Chapter 53: What a Pity Part 1

After learning that her younger son’s crush was actually her older son’s boyfriend, Xu Yujia stopped trying to matchmake Fu Zheng and Tao Zhi.

Nonsense, why would she get involved in a war between her two sons? It wasn’t like she was the type to stir up trouble just for the fun of it.

Xu Yujia stayed out of it completely. From then on, she devoted herself entirely to taking Tao Zhi around to have fun.

After lunch, she took him horseback riding. In the evening, they went to the ecological park. At night, they enjoyed the resort’s bonfire barbecue dinner and hot springs.

It was March now, and S City was still warming up gradually. The weather was perfect for soaking in a purely natural forest hot spring with fresh air.

Xu Yujia enthusiastically invited Tao Zhi and even said she had prepared a pretty swimsuit for him, but Tao Zhi refused her.

Not only did he refuse, but Fu Zheng and Fu Si Heng actually backed him up and refused her as well.

“?

Was it that strange?

Mom didn’t understand. Mom was baffled. Mom was stunned.

She had originally planned to chat with her daughter-in-law about his relationship history with her eldest son during the hot spring soak—how they met, how they got together. The old mother was dying of curiosity.

Xu Yujia now completely treated Tao Zhi as her eldest son-in-law. She acted affectionate, enthusiastic, kind, and extremely fond of him.

Both brothers could tell.

So, if she was satisfied and liked him, why didn’t Mom help him?

Fu Zheng couldn’t understand.

Clearly, back in the dorm, his dear mom had patted her chest and assured him that as long as he told her who he liked, Mom would definitely help him win them over.

She would definitely help him chase them!

She had said it with such conviction, resounding and firm.

That was why Fu Zheng had been willing to tell her.

But in the end, she flipped the script once she knew.

Not only did she not assist him, she didn’t even give them time alone together. She kept dragging Tao Zhi around to play and talking to him nonstop. Fu Zheng couldn’t even get a word in, let alone develop feelings beyond roommates.

It pissed him off.

And then, Xu Yujia even switched rooms that night.

Originally, the rooms were arranged with him and Xu Yujia on either side of Tao Zhi, and Fu Si Heng across from them.

Fu Zheng had been pretty satisfied with that setup, but Xu Yujia came back that evening and swapped rooms with Fu Si Heng.

Fu Zheng: “?”

What the hell was going on? Fu Zheng couldn’t figure out his own mom anymore. He was so annoyed his teeth itched. He kept shooting her meaningful glances and even tried to pull her aside to talk properly, but Xu Yujia just waved him off, went back to her room, and completely ignored him.

Fu Zheng was truly baffled.

In short, this trip was absolutely not a good experience for Fu Zheng. From noon onward, his face was sullen. Tao Zhi noticed but didn’t understand why he was unhappy.

Xu Yujia told Tao Zhi not to mind her, soothing her eldest son-in-law. Her younger son had this rotten temper since he was little.

The more you paid attention to him, the more he acted up. Just give him the cold shoulder.

Tao Zhi: “……”

Tao Zhi uttered an “oh” and decided to follow Xu Yujia’s advice.

The next day at noon, after lunch, Fu Zheng prepared to take Tao Zhi and leave.

The kind of leave where he didn’t want to stay a single extra minute. He announced they were heading back right after leaving the restaurant.

Tao Zhi had no objections, but Xu Yujia secretly rolled her eyes.

Silly child, this was as good as it would get for him in this lifetime. Cherish the fact that they were still classmates for now—it would change soon.

His crush was about to become his brother-in-law.

Sigh.

With that thought, Xu Yujia felt a rare pang of pity for Fu Zheng. At the same time, she somewhat resented Fu Si Heng for complicating things so much.

“Auntie, then Fu Zheng and I will head out first.” Tao Zhi politely bid farewell to Xu Yujia. “Thank you for taking me around these past couple of days. See you next time.”

“Haha, sure, see you next time.” Xu Yujia responded with a smile at Tao Zhi.

Lady Xu, who had been tormented by her two rebellious sons, had a natural fondness for well-behaved young people.

Before they left, she even added Tao Zhi as a friend.

Tao Zhi also liked Xu Yujia a lot.

She was a kind and amiable elder.

“We probably won’t meet again until the end of the year. I hope we can see each other this year.” Xu Yujia raised her hand and patted Tao Zhi’s shoulder. “Oh, right, there’s something I need to tell you.”

Tao Zhi: “Hm?”

Xu Yujia first glanced at her younger son, who was getting into the car, then lowered her voice and subtly reminded Tao Zhi in a whisper: “In the future, if Fu Zheng fights with his brother, don’t get involved at all. Don’t try to mediate. If there’s an issue, let A-Heng handle it. During that time, it’s best if you… stay away from Xiao Zheng a bit.”