But no matter how embarrassing, one still had to eat.
Tang Xiuxia’s cooking wasn’t exactly top-tier, but the home-style dishes she had meticulously prepared to suit the tastes of the two children were still very appetizing.
Coupled with their genuine hunger, Qin Tian and Xia Nuannuan ate their fill, stuffing their mouths with food.
“Nuannuan, slow down, slow down, no need to rush.”
Tang Xiuxia placed more food onto Xia Nuannuan’s bowl, her face beaming with joy.
Seeing the two children so happily enjoying her cooking filled her with a sense of accomplishment.
It was all worth the effort of going grocery shopping early in the morning and spending half the day preparing, even learning some tips from her future in-laws regarding her culinary skills.
For instance, she had asked Su Xia about Xia Nuannuan’s favorite dishes and her preferred flavors.
Having lived a life of mutual reliance with her son, she now had a beautiful and well-behaved future daughter-in-law, whom she adored from the bottom of her heart, treating her as if she were her own daughter.
“Mhm, mhm…”
Xia Nuannuan nodded her head, then, feeling a bit shy, slowed down her pace of eating.
“Sister Xiu, you eat your own food, don’t mind her. She’s all grown up, she doesn’t need you to serve her anymore!”
Su Xia said with a smile.
“Why wouldn’t I? Can’t you let me experience what it’s like to raise a daughter? I’ve always envied that.”
Tang Xiuxia retorted.
Xia Nuannuan, who was about to chime in with her mother, turned to exchange a mischievous glance with Qin Tian upon hearing this.
Qin Tian rolled his eyes, reached out with his chopsticks, snatched a piece of beef that his mother had placed in Xia Nuannuan’s bowl, and quickly popped it into his own mouth.
“Hey!”
Xia Nuannuan blinked in surprise, then glared at him with mock anger.
Qin Tian raised his eyebrows with a wicked grin.
“Auntie…”
Xia Nuannuan, channeling her inner drama queen, put on a vulnerable, pitiful, and helpless expression as she looked towards Tang Xiuxia.
“You brat, what are you doing? Who told you to bully Nuannuan?”
Tang Xiuxia immediately glared at him with fury.
Qin Tian let out a mournful sigh and, acting obediently, picked up another piece of beef and returned it to her.
Xia Nuannuan, empowered by his actions, giggled happily, savoring his peace offering with delight.
Su Xia watched the scene unfold with amusement, feeling as if they were truly a family.
…
…
After they had eaten their fill and tidied up the dishes, they went to Tang Xiuxia’s room to watch television and chat.
Tang Xiuxia pulled Xia Nuannuan to sit beside her, striking up a conversation about her university life.
Xia Nuannuan shared all sorts of happy anecdotes from campus life with her, keeping a smile on Tang Xiuxia’s face throughout.
After chatting for a while, Xia Nuannuan received a subtle signal from Qin Tian and, with telepathic understanding, shifted the topic.
“Auntie, my mom mentioned that your shop has been very busy lately?”
“The shop? Oh, it’s been alright. See, I took a day off today.”
Tang Xiuxia replied with a bright smile.
“Mom, the original intention for opening this clothing store was for you to have a more relaxed work and life balance. If you’re still working yourself to the bone like this, I’ll truly regret suggesting it.”
Qin Tian interjected, his expression earnest.
Tang Xiuxia was momentarily taken aback. Her gaze flickered between the two young faces, and she immediately understood. While she felt a mix of amusement and exasperation, she was also deeply touched.
“It’s just like this during the peak season. Once the weather gets colder, the mall will become quieter.”
“Mom!”
Qin Tian frowned slightly and, without further ado, pulled out his phone, opened the stock investment app, and handed the screen over.
“What’s this for?”
“Take a look at this.”
“What is it?”
Tang Xiuxia took the phone and was stunned by the string of numbers on the screen. She looked up at her son in disbelief.
“Do you understand now? Your son can earn money. You don’t need to worry about the future or anything else. Our life will only get better and better.”
Qin Tian said with a serious tone.
Before, he hadn’t known the exact amount of money needed to prepare for buying a house, so he had temporarily liquidated his stock holdings.
The amount was more than he had anticipated, reaching over seven million yuan.
After transferring over 1.2 million yuan to purchase the house, he still had over five million yuan remaining in his account.
“It’s just a bit of money earned, why are you showing off? So what if you can earn money, does that mean I can just stop working and spend my days gathering dust at home?”
Tang Xiuxia tossed the phone back to him, retorting with annoyance.
While the string of numbers had indeed surprised her, she had experienced similar situations many times over the past half-year.
“Mom, you know I don’t mean it like that. If that were my intention, why would I have suggested you open a clothing store back then?”
Qin Tian said with a hint of grievance.
“Auntie, brother is just worried that you’re overworking yourself and cares about you!”
Xia Nuannuan chimed in to support him.
Tang Xiuxia understood that her son was worried about her, but she had grown accustomed to working hard for so many years that suddenly having free time would feel quite unnatural.
“Auntie, I also think you should relax a bit. Otherwise, we’ll be worried about you at school too,”
Xia Nuannuan added earnestly.
Tang Xiuxia looked at her thoughtfully for a moment before sighing and, with a stern expression, turned to her son and agreed, “Alright, I’ll hire a store manager to help look after the shop in a few days. I’ll just pop in every now and then. Is that okay?”
“Yes, yes, that’s what we originally intended!”
Qin Tian nodded with a smile.
“You little rascal, your wings have grown strong now, and you’re telling your mom what to do. What am I supposed to do with myself every day if I’m idle?”
Tang Xiuxia glared at her son playfully.
“Auntie, Auntie, Mom just needs a companion!”
Xia Nuannuan said sweetly to her mother.
“Exactly, Sister Xiu. Let’s team up from now on. We can find people to play cards with every day, or go shopping and get beauty treatments if there’s no one else. It’s quite easy to pass the time.”
Su Xia nodded in agreement with a smile.
Tang Xiuxia looked at Su Xia’s seemingly ageless face and then thought about how much older she looked despite being only two years her senior. Envy and longing flickered in her eyes.
“Alright, I’ll do as you say. I won’t manage anything anymore and will just enjoy life with you.”
“That’s exactly how it should be!”
Su Xia smiled gently.
“Satisfied?”
Tang Xiuxia asked her son with a playful look, pursing her lips. “No wonder you called and proactively said you’d bring Nuannuan over for dinner today. You were waiting for this, weren’t you?”
Qin Tian didn’t offer a defense, simply shrugging with a helpless expression. “What can I do? I’m just a pitiable child who no one cares about. My words don’t carry weight, so I had to bring out the killer move, Nuannuan.”
This remark was met with a burst of cheerful laughter from the room.
“Who says that? Xiao Tian, don’t I care about you?”
Su Xia asked earnestly.
“Mom!!”
Qin Tian suddenly exclaimed.
The room fell silent for a moment, and both Xia Nuannuan and the two mothers stared at him, dumbfounded.
“Sorry, sorry. It just came to me. Anyway, I’ll have to call you that eventually, so I decided to try it out today. I didn’t expect it to roll off my tongue so smoothly.”
Qin Tian said with a chuckle.
Tang Xiuxia covered her face with her hand, feeling utterly embarrassed.
Her silly son was truly too thick-skinned. How had she not noticed it before?
Xia Nuannuan’s large eyes widened, her mind still buffering.
Su Xia let out a snicker, nodding repeatedly with a beaming smile. “It’s alright, it’s alright. You’re right, you’ll have to call me that eventually. It’s the same thing.”