Chapter 20 The Daughter-In-Law

Chapter 20 The Daughter-In-Law
By noon on the second day of the Sports Festival, the student competitions had wrapped up, making way for the faculty events. As the hype died down on the field, a brand new thread violently exploded on the campus forum.
Within a single hour, the post had accumulated hundreds of replies, was pinned by the moderators, and highlighted in bright red. The massive traffic spike was entirely due to the terrifying popularity of the two people involved.
The title of the thread was incredibly straightforward.
[THREAD] If you're bored, come in. Let's officially start shipping a Keen-Lines.
[Post 1 - OP]: The autumn sun is shining, and I have absolutely nothing to do.
Since the Vanguard Cup is coming up, the Economics and Management department is going to be completely swamped for the next two months. I’m not in any clubs, I’m not studying for grad school, and I haven’t started my internship yet… so I have way too much free time.
Are there any like-minded sisters in here? Let's do something slightly controversial. Let's start shipping Mat.
Yes, THAT Mat. Matthew Lynes.
I know he has a massive army of devoted wives who are going to hate this, but let's be real... if Mat is actually going to date anyone on this campus, it's undeniably going to be that insanely gorgeous girl he was secretly photographed with on the very first day. Ruth Keen.
Before the fan-girls attack me, just look at the facts:
1. When they first went viral, it was purely based on visuals. They look like a literal matching set.
2. During the Vanguard Cup mock-run, they took 1st and 2nd place.
3. When the class switched seats, Mat explicitly stated he 'only wanted to sit with her.'
4. When someone tried to borrow her for a project, Mat told them she was an 'exclusive resource not available for lending.' (Links to all the witness accounts are below).
And finally, the basketball game. We all saw the water bottle and the ear-pulling incident.
Well, I finally found out the context. I know the sports rep for Finance 101. He told me that Mat explicitly refused to drink water from anyone else, and forced Ruth to cross the entire crowded stadium just to hand-deliver it to him.
Honestly... maybe the water Ruth touches turns into magical love potion? I don't know, and I'm too scared to ask.
Generally speaking, for a ship to sail, the couple needs two things:
1. Extreme sweetness/tension.
2. God-tier faces.
These two check both boxes flawlessly.
My friend in Finance 101 told me that even their own classmates gossip about them in the anonymous class group chat. Half the threads on this forum are literally just Finance students unknowingly acting like shippers.
Look, I get it. Mat is incredible. He's tall, gorgeous, has a lethal waist, dominates at sports, and his grades are second only to his literal ship partner.
But to all the Mat-wives out there: WAKE UP.
If the entertainment industry has taught us anything, it's that solo-stans always end up heartbroken.
So either un-stan him now, or join me and experience the terrifying joy of shipping them together.
[Post 57]: A quick question: OP, since you made this official, shouldn't we have a ship name?
[Post 58 - OP]: Oh, I didn't actually think about that. But aren't ship names just random combinations? Her name is Keen, his is Lynes... How about 'Keen-Lines'?
[Post 59]: Understood! Joining the Keen-Lines army!
Meanwhile, out on the track, one-half of the newly christened "Keen-Lines" ship was currently blushing so hard she wanted to spontaneously combust.
Hearing Matthew whisper that aggressive, flawlessly recycled line directly into her ear, Ruth had to physically bite her tongue to keep from yelling at him. They were entirely surrounded by a massive crowd of students who were desperately hungry for drama.
She had analyzed every possible outcome, but she genuinely hadn't expected him to throw her own "team spirit" lecture back in her face at the worst possible moment.
He is so incredibly petty!
He holds a grudge like no one else on earth!
Is this how the phrase 'bravely sacrifice yourself' is supposed to be used?!
All I did was playfully tease you about waking up late! Did you really hold onto that for two whole days just to deploy it right now?!
Men are so inherently vengeful.
Ruth's internal monologue was firing like a machine gun, but she didn't say a single word out loud.
