The next day, they shared a simple, quiet breakfast in their hotel's suite. The Chinese OPL season ended in August, and there were 2 months before the World Championship in November. Ai Jia and Jinyang are using this time to go on their honeymoon while the rest of the League are using this downtime to recover and prepare for Worlds or to prepare for the next season. Lu Si Cheng and Tong Yao are going to use this time to get to know his parents and to bring their families closer together.

"Do you want me to help you pick out something to wear?" He knew that she was very nervous because she wanted to make a good impression with his parents, especially with his mother.

She shook her head. "It's an informal dinner, right?"

"Um hum."

"I'll wear a casual sundress and light makeup."

He nodded his approval and smiled. "It takes a little over an hour to drive there. Dinner's at 5:30 so we'll leave here around 4."

A few hours later, Tong Yao was seated in the passenger side of Si Cheng's Aston Martin sports car. The light yellow and dark green flower pattern on the Dolce & Gabbana sundress accentuated the lighter colored strands in her brown hair while the neckline was just low enough to expose her neck and the diamond Tiffany Smile pendant he gave her for her birthday.

As he glanced at her, he noticed that she was nervously twisting the necklace between her slender fingers. He pulled her hand from her necklace and brought it his lips for a kiss.

"There's no need to be so nervous. My mother is not an ogre."

"Tell that to the carcasses of the business associates she's left in her wake."

He shook his head and smiled. He was prepared to defend her during this visit. However, truth be told, he thought that his mother and his fiancée were a lot more alike than either of them realized.

A little after 5:15, their car pulled into the circular driveway of the Lu family compound.

She pursed her lips as she looked out the window and up at the 6-story mansion. She knew Si Cheng was rich, but there's a difference between knowing of a thing and being smacked directly in the face by a thing.

He stared at the back of her head as she looked out the window and he wondered if she was comparing her parents' neat, but simple condo with the lavish dwelling in front of her.

He exited the vehicle, opened her car door, and held onto her hand as she moved out of her seat. As she looked up at him, he could see the worry in her expressive, wide eyes. And, for the first time tonight, he was nervous.

"Ready?" he asked softly. Concern for her well-being caused his voice to be unsteadier than he intended.

"Umph," she answered with a firm nod. She wanted her response to erase the concern and fear that she thought she saw in his eyes.

He turned around, never letting her hand drop from his, and led her towards his home. As Lu Si Cheng extended his free hand to turn the doorknob, an earlier, imagined vision of herself as a peasant and his mother as nobility invaded her thoughts.

At the ZGDX base, she and he were teammates that shared similar lifestyles and goals. In some areas, they were even equals. However, the lifespan of all athletes is finite. Once their eSports careers ended, this would become their world.

As the entrance door opened into an even more impressive foyer lit by a massive crystal chandelier and tiled in a light-colored Italian marble, she knew that she wasn't just an outsider in his world; she was a daring and, possibly, unwanted interloper.

The door closed behind them.

There were multiple doors off each side of the foyer. In front of one of those doors, stood a root beer barreled, average height middle-aged man.

Lu Si Cheng dropped her hand and went into the man's outstretched arms. It was a brief, but heartfelt hug.

"Master Si Cheng it is so good to see back home. Congratulations, on your win."

"Thank you, Mr. Chen," said Lu Si Cheng as he blushed slightly. He waved Tong Yao over to them.

"Tong Yao, this is Chen Li, our butler. Chen Li, this is my teammate and fiancée." One would have to be deaf to miss the pride in his voice.

Butler, she thought. She was surprised because the man wasn't wearing a uniform. Rather he was dressed in normal clothes. They weren't designer labels, but they weren't the type of formal servant's attire one would expect in a home like this. Very curious.

"Mr. Chen, it's an honor," she said warmly.

Mr. Chen looked at her with merry eyes and an equally merry grin then he looked back at Si Cheng with a wide smile before moving his gaze back to her. "It's a genuine pleasure to meet you too," and he enveloped her right hand in both of his.

Well, she thought, if the rest of this night goes all to hell, then at least I'll be able to hide out in the butler's room.

"The rest of the family is waiting for you in the dining room," said Chen Li as he guided them into the room behind him.

In addition to being tastefully furnished, the room contained a table that could seat twenty people. Thankfully, only a quarter of it was plated so that tonight's diners would be able to communicate without using megaphones.

Lu Si Cheng's 3-person, immediate family stood in front of the plated section: Papa Lu, Mama Lu, and Lu Yue.

Each time she met Ms. Lu, the former was the visual definition of elegance. Tonight was no exception. She wore cream-colored Chanel slacks paired with a light blue and white patterned, classic Chanel jacket. However, it was his father who spoke first so Tong Yao turned her attention to him.

