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A year had come and gone already since they had finally got their act together and decided that, yes, they were both extremely busy individuals, but they were BOTH extremely busy individuals and they did want to spend the time they weren't working together. It was not without its ups and downs. They regularly went several months without seeing each other, even though they did try to speak every day. They did not manage to call each other every day, but these good mornings and good nights were at least something. Sometimes Jingjing would send him a selfie of herself making a funny face over breakfast or dinner, which never failed to make him smile, especially after an all-nighter or a long day at the office. But today was a very exciting day. Not just because it was new year’s eve, although it was always a festive time and one to think back on everything which had happened the previous year, but also because tonight they would drive to their respective parents together. Jingjing, like every year, had to take part in one of the new year’s event. This year was the CCTV gala, which was an honour, but also meant that Yu Tu had spent his first day off waiting for her going in and out of her room for rehearsal and then for the show itself. He had kept himself busy reading a few academic articles released recently, but no matter how interesting they were, he wanted to spend his first time off in forever doing something else than waiting for his girlfriend and studying. Ling jie had asked if he wanted to watch the show from the audience, but he had had a busy month which had involved too many meetings and too many people. He wanted nothing but peace and nobody to talk to him. Well, nobody, but Jingjing.
And so he waited, waited until she finally came back after being done on stage. The moment she entered and saw him still sitting on the couch with his laptop opened, but half forgot on the table, she smiled at him, took off her heels and went to sit down next to him, snuggling on his side like a cat. Yu Tu closed his laptop and hugged her while kissing her on the top of her head.
“How are you feeling?” he asked her.
“It went well, so I am happy, but I am looking forward to a break!” she answered before sighing and snuggling closer.
Yu Tu could look at her for hours, but he quickly got interrupted by someone clearing their throat. Yu Tu and Jingjing both turned their heads as one to see Xiao Zhu standing at the entrance of Jingjing’s room holding her phone and a bunch of papers.
“It’s not that I want to rush you, but it’s already late and I promised your mum that we wouldn’t keep you longer than necessary so that you could get there not too late.”
Jingjing, sighed, turned towards Yu Tu to kiss his nose which was right in front of her, before getting up.
“You’re right, you’re right,” she said before moving towards where her clothes were, so that she could get changed from her, very beautiful, but very impractical dress. “Can you help me get out of this dress, I struggled to get in earlier and I am expecting to struggle to get out of it.”
Xiao Zhu put down the things she had in her hand, smiled at Yu Tu and rushed to help Qiao Jingjing get out of her dress. A while later, Jingjing was back in her regular clothing and was ready to leave with her small suitcase for the week. They all made their way down to the car park where Yu Tu put Jingjing’s suitcase next to his in the trunk of his car while Jingjing was chatting to Xiao Zhu, wishing her and her mum a happy new year. Once Yu Tu had finished, they all said their goodbyes and got into the car.
--
The traffic was lighter than expected and they made good way. They would be there earlier than expected. Jingjing’s mum could thank Xiao Zhu for her help.
Looking at the lights of the city in the background, Jingjing started:
“I haven’t had a break in forever, I am looking forward to seven consecutive days off, although they definitely won’t be quiet. Talking of not being quiet, is you little cousin back this year?”
After Yu Tu nodded, he quickly turned his head towards Jingjing’s face, only to see her smile mischievously in the way that had caused her to say to his mum that he had been the one hiding their relationship last year.
“What are you planning?” he said with a smile, he did also love her for her mischievousness, especially if it was directed away from him and towards such an apt victim.
“He still does not know that it is me, you are dating, right?”
Yu Tu hummed affirmatively.
“Should we surprise him tomorrow? I said I would come to your parents during this new year and I am going away before lunch time to get to my grandparents for a couple of days. But if your mum agrees, I could come tomorrow for breakfast and surprise him."
Yu Tu thought about it for a second before nodding. “He was annoying me about my love life last year, thanks to someone giving me the cold shoulders for a few days.” He chuckled at Jingjing making a sad face in the rearview mirror as if to say that she was an innocent angel who had never done anything wrong in her life ever. “Anyway, I did take my revenge by calling him out on his exam results which he still sends me messages about as his mum had him take extra classes as a result afterwards, but this would be an even better revenge. I never could do any of this when we were in school, I was too busy with preparing for the gaokao. Well, you know.”
“Mr Science God was too good to date. I know, I know,” Jingjing said while whipping her hair away in an exaggerated gesture. Making Yu Tu shake his head and laugh softly. He continued:
“Do you want me to ask her when I get home?”
“Or we could call her now while we drive?” answered Jingjing before using the car’s touchscreen to call Yu Tu’s mum. She answered after the second ring.
“Yu Tu! When are you coming? Are you on your way?” Yu Tu’s mum immediately asked.
Laughing, Qiao Jingjing answered: “We are on our way, a-yi! Traffic is good and we should be here in about 45 minutes.”
“Oh, Jingjing, it’s you! Is my son treating you well? I hope he doesn’t bother you!”
“Not at all, a-yi! Yu Tu is being the perfect gentleman…today.”
