Top Quality Beauty Cultivation System

"Su Lin? Are you really our Qingxue's boyfriend?"

Mother Lin, who had a radiant smile on her face just a moment ago, suddenly put on an interrogating expression as soon as she saw Su Lin was such a young man. Her face changed rapidly and she started asking Su Lin, "How old are you this year? You seem to look quite young; you should be much younger than our family's Qingxue, right?"

"Eh, that... Aunt, I..."

The sudden shift in Mother Lin's attitude scared Su Lin. It seems what Lin Qingxue said wasn't wrong, and Mother Lin really wanted her to find a mature man with a stable job.

"Mom! Su Lin was my junior back when I was in Beijing University, and he's now a senior about to graduate this year. He's also a resident of Jian'an City, so when he doesn't have any classes, he comes back to the city to see me."

Lin Qingxue was the first to answer. While speaking, she pulled Mother Lin back to the kitchen, "Mom, weren't you cooking something in the kitchen? You should cook the dishes a bit faster! Su Lin and I have empty stomachs right now."

"He still hasn't graduated from the University? How old is he this year then?"

As she heard Lin Qingxue introduce Su Lin as someone who had yet to graduate from University, Mother Lin's face fell even more. But after all, Su Lin was a guest at their house, so it wasn't good for her to lash out in front of him.

"He's going to be 22-years-old soon, Mom. Also, aren't love stories between seniors and juniors the trend nowadays? Also, Su Lin and I are sincerely in love."

Saying that, Lin Qingxue held onto Su Lin's arm and snuggled closer to him, looking at him with a sweet and loving look in her eyes.

"Ai... Qingxue, you... Did you forget what mother told you? I told you to look for a mature man with a steady job, someone who's older than you, at least. That way, that man would be able to look after you better, but you... You just did the opposite and looked for a man much younger than you, and he's even your junior! Why didn't you listen to Mother's words? You are intentionally angering me!"

Even though Su Lin was still standing by their side, Mother Lin couldn't be bothered to call Lin Qingxue to the side before making such remarks. And that was exactly what Lin Qingxue wanted, to make sure that her mother wouldn't like Su Lin at all. Flowers were already blossoming in her heart, but Lin Qingxue still pretended to be dissatisfied and rebutted her mother, "Mom, didn't you just ask me to quickly find a boyfriend? Also, I believe that Su Lin is the best; he loves me a lot and that's all that matters. As for those mature men with steady carriers, can you guarantee they will love me as much as Su Lin? I will only marry Su Lin!"

"You... You damned girl, I.. I won't talk to you anymore. Let me finish cooking, and then I will deal with you while we eat."

Although Mother Lin was enraged, she still remembered the dishes being cooked in the kitchen, so she immediately returned to tend to them.

"Su Lin, your performance was great. Haha, my Mom is definitely extremely dissatisfied with you now. I believe that after today's dinner, my Mom will ask me to break up with you without a doubt."

Lin Qingxue pulled Su Lin to the sofa in the living room, turned on the TV, and said to him with a smile.

"Teacher Lin, I didn't even do anything..."

Su Lin felt depressed in his heart, while the look Mother Lin gave him just before didn't make him feel any better either. He was now thinking of any idea he could use to make Mother Lin's impression of himself better.

"Hey, I told you to call me Xue'er! Wouldn't all of our effort go to waste if my mother overheard you call me like that?"

Turning the channels to put on some program, Lin Qingxue sat next to Su Lin in a good mood and casually said, "There's no need for you to say anything. Just occasionally reply to my mother with superficial words and that would be all. As for any unexpected situation, I will be the one replying just like I did a moment ago. If everything goes like this, my mother's impression of you will definitely not get any better."

"Xue'er, is auntie really that against you being in a relationship with a younger guy?"

On the side, Su Lin tried to pry some information from Lin Qingxue.

"Yup, that's how it is. According to my mother's theory, the younger guys, especially those who are younger than me, are either still in University, or just recently graduated from the University. They don't even have enough money to look after them, so where would they have anything to look after me? According to my mother, when I am going to marry, I must marry someone 5-6 years older than me!"

Since Lin Qingxue was in an excellent mood, she casually spoke to Su Lin, "But those kind of men are quite bland and stuffy! All day long, they are busy with work and business, so there's no appeal in being together with them."

