Mistaken Canary Chapter 59
Chapter 59
In the Zhuo family’s living room, after the housekeeper served tea to the upright guest and quietly withdrew.
On the coffee table were some fruits, snacks, and cups of hot tea, yet none of them had been touched.
Ying Tongchen sat at one side, his posture rigid, back straight. His hands seemed casually placed on his legs, but the clenched fists and the veins prominent on the back of his hands revealed his intense nervousness. Zhuo Shu was seated beside him.
On the opposite side, the entirety of the Zhuo family was in a completely different state. Zhuo Fu had one leg crossed over the other, wearing a pair of reading glasses, and was carefully reading the newspaper, occasionally glancing at Ying Tongchen.
Mu Qing, smiling cheerfully, occasionally lowered her head to play a game on her phone. Encouraging notifications came from her phone: "Great move!" "Hurry, time’s almost up!"
Meanwhile, Zhuo Zi sat obediently next to her parents, her eyes shifting back and forth between Ying Tongchen and Zhuo Shu. She wanted to place her hands on her hips and laugh out loud but didn’t dare—after all, the person opposite was her in-law and homeroom teacher _(:з」∠)_.
Ying Tongchen cast a glance at the lineup of his hosts, then gave a slight smile and nodded towards the Zhuo family. "Uncle, Aunt, hello. Happy New Year."
"Eh, hello, Mr. Ying... Xiao Ying... Tongchen... saint..." Mu Qing cycled through several different forms of address, unsure which one was the best. After a thousand thoughts, she greeted him, "Comrade, hello, it's so kind of you to come all the way here. You must be tired."
"No, no, it's not tiring at all. You’ve had it harder," Ying Tongchen replied, reciprocating respect. He seemed to remember something, and patted Zhuo Shu. "By the way, where’s the stuff we brought?"
"It's still in the car," Zhuo Shu answered.
"Uncle, Aunt, please wait a moment. We'll go get it," Ying Tongchen said, bending slightly as a gesture, then dragged Zhuo Shu out to open the trunk.
As soon as they stepped outside the door, Zhuo Fu glanced at them, immediately put down the newspaper, and started fumbling at his clothes. "Honey, how do I look in this outfit today?"
Mu Qing lowered her phone and said, "Terrible!"
"That’s not what you said this morning!"
"That’s before I saw how Mr. Ying was dressed... No, wait, Xiao Ying? Tongchen? Daughter-in-law? Ugh, never mind! I was so excited last night that I couldn’t sleep, now I’ve got these dark circles under my eyes. I’m going to go upstairs and fix my makeup!" Mu Qing turned and ran up the stairs.
Zhuo Fu, feeling anxious, immediately got up and rushed upstairs as well, calling down halfway, "Daughter, come pick out a more handsome outfit for me!"
"No!" Zhuo Zi quickly dashed past him, "I’m going to fix my makeup too, and also check my homework! I’m scared Teacher Ying—no, I mean, in-law will randomly check my work, boohoohoo!"
The house turned into a chaotic mess. Outside, Ying Tongchen was no better off.
He glanced at the gifts they had brought and said, "Maybe I should go buy some more. This doesn’t seem enough."
Looking at the interior of the trunk brimming with gift boxes, Zhuo Shu said in astonishment, “All this and it’s still not enough? They won’t even get through these any time soon.”
“These gifts aren’t thoughtful at all,” Ying Tongchen complained. “This is all because of you. If you'd given me a heads-up, we wouldn’t be stuck with these rushed purchases.”
"I was only notified at the last minute too, and I specially accompanied you early this morning to buy all this. We really put thought into these," Zhuo Shu said with a smile, grabbing his hand. "Are you nervous?"
"Not at all," Ying Tongchen replied. As he looked up, he saw Zhuo Zi peeking at them from the balcony. As soon as their eyes met, she quickly ducked out of sight.
"..." Ying Tongchen immediately pulled his hand back, shooting him a glare. In a low voice, he warned, "Watch your behavior. What kind of example are you setting if my student sees?"
"It only feels awkward the first few times," Zhuo Shu said gently with a smile, then turned and shouted, "Zhuo Zi, come downstairs and help!"
"Got it!" Zhuo Zi reluctantly responded. When she reached the front door, she took a deep breath, gazing at the imposing personage outside. She walked toward him in a daze, picked up a nearby gift box, and said, "Teacher... let me do it, you don’t need to worry about it."
"It’s fine, we can do it together," Ying Tongchen responded to his boyfriend’s sister, lifting the box with both hands. As he was about to walk alongside her, he courteously took a couple of steps back.
Zhuo Zi had been matching her teacher’s pace. The moment he halted, she quickly stepped back twice, not daring to stand in front of the teacher.
The two stood side by side again.
"?" Ying Tongchen looked at her without a change of expression, then took two steps back.
