Chapter 25 His gentleness
Zhou Han chuckled and reached out to pat Lin Li on the head—a gesture of affection so natural that even he didn't realize he was doing it. He looked at Lin Li’s parents and said, "Uncle, Auntie, there’s a nice Chinese restaurant nearby. Shall we go give it a try?"
Lin Li’s mother glanced at the two of them with a smile, then turned to her husband and asked, "Lao Lin, what do you think?"
Lin Li’s father gave a faint smile, nodded, and simply said, "Alright."
Having made the decision, they all stood up to head downstairs. Since they needed to get the car, Zhou Han and Lin Li walked ahead, while her parents followed behind.
Zhou Han was tall, so his stride was naturally long. Although Lin Li was 1.67 meters tall—not short by any means—she was still more than half a head shorter than him; she had to jog slightly to keep up and walk side-by-side with him. She asked in a low voice, "Did you take advantage of me just now?"
Hearing this, Zhou Han raised his eyebrows and glanced sideways at her, a half-smile playing on his lips. "Did I? When?"
"This morning, and just now!" Lin Li challenged him. "You held my hand and put your arm around my waist this morning, and just now you ruffled my hair. Don't you think you were acting a bit *too* naturally, Mr. Zhou?"
Zhou Han laughed and said nonchalantly, "I thought I was just acting; I didn't realize you were taking it seriously."
Lin Li blushed involuntarily at his words and hurriedly explained, "I—I didn't take it seriously. Why would I? I just... I just felt it wasn't necessary!"
Zhou Han stopped walking and turned to look at her. Lin Li stopped walking too, looking at him with a puzzled expression, unsure of his intentions. "What is it? Why did you stop?"
Zhou Han glanced back at Lin Li’s parents, who were following behind, then leaned in close to her ear and whispered, "Do you think this makes it look to outsiders like we have a really close, affectionate relationship?"
"You..." Lin Li was momentarily speechless. He was so close that she could clearly feel his breath against her ear; the warm, ticklish sensation made her face flush instantly. She didn't need a mirror to know she was blushing furiously. She instinctively tried to push him away, but Zhou Han caught her hand in his.
He whispered, "I don't like overcomplicating simple things. Waiting for you to script the lines and plot—and then telling me how to play along—would be a waste of my time. You just don't want your parents to worry, right? So, let's just make the act convincing; that way, they'll be even more reassured." He then stepped back, looking at her with a half-smile.
Lin Li stared at him blankly, unable to process his words for a moment. He was right, of course; she didn't want her parents worrying about her anymore. They had fretted over her for nearly thirty years, and she shouldn't keep causing them anxiety. As he said, putting on a convincing act to make them believe she was doing well would indeed put their minds at ease. But what about the future? What if they eventually divorced? How would she explain that to her parents then?
Just as Lin Li was wondering how she would explain things to her parents if she and Zhou Han were to divorce later on, Zhou Han reached out, took her hand, and led her forward.
Lin Li was a beat slow to react and found herself being pulled along in a daze.
Behind them, Lin Li’s parents watched the couple walking ahead and exchanged knowing smiles.
"Seeing them like this puts my mind at ease," Lin Li’s mother said softly, her voice filled with relief.
Her father didn't speak, but the smile playing on his lips showed he agreed with his wife; he nodded and continued walking.
----- please read the translation from https://irisatdusk.blogspot.com/
Zhou Han parked the car in a space right in front of the hotel, turned off the engine, and looked back at Lin Li’s parents. "Uncle, Auntie, we’re here."
Looking at the hotel through the window, Lin Li’s father murmured, "This... this doesn't look like an ordinary Chinese restaurant."
"I’ve been here before to entertain clients; the food is excellent. I’d been wanting to come back and try it again, and today was the perfect opportunity," Zhou Han said with a gentle smile.
They all got out of the car, but as they approached the hotel entrance, Lin Li’s parents hesitated. It was obvious that the prices here would be steep. Thinking that a simple, ordinary meal didn't call for such extravagance, Lin Li’s mother spoke up: "Zhou Han, I think we should just find a reasonably priced place to eat; there’s no need to come to a fancy spot like this."
Zhou Han looked at her and said, "Auntie, it won't cost that much. I know the manager here well, and he’ll give me a discount."
Seeing his persistence, Lin Li’s mother didn't say anything more, and the group walked into the hotel together. Zhou Han had requested a tastefully decorated private room; while not particularly large, it felt spacious enough for the four of them.
----- please read the translation from https://irisatdusk.blogspot.com/
Zhou Han courteously slid the menu toward Lin’s parents. Father Lin studied it for a long time; the dishes had poetic, evocative names that made it impossible to tell what the food actually was.
Eventually, he pushed the menu back to Zhou Han, telling him to go ahead and order whatever he liked.
Zhou Han didn't stand on ceremony; he took the menu and ordered several dishes.
After the order was placed, the waiter collected the menu and politely withdrew from the room.
Once the waiter had left, Zhou Han picked up the teapot and poured a cup for everyone. While they waited for the food, Mother Lin casually asked, "Ah-Han, what do you do for a living?"
Hearing this, Zhou Han glanced at Lin Li, who was sitting beside her, then looked up and smiled at Lin’s mother. "I just run a small business."
Lin Li, sitting nearby, shot him a look and muttered to herself: if running a company of that scale counted as merely a "small business," then hardly anyone in the world could truly be said to be in business.
Mother Lin didn't notice her daughter’s reaction; she simply nodded, showing no intention of prying further. She changed the subject and asked, "What do your parents do? Do you have any siblings?"
Since she had already accepted this man as her future son-in-law, she felt she should at least understand his background.
Zhou Han answered each question in turn: "No, I don't have any siblings; I’m an only child. As for my father, he’s just an ordinary civil servant, and my mother..." Before he could finish his sentence, Lin Li, who was sitting next to him, suddenly began to cough violently. “Cough... cough...”
Whether she had choked on Zhou Han’s reply or accidentally inhaled some of the tea she was drinking, she was seized by a fit of coughing so violent that her face turned bright red.
Seeing this, Zhou Han hurriedly reached out to pat Lin Li’s back. Brows slightly furrowed in mild disapproval, he said softly, “How could you be so careless?” As he spoke, he opened the tissue box on the table, pulled out a sheet, and handed it to her.
It took a while for Lin Li to stop coughing. She took the tissue to wipe her mouth; the violent coughing had left her throat feeling incredibly parched, so she quickly grabbed the water on the table and took a large, hasty gulp.
Zhou Han shook his head gently, looking at Lin Li with an expression full of affectionate resignation. “Drink slowly; no one is going to snatch it away from you,” he said, his tone so tender it was almost melting.
Mother Lin watched the scene unfold, the smile on her lips deepening. She swallowed back the scolding she had originally intended to give Lin Li, thinking to herself that she could finally rest easy. Even without her mother by her side, her precious daughter had a man who cared for and loved her deeply; there was nothing left to worry about.
She turned her head to see her husband also gazing at the pair. His expression was conflicted—a mix of gratification and a lingering sense of reluctance to let go. She understood that feeling well: their daughter had grown up, and the day would eventually come when she would leave them behind.
----- please read the translation from https://irisatdusk.blogspot.com/
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