It turned out that the sign for Room 221 was hung quite high up. As she walked along, the other signs were basically at eye - level. She subconsciously thought that the sign for Room 221 would also be at the same level. Well, this sign had made her search for so long. It was really hateful.
Otherwise, what was supposed to be a wonderful surprise would not have turned into this situation.
Su Qinian had promised a surprise, but this surprise was nothing like what she had imagined. It was worlds apart.
Su Qinian's family first put down their things and then took Lin Jinran to a nearby restaurant for dinner.
They got a private room. Su Qinian's mother handed the menu to Lin Jinran and said with a smile, "Jinran, take a look and see what you like. You're our guest, so you order first."
Lin Jinran took the menu hesitantly and glanced up at Su Qinian, his grandparents.
"We don't have any food taboos. Jinran, order whatever you like," said the grandfather with a kind smile on his face.
Lin Jinran pursed her lips and gave a faint smile. "I'll order some dishes first, and then you can help me see if they're appropriate."
After saying that, she lowered her head and ordered a staple food and a seasonal vegetable, then returned the menu to Su's mother. "Auntie, I'm done ordering."
Su's mother took the menu, gave it a look, and said chidingly, "Why are you being so polite? Only two dishes. Well, let me see. Do you like chicken? Do you like beef... You just need to answer yes or no."
Ah... Lin Jinran was stunned. After answering yes to a few dishes, seeing that Su's mother was still going through the menu, she quickly stopped her. "Auntie, that's too much. If we order more, we might not be able to finish it."
There were only five of them.
Su's mother looked at the dishes, closed the menu, and called the waiter to take it away and prepare to serve the food.
"Jinran, how did you and Niannian meet?" Grandma's eyes sparkled with curiosity.
"I was a transfer student to No. 1 Middle School. We first met in class. Since there was an empty seat next to Su Qinian, the class teacher asked me to sit there. We got to know each other over time."
Lin Jinran half - lied as she answered.
She couldn't say that their first meeting was in a KTV. At that time, she was drunk and dizzy and went to the toilet. By accident, she followed him into the men's toilet.
And then later, she was coaxed by Xu Jiaxin and Shen Tingsi to ask for Su Qinian's WeChat. By accident, she knelt in front of him. It was as funny as it could be.
As if sharing a telepathic connection, Lin Jinran looked up and saw Su Qinian. The corners of his mouth were curled up in a smile, his eyebrows were raised, and his beautiful almond - shaped eyes were squinted with amusement.
She saw the boy mouth silently, "You're lying."
Lin Jinran: "..."
She blinked her eyes gently, looking at him innocently, and silently replied, "Do you want me to tell the truth? Aren't you afraid your mom will beat you up?"
Su Qinian: "..."
That was true.
He had been dragged to the KTV by Lu Youchuan at that time. But later, he found it too noisy and left by himself.
Su's mother saw the silent exchange between the two and smiled meaningfully.
This boy, Su Qinian, finally had his come - uppance.
His grandmother kept smiling and continued to pry. "Jinran, what was your first impression of our Niannian?"
Lin Jinran was slightly stunned and lowered her head to think seriously.
It seemed that during their first meeting, she was in a daze. She only remembered that she needed to go to the toilet. She hadn't really thought about what kind of person he was.
Later, after getting along with him more at school, she thought he was a nice guy.
Hey, something was wrong. They were here to have dinner, but the topic was getting more and more off - track.
It felt, it felt like... questions asked during a marriage inquiry.
Lin Jinran suddenly realized this and twitched the corner of her mouth. Looking up, she saw the excited glint in the grandmother's eyes who had been asking questions.
Grandma thought she had come up with her first impression. Just as she was about to speak excitedly, she thought better of it. She was an old woman, not a little kid.
So she coughed gently and pretended to be calm. "Have you thought of it?"
Grandma, your thoughts are written all over your face.
Lin Jinran was both amused and helpless. She was so cute.
"The first time I met Su Qinian, I thought he was a really nice person. Since I transferred from the imperial capital to No. 1 Middle School in Wannanshi, I wasn't familiar with the school's learning and question - setting patterns. It was Su Qinian who had been taking care of me."
After saying all this, she sighed. "Come to think of it, half of my current academic performance is due to Su Qinian. He helped me build a good foundation."
The foundation is always the most important thing.
Grandma was screaming internally: So sweet, so sweet. How could it be this sweet? At this old age, she was so touched. Sure enough, a good relationship is one where both sides grow and support each other.
On the surface, however, she was calm and asked, "So what are your plans after the college entrance examination, you and Niannian?"
The sip of water that Lin Jinran had just drunk almost spurted out. She quickly grabbed a tissue and apologized. "Sorry, sorry, sorry. I didn't mean to."
"It's okay, it's okay. Just tell us," Grandma said with a smile.
This question was basically the same as asking if she was going to date Su Qinian after the college entrance examination.
The former was just more euphemistic, while the latter was more direct.
"Jinran, Niannian's grandma is just like this. Don't take it to heart," said the grandfather, glaring at his wife, as if to say, "Calm down. Can't you see you've scared the little girl?"
Grandma looked aggrieved and stared at him innocently, as if saying, "I'm just making plans for our grandson's future. It's obvious that Niannian really likes this little girl. It's the first time in so many years that we've seen him like someone."
After wiping the water stains, Lin Jinran stole a glance at Su Qinian and found that he was also looking at her. She couldn't help but look away.
Clearing her throat, she replied to the grandparents, "It's okay. There's still half a year until the college entrance examination. We'll talk about future things later. Who knows what will happen?"
Yes, there was still half a year, and there could be many changes in that time.
There was a knock on the private - room door, and the waiter started to serve the food. Grandma was about to ask something else, but was stopped by Su Qinian's mother.
She said, "The food is here. Let's eat quickly. Jinran came here early in the morning. She must be starving. Eat more later. Don't be polite."
"Okay," Lin Jinran replied with a smile.
After dinner, Su Qinian's mother handed Lin Jinran over to Su Qinian and said earnestly, "This is Jinran's first time in Yunshi. Niannian, take Jinran out to have fun and bring her back before dinner. Oh, wait."
Su's mother seemed to remember something and turned to ask Lin Jinran, "Jinran, you're not in a hurry, right? Have you bought your train ticket?"
"I've bought it. It's at 8 p.m. So... Auntie, I might not be able to eat the food you cook," Lin Jinran said apologetically.
"It's not your fault. It's mine. I forgot that it's Chinese New Year now. You must be in a hurry to go back and celebrate the New Year with your family."