Flash Marriage with My Ex-Boyfriend’s Nemesis

Before leaving, Ning Qingqing searched for the biography of Gu Youchen’s father, Gu Heng, on the financial page.

As for Gu Youchen’s mother, Li Lan, there was more information about her, because she was a well-known realism oil painter, and the price of one of her paintings at an auction started at one million.

Gu Heng and Li Lan, a business elite and an artist; in order to make a good impression on them, Ning Qingqing did a more soft and gentle light makeup look and wore a cotton and linen maxi skirt in a fresh ladylike style.

The gift was purchased from a small auction yesterday by someone sent by Nie Yu per Ning Qingqing’s request. A fountain pen from the Republic period was for Gu Heng, and a pair of Thangkas1 made by a master, were for Li Lan.

This time, Gu Youchen didn’t ask the driver to drive; he drove out of the apartment and Ning Qingqing sat in the passenger seat.

Seeing Ning Qingqing sitting upright, he comforted her, “Qingqing, my parents are easy to get along with, so don’t be nervous.”

Ning Qingqing nodded. If she and Gu Youchen could be counted as dating now, then among her two relationships, this was the first time she’s meeting the parents, so she didn’t know how to interact with the parents of the other party.

“They don’t have any taboos, do they?” Ning Qingqing was worried that she would step on a landmine.

“No.” Gu Youchen seemed to really think about it, and then said, “But there is one thing to pay attention to.”

Ning Qingqing quickly responded, “What?”

Gu Youchen said solemnly, “They are worried that our relationship isn’t good, so when we get to the ancestral home, we should try our best to be affectionate.”

Ning Qingqing didn’t expect that what he wanted to say was this, but after thinking about it, she felt that it made sense. Parents of course hoped that their son and daughter-in-law would have a stable relationship, and be happy and loving.

She nodded very seriously, “Okay, I will behave well.”

Gu Youchen looked at her expression, and slightly hooked his lips.

Not long after, they arrived at the gate of the ancestral home. Gu Youchen took the gift prepared by Ning Qingqing from the back seats and held it in one hand, leaving the other hand free to reach out to Ning Qingqing.

Ning Qingqing looked at the man’s big hand and put her own hand in his palm.

He immediately wrapped her little hand and led her to the main entrance of the villa.

When entering the password, the servant heard the movement and came over to greet him first, “Young Master and Young Madam are back!”

While the two were changing shoes, Gu Heng and Li Lan also walked over.

Ning Qingqing raised her eyes and saw the two of them.

Gu Heng looked completely different from his usual financial interviews. The man was wearing a casual shirt and trousers, and he didn’t have that sharp edge in his aura.

Li Lan next to him was wearing a long floral dress, looking tall and slim, her temperament was different from what Ning Qingqing had imagined, and she was somehow cute.

She was taken aback by her own thoughts, and immediately entered her role.

“Dad, Mom, hello, I’m Ning Qingqing.” As she spoke, she took the gifts from Gu Youchen’s hand, and handed it to each of them.

“Qingqing, quick come sit inside!” Gu Heng took the gift, “This kid even brought something with her, and Youchen didn’t stop her…”

Gu Youchen smiled, “Qingqing heard that Dad likes to collect pens, so she specially asked someone to get one at an auction. There are also Thangkas that Mom likes, and the colors are also very bright.”

Gu Heng’s eyes lit up, “Qingqing really knows my heart!” He said and opened the gift box.

The black fountain pen was made in Germany during the Republic of China and was said to be the treasure of a certain warlord. When Gu Heng picked it up and looked at it, he saw the small seal script carved on the pen.

He couldn’t put it down, like a child who got candy.

Ning Qingqing didn’t expect Gu Heng to look like this at home, she just felt closer to them.

On the other side, Li Lan carried her Thangkas back to her room to admire them and wouldn’t even let her husband look at them first.

Gu Youchen held Ning Qingqing’s hand and sat down on the sofa. The two of them were very close, and the fresh scent of the man seemed to sweep over Ning Qingqing’s breath.

Gu Youchen explained in her ear, “My parents are like this. They are usually serious and self-aware outside, but when they’re at home their mental age is probably less than half of mine.”

Ning Qingqing smiled, “It’s good that they are like this, they seem very affectionate.”

Gu Youchen hooked his fingers around Ning Qingqing’s, and he slowly grasped it, “We will be the same in the future.”

Ning Qingqing looked at their intertwined hands for two seconds, then raised her eyes and said to Gu Youchen, “I will work hard.”

Gu Youchen met her eyes, “Okay, let’s work hard together.”

