Rebirth: Back To Claim Husband And Wealth

Chapter 35

When the weekend finally rolled by, Lu Chen finally had some free time from his day off. He and Chang Ying headed to the Chang house in town.

The house was located in a white-collar housing district, along with a lot of other teachers' homes. Chang Ying's father had been lucky to snag a house in the most recent housing incentive plan for teachers that occurred a few years earlier. At a glance, it was clear that Chang Mo, Chang Ying's father, had a stable government job as a teacher and it came with reasonable benefits.

Their home was a simple three-bedroom apartment on the third floor of the apartment complex. 

After climbing the flight of stairs and reaching their doorstep, the two took off their dusty shoes at the doormat. Chang Ying noticed an unfamiliar pair of delicate, pink sandals with flowers on top among the shoes at the doormat, so she knew the door would be open since a guest was around.

Though her father was particularly strict about rules, her mother hated the sound of knocking and going to open the door. It gave her mother a headache. Therefore, it became an unwritten rule in their small family of three that family members would open the door themselves, come in and announce their arrival instead of stressing the mistress of the house.

Still, this Chang tradition was a bit unusual to outsiders. Chang Ying smiled at the wary Lu Chen next to her. His eyes and the slight grimace on his face showed his reluctance at her "impolite" actions. Chang Ying turned the doorknob and entered. Her soft, light voice rang out through the apartment at the same time.

"Mum, Dad, I'm home!"

Immediately Chang Ying could hear a chatter of footsteps before she even reached the end of the narrow walkway.

The walkway from the door opened into a neatly arranged living room. The walls were a warm yellow colour with framed photos of the small family hanging on every wall surface. There was a long couch, an old monochrome TV set and directly behind the couch, there was a dining table and chairs that shared the living room space.

Chang Ying smiled, she felt a certain warmth at the familiarity of everything. It was like returning to her childhood and soaking in all the warm, honeyed memories she loved.

Chang Ying noticed two women sitting on the couch and her smile brightened by 100 watts. The woman with the her lips pressed into a stern line, while her eyes lit up with joy was her mother, Wu Meng. And the other woman with a warm smile, bright rouge on her cheeks, beautifully trimmed thin brows and chill-red lipstick highlighting her small facial features was her very sweet, kindhearted aunt.

Her father stood at one end of the room with several books in his hands. He was obviously the one who had rushed out with heavy footsteps after hearing her voice.

With a bright smile, Chang Ying heartily greeted each of them. Then she stepped aside and let Lu Chen greet them too. It was his first official visit to the Chang household since their wedding.

From the corner of her eyes, Chang Ying caught her mother looking Lu Chen up and down with dissatisfaction spilling over. Chang Ying knew her mother too well.

Wu Meng was a straightforward woman, sometimes, too straightforward. She spoke her mind and whatever she seemed the cold truth without remorse. Chang Ying knew Wu Meng was still not happy with her son-in-law. It was very likely she would, once again, start asking Lu Chen questions that would make the atmosphere awkward.

Before either older ladies could open their mouth, Chang Ying turned to her father and said, "Dad, why don't you take Lu Chen to the study? Lu Chen younger brother would be taking the high school entrance examination soon. The boy is also smart like Lu Chen. May be you could give Lu Chen some insight on those scholarship programs."