In the men's room, Li Weihao and Li Weiyan were whispering into their phones.
Li Liguo and Chen Suozhu were quietly scolding their respective younger sons.
Li Weiyu covered his ears, using silence as his resistance.
Chen An earnestly asked his father, "Dad, Brother Hao and Brother Yan both didn't get girlfriends until they were 26. I'm only 22, why are you so anxious?"
Even though Li Weiyu had his ears covered, he heard his cousin's words and nodded with a sense of empathy.
Chen Suozhu looked at his elder brother-in-law, asking with his eyes how to proceed.
Li Liguo gave a sinister smile, "Xiaoyu, shouldn't you and An'an go see your mother and aunt? After all, you'll be going back to Kyoto with Sister Lili tomorrow."
"No!" Li Weiyu forgot to cover his ears and scrambled onto the bed, "I'm tired, I have to travel tomorrow morning, I should rest early."
"No," Chen An also got out of bed, "I have to take the train back to the provincial capital tomorrow, I should rest too."
"Xiaoyu."
"An'an."
Two voices that filled Li Weiyu and Chen An with dread rang out from the doorway.
The cousins, with a shared understanding, pretended to be asleep.
Ouyang Meihua and Li Min, seeing no one emerge, entered the room to catch them.
Ouyang Meihua grabbed Li Weiyu by the collar, "Good son, you'll be returning to Kyoto tomorrow, and I'll be returning to Kushan."
"We haven't had a good talk in half a month, how about a farewell ceremony tonight?"
Li Min grabbed Chen An's arm, "Son, Mom wants to go to the provincial city to take care of you so you can focus on your graduation defense."
Li Weiyu wasn't the eldest brother and didn't know martial arts. Being held by his mother was like being grabbed by a chicken. He was dragged by his mother to the living room downstairs for a heart-to-heart talk, forced to participate in a mother-son farewell ceremony.
Chen An was already a grown man, but he didn't dare to break free from his mother. Otherwise, when his father truly lost his temper, it would be difficult to handle. "Mom, you've worked hard. You should go home with Grandma, Grandpa, and uncles."
"My defense is in more than ten days. After I pass, I'll go to Kyoto to find Sister Lili."
"Sister Lili said I can't casually date; she'll keep an eye out for me."
"Really?" Li Min asked, half-believing.
"Really." To convince his mother, Chen An betrayed his cousin, "Xiaoyu asked me to stay single with him, and that's what I told him."
"Sister Lili said that in the future, as her trusted subordinate, the person I find must also be someone she trusts, for safety."
Li Min believed him, "Okay, Mom will talk to Lili and tell her not to be too late."
"Mom," Chen An bought himself some time, "Calculate it, it will take me at least two years to climb up in the company."
"If I'm not in a high position, how can I find someone trusted by Sister Lili's side?"
"After two years, once I've stabilized in a high position, I'll have free time to date, right?"
"Wouldn't that be three years? I'll be 25 then, and Brother Hao and Brother Yan will be 26."
"Look at them, when they date, they're so steady, aren't they? It's estimated that in a year, we'll have new additions to the family."
"If you rush me to date before I've secured my position by Sister Lili's side, and I get distracted, will Sister Lili still trust me?"
Li Min thought for a moment and nodded, "Alright! I'll tell Lili that your matters are up to her."
"If she finds someone for you early, then date. If she's not in a hurry, and you've stabilized by Sister Lili's side, then I'll urge her."
Chen An nodded earnestly, "Mm-hmm, I'll listen to Mom and Sister Lili."
Li Min released her younger son and waved to her husband, "Rest early."
Chen Suozhu looked at his wife's retreating back, then at his son who was subtly smirking, unsure whether to remind his wife.
But then again, perhaps Lili really did have such plans.
Over with Ouyang Meihua, she was nagging her younger son.
The central theme was that out of the eight children, only he, his younger cousin, and his younger cousin remained.
