The main thing now was to keep his mother away. He had to employ his father's help before he was able to barely convince his mother not to come with the next available flight.
His poor father had to bring their vacation forward and whisk her away to Country K, screams and all.
Hopefully, things would have been well sorted out by the time she returned.
At this point, he could only hope.
*****
When they arrived at Director Zhou's apartment, it was obvious she had been waiting for them. While she and Li Chuanmo exchanged pleasantries, Pei Yueran looked around curiously.
Why did it look like her mother had renovated the house a bit? Were those new curtains? Didn't she say she would never change those curtains for as long as she lived?
Pei Yueran shook her head. Her mother had definitely been conquered even before the start of battle.
Li Chuanmo, who had gone back to bring out the gifts from the car, finally came in, dropping the packages he was carrying before going back to bring more. Pei Yueran wanted to help, but he declined.
Everything was brought in after four trips, and Director Zhou's living room looked like a fair venue of sorts. Boxes wrapped in bright packages filled the room.
Zhang Heying's "little gift" accounted for more than half of them. Top grade bird's nests, abalones, fruit hampers, high quality teas. She even included a tea brewing set!
She really wasn't joking when she said she had arranged everything.
Director Zhou was more excited at Li Chuanmo's presence than the gifts. Her eyes were fixed on him from the time they arrived till well after lunch.
She kept nodding in satisfaction, even as her almond eyes narrowed in happiness. This was wonderful. He was much better than she envisaged.
Leaving aside his handsome looks, it was obvious he loved her daughter. He showed his care in very subtle ways—pulling out the chair for her at the dining table, patting her back when she coughed, pushing her favourite dishes closer so that she could pick them up easily, offering her his handkerchief to wipe off a lipstick stain—the list was endless.
It was really gratifying for her to watch.
As such, instead of asking him things like how was he going to take care of her daughter and such, she directly jumped into talking about wedding plans.
By the end of the afternoon, they had fixed a date for the meeting of both families and minor details about the wedding.
It was while they were talking about this that Director Zhou finally thought about an important question. She asked, "Once you get married, where will Chen'er stay?"
Pei Yueran immediately replied, "Of course he will stay with me!" before she felt silent. She realized that they had never discussed this before and she just took it as a matter of course.
Anxious, she turned to look at Li Chuanmo, who tightened his grip on her hand as a way to soothe, "He'll definitely be living with us. He will be my son as well, and a child must live with his parents."
Pei Yueran and Director Zhou breathed out in relief at the same time.
"Good, good." Director Zhou said, feeling tearful. He was indeed a good choice.
This visit was successful indeed.
Towards evening, they set out to Su Qianhua's place. As City A was a relatively serene place, there was hardly any traffic. They got there in less than half an hour.
"Qianhua!"
"Ranran!" Both friends ran towards each other while Jiang Philip shouted "be careful" in the background. The doctor said she had to be careful and avoid stress. He didn't think running was a good plan.
Su Qianhua rolled her eyes even as Pei Yueran caught her in a bear hug. He was behaving like a helicopter parent.
Both friends spent long moments just hugging each other. When she felt her friend's hand patting her back, Su Qianhua teared up.
Pei Yueran took her hand and gently guided her to the room for a talk, leaving the men in the living room.
"Great! Now I'm stuck with you." Jiang Philip joked. Li Chuanmo didn't deign to provide a response, moving to sit himself comfortably on the sofa.
"Mo, you really need to loosen up a bit more. Why are you always so cold? You're as cold, no, even colder than my ex girlfriend's heart!" Jiang Philip complained jokingly.
"Are you sure you want to use this comparison in Ms Su's house?" Li Chuanmo asked calmly, raising an eyebrow.
The mirth in Jiang Philip's eyes died almost immediately. He sighed before taking a seat next to Li Chuanmo.
"Mo, I don't know what else to do. I feel so bad that I just want to sit down and cry every waking moment, but then, I think of how much pain she must be going through and I can't help but push my own feelings aside."
Li Chuanmo did not say anything, but he gave him a pat on the shoulder. Jiang Philip continued.
"The last couple of weeks have been hellish. No matter how cheerful she looks, I always hear her crying herself to sleep at night. It's tougher on her because she tries to carry the burden alone.
"One moment I want this baby with my whole heart, but the next I just want her to be happy. I feel like I would do anything to earn her heartfelt smile." He finished, putting his head in his hands.
"You're doing well already old guy. Don't pressure yourself too much, just take things as they come. Let your heart guide you. What you need to do now is to talk to her as much as possible. Let her know you're there for her." Li Chuanmo advised.
Jiang Philip nodded. "I'll try. Thank you Mo."
He then continued, "But you're really bad at comforting someone. What do you mean "you're doing well already?" If I'm doing so well, why isn't she eager to marry me yet? You really should take lessons, lest Yueran dumps you."
Li Chuanmo: "...."
This guy wasn't worth him wasting his encouragement on. He really couldn't stay serious for long!
Giving up, Li Chuanmo said, "Let's just go for dinner. I can't be bothered to give you a reply." Jiang Philip laughed.
When the ladies came out of the room a few minutes later, they were set to go. Dinner was a cozy and intimate affair between the four of them.
*****
The next morning, Pei Yueran and Li Chuanmo went back to City M.
Director Zhou was sad to see them leave so soon, but she understood. Since she even got them to promise that they will bring the boys to City A for a vacation during their next school holiday, she now had something to look forward to, so she decided to be magnanimous.
Anyway, the sooner they got moving, the earlier they could get things done.