I’ve Never Had a Husband Since I Was Young 58

Chapter 58

Extra – Home Cooking

When Jiang Chaochao heard Xiang Ye say, “My mom asked if you want to come over for dinner tonight,” it wasn’t an exaggeration to say his scalp went numb.

First, he thought, Whose? Whose mom?

Then…
Xiang Ye’s mom invited him to dinner?
What kind of dinner? A casual meal, or was there a special occasion?
Why the sudden invitation?
What was his role in this dinner?
Who else would be there?
…

The only time Jiang Chaochao had met Xiang Ye’s parents since they got together was at the mall. They had finished shopping and coincidentally ran into them in the basement parking lot.
Jiang Chaochao’s presence to Xiang Ye’s parents was simply that they knew he existed.
To his father, he was a very good friend of Xiang Ye’s.
And to his mother, a boyfriend.

“Frozen again?” Xiang Ye asked on the phone.
Jiang Chaochao made an “oh” sound, then an “ah,” “What?”
Xiang Ye: “Free for dinner?”

After thinking it over, Jiang Chaochao asked, “What, what kind of dinner?”
Xiang Ye chuckled, “What are you afraid of?”
Jiang Chaochao gritted his teeth, “Just tell me.”
Stop teasing me!

“My mom,” Xiang Ye finally explained slowly, “A friend sent her a lot of hairy crabs today, and she said she couldn’t finish them all, so she asked me to bring you over.”
Jiang Chaochao wanted to create some dramatic tension, but then realized there was no point with Xiang Ye, so he just asked, “Is this the first time your mom has ever received hairy crabs?”
Xiang Ye instantly burst out laughing at Jiang Chaochao’s words: “She probably wants to see you.”
Jiang Chaochao became nervous again, “Huh? Why does she suddenly want to see me?”

Xiang Ye: “Her son’s been taken away for so long, she naturally wants to see who took him.”
Jiang Chaochao was silent for half a second, “Really?”
Xiang Ye: “I don’t know, you’ll have to ask her.”
Jiang Chaochao: “Get lost.”
Xiang Ye chuckled.
Jiang Chaochao added: “Stop teasing me.”
Xiang Ye: “Okay, okay, okay.”

Jiang Chaochao: “What should I do?”
Xiang Ye: “Doesn’t matter what you do, tell me first if you’re free for dinner or not.”
Jiang Chaochao: “If I’m not free, does that count as rejecting your mom?”
“Don’t overthink it. If you’re not free, then you’re not free,” Xiang Ye finished and added, “But next time there’s steak, coffee, or something, I’ll still call you.”
Jiang Chaochao was deflated, “Then I’ll have to turn down my billion-dollar deal and go to your house for dinner.”
Xiang Ye: “Okay, I’ll tell her you’re not free.”
“Hey?” Jiang Chaochao tilted his head, “Was that what I meant?”
Xiang Ye: “I’ll pick you up after work.”
“Hey?” Jiang Chaochao tilted his head to the other side, “And what does that mean?”
Xiang Ye: “What time do you finish work?”
Jiang Chaochao calculated roughly: “Come pick me up at six.”
Xiang Ye: “Okay, Jiang laoshi.”
Jiang Chaochao made a sound of grinding teeth into the phone.
Xiang Ye: “Kiss.”
Jiang Chaochao immediately quieted down: “Mwah.”
Xiang Ye chuckled: “Don’t be too cute, baby.”

After hanging up, Jiang Chaochao stared blankly at his computer for a full five minutes.
Then he sighed deeply.
Who wouldn’t be nervous?

So, when Xiang Ye’s car arrived downstairs at six o’clock, Jiang Chaochao was already carrying several bags, big and small.
And Xiang Ye, who had planned to just pick him up and leave, parked by the roadside.

“What did you buy?” Xiang Ye asked, a bit surprised.
Jiang Chaochao first punched Xiang Ye’s arm, then said, “Bought a scarf, perfume, and some cosmetics for your mom, alcohol and a pen for your dad, and a small plushie for Shici.”
Xiang Ye was momentarily speechless, “You…”
Jiang Chaochao patted his shoulder, “Don’t cry yet, we can’t park here for too long.”

After quickly putting everything in the trunk, they got into the car. Xiang Ye naturally asked, “When did you prepare all this?”
Jiang Chaochao sighed deeply, then shook his head, “It was so much work.”
Xiang Ye, instead of putting the car in gear, cupped Jiang Chaochao’s face, pulled him closer, and kissed him, “Baby is just too lovable.”
Jiang Chaochao smiled smugly and pursed his lips, then quickly changed his tone, “It’s nothing, just took a little bit of time.”

