My Youth Began With Him

(TL Note: The title is a Chinese internet meme phrase, and it means you won’t die if you don’t do things that ask for it)

“What probation period…” Qin Ning pretended to be dumb.

“A probation period for becoming your boyfriend…”

“Oh… that… but I think our arrangement right now is great! You’re my assistant by day and my nanny by night. I’m pretty happy with how things are right now.” Qin Ning laughed.

“… Are you serious?” Tang Chuan was taken aback. Did he give her the wrong impression?

“But… being an assistant and a nanny has its limit… It means we can’t do a lot of things…”

“What things?” Of course, the innocent Qin Ning didn’t know what Tang Chuan was talking about.

“Come here, I’ll tell you…” Tang Chuan signaled for her to move forward.

Qin Ning scrooched over, preparing herself for a long and serious talk from Tang Chuan.

However, when she reached him, the man immediately captured her lips with his own, his force inescapable and powerful.

Qin Ning’s brain short-circuited once again, just like it did that time on Tang Chuan’s birthday party.

The surprising thing was that this time, she actually enjoyed it… Maybe she saw the man differently now…

Just then, sounds came from the front door. Qin Ning reacted quickly and immediately pushed Tang Chuan away.

In the next second, she saw her father, Papa Qin, standing at the entrance with his bags, followed by two bodyguards.

“Daddy, why are you home?” Feeling guilty, Qin Ning stood up immediately.

“Hello, Uncle!” Tang Chuan was completely familiar with Qin Ning’s father, feeling absolutely no awkwardness at all.

“I have an urgent meeting so I flew back. Are you guys just eating now?” Qin Ning’s father asked sternly.

“Oh, um… Ning-Ning wanted pancakes so I tried to make it.”

“Pancakes? You know how to make pancakes?” Papa Qin was clearly shocked.

“Since you’re here, uncle, join us! Although the taste might be a little off, it’s the thought that counts, haha.”

Papa Qin didn’t hesitate. He left his luggage to the side and sat down at the breakfast table, taking a sip of the soup.

“It tastes good. You’re not bad at cooking, Kid.”

The compliment from his future father-in-law gave Tang Chuan a small ego boost.

“Daddy, aren’t your standards too low? How could you say that this is good? Look at the fried onion pancake, it’s clearly burnt!” Qin Ning was unwilling to compliment Tang Chuan.

Papa Qin ignored his daughter and turned his attention to Tang Chuan. “Kid, are you going to continue mooching off of us forever?”

Papa Qin’s words completely shook Qin Ning and Tang Chuan to their cores.

Luckily for him, Tang Chuan was very thick-skinned. He brushed off the awkwardness and scratched his head, laughing. “… I’m not really mooching… I can pay the rent.”

“But our family doesn’t need the change.” Papa Qin’s face was rather expressionless.

Qin Ning lost her cool. Thinking that her father was intending to kick Tang Chuan out, she immediately explained, “Dad, he came to Los Angeles because of me and doesn’t have friends here. If he moves out, he might be in danger. You know how it’s not that safe here… especially with the burglars at night… The thieves tend to target us Chinese people. Our house is huge… one more person won’t make a difference. Plus, he’s not really mooching off of us… he’s helping me out at work during the day and he even cooks for me in the evening.”

“Ning-Ning, don’t worry… let me finish.” Papa Qin immediately interrupted his beloved daughter at the sight of her anxiety.

He then looked at Tang Chuan once again. “Don’t be afraid. I’m not sending you away. What I’m trying to say is, if you’re going to continue living in our home, we’ll need to give you a proper title.”

“Title?” Tang Chuan was seriously confused. He didn’t know what Papa Qin had up his sleeves.

“Yes, so I wanted to ask you, would you mind marrying into our family?” (TL note: In China, usually it’s the girl that marries into the guy’s family and takes his last name, but with the situation reversed, marrying into the girl’s family will make Tang Chuan a live-in son-in-law.)

Hearing this, Tang Chuan almost spat out a mouth full of soup.

Qin Ning erupted into a coughing fit. “Ahem ahem ahem… Dad, what are you saying? Stop kidding around! What do you mean by him marrying into our family? Who wants to marry him?”

“Um… I… I…” Tang Chuan really didn’t know what to say. Was Christmas coming early this year? But what did he mean by ‘marry into’?

“Kid, what do you think?” Papa Qin ignored his daughter, keeping all of his attention on Tang Chuan.