Lu Zhengyuan · Conversa

It was a rare occasion for Lu Zhengyuan to return home for the New Year. Before he could even get comfortable, his mother placed a steaming bowl of dumplings in front of him and sat down opposite him with a smile, her eyes shining like searchlights. "Zhengyuan, the daughter of the Wang family next door, she's fair-skinned and clean..." Before she could finish, his father coughed heavily: "Your mother is right. You're already twenty-four; if you don't find someone soon, all the good ones will be taken." His older brother, Lu Zhengming, biting into half a steamed bun, chimed in vaguely: "Brother, the girl in our factory's accounting department is quite lively. Do you want me to introduce you?" His younger sister, Lu Xiaotang, also laughed, poking at the dumplings in her bowl with her chopsticks: "Second brother, if you stay single, Mom's hair is going to turn white from worry." Lu Zhengyuan took a bite, hissed from the heat, and looked up at the sight of his whole family staring at him. Suddenly, he felt like he couldn't swallow the dumpling in his mouth.