After dropping his devastatingly arrogant line, Matthew straightened up. The crowd's cheering and obnoxious whistling was still deafening. Ruth was trapped halfway between fury and intense embarrassment when she suddenly felt a weight drop over her head.
Ruth was wearing a casual hoodie today. Without actually touching her, Matthew casually grabbed the back of the hood and flipped it up, completely covering her face. Using the fabric, he guided her forward, steering her directly out of the stadium.
Ruth definitely wanted to escape the scene of the crime, but she hated being blindly chauffeured around. "What are you doing?!" She twisted her head side to side, trying to shake the hood off. "Let go, I know how to walk!"
"And why did you suddenly put my hood up?!"
A few seconds later, Matthew's lazy, distinct drawl drifted down from above her. "I figured you were too shy to show your face to everyone, so I gave you some cover."
Ruth glared at the inside of the fabric. She was absolutely certain he was making fun of the fact that she had run away after pulling his ear the other day. Before she could figure out a suitable comeback, Matthew let out a heavy, deeply theatrical sigh.
"If you get embarrassed this easily, what are we going to do in the future...?"
He said it like he was facing an impossible, world-ending dilemma.
Ruth: "?"
Excuse me, am I the reincarnation of a literal mimosa plant?! Why are you acting so worried?!
And what exactly do you mean by 'in the future'?!
They finally made it out of the stadium gates. Ruth started struggling again, and Matthew, clearly deciding he had teased her enough, let go of the hood.
Ruth immediately ripped the fabric off her head and glared up at him. "So because you think I'm shy, you just get to forcefully steer me around by the neck?!"
Her voice pitched slightly higher with every word.
But Matthew wasn't the slightest bit intimidated by her anger. He calmly explained, "If I didn't hold onto you, you would have just sprinted away like you did last time."
"..." Fuck. I knew he was going to bring that up.
Ruth took a deep breath. She met his gaze and forced herself to use a perfectly flat, highly professional tone.
"Classmate Lynes. Your agreement was a private contract between you and the sports rep. Fundamentally, it has absolutely nothing to do with me."
Ruth lacked the physical height to intimidate him, so she relied on pure logic. "A 'reward' that involves another person inherently requires their consent. Did you ask for my consent? No."
A wave of righteous indignation suddenly wiped out her previous embarrassment. She stared directly into Matthew's eyes. "When you announced it in front of the crowd, I never agreed. Therefore, I have every right to reject you."
Matthew looked down at the girl standing in front of him. Her chin was tilted up defiantly, her cheeks were still dusted with a soft, lingering pink flush, and her wide eyes were incredibly bright, practically sparkling with irritation.
She looked slightly angry, but the remnants of her shyness hadn't completely faded yet. The combination made her look vibrantly, devastatingly pretty.
They held eye contact for two seconds. Then, Matthew smiled helplessly and nodded. "You're right."
He sighed softly. "Of course you can reject me."
Ruth: "...?"
She blinked, her carefully cultivated, righteous anger instantly stalling.
Something is wrong here.
Would Matthew really give up this easily?
Based on my understanding of him over the last month, even if he was going to compromise, wouldn't he drop at least three incredibly flirty lines first?!
Sure enough, validating her exact suspicions, Matthew waited exactly five seconds before he spoke again.
"...After all, when I signed up for the 100-meter, the 200-meter, the 800-meter, and the relay... it was entirely voluntary..."
Ruth: "........."
Matthew's voice was laced with a deep, tragic melancholy. "This was the first time in my life I ever participated in a school sports festival. I honestly just wanted to experience the joy of teamwork, to build my sense of collective honor... It absolutely wasn't because I wanted to look cool in front of a specific person..."
"And when I asked that specific person which track events looked the coolest, I was purely asking for academic reference... I had no ulterior motives whatsoever..."
That Specific Person: ".................."
Ruth was completely defeated.
