Chapter 102: This... This Is a Beautiful Woman
Zhang Yang hesitated for a moment, shook his head, and after confirming he hadn't misheard or hallucinated, grinned. "Your mom wants to meet me? Are you serious?"
Qiao Xier glanced at him and nodded firmly. "Of course! My mom's not a demon, what's with that face?"
"No way, I… I should find somewhere to hide."
"Hide?" Qiao Xier swung her small fist. "I'll beat your ass! I worked so hard to get this chance, and now you're telling me you're gonna hide?"
"Hehe, I was just joking. Don't worry, your boyfriend's brilliant and mighty—I'll handle the mother-in-law and marry you fair and square." Zhang Yang grinned as he pushed her little fist away.
"But seriously though, what does your mom like? I've gotta buy a small gift to please her, right? Come on, give me some intel. Should I get her a watch? A bag? Or maybe a fresh, handsome guy…"
"Damn it, Zhang Yang, be serious." Qiao Xier pinched him angrily. "I've got a bad feeling about my mom this time. You should be mentally prepared."
Zhang Yang frowned. It'd be strange if she came with good intentions—after all, he was trying to take away someone's beloved daughter, and a broke guy at that.
Seeing Zhang Yang stay silent, Qiao Xier pouted and looked at him worriedly. "You're not gonna crack under my mom's pressure and dump me, are you?"
"How could I? At least let me finish sleeping with you first before we talk about that… ow, hey, you bite like a damn dog! Just because you're not driving doesn't mean you can bite people at random."
After picking up Qiao Xier, Zhang Yang didn't go to the lab, but good news came from there—the Lingguang No.1 reagent was officially completed.
This time, the research institute's secrecy work was excellent. Even within the lab, not everyone knew. It wasn't until the reagent was finished that it was announced—developed under Professors Liu Zixuan, Zheng Yuntai, and Ding Pengshan, the Lingguang No.1 reagent was a new drug designed to treat vegetative patients, Parkinson's disease, paralysis, and severe strokes.
The news was still locked within the lab, but the preliminary success of the experiment made Zhang Yang overjoyed. That meant Gao Qi's father's recovery was within reach, and a huge weight had finally lifted from his heart.
He immediately shared the news with Gao Qi. Sister Qi was so moved she cried tears of joy—if not for her period, she probably would've stripped and offered up her body right then and there.
But Zhang Yang's joy didn't last long. Around three in the afternoon, Qiao Xier went to the airport to pick up her mother.
The meeting spot was at the Huichen Grand Hotel, a five-star place. The meeting time was set for 5:30 p.m. And only then did Zhang Yang realize—the hotel belonged to the Lanchen Group.
When Xu Danlu heard Zhang Yang was going to meet Qiao Xier's mother, she immediately dragged him and Gao Qi to the duty-free mall and dressed him up from head to toe like she was marrying off her own daughter.
After a complete makeover, Zhang Yang looked at himself in the mirror and almost didn't recognize his reflection. Damn, he actually looked like a rich and handsome young man.
He frowned reluctantly. "Why do I look like a pretty boy now?"
Lulu rolled her eyes, reached out to straighten his tie, and said calmly, "I know you're usually casual, but since she's meeting you in a hotel—such a formal place—you should at least show some respect. Don't you want to make a good impression on your future mother-in-law?"
"Ahem… I'm still your boyfriend, you know. What kind of girlfriend pushes her man out like this?" Zhang Yang said with a pained smile. "Besides, I'm probably gonna get my face slapped tonight, so what's the point?"
Xu Danlu glanced at him and slowly said, "Maybe you won't succeed tonight, but as your girlfriend, I want to help you save some dignity. I want them to see that even if my boyfriend isn't some bigshot yet, he can still walk into a grand hotel and talk to so-called elites as an equal."
"I get it. Lulu, thank you." Zhang Yang pulled her into his arms. Those words were enough for him.
Zhang Yang left in his freshly repaired Chevrolet. Not long after, Gao Qi wrapped an arm around Xu Danlu's shoulder, patted her gently, and sighed. "Silly girl, just cry if you want to."
Xu Danlu turned her head, smiled faintly, and said, "Why should I cry?"
"With Zhang Yang's ability, he'll definitely win over Qiao Xier's mother. When that happens, we're screwed. Best case, you'll be the second wife and I'll be the third. Worst case…" Gao Qi lowered her head, looked at her boots, pulled her scarf tighter, exhaled a faint puff of white breath, and said quietly, "If it were just the three of us, it'd be nice."