"Son," said the smiling man as he opened his arms for a hug.

"Pa," replied Si Cheng as he moved eagerly to embrace his beloved father.

Unsurprisingly, the elder Mr. Lu was as tall as his oldest son. His salt and pepper hair only made him more handsome and contributed to his air of elegance and authority. In addition to their height, father and son shared many of the same facial features. As one looked from father to mother, it was easy to see that both Lu sons had always been destined to be irresistibly handsome.

Their hug lasted for several seconds before his father opened his arms and motioned for Lu Yue to join them. Both of his boys were under the same roof, and he was going to relish every moment. Ms. Lu stood looking at them with joy and love. Then, to Tong Yao's surprise, she looked into her husband's eyes and blew him a kiss.

Tong Yao smiled at the open affection that this family was unafraid to share with each other in private settings. She continued smiling until she noticed that Mr. Lu was now looking at her with an intense, contemplative gaze.

Lu Si Cheng noticed it too. "Pa, this is my fiancée, Tong Yao," he said with unrestrained pride.

Before Tong Yao could say anything, Chairman Lu Hue Ye greeted her. "Ah, yes, the player known as Smiling. Welcome to our home." Then he turned, walked to the head of the table and sat down.

Although his tone had been friendly, it was also clear that his introduction had intentionally lacked the affection that she had just witnessed. I will not cry. I will not cry. I will not cry, she repeated to herself before she turned to greet Ms. Lu.

"Ms. Lu, it's a pleasure to see you again. Your home is lovely," she said with heartfelt honesty.

"Tong Yao, thank you for coming," she replied curtly before turning around to sit to the right of her husband.

Tong Yao looked down for a second, hurt by the short greeting, then she looked at Lu Si Cheng. On his face, she saw an emotion she had only seen once before on his handsome features: shock. It was clear that this wasn't the introduction he had hoped for either.

She bit the inside of her lower lip to beat back the tears of disappointment that wanted to fall. I will not cry. I will not cry. I will not cry, she repeated resolutely. Or, at least, she wouldn't cry at this very moment. But later tonight, when they returned to the ZGDX base, she was planning on having a genuine, multi-hour cry fest and emotional breakdown.

Before anyone else could speak, Mr. Chen walked over. "This is your seat," he said as he pulled out her chair.

She had been assigned a seat across the table from the Lu brothers and next to Lu Si Cheng's mother. The message was clear. She was to be denied the comfort of Lu Si Cheng's hands on hers.

She walked past the two stunned brothers and sat with perfect posture. She was not going to give his parents any extra reasons to dislike her. "Thank you," she said graciously. She was proud that she had restrained her voice from trembling; she didn't want the pain of his parents' rejection to be obvious.

Lu Yue brushed his shoulder slightly against his brother to wake him from his shocked state, and both brothers proceeded to walk around the table to their assigned seats.

Lu Si Cheng numbly took his place. Respect for parents was an absolute. However, they were killing the woman he loved. He had never been so conflicted. This must be what it feels like to be pulled apart by a team of horses.

Lu Si Cheng looked up to see Tong Yao staring intently at him. As soon as his eyes met hers, she surprised him with a slight smile and a subtle, but strong, nod. And with that reaction, she reassured him that she was still his fierce, brave Smiling, and she was not going to be so easily defeated.

Tong Yao returned her gaze to the table to peruse the intimidating array of glasses, cutlery and plates in front of her. There were at least twelve pieces of dinnerware at each setting.

An uncomfortable silence settled over the table until Mr. Lu declared, "Let's have a glass of champagne to toast Si Cheng's fiancée." Once again, his tone wasn't discourteous, but it wasn't warm and friendly either.

Tong Yao looked at the dizzying assortment of cups and plates on the table. Unhesitatingly, she selected the champagne flute and raised it for Mr. Chen to fill as she gazed confidently at Mr. Lu. The slightest glimmer of approval appeared in his hazel eyes before he could mask it with indifference.

That's right, she thought. I may not be a member of one of Chinas's 2000 richest families, but that doesn't mean that my parents raised a child with no sense of table manners and etiquette.

She looked down at her place setting again and noticed that it included a red wine glass and a white wine glass. Plus, there were 3 forks and 3 knives on the right and left side of the charger, respectively. She looked up at Ms. Lu and asked, "Are we having a 10-course meal tonight?"

Ms. Lu was impressed that Yao had recognized that each setting included a fish fork. "Yes, fillet of Dover sole is one of my favorites. I hope that you will enjoy it too."

