"You’re twenty-three this year. If you start dating a young girl now, you’ll need at least two years for the relationship, right? By then, won’t you be twenty-five?"

"As it stands, you won’t have kids until you’re about twenty-seven. Your parents are getting older. If you marry and have kids later, who will have the energy to help you raise them?"

"..."

Shan Mingxu listened to his mom’s long speech and felt like his head was going to explode.

What does all this have to do with anything?

"Don’t think that Mom is thinking too far ahead. I’m just planning for the future. With your temper and stubborn personality, the chances of someone falling for you at first sight are minimal."

"..."

Shan Mingxu lowered his head and forcefully shoveled rice into his mouth!

"If the young girls are a bit picky and don’t like you, and one doesn’t work out, it will just get harder. If you wait until you’re twenty-five to start dating, when will you be able to settle down?"

"Mom, you just want to have grandchildren, right?"

"What are you talking about? Are you saying all the things I just said were pointless? Don’t you understand? Mom is just afraid that if you don’t start looking, you’ll end up with no one."

This was coming from his own mother.

If it were anyone else, Shan Mingxu would have already snapped back.

Anyone might have trouble finding a partner, but him, Shan Mingxu, would definitely not fail to find someone.

He’s not Ming Lang, after all...

"Ming Xu, are you even listening to what Mom’s saying?"

"Haven’t I been listening all along?"

"What kind of attitude is that?"

Yin Shihua frowned and asked back. Seeing that Shan Mingxu wasn’t responding much, she quickly turned to Fu Sheng.

"Fu Sheng, do you think Auntie was right just now?"

Fu Sheng pressed her lips together and glanced at Shan Mingxu, only to see him stuffing his mouth with food, seeming like he was sulking.

She then looked back at Yin Shihua,

"Yes, Auntie is right. Major life events should be planned early... Ming Xu doesn’t really have time, so if he wants to find someone compatible and get married at the suitable age, he should indeed start early..."

Fu Sheng murmured, her nightingale-like voice reaching Shan Mingxu’s ears, but at this moment, it actually sounded unpleasant to him.

"Ming Xu, look, Fu Sheng is even younger than you, but her thinking is much more mature."

"What does she know?"

Shan Mingxu retorted irritably.

He wasn’t facing Fu Sheng directly, but his attitude was certainly unpleasant.

Fu Sheng’s lips pressed tight, and for a moment, her heart was beating somewhat uncontrollably...

Arranged marriage...

Even she hadn’t expected Ming Xu’s parents to plan these things so early for him, when the guy was only twenty-three...

Fu Sheng was not a woman without perception.

Even though Ming Xu’s parents were very kind and treated her exceptionally well.

Since she moved into the Yin Family, they treated her like their own family, genuinely caring for her from the bottom of their hearts...

All because of Ming Xu’s one request, they treated her like a daughter.

This kindness...

Fu Sheng had etched it firmly in her heart.

Ming Xu’s parents could treat her as a daughter but could never see her as a potential daughter-in-law...

The words at the dining table, meant for Ming Xu, were actually directed at her.

Fu Sheng hadn’t expected Ming Xu’s parents to be so meticulous...

Perhaps she had been too obvious.

She liked this man, wanted to stay by his side, her admiration, her adoration, her expectations...

Shan Mingxu might not have noticed, but Shan Munan and Yin Shihua certainly caught on, even if only slightly.

It was truly painful in her heart...

Like being stabbed by needles.

She and Shan Mingxu were genuinely people from two completely different worlds.

The gap between them was not just about status, background, or education...

Fu Sheng, a person whose parents wouldn’t even give her a name.

Ming Xu, a presence brighter than the sunshine.

"Why do you speak like this?"

Shan Munan frowned. Ming Xu had always been a bit unruly, and after growing up and joining the army, this unruliness couldn’t be reined in even more.

Even at the dinner table, he didn’t understand decorum.

"Whether it’s dating or settling down, it’s all too early. Talking to me about this is pointless. If you really have the time to think about these things, you should focus on setting up things for Ming Lang first."