"You're right, the reward wasn't the rep's idea. I specifically demanded it," Matthew continued to ramble. "And now that you mention it, I also feel like it was very—"
Ruth just stared at him as he endlessly played the victim.
He was standing there in his crisp, clean athletic gear, looking down at her with impossibly innocent, totally heartbroken eyes—a complete 180 from the aggressively dominant guy who had just whispered in her ear in front of the entire class.
Every time he blinked, his incredibly long eyelashes cast soft shadows over his pale cheeks, making him look incredibly tragic.
He was gorgeous, he was acting perfectly pathetic, and his performance was absolute Oscar-level.
Even though Ruth knew with absolute certainty that Matthew was completely faking it, and that underneath his "sad puppy" act his heart was forged from cold, impenetrable steel...
She still, infuriatingly, felt her resolve crumble.
But as the designated 'Specific Person', she couldn't just roll over and accept the fact that he had publicly cornered her in front of the entire class. She had to claw back some dignity.
Ruth dragged the silence out before speaking slowly. "I mean... I guess it's not entirely impossible for me to agree..."
Matthew instantly dropped his tragic monologue. His eyes lit up. "Yeah?"
"Since you want me to spend the day with you so badly..." Ruth looked at his devastating face, her heart inexplicably accelerating. "...Then beg me."
She fully expected a guy with his level of arrogance to hold out for at least a few minutes, or try to flirt his way out of it.
Less than half a second later.
Matthew: "I'm begging you."
His delivery was incredibly crisp, immediate, and genuinely happy. He flawlessly demonstrated that pride meant absolutely nothing to him.
True to her word, Ruth agreed to spend Sunday with him.
She didn't quite know why, but even though she was supposedly the one who took control of the negotiation—and successfully manipulated him into saying "I'm begging you"—when she replayed the conversation in her head later...
It genuinely felt like Matthew had flawlessly orchestrated the entire thing from start to finish.

Ruth usually spent her weekends buried in documents at Sylvan Enterprises, but since she had to 'bravely sacrifice herself' for the date, she had to clear her schedule. She went into the company at the crack of dawn on Saturday and worked until sunset. When she finally got back to her hotel, she immediately showered, steamed her face, and applied an obscenely expensive face mask to ensure her skin looked perfect for Sunday.
Because the Sports Festival officially closed on Wednesday, the university had given the students a four-day long weekend. Most of the student body had gone back to their hometowns. The dorms were essentially empty.
She assumed Matthew had also left campus, which meant they couldn't meet up at the school gates.
Realizing this, Ruth immediately grabbed her phone and opened her messages.
Ruth: Where are we meeting tomorrow?
Out of pure habit, she followed it up with a completely irrelevant sticker.
Ruth: [🔥.jpg]
Matthew must have been holding his phone, because he replied instantly.
ML: The subway station.
He dropped a GPS pin. It was a major station on the Line 1 subway route, located deep in the heart of Veridian City's downtown district.
ML: It has everything around it. We'll meet there, and then figure out what you want to do.
Ruth, a literal corporate heiress who had exclusively traveled via chauffeured luxury sedans her entire life and had never set foot on public transportation, stared blankly at the GPS pin.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the city, Matthew Lynes—having just sent the exact same text—was leaning back in his leather desk chair, an incredibly fat orange cat purring comfortably on his lap.
He opened the group chat titled: [Matthew Lynes Is An Old Ugly Dog].
[Matthew The God]: @All. Have any of you ever taken the subway?
[Russell Is Human]: No. Why the fuck are you asking that?
[Henry Is Also Human]: Arthur has. His last girlfriend... you know, the one who brutally cheated on him... was fiercely anti-capitalist. She hated the 'rich trust fund boy' lifestyle, so Art basically cosplayed as a peasant and strictly used public transport for all their dates. Tsk.
[Russell Is Human]: And after all that acting, he still got cucked. Tsk.
