Marry First Love Later Ch. 6

Chapter 6-This is a betrothal gift

Mother Yao set the dishes on the table and greeted Yao QiQi, “I made a little more for lunch, and since your father is still out, we can finish the food first.” 

Yao QiQi: “….”

This was the first time the mother and daughter pair had nothing to say to each other, well to be exact, it was Yao QiQi who had no idea what to say. 

She really didn’t know how to break the news to her unsuspecting mother. 

Wouldn’t her mother be scared to death if her daughter suddenly told her that she got married?!

“Mom…”

“Wait, let me guess. Yesterday you were on your period, so what is it today? Depression?” Mother Yao picked up a piece of braised pork and set it in Yao QiQi’s bowl, “Here, eat some more. Everything will be fine after eating good food made by your mother.” 

Yao QiQi: “….” 

“Mom…”

“Can you not eat now either…”

“I got a marriage certificate.”

Mother Yao: “???”

Yao QiQi pulled a long face: “Yesterday I drank too much and my mind wasn’t sober. I was confused and…”

“Male or female?”

Yao QiQi: “….”

“Tell me~” Mother Yao blinked twice in expectation. 

Yao QiQi couldn’t believe what was happening, “Fine! It was Xie Lan. Are you satisfied now??” 

Mother Yao’s eyes widened, “Are you sure it was little Xie?”

Yao Qiqi threw her marriage certificate at Mother Yao. 

Mother Yao flipped open the little red book and then exclaimed happily, “Aiya! The photos turned out so well!”

Yao QiQi: “….”

“Where is little Xie right now?”

“….”

“Say something!”

“…downstairs.”

Mother Yao quickly stood up, “Look at you! How can you let her wait downstairs? Hurry and call her up here!”

Yao QiQi: “I’m not going. You can go by yourself.” 

Then Mother Yao really left Yao Qiqi to personally open the door and bring Xie Lan upstairs.

Just what did Xie Lan mean by doing this? Yao Qiqi sat there, looking blankly at the marriage certificate in her hands. 

Although she definitely knew that she had too much to drink yesterday, did Xie Lan drink too much as well?

A short while later, both of them arrived. Mother Yao came in first, with Xie Lan following closely behind. 

“QiQi go call your father and tell him to return home, immediately! I’ll go cook some more dishes while you two talk first. Ah, little Xie, you should stay for lunch and eat with us!”

“Mrs. Yao…” Xie Lan began to say but then hesitated. 

Mother Yao glared at her, “Who are you calling Mrs. Yao? Call me Mom!”

Yao QiQi buried her face into her hands. 

Just what are you doing, mother!

Mother Yao went out to buy food, and the two of them remained at home, staring at each other. 

Just great! We already skipped several steps and have gone straight to spending the rest of our lives together! 

“I’m sorry.” Xie Lan broke the silence first. 

Yao QiQi looked down and fiddled with the marriage certificate in her hands, “What are you being sorry for?”

“……you’re angry.”

Yao Qiqi smiled, “Wow, how did you know I was angry?”

Xie Lan looked at her helplessly.

Yao QiQi felt like a bully as those puppy dog eyes stared at her. 

“Alright, alright, no point in being angry anymore. It’s too late to do anything now since we’ve already tied the knot.” Yao Qiqi stood up, walked into her room and put the marriage certificate away. She came back out and asked, “Have you eaten yet?”

Xie Lan shook her head. 

Yao QiQi grabbed an extra set of chopsticks, “Then let’s eat first. Come, sit down, and try my mother’s cooking.”

After Xie Lan sat down, Yao Qiqi picked up and added some vegetables into Xie Lan’s bowl, “Aunt Wang told us about your family’s situation, so from now on, you can just treat this place like your own home.”

Yao QiQi took a few bites of her food and then looked up to see Xie Lan staring at her with a look…that was hard to describe. 

“What are you looking at? Don’t look at me, hurry up and eat!” Yao QiQi finished speaking, but saw that Xie Lan still wasn’t moving and started coaxing her, “Be obedient and listen to me.” 

A light flickered in Xie Lan’s eyes. 

