"Uncle Liu, my cooking isn't very good, so please bear with it!" Xu Muqing served soup to Liu Chunsheng at the dinner table.
Liu Chunsheng quickly took the bowl. "Don't bother yourself. I can do it myself. Besides, you're too modest. These dishes look and smell delicious. I'd believe you if you said a master chef made them."
Praised by him, Xu Muqing felt a little embarrassed. "Uncle, you're flattering me so much I'm losing my bearings. Hurry up and eat, it'll be bad if it gets cold."
"Aunt Xu, your cooking is really delicious. I could eat two bowls of rice!" Tong Tong, sitting next to Liu Yifeng, chimed in with praise. To prove he wasn't lying, he took several mouthfuls of food.
This made Xu Muqing overjoyed. No one dislikes being praised, especially when it's genuine and unpretentious. She smiled and put some meat on Tong Tong's plate. "Tong Tong, eat more if you like it. Yaoyao is tired of eating the food Aunt Xu makes at home."
In reality, she didn't cook often; they had a nanny. However, she did cook occasionally, so it wasn't entirely false to say she had some culinary skills. But to be honest, her cooking was at best amateur. Being able to make edible food was quite good, otherwise, she wouldn't even be bad at wrapping dumplings. Now, hearing all three of them praise her cooking, whether sincere or just to make her happy, she was very pleased. After all, Tong Tong was genuinely eating, and if the food were truly bad, he wouldn't have said such nice things.
"Mom, but I think Uncle Liu's cooking is better than yours!" Yaoyao immediately contradicted her. Although Xu Muqing wouldn't deny this, hearing Yaoyao say it made her feel like she had raised her daughter in vain. After eating her cooking so many times, she had been swayed by just one meal from Liu Yifeng. No wonder people say a married daughter is like spilled water. She wasn't even married yet, and she was already siding with outsiders. But what could she do? She was her daughter, and she couldn't truly get angry with her. She could only joke, "Since you think Uncle Liu's cooking is good, why don't you be Uncle Liu's daughter?"
To everyone's surprise, Yaoyao nodded without hesitation. "Really? Can I call Uncle Liu 'Dad'?"
Her words caused some awkwardness among the adults, especially Liu Yifeng, who was drinking soup and nearly choked. "Cough, cough, cough..."
"Dad, are you okay?" Tong Tong asked with concern.
Liu Yifeng waved his hand. "I'm... I'm fine..."
"See what you say! You've scared Uncle Liu. Is 'Dad' something you can just call anyone?" Xu Muqing chided.
Yaoyao pouted, looking wronged. She actually wanted Uncle Liu to be her dad.
Liu Yifeng quickly said, "Don't scold the child. She's lacked a father's love since she was little, so it's normal for her to want one." He then looked at Yaoyao gently. "Yaoyao, Uncle Liu is Brother Tong Tong's dad. If you call me that, it will affect your mom when she looks for a partner in the future. You'll definitely have a new dad who truly likes you and treats you well, so you can't just call me that, okay? If you like the food Uncle Liu makes, come to Uncle Liu's house to eat often when you have time, alright?"
"But I want Uncle Liu to be my dad! I like you!" As a child, she spoke without reservation or considering the situation. Yaoyao simply expressed her inner thoughts. After speaking, she looked at Liu Yifeng expectantly.
Liu Chunsheng continued eating his meal, not wanting to interfere. He wanted to see how Yifeng would handle it.
Xu Muqing had never felt so embarrassed, as if a window that had been closed was suddenly broken open. She looked sternly at her daughter. "Yaoyao, don't talk nonsense. Uncle Liu and I are just friends. How can you ask him to be your dad? That's so rude! If you keep talking like this, Mom will spank your hand."
Yaoyao suddenly burst into tears. "Mommy's mean! Mommy's going to hit Yaoyao!"
Liu Yifeng couldn't stand to see children cry. He ignored the awkward situation, picked up Yaoyao, sat her on his lap, and gently wiped away her tears. "Yaoyao, don't cry. Mommy was just scaring you; she wouldn't hit you! Are you hungry? Uncle will feed you, okay?" He was not a patient person by nature, but since Tong Tong came home, he had become increasingly patient.
Indeed, Yaoyao was easily coaxed by him. She sniffled and nodded. "Okay, I want Uncle to feed me." At this point, she no longer mentioned the 'dad' issue.
Seeing Liu Yifeng feeding Yaoyao, taking her place, made Xu Muqing a little embarrassed. "Mr. Liu, let me do it. How can I let you feed her?"
Liu Yifeng said nonchalantly, "It's fine. I quite like Yaoyao. Although she cries sometimes, she can be easily soothed. She's a good child. Let her say what she wants in the future; children are young and don't understand these things!"
"But I'm afraid I'm causing you trouble. I was just joking earlier, I didn't expect her to take it seriously!"
"Don't worry about it; I'm not angry. Life involves jokes. You've been busy in the kitchen for so long, hurry up and eat!" Liu Yifeng said while feeding Yaoyao, clearly not taking it to heart.
Xu Muqing still felt a bit uneasy. She gently asked Tong Tong if he wanted her to feed him. Tong Tong immediately shook his head. "Aunt Xu, Tong Tong is a big boy now and can eat by himself!"
"Even though you're young, you have quite a bit of manly spirit. Alright then, Aunt won't feed you, but I can still put food in your bowl, right?" Xu Muqing said and put some vegetables in his bowl. The awkward atmosphere had dissipated.
After dinner, Xu Muqing took Yaoyao home. The villa was suddenly left with the three of them. Liu Yifeng was about to collect the dishes to wash them in the kitchen when his father called him to the living room, saying he had something to discuss.
"Dad, I was just about to wash the dishes. Can't you wait and talk later?" Liu Yifeng still had his apron on.
Liu Chunsheng got straight to the point. "I ask you, do you have any thoughts about this Xu Muqing?"
Liu Yifeng was bewildered. "Dad, why are you asking this out of the blue? You're not thinking of setting me up with her just because Yaoyao said she wanted me to be her dad, are you?" Liu Yifeng was amused and exasperated.
"Be serious. I'm asking if you have any intentions towards her. If not, don't be overly familiar, it's easy to give people the wrong impression, making them think you like her!" Liu Chunsheng said seriously.
Liu Yifeng's expression also turned serious. "What intentions could I have towards her? We've known each other for less than two months. The reason we're close is because the two children have a good relationship. Besides, she's a boss with her own circle. How could she possibly look down on a country boy like me who's starting a business in the countryside!"
Liu Chunsheng didn't like hearing that. "What's wrong with starting a business in the countryside? Are you inferior? In less than half a year, you've earned more than many people earn in a lifetime. If you were to go on a blind date with these qualifications, who knows how many girls would be eager to be with you."
"That's also because of Tong Tong. Without Tong Tong, I'd probably still be a poor loser!" Liu Yifeng was very clear about this.
"I don't deny Tong Tong's help, but you're also personally managing many things, which shows you're capable. I won't allow you to belittle yourself." Liu Chunsheng's face darkened.
Liu Yifeng nodded repeatedly. "Alright, I won't belittle myself. But Dad, don't overcomplicate things. Xu Ms. and I are purely friends. Yaoyao is young and doesn't understand adult relationships. She wants me to be her dad simply because she likes me, not because her mother likes me. So, you don't need to worry about our affairs. It's not even a possibility yet!" He paused. "If there's nothing else, I'll go wash the dishes. Otherwise, they'll be hard to wash if they dry."
"Okay, go ahead!" Seeing his son say this, Liu Chunsheng had nothing more to say.