Chapter 549: Chapter 549

After admiring it for a while, Han Qiwu placed the Shadow Rod into its accompanying case, bent down to pick it up, and decided to study it properly when he returned home.

As he stepped off the stage, he headed straight for Grandpa Chen and the two elderly companions, intending to chat with them for a bit.

The three elderly men combined are nearly two hundred years old, yet they were still enthusiastically cheering him on!

Though truth be told, he would much rather go over to see his prospective in-laws and take this opportunity to make a good impression.

But they don’t seem to know him yet, so if he did go over, the situation might turn a bit awkward.

What if he pretended not to know them and offered to help, only for Mr. Tang to say later, "Han Qiwu told me you would be here"? That would be the ultimate social disgrace.

It’s better to let things progress slowly.

But things often develop in ways that defy imagination.

Just as Han Qiwu reached Grandpa Chen’s vicinity, the bleary-eyed Tang Jing suddenly spotted Mr. Tang and Mrs. Tang, hastily walking over and exclaiming, "Big Brother, Sister-in-Law? What are you two doing here?"

Mrs. Tang turned her head and, upon seeing Brother Jing, immediately waved her hand signaling for him to keep quiet. After glancing around to make sure Han Qiwu wasn’t paying attention, she let out a sigh of relief.

"Lower your voice! What’s with the shouting? We came to watch the fishing competition." Mrs. Tang chastised her younger brother-in-law.

"You two don’t even fish, what’s the point of watching a fishing competition?" Tang Jing snorted derisively.

Mr. Tang finally came to his senses and chuckled, "Little Brother, you fish often. Do you know this champion? Someone this skilled must practice here regularly, right?"

"Champion? Who’s the champion? Xiao Lin? I don’t know him. Haven’t really seen him before." Brother Jing replied, yawning as he spoke.

Mr. Tang pointed to the big screen nearby and said, "No, it’s Han Qiwu. Didn’t you hear the announcer say so?"

"What? Han Qiwu? He beat Xiao Lin? I just woke up and wandered over here, only to see you two. What’s going on?" Brother Jing looked utterly confused and clueless about the situation.

"Not only did Han Qiwu win, but his score doubled Xiao Lin’s! That was an absolute victory!" Mrs. Tang said proudly.

"How is that possible? He only started learning to fish after arriving here in February. I gave him his first rod — that copper blade — and it’s been less than three months since. He beat Xiao Lin in that short time? Besides, I remember he wasn’t even among the finalists in the preliminaries advancing to the final round!" Brother Jing said, his face full of disbelief.

"This guy’s only been learning to fish for less than three months?" Mr. Tang straightened up in surprise and glanced over in Han Qiwu’s direction. After a moment’s pause, he leaned back in his chair, exclaiming in admiration: "That guy’s impressive, Qingying’s got an eye for people."

"Qingying? Are they already dating? Things are progressing so quickly?" Tang Jing asked, utterly bewildered once again.

I was just staying up late last night, didn’t wake up early, and showed up a bit late.

How does it feel like I’ve missed everything happening in the entire world?

"Big Brother, am I dreaming?" Tang Jing reached out and pinched Mr. Tang’s arm.

"Hands off my husband! Speak up — when did you know about Qingying and Han Qiwu, and why didn’t you tell us?" Mrs. Tang slapped Tang Jing’s hand away and interrogated him fiercely.

Tang Jing helplessly spread his hands and said, "I didn’t know they were officially together either! Back in February when Han Qiwu arrived here, he wanted to fish by the seaside, so I gave him the copper blade rod. Later, when he came by my place for a meal, Qingying happened to visit at the same time. Apart from that, I just thought they had some chemistry when the three of us had dinner last month. But I couldn’t have guessed they’d get together so soon!"

"Alright, I reckon they probably had some feelings for each other back when they were in school, and now that Han Qiwu is here doing experiments, they naturally gravitated toward each other." Mr. Tang waved his hand dismissively, his face filled with an uncontrollable smile.

