Just as she thought he would praise himself further, he suddenly looked up at the kitchen.
Through the small window, they could see Xi Yuan talking to Liu Jin Hua while washing the potatoes.
Nan Shan couldn’t hear what he said, but Liu Jin Hua first looked surprised, then embarrassed, and finally, a bit grateful.
“I have a bad feeling about this,” Nan Shan murmured.
Ling Ye felt the same.
They exchanged glances and immediately made their way to the kitchen.
Just as they reached the door, they overheard Liu Jin Hua asking, “Nan Shan really agreed… that you two men will share a wife? What about Ling Ye? Doesn’t he mind?”
“Nan Shan agreed, and Ling Ye didn’t oppose. Now it just depends on whether you and your father approve.”
Over these ten years, he had come to the Sun family countless times, and calling them father and mother felt as natural as if it were Nan Shan herself.
Liu Jin Hua could only smile helplessly when she heard him:
“What does it matter if we agree or not? As long as Nan Shan is happy.”
“Mother, don’t listen to his nonsense.”
Nan Shan said helplessly.
Liu Jin Hua:
“Oh, you heard it?”
“How is it nonsense?”
Xi Yuan raised an eyebrow, showing the red string on his wrist. “Dare you say this isn’t the bond of fate between us?”
Nan Shan rolled her eyes at him.
“Mother!”
Xi Yuan frowned slightly, looking pitiful.
“Nan Shan is going to be a heartless woman. What should I do?”
Nan Shan:
“…”
Liu Jin Hua, who had never seen such a scene, was a bit confused for a moment.
Before Xi Yuan could continue to act pitiful, Ling Ye coldly grabbed him and dragged him out:
“Come here!”
“Mother, help!”
The two looked like they were about to fight, and Liu Jin Hua was worried:
“Isn’t this going to cause trouble?”
“What trouble could there be?”
Nan Shan walked into the kitchen, affectionately hugging Liu Jin Hua from behind. While cuddling up to her mother, she didn’t forget to warn the two outside:
“Don’t break my house!”
Upon hearing this, the two immediately stopped thinking about fighting.
Nan Shan continued to cling to Liu Jin Hua, acting coquettishly:
“Mother, mother, mother.”
“Calling me so affectionately?”
Liu Jin Hua laughed helplessly and stroked her warm hand.
“Why are you so clingy today?”
“Isn’t it okay?”
Nan Shan asked back.
“It’s fine. I wish you were even clingier,” Liu Jin Hua smiled as she lowered her head.
The two mother and daughter chatted for a while, and only then did Nan Shan release Liu Jin Hua and voluntarily sit down to light the fire on the stove.
Liu Jin Hua quietly watched her daughter for a while, then suddenly asked:
“Do you want to eat something else?”
“Hmm?”
Nan Shan looked up.
Liu Jin Hua smiled and said:
“Apart from the braised potato rice, is there anything else you want to eat?”
Nan Shan thought for a moment and said, “I want to eat the buns you make, but it’s too troublesome. Let’s make it tonight.”
“It’s fine, it’ll be quick,” Liu Jin Hua swiftly tied on an apron.
“I’ll knead the dough first, then steam the rice. While the rice is steaming, I can prepare the filling. By the time the rice is done, the dough will be ready, and I can just wrap the buns.”
Nan Shan smiled with her eyes curved:
“Thank you, mother.”
“By the way, your father recently found an old ginseng on the mountain. I’ll make you some nourishing soup,” Liu Jin Hua looked at her with anticipation.
Nan Shan suddenly remembered the illusion she had when she was poisoned by resentment, where her fake mother always eagerly wanted to nourish her body.
Ten years had passed without her return, and she wanted to satisfy her mother with everything.
But when she thought about those past events, her heart still couldn’t help but feel disgusted.
“Don’t want to drink it?” Liu Jin Hua saw through her thoughts. “Then I won’t make it. I’ll let your father sell it in the town and use the money to buy you whatever you want to eat.”
Nan Shan blinked: “If I don’t drink it, will you be disappointed?”
