“What are you doing? Scrambled eggs?”
“Fried eggs are the best, don’t you know?”
He chattered endlessly by her ear.
Jiang Mian was annoyed and turned, “If you don’t want to eat, stop blabbering.”
They had always been distant, this was the first time she had spoken so rudely. Song Yin’s face turned red, both angry and vexed.
He acted as if he had a point to prove, “You won’t let me talk? I insist on talking, I’ll annoy you to death.”
Jiang Mian: “……”
She opened the upper cabinet in the kitchen, took down two packets of instant rice noodles, and leaned against the stove, following the instructions on the back of the package to cook her meal at a leisurely pace.
When she didn’t speak, Song Yin felt bored.
He kicked the cabinet door intermittently with his foot, also remaining silent, creating a dull thudding sound.
This jarring noise fell into Jiang Mian’s ears, making her feel a surge of irritation.
Song Yin secretly glanced at her expression, then continued to pollute the air with noise.
Jiang Mian narrowed her eyes and ignored him. Once the noodles were ready, she served two bowls and said coldly, “Eat or not?”
The enticing aroma had already wafted into Song Yin’s nostrils; he had been enduring it.
Now that Jiang Mian asked him, Song Yin poked his head out and openly took a look.
In the fresh green cartoon-themed bowls, the rice noodles were appetizing, topped with a golden fried egg. The presentation was indeed excellent.
Song Yin no longer maintained his pretense. He straightened his back, “This isn’t for me, you asked if I wanted to eat.”
“If you want to eat, take it out,” Jiang Mian lifted her chin, gesturing for him to take both bowls out.
Two large bowls overflowing with broth and noodles.
Song Yin’s face fell, “Why are you making children do chores?”
He had to carry the food? At home, the servants practically fed him!
Jiang Mian tapped the marble countertop, “If you eat, stop whining.”
Song Yin gritted his teeth. Fine, he had to concede when he was eating someone else’s food.
He carried one bowl in each hand and carefully walked towards the dining table.
Jiang Mian followed behind him, took out her phone, and posted on Weibo.
After their relationship was made public, Jiang Mian no longer kept it a secret.
Sometimes she would mention Ji Zhixiu on Weibo, but she recorded most of her daily life on her secondary account.
Jiang Mian casually scanned the comment section before sitting down.
The freshly cooked rice noodles were still hot. Jiang Mian wasn’t in a hurry to eat; she opened her match-three game and started playing levels.
Song Yin had been starving for a long time. As soon as he sat down, he impatiently picked up a mouthful of noodles with his chopsticks and put them in his mouth.
The next second, he spat it out, “Ptooey, ptooey!” Could a human eat this?
Jiang Mian’s gaze shifted from her phone, “Wasting food.”
Song Yin almost suspected Jiang Mian was poisoning him. He put down his chopsticks and pointed at the bowl angrily, “Jiang Mian! If you think I’m an eyesore in your house, just say it! I’ll call my uncle right away to pick me up and take me back to Hong Kong City! What do you mean by secretly poisoning my food?”
Jiang Mian frowned, “Poisoning?”
Song Yin was utterly fed up with her feigned innocence, “What do you think?! Taste it yourself, can a human eat this? I knew you were being so kind to invite me to eat with you, only to try and kill me!”
Jiang Mian didn’t know what was going on in his little head. She rubbed her forehead, “What value do you have that I would poison you for?”
Song Yin ground his teeth, “Who knows if you secretly hate me and want to kill me? That way, you can go back to the Song family, monopolize my father, and then drive my mother away!”
Jiang Mian was almost amused to the point of laughter, she admired his ability to conjure up such scenarios.
She put down her phone and faced him, “I’m sorry, I have no interest in your family members.”
With that, Jiang Mian picked up her chopsticks, picked up some noodles, and took a bite.
Then she spat it out with a “Ptooey.”
This…
Her expression was a little embarrassed. She had followed the instructions on the package!
