certainly not try to change him."

Song Anan was astonished - her sister-in-law had been hurt like this when young? A playboy?

She seemed to suddenly understand something.

Song Anan looked seriously at Zhao Ya, "So...older brother used to fool around a lot?"

Zhao Ya choked - she was quick to latch onto the key point!

Seeing her young sister-in-law's expression of 'how could older brother do this', she couldn't help covering her forehead.

Luckily she had gotten rid of Song Zhenhui earlier - otherwise this jealous jar would surely have exploded.

"Anan, you misunderstood, I wasn't talking about your older brother." Zhao Ya explained.

Song Anan cried "Ah", "It wasn't? But older brother was your first love right?"

Zhao Ya: "..."

"Um, Anan, your older brother was my first love after becoming an adult. The one I mentioned was in middle school."

Song Anan: "???"

Wasn't first love referring to the first romance? How was it divided into pre and post adulthood?

"Wait, sister-in-law you dated in middle school?!"

That was underage love!

Zhao Ya's mouth twitched - she had somehow ended up exposing her dark history.

She reflexively glanced at the door - luckily Song Zhenhui had been sent away earlier. Otherwise this jealous man would surely have erupted. "You have to keep sister-in-law's secret Anan. Your older brother doesn't know about this. He would definitely sulk if he found out."

Song Anan nodded in agreement.

Zhao Ya couldn't help feeling sentimental at the memory of her past. "Actually I didn't really understand back then either. We hadn't even held hands, I was so naive. We broke up after a week."

Song Anan asked curiously: "Why did you break up?"

Zhao Ya replied: "He cheated on me and got together with the school belle from the class next door."

Song Anan: "..."

Middle schoolers dated that ficklely?!

-

The topic in the bedroom gradually went off track, but the theme in the living room remained very clear for the Song father and son.

"How much do you know about your auntie Zhao Ya and that brat?" Song Zhenhui asked.

Song Linchuan replied, "The same as you, I don't know anything."

Song Zhenhui glared at him and said impatiently, "Then what have you been doing since you came back?"

Song Linchuan snorted and said through gritted teeth, "I went and beat up that dog."

When Song Zhenhui heard that he had gotten into a fight, he looked at Song Linchuan disapprovingly and said, "You still have that dog's temper, do you really think violence can solve problems?"

Song Linchuan was immediately unhappy and said, "Old man, don't just stand there criticizing when you don't understand the situation. If it was your brother who had seduced auntie Zhao Ya away, could you have not fought him?"

Song Zhenhui's eyebrows twitched. "Get lost! Don't make comparisons if you can't compare properly."

The only person he could consider a brother would naturally be around the same age as him. Just the thought that someone like that was interested in Song Anan made him unable to accept it!

Song Linchuan had obviously thought of this too, and he rubbed his nose awkwardly.

If they looked at it this way, that dog Pei Kuang was not too bad after all. At least his age was barely acceptable. "Let me ask you one thing, can you guarantee that the brat is serious?" Song Zhenhui asked.

Song Linchuan's first reaction was, why should he guarantee anything for that dog?

Damn!

Right now he wished he could beat up that dog again.

"If you want a guarantee, you can call the person over. He's probably waiting at home for you to summon him anyway, since he doesn't live far," Song Linchuan said impatiently.

Song Zhenhui glanced at him coolly. "I won't see him!"

Song Linchuan: "You won't see him today, but can you avoid it tomorrow?"

Song Zhenhui snorted. "Why not? Your mother and I came this time with no intention of seeing him."

Song Linchuan thought to himself, they all said he was stubborn, but his old man was no better!

Just as he was about to say something, Song Zhenhui continued, "Are you an idiot? Your auntie Zhao Ya is just dating someone, it's not like they have to get married. Why do we have to meet him?"

Song Linchuan: "......"

Alright, he had to admit, his sly old fox of a father knew how to kill someone with words.

The implied meaning was, it's just a simple affair, it's still far from meeting the parents.

"Stop wasting time and give me your opinion," Song Zhenhui said.

Song Linchuan shrugged. "If you're asking me, I think he's serious."

Song Zhenhui just said "Oh," waiting for him to continue.

Song Linchuan said, "There aren't many secrets in our circle. If you want to investigate his character, you can definitely find out accurately. I won't say more about that."

Song Zhenhui asked, "So you have some other basis for judgment?"

Song Linchuan lightly hmm'ed and said, "I asked him what his first reaction was when he realized he had feelings for auntie Zhao Ya. He said it was inferiority."

Hearing this, Song Zhenhui's hand tapping his knee paused.

He looked up at Song Linchuan, and Song Linchuan nodded lightly back at him.

They were both men, and both had women they truly loved, so they naturally understood the meaning behind this "inferiority."

It wasn't that Pei Kuang lacked confidence, but the anxiety that comes with falling truly in love!