Chapter 462 325: You Want Me to Be a Live-in Son-in-law?

"Er..." Ren Qunfang averted her gaze, embarrassed.

'She had no idea what Xue Rui was playing at.'

'And Lin Ruoxi, honestly... Even she, his own mother, had never babied Xue Rui like that...'

She and Xue Xiaying exchanged a look, both of them smiling with a mixture of resignation and relief.

'She was truly happy for Xue Rui. Young women these days were so headstrong.'

'Gu Muxue was already a rare, sensible girl, but Lin Ruoxi was as gentle as water.'

'Xue Rui could get all the affection he could ever need from Lin Ruoxi. As his mother, she was naturally overjoyed.'

"What in the world is this?" Xue Yao exclaimed.

'She had a nagging suspicion her big brother was acting spoiled, but she had no proof.'

'Lin Ruoxi's gaze was as gentle as a clear spring. Suddenly, she really envied her brother...'

'Ever since she'd grown up, hardly anyone babied her like that anymore. Only her grandmothers still treated her like a child.'

...

At the dinner table, everyone was showering Lin Ruoxi's cooking with praise, while she, in turn, would periodically place morsels of food on Xue Rui's plate.

"My brother got so damn lucky," Xue Yao muttered.

'Lin Ruoxi was an amazing cook, and it was obvious that Xue Rui was the one being utterly pampered. She was so jealous!'

'Her brother used to be at the bottom of the family pecking order, but now his status had shot through the roof. The only thing that had changed was that he'd brought a girlfriend home!'

"Mmm, that's right," Xue Rui said with a smile. He had just thrown their mom's words back at Xue Yao, getting a little revenge for the earlier incident with the gift.

Lin Ruoxi's ears perked up. She'd heard people say that about Xue Rui before, and she instinctively corrected them. "No, I'm the lucky one for meeting Xue Rui."

Xue Rui took Lin Ruoxi's hand in his and grinned at Xue Yao.

'He'd gotten his revenge twice over, the second time by shoving their relationship in her face.'

Xue Xiaying let out a deep sigh. Having lived with the couple for a few days in the past, she wasn't too surprised by the scene before her.

"In the future," Xue Rui said, "when you're looking for a partner, find someone just like your Sister Ruoxi."

Lin Ruoxi giggled. 'He must be praising me,' she thought. 'Why else would he tell his sister to find someone like me?'

But she still reminded him in a small voice, "But I'm a girl. Wouldn't the standards be different?"

Ren Qunfang's grip on her chopsticks suddenly tightened. "Shut up and eat!"

Startled, Lin Ruoxi quickly covered her mouth. "I'm sorry."

Ren Qunfang quickly put on an appeasing smile. "Xixi, I wasn't talking to you. I meant Xiaorui."

'Her daughter's views on romance were already skewed. And Xue Rui was telling Xue Yao to find a partner using Lin Ruoxi as the standard?'

'He may have gotten lucky, but did he want his sister to be single forever?'

"I'm sorry, I'll apologize on his behalf then," Lin Ruoxi said, quickly bowing her head.

'She didn't know what Xue Rui had said wrong, but she figured she should apologize first. Xue Rui didn't like to back down, so it was fine if she did it for him.'

'After all, she and Xue Rui were one and the same; there was no 'his' or 'hers' between them.'

"Let's drop it," Ren Qunfang said, waving her hand dismissively. 'This girl is too much,' she thought. 'If this keeps up, I'm going to have to smack Xue Rui.'

"Xixi, it's getting so late. You should stay the night. We have plenty of spare rooms," Ren Qunfang said.

'What home did Lin Ruoxi even have to go back to? Was she supposed to let the girl go back to that old house all by herself?'

'She couldn't bear the thought...'

Lin Ruoxi waved her hands. "That's alright, I..."

The hair on Xue Rui's body stood on end. He scrambled to cover Lin Ruoxi's mouth.

'He could guess her next sentence: "That's alright, Xue Rui and I can just share a room."'

'Wouldn't that be as good as announcing that he'd already had his way with her?'

'He would definitely get a beating tonight.'

"Don't refuse, just stay here," Xue Rui said, cutting her off.

Lin Ruoxi blinked blankly. 'But she wasn't planning on leaving?'

"Lock your door when you go to sleep tonight, and don't let him in," Ren Qunfang instructed Lin Ruoxi.

Xue Rui nodded. "Okay, I'll be sure to lock my door."

Ren Qunfang slammed her chopsticks down. Why did Xue Rui always have to be difficult?

"Have you no shame? A grown man like you, afraid a woman is going to raid your room at night?"

"Sister-in-law..." Xue Xiaying started to say, but trailed off.

"Xiaying, don't you go defending him."

But Xue Xiaying had seen it before. Lin Ruoxi had a habit of seeking out Xue Rui at night...