Rebirth to Save Myself

Chapter 109 Warm welcome

"You decide whose house to go to!" Chen Wanying and Su Xia turned around and looked at Lu Lu at the same time, as if to say that you can't leave until you make a decision.

"Can't I go back to the dorm?" Lu Lu replied, somewhat amused and exasperated.

"No." Su Xia and Chen Wanying refuted her words in unison.

"Then I'll go to Xiaxia's house," Lu Lu replied after thinking for a moment.

"Ah, why don't you stay at my house?" Chen Wanying asked, somewhat dejected.

"Because we've been staying at your place for the past few days, don't make it seem like we'll never see each other again," Lu Lu said, holding Chen Wanying's hand.

"Okay, then see you at school after the New Year!"

"it is good."

So Su Xia bought train tickets home and embarked on her journey with Ye Zhenzhen. When Chen Chunqi and Chen Jianguo heard that Su Xia had brought her roommate back, they quickly asked the housekeeper to prepare the guest room and air out all the blankets. Chen Yuan also lit scented candles in the room; the faint floral fragrance helped to relax the room.

Chen Chunqi even called Su Xia in advance to ask if her roommates had any food preferences or dietary restrictions, so that she could prepare dinner in advance. Lu Lu was a little apprehensive and not used to troubling others, so she quickly told Su Xia and her family that it would be fine to keep it simple.

“No, that won’t do. Our family values ​​rituals the most.” Su Xia shook her head, then added with a smile, “Don’t be surprised if you see my mom with flowers when we get off the train. It’s normal for us.”

"There are flowers too? Isn't this a bit too much?" Lu Lu was a little incredulous. In her mind, it was just one of her daughter's roommates coming over for the New Year.

"It's not elaborate. If I wasn't worried about scaring you, they probably would have prepared fireworks and banners." Su Xia gave her an expression that said, "You don't understand them. They can do something much more exaggerated."

"I would be really scared." Lu Lu felt terrified just thinking about that scene.

“My parents were worried you’d feel uncomfortable, so they didn’t prepare anything too elaborate. As for dinner, we’ll eat at home first since we were all tired from the journey today. We’ll go to a restaurant tomorrow to formally welcome you, but it will just be the family there, so don’t worry.”

Listening to Su Xia's words, Lu Lu suddenly felt that her decision to spend the New Year at Su Xia's house might have been too hasty. She had originally thought that Chen Wanying would be busy preparing for her wedding, and with such a large family, she would inevitably feel awkward, so she assumed Su Xia's house would be better than Chen Wanying's. But now, it wasn't that much better!

Chen Wanying's home and Su Xia's home were not far apart; the two of them took the high-speed train and arrived in the provincial capital in less than two hours. As soon as Lu Lu came out of the station, she saw the three people holding flowers. People around them looked on curiously. If it weren't for the fact that the person holding the flowers was Chen Chunqi, everyone would probably be wondering if he was picking up his girlfriend.

"Xiaxia!" Chen Yuan spotted her and shouted.

The three of them quickly stepped forward, and Chen Chunqi handed the flowers in his hand to Lu Lu, saying, "Welcome to our home!"

"Thank you, Auntie," Lu Lu said.

"You must be tired from the journey. Let's get in the car first and then chat on the way." Chen Jianguo naturally took Su Xia and Lu Lu's luggage.

"No need, Uncle. I can manage by myself." Lu Lu quickly pulled over the luggage.

"How can that be? This kind of thing should be left to the men. The ladies can just stand by and enjoy themselves. If they really can't stand it, they can cheer me on!" Chen Jianguo waved his hand, pulling a suitcase along the way.

“Yes, your uncle is very strong, so let’s leave it to him.” Chen Chunqi took Lu Lu’s hand and began to ask her about her well-being: “Were you tired from the journey? I was thinking of picking you up, but Xiaxia said the bullet train is faster. It’s a bit warmer here than at school. Oh, your hands are so cold, are you not wearing enough clothes?”

"I'm not tired, Auntie. My hands and feet are always cold in winter, so it's nothing. It is indeed warmer here than at school." Lu Lu answered Chen Chunqi's questions one by one.

"That means your body is too weak. Xiaxia used to have cold hands and feet just like you. She treated me for several years and I'm much better now." Chen Chunqi held Lu Lu's hand to warm it up while chatting like a mother.

Chen Yuan pulled Su Xia aside to chat, asking, "You don't know how excited Mom was when she heard the news."

"I can probably guess some of it."

"This is the first time you've brought someone home in all these years. Your parents were so excited they almost gave up all their savings."

"No, not really."

