thin line; daoming si

Chapter 6

"Aren't you nervous?"

The two of you are currently on the way to your house to have dinner. When you told Daoming Si that your parents would like to have him over for dinner, he didn't seem panicked in the slightest.

"No." He scoffs. "Everyone knows how charming I am."

You roll your eyes. "We'll see about that.."

When you arrive, it's almost funny how out of place Si looks. This tall, well put together man standing in front of your small, humble home.

You unlock the door with your keys and let yourself in, Si following close behind you with his hand in yours.

"Y/n! Oh my goodness, you should've warned us that you were coming!" You smile at your mother's surprised expression. She seems to be almost done cooking, a few dishes already on the table as she stirs up another pot. She immediately washes her hands, approaching the two of you with a wide smile.

"Hello! It's nice to meet you." Si goes for a handshake but your mother seems to have other ideas, enveloping him into a hug.

He smiles when she pulls away, introducing himself. "Nice to meet you ma'am. I'm Daoming Si."

The smile seems to fade from your mother's face as her eyes widen like saucers. "You're Daoming Si? The Daoming Si?"

He nods and you mother immediately begins jumping up and down in happiness. You couldn't be more confused.

"Honey! Come here!" She calls for your father.

Your father walks into the kitchen area, seemingly taking an important phone call. "What is it, honey?"

"Your daughter's soulmate is one of the most prestigious students at Mingde University!"

Your father nearly drops his phone, his mouth opening wide in shock.

"My goodness, you're right! It's Daoming Si!"

"Nice to meet you sir." Si looks at you with a smug smirk while you look at him in astonishment. You haven't even sat down for dinner yet and your parents already love him. You don't know if you should be annoyed or relieved.

"Please, sit down, sit down." Your father waves his hand, pulling out two seats at the table.

You oblige, sitting down at the table. You zone out as your father asks thousands of questions, mostly about what he is studying in school and about his family business.

You jolt awake when you feel a hand land on your knee suddenly. Turning to Si, you glare at him only to find that he pays you no attention, still deep in conversation with your father. You huff, shoving his hand off of your leg.

He immediately places it back but this time, closer to your thigh. You're ready to tell him off, not caring that he's talking to your father. But then your mother comes to the table with the last of the dishes.

"Dig in!" She says as she sits next to your father and across from you. And you're so hungry that you decide to ignore the hand for now, piling side dishes in your rice bowl.

"What's this?" Si whispers to you, nudging his head towards a dish in the middle of the table.

"Oh, that's my mother's famous chicken. You should try it."

He shrugs, putting a few pieces into his bowl. Taking a glance at your mother, you can see her watch excitedly as he tries her signature dish. The recipe runs in the family and she has spent years perfecting it.

"This is really good." He comments as he tastes the chicken dish.

Your mother beams. "Thank you!"

Dinner goes well after that, and you can tell that your parents have really taken a liking to Si. Probably more than you, if you're being completely honest. You guess that he really is charming. At least when he wants to be.

"I'm really sorry, but I think we must be going now. Thank you so much for the dinner and it was nice meeting you."

"Of course!" Your mother smiles widely at him.

"You're welcome here anytime, son." Your father tells him.

"You should go pack some clothes and necessities." Si advises you.

"Why?"

"You'll probably have to stay at my house for another few days. We can't stay apart for that long yet."

"Hmm, you're probably right." You would suggest staying at your house but as much as you love your parents, they can be really overbearing at times. Plus your house, especially your room, is just too small.

You get up from the kitchen table, heading to your room to pack some clothes and essentials.

"Aww, how cute." You jolt when you hear a voice and look up to see Si standing in the doorway.

You haven't done much to your room since you were about twelve or so, so it's still kind of childish. It's filled with pastel colors, stuffed animals and a few posters of your favorite celebrities hung up on the walls.

"Shut up." You've never thought much about it until now, but him seeing it just makes you feel so embarrassed. He simply chuckles in response, folding his arms in front of him as he waits for you to finish packing.

When you're done, you hug your parents goodbye and promise to come back very soon. With that, you and Si head out to his car and back to his house.

Upon entering, it looks exactly the same as when you left this morning. The only difference is that there is a woman sitting on the couch with a glass of wine in her hands.

"Zhuang? What are you doing here?" You are pulled to a stop when Si halts in his tracks, your hand in his.

"That's not a nice way to greet your sister." She smiles mischievously, taking a sip of the red liquid. Then her eyes drift to you and your intertwined hands. "Besides, you didn't tell me that you found your soulmate."

"Well, I've been busy." Si's tone is serious and guarded. You're guessing he doesn't have the best relationship with his sister.

"That's a lousy excuse, Si." The woman scoffs, rolling her eyes. "What's your name, darling?" She asks, turning to you.

"I'm Y/n."

"She's cute." Zhuang smiles at her brother. "Did you tell mother yet?"

Si shakes his head. "I don't think she would...approve of her."

You raise your eyebrows at Si's words, looking up at him. "What do you mean?"

He sighs deeply, nibbling at his bottom lip in what you could only guess is nervousness. "My mother is very...materialistic, I guess you could say. She would only want me to be with someone who is from a well-known family and has a lot of money. And you..." He trails off, looking away.

"Oh." You look down at your shoes.

"But it's okay!" Zhuang blurts out, smiling at you cheerfully. "I'm sure Si likes you just the way you are. Don't you, Si?"

"I uh..yeah." Si mumbles.

"And either way, she can't break the two of you apart so don't worry about it."

You still don't feel too confident but you're grateful for the reassurance.

"Speaking of soulmates, how much time do you have left?" Si changes the subject and you couldn't be happier.

"Oh, there's only a couple weeks left. I'm not sure if I should stay here for the big day or go back to London."

"Well, London is where you live now so I would stay there. But either way, fate will end up deciding for you."

"You're right, thanks for the advice, little brother." Zhuang gives him a thumbs up.

Si waves her off before a yawn escapes his lips.

"You guys should go to bed, it's getting late."

Si nods tiredly, mumbling a goodnight before he drags you up the stairs.