Their flight to M Country was a nighttime flight, and due to the time difference, it was already night when they arrived.
Lin You managed to sleep a bit on the plane, and although he didn’t feel particularly sleepy, sitting for so long left him a bit sore all over. After getting off the plane, he first hugged his parents and then stayed huddled in the corner of the car.
Jiang Nian looked at her younger son in surprise and quietly asked her elder son, “What’s wrong with your brother? He doesn’t seem happy at all to be here? What, has he already reached the age of finding us annoying?”
Lin Sizhe chuckled and said quietly, “He doesn’t like spending Chinese New Year abroad, and is also reluctant to leave Lu Qingyan. He was feeling down the whole way here.”
“Oh,” Jiang Nian didn’t think much of it, just laughed and said, “These two kids have always been close. I was even worried that they might drift apart after their presentations.”
In the front seats, Lin Sizhe and Lin Meng had already begun discussing the company where Lin Sizhe would be working in the future, completely engrossed in their conversation and paying no attention to what was happening in the back.
Alone in his corner, Lin You’s phone had international roaming, so it returned to normal mode as soon as he landed.
As soon as he turned it on, he saw a WeChat message from Lu Qingyan that popped up.
Lu Qingyan had sent him a picture of a bowl of small wontons, served in a beautiful jade-colored bowl, with some chopped green onions sprinkled on top.
Lu Qingyan: “My mom specially made this for you, but since you couldn’t come, I get to have it.”
Lin You couldn’t help but chuckle and replied, “Get lost! I won’t share any with you when I come back.”
Lu Qingyan’s message came immediately, “Did you land? Tired?”
“Not too bad. I’m in my parents’ car now, heading to have dinner together.”
“Is it cold there?”
Only then did Lin You look out the window. It was obvious that it just snowed, thick layers of white covered both sides of the road.
“I don’t know, but it just snowed. Perhaps I’m a snow child this year? It’s snowing wherever I go.”
Lu Qingyan sent an emoji, disdaining him for being conceited.
Lin You kept chatting with Lu Qingyan until they arrived at the restaurant, then reluctantly put his phone away when entering.
They dined at a Sichuan restaurant in the Chinese district, and the food tasted quite authentic.
“Since it’s still a few days until Chinese New Year, you guys can go out and have some fun together,” Lin Meng said to his three children, “Dad will reimburse all the expenses.”
However, Lin Sizhe wasn’t interested, “Forget it. It’s not my first time here, and I don’t need you to reimburse me. I have money in my card.”
She had made a considerable sum from just stocks alone this year and had long been financially independent.
Lin Meng then shifted his gaze to his two omega sons, only to find that they were also lacking enthusiasm. Only Lin Siyu seemed interested in going shopping, wanting to see if he could perhaps find some holy shopping spots.
Jiang Nian teased him, “You’re so eager to spend money for them, but they don’t even want it.”
Lin Meng couldn’t help it either.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Both he and his wife were too busy, and they had little time to spend with their children. So whenever they reunited, Lin Meng felt a strong desire to express his fatherly love.
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Lin You, picking at his food on the side, was initially nervous, fearing his parents might ask him questions too. But in the end, even after his parents pressed Lin Sizhe to the point where she wanted to drill herself under the table, they didn’t even glance at him.
He couldn’t help but feel a little dissatisfied. The heck? Does nobody notice that there’s another living person at this table?
“Mom, Dad, why aren’t you asking me?” Lin You protested, “doesn’t your youngest son deserve some concern for his love life too?”
Jiang Nian finally spared him a glance, and with a puzzled expression, she said, “What is there to ask? When you were still a beta, I could still think there might be many cute little girls who liked you. But now that you’ve presented as an omega, with your explosive temper, which blind alpha could possibly like you?”
After saying this, she kindly tried to introduce Lin Sizhe to some potential partners, “I’m telling you, your little brother is still young, but you’re not. Is your Auntie Yuan’s daughter not pretty enough or what? She studies music, plays the violin, and is really pretty. What’s wrong with meeting her just once…”
Lin Sizhe painfully covered her ears, deeply feeling that he shouldn’t be here but should be under the car instead.
