"OH BUDDHA, H—HUSBAND, CALL THE POLICE NOW, OR WE WILL BE IN TROUBLE!"

I was shocked when my mom yelled at me, and my dad went to take his phone, ready to call the police.

I hurriedly snatched the phone from my dad\'s hand and yelled, "Mom, Dad! He is my boyfriend! He comes here willingly! Why don\'t you guys believe me!?"

My mom hugged me tightly and said, "Oh, my dear daughter. We love you so much, but this is not the way to get a husband. The last of this groom kidnapping tradition had been done by your great-grandma, and we\'ve stopped kidnapping groom!"

"Maybe the blood of the groom kidnapping tradition still flows deep in your vein, so you have the tendency to kidnap a handsome young master," My mom looked serious when she said that, which I thought sounded so ridiculous.

"Is that… for real? Groom kidnapping?!"

"Yes, yes, we usually kidnap a handsome young man and then marry him in the middle of the night, and then we will be groom and bride!" Mom explained. She gulped when she saw Meng Bao. "I may allow you to do groom kidnapping, but not this young master! Just by the looks of it, he looks like a rich young master from the city!"

Well, she wasn\'t wrong on that one. Meng Bao was indeed a rich young master. But I didn\'t kidnap him! He came by his own will!

"Aish, if I kidnap him right now, he wouldn\'t look so calm!" I turned my head to Meng Bao and begged for affirmation, "Right, Meng Bao?"

Meng Bao was dazed for a moment before nodding and said, "Yes, Mrs. Shi. Even if Ying Jie has kidnapped me, I\'d be willing to marry her. She doesn\'t even need to force me."

…

…

"SHI YING! WHAT KIND OF BRAINWASHING DID YOU DO TO THIS YOUNG MASTER?! OH BUDDHA, WE\'RE SCREWED! SCREWED!!"

"What brainwashing?! He doesn\'t mean it in a bad way! He is completely conscious right now!" I smacked Meng Bao\'s shoulder and yelled at him. "You\'re not making it any better either! Try to be more direct! If you keep making some weird sentences, you\'re just going to make it worse!"

"Meng Bao, try to be more direct now, or I will return you back to Beijing!"

Meng Bao was shocked when he heard this, his face paled, and he grabbed my hands immediately, "Jie, please don\'t return me to the city. You\'ve brought me here. You should take responsibility for me."

"Y—You know, once you purchase something, there is no refund?"

…

…

"SHI YING, MY DAUGHTER, DID YOU TURN HIM INTO A PET?! OH MY GOD, YOU\'RE TURNING SUCH A NICE AND HANDSOME YOUNG MAN INTO YOUR PET, YOUR SLAVE!"

"Aish, no, no! It\'s just his way of speaking! He\'s not under any contract! We\'re truly in love with each other ah!" I tried to defend myself again, my mom picked up a broom from the kitchen.

"Come here, you naughty daughter! I will teach you not to kidnap a poor young man!"

My eyes widened when I saw the mighty broom. I immediately hide behind Meng Bao, "You\'re the man ah! Go and protect me somehow!"

Meng Bao immediately shielded me with his body, and his gentle and innocent gaze changed in just one second into a sharp gaze that could intimidate even a charging bull in front of him.

"Mrs. Shi, please stop," Meng Bao said.

My mom was still holding the broom. She was ready to smack me. But when her eyes met Meng Bao\'s gaze, she halted her step and gulped, "Y—Young man, please step aside, I need to discipline my daughter because she did something crazy."

"Crazy?"

"Yeah! She is brainwashing you, so you can follow her here ah! Aiyo, Young Man, you\'re still young and very handsome. Do you think we will believe that our daughter can get someone like you as her proper boyfriend?"

…

"Sir, Ma\'am, truth to be told, it was me who tried to chase Ying Jie first," Yang Menghuo said. "I\'m the first one to confess and beg her to accept me, so there is no forcing in here. In fact, if you want to beat someone, you should beat me, Ma\'am. Because I\'m the one who insisted on coming here to meet your two."