"How could that be? We were planning to go up north to see the snow this Chinese New Year. But your phone call made Dad cancel the trip immediately."

"It's not like we're taking people with us when they come to visit."

"That's true, it's nice to spend the New Year here."

"So it'll make it easier for you to go on dates, right?"

"Of course, Chen Wenwei complains to me every day that I'm nowhere to be seen during holidays. He's either at the beach or going to see the snow, leaving him feeling awkward about whether to go with me or not."

"That's going too far, showing off their love in front of me, a single person."

"Hehe, I haven't shown you the Christmas present he gave me yet."

"Stop, halt." Su Xia covered her mouth, then shoved her into the car, got in herself, and then called to Lu Lu, "Get in."

As soon as Lu Lu got into the car, she felt a wave of warmth wash over her, and the hand that Chen Chunqi had been holding earlier warmed up again. Su Xia held her hand, and Chen Yuan handed her a bag of dried meat from the side, smiling as she said, "Have a bag of dried meat to fill your stomach first."

"Thank you."

"No need, I'm Xiaxia's older sister, we're all family."

"What about mine?" Su Xia raised an eyebrow at Chen Yuan.

"I've got it ready." Chen Yuan took out two more cups of milk tea, one for Su Xia and one for Lu Lu, and then said to Lu Lu, "This milk tea is a brand that just came out recently, it's really delicious."

"Drink up, she's been nagging me about it several times a day." Su Xia smiled, inserted the straw, took a sip, and looked at Chen Yuan's excited eyes as she replied, "Not bad."

"Hehe, I drink at least one cup a day." Chen Yuan happily picked up her cup and drank.

"You got this belly from drinking so much!" Su Xia poked her slightly protruding belly.

"Oh, disgusting!"

The five of them went upstairs from the basement. As soon as the elevator doors opened, they saw a red banner hanging in the hallway that read, "Welcome Lu Lu to our home." Su Xia glanced at it and said, "I'll be there, no matter how late."

“Xiaxia said that hanging banners at the high-speed rail station was too exaggerated, and we felt that it wouldn’t be right not to hang banners, so we compromised and hung them at our front door. This way, it won’t bother others, and it can still express our welcome to you,” Chen Chunqi explained.

"Thank you, Uncle and Aunt." Lu Lu was a little embarrassed, but she still said thank you.

"Come in quickly, Auntie has already prepared the food."

Lu Lu entered the house with Su Xia. Chen Yuan handed her a pair of fluffy slippers and said, "These are your shoes. You'll wear these whenever you come to our house from now on."

"Okay, thank you."

"If you say thank you again, it'll sound too formal. Be natural and comfortable," Chen Yuan said, feigning anger with a straight face.

"okay."

Then Chen Yuan led Lu Lu to the guest room and said to her, "This is the room we prepared, but you can stay with Xia Xia if you want."

"No need, I'll stay here." Lu Lu said, looking around the room. The bedding was a warm yellow, which looked very cozy. There was a faint floral scent in the air, and the floor heating was warm underfoot.

At this moment, Chen Chunqi brought over a cup of tea and said to Lu Lu, "This is red bean and barley tea, it's good for girls."

"Okay, thank you, auntie."

"You guys, stop crowding in the room and come out for dinner," Chen Jianguo called out from the living room.

"Let's go." Su Xia led Lu Lu to the dining room, and Su Xia smiled knowingly when she saw Lu Lu's tableware. A couple of years ago, Chen Chunqi suddenly announced that everyone would have their own set of tableware, and the different styles would make it easier to distinguish them. If they came to the living room, they could just use the same pure white tableware as the hotel. Now, Su Xia saw that Lu Lu's tableware had small lace trim, which was obviously specially prepared.

"Xiaxia said you're from around the school area, and I figured you probably like spicy food, so I asked Auntie to make some of the local specialties."

"Uh-huh."

"You can try this soup. It's been simmering for an afternoon, it's absolutely delicious."

"it is good."

"Eat more vegetables. If you don't like them, we'll eat out tomorrow."

"Mmm." Lu Lu suddenly felt her eyes getting a little wet, and quickly lowered her head to eat.

The other four looked at each other, then gestured with their eyes to keep quiet and pretend nothing had happened. Maintaining the previous atmosphere, Lu Lu received the utmost attention and care during the meal. When Chen Jianguo learned that Lu Lu was almost certain to receive a government-funded scholarship to study abroad, he genuinely congratulated her.

“Government-funded overseas study is a very rare opportunity, both in our time and now,” Chen Jianguo said, sipping his tea.

"Yes, it was also my teacher who helped me pull some strings." Lu Lu nodded, not proudly.