Why did it taste so awful!
There was a strange flavor, like something had gone bad.
Song Yin sneered, “Why are you acting like me?”
Jiang Mian rubbed her nose, ignoring his sarcastic remarks.
How could she explain? Should she admit her cooking skills were so poor that it tasted this bad?
Then what dignity would she have left?
Jiang Mian’s expression was blank.
Let him misunderstand.
Seeing Jiang Mian’s silence, Song Yin was about to blow up, “Fine, Jiang Mian! I never expected you to be so wicked! So despicable, shameless, sinister, and venomous, utterly disregarding human decency, infuriating gods and men alike, defying heaven and earth, your heart deserves damnation, you are simply… simply…”
He tried to find a suitable adjective for a long time but couldn’t.
Jiang Mian leaned back, crossed her arms, and began to watch his performance.
Song Yin suddenly faltered, “Why are you looking at me? Feeling guilty, aren’t you?”
“What are you two doing?” Ye Yi walked downstairs wearing home clothes, holding a mug.
His hair was disheveled and unruly, his voice lazy and indifferent.
Clearly, he had just woken up.
Jiang Mian turned her head to look at him, “The brat is throwing a tantrum.”
Song Yin was so angry his nostrils flared smoke. How dare she call him a brat! How dare she say he was throwing a tantrum!
This woman!! She’s truly detestable!
Ye Yi raised an eyebrow and glanced at the table, “Why aren’t you eating?”
“It’s poisoned!”
“Not hungry!”
Two voices spoke simultaneously.
Ye Yi looked left and right and tentatively asked, “Maybe I can make something?”
“Okay!”
“Okay!”
Again, in unison.
Song Yin huffed, “Don’t copy me!”
“I was going to say don’t copy me,” Jiang Mian wouldn’t back down.
“Jiang Mian! Don’t think that just because you’re a woman, I won’t do anything to you!”
“Song Yin! Don’t think that just because you’re underage, I won’t do anything to you!”
Ye Yi shook his head and took food out of the refrigerator.
He worked quickly. By the time he finished and brought it out, the two of them were still arguing.
Ye Yi tapped the table, “Time to eat.”
The two of them immediately quieted down and sat.
Jiang Mian was genuinely hungry. She hadn’t felt this way before, but Song Yin’s annoyance had made her want to eat everything now.
She looked down, “Clear broth noodles?”
“Mm-hmm,” Ye Yi said lazily, pulling out a chair next to her and sitting down. “Eating something light tonight is good for digestion.”
While they were talking, Song Yin was already enthusiastically eating.
Ye Yi gestured for her to try some.
Jiang Mian picked up her chopsticks.
The living room finally quieted down.
Ye Yi tilted his head, his gaze fixed on her.
She ate elegantly, neither too fast nor too slow. Her bare face had an added touch of purity.
Her mouth was full of the fried egg, like a hamster stuffing food into its mouth, very cute.
It made him… feel a tickle in his heart.
Jiang Mian hadn’t tied her hair up, and strands of hair fell down by her ears. Jiang Mian reached up to tuck them behind her ear.
After a few seconds, the mischievous strands fell down again. Jiang Mian simply rested her hand behind her ear and didn’t move.
No one spoke. The only sound in the living room was Song Yin’s slurping.
After an unknown amount of time, it was only when Jiang Mian put down her chopsticks that she said, “I’m full.”
Ye Yi snapped back to attention.
He chuckled softly, “It’s good you’re full.”
Song Yin coughed, “Is there any left in the pot?”
Ye Yi glared at him exasperatedly, “No, eating less at night prevents indigestion.”
If it weren’t for Jiang Mian, he wouldn’t have bothered to cook. This kid was getting off easy.
Song Yin snorted a couple of times. He wanted to say more but ultimately held back.
He pushed his bowl away, “I’m going upstairs!”
He ran off quite quickly. Ye Yi clicked his tongue, turned to look at Jiang Mian, and asked, “Do you have any thoughts about work?”
