Everything I bought on online shopping platforms was genuine.

Chapter 165 The Previous Generation Emperor Ruyan

No wonder Ms. Cheng is so well-preserved at her age; she truly lives a life of clarity and wisdom.

With his family already financially secure and no worries about food or drink, his primary requirement for his daughter's potential partner is whether he is handsome.

After all, it's just talking, not getting married.

A woman's youth lasts only a few years, and her family doesn't expect their daughter to climb the social ladder through marriage. In this situation, she should naturally prioritize her own experience when choosing a partner.

As for marriage, that can be discussed later. At least Ms. Cheng has no intention of letting her daughter maintain the family business through marriage.

Of course, she wouldn't object if her daughter wanted to find someone of equal social standing, and she would also support her daughter if she wanted to find someone she liked.

Although her family was considered wealthy in Jiangning City and had a large business, they were still slightly different from the Yuan family.

The Yuan family started their business in the generation of Yuan Meng's grandfather, so they have a rich history. Their family, on the other hand, is only one generation old, so their social and family relationships are relatively simple, and there is no issue of elders interfering in their children's marriages.

Ms. Cheng is quite open-minded about this; otherwise, she wouldn't have refused the Yuan family's proposal a few years ago.

Moreover, as a woman herself, Ms. Cheng naturally understood her daughter's thoughts. Who doesn't like a handsome man when dating? Make yourself happy first. If you find someone who is not good-looking, wouldn't that make others happy?
When you're broke, dating an unattractive guy just to make someone else happy is pointless. My family is so rich, why would I date an unattractive guy just to make someone else happy? Wouldn't that be a waste of my wealth?

"How handsome is he? Have you shown Mom a picture yet?" Ms. Cheng asked quickly, her tone filled with excitement.

The kids in the family are all grown up, it's a good thing they can date, it's not like they're dating too early, why would anyone disagree?

Upon hearing this, Liu Ruyan quickly refused: "Mom, it's not even close to being settled yet. There's just someone like this around for now, and his identity is a bit questionable."

“Your identity is questionable, a convict? That won’t do, no matter how handsome you are,” Ms. Cheng said after a moment of hesitation, waving her hand quickly.

Handsome guys may be good-looking, but they can't have bad character. After all, you can find another handsome guy, but a bad character won't improve.

"No... what are you thinking?" Liu Ruyan was both amused and exasperated. What was all this about?

"You've never been to jail! What problems could there be with your identity?" Ms. Cheng asked curiously.

After all, in her opinion, unless he had been to prison, what problems could there be with his identity? Her family didn't have any enemies, so it couldn't be as dramatic as in TV dramas where the daughter falls in love with the son of her enemy, could it?
"Um, he might be a little young," Liu Ruyan said somewhat guiltily. After all, at her age, she felt a little embarrassed to be dating someone several years younger than her.

Strangely enough, even though there are quite a few relationships between older women and younger men in society today, people tend to prefer the man to be older than the woman.

While I wouldn't necessarily say anything, I'd always make a few jokes when I encounter something like this.

Upon hearing this, Ms. Cheng frowned slightly, then cautiously asked, "Are you an adult?"

Liu Ruyan: ? ? ?

"No, what are you thinking? Of course I'm an adult! I'm a senior in college!"

Ms. Cheng's eyes lit up: "College students are great! College students are so wonderful. They are innocent and have no bad intentions. Let's talk! We must talk!"

"You scared the hell out of me! I thought you'd found a minor. That won't do, that kind of thing is a crime, you'd be better off raising him for years!"

Liu Ruyan:
Watching her own mother talk on and on, Liu Ruyan realized for the first time that her mother was so open-minded, even more so than she was.

"Mom, why are you so concerned about whether someone is handsome or not? Shouldn't parents say that finding someone handsome is useless, and that you should find someone reliable or capable?" Liu Ruyan asked, puzzled.

