A beautiful summer night

After trending on social media, Xie Qiyan has become known worldwide. Recently, the most frequent questions he's been asked are about his marriage.

Jiang Baichuan: "A good brother would go to great lengths for you. I would never laugh at you for becoming someone's gigolo. Seriously though, when are you getting married? I'll give you a wedding gift of 9.99 million."

Xie Tan: "Brother, can I call Wanzi 'sister-in-law' now?"

The old man said, "You... why didn't you tell Grandpa that you were with Wanzi? Since things have come to this, find some time to go abroad to meet her parents and settle the marriage between the two families as soon as possible."

Xie Qiyan: "..."

Before you know it, you've become a kept man, and now you're being arranged to get engaged.

Rumors stop with the wise, but it's clear they prefer to play the fool.

After Xie Qiyan intervened, the heat of the matter gradually subsided, and it completely calmed down a week later.

It was peaceful for others, but Xia Wanzhi woke up with a start and a wail.

The sky is falling.

Overnight, the Xia family's debts were reduced to zero. The previous debts of several hundred million yuan were all paid off by the grandfather, who was far away in England.

Old Xia and Ms. Ross will also arrive in North City in two hours.

Xia Wanzhi was stunned. When she got up to wash up, she scratched her head with both hands and spun around in place.

Her breaking off her engagement with Zhou Yu was something the old man was more than happy to do. Obviously, the reason he compromised was that the news of her keeping a young lover had reached England and her grandparents' ears.

Finished.

Not to mention the old folks are angry, Old Xia and Ms. Ross know she's been having affairs in North City, they're definitely going to punish her according to family rules.

Xia Wanzhi spun around a few times before calming down, staring blankly at herself in the mirror, and then slapped her forehead.

Really confused.

What are you panicking about?

She didn't actually keep a gigolo.

At 10:30 a.m., Xia Wanzhi's phone finally rang with a call from Ms. Ross.

"Mommy..." Xia Wanzhi's voice was so sweet it was almost cloying.

"Oh, my baby, Mommy misses you so much—" Ms. Ross's gentle voice rang out, and Xia Wanzhi's eyes welled up with tears. Just as she was about to wipe her eyes, she heard Ms. Ross switch her vocal cords and shout out—

"Xia Wanzi, you're absolutely audacious, reckless, outrageous, and utterly infatuated!" Ms. Ross, having just gotten off the plane, couldn't wait to make a phone call and berate her. "Tell me! Who's that pale-faced guy you're colluding with? Tell me and I'll kill him!"

"This is serious, this is serious..." Old Xia comforted Ms. Ross by patting her back.

Xia Wanzhi: "..."

It had been almost three months since we last met. Ms. Ross's habit of showing off her idioms remained unchanged, as did her fiery temper, and Lao Xia's love for being a peacemaker remained unchanged.

"Mom, I miss you so much, sob sob sob—" As soon as Xia Wanzhi heard their voices, she couldn't help but feel a stinging in her eyes, and tears welled up in her eyes like a floodgate being opened.

Ms. Ross was so overwhelmed by the thunderous crying that she lost all her energy, leaving only the longing and heartache she felt for the woman she hadn't seen for many days.

The couple rushed to the address Xia Wanzhi had given them. After arriving at Lanting Villa, the family of three hugged each other and cried for a while.

The family of three are all passionate people.

After things calmed down, Xia Wanzhi still couldn't escape interrogation.

"I haven't been sleeping around with men, and I haven't kept a gigolo. I swear on my parents, there's not a single lie in this!" Xia Wanzhi solemnly swore, pointing three fingers to the sky.

"Fine, fine, swear it then. Swear it on your parents, do you have any filial piety left?" Old Xia didn't quite believe it when he saw the video that went viral overseas. He knew his daughter's character well.

Ms. Ross grunted and reluctantly believed her. Then she cupped Xia Wanzhi's face in her hands and rubbed it, saying repeatedly that she had lost weight.

The pain of seeing his daughter so thin was heartbreaking for her parents. The next second, Lao Xia sat up abruptly, rolled up his sleeves, and said he was going to buy groceries to make a very nourishing soup for his daughter.

