Chapter 12

Fan Xing rubbed his cheeks and stole a glance at the man beside him. He couldn’t help but feel that He Qingmo, who was smiling so gently, seemed really reliable.

Moreover, in the morning, this man had always been on his side in front of Ji Jin, so he probably would be the same when they went to the He family.

Thinking like this, he did feel somewhat reassured.

However, when he actually arrived at the He family and saw a large group of people, his little heart started pounding chaotically.

He Qingmo hadn’t told him that there were so many people!

He had thought it would only be He Qingmo’s parents, but there were also two elder brothers and their wives.

All six pairs of eyes were staring at him, making him feel extremely awkward, like he was some rare specimen on display.

He tried to appear less nervous, greeted everyone with a faint smile, but the hand hidden behind him unconsciously clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

Suddenly, a warm hand gripped his own. It wasn’t forceful, but it forced his tightly clenched hand open, and the thumb gently caressed his palm.

That’s when he realized his palm was a bit sore; he had probably squeezed it too hard, and his fingernails had dug into his palm.

He did have this habit. No matter how nervous he was, he could keep a calm expression on his face, but his hands would become unusually tense, and he wouldn’t even realize it. Often, he would only feel the pain in his palm afterwards, realizing that he had squeezed too hard.

So, He Qingmo must have noticed this habit of his, which was why he held his hand.

He couldn’t help but raise his head to look at the man next to him. However, He Qingmo wasn’t looking at him; instead, he addressed the He family with a smile and said, “Alright, everyone has been introduced. Let’s exchange greetings and betrothal gifts!”

Saying that, he pulled Fan Xing down to sit next to him.

“Tsk tsk, is this the young man named Fan Xing? What a lovely name, and he’s even better-looking. Come, this is a gift from my second sister-in-law. We were in a hurry and didn’t have time to prepare anything elaborate. Fan Xing, you must feel neglected!” Second sister-in-law Lin Lin, who was beautiful and enthusiastic, was the first to hand over her gift. It was a beautifully wrapped gift box and a red envelope.

Although Fan Xing didn’t really want it, he had already learned that this was a custom in China, so he had to accept it and express his thanks.

With Lin Lin leading the way, the others also took out their prepared betrothal gifts. Most of them were red envelopes, and they seemed quite thin, likely containing either checks or bank cards.

Fan Xing didn’t open them; although he was used to opening gifts in person when he received presents overseas and had to show how much he liked them, he couldn’t bring himself to open a red envelope and pretend to be thrilled.

On the other hand, He Qingmo finally released his hand, took one of the red envelopes, opened it, and glanced at it before giving a satisfied look to his parents and siblings. “Not bad, you didn’t embarrass me.” Then he handed the red envelope to Fan Xing.

Fan Xing couldn’t help but stare at him for a moment. He felt that He Qingmo was acting even more childish in front of his own family, and somewhat mischievous.

The He family members were probably used to it. Except for Ji Jin rolling her eyes, no one paid much attention to him. However, they seemed quite interested in Fan Xing.

Especially Xin Xin.

Anyway, there was still some time before the meal was served. Xin Xin, who was wearing a princess dress, suddenly appeared from somewhere and ran over to sit next to Fan Xing. She tilted her head, looked at him with a sweet smile, and spoke in a coquettish tone, “Brother, you’re really handsome!”