Chapter 159 Mother-in-law and Daughter-in-law Meet

"Believe."

Simple words, a plain tone, but somehow they carried an inexplicable, emotional weight.

Ning Xi stared blankly at the boy in front of her, her eyes shy, yet there was a trace of affection emerging in her gaze.

Ye Fan was handsome; this, she admitted.

But she was never the kind of girl who would lose her way just because she saw a handsome guy. Yet, when it came to Ye Fan, she always felt there was something about him that drew her in, making her want to get closer to him without being able to control it.

It was such a strange feeling...

"Shall we... go?"

"Sure."

Ye Fan noticed the girl's bashfulness and instinctively reached out to take her hand. But as soon as his hand moved, it froze. He remembered the promise and was about to pull his hand back, but then a soft and tender little hand slipped into his palm.

???

Ye Fan stood frozen in place, utterly bewildered by Ning Xi's gesture. His voice was full of confusion, "Xiao Xi, didn't you say...?"

"Say what?"

Ning Xi's face turned slightly red. She blinked at Ye Fan and whispered, so softly that it was almost inaudible, "The promise was that you couldn't take the initiative to hold my hand, but I never said I couldn't hold yours. Is there a problem?"

After saying that, she felt a little embarrassed. Her standards were clearly getting lower and lower, and at this point, almost all of her boundaries seemed to be disappearing.

In the past, the thought of taking the initiative to hold a boy's hand would have been unimaginable. She wouldn't have dared to even think about it.

"No, no problem."

Ye Fan's heart was filled with joy. This was the first time Ning Xi had ever taken the initiative to hold his hand after his rebirth.

The significance of this gesture was profound… more than words could say.

They arrived at Zhao Hua Road.

Ye Fan's lips moved slightly as he asked tentatively, "Xiao Xi, how about we go to my place for a while?"

"Are you going to treat me to lemon water?"

The girl's face shone like a translucent gem in the golden sunlight, looking as if she had stepped out of a painting.

"Sort of," Ye Fan replied with a bright smile on his angular face. The deep affection in his eyes was so natural that one could easily fall into it.

Ning Xi stole a glance at him, then quickly turned her head away, kicking at the air with her little foot, mumbling softly, "What do you mean 'sort of'? It's either yes or no, can't you just..."

Before she could finish, Ye Fan interrupted her, "Xiao Xi, actually, when I invited you to my house, I just wanted to be with you. When I'm with you, my heart feels at peace. It's a really nice feeling."

Ning Xi froze for a moment, her heart blossoming with sweetness.

But apart from her slightly reddened face, nothing else showed. Her eyes were filled with a smile.

A little over ten meters away at the entrance of the alley.

Zhuang Li sat in the driver's seat, observing the two people as they dilly-dallied. He wisely started the car and drove toward the entrance of the nearby Baiyu Garden community.

Seeing that the young lady was getting more and more smitten, he didn't feel the need to be overly concerned. Ye Fan was indeed an excellent young man, and now he only hoped that the two of them would stay together until the end.

First loves were beautiful, but very few lasted.

Noticing the movement of the car, Ye Fan leaned a little closer to Ning Xi. Their shoulders brushed against each other, and half-jokingly, he said, "Uncle Zhuang is getting more and more capable. He already knows to move the car for us."

"..."

Ning Xi didn't respond. She quickened her pace a little.

A girl who was shy was the most beautiful sight in the world.

Ye Fan didn't want to miss it, so he stepped up to match her pace.

"Squeak—"

Ning Xi was about to step inside, but when she saw the shining floor, her foot hesitated as her gaze shifted to the side, where she saw a pair of pink slippers on the shoe rack. She immediately realized that Ye Fan had specially prepared the slippers for her, causing her face to flush slightly.

When she had come over before, she hadn't paid attention to the shoe rack, so it was possible these slippers had been there for quite some time.

Realizing this, a look of distress appeared on Ning Xi's face.

How rude of me!

Seeing Ning Xi frozen at the door, Ye Fan smiled and asked, "What's wrong?"

Ning Xi pouted and pointed at the pink slippers on the shoe rack. "Ye Fan, did you buy these slippers a long time ago? I'm really sorry. I didn't notice them the last few times I came..."

"Slippers?"

Hearing this, Ye Fan looked toward the shoe rack, and when he saw the pink slippers, he was clearly stunned. A big question mark appeared on his face.

What's going on?

As far as he could remember, there had never been any women's slippers in the house. He never bought them because he didn't want Ning Xi to feel uncomfortable or constrained.

He wanted things to be casual, more relaxed. That was fine.

Before going to school this morning, there hadn't been any pink slippers on the shoe rack...

Wait a minute!

Something's not right!

Someone must have been here!!!

Suddenly, Ye Fan's mind exploded. When he had last spoken with his mother on the phone, she mentioned that she would be coming to the capital city at the beginning of next month. Today was April 30th, so it was very likely that his mother had arrived early.

Realizing this, he couldn't help but feel a bit of a headache. If that was the case, then his mother would meet Ning Xi ahead of schedule. But he wasn't ready for this!

"Ahem—"

As Ye Fan was stunned, Ning Xi had already changed into the slippers and walked inside. Turning to look at the still-standing Ye Fan, she winked at him and asked with confusion, "Why are you still standing outside? Come in!"

Ye Fan nodded, but just as he was about to take off his shoes, he suddenly saw a woman leaning against the bedroom door frame. His expression instantly became extremely interesting.

Ning Xi waved her small hand, looking puzzled. "Ye Fan, what's wrong with you? Why are you standing outside?"

"..."

Ye Fan's lips moved slightly. "Mom."

"Poof—"

Hearing "Mom," Ning Xi's eyes curved into a smile as she held her mouth, giggling softly, "Ye Fan, what are you doing? Did you not sleep well last night and are hallucinating?"

As she spoke, she walked over to the door with a sweet smile on her face. "Isn't your family from Linhai? Your mom wouldn't suddenly come to the capital. Besides, she would have given you a heads-up before coming."

"Oh, by the way, just a reminder—when the college entrance exam approaches, your mom might come to the capital to stay with you. You should tell me in advance. I'm just a girl, so it might seem inappropriate to come to your house. And about me... you mustn't tell your mom anything about it, you..."

"Young lady, why can't you tell your mom about it?"

Leaning against the door frame, Ye Xian heard this and was instantly filled with joy. Though she hadn't yet seen the girl's face, from her voice and silhouette, she could tell that this girl was remarkable and extraordinary.

Such an aura... impressive!

Originally, she had planned to surprise her son and see how he was living in the capital, but she never expected such a major discovery.

A huge surprise!!!

"Eh?"

Ning Xi was stunned for a moment, then shook her head lightly, muttering to herself, "Could I have not rested well? But I slept early yesterday, so why would I be hearing things? This shouldn't be the case..."

"…"

Ye Fan's eyelids twitched uncontrollably, and he raised his hand to rub his forehead.

This silly girl...

Sigh!

It was already too late, so he had no choice but to face it.

He sighed helplessly, placed his hands on Ning Xi's shoulders, and spun her around in place.

"Xiao Xi, you didn't hear things."