Dania: Hello, Mom

At ten in the morning, Xiao Ling and Dania had just finished breakfast and were sitting on opposite sides of the couch.

Dania was playing Wuthering Waves, which she had just downloaded on her phone. Its performance really was good; the receptionist had clearly put a lot of thought into it.

Having a Wuthering Waves character play Wuthering Waves was such a wonderful thing.

Come to think of it, Dania was surprisingly good at the game. She picked it up quickly, and in less than a few hours, she could beat red-name monsters without taking damage.

So what was Xiao Ling doing on the other side?

"Ahh..." Xiao Ling stared blankly at a WeChat chat window, looking a little like he had given up on life.

The contact name at the top of the chat window was "Her Majesty the Empress Mother."

Xiao Ling was trying to figure out how to ask his mother for money. After spending lavishly to make a beauty smile yesterday, he was really short on cash, and the rent for a new place was beyond what he could afford. If he didn't ask for help soon, he really would be eating dirt this month.

He could of course get a part-time job or take gaming commissions, but distant water couldn't quench an immediate thirst. He needed money urgently, and he really didn't want to keep sleeping on the couch.

In the end, after thoroughly steeling himself, he started a voice call with his mother.

A pleasant voice call ringtone woke Xiao Yue from her nap.

"Hello?" Xiao Yue's gentle voice reached Xiao Ling through the phone.

"Mom, what are you doing? How's your health?" Xiao Ling didn't intend to get straight to the point. He would ask after her first.

"Out of money?" No one knew a son better than his mother. Although Xiao Yue was happy that Xiao Ling had called, she also knew he couldn't be up to anything good calling at a time like this.

"Uh... well... here's the thing. I'm planning to move, but money's a little tight lately..." Xiao Ling replied awkwardly.

"That place should be big enough for you alone, shouldn't it? Why do you suddenly want to move?"

"Ahaha... I got a girlfriend recently, so I wanted to move somewhere else. It'd be more comfortable if we each had our own room." Xiao Ling scratched his head as he spoke.

Well, Dania probably counts as my soon-to-be girlfriend, right? She doesn't object, anyway.

Still immersed in the game's story, Dania clearly had no idea that a certain Xiao beside her had already arranged everything for her.

"Do you think I believe you?" Xiao Yue's tone rose slightly.

"I think you do," Xiao Ling said with conviction.

"Come on, video call. Let Mom see what your girlfriend looks like."

Xiao Yue promptly switched the voice call to a video call and waited for Xiao Ling to accept her check-in.

Xiao Ling sucked in a breath when he saw the call suddenly switch to video.

Good grief, Her Majesty the Empress Mother isn't playing by the rules. She went straight to a video check-in without giving me a chance to talk my way around it.

But for every policy from above, there was a countermeasure below. To get the money, he was going all in.

"Dania." Xiao Ling called to Dania, who was playing her game.

"Hmm?" Dania replied questioningly, her eyes still on her phone screen.

"Say hello to our mom." Xiao Ling connected the video call and turned the camera toward Dania.

"Hello, Mom~" Dania's voice was soft and a little lazy. She waved toward the camera, but she wasn't looking at it at all. Still fully absorbed in the game's story, she hadn't noticed what a shocking thing she had just said.

Xiao Ling and Xiao Yue: ???

Xiao Yue's surprise lasted only a moment before she came to terms with it. A radiant smile like a lily in May took its place, and her silver-bell laughter echoed through the living room.

"Looks like our mom is quite taken with Dania?"

Xiao Ling was a little surprised. He hadn't expected Dania's lazy manner to leave anything but a bad impression on his mother.

Seemingly realizing there was another woman's voice in the living room, Dania finally pulled herself away from the game and formally met this future mother-in-law.

She was a woman of gentle bearing. Although her complexion looked somewhat sickly and pale, the tenderness and resilience in her eyes showed what it meant for a woman to be gentle by nature but strong as a mother. Though she was somewhat thin, her looks were quite outstanding, with a naturally beautiful face and delicate nose. In her youth, she must have been the white moonlight in the hearts of many young men experiencing their first love.

Looking at the beautiful woman before her, Dania belatedly realized that she seemed to have called his mother "Mom."

"No, um, Auntie... what I just said..."

"Calling me Auntie is so distant. Just call me Mom like Xiao Yu does," Xiao Yue said gently. "Or you could call me Sister Yue?"

(Wait, what?! The generations are going to get all mixed up!)

"M-Mom," Dania stammered, her little face bright red.

"Yes, good girl." Xiao Yue smiled even more happily, her shoulders shaking with laughter. "If Xiao Yu bullies you over there, tell me and I'll deal with him for you."

"He hasn't. Ling treats me very well," Dania hurriedly defended him.