In their family, urging to get married was truly equal for all genders, no matter alpha or omega, male or female.
Lin You, on the other hand, wasn’t having it. He felt deeply wounded, “How do you know that no alphas like me? I am, after all, someone with a seductive-type pheromone. Many people like me.”
His dad chuckled, “So you do know that’s just pheromones, right? Love controlled by pheromones is 80% unreliable. Silly child, you have to be smarter. Why don’t you tell Dad, is there anyone who likes you not because of your pheromones?”
Lin You stiffened his neck, “Why wouldn’t there be?”
His dad didn’t believe him at all, “Who has such good taste? Show me show me, they might just become my future son-in-law.”
Lin You struggled to speak for a while, not because he didn’t want to say it, but because once he uttered the name “Lu Qingyan,” he knew he wouldn’t be able to sleep peacefully tonight.
He was feeling so frustrated that he was about to explode. He tried to open his mouth several times, but in the end, he couldn’t speak up and could only endure his dad’s mockery with a pinched nose.
However, after laughing for a while, his dad seemed to remember something. “Although you don’t have any alphas liking you, Lu Qingyan probably has no shortage of pursuers. Omegas just like types like him. Your Auntie Liu is open-minded and isn’t opposed to him dating, but he’s never mentioned anyone. Do you know if he has someone he likes?”
Of course he does. That person is sitting right in front of you.
Lin You hmphed, feeling extremely infuriated.
But then he thought again, feeling very conceited. So what if Lu Qingyan has many pursuers? What’s the use of that?
This alpha, who has charmed countless people, only likes him.
Thinking about it, he felt happy again and proudly picked up some spicy chicken with his chopsticks, boasting to his dad, “Yeah, there seems to be someone. That omega is quite remarkable, they have excellent grades and good looks. Lao Lu has been pursuing them, almost breaking his legs from it, but he still hasn’t succeeded.”
His dad exclaimed in confusion, “Mn? That omega must have some high standards.”
Lin You picked up another slice of meat and shamelessly said, “Not really. Love is a mysterious thing, you know. They probably have a lot to consider.”
“Why are you speaking up for them? Weren’t you always defending Lu Qingyan unconditionally before?” his dad became even more confused.
Lin You almost choked on his cola and coughed a few times in a row.
He looked at his dad with a serious expression, not knowing how to answer the question. In the end, he could only pick up a chicken leg for his dad and said, “Comrade Lin Meng, there’s a saying that goes ‘eat more chicken legs, mind less gossip.’ It’s your excessive love for gossip that’s making your hair fall out so much.”
His dad wanted to beat him up.
But seeing that his fatherly love was still within the shelf life, he restrained himself.
.
After they had eaten their fill and it was getting late, they parked the car in the garage of their house and took a walk around the neighborhood to digest.
Due to their work needs, both Lin Meng and Jiang Nian often stayed abroad, and they also bought a small house here with a yard. It would be covered in roses during springtime.
Jiang Nian, rarely revealing her motherly side, held Lin You’s hand and walked ahead, pointing to the swing in the garden, saying, “You used to love playing on swings when you were little. We put one here as well, but you haven’t come here much. I don’t know when it happened, but you’ve grown up and reached an age where you no longer like swings.”
Lin You knew his mom was starting to feel guilty again.
Among the three children in the family, he was raised the most carefree, almost like he grew up in the Lu family.
But he didn’t feel that it was a bad thing. Auntie Liu and Uncle Lu were both very gentle and attentive people. He grew up playing and fighting together with Lu Qingyan, never experiencing any grievances.
But he didn’t bring these points up. His mom knew he was doing well, but she would still be worried about him.
Parents who couldn’t participate in their children’s growth, no matter when they recall it, would feel regretful.
He teased his mom, “Your son doesn’t like swings anymore, he prefers sneakers and gaming consoles now. The Tianheng Company just released a new model recently. Maybe you should consider getting one.”
