"Nuannuan, look, that's my house up ahead."
Qin Tian pointed towards the houses visible in their line of sight.
Xia Nuannuan's curious gaze followed his finger, and she glanced around. "This place feels really nice, much quieter than our neighborhood."
"Yes, it's quite far from the city center. Just over that bridge, it's rural areas. My maternal grandparents live there."
"Mhm, our ancestral village is in a village over there too. But when my parents got married, they bought those two houses, and my grandparents moved to Yucheng with us. We only go back for Lunar New Year to visit relatives."
"Us too."
Qin Tian nodded with a smile.
His grandparents didn't live far, and they were very kind.
However, not all the villagers were simple and kind. In his early years, when his mother returned to the village alone while pregnant with him, there had been a lot of gossip.
Perhaps worried that he might overhear and have a negative impact on his psychological development, after his mother moved to Yucheng with him, she basically only took him back to the village for Lunar New Year, or she would secretly go back alone to see her parents.
In his previous life, Qin Tian only understood his mother's thoughtful intentions after hearing his uncle mention it.
Thinking of this, Qin Tian suddenly had a great idea that could silence those who gossiped behind his back and bring glory to his mother.
In Yucheng, after the college entrance examination, families with good results would generally hold a graduation banquet.
Qin Tian thought that perhaps he could choose to hold his graduation banquet in his ancestral village.
Upon entering the house, Xia Nuannuan's face immediately tensed up, and her steps became a little stiff.
Qin Tian couldn't help but chuckle and handed her the gifts he was helping to carry.
Xia Nuannuan quickly took the bag.
"Don't be nervous, relax, I'm here!"
Qin Tian raised his hand, ruffled her hair, and comforted her with a gentle smile.
Xia Nuannuan nodded, her expression easing slightly. She took a deep breath to calm her nervous and anxious feelings.
Without calling out, Qin Tian directly led Xia Nuannuan to the back of the house and into the kitchen.
His mother was busy at the stove, not noticing their arrival from behind.
"Mom!"
Qin Tian called out softly.
"Ah!"
Tang Xiuxia jumped in surprise and instinctively turned to scold him.
Upon seeing the beautiful girl beside her son, she immediately reacted and her expression changed to an enthusiastic smile.
"Hello, Auntie!"
Xia Nuannuan greeted somewhat flusteredly.
"Nuannuan, welcome to our home."
Tang Xiuxia walked over quickly, her eyes brightly appraising Xia Nuannuan.
She had seen Xia Nuannuan's photos on her son's phone, but the real person was even prettier, and her figure was great.
This brat really had good taste!
Tang Xiuxia thought happily, then glared at her son standing beside her with a mischievous smile, chiding him impatiently, "What were you thinking, bringing Nuannuan into the kitchen? It's so smoky. You could have just called me from the front room."
"Mom..."
Qin Tian gave a wry smile, looking wronged.
"It's okay, it's okay, Auntie. It was my idea. I was afraid of disturbing you while you were cooking!"
Xia Nuannuan quickly said.
"How could it disturb me? I'm almost done, just the last dish to go."
Tang Xiuxia looked at Xia Nuannuan with a beaming smile.
She was beautiful and sensible, and most importantly, she was so good to her son. She was even more satisfied.
Xia Nuannuan smiled shyly, then suddenly remembered something and handed over the bag she was carrying.
"Auntie, Qin Tian and I picked this out together for you."
"Ah?"
Tang Xiuxia glared at her son again, blaming him, "What's wrong with you? Last time it was the skincare products, and now you're taking Nuannuan to buy gifts. What did I tell you?"
Qin Tian was speechless and could only scratch his head with an apologetic smile.
"Auntie, it was my idea too. Don't blame Qin Tian!"
Xia Nuannuan quickly said.
"We'll settle the score with you later."
Tang Xiuxia glanced at her son, then smiled as she took the bag from Xia Nuannuan, saying, "Thank you, dear. I didn't prepare any gifts, I feel so bad."
Xia Nuannuan shook her head vigorously, then seemed unsure what to say.
"Mom, is there anything I can help with?"
Qin Tian decisively interjected.
"No, no need. Take Nuannuan to the front room to watch TV. Dinner will be ready soon."
Tang Xiuxia replied immediately.
"Okay!"
Qin Tian nodded with a smile, gestured towards his room, and asked Xia Nuannuan, "My room is over there. Do you want to see it?"
"Can I?"
Xia Nuannuan's eyes lit up, and a hint of anticipation appeared on her face.
"Of course, you can! Go ahead!"
Tang Xiuxia eagerly chimed in with a smile.
Then, Qin Tian led Xia Nuannuan out of the kitchen.
Tang Xiuxia watched the two children's well-matched backs, her eyes curving into smiles as she continued busy cooking.
"This is my room. It's quite simple."
Qin Tian said with a smile as he led Xia Nuannuan into his room.
Xia Nuannuan looked around like a curious baby, nodding with a sweet smile. "It's very nice. Boys' rooms can be quite tidy after all!"
"Uh... it was actually quite messy before."
Qin Tian gave an awkward smile.
After he was reborn, he developed the good habit of tidying his room. Before that, his mother would come in and clean it up every few days.
There really wasn't much else to see. After a brief look, Qin Tian led Xia Nuannuan to the front room and then toured his mother's room.
Xia Nuannuan's attention was quickly drawn to a photo on the coffee table.
It was the photo taken when he was a child, when he was mocked by classmates as a wild child without a father, and he was having a tantrum with his mother.
"Want to see?"
Qin Tian noticed her interest and asked with a light smile.
"Mhm, mhm!"
Xia Nuannuan nodded like a pecking chick.
Qin Tian walked over, picked up the photo frame, and handed it to her. "This is a photo of me and my mother when I was little. I was young and ignorant then, having a tantrum with my mom!"
He didn't explain the reason for the tantrum, not wanting to spoil Xia Nuannuan's current happy mood.
Xia Nuannuan didn't ask. In her opinion, children had too many trivial reasons to get angry with their parents.
Just like when she was little, she once sulked for days and didn't talk to her father because he ate a pudding she had put in the refrigerator.
Now, when the family chats, her parents occasionally bring up her embarrassing childhood memories.
"Qin Tian, you were so cute when you were little!"
Xia Nuannuan poked the "little Qin Tian" in the photo with her slender, white index finger, her eyes curving into crescent moons.
"Everyone's cute when they're little!"
Qin Tian echoed with a light smile.
"That's not necessarily true!"
Xia Nuannuan shook her head and took out her phone from her pocket.
"What are you doing?"
Qin Tian was stunned and looked at her guardedly.
"Hehe..."
Xia Nuannuan winked playfully at him, then opened her phone's camera function.
"No!"
Qin Tian shouted a warning and made a move to snatch her phone.
However, Xia Nuannuan was prepared. While dodging him, she quickly took a photo and saved it.