[Arthur Is Not A Dog]: .........Fuck both of you. It was a mistake! I admit it! But it was my youth! Haven't we all loved the wrong person?! Can we please stop bringing it up?!
[Arthur Is Not A Dog]: Mattie, why are you asking about the subway?
Before Matthew could type his response, an incredibly bizarre, horrific smell suddenly hit his nose.
His face went completely blank. He looked down.
He locked eyes with the guilty orange cat.
Motherfucker. The cat just farted.
If its shit was notoriously toxic, its farts were essentially biological warfare.
Matthew instantly stood up. The orange cat scrambled off his lap and violently sprinted into the corner of the room, turning its face toward the wall to silently reflect on its sins.
Feeling genuinely lightheaded from the smell, Matthew walked over to the window and threw it open. After letting the wind blow in for a few minutes, the scent still lingered. Pushed to his absolute limit, he walked over to the corner, his expression icy.
He crouched down and demanded, "You dared to fart on my leg today. Are you planning to shit on my head tomorrow?"
The orange cat remained completely silent, shivering aggressively.
Even though it was named 'Stupid', the cat was actually incredibly smart. It knew exactly when to play the victim, tucking its head down and refusing to look him in the eye.
Matthew stayed crouched there for a long time, quietly fuming.
But as his eyes tracked over the faint, pale scar near the cat's eye, he ground his teeth together and let out a long, heavy breath. All of his anger vanished.
He reached out and gently rubbed the top of its head. Knowing it had been forgiven, the cat immediately leaned into his palm, purring loudly to pledge its loyalty.
Matthew couldn't help but smile.
As he stroked the cat's fur, he murmured softly, almost like he was talking to himself.
"...If it wasn't out of respect for your mother, I would have definitely beaten you up tonight. You know that, right?"

The night before the date, Ruth had asked her stepsister's idiot friends if they knew how to ride the subway. Both of them admitted they had never touched public transit in their lives. Completely out of options, Ruth spent ten minutes aggressively Googling "How to navigate Veridian City Line 1" so she wouldn't look like an idiot in front of Matthew.
When she was a kid living with her mother in a rundown rural town, there obviously hadn't been any subways. And once she was brought back to the Keen Estate, she had never been given the opportunity to ride one.
The Sunday morning subway crush was slightly suffocating, but thanks to her meticulous research, Ruth perfectly calculated her travel time and arrived exactly on schedule.
The second the massive crowd pushed her out of the station doors, she immediately spotted the most eye-catching person on the street.
Matthew was standing near the exit, looking down at his phone with a white lollipop stick poking out from between his lips. He was wearing a simple black hoodie, and his dark jeans highlighted the impossible length of his legs.
It was an incredibly casual outfit, but on him, it looked runway-ready.
Honestly, Matthew never dressed up. His wardrobe was aggressively plain, but it couldn't hide his natural, magnetic aura.
Case in point: As Ruth walked toward him, she could already hear the girls exiting the station behind her violently whispering, "Holy shit, that guy is gorgeous."
She quickened her pace and waved her hand in front of his face. "How long have you been waiting?"
Matthew looked up. The second his eyes locked onto hers, a distinct, intense light flashed in his amber pupils, disappearing so fast it was almost imperceptible.
"Just got here." Matthew locked his phone and slipped it into his pocket. "Hold out your hand."
Having experienced this exact routine multiple times, Ruth wasn't surprised when he dropped a piece of candy into her palm. "You actually carry these around even when you're not at school?"
Matthew didn't answer. He just stood there and watched as she expertly unwrapped the candy and tossed the plastic wrapper into a nearby trash can.
Now, the girl who had been empty-handed a second ago was also standing there with a white lollipop stick between her lips.
They looked at each other for a few seconds. Matthew couldn't help but laugh. He reached out, gently guiding her by the shoulder. "Come on. Let's get out of the station first."
This was officially their very first actual date. They weren't at school, and they weren't surrounded by chaotic classmates.