“You can’t say that. If your grades are bad or your character is flawed, no matter how much the teacher pulls strings for you, it won’t help,” Chen Jianguo said to Lu Lu reassuringly.

“Yes, Old Chen is right.” Chen Chunqi nodded in agreement.

"Lu Lu is outstanding; she's ranked in the top three in her major. The other two are boys. The teacher especially likes her; she's hardworking, diligent, and her professional assignments are also excellent." Su Xia began by giving a brief overview of Lu Lu's excellence.

“That’s much better than our two kids. If you want anything to eat or need anything while you’re abroad, just tell Auntie or Xiaxia and we’ll send it to you. I heard from the Lu family that it’s tough being abroad; food is expensive and not very tasty. Their son has lost a lot of weight there.” Chen Chunqi thought she would probably cry if she didn’t see her daughters for several years.

"The Lu family? Lu Jingnian?" Chen Yuan asked curiously.

“Yes, he went abroad to study right after graduating from high school. I haven’t seen him come back much in the past few years. It’s better if he stays in China; at least the high-speed rail is fast now, and I can see him.” Chen Chunqi was once again glad that Chen Yuan hadn’t chosen to study abroad and had stayed in China.

"Yes, what do you think, Xiaxia?" Chen Yuan deliberately steered Su Xia toward Lu Jingnian, trying to make her parents see something.

“I also think it’s better to stay in China, so I mostly choose schools close to home for my postgraduate studies.” Su Xia could easily see through Chen Yuan’s little scheme, and she defused the situation with a single sentence.

"Lu Jingnian, isn't that the guy who calls you every day?" Su Xia didn't expect Lu Lu's words to pull her back to reality.

"Huh? Calling every day?" Chen Chunqi looked at Su Xia with a puzzled expression.

"Why is that kid calling you every day even though he's abroad?" Chen Jianguo's amiable demeanor vanished instantly as he questioned Su Xia about what was going on.

"We...we were just discussing academic matters. As you know, we've been studying together since high school, so if I have a question or he has a question, we'll call or text each other to communicate," Su Xia quickly explained.

"You're all in different majors, how are you going to discuss the topic?" Chen Yuan asked again.

"Learning has no end, sister!" Su Xia glared at Chen Yuan, signaling her to shut up.

"Old Chen, you've scared Xiaxia. Besides, it's not like Xiaxia can't date at her age," Chen Chunqi said, trying to ease the tension.

"Hmph, Xiaxia promised me she wouldn't date before she turned thirty," Chen Jianguo said with a displeased expression.

"You actually believed what he was saying? Xiaxia, you can't do that. Whether it's the Lu family or someone else, if you can date, then date. Don't listen to your dad's nonsense. What will you do if you can't find someone later? Seriously," Chen Chunqi said to Su Xia.

“If you can’t find someone, I’ll just raise them. Who says girls have to get married and have children?” Chen Jianguo retorted, unconvinced.

"Haha, sorry, you had to see this. I'll go deal with your uncle right now." Chen Chunqi smiled apologetically at Lu Lu, then pulled the unwilling Chen Jianguo back to the room. Not long after, Chen Jianguo's screams of agony could be heard, a continuous stream of them.

"Is Uncle alright?" Lu Lu asked with some concern.

"It's alright, old married couples often do this. Let's go downstairs to digest after we finish eating, and maybe we can buy some snacks at the supermarket while we're at it," Chen Yuan said nonchalantly.

“Yeah, it’s just their usual way of showing off their love.” Su Xia didn’t take it seriously and pulled Lu Lu downstairs with her.

"What's going on between you and Lu Jingnian? Are you sure you want to go abroad to see him next June?" Chen Yuan asked Su Xia in the elevator.

"Yes, it's confirmed." Su Xia nodded.

"So, can I just sit back and wait for good news?" Chen Yuan asked happily upon hearing the news.

“That’s fine too,” Su Xia replied after a moment’s thought.

"Old Chen must be heartbroken, since both girls are dating." Chen Yuan waved her hand, expressing her helplessness.

"Dating isn't marriage, so why is Uncle so opposed?" Lu Lu was also a little curious. Was her family that strict?

"Just think of it as a pig eating the cabbage it's taken care of for over twenty years, so it's sad," Chen Yuan explained with an example.

"You don't know, when Old Chen found out she started dating in high school, he almost came all the way back from Sanya to find her boyfriend. Oh, by the way, her boyfriend was her former next-door neighbor, a classic case of 'the rabbit eats the grass near its burrow'." Su Xia didn't mince words and directly told Chen Yuan about her situation.

"Don't talk about me. If Old Chen knew that you were with Lu Jingnian and even flew abroad for him, you'd see how angry he would be."