"Ming Lang is still immature and hasn’t settled down, plus he still has grad school ahead of him. He’s not like you."

"Mom, I’m serious with you."

Shan Mingxu really had a serious face,

"What ’two years to get married, two years to have kids’? If I actually fancy someone, I’d be lightning fast and resolve it all in a year tops, but Ming Lang—"

"Achoo!"

At this moment, in the hospital, Shan Minglang, who was playing video games frantically with Zeng Xiaocheng, sneezed and freed up a hand to rub his nose,

"Who’s talking about me behind my back?"

Zeng Xiaocheng frowned, "Are you catching a cold?"

"What kind of physique do I have? Like you? Rolling down the stairs once and then bedridden for half a month..."

Shan Minglang sniffled and gave him a disdainful look...

Zeng Xiaocheng quickly said,

"Did I just roll once? Didn’t I roll again on the day I was discharged?"

"It was fine not to bring it up, but now that you mention it, I can’t help but look down on you again, Zeng Xiaocheng. If you hadn’t insisted on me carrying you, would there have been any trouble?"

"You’re always going for that princess carry, I..."

"..."

Shan Minglang raised his eyebrows, waiting leisurely for him to continue.

Zeng Xiaocheng swallowed his words that were on the tip of his tongue and changed the subject,

"I’m not a woman. Having you carry me like that, it’s just a bit... a bit..."

"I think you quite look like a woman."

Shan Minglang said mercilessly, causing Zeng Xiaocheng’s face color to change instantly.

He vaguely sensed something was off...

This Shan Minglang...

"Are you going to keep playing this game or what? If not, I’m heading home!"

"Ah? Play, play, play! Let’s keep playing for a while, hehe..."

Just a moment ago, Zeng Xiaocheng was thinking about showing his stern face to let Shan Minglang see if he really looked like a woman, but in the next moment, as soon as Shan Minglang mentioned leaving, he immediately bowed his head obsequiously.

Shan Minglang rather despised Zeng Xiaocheng.

But there’s no denying that this man with thick eyebrows and big eyes, looking righteous yet giving off a slightly sleazy vibe, had interests quite aligned with his!

They could really enjoy gaming together.

Since his brother went to the army, he couldn’t even remember the last time someone accompanied him to play video games properly.

The hospital room that should have been quiet felt like a gaming room now.

...

Back at the Shan Family, Shan Mingxu had only gotten halfway through his sentence when he saw his parents staring at him intently. He hesitated a bit but eventually left Minglang some face,

"He doesn’t flatter girls like I do."

"..."

"..."

Shan Mingxu took a deep breath and exhaled.

Actually, what he wanted to say was that since they were kids, Ming Lang could turn all the girls who showed interest or affection towards him into friends like girlfriends...

Ming Xu genuinely admired his brother for this.

He was just worried that if they introduced a girlfriend for his brother, he might turn her into a girlfriend-friend too, wouldn’t that be even more hassle than his own situation?

"Can you stop dodging the issue at hand? In crucial moments, you always use your brother as a shield. Ming Lang is way more trouble-free than you are."

Yeah... Ming Lang is more trouble-free...

Shan Mingxu’s head was going to explode. Why was Ming Lang not home yet today?

Taking care of an injured friend, but also staying overnight?

"Anyway, tomorrow you’re coming with me to meet someone. It won’t take much of your time. What if you like her?"

Yin Shihua wasn’t backing down easily.

Shan Munan’s writer friend, Yin Shihua knew her too. She wasn’t as famous as Shan Munan but was definitely a respected figure.

It was Writer Sun who wanted to introduce his daughter to Shan Mingxu, something that came up when talking to Shan Munan.

Initially, Shan Munan wasn’t really in a rush and didn’t pay it much mind.

"Fine! I’ll go meet her, alright? Can I eat in peace now?"

Shan Mingxu, head throbbing from the nagging, finally gave in and agreed.