Peninsula: Starting with the nation's first love, the white moonlight

Chapter 88 Private Talk Between Mother and Daughter

Li Luran gave a wry smile, "Auntie, Taeyeon and I really aren't dating."

Mrs. Kim waved her hand dismissively, then smiled and changed her question: "So, how long have you known our Taeyeon?"

"We haven't known each other for particularly long."

Li Luran briefly recalled and answered truthfully, "We met around August last year, so it's been almost half a year now."

"Six months, that's quite a long time for you young people to get to know each other."

Mrs. Jin picked up her teacup, took a sip, and her smile deepened. "So, how did you two meet?"

"We met by chance in New Zealand," Li Luran explained patiently. "I happened to be on vacation there when I met Taeyeon, who was also on vacation there. We gradually became friends."

Looking back on how the two met, it was indeed quite dramatic, especially the woman's timid and adorable demeanor at the time, which was quite amusing.

Thinking of this, Li Luran's lips unconsciously curled up slightly, and this fleeting expression was noticed by Jin's mother.

"Oh, I see."

Speaking of New Zealand, she remembered a few things.

In the past, this girl always looked preoccupied whenever she called home. To keep them from worrying, Taeyeon would always force a smile. But how could she, as her mother, hide all of this from her?

However, during the period after she returned from New Zealand last year, she always sounded very happy whenever she called home.

When she asked her daughter if something happy had happened, the girl always hesitated and wouldn't say.

Now the truth is out: I met this young man in New Zealand.

Having roughly guessed her eldest daughter's little scheme, Jin's mother now sees Li Luran with the same pleasing look as the old saying goes: "A mother-in-law's view of her son-in-law grows more and more pleasing the eye."

"Lu Ran, how old are you this year?"

"Auntie, I was born in 94."

"Born in 94, that makes him five years younger than our Taeyeon."

Mrs. Jin nodded thoughtfully, muttering to herself, "Hmm, although there's a slight age difference, it's still completely within an acceptable range."

"Mom, what are you muttering about all by yourself? What do you mean by 'still within acceptable limits'?"

Even if Kim Tae-yeon was slow to react, she understood the subtext of her mother's words, and her already pink cheeks burned even more intensely.

Let alone Kim Tae-yeon, even Lee Lu-ran felt a little embarrassed by such blunt words, and could only awkwardly pick up his teacup and tactically drink water.

Ignoring her eldest daughter's protests, Kim's mother smiled and gently pushed aside Kim Tae-yeon, who was trying to cause trouble, and continued talking to Lee Lu-ran: "Since you were born in '94, you should still be in university, right?"

"Yes, Auntie, I am an international student from China who came to the peninsula. I just started my freshman year."

"Mom, don't underestimate him. Li Luran is a top student from Seoul National University."

Although Kim Tae-yeon kept denying any relationship between the two, her tone revealed a hint of pride when introducing Lee Lu-ran's academic background.

"Oh? Not only a foreign student, but also a top student from Seoul National University?"

This time, Kim's mother was genuinely surprised, and even Kim Ha-yeon, who had been watching the show from the sidelines, widened her eyes and looked at Lee Lu-ran with admiration.

"But when I listen to Lu Ran oppa speak, I can't hear any accent at all."

"I think his pronunciation is even better than that of an unnie who has lived in Seoul for so many years."

Kim Tae-yeon turned her head and glared at her: "Hey, Kim Ha-yeon, whose side are you on anyway?"

Half an hour passed before we knew it.

The atmosphere in the living room was very harmonious, with Jin's mother and Li Luran chatting casually.

The two didn't seem like they were meeting for the first time at all; they chatted non-stop, from the weather in Seoul to the customs and culture of Jeonju, and from interesting things at university to Chinese eating habits.

Kim Tae-yeon sat to the side, unable to get a word in edgewise.

She looked at her mother with a resentful expression, her little eyes filled with grievance.

"My mom is really something. Who is your real child anyway? She just leaves me hanging like this."

Just as Kim Tae-yeon was sulking, a "beep beep beep" sound suddenly came from the kitchen.

Hearing the sound, Jin's mother remembered that she still had pork ribs stewing in the pot.

She stood up with a smile: "Lu Ran, please sit down for a while. Don't be shy, make yourself at home."

After she finished speaking, she walked towards the kitchen. Halfway there, she suddenly stopped and turned around.

"DaeDae, stop sitting there like an idiot and come help Mom in the kitchen."

"What?"

Kim Tae-yeon thought she had misheard. How could someone who struggles even to cook ramen possibly be of any help? She'd be lucky if she didn't make things worse.

"Hurry up and come over here," Mrs. Jin said again, sounding exasperated.

"Arasso".

Kim Tae-yeon reluctantly stood up and dragged her feet to follow her mother into the kitchen.

The two had barely stepped into the kitchen when Mrs. Jin slammed the kitchen door shut behind them.

She waved to Kim Tae-yeon, gesturing for her daughter to come closer.

She called Kim Tae-yeon into the kitchen, not to actually ask her to help with the chores.

As her mother, she knew her eldest daughter's cooking skills all too well; she was the kind of daughter who made her worry about her cutting her fingers even when chopping vegetables.

"DaeDae ah————"

Mrs. Jin peeked outside the door and saw Li Luran still sitting quietly on the sofa.

She lowered her voice slightly and stared directly into Kim Tae-yeon's eyes.

"Tell my mom honestly, what exactly is your relationship with Lu Ran?"

Before Kim Tae-yeon could even defend herself, her mother cut off her escape route: "Don't try to fool me with something like 'we're just ordinary friends.' Even Xia Yan wouldn't believe that."

"We're really just ordinary friends."

Kim Tae-yeon felt a little guilty under her mother's gaze. She slowly lowered her head, nervously clasped her hands together in front of her, and kept twirling her thumbs there.

"At most—maybe slightly better than the average friend?"

Her voice grew softer and softer as she spoke, until it was almost as weak as a mosquito's hum.

Looking at her daughter's shy and bashful expression, how could Jin's mother not know what the girl was thinking?

She was only suspicious at first, after all, Xia Yan's one-sided story couldn't be completely trusted.

However, when she was talking to Li Luran just now, Taeyeon's reaction was already very obvious. Moreover, in just half an hour, she secretly glanced at Li Luran five times.

So, this girl has definitely fallen for him!

However, since it concerned her daughter's lifelong happiness, she still called her into the kitchen to confirm her feelings in person.

"Since you have this idea, what about Lu Ran? What is he thinking?"

"How would I know what he's thinking?"

Kim Tae-yeon's face flushed red, even her ears started to burn. "Mom, please stop worrying. We really just, just—"