"That... Xue'er, if... And I mean, if... What if the guy who pursues you is younger, even younger than you, but is quite rich... Will your mother accept someone like that?"

Hearing Su Lin's question, Lin Qingxue froze for a moment. Turning her head, she stared at Su Lin with a strange expression, "Su Lin, why are you asking such a question? That kind of situation shouldn't even exist. Where are there any guys younger than me who would be pursuing me? Ah, the only ones who pursue me are those middle-aged male teachers in the school!"

"Aiya! Teacher Lin, can you please just answer my question? If there is such a guy who is both young and rich, would your mother accept him?"

Su Lin was excited and called her incorrectly once more.

"It depends on how rich the guy is. If he only has a few hundred thousand to two hundred thousand, then he can't be called rich, at least, in my mother's eyes. He must have more than a million to his name to be considered rich."

Lin Qingxue thought for a while and then stared at Su Lin with a suspicious look in her eyes, "Su Lin, you wouldn't be talking about yourself, right?"

"Should have more than a million? If someone had that much, they would really be considered rich."

Su Lin opened his mouth and asked a question guiltily, "Xue'er, if there are so many male teachers in the school pursuing you, why don't you fall in love with one of them?"

"Hmph! What would a kid like you understand about these matters? Those male teachers, they are already 30-40 years old, yet they still haven't found a wife for themselves. They have sloppy appearances with one foot in their graves. I would rather die than live with someone like that."

In her mind, Lin Qingxue went over the male teachers who were pursuing her in Jian'an First High, and then quickly shook her head while speaking.

"Then... Xue'er, what kind of person would you want to be with?"

Su Lin asked again, but this time, Lin Qingxue didn't answer him as easily as before. Instead, she looked at him and asked, "Su Lin, why do you care about such matters? Did some male teacher from the school ask you to pry for information from me? Is it Teacher Lin of the Biology Department or Teacher Hong of the Physics Department who wears eyeglasses and is bald?"

"No! No! No! It's nothing like that! I am just curious."

"Curious? Right, Su Lin, I am also very curious about a matter. On that day, how did you suddenly disappear from my apartment? I had thought that you were hiding in the closet in my room! So, as soon as my mother opened the closet, my heart almost jumped to my throat..."

Staring at Su Lin, Lin Qingxue had remembered the matter from that morning.

"On that day... At first, I did hide inside the closet, but then I thought that I might be easily exposed by hiding in the closet, so I secretly sneaked out of it and hid behind the door. When the door opened, your and auntie's attention was on the closet, so I took advantage of that and secretly slipped out from the entrance."

Su Lin quickly explained with a lie. Anyway, he was certain that Lin Qingxue didn't have the time to notice the situation behind the door on that day, so that's exactly what he focused on.

"Behind the door? Hmm..."

Lin Qingxue thought for a while and concluded that if Su Lin really hid behind the door at that time, he would have really been able to avoid being seen by her and her mother. Still, it was too dangerous. As long as Mother Lin turned even in the slightest, Su Lin might have been exposed.

"Alright then, Teacher Lin, I have already answered your question, so you should answer my question now. What kind of person would you like?"

With a curious expression on his face, Su Lin asked again.

"What kind of person I would like?"

Lin Qingxue thought for a while and then said in dismay, "I don't have anyone I like, but I think the person I like must be humorous, tolerant, and be able to take care of me. Also, it must not get boring to stay with him. After all, I will have to stay with him for a lifetime."

Although that was what Lin Qingxue said, she wasn't too sure about that herself, so she murmured, "Actually, I don't know how it feels to like someone. But I believe it should be quite nice, just like the books say. If you really like someone, you won't care about anything right or wrong, nor their conditions. As long as you feel they are the right person, everything else can be ignored. Su Lin, am I right?"

"As long as it feels right, everything else can be ignored."

Looking at Lin Qingxue at this time, Su Lin felt as if he was looking at a young girl full of longing for love. Her feelings were a completely blank slate. It seemed that, to date, no one had stepped into her empty world of sentiments. Moreover, she seemed to be both anticipant and afraid when it came to love... Anticipant of the true love that might arrive at any time, and afraid, at the same time, that such love might never arrive.