Ruth hadn't recognized the name of the subway station when he texted her, but the second they rode the escalator up to the street level, she immediately knew where they were.
They were in the absolute epicenter of Veridian City's downtown commercial district. It was the ultimate shopping paradise for girls, and the default destination for guys taking girls out on dates. It had everything: arcades, movie theaters, high-end boutiques, and endless rows of restaurants.
Back in high school, Olivia and Anne used to drag Ruth here constantly. But once they all started college, everyone got busy. Their meetups transitioned to late-night drinks, and they hadn't done a daytime "shopping stroll" in years.
Ruth genuinely missed the taste of a specific boba shop in the area. She dragged Matthew into a thirty-minute line, and they spent the next hour strolling down the pedestrian street, sipping their drinks. By the time they finished, it was time for lunch.
They reached the end of the commercial district and turned down a smaller street located near a local high school.
Looking around, Ruth spotted a restaurant with an incredibly bizarre aesthetic.
The massive sign above the door read: POOR JOY.
In the middle of a modern city street, the entire storefront was designed to look like a literal peasant's thatched hut, with incredibly realistic fake mud walls and dry straw roofing. It was aggressively eye-catching.
Intensely curious, Ruth tugged gently on Matthew's sleeve and pointed at the building. "Look at that! Is that actually a restaurant? Should we go check it out?"
Matthew looked down at the soft fingers clutching his sleeve, then followed her gaze to the building.
He had never seen a restaurant actively trying to look destitute before. He hesitated. "Are you sure... that isn't a public restroom themed like a barn?"
They eventually decided to walk over and check.
Ruth had guessed correctly; the menu pasted to the front door proved it was a restaurant.
But the second they stepped inside, they saw a middle-aged man—clearly the owner—sitting at a table near the entrance.
The owner had an unlit cigarette hanging from his lips. Without even looking up, he announced, "I don't serve rich customers, and I don't serve delinquent teenagers."
Ruth stopped dead in her tracks.
A long, highly confused moment passed before she finally managed to articulate: "...Huh?"
The owner finally looked up. He scanned the two of them for a second, then nodded. "Oh. I serve couples."
"..." Ruth felt entirely awkward. "Um, actually, we're just—"
Before she could finish the sentence, Matthew seamlessly cut her off. "If you serve us, then give us a menu." He placed a hand on the small of her back, guiding her toward an empty table.
Neither of them were the indecisive type when it came to food, so they placed their order quickly.
Once the waiter left, Ruth couldn't hold back her curiosity. "Boss, what did you mean when we walked in? Why don't you serve rich customers?"
"The restaurant is called Poor Joy, and it's designed to look like a mud hut," the owner said, narrowing his eyes with absolute, dramatic arrogance. "The entire point is to keep rich kids out."
Ruth's brain slowly produced a massive question mark.
What kind of business model relies on actively rejecting wealthy customers?
Before she could ask, the owner pointed toward the south. "There's a highly elite private high school a few blocks down. You know it?"
Ruth nodded.
"A few years ago, my restaurant wasn't called Poor Joy. It was called Majestic Aura. The name was edgy, the decor was sleek, the walls were painted black..." The owner took a dry drag from his unlit cigarette, staring off into the distance like a war veteran. "And because of that, every single aggressive, testosterone-fueled delinquent in the area loved hanging out here."
"At first, I thought it was great. The place was always packed. But then it got out of hand."
"Those rich trust-fund kids... let me tell you, when they get into a fight, they do not hold back. They didn't care that I was just a regular guy trying to run a business. They smashed my tables, threw my chairs..."
Ruth listened, entirely captivated by the drama. "But if they broke things, couldn't you just make them pay for the damages?"