Jiang Mian blinked, remembering she hadn’t told him she was pregnant yet.
She took a wet wipe to clean her mouth, then looked at him, “I’m pregnant. I’ll tell Ning Jie, and if there are suitable opportunities, please keep them for me.”
Ye Yi’s smile faltered slightly as he looked at the sparkle in her eyes.
He lowered his head and smiled, hiding his bitterness, “How far along are you? Congratulations.”
Jiang Mian smiled, “Only two months. You’re going to be an uncle.”
Ye Yi nodded slightly, “That’s good. I’ll ask Ning Jie to pay extra attention at work. You take care of yourself.”
In just this short while, Jiang Mian felt sleepy again. She yawned, “Okay, I’m going to sleep. You should rest early too.”
“Okay, goodnight.”
“Goodnight.”
Ye Yi watched her go upstairs until her figure disappeared from view before he withdrew his gaze.
He stared at the tea tray on the table, his thoughts drifting.
Time flies, she’ll be a mother in the blink of an eye. That’s good.
It’s just… a little unsettling.
…
Ji Zhixiu returned to his room in the latter half of the night.
Jiang Mian, half-asleep, instinctively snuggled into his embrace.
Ji Zhixiu patted her back, “Good girl.”
Jiang Mian, half-asleep, hugged him tighter, her voice clinging like a kitten’s.
She suddenly remembered she still had many questions to ask.
“Xiao Yu Gan… where did she go?”
Ji Zhixiu kissed her forehead, “She’s being boarded at a pet store. I’ll bring her back tomorrow.”
Because he had already seen through Shen Tingyu, Ji Zhixiu was worried Shen Tingyu might do something to Xiao Yu Gan, so he had sent her away early.
Jiang Mian made a sound of acknowledgment, very obediently closing her eyes, “Her… what are you going to do about her?”
The ‘her’ was unspoken but understood.
Her asking this meant she was still concerned about the matter.
But Ji Zhixiu really didn’t want to tell Jiang Mian the outcome for Shen Tingyu, lest he scare her.
He said softly, “Let’s sleep, okay?”
“Sleepy…”
Jiang Mian was too sleepy to open her eyes, not even knowing what she was saying.
She just subconsciously wanted to talk to him.
“Will you tell me, okay?”
She was persistent about this question.
Ji Zhixiu pinched his brow. Finally, he couldn’t resist her pestering, “How she treated you, we will treat her the same, okay?”
He waited for the young girl’s answer.
But there was no reply for a long time.
Ji Zhixiu lowered his head and saw that Jiang Mian had already fallen into a deep sleep.
She looked very well-behaved.
Ji Zhixiu chuckled and pulled her into his arms.
The next morning, Jiang Mian saw Xiao Yu Gan.
She was pleasantly surprised. After not seeing her for a while, Xiao Yu Gan had gained quite a bit of weight.
Xiao Yu Gan meowed twice, stared at Jiang Mian’s abdomen, and swished her tail.
Jiang Mian smiled. Before, Xiao Yu Gan loved to stand on her chest and knead it. Today, she was quiet.
She stroked Xiao Yu Gan’s head, “Baby, you know there’s a new life in my belly, right?”
“Meow~”
This ‘Meow’ Lord certainly understood everything!
And they only came to pick me up today! I’m angry!
Xiao Yu Gan lay down and used her front paws to hook Jiang Mian’s sleeve.
Jiang Mian tore open a cat treat pouch, “Here, Mommy will feed you.”
“Meow meow meow~”
Jiang Mian still didn’t know what happened to Shen Tingyu in the end.
Ji Zhixiu hadn’t told her, and she hadn’t seen Shen Muyuan again.
The villa’s basement was also empty.
Jiang Mian had handed many things over to Ji Zhixiu. She always felt she had become lazier after getting pregnant.
In the middle of the night, if she was thirsty for water, she would command Ji Zhixiu.