"Alright! Even if I tried explaining such matters to you, a kid like you won't understand. I have never been in love before, and you won't understand, so might as well not bother talking about this."

Just when Lin Qingxue finished speaking, Mother Lin put out the last dish and shouted towards the two of them that dinner was ready.

"Qingxue, Su Lin, the food is prepared, so come over and eat!"

Obviously, Mother Lin's voice wasn't as cordial as when she first opened the door. Originally, she was carefully preparing a bunch of dishes, but after the recent matter, she had no thought of focusing on the food. Mother Lin just decided to give up on cooking the last two dishes altogether.

Even still, there were more than ten dishes on the dining table in front of Su Lin, making for a luxurious and sumptuous meal.

"That... Su Lin! I just heard our family's Qingxue say that your family also lives in Jian'an City? About that... What do your parents do? Do they have a business in Jian'an?"

At the dining table, Mother Lin was no longer too concerned about Su Lin's condition, but decided to inquire about his family background. If Su Lin's family background was strong, for example, if his parents were some high-ranking officials in Jian'an City or if they were some big-shots with a business, then she would still be able to consider the matter between him and her daughter, Lin Qingxue.

"Auntie, my parents are just ordinary employees."

Taking a bite from the tasty braised pork in front of him, Su Lin replied according to what Lin Qingxue had taught him beforehand.

"They are ordinary employees? Then... Your family's financial conditions must not be very good, right?"

Hearing Su Lin claim that his parents were just ordinary employees, Mother Lin's expression became worse than before. It seemed that she had to thoroughly reject this prospective son-in-law here.

Seeing that her mother's expression was getting worse with the moment, Lin Qingxue became happier and decided to flame the fire, "That's right, Mom. What you don't know is that Su Lin's family's condition isn't particularly good. It was even hard for them to come up with the money to send him to University, so Su Lin had to support himself through his studies. His living expenses and tuition fees were earned through his work-study program[1]. You look at me, all four years of my time in University, the responsibility and expenses were on my family, but Su Lin earned his tuition and living expenses by himself."

If the one listening to Lin Qingxue was someone else, they would undoubtedly think it was Lin Qingxue's way of praising Su Lin. But now, in Mother Lin's ears, the words completely exposed the fact that the condition of Su Lin's family was quite bad. A family that couldn't even afford their son's University tuition and living expenses... how much money could a family like that even have?

The purpose behind Lin Qingxue's words was exactly to make her mother have such a perception regarding Su Lin's family. A daughter is her mother's most intimate and beloved friend, so how was it possible for Lin Qingxue to not know her mother's thoughts and views? The fact that Su Lin was younger than her had already dissatisfied her mother, and now that her mother knew that his family's economic condition was quite poor, there was no way Mother Lin would let Su Lin and her be together.

"Su Lin, you are quite self-reliant. Great, auntie here likes self-reliant children like you," Mother Lin said with a sullen expression. First, she said some motivating words and then she tried splashing a bucket of cold water over Su Lin's head, "But you should also know the current condition of our society. Auntie here understands your situation, and I also understand your family's background well now. Our family's Qingxue is the only daughter in our home, and your Uncle (Lin Qingxue's father) and I have raised her like a princess, never letting her do any rough work, nor letting her endure any kind of hardship. In the future, if she gets married, your Uncle and I can't be cruel enough to let her marry somewhere she would have to suffer any hardships. We don't say that we are looking for someone extremely rich for her to marry, but the other person should be equally matched with our family, at least, right? What do you think about that?"

"That's understandable! I get what you mean! Auntie, you don't have to worry; I will never let Xue'er suffer if she's with me!"

Su Lin put down the tableware in his hands and solemnly promised.

"Little Su, you don't really understand what auntie her is trying to say," Mother Lin decided not to beat around the bush anymore, and directly said without mincing her words, "Considering your and your family's condition,it is impossible for me to let our Qingxue suffer with you. Therefore, regarding the matter of you and our family's Qingxue being together... I disagree!"

FOOTNOTES,

1. Work-study is a federally and sometimes state-funded program that helps college students with financial need to get part-time jobs.

   It won’t cover all your college costs — you’ll need a combination of personal savings, scholarships, grants, and student loans, too — but it’s beneficial for students who qualify.