"I didn't think that I liked sole," replied Tong Yao. "But then I had it at a French bistro in Shanghai and it was delicious."

"Our chef prepares it in the French style." A small smile final appeared on Ms. Lu's pretty face. At the same time, Mr. Lu was nodding his head appreciatively.

However, Tong Yao, being Tong Yao, couldn't resist saying something more.

"A 10-course meal," she mused, and she slightly slumped down in her seat.

"Is there something wrong my dear?", asked his mother.

"I presume in a house this large that there is an equally impressive gym, but I didn't pack any exercise clothes. And, after eating 10-courses, I'm definitely going to need to exercise otherwise Mr. Chen is going to need to rent a forklift to put me back into Si Cheng's car." And she ended her proclamation with her patented, "Umph", and a firm nod.

It took a few moments for her to realize that all action in the room had stopped, and everyone was staring open-mouthed at her. Forklifts and overeating weren't considered appropriate topics for polite conversation.

Lu Si Cheng's stare was filled with amusement and admiration. One of the many things he loved about Yao is that she is honest, and openly expresses what is on her mind. However, he didn't know if those were traits that his parents would find endearing, and he nervously looked in their direction. He swallowed hard as he noticed that his parents looked like mannequins frozen in position by an invisible force.

He was just about to say something to defend her when his father erupted in raucous laughter. His mother had turned her head away from Tong Yao and had put a hand up to her face to mask her emotions. However, those actions did a poor job of hiding the quiet laughs that were accentuated by the gentle shaking of her shoulders. When his mother turned back to the table there were tears in her eyes.

"Our son has found himself an honest, lovely and charming young woman," Mr. Lu proclaimed happily. His wife looked at him with a full smile and nodded vigorously in agreement.

Lu Yue's shoulders relaxed in relief. He may tease Tong Yao mercilessly at their base, but he actually liked her, and he genuinely loved his brother. If his parents hadn't decided to like Tong Yao, his brother would have been deeply hurt.

Tong Yao looked at the others and started to chuckle too, albeit nervously. Privately, she wondered if the champagne had been spiked.

For the first time since they met three months ago, Ms. Lu took Tong Yao's hands into hers and warmly smiled at her.

"I'm sorry my dear, but Lu Hue Ye and I have been playing a bit of a trick on you. We know this world is not one to which you were either born or one in which you were raised. Although Ye and I may be open minded towards outsiders, there are many others in our world that are not. We needed to see if you had the patience to react civilly while retaining the grit to remain true to yourself."

She paused as a shadow of regret briefly passed over her face. "I know from bitter, personal experience that while it's possible for talented women like you to adapt to this life, the price of adaptation is rarely worth its cost. To gain one thing, you often have to make dear and deep sacrifices." As she ended her sentence, she looked wistfully past Tong Yao as if she were journeying back to moments in her past.

Yao wondered if she had been talking about herself. She thought that Ms. Lu, like her husband, had been born into a family of wealth and privilege. She couldn't imagine Lu Hue Ye forcing his wife to become someone she wasn't. Was it possible that Ms. Lu had been married before and had inherited her wealth from her first husband? She vowed to do more research on the lioness of Lu once she was back at ZGDX's base.

Ms. Lu Yong Li, née Wang Yong Li, shook off her blues and returned her gaze to Tong Yao's face. "Now that you've passed my and Hue Ye's test, I can relax and finally say that I now have a daughter-in-law."

When Tong Yao didn't react, Lu Si Cheng's parents were confused. Even the Lu brothers were concerned by her lack of response.

Yao stood abruptly, pushing her chair back with a squeak as she did so. "But I don't want to be you daughter-in-law," she said adamantly.

Lu Si Cheng's mouth fell open in disbelief. His mother's face paled as if she had been slapped. Had his parents' test pushed her too hard? Had his mother's indifference irreconcilably offended her?

Then Tong Yao shocked everyone by dropping immediately to her knees in front of Ms. Lu's chair. After she assumed the traditional position of respect and deference in Asia, everyone at the table motioned for her to rise. She brushed off their pleas as tears filled her eyes.

"Ms. Lu, my parents don't have a son. When they learned that Si Cheng's interest in me was genuine, they welcomed him with open arms and embraced him not as a son-in-law but as their son.

I know that you have no daughters, and I know that a woman as elegant and refined as you has probably always longed for a daughter. I don't want to be your daughter-in-law.

If you'll have me…if you think I'm worthy, then I want to be your daughter. I want to be the one that you share your girlie dreams and secrets with. I want to be the one that you take on shopping sprees and spur of the moment tea chats.