Xiang Ye asked: “Who gave you the suggestions?”
Jiang Chaochao gave an “eh,” “How did you know?”
“You don’t usually buy these things,” Xiang Ye finished and asked again, “A girl?”
Jiang Chaochao’s phone buzzed with a new message. He looked at it and nodded, “Yes.”
Xiang Ye: “Who?”
“Well…” Jiang Chaochao’s attention was on his phone, he first replied to the work-related messages.

Then…
“What?” Jiang Chaochao looked up.
Xiang Ye asked: “Who?”
Jiang Chaochao said “oh”: “Don’t know her, I asked Xu Hengzhi to help me ask, he knows a lot of girls.”
Xiang Ye nodded.
Jiang Chaochao put down his phone and continued: “Xu Hengzhi is so reliable. He gave me a list of suitable gifts within half an hour. Then I had someone buy them for me and rushed to get them before leaving work.”
Jiang [wanted to punch Xiang Ye], but Xiang Ye anticipated him, reaching out, grabbing his hand, and kissing it.

“Hey,”
Xiang
“Okay, it only took a little bit of effort, it didn’t affect my work at all, not one bit.”
Xiang Ye chuckled and said slowly, “I’ll make it up to you tonight.”

Jiang Chaochao was very familiar with Xiang Ye’s tone.
“In broad daylight,” Jiang Chaochao said with a faint smile, “Mr. Xiang.”
“Hmm?” Xiang Ye asked, “What did I say?”
Jiang Chaochao: “You didn’t say anything.”
But he also said everything.

Arriving at Xiang Ye’s house, a fragrant smell wafted out to greet them. Since there was prior notice, it was clearly the aroma of steamed hairy crabs.
Jiang Chaochao hadn’t eaten crabs this year yet.

“You’re here,” his mother greeted them at the door, seemingly about to say something, then stopped, startled by the large and small bags in Jiang Chaochao’s hands, “Why are you carrying so many things?”
Jiang Chaochao smiled: “It’s nothing, just some small things.”
His mother clicked her tongue, then glanced at Xiang Ye, “You made him buy these too.”
Xiang Ye: “He bought them secretly.”

Shici also happened to walk over, so Xiang Ye took the opportunity to distribute the gifts.
When he gave his father his share, his father was clearly very confused. He first looked at the gift in his hand, then at his mother’s, then at Shici’s, his face filled with a why-did-Xiang-Ye’s-friend-buy-so-many-things kind of confusion.
But seeing that everyone else readily accepted their gifts, his father also joined in, thanking Jiang Chaochao, saying it was too much, and inviting him to come over for dinner more often.

It truly was a casual home-cooked meal. They talked when they had something to say, most of the time spent in comfortable silence.
Except Jiang Chaochao also had to keep an eye on Xiang Ye, who kept putting crab meat on his plate. He had to stop him from time to time.
After dinner, his father thanked Jiang Chaochao again for the gift and then left to have tea with his friends.

And after his father left, only Jiang Chaochao and Shici remained in the living room.
Since they often interacted in the group chat, Jiang Chaochao and Shici were relatively close. After watching TV together for a few minutes, Jiang Chaochao noticed that Shici, just like him, kept glancing towards the kitchen.

Xiang Ye’s mother was making tangyuan (glutinous rice balls) inside, and before turning on the TV, Xiang Ye took the empty cups from the coffee table to the kitchen.
And he still hadn’t come back.

“Laoshi,” Shici said after glancing towards the kitchen again.
Jiang Chaochao snapped back to his senses, “Hmm?”
Shici thought for a moment, then thought again, “Do you know what they’re talking about?”
It was clearly a leading question, so Jiang Chaochao asked in return, “Do you know?”
Shici thought for a while, then thought some more, “I might know.”
Jiang Chaochao: “What are they talking about?”

Shici whispered, “Every time Uncle comes back recently, my grandma talks to him for a while.”
Jiang Chaochao had a bad premonition and became nervous.
“I overheard it twice. Grandma asked Uncle,” Shici continued, “‘Are you sure about this?’ She said something like, ‘You two are both men,’ and things like that.”
Jiang Chaochao’s Adam’s apple bobbed, but before he could figure out what to say, Xiang Ye returned.

