Chapter 37: A Little Late, But Not Much

"Mengting, wake up. We need to catch our train."

"Mmm... what time is it?"

Dazed and bleary-eyed, Chen Mengting was pulled up by her mother, Wang Juan. After spitting out a stray strand of hair from her mouth, she grabbed her phone to check the time.

6:00 AM.

Assuming she was still too groggy to read the clock correctly, Chen Mengting rubbed her eyes.

Yes, it was indeed six o'clock in the morning.

"Mom, if I remember correctly, our tickets are for nine o'clock, right?"

"Don't we need to be prepared ahead of time?"

"Didn't we pack the luggage last night???"

"Oh, stop the chatter and get up, quickly."

"..."

It was Monday—the day the two families were set to meet in Sucheng. This was the day Chen Mengting realized the true horror of traveling with her parents. Because she had been too excited to sleep the night before, she had stayed up quite late. Having only just closed her eyes, she was now being shaken awake by her mother. Her body was up, but her mind was still sound asleep. She put on her clothes with her eyes shut, grabbing whatever came to hand.

Old Chen and his wife were clearly much more energetic than Chen Mengting. It was unclear what time they had actually risen, but by the time Chen Mengting finally shuffled out of her room, they had already finished preparing breakfast.

Chen Mengting ate while nodding off, her head nearly dipping into her bowl.

"Dear, did we really get up too early?" Old Chen asked, feeling a pang of sympathy as he watched his daughter.

Wang Juan was also taking a long-distance trip for the first time, and her excitement was hard to contain, but she gave a light cough. "Then, how about she sleeps for another hour?"

"My wife is truly wise!"

An hour later, Chen Mengting was fully recharged. This was a skill unique to students (university students excluded)—taking a nap when exhausted was far more effective than a full eight hours of sleep. A prime example was how a quick doze during a break could keep one alert for an entire class.

The family grabbed the luggage they had packed the previous evening and hailed a taxi to the train station. The station was quiet just before seven in the morning, and with Chen Mengting leading the way, the three of them reached their ticket gate without a hitch.

Both of Chen's parents were traveling far from home for the first time. Even though it was only a few hours' journey, they were still incredibly excited. They had already agreed that once both families had met and finalized the wedding date, the four of them would take Grandma Peng out to explore and spend a few more days playing before heading back.

As for Chen Mengting... she would be dumped with her brother so she could spend some time bonding with him and her sister-in-law.

Old Chen and Wang Juan chatted happily with the Peng family parents, who had also been unable to sleep and had risen early. Time flew by. Chen Mengting was also busy chatting excitedly with Chen Fan on her phone. At this hour, Chen Fan had just finished his workout at the gym. The small home gym Peng Jiaxin had set up was surprisingly well-equipped, and he had accidentally gotten so engrossed in his training that it was already past eight o'clock by the time he came out for breakfast.

"Mmm~ Auntie Xu, your cooking is truly top-notch." Chen Fan gave a thumbs up.

"You really know how to talk, sir." Auntie Xu smiled as she placed a cup of coffee in front of Peng Jiaxin. At this moment, Peng Jiaxin finally understood the nervousness Chen Fan had been feeling over the past two days. She was dressed in an extremely formal women's suit and had applied a light, subtle touch of makeup.

"How is it, Chen Fan? Is this outfit appropriate for me to wear to pick up your parents?"

Chen Fan didn't answer. Instead, he took a photo and sent it to Chen Mengting. "Does your sister-in-law look good in this?"

"She looks amazing!!!"

He placed his phone in front of Peng Jiaxin. "Look, she said you look great~"

Peng Jiaxin glared at Chen Fan, though the nervousness in her heart had eased slightly.

"What time do Mom and Dad arrive?"

"The train gets here at nine... so it should be around lunchtime."

"That's perfect. We'll pick them up and go straight to lunch. Let me book a restaurant."

Chen Fan quickly stopped her. "Forgot? You already booked it last night."

"Did I?"

"Yes, and you even sent the location to my parents, though you didn't mention the time."

After the movie last night, the two hadn't parted ways immediately but had instead lain there discussing the details of their parents' meeting. Many things had been settled as early as that night.

"By the way, didn't you say you also sent an invitation to your grandfather? Has he replied?"

Chen Fan had learned a bit about the Peng family's situation from Peng Jiaxin last night, and he now admired his father-in-law from the bottom of his heart. To be able to whisk away the daughter of an 'old-school' tycoon—you really are something, sir. Because of that, Old Master Bai had severed ties with his daughter, Bai Meilan, and he hadn't even visited to see Peng Jiaxin when she was born. However, he had never once missed sending a birthday gift. Even this house had been a gift from her grandfather—well, he had forced it out of Peng Guojun's hands to give to Peng Jiaxin.

The Bai family’s stance was still very clear: even though you, Peng Guojun, have become the richest man in Sucheng, we will never forget the grudge of you stealing our precious daughter/little sister! But then again, the grievances of the older generation were none of the juniors' business. So, in truth, Peng Jiaxin had been in contact with her grandfather and uncles since she was a child. Peng Guojun and Bai Meilan were aware of this, but they had tacitly chosen to pretend they didn't know.

It is worth mentioning that, just like her mother Bai Meilan, Peng Jiaxin was the only girl in her generation. Indeed, strictly speaking, what Chen Fan had done was no different from what his father-in-law had done back in the day—if not worse.

"I don't know. Grandfather hasn't replied to me yet."

Back in the capital, at the Bai residence, the elderly Master Bai was dressed in a brand-new Tang suit. Leaning on his cane, he was being blocked at the door by his sons and grandsons.

"Dad, I know you want to see Jiaxin, but given your current health, you really aren't in a condition to travel."

"Exactly, Dad. You just had bypass surgery; please don't push yourself."

For the older generation who had lived through those times, even the most robust health was bound to have its issues, let alone someone like Master Bai who had served on the front lines.

"Thump! Thump!" Master Bai slammed his cane against the floor twice.

"Xinxin invited me! This old bag of bones must go to support her! And look at what happened on the internet yesterday—Peng Guojun didn't even react, just letting Xinxin get bullied. She must be having a hard time in Sucheng if she's inviting me over! I'm going to bring my precious granddaughter back!"

As he spoke, he started to walk out. A stretched-out Red Flag limousine was already waiting at the gate. Everyone was torn between laughter and tears, but they didn't dare to physically stop him. A clever little kid suddenly thought of someone who could stop the old man. He made a video call to Peng Jiaxin.

It took a while for the other side to answer.

"Auntie Jiaxin, please, hurry and talk some sense into Great-Grandfather..."

He explained the situation, and it dawned on Peng Jiaxin that her grandfather had intervened in last night's incident. No wonder there hadn't been any lingering fallout. But this wasn't the time to worry about that—Master Bai was already opening the car door!

"Put the phone in front of Great-Grandfather."

"Okay."

The little boy hugged the phone and squeezed through the crowd to Master Bai. "Great-Grandfather, it's Auntie Jiaxin on the phone."

One sentence was enough to stop Master Bai, whom no one else could hold back. He turned toward the phone in the little boy's hands, where Peng Jiaxin was looking at him with a pained expression.

"Grandfather, are you not even going to tell me when you're having surgery anymore? Do you not like me anymore?"

"How could that be?"

Master Bai no longer cared about going to Sucheng; his top priority was to soothe his precious granddaughter. He walked back into the house while holding the phone. Master Bai's eldest son gave his grandson a thumbs up.

"Well done!"

The little one giggled.