Ning Qingqing felt that the distance between them was getting closer.

On the other side, Gu Heng and Li Lan finally finished appreciating the gift in their hands and walked out together.

“What kind of food does Qingqing like to eat? I’ll ask the chef at home to prepare it in advance.” Li Lan asked.

Ning Qingqing answered, “I used to live in the south, but I came to Beijing in high school, so I am used to flavors from the north and the south, so I’m not picky.”

Li Lan’s eyes drifted to Gu Youchen and Ning Qingqing’s intertwined hands, and then the smile in her eyes deepened, “En, my son is also not picky when it comes to eating, but he is very picky when it comes to finding a girlfriend. He has never been in a relationship at the age of 26, which made me think that his girlfriend was Zhou Linghang!”

Ning Qingqing had heard of Zhou Linghang before, although she couldn’t quite match the name to his appearance, but…that was obviously a man!

Li Lan continued, “Fortunately, we have Qingqing here who’s willing to accept him. This kid really wanted to get married, yet he never tried. I once thought he was going to be a bachelor for the rest of his life!”

Hearing this, Gu Youchen looked at his mother helplessly.

Li Lan pretended not to see it, turned around and went to the study to get a few photo albums, “Qingqing, I will show you the photos of Youchen when he was a child!”

Ning Qingqing was suddenly curious and took them over to look.

But Li Lan had already quietly gotten up. Gu Youchen received the hint from his mother’s eyes, so he had to tell Ning Qingqing that he was going to the bathroom and then went to the study.

“Youchen, why does it seem like I’ve met Qingqing before?” Li Lan felt that she must have seen Ning Qingqing before within the first glance today.

The girl’s appearance and temperament were too special, at least within Beijing’s debutante circle, there were few people who could match her.

After she finished asking, she suddenly seemed to recall something, “Has she been with Shen Zhiqian before?”

Gu Youchen pinched the center of his eyebrows, “Yes, but…”

But before he finished speaking, Li Lan’s eyes lit up, “So I remembered correctly?”

Gu Youchen nodded.

Li Lan’s smile brightened in an instant. “Son, you’re so impressive, you just swooped in and snatched another’s love? Mom was worried that you wouldn’t find a girlfriend, but turns out you’re just silent when you’re idle, once you make a move you shock the world2.”

She gave him a thumbs up, “You’re the same as your father back then. If he hadn’t taken the initiative, I would have married Zhou Linghang’s father because of an arranged marriage. Then how could I have given birth to such a smart and handsome son as you!”

She didn’t give Gu Youchen a chance to respond. She straightened her skirt and walked out with elegant and graceful steps, “I’m going to accompany my daughter-in-law to see your ugly childhood photos!”

Gu Youchen was speechless the entire time, and quietly followed his mother out.

On the sofa, Ning Qingqing looked at the photo of Gu Youchen when he was just born.

From a baby in swaddle to a boy with a toy gun, Ning Qingqing discovered that Gu Youchen was cute and mischievous when he was a child, completely different from his mature appearance now.

Just then, her eyes were attracted to a photo.

The bluestone road, small bridges arching over water streams, surrounded by homes; the picture was like an ink painting, and the fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy was standing amidst the ink, and the outline of his facial features became more and more three-dimensional.

“You’ve been to Qingtang Town?” Ning Qingqing couldn’t help asking in surprise.

Suddenly, an image surfaced in her mind…

When Ning Qingqing turned to that page, Gu Youchen’s eyes had already fixed on that photo.

That was where he first met her.

“En.” He nodded, looking at Ning Qingqing with darkening eyes.

Ning Qingqing didn’t notice anything unusual, but looked at the young man’s clothes and appearance in the photo, and after thinking about it for a few seconds, she raised her head and asked Gu Youchen, “Have we met before?”

The author has something to say:

Gu Youchen: She remembered me! ! !

By the way, when I wrote the part where Qingqing said that both northern and southern cuisines are acceptable, I couldn’t help but cook a bowl of spicy beef noodles for myself… I didn’t plan to eat more after eating zongzi 3 tonight, but… for future novels I don’t dare to write about food anymore, eating late at night, it’s too difficult! The time wasted cooking and eating noodles made me type hundreds of characters less…

Tomorrow we are going to start a new round of battle and oppression ~

Footnotes

For those who don’t know, like me, these are Tibetan Buddhist scroll paintings一鸣惊人: to amaze the world with a single brilliant feat, a very commonly used idiomTriangular-shaped boiled glutinous rice wrapped with bamboo leaves and stuffed with either sweet (e.g. red bean) or savory (e.g. pork + salted duck egg) filling.