"Don't overthink it. It's useless. A guy like him—even if it wasn't Qiao Xier today, there'd be a Zhang Xier tomorrow. And his feelings for Qiao Xier run deeper than ours… But honestly, that guy may look tough, but deep down he's soft as hell. Unless we're the ones who walk away, he'll never abandon us." Xu Danlu rubbed her hands, exhaled a puff of air like Gao Qi did, and said, "Let's go home. Tomorrow's probably gonna be a busy day."
"What do you mean?"
"He's bound to hit a wall tonight. I'm just curious how hard he'll hit it—and what kind of mood he'll be in when he comes home." Xu Danlu glanced at the dark road ahead. "When a man gets frustrated in love, he usually finds something to vent on… Nuwa Company? The Bai family? Could be a good target."
"And what makes you think Yangzi will fail? He's a total catch—a scientist, young, rich, handsome, has a good temper, can fight, and most importantly, he's a beast in bed! Where are you gonna find another man like that?"
Xu Danlu wiped sweat from her forehead speechlessly, glanced at the big-breasted woman, and smiled wryly. "Fine, then let's bet on it."
"Sure. What's the bet?" Big-Boobs Qi perked up the moment she heard the word.
"Didn't you say you learned a new trick from those island films? Something called SM? Wax play or… uh, backdoor explosion or whatever?"
"Get lost… no way!" Big-Boobs Qi instinctively covered her butt, wincing in imagined pain.
"What, not confident?"
Gao Qi flared up. "Fine, bitch, you're on. If you lose, you're getting the wax treatment too."
*****
Huichen Grand Hotel, rooftop view restaurant. Zhang Yang looked at the plainly dressed young woman before him—it was really hard to believe she was Qiao Xier's mother.
Logically speaking, Qiao Xier's mom should be nearly fifty, but the woman before him looked barely in her thirties—an oval face, willow brows, phoenix eyes, skin as flawless as jade. And her chest… okay, Zhang Yang admitted he shouldn't be looking at his future mother-in-law that way, but damn, those were firm. She didn't look like a woman with a twenty-something daughter at all.
This… this was a beautiful woman! If Qiao Xier hadn't repeatedly told him that he was meeting her real mom tonight—and if they didn't look so uncannily alike—Zhang Yang wouldn't have believed his eyes.
Moreover, her mother was the chairwoman of a massive group worth over eighty billion, so even if she didn't dress like a walking jewelry display, she should at least be wearing designer brands. But Qiao's mom looked completely ordinary—at best, like a regular office lady. You'd never guess she was Lanchen Group's chairwoman, Ye Jing.
In fact, the beautiful assistant standing respectfully beside her was dressed even better.
After meeting, Zhang Yang hadn't managed to say a full sentence to her. Everything had been handled by the assistant. Now dinner was over, yet Ye Jing was still leisurely sipping her tea. Any longer, and Zhang Yang figured he'd miss his evening class. He really didn't want that.
Ye Jing looked at Zhang Yang and smiled faintly. "Can you tell me if there's something more important than my daughter?"
"Uh… what do you mean by that, ma'am?" Zhang Yang, still trying to think of conversation topics, was caught completely off guard.
"Since dinner started," Ye Jing said, dabbing the corner of her mouth with a napkin and narrowing her phoenix eyes slightly, "you've checked your watch twice and looked toward the door three times."
Damn, this woman's got hawk eyes!
Zhang Yang broke into a cold sweat internally, but outwardly, he kept calm and replied steadily, "You're right, ma'am. I do have an evening class."
"Because the teacher is that once-in-a-century beauty from Meining University?" Ye Jing's lashes fluttered lightly as she spoke, her tone casual.
Zhang Yang's heart skipped a beat. Clearly, she'd done her homework before this dinner.
Since that was the case, there was no need to hide. Zhang Yang cleared his throat, nodded, and said, "Yes, I do have English tutoring with Teacher Yang Fei tonight, but not for the reason you mentioned."
"Alright…" Ye Jing raised her hand to interrupt him. "If I'm not mistaken, you also have two other girlfriends—serious ones you're even living with, correct?"
Zhang Yang almost wanted to kneel. There's no way Qiao Xier told her that, right?
He sighed and nodded again. In other words, things with Qiao Xier were pretty much over. Honestly, if it were his own daughter, he wouldn't approve either.
Ye Jing gently set the napkin aside, nodded in satisfaction, then spread her hands. "I know Qiaoqiao likes you. Maybe you like her too. Let's just call it mutual affection. But you should know the Qiao family's situation. Even if I, Ye Jing, agreed, would her father, her grandfather, or the whole family approve? You're smart and honest—so tell me, what exactly do you plan to do now?"
Zhang Yang looked at her. She wore a faint smile, one he couldn't tell was mocking, amused, or genuinely expectant.