“What’s there to be disappointed about?” Liu Jin Hua looked at her in confusion. “If you forced yourself to eat something you didn’t like, that would truly make me sad.”
“Hah.” Nan Shan chuckled and lowered her gaze to the fire in the stove. Her smile slowly faded.
Since waking up, she hadn’t thought about Ji Yue anymore. It wasn’t that she was deliberately forgetting him, but there was so much going on that she simply didn’t have the time.
And now, she suddenly remembered him.
If he could leave Dong Yi alive…
Nan Shan clenched her palm, forcing herself not to entertain such meaningless assumptions.
“Hey.”
Xi Yuan lazily leaned against the door, raising his chin to signal Ling Ye.
Ling Ye, who had been watching Nan Shan, shifted his gaze and met Xi Yuan’s eyes with an emotionless expression.
“Did you see her expression just now?”
Xi Yuan began, unable to hide his schadenfreude.
“The young lady is thinking about her lover.”
“Shut up.”
Ling Ye warned coldly.
Xi Yuan chuckled and then looked toward Nan Shan in the kitchen.
“Ten years… For mortals, it’s truly a long time. Long enough to forget an old love and fall for a new one…”
Before he could finish his sentence, a sharp sword was pressed against his throat.
“If you keep talking nonsense, I’ll kill you.”
Ling Ye said with a faint warning.
Xi Yuan realized he was serious and raised both hands in surrender.
Ling Ye sheathed his sword and strode into the kitchen.
“What are you doing here?”
Nan Shan asked in confusion.
Ling Ye squeezed in beside her:
“I’m here to keep you company while you tend the fire.”
“The kitchen is too cramped for so many people.”
Nan Shan said helplessly.
Ling Ye pretended not to hear her, and Nan Shan had no choice but to follow him.
Since Nan Shan found out she had been away for ten years, her guilt towards her parents overshadowed everything else.
She stuck to Liu Jin Hua wherever she went, completely ignoring the two men by her side.
In the evening, Sun Jin returned.
As soon as Nan Shan saw his much older face, her eyes reddened again.
Sun Jin noticed her teary eyes and was about to say something when Liu Jin Hua rushed out:
“What’s wrong with your clothes?”
Sun Jin immediately became nervous:
“I… I wasn’t paying attention while working, and tore it…”
“Quickly change your clothes! Both of your sons-in-law are here today, and you look so shabby!” Liu Jin Hua pulled him toward the house.
Sun Jin followed her, but suddenly realized something wasn’t right:
“Sons-in-law?”
As soon as the words left his mouth, Ling Ye and Xi Yuan walked out of the living room.
Ling Ye: “Father-in-law.”
Xi Yuan: “Father.”
Sun Jin: “?”
Nan Shan:
The two of them had created such a commotion that all her worries disappeared.
Nan Shan gritted her teeth and said:
“Father, you go change your clothes first.”
“Oh, okay.”
Sun Jin walked into the house while frequently glancing back at Nan Shan.
It seemed that Liu Jinhua had said something to him, as when Sun Jin came out of the room, he appeared to have accepted everything.
“Two… that’s fine,” he said, as the head of the family, giving an important speech.
“As long as Nan Shan is happy.”
“Father…”
Nan Shan helplessly grabbed Ling Ye to prevent him from suddenly becoming enraged and attacking Xi Yuan.
Xi Yuan, having gotten his way, played innocent, calling him “Father” over and over, which irritated Ling Ye so much that the corners of his eyes turned red.
The two men never actually fought, but there was an odd feeling of chaos.
Fortunately, it quickly got dark, and Nan Shan sent them both away.
“My house only has two bedrooms, there’s no room for you, go stay at the inn,” she said directly.
Ling Ye furrowed his brow, wanting to say he would stay in her room, but when he looked over, Nan Shan had already turned her gaze away.
He paused for a moment, lowered his brow, and agreed.
“You’re leaving just like that?”
Xi Yuan said, enjoying the drama.
Nan Shan’s attitude toward him wasn’t as kind.
“You, hurry up and get lost.”