Yao QiQi saw that flicker and panicked, raising her hands to reach over and cover Xie Lan’s eyes, “I told you not to look at me! Hey..don’t just grab my hands all of a sudden!”

Mother Yao who had walked in on this scene of a “harmonious union” of the couple happily bickering was happy to stay silent as she watched. However, she had to interrupt, “Yao QiQi, did you call your father yet?”

The flustered Yao QiQi quickly pulled back her hands, “No, I forgot.”

“Oh, then I’ll call him myself.”

Yao QiQi: “….”

Yao QiQi shuddered at her mother’s new attitude. The usually violent and nagging mother had done a complete 180!

After Father Yao returned home, the family had a nice meal together. 

When they finished, Mother Yao hurriedly rushed them out, “Since both of you are free this afternoon, go out and have some fun together! You don’t have to come back early!”

“Mom….”

“Mom, what mom? You’re married and an adult now, so don’t call me that from now on.”

Mother Yao then clasped their hands together, pushed them out and mercilessly slammed the door behind them. 

Yao QiQi, who was standing outside the door, wanted to cry, but she just had no tears left. 

The two were still holding hands and Xie Lan moved carefully, afraid that Yao QiQi would get annoyed and let go. 

“My mother is so, ugh!” complained Yao QiQi, and unknowingly let go of Xie Lan’s hand.

Xie Lan’s heart suddenly felt empty and wanted to grab her hand again, however Yao QiQi had already walked far away. 

“Where do we go now?” Yao QiQi didn’t notice Xie Lan’s actions and continued to walk. 

Hearing no sounds coming from the person beside her, Yao QiQi tilted her head, “Professor Xie?”

Xie Lan returned to reality, “Where do you want to go?” 

The Yao QiQi who felt bored to death said, “Let’s go to your place.”

Xie Lan froze, but then nodded and said, “Ok.”

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Originally, Yao QiQi had thought that a person like Xie Lan would live in a high-end villa but she was wrong. They were in an old community, however the environment wasn’t half bad, the houses were just a bit outdated. 

Xie Lan lived in an old duplex, but it was clean and tidy, the decorations were just like their owner, simple but comfortable. 

“This property was left to me by my parents many years ago…”Seeming to be aware of Yao QiQi’s thoughts, Xie Lan took the initiative to explain.  

Yao QiQi nodded, “Have you always lived alone?” 

“En.”

Like this, she really is quite pitiful. No wonder her personality is a little strange….

Yao QiQi took a glance at Xie Lan’s face, only to find Xie Lan staring back at her. Xie Lan, who was caught staring, looked sideways and evaded Yao QiQi’s gaze. 

Yao QiQi felt helpless at the other’s meek attitude, “What are you doing? I don’t bite.”

After walking through the living room, Yao QiQi entered the kitchen. She was surprised to find an orderly set of cooking utensils lying on top of the clean counter.

“So you know how to cook?”

Xie Lan blushed, “Just a little bit, I’m really not that good.” 

It would only be a year later, when Yao QiQi gained twenty pounds, that she would understand what that ‘just a little’ really meant. 

Of course, that’s a story for another time. 

Then Yao QiQi asked to see Xie Lan’s bedroom, and Xie Lan brought her to the second floor. 

The second floor was decorated similarly like the first floor. When they arrived at the bedroom, Yao QiQi’s eyes couldn’t help but look at the two meter wide, double sized bed. As she continued to look, her mind started to wander about something that was quite inappropriate for children. However the Xie Lan who stood beside the frozen Yao QiQi, didn’t understand and asked,

“Is something wrong?” 

Xie Lan was standing behind Yao QiQi, her head slightly bowed, so when she spoke, her warm breath directly landed onto the back of Yao QiQi’s slender neck. 

Yao QiQi shivered and quickly moved sideways, “Ah, no, everything is fine, I just thought your bed is really big. It’s even bigger than the one I have at home.”

Xie Lan nodded, “My aunt helped me order it.”

“Ah, your aunt is quite considerate,” Yao QiQi started spouting nonsense. 

The confused Xie Lan just nodded and smiled. 