Other mothers tell their daughters that finding a handsome man is useless, so why is it the other way around for me?
Hearing this, Ms. Cheng pursed her lips, leaned back elegantly on the sofa, exuding a dignified air, and said with a smile: "You are my daughter, and you look just like me. You are so beautiful, wouldn't it be a waste not to find a handsome man?"
"Mom's telling you, you absolutely have to find a handsome husband. Otherwise, if you turn around and see someone incredibly ugly, your world will collapse! If you find a handsome one, sometimes you won't even be able to have an argument. This is advice from someone who's been there, you know?"

‘Papa pa pa’

Liu Ruyan clapped her hands and shook her head at the same time: "Mom, you're right. But my dad doesn't look that great, does he?"

"Bullshit, are you questioning your mother's taste? Your father is just old and overweight. When he was young, he was a handsome young man known throughout the surrounding villages. Otherwise, would your mother have fallen for him?"

"Besides, if your dad wasn't good-looking, do you think you would have turned out like this? Especially your eyes, they're just like your dad's, he has big eyes," Ms. Cheng said, tapping her daughter's forehead.

The thing she can be most proud of in her life is that she found a good husband. Back then, her mother, who was also Liu Ruyan's maternal grandmother, advised her to find a reliable man, saying that being handsome was useless. But in the end, she found a handsome man.

Then, less than two years later, her husband's business began to flourish and grow bigger and bigger. When she went back to her parents' home, none of the relatives who had advised her before dared to raise their voices at her. Now, even her own daughter was questioning her. She couldn't stand it at all.

"Okay, okay, you're right, I was wrong, alright!" Liu Ruyan shook her head repeatedly.

As expected, the only one who could subdue Emperor Ruyan was the previous Emperor Ruyan, and there was no way to refute him.

"And look at you, what are you wearing? Even clothes from thirty years ago would have been better than yours," Ms. Cheng said disdainfully, pointing to her daughter's oversized short-sleeved shirt.

Today, Liu Ruyan was at home, dressed simply in a loose-fitting short-sleeved shirt and jeans—as plain as could be.

"I just dressed casually, without any makeup. And you're saying you were more fashionable than me thirty years ago? You're kidding, I don't believe it!" Liu Ruyan was a little unconvinced.

She is very confident in her fashion sense. Although she doesn't dress revealingly, her clothes are just right, and her skirts accentuate her figure. Even her outfit today is not comparable to what she wore thirty years ago, right?
Upon hearing this, Ms. Cheng sneered, then took her daughter's hand and led her to her bedroom, where she began rummaging through drawers and cabinets. Finally, she found a box at the very bottom of the wardrobe.

"Look, these are all clothes I wore before I got married. Do you think they look better than what you wear?" Ms. Cheng said as she opened the box.

Liu Ruyan didn't think much of it at first, until she pulled out a black halter-neck backless dress from the box.

"You dressed so lightly when you were young?"

This thing is a loop that goes around your neck, exposing your entire back, and the skirt is super short, so there's a risk of it showing too much skin.

"What do you think? When your mother was young, I wore tank tops, mini skirts, and low-rise pants. I don't know what happened, but after you were born, you dressed like a big water barrel every day, all the same size, so unfashionable," Ms. Cheng laughed.

Liu Ruyan's lips twitched, and she muttered under her breath, tugging at her half-sleeve:

"I...I'm wearing an oversized bag."

"What 'Session' or whatever, it's not like we're short of money. You should buy some nice things for yourself. This young lady's clothes aren't elegant at all. Don't go shopping with me again, it's embarrassing!" Ms. Cheng said, and it was clear that she was genuinely disgusted.

Liu Ruyan rummaged through her mother's old clothes and couldn't help but say, "No, these clothes of yours are too short and too revealing."

Ms. Cheng: "Where is it short? How is it revealing? You're young now, and you're in good shape, so why don't you show some skin? What are you going to do when you're old and have all those wrinkles? How can someone so young have such feudal and old-fashioned ideas!"

"If all else fails, here are these clothes for you. Try them on. You and that college student aren't officially together yet, right? Wearing them will make it happen. Trust your mother, she won't lie to you."

Liu Ruyan:
The older generation: conservative in thought, but open in behavior.

The younger generation: open-minded but conservative in behavior.

(End of this chapter)