Zhuo Zi: "??"
Zhuo Zi turned back and looked at them, "Teacher, aren’t you going inside?"
"Oh, I just remembered something I forgot. You go ahead," Ying Tongchen replied.
"Okay." Zhuo Zi turned and ran into the house.
Just as Ying Tongchen let out a sigh of relief, he turned and saw Zhuo Shu standing aside, watching with a smirk. As he was about to kick him, Zhuo Zi suddenly appeared and snatched the item from his hand. "Teacher, let me take it."
Ying Tongchen quickly retracted his foot.
Zhuo Zi, however, stared at his leg in a daze, then after a moment said, "Ah, I know now! Mr. Ying, were you going to kick him?"
Ying Tongchen: "..."
"This small matter doesn't require teacher's intervention, I’ll handle it for you!" Zhuo Zi said, kicking Zhuo Shu’s leg and quickly running off with the box.
Zhuo Shu glanced at the footprint on the leg of his pants and immediately chased after her. "Stop right there!"
Ying Tongchen watched the carefree siblings and suddenly chuckled. He was no longer as nervous as before.
He carried the last of the gifts and walked into the Zhuo Family Residence.
The Zhuo couple came down the stairs together, one straightening his tie, the other smoothing her eyebrow, and waved at him with a dignified air.
Mu Qing said, "Mr. Ying, don’t stand there, please sit down."
Zhuo Fu frowned and turned to look at her, "Why are you still so formal with him?"
"It’s a habit, what else should I call him?" Mu Qing replied. "Should I call him daughter-in-law? Would he dare answer me?"
Ying Tongchen: "......" No, of course not.
"Mom, Dad, stop teasing him," Zhuo Shu said lazily, as he casually grabbed Zhuo Zi, giving her head a noogie.
Zhuo Zi furiously swung her fists at his chest, but due to his longer reach, she couldn’t hurt him at all and could only shout, "You scoundrel!"
Seeing this, Ying Tongchen instructed, "Let her go."
Zhuo Shu immediately released her.
Due to the momentum, Zhuo Zi tumbled right into Ying Tongchen’s arms, looking at her brother in shock. "Ge, you can’t be real, right?"
"Real about what?" Zhuo Shu asked, looking confused, then glanced at his parents, only to see both of them also staring at him in surprise.
Zhuo Shu was utterly baffled.
Mu Qing looked at the aloof Ying Tongchen, then at the unusually obedient Zhuo Shu, and whispered to Zhuo Fu, "Do you think... Mr. Ying might be the son-in-law?"
(TLN: While he’s the bottom, yes, we all know Ying wears the pants in the relationship lmao.)
Zhuo Fu nodded deeply, his expression serious. "I also get the same feeling."
"Let me introduce him properly," Zhuo Shu suddenly threw an arm around Ying Tongchen's shoulder. "You've met him before. He's Zhuo Zi's homeroom teacher, and he's also my boyfriend."
Zhuo Zi cheerfully asked, "So, am I a matchmaker?"
Ying Tongchen: "Yes."
Zhuo Shu: "No."
The three members of the Zhuo family: "?"
The two men looked at each other in sync—
Ying Tongchen: "No."
Zhuo Shu: "Yes."
Bystanders: "..."
Ying Tongchen quietly pinched Zhuo Shu’s arm, and Zhuo Shu immediately zipped his mouth shut.
Ying Tongchen finally led the explanation, "We became acquainted because of Zhuo Zi, no?"
"Yes, yes, you're right," Zhuo Shu nodded repeatedly.
Mu Qing smiled and, with a hushed tone, asked, "Do you see that?"
"Yes," Zhuo Fu sighed, "Our son is the little housewife."
"No doubt about it," Mu Qing said, noticing them standing side by side. She suddenly asked, "Wait, when we went spying on their date last time, wasn't it exactly like this? There's no way we could mistake them this time!"
"That's right, I remember A’Shu was just like this, holding his boyfriend," Zhuo Fu couldn't help but demonstrate, wrapping his arm around Mu Qing's shoulders.
"Aiya, don't be so loud, we might get heard," Mu Qing reminded.
Ying Tongchen: "..." Thanks, we all heard it.
He looked at Zhuo Shu meaningfully, then tilted his head and whispered in his ear, "What about this 'spying on their date'?"
Zhuo Shu rubbed his nose, quickly changing the subject. "Mom, Dad, stop talking and look at what he brought you as gifts."
"Just showing up is enough, what need for gifts?" Mu Qing chuckled, casually picking up a box. Suddenly, she screamed, "WOAH! I’ve been eyeing this controller for a while!"
Without another word, she tore open the packaging, excitedly inspecting it. "I love it so much, thank you, Mr. Ying! I’ll test it out right now!"