Yao QiQi glanced at it one more time, then feeling bored again, suggested going out for a walk. 

However, Xie Lan stopped her and sheepishly said, “W-Wait over here for a bit, I have something I want to give to you.”

Yao QiQi: “What is it?”

Xie Lan didn’t answer her and walked away.

Yao QiQi felt apprehensive, because she remembered that Xie Lan was a biology researcher, so she was afraid that Xie Lan would give her something weird to look at.

When Xie Lan returned, she had a little red book and two bank cards in her hands.

Yao QiQi accepted the things and asked, “These are?”

“A real estate title deed and my payroll card.” Xie Lan answered seriously. 

Yao QiQi quickly pushed them back into Xie Lan’s arms, “Why would you give them to me? You should keep them for yourself!” 

Xie Lan grabbed her hands, and stuffed them back into Yao QiQi’s grasp.

Yao QiQi still didn’t understand what Xie Lan was doing, “Don’t you already have a house? Why did you buy another place?”

Xie Lan stayed silent. 

Yao QiQi flipped through the title deed, and felt even more shocked, “When did you buy this?”

Again, Xie Lan did not speak. 

“Why aren’t you saying anything?”

“…..May 27th.”

May 27th?

Yao QiQi was startled, if she remembered correctly, wasn’t that a day after their blind date?

“You…bought this place a day after you met me?”

Xie Lan nodded slightly.

Yao QiQi was speechless.

It took awhile for Yao QiQi to digest the information before she sighed quietly, “Your current place is already good enough.”

Xie Lan watched her attentively for a moment, then said, “I wanted to buy it.”

Yao QiQi: “???”

“It’s a betrothal gift.” 

Yao QiQi froze. Her heartbeat that had not calmed down properly since this morning quickened again…this Xie Lan was really….

“What about the bank cards? What are they for?”

“…..one is my payroll card, another is a bank card that contains the bonuses I get every year from my research. Except for some gifts to my aunt, most of it is untouched money.” 

Yao QiQi was completely stunned, so this card contained Xie Lan’s several years worth of savings? 

Holding up the title deed and two bank cards, she asked, “You really have that much faith in me? Aren’t you afraid that I will run away with all of your assets?” 

Xie Lan’s expression froze, she probably did not expect that Yao QiQi would suddenly say that.

Seeing that Xie Lan actually believed her words, Yao QiQi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, so she quickly explained, “Relax, I’m kidding. ”

For someone who’s in their thirties, she’s way too gullible and naive. 

Yao QiQi slightly shook her head and then wandered off, wanting to find something to entertain herself with. Xie Lan watched her retreating figure and murmured in a soft voice, “…You wouldn’t run away….”

Lost in her thoughts, her phone suddenly rang. 

Xie Lan picked it up to see the screen. The contact name said: Aunt. 

Xie Lan picked it up and called out: “Aunt.”

Yao QiQi tilted her head and interestedly looked over at Xie Lan, who was in the middle of a phone call. 

“En, not yet. I’ll discuss it with her. Okay, goodbye.”

Yao QiQi was curious, “Was that your aunt?” 

Xie Lan nodded, “Yeah, she was asking us about the wedding.”

Wedding?

Ah, that’s right! How could she forget? They still needed to hold a wedding after getting the marriage certificate. Yao QiQi frowned, “Getting married really is troublesome!” 

She had a reluctant expression on her face while mumbling to herself. 

Xie Lan saw her expression, hesitated, then asked, “Do you not want to do it?” She wanted to tell her that the wedding doesn’t have to be troublesome and if Yao QiQi wanted to, they could make it simpler. However, she didn’t want to do anything that Yao QiQi didn’t like. 

Yao QiQi thought that Xie Lan must be thinking too much again, and waved her hand at her in a coaxing manner, “No, how is that possible? Of course I want to do it. Don’t think too much about it.” 

Xie Lan stared at her intently, and said in a serious manner, “I will treat you right.” 

Yao QiQi’s heart trembled like a candle flame flickering in the wind, but she pretended to cough and asked, “Where’s the bathroom?”

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