Hearing the pause between her words, Yu Tu turned towards Jingjing, silently making small eyes at her as if to say that she would pay for her insinuation with his mum. He whispered: “Don’t forget that I am also meeting your parents soon.”
Jingjing once more smiled at him innocently. Making him smile at her and before he could say anything else, she continued:
“A-yi, we called because we wanted to know if I could come for breakfast tomorrow before I leave to visit my grandparents.”
Yu Tu’s mum immediately answered that of course, she could, she did not even need to ask and that it would be her pleasure. Both Yu Tu and Jingjing thanked her before hanging up.
They chatted some more before they finally made it to their hometown and the first stop of the evening at Jingjing’s parents’ house. Yu Tu kissed her goodnight after taking her suitcase out of his trunk and she quickly went to enter her parents’ house. Jingjing’s parents greeted Yu Tu from the entrance door and he could see her mum asking her something before she shook her head and turned towards him. He heard her say that tonight he would go to his parents, but that he would come have dinner later on in the week. She waved at him one last time before going into the house.
Yu Tu got back into his car and drove to his parents where his mum welcomed him at the door.
“Finally, you’re here! It has been so long since we last saw you, always so busy! And what is this? Waiting until the last minute before telling us that Jingjing is coming! I have everything ready for the family breakfast and there’s naturally always enough food for more people, but this is the first time we properly meet her. What if she thinks it is too shabby and we did not put enough effort in our new year’s breakfast? What if she does not like what I’ve prepared? I have cleaned the flat before everyone arrived, naturally, but what if it’s not up to her standard. Oh, why did you not say anything beforehand?!”
Yu Tu answered with a soft smile at his mum’s questions: “She will love whatever you cook, she’s terrible at cooking and is always appreciative of anyone who can cook,” he paused, looking around. “And the flat is perfectly clean! You should see the state of mine after a particular draining week at work when I have not had time to do any housework. And she has only ever teased me about it. Despite her cheekiness, she is well-behaved enough that she would not dream to say anything to you even if she thought about it and she definitely will not because the flat looks spotless!”
Yu Tu’s mum scoffed as if to say that she wanted to believe him but was not fully convinced.
“Anyway, it’s good that you made it here. We have breakfast 9am tomorrow and we will need some help, so come and join us in the kitchen as soon as you are ready.”
Yu Tu nodded and went to say hello to his dad who was on the couch and who nodded towards him as if to say “you know how your mum is.”
--
The following morning, Yu Tu woke up early as was his habit and joined his mum and aunts in the kitchen where they directed him as to what he should do. His aunts kept pestering him about how he had been since they last saw him, how he did not come back to visit his mum enough, and about his mysterious girlfriend who was coming for breakfast. And wouldn’t he tell them anything about her. He kept dodging the questions and telling them that they would meet her soon enough.
Everything was ready and on the table by 9. Then it was only a question of calling the few people missing to come and sit down. Yu Tu was looking at his phone every other minute, beginning to be stressed out that Jingjing would be late. He knew she knew how to be on time, but when she was off work, she had a tendency to forget about the time. But as his aunt was shouting for her son so go faster in the bathroom and that they were going to start any minute now, he heard a knock on the front door and rushed to open it.
There, on the side of the door was Jingjing, looking beautiful as always. She was dressed in simple clothes today, clearly wanting to make a good impression and not flaunt her status.
“Happy New Year!” she said, as soon as he opened the door.
“Happy New Year!” he answered, the both of them smiling at each other as if they had not seen each other just the previous night.
Remembering that they had seen each other the previous night, Yu Tu was hit with the realisation that after he had dropped Jingjing at her parents’ house, he had driven the car to his parents’ flat.
“Please tell me, you did not walk from your parents’ place to here!”
She chuckled. “Now, you remember!” She shook her head. “Don’t worry, when you didn’t ask me if you should come and pick me up, I asked my dad to drive me. He says to wish you a Happy New Year.”
Yu Tu sighed in relief. “I should have offered to come and pick you up, I don’t know where my brain went.”
“Your brain is having a well-deserved rest,” Jingjing answered before quickly kissing him on the cheek and moving to get into the flat. “Come on, present me your family!”
She added in a whisper, half chuckling: “You know, I am more stressed about meeting your family than I was when I was meeting Director Li.”
Yu Tu took her hand quickly to reassure her before bringing her towards the table and most of his family assembled around the table. At the noise of them coming, his family (minus his little cousin who was still in the bathroom) who had all been trying to look uninterested when he had gone to open the door, suddenly turned as one towards the two of them.
One of his aunties exclaimed: “Wait, isn’t that...??”
And before she could say anything more, Jingjing waved at them saying: “Happy New Year! I am Qiao Jingjing, Yu Tu’s girlfriend.”
At these words, two things happened, both of them resulting in an increase in the noise volume in the room. Half of his family turned from Jingjing to Yu Tu asking why he had kept the secret for so long and the other half turned towards his mum who had shown her head through the kitchen door when she had heard the commotion, asking her how she could have not told them and how long had she known. He also did not fail to notice a couple of his uncle turning towards their neighbours to ask for clarification. While this happened, Yu Tu gestured for Jingjing to sit down at the table and sat down himself.