Tang Jing nodded in agreement and asked, "Where is that guy anyway? Since Qingying isn’t here, I’ll call him over and ask him myself."

A rolled-up promotional poster landed squarely on Tang Jing’s arm.

"Who said I’m not here?! Why are you looking for Han Qiwu? Whatever you want to ask him, you can ask me directly!" Tang Qingying, clad in sportswear, glared at him angrily.

"Nothing, nothing at all." Tang Jing quickly waved his hands and moved aside.

After dealing with Tang Jing, Tang Qingying turned her attention to her parents, looping her arms as she circled them twice. "Dad, Mom, what made you come to watch a fishing competition? Was it my uncle who tipped you off?" Thᴇ link to the origɪn of this information rᴇsts ɪn novęlfire.net

Standing nearby, Tang Jing hurriedly raised his hand and said, "Not my doing! When I arrived, they were already here. I didn’t even catch the competition myself."

"Huh? Then who could it be?" Tang Qingying hadn’t considered this possibility.

Mrs. Tang, without hesitation, threw Guo Fugui under the bus: "It was your Brother Guo who told us. But Qingying, shouldn’t you be at the research institute right now? Why did you suddenly come here?"

Tang Qingying replied honestly, "Han Qiwu told me he thought he spotted Mom and Dad and even sent me a photo. Though it was taken from a distance and a bit blurry, I instantly recognized Dad’s shoes."

"Huh? Xiao Han saw us? How did he recognize us? Did you give him pictures of us?"

"No, I didn’t. I found it strange too. Logically, he shouldn’t know you. Ask him about it when he comes over later," Tang Qingying said, puzzled.

"Oh no, earlier I was cheering for him and even arguing with the people next to me," Mrs. Tang suddenly felt a sense of suffocation as she realized Han Qiwu had known all along. She thought for a moment before smacking Mr. Tang on the arm. "This is all your fault! Wearing those shoes... Should’ve just gone barefoot!"

Mr. Tang: "... My bad, my bad."

Seeing her dad’s imploring look, Tang Qingying quickly picked up her phone to call Han Qiwu.

Only Han Qiwu could rescue her dad now.

Having noticed the situation earlier, Han Qiwu answered the call within seconds. After a few brief responses, he explained things to Grandpa Chen, tidied his clothes a bit, and headed toward Tang Qingying with the Shadow Rod case in hand.

To be honest, he felt a little nervous.

When he got closer, Han Qiwu stood beside Tang Qingying and bent over to place the Shadow Rod case down.

"Come, let me introduce you. This is my dad; you can call him Uncle Tang. This is my mom; she’s also a Tang, so just call her Aunt Tang. And this is my uncle—you already know him."

"Good morning, Uncle Tang, Aunt Tang, Brother Jing," Han Qiwu said with a polite smile.

"Hello, Xiao Han! You’re quite handsome! And wow, you fished amazingly earlier—I was cheering for you the whole time!" Mrs. Tang responded warmly.

Mr. Tang also praised Han Qiwu and gave his daughter a discreet thumbs-up.

Ah, the sweet little girl he raised.

Though, soon enough, she’ll belong to someone else’s family.

After chatting for a while, Mrs. Tang couldn’t help but ask, "Xiao Han, how did you recognize your uncle and me?"

Han Qiwu had his answer prepared. Smiling gently, he replied, "Every day, I picture Qingying’s face in my mind countless times. Earlier, when I looked down from the stage, I caught sight of you from a distance and thought you looked familiar. So I asked Qingying, and it turns out I was right! What a coincidence! Do you have time for lunch? I’d love to cook you both a seafood feast."

"Sure, sounds great!" Tang Qingying cheered as she wrapped her arms around Han Qiwu happily.

Mrs. Tang found this explanation satisfactory and then shot Mr. Tang a sharp glare.

When we get home, you better start picturing me in your mind a few times too!