"Mom, what girl? Don't listen to someone's nonsense."
Qin Tian said with a calm expression.
"You brat, stop playing dumb with me. Do you want me to ask Nuannuan?" Tang Xiuxia threatened with a stern face.
Qin Tian's mouth twitched a few times, and he confessed helplessly, "It's not my fault. I've already refused several times."
"Hmph, you're quite the charmer then!"
Tang Xiuxia snorted impatiently and then glanced meaningfully at Qin Hongwen.
Qin Hongwen's heart pounded, and he felt sweat break out on his back.
"It's not my fault at all. It's because I have a young and beautiful mother, right?"
Qin Tian said with a smile, offering a compliment.
Tang Xiuxia glanced at him askance and pouted, "No, no, you didn't get it from me. I'm not as popular as you guys. At over forty, I can still make so many young girls like me. How amazing!"
"Cough cough!"
Qin Hongwen choked on his tea and coughed a couple of times.
Qin Tian ate an orange segment, a look of schadenfreude appearing on his lips.
"Xiao Tian, I don't care about that girl. You need to control yourself. I've already decided on Nuannuan as my daughter-in-law. If you dare do anything to betray her, I..."
"Mom, what are you talking about? Don't worry, that's impossible, okay!"
"It's good that it's impossible."
Getting her son's assurance, Tang Xiuxia nodded and ended her lecture.
Of course, she trusted her son. It was just that there were too many temptations outside, and she worried he might let his guard down and make a mistake.
When she thought about how even Qin Hongwen, a man in his forties, was liked by so many young girls, it was even more so for their son who inherited their excellent genes.
A little reminder now and then was necessary.
They watched TV and chatted idly until it was past ten o'clock.
"Mom, I'm a bit sleepy. I'm going to wash up and go to bed."
Qin Tian yawned and said. "Okay, go ahead!"
Tang Xiuxia nodded.
Qin Tian stood up but didn't leave, his gaze fixed on a certain man.
Qin Hongwen, unable to bear being stared at, put down his teacup and said to Tang Xiuxia with a dry smile, "It's getting late, I'll find a hotel to rest."
Hearing this, Tang Xiuxia glanced at her son and nodded with a smile, "Alright, come over for dinner tomorrow."
"Okay."
Qin Hongwen happily agreed.
Then, father and son left the room together.
Tang Xiuxia followed them out to see Qin Hongwen off.
Qin Tian, however, went directly to the back room.
After seeing him walk away, Qin Hongwen said softly, "A Xia, I'll call you later."
Tang Xiuxia rolled her eyes and said sourly, "I won't answer. Call those young girls of yours."
Qin Hongwen's expression stiffened.
"I'm just kidding. Go on, go on. You father and son are the same, so annoying!"
Tang Xiuxia waved him away.
"Then I'm leaving. Remember to answer the phone, around eleven-thirty."
"Got it, got it. You're so long-winded."
"I'm leaving!"
Qin Hongwen smiled, turned, and left with light steps.
Tang Xiuxia watched him disappear from sight before suddenly bursting into laughter, then closed the door and returned to the room.
...
...
The next morning, Qin Tian was woken up by his mother's knocking.
He opened his sleepy eyes, glanced at the door, and said lazily, "Mom, there's nothing happening today. Let me sleep a bit longer."
"Then get up and buy your own food. I'm going to the shop."
His mother's voice came from outside the door.
"Why are you going to the shop so early?"
Qin Tian asked in surprise.
"There's a shipment arriving from Jiang City today, and I need to be there to supervise."
Tang Xiuxia replied.
"Okay!"
Qin Tian still felt a bit strange but didn't think much of it.
"Go buy some good ingredients later. In the afternoon, invite Nuannuan and her mother over for a meal."
Tang Xiuxia instructed.
"Got it. Will you be back for lunch?"
"No, I'll... I'll eat something at the mall."
"Alright, then I'll go to Nuannuan's house for lunch. It's a good chance to see her grandparents."
"Mm-hmm, that's good. Then I'm leaving."
With that, Tang Xiuxia left.
Qin Tian quickly fell back asleep. When he woke up, it was already past nine o'clock.
He put on his clothes, took out his charged phone, and walked out of the room. As he brushed his teeth in the bathroom, he unlocked his phone.
There was a message from Xia Nuannuan on WeChat.
"Brother, are you awake? Come to our place for lunch with Auntie!"
"Just woke up. I'll come over to your place for lunch later. Mom went to the shop, so she won't be coming. You guys can come over to my place for dinner this afternoon."
Qin Tian typed a quick reply.
"Okay!"
Xia Nuannuan replied quickly.
After a moment, another message arrived.
"What about Uncle Qin? Did he go to the shop with Auntie?"
Upon seeing this message, Qin Tian froze for a moment, then suddenly realized why he had felt that strange feeling earlier.
Those two were really seizing every opportunity to be together!
Qin Tian thought to himself with a complex feeling and typed back, "I don't know, probably."
"Mm-hmm, then hurry up and finish up and come over. Mom is already preparing lunch, and Grandpa is urging me to hurry you over so you can play chess with him."
"Okay!"
After brushing his teeth and washing his face, Qin Tian left the house.
He first went to his next-door neighbor's house and greeted Grandpa Sun and Grandma Liu.
After a brief chat, he politely declined Grandpa Sun's invitation to go fishing and walked towards Xia Nuannuan's house.
It was already past ten o'clock, and his future mother-in-law must have arranged a big meal, so he didn't bother to eat breakfast.
He passed by an old, well-known steamed bun shop he used to frequent. For four yuan, he bought a basket of xiaolongbao and a cup of soy milk. He ate as he walked, just to fill his stomach a little.
In about fifteen minutes, he arrived at Xia Nuannuan's doorstep and rang the doorbell.
Xia Nuannuan hurried over to open the door. "Good morning!"
Qin Tian greeted her with a smile.
"Good morning!"
Xia Nuannuan replied with a radiant smile, skillfully and naturally taking a pair of men's slippers from the shoe cabinet and placing them at his feet.
Qin Tian changed into the slippers and entered the living room with her.
The old man was sitting in the living room, drinking tea. Seeing him, he smiled brightly and beckoned, "Xiao Tian, you're here. Come quickly, come and have tea and play chess with me."
"Okay, please wait a moment."
Qin Tian nodded and smiled, then went to the kitchen first and greeted his future mother-in-law and grandmother who were preparing soup.
"Auntie, is there anything I can help with?"
"No, no. You go to the living room and keep Grandpa company. He often talks about you!"
Su Xia said with a gentle smile.
Qin Tian didn't insist further and agreed with a smile before returning to the living room to play chess with Grandpa Xia.