Xiang Ye brought out a fruit platter, followed by his mother with a plate of cake.
“I heard from Xiang Ye that you like cake,” his mother placed the plate in front of Jiang Chaochao, “I had Shici buy some today. Vanilla, strawberry, chocolate, and this one, what was it again?”
Shici said, “Tiramisu.”
Mom: “Right, tiramisu.”

Jiang Chaochao, already full, still ate two more pieces of cake, watched an episode of TV with everyone, then left with Xiang Ye.

As soon as they left, getting into the car, Xiang Ye asked Jiang Chaochao, “What’s wrong?”
Jiang Chaochao: “What’s wrong with what?”
Xiang Ye: “You seem a bit off.”
Jiang Chaochao decided not to beat around the bush with Xiang Ye. Before the car started, and before fastening his seatbelt, he threw himself into Xiang Ye’s arms.
“What’s wrong, what’s wrong?” Xiang Ye was stunned for a moment, then hugged Jiang Chaochao, “What’s wrong?”
Jiang Chaochao: “Does your mom want us to break up?”
Xiang Ye paused for half a second, then burst out laughing, he patted Jiang Chaochao’s head, “Well, not exactly.”
Jiang Chaochao lifted his head.

Xiang Ye: “What did Shici tell you?”
Jiang Chaochao: “Nothing much, she just said your mom asked you if you were sure about being with me.”
Xiang Ye gave an “ah” and lifted Jiang Chaochao’s chin, “So what are you imagining?”
“I…” Jiang Chaochao whispered, “Nothing.”
Xiang Ye: “Really?”
Jiang Chaochao’s voice became even quieter: “No.”

Xiang Ye chuckled, then thought for a moment, “How should I put it…”
Jiang Chaochao: “Just tell me the truth.”

Xiang Ye: “Maybe it’s because she noticed recently that our relationship is still very good, we’re still as loving as before, still so clingy, still so inseparable…
Ow.”
Someone was hit.

“Just tell me properly,” Jiang Chaochao said.
Xiang Ye laughed, “She probably thought I was just infatuated at first, thought I was just rebelling against her setting me up with girls, now she’s gradually realizing something’s not right.”
Jiang Chaochao was a bit nervous: “And then?”
Xiang Ye: “And then she invited you to dinner. Ow…”
Yes, someone was hit again.

“You,” Jiang Chaochao gritted his teeth, “Talk properly.”
Xiang Ye smiled helplessly, “I’m talking properly.”
Jiang Chaochao: “You’re so annoying.”
Xiang Ye’s eyes softened, he cupped Jiang Chaochao’s chin, “She told me today that this path will be very difficult and asked if I’ve thought it through.”
Jiang Chaochao: “Have you thought it through?”

Xiang Ye wanted to continue, but Jiang Chaochao’s wide, blinking eyes were just too cute.
“Hey, stop laughing,” Jiang Chaochao’s wide eyes narrowed slightly as he frowned, “Always laughing.”
Xiang Ye: “Whether I’ve thought it through or not, don’t you know?”
Jiang Chaochao said “oh,” his eyes widening again, “Then, you must have thought it through.”
Xiang Ye: “Yes, that’s what I told my mother.”
Jiang Chaochao briefly smiled, “And then?”
Xiang Ye: “No ‘and then,’ she started lecturing me after that.”
Jiang Chaochao was curious: “Lecturing you about what?”
Xiang Ye: “Saying she can’t control me, saying it’s fine, she’s never been able to control me anyway, saying who could stop me if I wanted to do something.”
Jiang Chaochao finally laughed: “That’s true.”

But soon, Jiang Chaochao asked Xiang Ye again, “Do you feel pressured?”
Xiang Ye instantly acted aggrieved, “Yes.”
Jiang Chaochao: “…Doesn’t seem like it.”
Xiang Ye seemed not to have heard him and acted even more aggrieved: “So much pressure, every time I go home, she talks to me about this.”
Jiang Chaochao pulled his seatbelt and fastened it, “Drive.”
Xiang Ye: “You’re so heartless.”
Jiang Chaochao: “Mm-hmm, drive.”
Xiang Ye: “My heart hurts.”
Jiang Chaochao: “Drive.”

Xiang Ye was the one who could appease Jiang Chaochao, and Jiang Chaochao was the one who could manage Xiang Ye.

And what was the “compensation” Xiang Ye mentioned?

Hee hee.

-END-