Before sitting down, Jingjing went towards Yu Tu’s mum in the kitchen and Yu Tu could see her taking out a beautiful red box out of her bag. “A-yi, Happy New Year! Thank you for welcoming me into your home today. Here is a little gift.” She held the box for Yu Tu’s mum who took it while thanking her and telling her she should not have. Jingjing proceeded to ask if she needed any help but was shooed out of the kitchen and told to sit down.
Jingjing went back to the table and sat down next to Yu Tu. Everyone was looking at her, but while she had been looking a bit nervous earlier, she seemed more relaxed with each minute that passed. Yu Tu's mum came back with the last dish and put it on the table. Only one chair was still empty.
“A-jie, where is your son?” asked one of his aunts his other aunt.
“Oh this one! He is never on time!” she answered before shouting towards the corridor. “Xiao Liu, come out here, everyone is waiting for you!”
“What have I done to deserve such a son?” she continued. “Why can’t I have a well-behaved son like yours,” she said to Yu Tu’s mum.
Qiao Jingjing smiled, trying not to laugh, receiving as a response a small elbow kick from Yu Tu.
Before Xiao Liu’s mum could say anything else, said teenager appeared at the door.
“I am here, I am here.” He started to move towards his seat before looking towards his chair neighbour and freezing for a second. He opened his mouth without making a sound and looked back and forth several times between Jingjing and Yu Tu.
“Don’t stand like that and come quickly sit down,” said his mum forcefully. Prompting him to get out of his stupor and move towards his chair. After sitting down, he turned towards Jingjing, suddenly looking shy.
“Uh, hi. Happy New Year.”
“So, you’re Xiao Liu.”
He nodded. “And you are…my cousin’s girlfriend.”
He seemed lost for words.
Yu Tu turned away from his cousin, only to see his other cousin who was sitting opposite them at the table taking photos of Xiao Liu with her phone. Well, there would also be blackmail material from this year’s family reunion.
Turning back towards Jingjing and her little cousin, he saw that she was engaging him in conversation. He was looking less shy by the minute and after a bit, Yu Tu heard Jingjing asking him about whether he was still as good as before with girls and thought his cousin still needed help.
Xiao Liu became very red and opened and closed his mouth several times, causing the whole table to laugh at him.
“You chose your girlfriend well,” one of his uncles shouted. “She can handle Xiao Liu just right,” which prompted more laughs from around the table. The conversation continued happily after that, Jingjing happily answering everyone’s questions about herself and her relationship with Yu Tu. Several of her aunts kept pushing food towards her, telling her that she needed to eat more.
“Are you okay?” he asked after a lull in the conversation appeared.
“Yes, your family is very nice.”
Turning her head towards where her mum had been sitting, she told him she would go and see if she needed anything. She then stood up and walked towards the kitchen next door. He continued chatting with his aunt before standing up and going towards the kitchen to join his mum and his girlfriend. They were chatting animatedly, and he watched them talk for a while not wanting to interrupt them. He was glad she seemed at ease with his family. He knew she came from a more humble background than her current status and was just a normal person, almost like any other, but they had talked about her previous boyfriend and his family. They had disapproved of her and always acted like her occupation was a blemish she needed to get rid of and that she was never enough. He knew she knew his family would never think anything like it, if anything they were more likely to be starstruck. Still, he could not help but be nervous for her sake. So to see her pleased and at ease made him relax. To see his mum feel relaxed as well when she had been even more apprehensive about the whole thing made him happy. Although, he was a bit afraid of what they could get up to if they got closer.
He had been so lost in thought that he had missed his mum and Jingjing realising that he was there and staring at Jingjing.
“I have some promotional posters I got from my last campaign I can give you if you just intend to stare without listening or speaking to me.”
Jingjing’s words cut his train of thoughts, and he could not help the way his face reacted as if to say “I love you, but also, come on.”
That made his mum chuckle, “Jingjing was telling me about her grandparents that she will go visit after she leaves. I do miss freshly harvested bamboo shoots; it reminds me of when I was young and would go to my own grandparents’ house in the forest. I don’t know that we ever took you there after their death and when we sold the house to developers who wanted the land. This brings me fond memories of my childhood.”
After a pause, she asked Jingjing when she would get picked up and after checking the time, Jingjing answered that her dad would come pick her up in around ten minutes.
They continued talking and, a bit more than ten minutes later, she left after having said goodbye to everyone and promised them all to see them again. Yu Tu accompanied her to her dad’s car, and they quickly kissed before she got into the car.
“I’ll see you in two days, don’t be too sad!” Jingjing said after opening the car window.
“I should be fine, you, on the other hand… well, if the last time I went away and couldn’t contact you for a few days is any indication, you might have more issues,” Yu Tu answered, booping her on the nose.
She made a sad face at him before sending him a kiss. He could see Jingjing’s dad shaking in his head in the driver’s seat. Yu Tu took this opportunity to wish him a Happy New Year before moving away from the car to let them leave.
As he watched the car drive away, he sighed of relief. This had been short, but everything had gone well. His family had accepted her, she seemed to have had a good time and had even mostly behaved. Things would be okay.