Rules of Engagement

Elsa thought for a while and figured out that he was referring to her parents. "My parents took a free ride, which is faster than the
bus. Besides, they left early in the morning, so they may arrive at about one o'clock in the afternoon." She answered.
"How about having lunch together? My grandparents happen to have free time at noon."
He never mentioned his family before. Until now Elsa suddenly realized it. But the time left for them was too short and too hasty,
so she really ignored it.
Could it be that their relationship this time also started easily and ended hastily?
No, it wasn't love this time. It was just a marriage of convenience for each other. She was so tired of love that she chose to be
self-banished in a marriage.
"Okay."
She was a little distracted as she didn't sleep well. The black circles under the eyes were obvious against her white skin. Soren
asked, "How about going back to the hotel to take a rest?"
"About the banquet tonight, I have booked six tables in the hotel... Do we need to make some change? " Speaking of the hotel, it
occurred to Elsa.
"How many people of your family will come?"
"Five families and two friends." Elsa counted.
"OK. No need to change." Soren replied. He also asked some other questions about the banquet and found that everything was
arranged by herself and there was no need to make any changes.
The only thing that needed to be changed was the name of the bridegroom, which they should change from Greenwood Li to
Soren Wang.
"Yes, we have to change it. Let's go back to get it done right away." Elsa stood up.
Time passed quickly when things were done. Elsa checked everything again. The wedding candies, wine, cigarettes and a big
red towel with a Chinese character of "double happiness" were all in the car of Elsa. They were all arranged by herself. Except
for the name, they could not find any traces of Greenwood's existence.

The wedding time was coming. After entering the city, Elsa's parents called her. They would be sent directly to the entrance of
the hotel by car, so Elsa would pick them up there.
Turning her head to take a look at Soren, Elsa was worried. Although her parents hadn't met with Greenwood before the
wedding, her mother Blanche was the teacher of the high school where Elsa and Greenwood once studied. She must have a
general impression of Greenwood. What's more, Elsa had sent pictures of him to them a few days ago. The name was not the
same either. Elsa felt a headache. The situation seemed to be worse than that when Greenwood suddenly broke off the
engagement.
Just when she subconsciously put her fingernails into her mouth and was about to bite as she felt anxious, she heard Soren's
clear voice, "Don't worry, I'm here with you."
Suddenly, Elsa took two envelops out of her bag and gave them to Soren. "Take these. Please give each of them to my parents
after the banquet, okay? "
They had a wedding custom here. When a girl got married, the bridegroom's family should prepare a betrothal gift for her, then
the bride's family should add more to give a gift back. After the dinner, the family of the bridegroom should return some to the
family of the bride. Both parts would spend and regain the same amount of money. It's just an auspicious omen of the wedding
ceremony.
Greenwood disagreed with her then and said that he would save the trouble. After thinking for a while, Elsa took ten thousand
dollars from the money given by her parents and divided them into two envelopes. She planned to return the money to her
parents. Her family lived a normal life. Elsa just wanted to set their mind at ease.
Soren took the money and promised, "Don't worry. I'll give the money to our parents."
He said it naturally. Elsa blushed. When she was about to turn her head away, her hand was grabbed by him. Soren said to her
delightfully, "Elsa, here are my grandparents!"
Elsa quickly adjusted her glasses and followed him to the door. A pair of hearty and affable old couple appeared at the door,
which the waiter opened for them. They nodded politely at the same time to the waiter, "Thank you."
There's no doubt that the old couple could make others feel good about them at the first sight. The pounding heart of Elsa
calmed down a lot. Soren walked up to them and said, "Elsa, these are my grandparents. And grandpas, this is Elsa Xia, who
I've just told you on the phone."