I want to be the one that you call when you are sick so that I can tuck you into bed, rub your feet and hands, feed you and nurse you the way that a dutiful daughter does for a beloved mother. Please agree to become my 2nd mom." She finished by bowing her head again in respect.

The fierce lioness of Lu had been tamed. She knelt beside Tong Yao and united their tears as she wrapped the girl in a firm, wholehearted embrace. "Ni'ar (daughter)," she said as she closed her eyes in relief and joy.

The tender scene affected everyone in the room; even Mr. Chen wiped away a few tears.

"Alright, that's enough of that," called out Mr. Lu. "Its time to eat!" Gentle laughter filled the room.

As both women rose and returned to their seats, Ms. Lu refused to release Tong Yao's hand. Her life was finally complete.

"Are we really having 10-courses?" whined Lu Yue.

Before either Mr. or Ms. Lu could answer, Mr. Chen interjected. "You bet you are! My wife and the servers have been working their asses off since 11 in the AM so this family will not get cold feet and chicken out now," he harrumphed and walked off to the kitchen to tell the staff that it's time. Each of the Lu family members looked properly chastised.

"Ms. Lu," said Tong Yao. "Am I right in guessing that the reason why Mr. Chen doesn't wear a uniform is because he's considered to be family and not just a servant?"

Ms. Lu shook her head and answered, "All of our servants are like family, and we want them to know and believe that. Moreover, Ni'ar," and she paused for emphasis. "If you don't start calling me, 'Ma', I'll have to spank you."

Tong Yao's smile went from bright to incandescent as she replied, "Yes…Lu-Ma."

"Cheng-ge," said Lu Yue. "I think we've just been demoted from favorites to runners-up in our mother's eyes."

"Brat," muttered Tong Yao.

"You're the one sucking up all of our mother's love," he said indignantly. "Pig."

"Childish," replied Lu Si Cheng although it was impossible to determine if that comment was meant for Lu Yue, Tong Yao or both of them.

As the children continued to bicker, Lu Hue Ye looked at his glowing wife and smiled as they shared a moment. Her eyes showed that she was in tune with his thoughts. Money is only the surface level of wealth. Real wealth…meaningful wealth comes from happy family moments like this one.

Although the table was set formally, the conversation for the rest of the night was raucous and relaxed.

A few hours later, the entire Lu clan was stuffed and purring like contented cats.

"Ni'ar," said Ms. Lu. "Your proposal to work out in the gym has been considered and accepted. I think you and I are similar in size. Let's go to my closet to see if there's an outfit and color you like. If not, it's still early. We can send someone out to Walmart tonight to pick up something cheap then we can go shopping tomorrow to buy something more permanent. Since tomorrow is Saturday, I don't have any business appointments to cancel."

"Thank you, Lu-Ma," said Tong Yao sweetly.

Something new suddenly clicked in Lu Si Cheng's mind. "Are we staying overnight?"

This time it was his father who answered. "Of course, you're staying overnight. Now that we have approved your fiancée, and the damnable OPL league's season has finished, I expect that all of my children will spend the next 2 months under my roof." His face and his tone dared anyone to defy him.

The two women interrupted their conversation long enough to look at Mr. Lu for a few seconds before they shrugged their shoulders and resumed their conspiratorial chatter about their upcoming shopping date.

"Pa," said Lu Si Cheng, "I think hell has frozen over."

"Huh?"

"I actually agree with Lu Yue about something. I believe that we are in big trouble when it comes to those two," he said as he looked at his mother and his lover. And, as Lu Si Cheng continued to observe the two women in his life collaborating together like members of an American football team in between downs, he did something that almost made his father gasp in shock. He softened his features and smiled contentedly.

Lu Hue Ye produced another one of his deep belly laughs before he looked back at his wife with increased admiration in his eyes. For years, his Li Li had worried about their eldest son's future and happiness (to be fair, he had also worried about the boy's overly serious nature) so she had assumed the time-honored, matriarchal position of plotter-in-chief, and set out to find her son the perfect wife. However, as her son became more entrenched in his defiance of her plans, she did the bravest thing that any helicopter parent could do; she let go. He knew that hadn't been easy and his love for her deepened because of that act of trust.

"Well, while you two exercise, my sons and I are going to spend some quality time in the library."

"Just make sure that the cigar smoke from your 'quality time' stays confined to the library," she chided him.

He responded by ambling over to his Li Li's side and whispering in her ear, "Just make sure that you don't use up all of your energy during your mother-daughter exercise session because I intend to indulge myself in a husband-wife exercise session later tonight."

Ms. Lu blushed and responded by saying, "Silly pervert."