Su Ma closed the bedroom door and replied in a low voice: “She just got back. I sent her off to shower and sleep. The date was… well, the same as usual.” She sighed. “You know your own daughter, don’t you? Someone invites her out to dinner, and she treats it as exactly that — dinner. Not a single extra thought in her head. She’s too straightforward for her own good.”

Su Ba: “She didn’t ask about Xiao Lu’s family?”

Su Ma: “Ask about what? They spent the whole time talking about food. After all these dinners together, she hasn’t even asked whether he’s married or single.”

Su Ba fell silent.

Su Ma fell silent too…

After a long pause, Su Ba sighed quietly: “Maybe we should just give up on this… I have a feeling that given Manman’s personality, she and Li Li would be the best match. They both know each other inside and out. There wouldn’t be any major missteps in the future. And if anything comes up, he’s right next door — we can keep an eye on things.”

Emotionally, Su Ba still leaned more toward Li Li. After all, compared to Lu Yuwen, Su Ba knew Li Li far better.

Su Ma heard this, gave a dismissive little sound, and said, “Manman just had another argument with Li Li at the gate.”

“They fought again?” Su Ba asked helplessly. “What was it about this time?”

Bringing this up, Su Ma felt the urge to laugh. “I think Li Li might be starting to wise up a little. When Xiao Lu was sending Manman home just now, Li Li called Xiao Lu a smooth-talking fox. Ha ha ha…”

Su Ba also started laughing. “See, I’ve always said — Li Li’s a good kid at heart. Having Xiao Lu around as a rival has stirred something up. Now he’s starting to actually care about Manman.”

Su Ma thought it over and said, “I’m not saying anything bad about him. It’s just that he’s too childish. All this quarreling every day — that’s no way to live as a married couple.”

“So you think Xiao Lu is the right kind of person to settle down with?” Su Ba felt a little pained. “He’s not from here. If our daughter marries away, even seeing her once in a while would be hard…”

With only this one daughter between them, had Su Ma ever truly wanted Su Man to marry far away? She only cared about Su Man’s happiness, always feeling that Su Man’s other half should be someone who understood her warmth and cold.

But with Li Li — all that daily bickering — you could say “friction is affection” all you like, but in real life, who wants to argue every single day?

Su Ma let out a long sigh and said, “Let me keep watching for a bit.”

Su Ba: “Alright, you keep watching. See if it’s a good fit or not…”

……

Su Man had no idea that her parents were agonizing over her life’s biggest decision like this. She finished washing up quickly, then turned off the lights and went to sleep.

The next morning she woke up to the light of day, grabbed her phone to check the time, and found two unread messages.

She opened them. Both were from Lu Yuwen.

One was a “Good night” sent at 11:30 the previous evening. The other was a “Good morning” sent at 6:30 that morning.

Su Man pressed her lips together and smiled, then replied:

[Good morning! You’re up early!]

After sending that message, Su Man didn’t wait for a reply. The morning schedule was tight — she needed to wash up at top speed, finish breakfast, then drive to work.

During breakfast she squeezed in a quick look at her phone and found that Lu Yuwen had already replied:

[I knew you’d be up around this time, so I thought I’d say hello. I’m about to go back to sleep for a bit.]

Su Man smiled and tapped back a reply:

[Some people have it so good — sleeping in every day until they feel like waking up naturally.]

Lu Yuwen’s reply came fast:

[These past few evenings dining out have run rather long and affected Madam’s sleep schedule. My most sincere apologies. Shall we make it Saturday lunch for our next meal together?]

Madam?

Now there was a fresh form of address.

Su Man looked at her phone screen, amused.

Su Ma sat across the dining table and asked curiously: “Who are you chatting with? You look so happy. Don’t forget to drink your congee.”

“I know.” Su Man quickly typed back a single “Okay,” then focused on her breakfast.

Lu Yuwen seemed to sense she was in a hurry in the mornings and sent no more messages.

After breakfast, Su Man pocketed her car keys and headed out. The moment she stepped out, she spotted a familiar figure standing at the gate——

Li Li.

—