My mom finally lowered her broom. She looked at dad, and they stared at each other as if they had some kind of telepathy. They finally shifted their gaze at Meng Bao and said, "Okay then, but we want to ask if this is true from your heart. Please tell us why would you choose our daughter?"

"She is indeed a hard worker, a strong one and also very responsible. But she is already twenty-seven years old, she doesn\'t come from a rich family, and she\'s not a beauty you see in television."

Meng Bao looked over his shoulder to look at me, and then he smiled, "Sir, Ma\'am, I didn\'t choose your daughter. It is my heart who chooses her. When I first met her, I already feel a familiarity between us. After I know her better, it makes me realize that she gives me something I\'ve searched for so long."

"Ying Jie gives me love. She gives me a simple love without any reason or repercussion, and that is the only thing I want in this world."

"And about her appearance, Mr. Shi and Mrs. Shi are her parents, you should\'ve realized your daughter\'s beauty," Meng Bao suddenly held my hands and intertwined his fingers with mine, "I think, Ying Jie is the most beautiful person I\'ve ever met. In fact, the first time I met her, I\'ve been smitten and mesmerized by her beauty."

"Age doesn\'t matter either. I\'m just two years younger than her. And about her origin… I don\'t care much about it. A person\'s worth isn\'t determined by their origin, but by what she is doing right now."

"And I\'m pretty sure that my beloved Ying Jie has done more than enough for me. At least I know that her sincere love has flowed this dry desert in my heart."

…

…

My cheeks reddened, and I slapped his hand immediately. I pushed him to distance ourselves, "Y—You\'re such a flirt!"

"Ehe… I mean, I like when your cheeks are red like that," Meng Bao replied. Meanwhile, my parents continued staring at Meng Bao and me, then they nodded.

"Young Man, I can sense that you\'re very sincere to our daughter. We\'re sorry for our reaction just now. We just don\'t want Shi Ying to get hurt for having too many criteria for her husband," my dad said.

"Yes, we don\'t want Shi Ying to marry someone way out of her league and then cried when her husband left her. Young Man, we\'re just village farmers, and Shi Ying has a humble background. You should reconsider your choice…" my mom added.

Now that I think about it again, Mom and dad were correct about one thing. Meng Bao might leave me in the future. There was no guarantee that the handsome and powerful Yang Menghuo wouldn\'t be bored with someone like me and then cheated on me.

But… there was never an official thing between Meng Bao and me. As much as I hoped he would stay with me and married me, I didn\'t want to live in a fantasy.

Meng Bao opened his mouth again, "Sir, I won\'t—"

"Mom, Dad, just trust me, okay? Meng Bao is a good man. He might be out of my league, and we don\'t know whether he will marry me in the future. But he still has the willingness to go on a long trip with me to meet you guys. Isn\'t it already a sign of his goodwill?"

"Well, I guess you\'re right…" my dad said.

"Jie, I\'m not out of your league—"

I elbowed his stomach and then pulled his collar to whisper:

\'Shush, just follow me, Bao. I understand your sincerity but don\'t give them too much hope. They\'re traditional people. When I bring someone to my house to marry, it\'s already a sign f blessing.\'

\'I know you\'ll leave me in the future, so it\'s better to keep your mouth shut right now. Because what you said is so sweet, too sweet that I thought you really mean it.\'

"But—"

Meng Bao gritted his teeth and then zipped his mouth. He looked pissed as he looked away, then he mumbled, \'I am really sincere. Why don\'t you believe me, Jie?\'

Meng Bao didn\'t seem to understand my realistic view. He might think that he meant everything he said, but when facing his mother, Madam Evelynn Yang, that beautiful but crazy woman Li Daiyu, and when his childhood sweetheart suddenly came to us, would he still choose me over all of them?

I bet he would leave me after he found someone else that could fill his heart better. So it\'s better not to give my parents too much hope, so when Meng Bao left me, it would feel less painful for them.