Chapter 81
The entire room was quiet after Zhao Hongyu's remark.
It was easier for Zhao Yanzi because she had already seen it coming. Hao Ren, on the other hand, was astonished. He had figured that this matter would be brought up, but it was still surprising for Zhao Hongyu to bring it up directly like this.
He thought this first meeting would be a simple meetup and the marriage proposal would have to wait until after a few meetings between the parents.
Hao Zhonghua and Yue Yang stared at Zhao Hongyu in surprise; they thought they must have heard her wrong.
Grandma's right hand was just about to reach for a dish, and it stopped mid-way as her expression was half surprised and half cheerful.
However, Zhao Guang's settled expression was telling them that they did not hear anything wrong.
"You are saying..." Grandma's lips trembled at the sudden good news, "Zi can be my granddaughter-in-law?"
"Yeah," Zhao Hongyu nodded.
Grandma turned back and looked at Hao Ren and Zhao Yanzi, who were sitting together in embarra.s.sment. She then turned to Zhao Hongyu and agreed promptly, "That's great!"
Hao Zhonghua and Yue Yang looked at each other, confused. They had no idea what was going on.
Even though they had the fastest brains and the most rigorous logic, it was still beyond their antic.i.p.ation to receive a daughter-in-law as soon as they got back from abroad. They didn't even have time to deal with many important issues yet.
"This arrangement is settled then!" Zhao Hongyu happily clapped her hands and breathed out deeply in relief; she seemed to be very pleased with this answer.
Hao Zhonghua and Yue Yang had no chance to talk at all in the last half a minute as Grandma who was the final boss already made the decision.
Hao Ren and Zhao Yanzi looked at each other awkwardly; they didn't expect things to go like this.
Hao Ren's parents turned to Zhao Yanzi to actually take a good look at her.
Although this little girl gave them a pretty good first impression, it was still too soon to upgrade her from the daughter of their mom's saviors to their own daughter-in-law.
Fortunately, they have been through many critical events and had the temperament to deal with emergencies. No one knew what embarra.s.sment they would have caused if they didn't have such good self-restraint.
"What...is this all about?" Hao Zhonghua eventually asked after a few seconds.
"I like Ren very much, and Auntie adores Zi. So, we want to a.s.sign them a ' baby marriage 1 ' today," Zhao Hongyu said softly.
"What are the kids' opinions then?" even the top scientist Hao Zhonghua was confused by the situation.
"I don't agree, mom!" Zhao Yanzi stood up immediately at the
"How about Ren?" Hao Zhonghua asked; he valued Hao Ren's opinion more.
"I..." Hao Ren hesitated.
After he looked at Zhao Hongyu's expecting stare, he paused for a moment and said, "I have no problem with it."
"It won't be a big deal since Zhao Yanzi had already said no. I shouldn't disappoint Zhao Hongyu and Zhao Guang since they have been so nice to me," Hao Ren thought to himself.
He had never seen himself liking a shrewish little girl like this. His Otaku nature would make him more likely fall for cuter and sweeter girls.
"Zi's objection is not a real objection. So, you won't have an issue if Zi is ok with it?" Zhao Guang said.
His words gave out a strong sense of stateliness, and Zhao Yanzi shut her mouth even though she wanted to say something.
"We certainly won't interfere if they both agree to it," Hao Zhonghua answered after some consideration. He had examined Zhao Yanzi closely and didn't find any shortcomings. Plus, he was aware of how much Grandma liked her.
He decided to go along with their plan as he had no clue what their intentions were.
"So, that's a yes," Zhao Guang said.
"It's a yes, but Zi is only..." Hao Zhonghua was confused.
"As long as you are ok with it, we can discuss the rest of it later," Zhao Guang said.
Hao Zhonghua looked at his wife for her opinion, and Yue Yang looked at Zhao Yanzi's pretty doll face from across the table and nodded to her husband.
She was indeed a great scientist; her logical thinking calmed her down immediately; other moms would have panicked in such a situation.
"It all depends on the kids. Yue Yang and I won't interfere if they wish to develop their relations.h.i.+p in the future," Hao Zhonghua stated his opinion upfront.
Having said that, he still felt a bit weird since Zhao Guang's daughter was only in middle school. There was no need to be in such a rush even if they really liked Hao Ren.
"That's a relief," Zhao Hongyu smiled and raised her gla.s.s of sprite. "Cheers!"
Zhao Yanzi, who was still standing, realized that her opinion had been completely ignored by her parents as if it didn't matter at all.
However, she didn't want to throw a tantrum in front of Grandma. It was killing her to swallow it back.
"Zi, Grandma adores you so much!" Grandma took her little hand and said cheerfully.
Zhao Yanzi felt wronged, but she couldn't cry out a single tear. Her right to speak was absolutely taken away by her parents as they "sold her out" without even giving her a chance to fight back.
"This is hegemonism! I need to fight back! Fight back!" she thought.
However, her pa.s.sion was immediately suppressed as soon as she noticed Zhao Guang's razor-sharp stare.
Ah...But her dad had the final say in the family and was the Dragon King. Hao Ren's family was very democratic, and he could make his own decisions. On the other hand, even though Zhao Yanzi was the princess, she could only act tough outside of her family.
"Cheers..." Yue Yang raised her gla.s.s and said to Zhao Hongyu.
She thought her son was too nerdy to ever find a girlfriend, but a daughter-in-law has presented herself now.
She found herself liking Zhao Yanzi for some unknown reason; maybe it was because she had always liked girls but never gave birth to one, or maybe Zhao Hongyu's straightforward and warm personality left a good impression on her mind.
As long as Grandma was happy about it, Zhao Yanzi's young age shouldn't be a problem for this "baby marriage" since they could wait. Zhao Yanzi's family seemed like a really nice family after all.
The agreement had been tentatively reached with their toast.
Hao Zhonghua suddenly remembered his red pocket, so he took it out and put it into Zhao Yanzi's hand, "Uncle forgot to bring gifts for this first meeting. Take this little red pocket as a gift."
Even though he called it a little red pocket, there was actually 8,000 yuan inside as a thank you gesture for the good care Zhao Hongyu's family provided Grandma.
The two families naturally became closer due to their special bond.
"No way... There is no way I am marrying him..." Zhao Yanzi mumbled secretively while holding a tantrum inside.
The lunch brought the two families together; Hao Ren's family wanted to express their grat.i.tude whereas Zhao Yanzi's family intended to get a commitment.
Although Hao Zhonghua and Yue Yang agreed to the baby marriage verbally, they did not take it very seriously. To them, it was like a silly joke which could be either serious or not. It would be good if Zhao Yanzi were to become their daughter-in-law in the future, but it would be ok too if it didn't work out in the long run.
After Hao Zhonghua paid the bill after lunch, the two families went through the hallways to the lobby.
"Come over at seven o'clock in the morning tomorrow, and I'll take you to the Dragon Palace," Zhao Guang walked over to Hao Ren and whispered into his ears.