A man sat on the sofa with his legs crossed.
Jiang Sheng looked like a bit of a rogue, his hands occupied by a mobile phone as he played a game. His facial features were sharp and deep, his skin a bronzed wheat color, and his dark, piercing eyes held a wild, unrestrained air. When he saw Mu Tingshen and Shen Xingling walk in, he set his phone down.
"Boss Mu, this must be the little sister-in-law!" Jiang Sheng said with a smile, greeting the two of them.
"Mm, my wife, Shen Xingling," Mu Tingshen introduced, presenting his friend to her. He then turned to his wife to introduce his friend. "Xingling, this is my good friend, Jiang Sheng."
"Hello."
"Hello, little sister-in-law! Just call me Jiang Sheng."
"We're going upstairs first, we'll be back down in a moment."
Just as they were about to head off, Old Master Mu called out to the couple. "Do you two think this old man doesn't exist? You didn't even come home last night," the old man grumbled, acting spoiled.
Mu Tingshen explained, "Hello, Grandpa Jiang. Grandpa, yesterday after work, Xingling and I went to see a movie. It felt too late to come back, so we stayed at Wanhe Xingcheng."
Because his work was demanding, Mu Tingshen usually lived at Wanhe Xingcheng, which was only about a ten-minute drive from the Mu Group when there was no traffic. Mu Tingshen knew that if his grandfather found out they hadn't returned because Shen Xingling had been drunk, there would inevitably be a lecture on family discipline. Old Master Mu was a very traditional man who believed that once a person was married, they should return home every day.
Shen Xingling looked at Mu Tingshen, confused. She didn't ask right away, though. *Why did he lie to Grandpa? A movie, a date?* Somehow, the thought made her feel a little expectant.
When Old Master Mu heard that his grandson had taken his granddaughter-in-law out on a date, his mood brightened instantly. "Good, good! You young couple should spend more time cultivating your relationship. Old Jiang, I’m not far from holding my great-grandson now; it looks like you’re going to be a step behind me again."
Shen Xingling blushed. "Grandpa!"
"Grandpa, we're going upstairs to change clothes."
Old Master Mu gave a nod of acknowledgment.
Once the couple returned to their room, Shen Xingling asked about the confusion from earlier. "Why did you lie to Grandpa just now? We clearly didn't go to see a movie." She pouted slightly.
"Silly, do you want to experience the family discipline?" Mu Tingshen explained with a smile, not forgetting to flick her forehead lightly.
"Silly? You're the silly one! Your whole family is silly!" Shen Xingling retorted, unhappy.
"Right, I'm silly, and my whole family is silly," Mu Tingshen teased, placing heavy emphasis on the words "whole family."
Shen Xingling was stunned. She was completely taken aback.
Meanwhile, on the other side.
Elder Jiang sighed, "My good-for-nothing grandson doesn't even have a girlfriend. It makes me angry just thinking about it. He’s about the same age as Tingshen—look at Tingshen, he’s already married."
Jiang Sheng, who was playing games on the side, wasn't having it. "Grandpa, Mu Tingshen is almost a year older than me. If he’s married, he’s married; why bring me into it? When the time comes, I’ll bring your granddaughter-in-law back."
"I'll be waiting for you to bring her back. I expect Tingshen is probably already going to be a father soon," the elder remarked, playing chess while complaining about his grandson.
Jiang Sheng, engrossed in his game, stopped bickering with Elder Jiang. He went back to trading barbs with his teammates. One teammate, exasperated, opened her microphone to lash out at Jiang Sheng. "What kind of rubbish teammate are you! You stole my kill, didn't you?! And you have the nerve to talk about my Tachibana Ukyo. Hmph!"
...
As the couple came back downstairs, they heard Jiang Sheng still bickering with his teammate.
*Huh?* Shen Xingling thought. That voice sounded just like Xinyue’s! But then she reconsidered—Han Xinyue was a public figure and usually didn't use her mic while gaming, so she dismissed the thought after a few seconds.
"Double kill, Triple kill, Quadra kill, Penta kill, Ace."
Hearing the game's audio, memories etched into Shen Xingling's DNA were suddenly awakened. She abandoned Mu Tingshen and hurried over to watch Jiang Sheng’s game. She arrived just in time to hear "Victory!"
Jiang Sheng asked Shen Xingling, "Little sister-in-law, do you play this game too?"
Shen Xingling awkwardly smoothed her hair. "Mm, I've been playing recently. I’m not very good, though."
"Little sister-in-law, you could have Boss Mu lead..." Jiang Sheng hadn't finished his sentence when Mu Tingshen interrupted.
"Ahem." Mu Tingshen cleared his throat, holding a fist to his mouth.
The two gaming enthusiasts looked at the man coughing. Jiang Sheng met Mu Tingshen’s gaze and understood immediately.
"Well, little sister-in-law, let’s play a few rounds together. But, well, maybe—if we play ranked, our ranks might not match."
*Miss Shen, be confident! Cut those first six words!*
"It's okay, little sister-in-law. I'll use a secondary account to help you climb," Jiang Sheng comforted her.
"Okay! But you’d better be prepared."
"Don't worry, little sister-in-law, I'll definitely carry you!" He added, "Wait a second, let me add this teammate as a friend. She played pretty well earlier, though she loves stealing my kills. I need to teach her a lesson."
Teammate: *Are you trying to teach this fairy a lesson? I advise you to act like a human being!*
After adding his teammate, he switched to his secondary account, and they started climbing the ranks together.
Someone stood there feeling like air, completely devoid of presence.
President Mu: "..."
Even though they hadn't been married for two days yet.
As Shen Xingling and Jiang Sheng played, they hit their stride, and Shen Xingling slowly began to relax. She heard the sounds from the phone in succession: "Double kill."
Mu Tingshen saw a genuine smile on Shen Xingling’s face—the first time he had seen it in the Mu household. It was sweet, youthful, and carried a touch of spoiled playfulness.
"Mu Tingshen, look, look! It's my first time getting a double kill! Am I awesome?"
"Yes, very awesome," Mu Tingshen said, his tone filled with doting affection.
Then, "Triple kill!"
"Yay! Triple kill!"
A dozen minutes later, the two finally finished the match. Just as they were about to start another one, the man who had been acting like air spoke up: "Xingling, stop playing. We need to go to your parents' house soon."
"Mm. Jiang Sheng, let's play together when we have time."
"Sounds good, little sister-in-law."
The two old men had finished their long game of chess and stood up to head to the living room.
"Grandpa, I'm taking Xingling to pay a visit to her parents. We won't be back for dinner tonight."
"If you can't make it for dinner, then have lunch here. The house is already preparing it. And bring some good things for the in-laws when you go."
"Don't worry, Grandpa, I've already taken care of it."
Naturally, he felt reassured by the grandson he had raised himself.
Half an hour later, Grandma Mu and Madam Mu returned from the fruit orchard. The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law walked in, chatting and laughing.