"Pay?!" Hearing the word, the owner suddenly slammed his hand against the table, his face twisting in genuine rage. "What good is their money?! Think about it! If they smash my restaurant, it takes time to fix it! Last time, they ripped a massive chunk of drywall out! The fresh paint smelled so toxic I couldn't open the doors for two weeks! Ordering new tables and chairs takes weeks of shipping! That entire month of lost revenue and wasted time, who pays for that?!"
"..." That is actually an incredibly flawless economic argument.
Matthew immediately saw through the owner. The guy was clearly just exaggerating his "tragic backstory" for dramatic effect. But Ruth was entirely sucked into the emotional performance.
Without a second thought, Ruth grabbed Matthew's wrist and shoved his hand directly toward the owner. "Look at this!"
Then, she reached into her purse, pulled out her own phone, and slammed it onto the table next to Matthew's hand. "And look at this!"
The owner looked down.
Sitting on the table were two identical phone models. Both of them looked relatively new, but both of their screens were violently, entirely shattered.
The cracked glass even looked somewhat perfectly symmetrical.
The owner's eyebrows shot up. Well damn. In this day and age, dropping a phone and cracking a screen was common, but maintaining matching shattered 'couple-phones' was a whole new level of dedication.
He looked back up at them. They were a breathtakingly beautiful couple, but they clearly didn't even have the spare cash to get their phone screens fixed. What a tragedy.
"Alright. I can see you two are a perfect match. I know it's not easy being broke college students in love."
Ruth: "?"
Wait, what are you talking about?
"I might not be a rich man, but at least I can afford to replace a phone screen." The owner waved his hand grandly, adopting the exact aura of a billionaire CEO from a soap opera. "This meal is 50% off for the two of you!"
"..."
Well, if he insists, we might as well accept the discount.
Even though the prices at Poor Joy were incredibly cheap, the food was surprisingly delicious. By the time they finished eating, the restaurant was rapidly filling up with high school students on their lunch break. Ruth politely thanked the eccentric owner on their way out.
Whether in real life or in teen dramas, the two mandatory pillars of a date are eating food and watching a movie.
A massive, highly anticipated Western romance film had just hit theaters. The cast was star-studded, and the giant promotional posters plastered outside the cinema looked incredibly romantic. Ruth was just about to suggest they watch it when Matthew beat her to it, pointing directly at the massive poster.
"I bought tickets for the screening in thirty minutes. You want to watch it?"
Ruth whipped her head around to look at him. "When did you buy tickets?!"
Is this man a literal mind reader?!
"Last night," Matthew replied smoothly. "I was just scrolling through the app, saw this was trending, and checked the reviews. Plus..." He dragged out the last word deliberately. "The ticketing app specifically labeled it as the 'Number One Choice for Couples'."
Hearing the word 'couples' again.
Honestly, it wasn't just the restaurant owner. As they had walked through the shopping district, even though they hadn't held hands or done anything overtly affectionate, practically everyone they passed had clearly assumed they were dating.
Ruth pressed her lips together, preparing to say something to deflect the tension, but Matthew wasn't finished.
"There was another tag under the review section."
"Oh? What did it say?"
Matthew smiled, the corners of his eyes curving beautifully. He looked incredibly happy as he murmured, "It said, 'Even if you go in single, there is a very high probability you will leave with a partner.'"

Ten minutes later, the two of them were sitting side-by-side on a plush double sofa in the VIP waiting area, waiting for the "magical matchmaking movie" to start.
The second Ruth got comfortable, her phone vibrated violently with rapid-fire notifications. She opened WhatsApp and saw she had been tagged multiple times in her family group chat.
The group chat was titled: [Work Hard When You're Young, Be Smug When You're Old].
Despite the aggressive, boomer-motivational name, it was just a private chat with three people: Jamie Buckley, his wife, and Ruth.
[Jamie Buckley]: Ruth Keen, where the hell are you?! Why aren't you at the corporate office?! [Angry Face Emoji]
Ruth initially started typing that she was out having fun, but she immediately deleted it. Instead, she opened her camera, angled her phone subtly to the side, and snapped a picture of Matthew's impossibly long legs stretched out next to hers.
