You're dumping me, huh? Fine, then I'll just pick up the school beauty and make her my wif

Jiang Che pulled Su Qinghe along and pointed out the four elders in front of them one by one.

Following Jiang Che's lead, Su Qinghe politely and obediently greeted each person, saying, "Hello, uncles and aunts, hello, maternal uncles and aunts."

Bai Zhenping and Zhang Hui are both doctors, and they usually supervise doctoral students and conduct academic research at the university.

Both of them had very gentle temperaments. When the little girl greeted them, they nodded back to Su Qinghe, their eyes filled with the loving kindness of elders towards a younger generation.

At home, the couple often heard their daughter tell them how wonderful Qinghe was. Now that they saw her, she was indeed well-behaved, beautiful, and very lovable.

Zhang Hui took out a thick red envelope that she had prepared beforehand from her handbag, then walked over and stuffed it into Su Qinghe's hand. "Qinghe, nice to meet you. This is a small token of my appreciation from your aunt. Please accept it."

"what……"

Su Qinghe never expected there would be a red envelope part, and she was at a loss for what to do, so she turned to Jiang Che for help.

Jiang Che pressed her shoulder to indicate that she should accept it, "It's alright, just take it if it's from an elder, don't be so formal."

Zhang Hui started handing out red envelopes, and Bai Zhenping and Jiang Dahai also took out their prepared red envelopes and handed them over. Even Bai Qing had prepared a rather large red envelope.

This surprised Jiang Che, and he couldn't help but turn his gaze to his mother.

"Why are you looking at me like that? Is there something dirty on my face?" Bai Qing glanced at her son's surprised look, then pointed to the empty seat next to her. "Bring Qinghe over and sit down. She's just recovered from a serious illness, it's not good for her to stand for too long."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Che quickly responded and then pulled Su Qinghe to sit down in the seat next to Bai Qing.

Although she was sitting, Su Qinghe carefully turned to the side, only daring to sit on half of her bottom, and neatly placed her hands together on her thighs, maintaining the ladylike etiquette she had learned when she was in the Su family.

As the saying goes, everything is difficult at the beginning. After getting through the initial hurdle of their first meeting, Jiang Che and Su Qinghe relaxed a bit and lost the tension and restraint they had at the beginning.

"Dad, why didn't Grandpa come along this time?"

Jiang Che picked up the serving chopsticks, preparing to place a warm piece of walnut cake on Su Qinghe's plate, while raising an eyebrow at Jiang Dahai, who was leisurely sipping tea at the head of the table. "Isn't he always nagging me to grow up quickly and marry a granddaughter-in-law?"

Bai Qing took a sip of ginseng tea, glanced at her son, and said, "The journey from the capital to Lincheng is long, and your grandfather is getting old and can't handle the hassle."

"There's no need to make the elderly worry and run around before things are settled."

As soon as the words were spoken, the dinner table, which had just begun to feel harmonious, fell silent once again.

Everyone here is an adult, so naturally they can understand what Bai Qing meant.

Jiang Che's hand, which was picking up food, paused for a moment, but he quickly regained his composure and placed the walnut cake into Su Qinghe's bowl.

Then he smiled faintly, "That's right, Grandpa is getting old, and his body is indeed not suitable for such back-and-forth travel."

"The New Year is just around the corner. When I take Qinghe back to the capital for the New Year, I can introduce her to Grandpa at the same time."

Like Bai Qing, Jiang Che didn't explicitly state his attitude, yet he still managed to make sure everyone understood the true meaning behind his words.

Anyone who comes here will have to say: they are indeed mother and son, their ways of doing things are exactly the same.

Bai Qing put down her teacup, ultimately deciding not to delve any further into the topic.

She slightly raised her eyelids and glanced at the dishes that were being served one after another on the table. "Let's eat, stop talking."

"Qinghe, eat more. You've been in the hospital for a while now, and your body is really depleted. Make sure you get some nutrition."

There was no hint of displeasure in Bai Qing's tone, but it also lacked any warmth.

When Jiang Dahai saw that his wife had spoken, he quickly picked up his chopsticks and urged everyone, "Yes, yes, eat, eat! Yunqi Pavilion's medicinal cuisine is unparalleled in the entire Lincheng. Qinghe, try this ginseng stewed pigeon; it's good for replenishing qi and blood."

Bai Yuning, acting as the atmosphere-maker at the table, stuffed food into her mouth while telling everyone some funny stories from her recent work to cheer them up.

The atmosphere inside the private room quickly returned to its lively state.

Su Qinghe appeared to be relaxed and smiling happily, but under the table where no one was watching, her hands were already clenched into a fist.

She knew that Bai Qing had been avoiding the main point; she didn't want to talk about status or the future.

Su Qinghe roughly guessed that Bai Qing's cold attitude was likely influenced by Lin Wanwan.

Bai Qing no longer trusted her son's judgment, so without personally testing and investigating him, no matter how much Jiang Che liked her, if Bai Qing felt it wasn't right, she would never allow her to continue staying by Jiang Che's side.

So the greetings just now don't really mean anything. The next part is the main event that she needs to pay close attention to.

Thinking of this, Su Qinghe loosened her clenched fists and lowered her head to sip the pigeon soup in her bowl.

The bouquet of sunflowers that Jiang Che gave her was left in Bai Yuning's car.

Su Qinghe felt that such a bright yellow would be too dazzling in such an elaborately decorated place if she carried it with her at all times.

She felt that she now had to be like the furnishings in this private room, suppressing all her brilliance and leaving only obedience and docility.

The dinner party was soon halfway over, during which several elders asked Su Qinghe some questions, which Su Qinghe answered very obediently one by one.

Just then, Zhang Hui, Jiang Che's aunt, suddenly put down her chopsticks and looked at Su Qinghe with a loving expression.

"Qinghe, if your aunt is going to ask, are you and Jiang Che officially together now?"

Su Qinghe's hand holding the chopsticks trembled slightly, but before she could speak, Jiang Che answered the question for her.

"Not yet, Auntie. We're more than friends, but not quite lovers."

To put it simply, it's about creating ambiguity.

However, Jiang Che certainly wouldn't dare say this in front of his elders, at least not in front of his mother.

After these words were spoken, the once lively and harmonious dinner table fell silent again.

Bai Qing looked up at her son, a rare hint of surprise in her eyes.

Jiang Dahai and Bai Zhenping looked at Jiang Che and Su Qinghe with puzzled expressions, while Bai Yuning, who knew the truth, continued to enjoy her delicious food leisurely.

Jiang Che calmly explained, "Now that we're in our final year of high school, confirming our relationship would bring a lot of unnecessary trouble. It would not only affect our studies, but it would also attract the attention of those gossipy people at school."

"Regarding the matter of official status, I promised Qinghe that we would officially be together after the college entrance examination."