My online dating circle has millions of followers, why would she put a collar on me?

This is a restaurant located at the end of Xuefu Road, not far from Kyoto Women's University.

The shop is small, but clean and tidy. Several ink paintings hang on the wall, and a pot of green ivy sits in the corner with glossy green leaves.

Jiang Yi chose a window seat, letting his parents sit inside while he and Su Xiaoyue sat outside.

The menu was brought to me by Su Xiaoyue.

She opened it and looked at it, then looked up and smiled at Zhao Xiujuan with her eyes crinkling:

"Auntie, do you prefer sweet or spicy food? This restaurant serves Hangzhou cuisine, which tends to be sweet. If you don't like it, we can go somewhere else."

Zhao Xiujuan had been staring at Su Xiaoyue ever since she sat down, her gaze filled with a cautious, disbelieving scrutiny.

This child is so good-looking.

Her skin was so white it glowed, her features were so delicate they looked like they had stepped out of a painting, and her voice was so pleasant, soft and sweet, like a piece of glutinous rice candy that had just melted in March in Jiangnan.

What made her tremble even more was the way the child looked at her son.

She recognized that look in his eyes.

It's clearly the way the female lead looks at the male lead in an idol drama.

The way this girl looks at her son is even more natural than in idol dramas.

"aunt?"

Su Xiaoyue tentatively called out again.

"Ah, okay, okay."

Zhao Xiujuan snapped out of her daze and nodded quickly.

"We're used to the food, we're used to it. You can order whatever you want, Yueyue, we'll eat whatever you order."

Su Xiaoyue smiled slightly and lowered her head to order.

Her movements were practiced; her fingers quickly swept across the menu, occasionally pausing to ask Jiang Yi, "Honey, do you want this?" After receiving a response, she would continue flipping through the menu.

Jiang Dawei sat opposite him, a cup of hot tea that the waiter had just poured in front of him. He twirled the teacup between his large fingers, but didn't drink it.

He was a roughneck who couldn't adapt to this kind of place at all.

But since it was the first time he had met his son's girlfriend, he had to go along with her wishes.

His gaze lingered on Su Xiaoyue for a moment, then shifted to Jiang Yi's face.

Jiang Yi had several bruises on his face: one on his forehead, one on his left cheekbone, and a small scab on the corner of his mouth.

"Xiao Yi," he said, his voice lower than usual.

Jiang Yi looked up: "Dad."

"How did you get that injury on your face?"

"Your mother just asked you, and you didn't tell the truth."

Zhao Xiujuan clenched the hem of her clothes under the table, said nothing, but her ears perked up.

Jiang Yi's fingers tightened slightly on his knee.

He glanced at Su Xiaoyue.

Su Xiaoyue was looking down at the menu, seemingly unaware of the conversation taking place.

"I fell by accident," Jiang Yi said.

Jiang Dawei stared at him for two seconds. "Fell? How could a fall cause this much damage?"

"Yes, it rolled down the stairs."

"I've been dealing with Miaomiao's matter these past few days and haven't had much rest. I got distracted while walking."

Jiang Dawei did not respond immediately.

Zhao Xiujuan's eyes reddened.

She reached out, trying to touch Jiang Yi's face across the table, but couldn't reach him. Her hand hovered in mid-air, her fingertips trembling slightly.

"You silly child..."

Her voice was slightly choked.

"Such a big thing happened, and you've been carrying it all alone without telling your mother... Your sister is in jail. If anything were to happen to you, how could your mother go on living...?"

"mom."

Jiang Yi's voice trembled.

"I'm fine. I'm really fine."

Zhao Xiujuan blinked hard a few times to force back the moisture in her eyes, withdrew her hand, clenched the hem of her clothes under the table, and then turned to look at Su Xiaoyue.

"Yueyue, you've witnessed this embarrassing situation. Something like this has happened to our family..."

"Auntie, please don't say that."

Su Xiaoyue put down the menu and placed her hand on the back of Zhao Xiujuan's hand.