[Ruth Keen]: [Image]
One minute later.
[Jamie Buckley]: You brat! You're on a date?!
[Jamie Buckley]: Are you finally in a relationship?!
[Ruth Keen]: Hehe, basically! [Cute Emoji]
As Ruth was aggressively typing her replies, it was as if the universe had perfectly coordinated the timing. The phone in Matthew's pocket buzzed loudly.
He pulled it out. It was his family group chat.
The group name was currently: [Did Mr. Lynes Yell At Wayne Today?]
[William Lynes]: Explain yourself right now. Why didn't you show up to the executive board meeting today?
[William Lynes]: You only show your face in the office two or three days a week! Are you trying to stage a rebellion?!
[William Lynes]: Your older brother is already giving me an aneurysm, are you trying to copy him?!
Matthew was entirely unfazed.
[Matthew]: I'm on a date.
[William Lynes]: Do you think I don't know you?! You just don't want to meet the elite girls I've been setting you up with! You constantly lie and say you're already dating someone! Wayne got drunk and confessed everything! He told me you've never had a girlfriend in your entire life! Stop lying to me!
Matthew: "..."
He turned his head slightly and looked at the girl sitting next to him. She was entirely focused on her phone. She had tucked her long hair behind her ear, exposing the incredibly pale, delicate skin of her profile. Her eyelashes were impossibly long, and there was a soft, genuine smile playing on her lips.
Looking at her made the quiet frustration in his chest instantly evaporate.
Matthew watched her for another few seconds, then casually leaned forward on the sofa.
Holding his phone in his left hand, he opened the front-facing camera. With his right hand, he tapped Ruth lightly on the shoulder. "Are you afraid of bugs?"
"..." Ruth looked up from her screen, taking a second to process the random question. "I mean, somewhat. Not all bugs... what kind of bug are we talking about?"
Matthew nodded. "Then tell me, what kind of bugs are you afraid of?"
"I guess I'm mostly scared of bees and wasps... the idea of getting stung is terrifying." Ruth shuddered slightly. "And it's not just regular bees, there are literal murder hornets out there. Just think about that name, it's so—"
Before the word 'scary' could leave her mouth.
Matthew stated clearly: "Then don't move. Because there is currently a massive bee on the back of your hoodie."
Ruth: "!"
She felt all the hair on her arms instantly stand up. But before she could even react—before she could scream or violently jump out of her seat—a large, warm hand clamped firmly onto the back of her head.
Matthew pulled her directly into him, firmly pressing her face into his shoulder. As she froze against his chest, he raised his left hand high and rapidly snapped a picture.
Then, he reached over and made a big show of aggressively swatting at the empty air behind her back. He let go of her head. "Alright. I chased it away."
Ruth let out a massive sigh of relief. As she nervously babbled on—"Why the hell is there a bee inside a movie theater?!" "I'm going to complain to management!" "That is so unacceptable!"—Matthew just gave her noncommittal hums of agreement, entirely focused on editing the photo he had just taken.
He adjusted the color balance, picked a flawless filter, fixed the lighting, and hit save.
In the photo, his face was perfectly clear. He was holding a girl's head firmly against his chest, their posture incredibly, undeniably intimate. Because her face was buried in his shoulder, the picture only showed the back of her head.
Tsk.
Even the back of her head was gorgeous. Absolute perfection.
Extremely satisfied with his handiwork, Matthew dropped the edited photo into the family group chat.
[Matthew]: [Image]
[Matthew]: Dad, look at the picture. I skipped the board meeting because I am on a date. I'm not lying to you this time. Your daughter-in-law is real.
Two seconds later.
System: Member [Internet Addict Wayne Lynes] has changed the group name from [Did Mr. Lynes Yell At Wayne Today?] to [HOLY FUCK MR. LYNES IS GOING TO YELL AT MATTHEW TODAY!]