The reason for interrupting Chen Pingjiang was that after listening to him, Ge Mengshi felt like she was looking in a mirror.
All the characteristics hit home one by one.
It felt a bit like someone had grasped her vital point.
"There's wine, some fruits, and health supplements in the trunk. Although my dad smokes, the doctor said his cardiovascular health isn't good, so he shouldn't,"
Ge Mengshi tutored Chen Pingjiang during the drive.
"As an actor, what's the scope of my performance later?"
Chen Pingjiang asked curiously,
"Should I act more worldly, or show the restraint and nervousness appropriate for my age?"
This question truly stumped Ge Mengshi.
Honestly, this question was hard to answer.
If Chen Pingjiang performed very ordinarily or even poorly, it would indirectly indicate Ge Mengshi's poor judgment, and her parents' taunts would certainly be inevitable.
They might even "break up the lovebirds" after Chen Pingjiang left and arrange new candidates for Ge Mengshi, which was something she didn't want to see.
But if Chen Pingjiang performed too well and won her parents' favor, that would be even more troublesome!
It meant once she got on this boat, getting off would become very difficult.
"Just be your true self, no need to put on an act."
After thinking, Ge Mengshi made this arrangement.
In her opinion, Chen Pingjiang was just a freshman.
Although his psychological quality was much stronger than that of ordinary students, he ultimately couldn't escape the constraints of his age; a bit of restraint was normal.
Chen Pingjiang nodded.
His true self?
Wouldn't that just be letting himself go wild?
Along the way, Ge Mengshi introduced her father and mother in detail, described some of her own preferences, and asked Chen Pingjiang some questions.
The two were like elementary school students comparing answers for a test, preparing to face their first major exam.
The car arrived at Lanshan Villa Area.
Under Ge Mengshi's direction, they wound through several turns and arrived at the Ge family's doorstep.
Chen Pingjiang got out of the car, put his hands on his hips, and commented,
"This villa is nice, must cost a lot of money."
Ge Mengshi ignored him, instead walking around to the trunk to get the gifts.
Chen Pingjiang was startled, remembering his current identity as a kept man.
He shouldn't be confused about who's in charge, so he quickly ran to the trunk to help.
Ge's father and mother had already heard the roar of the car and were sitting in the living room looking out the window.
"He's not bad, this young man looks tall, and he's a good match for our Shishi."
"Mm, she finally brought someone back. Tonight, don't ask too many questions, don't scare him off."
"I know, I know, you're the talkative one."
Chen Pingjiang and Ge Mengshi hadn't even rung the doorbell when Ge's father and mother, smiling, opened the door and stood waiting.
But the moment they saw Chen Pingjiang's face, the old couple's smiles froze, and they exchanged puzzled glances.
They couldn't see clearly from a distance just now, but why was their daughter's boyfriend so young?
They could accept a girl being a little older than the boy, but what about much older?
An energetic younger brother and a beautiful older sister—that's a plot from a TV drama.
Ge's father and mother's hearts sank halfway.
Originally filled with joy that their daughter had finally brought a boyfriend home, that joy now turned into apprehension.
"Thirty-two years old, single, unmarried, an older leftover woman, and rich."
These were Ge Mengshi's labels.
Chen Pingjiang was quick to react.
Seeing the frozen smiles on Ge's father and mother's faces, he quickly said,
"Uncle, Auntie, my name is Chen Pingjiang, you can just call me Xiao Chen. I apologize for bothering you today."
Ge's father and mother also reacted, suppressing their doubts and smilingly greeted,
"Please, come in quickly."
While sitting down to drink tea, Ge's mother gave Ge Mengshi a look, and the two went to the master bedroom on the first floor and closed the door.
"Shishi, are you deliberately trying to upset your father and me? If you're looking for a partner, look properly. Why find someone so young? Are you just playing around, or are you serious about getting married?"
As soon as they entered, Ge's mother's face changed, and she bombarded her with questions.
Ge Mengshi suddenly felt a surge of satisfaction deep down.
"Mom, what are you saying? Of course, I'm seriously looking, dating seriously, and planning to get married."
Ge's mother's face was grim:
"I wouldn't mind if you found someone ten years older than you, but you insisted on finding someone ten years younger."
Ge Mengshi retorted,
"As long as there's love, what's wrong with being ten years younger? Isn't he a man?"
"Boys are still young, playful, and their personalities aren't fully formed. You're already at childbearing age, so your needs won't match. Furthermore, such a marriage won't be stable. You may look fine now, but twenty years from now, you'll be over fifty and past your prime, while he'll be forty and in his prime. I don't need to say what will happen then, do I?"
"And... and there are many examples of people swindling money and love in society. These types of people target women like you, older single women who are also rich."
In her anger, Ge's mother's words were a bit harsh.
It would have been better if she hadn't spoken; once she did, Ge Mengshi became even more unhappy.
"You want me to date them, and you also want me to break up with them. So what exactly do you want?"
"We're not trying to harm you, just helping you vet."
However, before Ge's mother could finish speaking, Ge Mengshi walked out, leaving her with her back.
When the mother and daughter walked out of the bedroom and returned to the villa's living room, they heard Chen Pingjiang and Ge's father, Ge Bingyi, chatting happily.
Ge Bingyi's old face was even flushed, he laughed heartily, and his gaze towards Chen Pingjiang softened considerably.
The mother and daughter exchanged suspicious glances, a bit confused about what was going on.
The two women knew Ge Bingyi's temper too well.
He seemed easygoing on the outside, but was quite arrogant on the inside.
Ordinary people found it hard to impress him, which was also related to his experiences back then.
Ge Bingyi, who had traveled throughout the country doing business in the 80s and 90s, indeed had the capital to be arrogant.
