Cheng Zhirang must have been quite the rascal back in the day, Mu Qiu thought. Otherwise, why is he so adept at charming her recently, and bold enough to be affectionate with her anytime and anywhere?

Like holding her hand and touching her hair in front of her parents, or asking for a kiss when they aren’t around.

When it comes to no other options, he especially loves kissing.

The sensation of their lips brushing together is something they both enjoy. She isn’t sure what he likes, but personally, she loves hearing his sexy breaths.

Sometimes when she opens her eyes, she can see the way his eyelashes tremble.

It’s indeed a very interesting thing.

But, shouldn’t they mix it up a bit instead of playing the same trick all the time?

Mu Qiu rested her hands on the sides of the sink, leaning forward to look at herself in the mirror.

Her lips looked a bit too red.

She took out a few lipsticks and layered them on, making the color look like it was specifically applied.

Outside the door, she heard the sound of Cheng Zhirang talking with her dad. It was hard to make out, and the sound gradually moved downstairs.

She pressed her lips together to even out the color, then opened the door and went downstairs too.

Cheng Zhirang and her dad were standing by the window talking, appearing rather serious. It was better not to disturb them.

She went to find Yuan Chun and asked, "Mom, should we invite Brother Jilin over for dinner tonight? Let him bring Sister Su Jin along."

Yuan Chun nodded, "Yes, we should invite him over for dinner. He helped a lot when you were buying the house. Here, take this seedless grape outside. Xiao Cheng loves them; I went and bought some more."

"...You specifically went to buy them for him?"

Yuan Chun glanced at her, "Why, is there a problem?"

She pursed her lips, picked up the grapes one by one, wiped them with a paper towel, and placed them on the table.

"Dad, have some grapes."

Both men by the window turned their heads. Cheng Zhirang fixed his gaze on her, as if waiting for something.

Under those eyes, she caved in and called him, "Brother Cheng, eat some grapes."

Yuan Chun happened to bring over Mu Zhi’s teacup. She came closer and casually asked, "Why are you calling him Brother Cheng?"

"So what should I call him? Zhirang?"

Saying just those two words alone felt incredibly strange.

She hadn’t figured it out yet when Cheng Zhirang, who had just popped a grape into his mouth, suddenly started coughing.

He choked, his face turning a rosy red as he coughed.

Mu Qiu stifled a laugh and patted his back, handing him a tissue, "Don’t eat so fast, is it really that good?"

She was clearly teasing him.

Mu Zhi and Yuan Chun didn’t realize that their daughter, who was a few years younger, was actually bullying someone.

Mu Zhi coughed, giving Mu Qiu a stern look.

She shrugged and stood upright, picking grapes to eat.

But inside, she was thinking, are the words "Zhirang" so lethal? What if someday she suddenly called him "Chengcheng"... Tsk.

After eating a few grapes, she went to the kitchen with her phone to call Zhou Jilin, inviting him over for dinner.

She couldn’t make the call in front of Cheng Zhirang; that would be like openly kicking him out.

If he were shameless, he might have stayed for dinner, but he knows better. Upon hearing her make the call, he would surely find a reason to leave and not disturb their meal.

After the call, she sent him a message.

Even from the living room to the kitchen, Cheng Zhirang received the "far yet near" message from his girlfriend.

[Qiuqiu: Zhou Jilin is bringing his girlfriend over for dinner tonight. Do you want to stay and join us?]

He tapped the screen a few times with his long fingers, then turned off the screen.

[Won’t stay.]

Mu Qiu wasn’t surprised at all, sent him another message.

[Pat, pat on the head.]

Secretly sending the message, she pretended like nothing happened and went out to continue eating grapes.

Since the grapes were in front of Cheng Zhirang, she naturally sat next to him.

She sat down without saying a word, just listening to him talk with her parents, and kept picking grapes.

After more than half of the grapes ended up in her stomach, Cheng Zhirang, as if he had eyes on the back of his head, turned around and patted her hand.

"No more eating."

Mu Qiu was startled, and the grape she was holding fell back into the fruit bowl.

She quickly picked it up again, "This is the last one."

Cheng Zhirang looked at her, then turned back to continue talking with her parents.

Yuan Chun and Mu Zhi exchanged a glance, not knowing what they were thinking.

By mid-afternoon, knowing that Zhou Jilin would arrive soon, Cheng Zhirang decided to say goodbye.

Mu Qiu walked him outside.

The car had been sitting under the sun all day, hot and stuffy inside. He started the engine and turned on the air conditioning, then got out again to talk to Mu Qiu.

They didn’t talk about anything new, just small talk.

"You’re wearing a white shirt today, did you have something busy to attend to?"

"Yeah, I went to shoot an ad for a watch this morning."

Cheng Zhirang shielded her head with his hand, half-heartedly blocking the remaining bright light.

Mu Qiu tugged at his tie, causing him to lower his head slightly, "What is it?"

"White shirts are fantastic, they’d look even better wet."

"..." He glanced at the two elders still standing at the door, wanting to say something, but in the end, just offering a helpless smile.

She laughed gleefully at her small mischief, then after enough, patted his shoulder and quietly asked, "Were you nervous today?"

Cheng Zhirang thought about it and nodded.

"A bit."

"What were you nervous about?"

"Afraid they wouldn’t like me."

"Who wouldn’t like you?" she had confidence in his face, "My taste is the same as my parents’. I think you look super handsome; they definitely think so too."

"Makes sense." He said with an ambiguous smile.

Everyone could see how much she loved looking at his face.

But would in-laws only judge a son-in-law by his looks? Certainly not, she was simply comforting him.

"Alright, go on back. It’s still a bit sunny out here," He reached in to make sure the temperature inside the car had cooled down, bent down and sat in the driver’s seat, saying to Mu Qiu, "I’m leaving now."

Mu Qiu nodded, but he hadn’t closed the car door yet, waiting for her last words.

"Well, uh," she hesitated, as if there was indeed one last thing to say, "Tomorrow..."

Cheng Zhirang reached for her hand, the slight curve at the end of his eyes giving them a gentle look:

"Don’t worry, I’ll pick you up at 4 PM tomorrow to take you to Half Mountain. Don’t worry about my parents either. Didn’t you have a meal with them last time? When they heard you’re coming over for a meal, they were very happy."

"Then why are we going to Half Mountain?"

"Though I feel sorry towards Uncle and Aunt, only Half Mountain is safe; paparazzi and fans can’t get in."

She nodded, giving a soft "Oh."

"About what my parents might have mentioned today, regarding your celebrity status dragging me down, I apologize on their behalf, they..."

Before she finished, Cheng Zhirang countered, "Do you think I’ll get angry?"

Ah, this... It feels like an emotional test, if she answered wrong, the beauty before her might just drive off.

She coughed once, "This is a standard polite formula, you know? The main point is respecting you... Hey, hey, hey, don’t rush to close the door!"