Jiang Nian tightened her grip on his hand, her motherly heart wavering.
But when she looked at Lin You, this child who used to reach only her shoulder was now taller than her.
She thought about it and agreed in the end.
“Sure. Your legs are on your body, I can’t stop you anyway.” She said, brushing off a dry leaf from Lin You’s clothes.
Lin You was taken aback, even suspecting that his mom had been switched with someone else. It was until she gave him a smack on the back that he behaved.
Great, it was still his original mom.
They spent several days in M Country like this.
Jiang Nian and Lin Meng still went to work as usual, and although Lin You was too lazy to go out, he still wandered around a few times, livestreaming whatever he found interesting on the road to Lu Qingyan.
He stood in the cold wind, video calling Lu Qingyan, holding a large fried dough stick with added nuts.
“I’m really amazed by the imagination of these foreign friends, putting nuts in fried dough sticks. How genius,” Lin You complained. “That big guy even told me he studied in China and asked me to evaluate it. Tell me, how do I give a review without hurting the feelings of this foreign friend?”
On Lu Qingyan’s side, it was nighttime. He was wearing a dark-colored sweater, sitting on the balcony, watching Lin You on the screen.
Today, Lin You wore a white down jacket and jeans, his long and straight legs occasionally attracting glances as he walked on the foreign streets.
When he couldn’t see Lin You, he would think about him from time to time, and now that he saw him through the phone screen, it didn’t relieve him even a bit.
Lin You vented his frustration and finally felt satisfied, but he didn’t hear Lu Qingyan speak for a while. When he lifted his eyes, he was met with Lu Qingyan’s smiling, affectionate gaze.
Although Lu Qingyan clearly hadn’t said anything yet, he couldn’t help but blush again.
He finally remembered that the person on the other side was not only his childhood friend but also his current pursuer.
“I’m about to go back,” Lin You stuttered a bit, showing the things he was holding to Lu Qingyan. “We’re having hotpot for lunch, I bought these ingredients from the Asian supermarket.”
He said he was going back, but he still didn’t put down his phone with the video call to Lu Qingyan.
He heard Lu Qingyan speaking through his earphones, “Xiao You, tomorrow is Chinese New Year’s Eve in China.”
“Mn.”
“After New Year’s Eve, it will be very close to your return.”
“…Mn.”
Lin You thought Lu Qingyan was going to mention something about going on a date.
However, Lu Qingyan didn’t bring it up and just casually talked about some gossip from their class, keeping him company all the way home.
Once he entered the house, Lu Qingyan voluntarily ended the video call, suggesting that he should spend more time with his family.
But instead, he felt a bit lost. He couldn’t adapt to the sudden emptiness next to his ears.
Normally at this time of year, he should be sharing a plate of fruits with Lu Qingyan on the sofa, playing games, and fighting for the TV. In the evening, they would also stay up together.
They were so close that they couldn’t be distinguished from each other.
But this year, one was abroad, and the other was back in China, with a time difference of thirteen hours between them.
He stood in the yard for a while before finally resuming a cheerful expression and walking back into the house.
While having hotpot, Lin You casually asked his mom, “Mom, when are we going back to China? I want to eat Auntie Liu’s wontons.”
Jiang Nian was putting some beef in the pot, and she poked him on the head when she heard him. “What? Is your real mom mistreating you?”
“No, real mom is good too,” Lin You smiled and playfully leaned over. “I just want to go back.”
Jiang Nian chuckled, “We’ve already booked the tickets for the second day of the Lunar New Year. If there are no unexpected issues, we’ll be able to leave the day after tomorrow.”
Lin You was satisfied and contentedly bit into a meatball.
Just two more days.
thank you for the new chapter! you’re always so consistent with updated & quality 🙏🙏
I’m so excited, I can feel them becoming a couple soon AKSIWISIWJS
SO CUTEEEEEEE I LOVE THEM SM
Thank you for the chapter!!! ✨
Thanks for the update! I’m so excited to see their relationship grow.