Xi Yuan spread his hands and smiled.
“Alright, see you tomorrow.”
Nan Shan rolled her eyes at him.
Finally, both of the powerful men left.
Nan Shan let out a slight sigh of relief, only to turn around and find both her parents staring at her.
It seemed they hadn’t expected her to suddenly turn around.
Both of them were a little flustered, and eventually, Liu Jinhua took a step forward.
“It’s getting late, you should go to bed.”
“I want to sleep with you, Mother,” Nan Shan quickly said.
Liu Jinhua laughed.
“You’re already this big, and you still want to sleep with me?”
“No matter how old I am, I’ll always be your daughter,” Nan Shan said, affectionately grabbing her hand.
Sun Jin urged, “If your daughter wants to sleep with you, just sleep with her.”
Liu Jinhua responded, “Alright, then come to my bedroom.”
“I’ll go to your room,” Sun Jin hurriedly said.
Nan Shan said, “There’s no need to make it so complicated, just come and find me…”
“It’s settled then,” Sun Jin stretched and yawned.
“Ah, I’ve worked all day, I’m really exhausted.”
As he spoke, he was already heading into Nan Shan’s room.
Seeing this, Nan Shan happily followed Liu Jinhua back to the room.
It had been a long time since she had slept in the same room as her mother, and the two of them spent a lot of time talking.
Nan Shan rested her head on Liu Jinhua’s arm, smelling the soap fragrance on her, and soon fell into a deep sleep.
“Nan Shan,” Liu Jinhua suddenly called her name.
Nan Shan stirred, “Hmm?”
“You…”
Liu Jinhua seemed unsure how to ask, and after a long pause, she finally asked, “Are you happy?”
Nan Shan laughed softly, “Of course, why do you ask?”
“No reason, I just thought of Ling Ye and Xi Yuan,” Liu Jinhua said, pressing her lips together.
“Both of them are pretty good.”
Nan Shan didn’t explain anything, just buried her face in Liu Jinhua’s arms, “Mm, they’re good.”
She had a sound, dreamless sleep, and when she woke up the next day, she heard the sounds of Liu Jinhua and Sun Jin chatting outside.
For a moment, she felt a bit dazed.
“They told you to just buy a pair of couplets, but you insisted on buying a bunch of red paper. Now look, are you going to paste up a blank couplet?”
Liu Jinhua complained.
Sun Jin looked a little guilty, “I just thought the red paper was cheaper, and it wouldn’t take much for the teacher to write it, who knew others would be like this…”
“Now the teacher’s place is crowded with people, let’s see what you’re going to do!”
Liu Jinhua was angry.
When she looked up and saw Nan Shan, she immediately smiled, “Nan Shan, you’re awake.”
“Mother, what are you doing?”
Nan Shan asked, curious as she walked over.
Liu Jinhua briefly explained, and only then did Nan Shan realize today was New Year’s Eve.
No wonder her mother had placed a thick set of clothes by her bedside.
With her current cultivation level, her body temperature adjusted itself, so she hadn’t noticed that the clothes from the island were a bit thin for her now.
“It’s just writing couplets, I’ll do it,” Nan Shan rolled up her sleeves.
“Mother, stop scolding Father.”
“You can?”
Liu Jinhua was surprised.
Nan Shan paused, then quickly added, “Well, I’ve secretly been learning these past years, and I wanted to give you a surprise.”
Liu Jinhua seemed to have been convinced and quickly asked Sun Jin to go borrow some ink and paper.
There was no one available to write the couplets, but it was easy enough to borrow the ink.
Sun Jin soon returned.
Nan Shan personally ground the ink, considered the red paper for a moment, and then seriously began writing.
At that moment, Xi Yuan and Ling Ye happened to arrive.
When they saw her writing, Xi Yuan laughed lightly, “The strokes are gentle yet powerful. Nan Shan, you must have learned calligraphy from a man, right? One with a calm heart and refined demeanor.”
“What’s it to you?”
Nan Shan retorted.
Xi Yuan smirked and glanced playfully at Ling Ye.