Her hands were very white and delicate, a stark contrast to Zhao Xiujuan's calloused hands, but her movements were natural, without a trace of disdain or hesitation.

"Every family has its difficulties."

Zhao Xiujuan's tears finally fell.

"Yueyue...good child...you are a good child..."

Jiang Dawei coughed softly beside her, but Zhao Xiujuan understood the meaning behind the cough.

Stop crying, it's embarrassing in front of the children.

She released Su Xiaoyue's hand, took out a neatly folded handkerchief from her pocket, wiped her eyes, and held the handkerchief in her palm without putting it away.

"Let's order, let's order." She lowered her head, picked up a napkin from the table, and pretended to wipe the table. "Yueyue, you order. We'll eat whatever you order."

Su Xiaoyue responded and continued flipping through the menu.

This time she ordered even faster: sweet and sour pork ribs, Longjing shrimp, West Lake fish in vinegar sauce, Dongpo pork, beggar's chicken, and Song Sao fish soup, one dish after another, her speech as fast as if she were reciting a text.

Jiang Yi frowned after listening for a while: "You ordered too much, we can't finish it."

"We can finish it." Su Xiaoyue said without looking up. "Uncle and Aunt have come all this way to Kyoto, so they should eat well."

Zhao Xiujuan waved her hands repeatedly, saying, "That's enough, Yueyue, don't order anymore, it's too much and a waste."

"No waste, no waste."

Su Xiaoyue finally raised her head and smiled at Zhao Xiujuan; the smile was extremely clean.

"Auntie, please don't stand on ceremony with me. You are Jiang Yi's mother, which means you are my... well, my elder, and I should be filial to you."

She paused briefly when she said "elders," a very short pause, but Jiang Yi noticed it.

She didn't mean to say "elders".

After ordering, the waiter took the menus and left. The four of them sat at the table, and for a moment, no one spoke.

Zhao Xiujuan was the first to break the silence.

"Yueyue, what does your family do?"

Her voice was very soft, with a cautiousness that made her afraid of saying the wrong thing. If Su Xiaoyue showed the slightest sign of resistance, she would immediately interrupt the topic.

"My parents... run a small business."

Her tone was very flat.

Jiang Yi's fingers tightened slightly.

Start a small business.

A "small business" with annual revenue of hundreds of billions.

He didn't expose her. He lowered his head and looked at the small potted green ivy on the tablecloth. Its leaves were a bright green and swayed slightly in the air conditioning breeze.

"What kind of business do you run?"

Zhao Xiujuan asked again, her tone carrying the concern typical of an elder who wanted to know more about the family situation of her child's partner.

"Foreign trade." Su Xiaoyue's answer was still brief, and then she took the initiative to change the subject.

"Auntie, your skin is so beautiful! What skincare products do you usually use?"

Zhao Xiujuan paused for a moment, then laughed, a laugh that seemed rather embarrassed, and reached up to touch her face.

"I don't use any skincare products. I farm in the countryside, exposed to the wind and sun, my face is as rough as tree bark..."

"How could that be?"

Su Xiaoyue looked at her intently.

"Your skin is in great condition, it just needs some care. Add me on WeChat (Green Bubble), and I'll send you a set of skincare products later. Try them out, and if they work well, I'll send you more."

"Oh, no, no, that's too kind of you..."

"Auntie, please don't stand on ceremony with me."

Su Xiaoyue's voice was soft, but carried an undeniable certainty.

"I'm so grateful to you for taking such good care of Jiang Yi."

Jiang Yi almost choked on the water.

He put down his water glass and glanced at Su Xiaoyue.

Su Xiaoyue noticed Jiang Yi's unusual behavior.

The hand hidden under the table suddenly landed on Jiang Yi's thigh.

Then I pinched it hard!

"Sigh~"

Jiang Yi gritted his teeth without showing any emotion.

She looked at Su Xiaoyue, who was now grinning smugly.