If Only You Knew

" You guys are finally here!", Liling turned around and saw a girl about her age emerging from the house and approaching with eagerness in her steps

Getting there, she extended her hand to Liling with a big smile on her face, "Hi, I'm Li Xui, Li Hao's younger sister. It's nice to meet you."

"I'm Xu Liling", she replied smiling and shaking her hand, "It's nice to meet you too"

"Gosh, you're really pretty. How'd this hopeless human being manage to get you to marry him?", Li Xui turned her nose up as she turned to look at her brother, in her eyes, there was no way he was in Liling's league,

Liling only gave a light chuckle in response, all the while thinking, 'If only you knew',

"He's not much of a charmer, and if you ask me, he takes the charm out of the word charming", Li Xui casually continued roasting her brother as they walked in the direction of the mansion not giving any thought to his presence,

"You know I'm right here right?",

"Of course I do, it's the main reason I'm doing it"

Li Hao let out a sigh immediately giving up on their conversation, if there was one thing he had learned while living with her for 14 years, it was that he could never win an argument against her,

Upon going through the golden arch doors, they were greeted by servants who had been carefully positioned around them. Once inside, they were welcomed by a circular entryway crafted from pristine white marble, radiating an unmistakable aura of elegance, refinement, and opulence.

The living room, beckoning with its circular design and extravagant furniture, was perfectly positioned before a magnificent double grand staircase, and a waterfall crystal chandelier hanging above. It climbed up to meet at the top creating a spacious balcony overlooking the breathtaking view of the floor below.

Upon seeing them, a middle-aged woman who bore some resemblance to Li Xui stood up from the large curved sofa, and walked towards them,

"Mum, this is Xu Liling, isn't she pretty", Li Xui was the first one to speak and she wrapped her hands around Liling's arms as she did,

"Good evening Auntie", Liling said as she gave a small bow with a smile on her face,

She took a look at Liling and her face instantly lit up with a smile,

"I can't believe your brother was trying to keep her away from us", She turned her nose up in her son's direction and turned away with a "Hmph",

Liling couldn't help but compare Li Hao to the rest of his family, and she could immediately tell where he'd gotten his expressive personality from,

The mother-daughter pair stood on either side of her and they walked to the living room,

There, Li Jiangyu- Li hao's father, sat with a cup of tea in his hands. He emanated a very refined aura and looked like someone who didn't speak much,

Getting there, she gave a small bow while greeting him, and he nodded in approval saying nothing at all,

They all sat in the living room as Li Xui continued on with her ranting and questions and Madam Li, fell deeper in love with her daughter-in-law,

Liling gave out the gifts she had picked out for them and they expressed their appreciation.

Following that, they all had dinner, which could be could be called more of a feast, as the table was spread with a vast array of main and side dishes, and the full family ate their full,

Li Hao who had been completely ignored by his family the whole time, was suddenly told by his father to follow him up to his library, and the two men went on their way,

Since the men were gone, the three women sat down together and continued with their conversation which seemed to not want to ever come to an end,

"Liling, when do we get to meet your family?", Madam Li asked, she seemed thrilled by the idea of meeting the people who had raised such a lovely lady,

"Well actually....", Liling wasn't really sure how to get around the question without making them feel awkward, so she decided to just say it, "They're no longer..."

Madam Li got the message before Liling could finish and put her hands up to her mouth, "Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to"

"It's fine", she said as nonchalantly as she possibly could, " It was a long time ago, so it doesn't really affect me as much"

"But still, no one should have to experience that. Would it be okay if I asked you to call me Mom?"