The couple went out together, and Xia Wanzhi couldn't stop them. Her eyes were sore and swollen from crying for so long. Just as Xia Wanzhi got up to wash her face, she heard a pig squeal coming from the doorway.

"What's wrong? What's wrong?" Xia Wanzhi rushed to the scene, stopping in her tracks but not in her sights, and stared blankly into Xie Qiyan's dark eyes, who was moving today.

That's it.

Xia Wanzhi chuckled, feeling a sense of helplessness, as if she had been caught in the act of adultery.

Upon seeing Xia Wanzhi's parents, Xie Qiyan paused briefly, ignoring Ms. Ross's scream from earlier, and politely greeted them, "Hello, Uncle and Aunt."

So well behaved.

Xia Wanzhi pressed her temples, wanting to faint on the spot.

Xie Qiyan looked at her with a half-smile.

Old Xia and Ms. Ross stared intently at Xie Qiyan, as if confirming his identity. After a long while, Old Xia pointed at the two of them and said, "Neighbors, huh? Aren't you going to introduce us?"

Ms. Ross flew into a rage: "What's with all the introductions? Isn't he the man your daughter's been sleeping with?!"

Xia Wanzhi was so shocked she was speechless. She quickly explained, "Mom! I wasn't playing!"

Ms. Ross was utterly shocked: "You're not kidding? You're serious? Like, getting married?"

"OMG, let me calm down..."

Xia Wanzhi: "..."

Sometimes, overthinking can really be a problem.

Xie Qiyan remained expressionless, calmly observing Xia Wanzhi.

In front of her parents, her voice carried a hint of coquetry. When explaining, she looked aggrieved, her knees trembled a couple of times, and she stomped her feet, as if she was about to get angry and turn back into the house in the next second.

Xie Qiyan lowered his eyes, his brows relaxing.

"You didn't even bother to explain this to me." Xia Wanzhi leaned against the wall with her arms hanging down, watching her parents, who had originally gone to buy groceries, return to the house, and sighed deeply.

"I've suffered enough being treated like a gigolo, kept by you, and used by you. Shouldn't you be the one to explain things to me?"

Xia Wanzhi ground down her molars.

This guy becomes obnoxious and shameless when he gets into trouble; he's asking for a beating.

With her parents back, Xia Wanzhi felt emboldened and, no longer wanting to hold her anger, punched Xie Qiyan in the chest with her pink fist.

Without saying a word, completely unreasonable, they hit people and then ran away.

It felt as if a fist had pierced his heart. Xie Qiyan stared at the door across the hall, and after a long while, a faint smile spread to the corner of his eyes.

Xia Wanzhi went back and recounted everything that had happened in the past few days, talking until her throat was dry before she could barely convince Ms. Ross.

Whether it's because the world has changed or love has faded, Ms. Ross actually blurted out, "He's so handsome and you don't like him? That's outrageous!"

Xia Wanzhi: "..."

There is no justice!

As the evening glow faded and night replaced day, the ginseng, wolfberry, and black-boned chicken soup that Old Xia had personally stewed was served. Xia Wanzhi had just sat down and stirred the chicken soup with a spoon when Ms. Ross called her to go next door to call someone to eat.

"Don't you know any manners? Call your brother Xie over for dinner!" Ms. Ross gently slapped Xia Wanzhi's hand away.

If the food on the table is Western, Ms. Ross will always maintain her gentleness and elegance, but if it's Chinese food, she will adhere to local customs and do whatever makes her comfortable.

Xia Wanzhi was kicked out of the house. She stood in front of Xie Qiyan's house for a while, circling around twice, her hand rising and falling as she knocked.

Perhaps it was a coincidence, but while Xia Wanzhi was still hesitating whether to knock on the door, Xie Qiyan opened it from the inside.

He changed into loungewear, a simple white loose-fitting t-shirt and black pants, very minimalist and youthful.

Xia Wanzhi subconsciously took a step back and couldn't help but swallow when she looked at him.

Looking at it this way, it really does seem like... a good gigolo.