Chapter 76

"Frankly, I thought you wouldn't come!" Xiaozhishuang whispered softly in Li Mang's ear, her face still flushed with excitement, looking exceptionally beautiful.

"Since I promised you, I wouldn't break my word," Li Mang smiled lightly.

"..." Xiaozhishuang stared at him, her eyes somewhat dazed. She found that Li Mang's smile was very charming. Although his cold demeanor from last night could make girls scream, it also created a sense of distance.

At this moment, Xiaozhishuang's parents also came out of the house, looking him up and down. Li Mang stepped forward tactfully and greeted them politely, "Uncle, Aunt, hello!"

"Oh, you came, but you didn't need to bring any gifts," Xiaozhishuang's mother said, though her expression was not very good. She still took the fruit from Li Mang's hands, as it was a basic courtesy.

Did her son really guess right that Li Mang only brought two boxes of fruit? Not even candy or cookies? It wasn't that Xiaozhishuang's mother was materialistic, but she couldn't sense Li Mang's sincerity. Even Xiaozhishuang's father looked somewhat displeased, puffing on his water pipe in front of Li Mang. To be honest, he was quite satisfied with Li Mang's appearance—no fat head or big ears, not a pretty boy, but strong and robust... But to bring only two boxes of fruit on your first visit to your future in-laws' house was too meager.

If he was so poor that he could only afford fruit, they wouldn't have much to say. Contempt? It was natural for someone without ability to be looked down upon, and it had nothing to do with being materialistic.

For some reason, the atmosphere became a bit awkward.

Xiaozhishuang felt embarrassed but didn't know what to do. She hadn't anticipated this situation, as it was just a show, and she hadn't thought much about it.

Wang Fugui sneered, feeling a bit schadenfreude, and then gave Xiaotianxiao a look. Xiaotianxiao understood immediately and walked over with a forced smile, looking Li Mang up and down in a not-so-friendly manner, and asked, "You only brought..."

"Hey, hey, hey, can you wait until I unload the rest of the stuff before you chat? I can't just stand here all day for fifty yuan!" The tricycle driver, who wasn't very polite, interrupted Xiaotianxiao impatiently. He still had business to do and couldn't just wait around.

"Uh..." Xiaotianxiao swallowed his words, his face turning red, and had to change his line, "You didn't bring two cages of chickens and ducks, did you?"

"Are chickens and ducks that bad?" Xiaozhishuang's father glanced at him coldly, scaring him into a forced laugh without saying more. The Xiaos weren't asking Li Mang to bring expensive gifts, but they mainly wanted to see his sincerity. If he had brought two cages of chickens and ducks, that would have been fine.

Li Mang also sensed the hostility from Xiaotianxiao and Wang Fugui, finding it somewhat inexplicable, but he didn't bother with it and hurried to the back of the vehicle to unload the items.

"This is a TV. I heard that your TV was struck by lightning, so I bought one for you," Li Mang said, pulling out a large box first.

"Cough, cough..." Xiaozhishuang's father choked and quickly threw the water pipe to the ground to catch the TV. Good grief, it was a 55-inch TV, the largest in the entire village!

"... I'll help, I'll help!" Xiaotianxiao, who had just been hostile towards Li Mang, immediately abandoned his prejudice and ran over to help carry the TV, ignoring Wang Fugui's darkening face. This was a smart 4K HD TV, worth over ten thousand yuan! What was there to be hostile about?

"..." Xiaozhishuang was stunned, not expecting Li Mang to bring such an expensive gift. What was even more surprising was how Li Mang knew their TV had been struck by lightning. Li Mang said she had told him, but Xiaozhishuang was sure she hadn't mentioned it. She only found out about it this morning.

"Aunt, this is a gift for you," Li Mang said.

"Oh... gold? How could you give such an expensive gift, child!" Xiaozhishuang's mother was both surprised and delighted, her face beaming with joy.

"I didn't know what to get Uncle, so I brought two cartons of cigarettes. But you should smoke less," Li Mang said.

"Good! Good!" Seeing the word "Zhonghua" on the cartons, Xiaozhishuang's father couldn't help but say "good" twice, taking them happily and not letting go.

In the end, only Xiaotianxiao was left without a gift. Under his eager gaze, Li Mang took out the last gift bag and handed it to Xiaozhishuang, giving her a meaningful look before saying, "Zhishuang, this is for you."

"Ah..." Xiaozhishuang, somewhat confused, looked into the gift bag and was surprised again. It was an iPhone. This was clearly meant for Xiaotianxiao, but since he had been hostile to Li Mang, Li Mang took the opportunity to get back at him.

"..." Xiaotianxiao looked at the now empty vehicle, his eyes dry. Everyone in the family had received a gift, but not him, the younger brother-in-law. This didn't make sense!

"Zhishuang, who is this?" Li Mang asked curiously, though he had already guessed who it was.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you, this is my brother, Xiaotianxiao," Xiaozhishuang said, holding the gift bag tightly.

"Oh, I didn't know you had a brother, I didn't prepare a gift!" Li Mang pretended to be regretful, quickly taking out his wallet and showing a thick wad of red envelopes, making Xiaotianxiao's eyes light up.

Li Mang pulled out a thick stack, several thousand yuan...

"You don't need to give him anything, he's not a child!" Xiaozhishuang quickly stopped him, unable to hide her smile.

"Ah... okay!" Li Mang thought for a moment and agreed, putting the money back into his wallet and slipping it into his pocket under Xiaotianxiao's eager gaze.

"..." Xiaotianxiao was almost furious. His sister was trying to ruin him. Thinking of the thick stack of red envelopes, his heart ached. But at this point, he couldn't just ask for it outright. He might be unreliable, but he wasn't that cheap.

After the tricycle driver left, Xiaozhishuang's father looked at the items on the ground, feeling a bit embarrassed, and muttered, "Li Mang, you really didn't need to bring so much. It's quite expensive!"

"You worked hard to raise Zhishuang, and the gifts I brought are just a small token of my appreciation. It's the least I can do," Li Mang said earnestly and respectfully.

"Dad, don't be so formal with Li Mang!" Xiaozhishuang said happily, urging her father. As for the money Li Mang spent on the gifts, she would pay him back later.

"..." Xiaozhishuang's father was pleased and quickly invited Li Mang inside. He found Li Mang more and more likable. He was well-built, not poor, and his attitude was just right, much better than Wang Fugui's.

"Damn..." Wang Fugui was almost furious, but he soon smirked, having heard the sound of approaching motorcycles.

"Buzz... rumble..."

Five motorcycles roared up, carrying over a dozen young men with dyed hair, looking just like the gangsters from 1980s and 1990s Hong Kong movies.

...

PS: Today is Qingming Festival. If you have something to do, burn some money; if not, vote.

[Page Break]

[Page Break]