In Ge's mother's memory, her husband had last been this happy at a reunion with old friends several years ago.
Ge Mengshi was even more puzzled.
Just hearing a couple of sentences felt preposterous.
Chen Pingjiang was speaking fluently and eloquently, his gestures and manners just right, easygoing yet not showy, enthusiastic yet neither humble nor overbearing.
This was in stark contrast to Chen Pingjiang's age.
In her opinion, a freshman, lacking age and social experience, should be reserved or even flustered.
On the way, she had considered that Chen Pingjiang would either be timid, answering one question at a time, or exceptionally boastful, but she never imagined Chen Pingjiang to be like this.
"Xiao Chen, do you smoke?"
Ge Bingyi asked casually, his gaze at Chen Pingjiang a bit complex, as he pulled out a cigarette and offered it to him.
From the initial surprise and anticipation upon hearing his daughter was bringing a boyfriend home, to the apprehension at their first meeting, and then after a few words with Chen Pingjiang, he found himself really liking this young man.
Ge Bingyi, this old father, was truly worried sick.
Chen Pingjiang nodded, casually took the cigarette Ge Bingyi offered, yet naturally and respectfully lit it for him, his movements experienced and skillful.
After taking a sip of tea, he praised,
"Uncle, your old Ban Zhang tea is incredible."
"The tea soup is bright and rich, the aroma is strong, the taste is smooth, turning from bitter to sweet. What good tea."
"Oh? You even know old Ban Zhang? Does your father at home also drink it often?"
Just a few words almost made Ge Bingyi beam with joy.
Praising the tea was like praising the person; good tea meant good taste.
Chen Pingjiang shook his head with a smile,
"My father has never had such good tea. At most, he drinks Maofeng or Houkui tea that costs about 100 yuan per jin."
To Ge Bingyi, these words were enough to show that Chen Pingjiang was honest and unpretentious.
"Young people nowadays rarely understand tea; they all prefer soft drinks,"
Ge Bingyi said with a smile.
Because of his business, Ge Bingyi had also acquired the habits of liking cigarettes, alcohol, and tea.
Undoubtedly, when it came to cigarettes and tea, Chen Pingjiang and he got along very well.
When elders look at juniors, a junior who doesn't smoke or drink might be a good one, but certainly not one they can connect with or find agreeable.
Ge Mengshi walked over at this moment, waving away the lingering smoke as she approached, and complained,
"The doctor told you not to smoke, but you still do."
After saying this, she even glared at Chen Pingjiang.
Chen Pingjiang looked completely innocent, thinking, Your dad was the one who offered me the cigarette.
Ge Bingyi waved his hand,
"Just an occasional smoke, what's the big deal? I'm happy today."
Ge's mother, equally curious, now walked over and sat down, asking,
"It's better to smoke less."
It seemed like she was agreeing with her daughter, but wasn't she also subtly criticizing Chen Pingjiang?
Chen Pingjiang looked at Ge Mengshi and her mother, smiled, and said,
"If I take this cigarette, Uncle will just smoke one less, won't he?"
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone's expressions varied.
A highly emotionally intelligent answer that both defended Ge Bingyi and explained his "forced" smoking.
Ge Bingyi was also amused by the eloquent Chen Pingjiang:
"Pingjiang, don't listen to them. They're always managing me, forbidding this and that, it's stifling."
Ge Mengshi opened her mouth, but couldn't say anything.
Those words were absolute, impossible to counter!
Watching the "father-in-law and son-in-law" filled with harmony, her heart felt as strange as could be.
You were supposed to pretend to be a couple, and you made the old man so happy he lost his bearings?
You actually turned your elbow outwards and "complained"?
"Let's eat first."
Ge's mother changed the subject, wanting to observe Chen Pingjiang more during dinner.
"Pingjiang, have some?"
Ge Bingyi asked, raising the Maotai in his hand.
Ge Mengshi suddenly realized that her father was calling Chen Pingjiang "Pingjiang" instead of "Xiao Chen," so intimately and naturally.
Chen Pingjiang nodded with a smile,
"Then I'll drink a bit more, so Uncle, you can drink a bit less."
"Heh heh, then I'll have to see your drinking capacity."
Ge Bingyi was quite surprised that Chen Pingjiang, at such a young age, was well-versed in cigarettes, alcohol, and tea.
This greatly appealed to him as a businessman, and his gaze towards Chen Pingjiang became increasingly gentle and pleasing.
He even thought to himself that with Chen Pingjiang knowing a bit of everything, future father-in-law and son-in-law gatherings during holidays would never be boring or lack common topics.
Ge Mengshi told Chen Pingjiang to be himself, and Chen Pingjiang earnestly "was himself," treating Ge Bingyi completely as a friend.
Since he and Ge Mengshi were a fake couple, he had no filters when looking at Ge's father and mother, and was easygoing and enthusiastic during the meal.
His language was appropriate, witty, humorous, and thorough.
He possessed common sense, cultivation, and social graces, sometimes leaving a deep impression with just one sentence, subtly making Ge's father and mother develop a good impression of him.
He neither avoided drinks nor urged others to drink.
His toasts were orderly, with clear priorities.
He observed expressions, understood people's hearts, and knew what to say to make others happy.
Ge's mother's gaze towards Chen Pingjiang also softened, thinking that although this Xiao Chen was young, he was truly remarkable.
Maybe they should let them try?
Ge Mengshi was also completely speechless.
Watching Chen Pingjiang's every word and action make her parents laugh with joy felt utterly absurd.
Was this something a freshman could do?
He was even more eloquent than their boss.
"Is this really him, or is he just faking it?"
Ge Mengshi wondered.
(End of chapter)
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