"You should act a bit more like an elder," Zhuo Fu sedately reminded her, faintly smiling as he took the remaining gifts. "Ahhhh! A commemorative edition of Joey Wong's photo collection! How did you know I like Joey Wong?"
Ying Tongchen's eyes curved into a smile. "I’m glad you like it."
Zhuo Shu glanced at him from the side, smiling without saying a word.
"What about me? What did I get?" Zhuo Zi excitedly and curiously dug through the gift boxes.
Zhuo Shu pulled out a beautiful large gift box, tied with a beautiful bow. "This is for you, make sure to take care of it well, don't let down your teacher's kind intentions."
Zhuo Zi looked at the girly gift box, then saw the smile in her teacher's eyes. Expectantly, she opened the box. "Ta-da—Ah! What is this!?"
Inside, lying peacefully, was her least favorite companion— a complete set of NCEE Study Guide.
This was the gift Zhuo Shu had previously given to Ying Tongchen. On their way out, Zhuo Shu had remembered it at the last minute, so he just brought it along. He couldn’t waste all the effort he had put into it.
If the teacher couldn’t use it, then it would go to the student!
Zhuo Zi shuddered. "Teacher, please don’t do this to me, my dear in-law."
Ying Tongchen's mouth twitched.
Zhuo Shu, however, was in a great mood. "Not bad, this is actually the gift he got you." He pointed to a box next to them.
“I knew you were behind this!” Zhuo Zi slammed the ‘coffin lid’ shut on the NCEE Study Guide set, then eagerly opened the box next to it— English Grammar Explained.
Zhuo Zi: "......Boohoohoo."
Ying Tongchen calmly said, "The final exams are coming up, you can't slack off."
Zhuo Zi instinctively nodded, as if she were back in the classroom. "Okay."
…
At lunchtime, the family was in high spirits, and the atmosphere around the table was warm and happy.
Ying Tongchen looked at the mountain of food in his bowl and smiled.
Zhuo Zi, with her small appetite, finished her meal and was reluctant to leave the table. Suddenly, she asked, "Ge, Mr. Ying, when did you two get together?"
Zhuo Shu: "Before the start of the semester."
Ying Tongchen: "It was after the semester started."
Both men: "......"
"When exactly did it happen?" Zhuo Zi was getting more and more confused. "Didn't you say you met because of me? How come you were together before the semester started?"
Zhuo Shu glanced up at the ceiling. "Well... um... hurry up and do your homework!"
Zhuo Zi: "I don’t want to."
"A’Zi, be good, go do your homework. Us adults need to talk about adult stuff," Mu Qing remarked.
Zhuo Zi pouted. "I want to listen too."
Zhuo Fu urged, "Hurry up and go upstairs."
Zhuo Zi: "No, I’m not going. I haven’t digested my food yet."
She was determined not to leave and insisted on getting to the bottom of things, no matter how much the family tried to persuade her.
In the end, it was Ying Tongchen who came up with the winning move: "Bring me your homework, I’ll check it."
Zhuo Zi felt her knees buckled, and she quickly dashed upstairs.
Zhuo Fu and Mu Qing immediately looked at Ying Tongchen with admiration. They exchanged a glance and both saw the worship in each other's eyes.
Zhuo Fu had a look that clearly said, ‘This rascal’s the GOAT, he can even handle these two troublemakers.’
Mu Qing, on the other hand, had an expression of ‘My son-in-law is amazing, truly a living saint!’
With no more minors at the table, Mu Qing leaned in, lowered her voice, and said, "I know, young people in love always have their unconventional ways."
Zhuo Fu nodded. "We can certainly relate to that."
"So, how did you two get together?" Mu Qing's eyes gleamed. "If I remember correctly, was it you two we saw the last time I went to the hotel with Father Zhuo?"
Zhuo Shu turned to look at Ying Tongchen, silently handing over the speaking rights to him to avoid any more hiccups.
Ying Tongchen remained calm and composed, offering a smile as he casually added a few offerings to the elders’ plates. "Given how loving you two are, how did you come together back in the day?"
"Heh, if you want to talk about that..." Zhuo Fu immediately got interested, completely forgetting the current topic as he got lost in the memories. "Back then, Qing Qing was the belle of our neighborhood."
Mu Qing humbly interrupted. "Alas, I’ve never heard of that."
Zhuo Fu continued. "At that time, there were so many people pursuing her, all the young fellows were writing love letters to her."
"But of course!" Mu Qing couldn't maintain her modesty any longer.
Zhuo Fu: "Do you know how much effort I put in to win her over?"
Mu Qing: "Do tell!"
Zhuo Fu: "I had to put in a tremendous amount of work, practice my skills, and eventually broke those guys' legs to successfully win her heart." Every time he brought this up, he couldn't help but clap his hands in admiration of his own persistence.
Ying Tongchen: "..."
Zhuo Shu: "..."