"Mom, do I look like the kind of person who'd bully his girlfriend to you?" Xiao Ling insisted on clearing his name.

"I think you look like the kind of person who'd bang his head against the computer screen while saying he wants to marry his two-dimensional wife." Xiao Yue smiled as she casually roasted her son.

Damn it, Mom, you can't roast your son like that!

Xiao Ling was hit with a super break on the spot and hid in a corner drawing circles, his whole body turning gray.

Dania couldn't help giggling at Xiao Ling's comical appearance.

"All right, Mom won't interrupt you two lovebirds anymore. I'll take care of the money and the housing," Xiao Yue told Dania before ending the call.

Only then did Dania understand the real purpose of the video call. She smiled and replied, "Mm-hmm, sorry for the trouble, Mom."

"We'll all be family from now on, so there's no need to be so formal." Xiao Yue spoke with a smile on her lips. "That's all, then. Mom's hanging up."

"Mm, bye, Mom."

With two beeps, the video call ended.

After hanging up, Dania suddenly realized that this seemed to count as meeting the parents.

At the thought, her face turned bright red again, and even her neck was tinged with an enticing blush. She no longer had the mind to pay attention to the game's unfolding story.

But that straight-laced Rover actually plays around like this in private?

Xiao Ling, meanwhile, was still reeling from the social death and drawing circles in the corner.

Seeing him like that, Dania thought of teasing him.

She quietly drew close to the still-gray Xiao Ling and whispered in his ear, "I heard you call two-dimensional characters your wives every day?"

Xiao Ling jolted, instantly regained his color, and turned around to pull her into his arms.

"Isn't my two-dimensional wife right here?" Xiao Ling asked, kneading her delicate, tender cheeks.

"I... haven't... agreed to that," Dania stubbornly replied, her cheeks still being kneaded.

"Still denying it? You've already called her Mom. It's only a matter of time," Xiao Ling said with a grin.

"That's your fault!" Dania refused to back down and tried to strike back. "Who told you to suddenly video call Mom?!"

"Nyah, nyah, nyah." Xiao Ling made a face.

Dania pinched Xiao Ling's annoying face, while Xiao Ling continued kneading her cheeks. For a while, their laughter and playful scuffling went on without end.

Xiao Yue hung up the video call, feeling thoroughly satisfied.

Dania's "Hello, Mom" had truly delighted her, and her smile hadn't faded since.

"Little sister, what's got you so happy?" A deep male voice sounded in front of Xiao Yue.

As soon as Xiao Yu entered, he saw his sister smiling so happily, as if something incredibly good had happened.

"Hehe, Xiao Yu brought a girlfriend home. How could I not be happy as his mother?" Xiao Yue replied with a smile, her voice full of barely concealed joy.

"Huh? That little ingrate isn't fooling you, is he? Did he make up a lie to ask you for money?"

Xiao Yu knew his spendthrift nephew very well. Xiao Ling spent more money on games than he did on himself. He was usually very stingy, yet gave his two-dimensional wives the best of everything.

Xiao Yue knew that, of course, but every time, she would lecture him and then transfer the money anyway. It pained Xiao Yu deeply.

Still, he could understand why his little sister spoiled Xiao Ling.

Xiao Yue had only this one child, but because of her stubborn temper, her child had lived a hard life for several years. Now that things were better, she surely wanted to make it up to her only child.

Of course, his nephew had done well enough too, getting into a decent university through the college entrance exam. He hadn't let his little sister's expectations down.

"Got a picture? Let me take a look."

Xiao Yue merely smiled and typed out a message to Xiao Ling on her phone.

A little while later, a photo of the two arrived from Xiao Ling.

"Here." Xiao Yue handed Xiao Yu the phone.

Xiao Yu opened the photo. It was unmistakably a photo of his nephew and his future niece-in-law.

Xiao Ling's hair was a bird's nest, clearly not something he took care of often. But he was grinning and making a peace sign with his left hand, his face constantly rubbing against his girlfriend's cheek. He really did seem to like her a lot.

The girl had a head of beautiful long pink hair and eyes as dreamily blue as a starry sky. She wore a somewhat troubled smile and copied Xiao Ling by making a peace sign with her right hand. Although she looked a little impatient, the smile in her eyes showed how satisfied she was with her current life.

The boy has finally come around. He's finally stopped going on about his two-dimensional wives every day. Xiao Yu felt a fatherly relief from the bottom of his heart.

"What did he say he wanted?" Xiao Yu turned to the question of what Xiao Ling needed.

"He wants to move. I suppose he wants to give the girl some private space," Xiao Yue replied.

"All right, I'll handle it," Xiao Yu said lightly.

It's only a house. There's no need to rent one; we can just buy it.