Even his 19-year-old cousin was actively looking for a partner, and he was 22, why wasn't he in a hurry? Was he really planning to consider it at the age of 30?
By then, the girls of suitable age would all be the leftovers, the unattractive ones picked by others.
There were two types of girls with unsuitable ages: one was older than him, so most of them would be divorced and possibly with children.
The other was much younger than him. When she was young and vibrant, who would fancy him, an old man?
If they didn't dislike him for being old, they must have ulterior motives, eyeing the Li family or Jingyuan Company, certainly not him as a person.
He himself had no strengths when he was young, and even fewer as an old man.
What right did he have to attract a woman to marry him?
Facing his mother, Li Weiyu didn't dare to cover his ears. He regretted again why he hadn't learned the martial arts of the Ouyang family.
It would have been very useful for escaping his mother's nagging divine skill.
Didn't he see his elder brother resisting pressure to get married since he was 19? A full seven years! That was entirely due to the Ouyang family's martial arts.
Did his mother look down on him so much?
Was he worse than Han Lushish? Well, it seemed he was more than a little worse.
Was he worse than Brother Hao and his elder brother? Well, it seemed he couldn't quite catch up.
Was he worse than his cousin Ranran? It seemed they weren't on the same level.
Was he better than his older cousin? He was much better than his older cousin, right?
Huh? There were eight people, why could he only account for his aunt's two cousins?
If he didn't count his aunt's family and only counted the Li family, wasn't he the last place in the Li family?
Was he really that bad?
"Mom, am I that bad?"
Ouyang Meihua nodded, "Extremely bad."
Li Weiyu thumped his chest, "I've decided, I will not be a human until I get a doctorate."
"Slap!" Ouyang Meihua slapped her younger son's back, "Are you a pig? I've been talking for so long, even a pig should get it by now."
"You've recognized your own shortcomings, why are you still fighting with a doctorate? Can you really get one?"
"I heard you took a postgraduate entrance exam at the end of last year, and it's so quiet now, you must not have passed, right?"
"You didn't even get a master's degree, and you're still competing for a doctorate?"
Li Weiyu's mouth twitched. Who betrayed him?
"Mom, last year was just a trial run, this year is the official exam."
"Alright!" Ouyang Meihua nodded, "I'll wait for your good news at the end of this year. If there's no good news for me, I'll give you good news."
"No," Li Weiyu quickly corrected his mother's thinking, "The exam is at the end of this year, and it will take two months to know the results."
"Alright!" Ouyang Meihua nodded, "I'll wait for your good news at the end of February next year, otherwise, I'll give you good news."
"Mom," Li Weiyu fawningly approached Ouyang Meihua, "What good news will you give me?"
"Hehe." Ouyang Meihua chuckled, "Good news that I'm marrying off my youngest son. You must attend your wedding then!"
"Mom~" Li Weiyu quickly calculated various methods in his mind. He couldn't be violently dragged into the bridal chamber by his mother. "Brother An said Sister Lili doesn't allow him to casually date. Look, I plan to be Sister Lili's right-hand man like An'an. Is it appropriate for you to casually arrange a woman for me?"
Ouyang Meihua raised her eyebrows, "Why doesn't Lili allow An'an to casually date?"
Li Weiyu tried hard to recall his cousin's words, "It seems she said Sister Lili will find him a partner."
"Then good." Ouyang Meihua stood up, "Tomorrow morning, I'll ask Lili if she has plans to find you a partner."
"If not, then it's settled that you'll be the groom next spring."
"What's settled?" Li Weiyu corrected his mother again, "That's under the dual premise that I don't get into a master's program and Sister Lili doesn't plan to introduce me to someone."
"Okay," Ouyang Meihua nodded, "If neither of these premises exists, you'll be the groom next spring."
Li Weiyu, "..." What did his mother and father go through these past two weeks?
Before, they had an attitude of letting him fly and roam, but now why were they pressuring him so much?