Susu was a little surprised to learn that Tianyi had agreed to Anjing's request to let Xiaoxiao stay at their home for a night. "Aren't you afraid Xiaoxiao will cling to our Xingxing?" she asked.
"Let them go to bed early tonight. Xingxing has school tomorrow, so they won't have much time to interact," Tianyi said.
Susu replied, "Let the children be, whatever happens naturally. Don't overthink it."
"I hope I am overthinking it."
"I'll go tidy up a room for Xiaoxiao," Susu said with a smile and went to prepare the guest room next to Xiao Xingxing's.
Xiao Xingxing didn't know Xiaoxiao was coming. He was in his room doing art homework.
A drawing board was placed in front of him, with colorful paints beside it. He was painting a small frog resting on a lotus leaf, following a picture.
However, he felt that no matter how he mixed the colors, they weren't quite right. Just as he was wondering if he should add a touch of light yellow to the green, he suddenly heard a noise downstairs.
He pricked up his ears and listened carefully. It sounded like Xiaoxiao's voice. He immediately put down his paintbrush and ran out of the room.
He stood on the second floor and saw Uncle Xiao and Xiaoxiao in the hall below, talking with his parents.
After a brief conversation, Uncle Xiao handed Xiaoxiao over to his parents and left in a hurry.
Xiao Xingxing waved from upstairs and shouted, "Xiaoxiao, you're here! Come and see my painting."
Xiaoxiao had intended to ask Susu where Brother Xingxing was, but before she could speak, she heard Xingxing calling her.
She quickly looked up and saw Xiao Xingxing. "Brother Xingxing!" she called out and ran upstairs.
Susu couldn't catch up with her and shouted from behind, "Xiaoxiao, slow down on the stairs, be careful."
Tianyi held her back and said, "Don't chase her. It's more important that you are careful. Let them play. Call them to bed when it's time."
Susu turned back and said with a smile, "Okay, I've also made some sweet soup for them. I'll go check on it in the kitchen."
"I'm going to the study. I want some too. Remember to save a bowl for me," Tianyi said, kissing her cheek before letting go and heading to the study.
Susu gave him an OK gesture.
Xiaoxiao watched Xiao Xingxing paint in his room, but she couldn't sit still and started playing with the paints beside him.
She imitated Xiao Xingxing, holding a paintbrush and stirring the palette, finding it quite fun. Then she looked at the frog Xiao Xingxing was painting.
She couldn't help but smile and said, "Brother Xingxing, why is your frog yellow? Frogs aren't supposed to be green?"
Xiao Xingxing realized he had added too much yellow paint, but he said, "I'm painting a frog at night. The moonlight makes it turn yellow."
"Oh, oh," Xiaoxiao picked up a paintbrush and started painting on the paper. "I'll paint a moon for you."
However, the color she painted was blue. Xiao Xingxing quickly stopped her, "Since when are moons blue?"
"Who says moons can't be blue..." As Xiaoxiao spoke, she accidentally knocked over the paint palette.
Xiao Xingxing quickly caught the palette, and his hands were instantly stained with various colors.
Xiaoxiao tried to help him wipe them off, but she also got paint all over herself, even on her face.
Xiao Xingxing started laughing and pointed at her, "Little calico cat."
Xiaoxiao suddenly smeared the paint on her hands onto Xiao Xingxing's face. "If we're going to be calico cats, let's be them together!"
Xiao Xingxing threw down the paint palette he was holding and grabbed at Xiaoxiao, wanting to smear paint on her face too. They started roughhousing in the room.
When Susu came in with two bowls of sweet soup, she saw colorful handprints and footprints everywhere in the room. She stopped the two of them and said, "Look at what you've done to the room! Come and have your sweet soup quickly, and stop making a mess."
Xiaoxiao quickly smeared some paint on Xiao Xingxing's face again and then ran behind Susu. "Auntie, Brother Xingxing called me a calico cat first."
Susu shielded Xiaoxiao and said to Xingxing, "Don't bully your sister. Both of you go wash your hands and faces. After drinking the sweet soup, you must clean up the room. Otherwise, you'll be punished by having to recite books in the study!"
Xiao Xingxing stuck out his tongue. He didn't want his father to supervise his book recitation. He grabbed Xiaoxiao's hand and said, "Let's finish eating and clean up quickly, or my dad will deal with us later."
Seeing that they had stopped fooling around, Susu smiled and left Xiao Xingxing's room, carrying another bowl of sweet soup to the study.
As soon as she entered the study, she saw Tianyi on a video call with a foreign merchant. She didn't want to disturb him.
She put down the sweet soup and was about to leave, but Tianyi ended the video call and called out to her, "Don't go. I want you to feed me."
"Do you think you're still a child? Drink it yourself!" Susu said, a little exasperated.
Tianyi stopped joking and picked up the bowl, drinking two mouthfuls. He praised, "It tastes good. Your cooking is getting better and better."
"Drink more if you like it."
Tianyi asked, "Have Xiao Xingxing and Xiaoxiao gone to bed yet?"
"Not yet. They should be drinking their sweet soup," Susu replied, not mentioning that they had messed up the room. Thinking of Anjing and Lan Yu, she asked, "Anjing rushed out to find Lan Yu so late at night. Did they have another argument?"
"I don't know," Tianyi shook his head. "Anjing didn't tell me much."
Susu stood beside him and sighed, "Lan Yu taking the child and leaving home means she's truly angry with Anjing. I wonder why they're fighting like this?"
Tianyi guessed, "I suspect they're arguing mostly about Xiaoxiao. Otherwise, why would Lan Yu leave Xiaoxiao behind?"
"Perhaps," she said. She also knew that Lan Yu and Xiaoxiao didn't get along very well when Anjing wasn't home.
But Xiaoxiao refused to go with her biological father and only wanted to be with Anjing. This was indeed a difficult situation.
"We can't manage these things," Tianyi said, taking her hand. "Go quickly and tell those two to go to bed. We should rest too."
Susu sat on his lap and hugged his neck. "In a moment. They probably haven't finished eating yet. Why don't I stay in the study with you for a while?"
"How will you stay with me?" Tianyi sniffed her hair, his tone changing. "You smell so good..."
"Don't be like that. You haven't finished your sweet soup yet," Susu said with a smile, dodging him.
"How can sweet soup be as sweet as you?" he said, cupping Susu's face and kissing her.
Susu pushed him away. "Hey, wait. The study door isn't locked. Be careful someone comes in..."
"I don't care. Let me taste how sweet you are first," Tianyi said, holding her face and kissing her again without restraint.
Before Susu could say anything else, he had already kissed her lips, swallowing her unspoken words.
Susu was aroused by him, and as they were kissing passionately, a knock sounded at the door, followed by Xiao Xingxing's voice, "Mom, Xiaoxiao and I are hungry. Is there anything else to eat?"
Hearing Xiao Xingxing's voice, Susu stopped abruptly and glared at Tianyi. "I need to go make them something to eat."
Tianyi covered her ears, wanting to continue. "Ignore them. Let's pretend we don't hear anything."
Susu pushed him away and stood up. "If we don't go, Xiao Xingxing will push the door open. It wouldn't be good if he saw us."