"Good girl! Good girl! Ren is disobedient to us. We have been waiting for him for a long time to take a girlfriend home, but he was
always too busy to come back. He has been fooling us elders. Elsa, you have to take good control of him for us after you get
married! " The two of them were amiable, laughing and complaining about Soren.
"Grandpas, don't complain about me in front of Elsa." Soren led them to sit in a corner of the hotel, ordered a cup of tea for each
of them, and a glass of water for Elsa. He said in a low voice, "Don't drink too much coffee. It contains much sugar. Otherwise
you can barely eat later."
Such an atmosphere made Elsa feel like that they got together because they loved each other, just like what happened five
years ago...
Mia Mai reached out her warm hands to hold Elsa's. She put a small box into Elsa's hands and said, "My girl, this is a small gift
for you. Please take it. The time was limited so we couldn't buy something else for you. Ren should be blamed. How can he deal
with such a big issue in this simple way... "
Elsa thanked her sincerely. She opened it and saw a delicate key shaped necklace, which looked very elegant and beautiful,
shiny and of great taste. It seemed to be a necklace easiest for match. Beside the necklace, there was a real key. It's not
appropriate to look it over In front of them, so Elsa put it away. She guessed that the key formed necklace was a real necklace,
while the key might be the key to the door of Soren's house. She remembered that when her father proposed to her mother, he
took the key of their home as a marriage gift...
And now, it happened to her. After seeing Elsa carefully put the gift in her bag, Zed Qi and Mia Mai looked at each other and
smiled. They nodded and asked, "My girl, I heard from Ren that your family is in another city?"
Elsa's heart jolted. People in Linchuan City cared about a person's status as an outsider. Although this old couple looked open-
minded, what would they say? She nodded, "Yes."
Unexpectedly, Zed and Mia smiled and said, "Then this time when your parents come here, they should stay for a few more days
and take a good stroll around. As Ren is free now, he show you around. "
"Grandpas, we are just getting married. We are going to have our honeymoon." In Soren's steady voice, there was a trace of... a
spoiled kid? Elsa looked at him again and saw the smile on his face. The hard lines on his face were smoothed now, and his
whole body was shining with a light of gentle.
No matter how old he was, he was still a child in front of the elders. Elsa could not help but joined their laughter.

Looking at Soren, Mia asked uncertainly, "Ren, will your father and stepmother come?"
"They are busy." The smile on Soren's face disappeared at once and the cold expression reoccupied his face. The air around
them seemed to be frozen. Elsa did not know what had happened, and she could not ask either. So she could only stay silent.
The sudden silence depressed the atmosphere. After the laughter, the coldness was more obvious. Compared to the noise, the
quietness was apparent. As soon as Elsa lifted her hand to bite her fingernails, her phone rang. Startled, she answered, "Mom?
I'll be out in a minute! "
"I'll go out with you!" Soren stood up and took her hand naturally.
At the entrance of the hotel, Blanche and Johnson were standing in front of a pile of things. Besides them, Elsa's aunt, uncle and
cousin also came to visit her. They were very intimate to each other. Soren was ignored completely. After a long while, Blanche
asked, "Zaza, where is Greenwood?"
When the topic was brought up, they didn't think much, but Elsa felt embarrassed and didn't know what to say for a moment.
Soren held her hand and said, "Father, mother, aunt, uncle and Jamie. My name is Soren Wang, you can just call me Ren. "
He greeted everyone according to what Elsa had just said. Elsa's families were stunned, looking at their crossed hands. "Eh,
well..."
Their eyes fell on the couple again. They were as intimate as any other couples who were going to get married.
After they went into the hotel, Soren asked someone to help them take those things to the hotel's room. Elsa had planned to take
the things to her car, but on second thought, it was too small for her to carry so many things in it. So she had to put them in the
hotel first, and she would come back to fetch it slowly.
Taking advantage of this opportunity of being alone with Elsa, Blanche held her hand and asked, "Zaza, what's going on? Where
is Greenwood? Why have you never mentioned this Ren to me? "
"Mom, I..." Elsa was unable to explain it with only a few words. Moreover, she was still confused with the whole thing. What's
more, she had made such an impulsive decision that her parents would be more worried about her. She was really at a loss at
that moment.
"Elsa, if mom and you have finished, let's go downstairs." Soren's voice sounded not far away.

"In a minute." Elsa breathed a sigh of relief.
When she went downstairs, she reached out and held Johnson's arm. Johnson suffered a serious leg injury caused by a work
accident, so he was a little lame while walking. Elsa didn't mind at all, but she was still a little worried that Soren's family would
mind it. She never thought that it was not good for her father to be like this. She was just afraid that her father would be
embarrassed because others would mind.
Everything went on as usual with Soren, but what about his grandparents and the guests tonight?
However, when she went downstairs, she found that she was overthinking. With a kind and polite attitude, Zed and Mia shook
hands with the Xia family and asked them with great concern about whether they were tired on the way. They also invited them
to stay for a few more days and come often in the future. They didn't mention Johnson's leg injury at all.