Your Father Wants Me to Marry You

The noodle shop was quite busy at noon.

Lin Mo pushed open the glass door and, with practiced ease, led Jiang Yunlu to a corner table for two.

He pulled out a tissue and meticulously wiped the table clean, his movements unhurried.

"What do you want to eat?"

Lin Mo glanced up at the menu on the wall.

"Um... the one we had last time was good. Was it from here?"

Jiang Yunlu's gaze wandered slightly as she asked in a soft voice.

"Then let’s get the dry-tossed rice noodles again."

Lin Mo stood up to place their order, but Jiang Yunlu gently caught his wrist.

"Wait, here’s the money."

She pulled out a red bill.

Lin Mo pressed her hand down, stopping her. "No need. Someone else is treating us today."

Before she could respond, he was already walking toward the kitchen window.

The shop owner had noticed Lin Mo and Jiang Yunlu the moment they entered.

"Same as last time—two dry-tossed noodles. One with extra noodles, extra meat, and extra roasted pork. The other with fewer noodles but more meat, and extra pickled bamboo shoots."

The owner glanced at Jiang Yunlu, who had her back to the window, and lowered his voice as if confirming a secret code:

"One hundred million?"

That direct, huh?

Still, Lin Mo nodded.

The owner couldn’t help but give him a thumbs-up. "If my son were half as impressive as you, I’d be thrilled."

But then, he slammed his cleaver onto the chopping board, the tip of the blade subtly pointing at Lin Mo.

"No wonder Boss Jiang is so pissed. If I had a daughter like that, I’d want to kill you too. You’re really something, kid."

Lin Mo acted as if he didn’t see the knife and teased, "Not taking apprentices. But I’m surprised—after taking a million, you’re still running this shop."

The owner’s movements froze for a second before he snorted and hacked into a slab of roasted pork with rough, inelegant strokes—but the portions were generous.

"A million doesn’t get you far. My son wants to settle in Goat City, and that’s not even enough for a down payment on a house."

Grumbling under his breath, he piled sliced meat, roasted pork, and braised pork into the bowls until the noodles underneath were completely buried.

"No charge today," the owner muttered, shooting Lin Mo a resentful look before waving him off.

"That girl must be blind to fall for you."

"Hey, I’ve got my charms. When you reach my age, you’ll understand."

The owner didn’t bother arguing. A couple of bowls of noodles were nothing compared to what this kid had already cost him.

Hell, even if Lin Mo brought the girl here every day for three years, the cost wouldn’t come close to what Jiang Chengshan had spent when he rented out the entire shop.

Not to mention the extra million for the "secret recipe."

Lin Mo carried the two overflowing bowls back to the table.

Jiang Yunlu’s eyes widened at the mountain of meat in her bowl.

"Did we get the wrong bowls? There’s so much meat, I can barely see the noodles."

Even though she was a young lady from a wealthy family, she knew how much meat a normal bowl of noodles should have.

"The owner likes me. I helped him make a fortune, so of course he’d hook us up."

As soon as Lin Mo finished speaking, the owner walked over with a bowl of soup and placed it in front of Jiang Yunlu.

"Yeah, this kid and I get along. But he’s not on good terms with another customer of mine."

"Here, little miss. Dry noodles can be a bit dry—have some soup on the house. Made with real pork bones and river snails."

Jiang Yunlu thanked him profusely, flustered by the unexpected kindness.

With so much meat in her bowl, she started transferring some to Lin Mo’s.

"It’s too much. I can’t finish it all."

Lin Mo didn’t mind, digging into his noodles while opening Jiang Yunlu’s lunchbox. Inside were delicate, steaming dishes.

"Don’t worry, just eat."

Jiang Yunlu turned to him and asked quietly, "I get the feeling you’re not afraid of my dad."

Lin Mo chuckled. "Why should I be? He’s not some rural zombie."

Jiang Yunlu tilted her head. "What’s a rural teacher?"

Seems the young lady hadn’t seen classic horror films—and misheard him at that. So Lin Mo played it off.

"Rural Teacher is a sci-fi short story by Liu Cixin. Pretty interesting stuff."

He brushed past the topic, not wanting her to suddenly get curious and look up that old Hong Kong horror flick.

Besides, Rural Teacher was a decent read—no harm in checking it out.

Jiang Yunlu noticed the diversion but thought she’d pieced something together.

"Did my dad... talk to you?"

"Smart girl," Lin Mo teased.

The term should’ve felt distant, but Jiang Yunlu sensed warmth in it.

Words and tone made all the difference. Text couldn’t convey emotion, but face-to-face or voice chats did.

Her cheeks flushed slightly as she hesitantly pressed, "So... what did he say?"

Lin Mo took a moment before answering.

"He offered to fund my studies abroad. Said if I came back and you still felt the same way, he’d let us get married."

Married?!

A woman’s focus was always unique.

The word "married" exploded in Jiang Yunlu’s mind, sending her into a daze.

Her face burned, blood rushing to her head.

Lin Mo nudged her shoulder, worried she might short-circuit.

"Hey, snap out of it."

Jiang Yunlu jolted back to reality.

"Huh? Oh! So... what did you say?"

She braced for his answer, though something felt off.

Lin Mo shook his head.

"I turned him down."

Her heart plummeted into an endless void.

Thud.

Thud.

Thud.

Falling, falling, falling.

Lin Mo recognized the spiral and gripped her shoulders.

"It’s a trap."

The girl blinked, processing his words.

A trap?

A brief moment of clarity later, Jiang Yunlu understood.

"Like the neighbor’s son you told me about?"

Lin Mo nodded. "Same trick, different packaging. That’s your dad’s game."

Hearing this, resentment toward her father flickered in her chest.

Because the trap wasn’t for Lin Mo—it was for her.

If she held on, the plan would fail.

But her father didn’t believe she would.

She looked up at Lin Mo.

"Do you think I can’t last either?"

Lin Mo knew the wrong answer now would bring tears.

"I refused because I don’t want to study abroad."

He ruffled her hair gently.

"I wouldn’t dare ask you to wait that long for me."