“Whoa~ School’s been postponed!”
At the dining table, a girl was eating while scrolling through her phone when she suddenly cried out in joy. This commotion immediately drew everyone else’s attention.
“Huh? Online teaching?”
Tang Yanyun was originally quite happy to see the notice about the postponed start of school, but as she scrolled down, she saw the four words “online teaching.” Her small mouth hung open, and she instantly wilted like a frosted eggplant: “Eh, we still have to attend classes…”
Hearing this, Tang Chenmin, acting as Tang Yanyun’s “good” older brother, refused to be left behind and was the first to start mocking her: “Hahaha, high school is so miserable, you still have to have classes! Be a good student and stay home! Hehe…”
Before he could laugh for more than a few seconds, his joy turned into sorrow. He choked on a mouthful of rice: “Agh, cough cough…” He hurriedly poured himself a bowl of soup, and only after gulping it down did he manage to recover.
“Serves you right!” Seeing his disheveled state, Tang Yanyun felt very vindicated and made a face at him. “That’s what you get for being mean while eating! Hmph!”
Seeing them still bickering, the grandmother on the side shook her head helplessly: “You two siblings… can’t even have a meal in peace! How old are you now? Still acting like two little kids…”
Despite saying that, Grandma didn’t scold them. After all, there’s a special bond with grandchildren; she couldn’t bear to lecture them too much—a quick mention was enough. But if her second son were here, there was no telling how he would have lectured them…
“Exactly, it’s all Tang Chenmin’s fault! I’m different, I really am a child, I’m not even an adult yet!” Hearing Grandma’s words, Tang Yanyun grumbled in her own defense. Seeing her brother’s defeated look, she felt her mood brighten a bit. Therefore, although she still disliked online teaching, she could reluctantly accept it knowing she’d at least be at home and could play on her phone.
“Hehe, anyway, it’s great not having to go to school! This way I can stay home and keep playing with my sister!” As she spoke, she gently nudged the young girl next to her with her elbow and gave a silly giggle: “Right! Little Miss~”
“Yes, yes, yes…” Lin Xinyuan responded helplessly, sounding a bit perfunctory. Her cousin’s heart was truly… Thinking this, she lowered her head, prepared to continue picking at her bowl.
Just then, a large hand placed a peeled shrimp into her bowl. She looked up to find Qin Nanfeng frowning slightly: “Eat the shrimp, don’t just eat the green vegetables.”
“Oh…” Lin Xinyuan nodded obediently. Actually, it wasn’t that she didn’t like eating shrimp; she just found it troublesome. Every time she peeled the shells, her hands got fishy and wet, so she wasn’t very fond of seafood, preferring meat and vegetables instead. But since she didn’t have to do the work herself, she was naturally willing to eat it…
The girl obediently picked up the large shrimp meat, dipped it in soy sauce, and popped it into her mouth. The meat was firm and elastic, and the soy sauce actually highlighted the sweetness of the shrimp… It was delicious…
And perhaps because Lin Xinyuan knew the young man had peeled it for her personally, she felt it tasted even sweeter and fresher… The young man tirelessly peeled shells and placed them in the girl’s bowl, while the pretty girl ate until her mouth was full, her fair cheeks bulging like a hamster…
This harmonious scene was taken in by the grandfather, who hadn’t spoken the entire time. He nodded silently, feeling very comforted and happy in his heart. However, thinking about his granddaughter’s postponed school start, he couldn’t help but associate it with the pandemic that had been worsening over the past few days. Deep down, he started worrying about his son and daughter-in-law who were away…
“Old man, what are you thinking about again?” Hearing his wife’s inquiry, Grandpa didn’t hide it and let out a sigh: “I’m worried about your son and the others.”
“The second son’s factory is about to stop production; he’s still there handling the remaining orders and should be back in a few days, so I’m not worried about him…” “It’s the eldest son’s family. I have no idea what’s going on; they just said they can’t make it back…”
Hearing this, Grandma also became nervous. Compared to the already successful second son, the one she had been most proud of since childhood was actually her eldest son. He joined the army at a young age and later seemingly became some kind of officer. The family didn’t know the specifics… anyway, it was said to be confidential, and he rarely had the chance to come back over the years…
“Sigh… don’t worry, everything will be fine…” Even though she was just as worried, Grandma still comforted Grandpa: “Tomorrow is New Year’s Eve. We’ll be going to the temple to worship the ancestors; we can pray for their safety then…”
Grandpa looked at the four lively children, and his brow relaxed slightly. He gave a smile, though it still looked a bit fierce. He gazed out the window. Even though it was noon, the weather was still somewhat gloomy.
“Yeah… I hope everything will get better…”
After finishing dinner, the girl sat in the living room for a while to digest before preparing to go upstairs to shower. After all, looking at the posture of Qin Nanfeng and Grandpa, who knows how long they would keep chatting at the dinner table… She felt a bit dissatisfied in her heart, but she didn’t want to interrupt. If she really dragged that “Stinky Blondie” away, wouldn’t it make her seem very unreasonable? She couldn’t do that…
Thinking this, she rose from the sofa and was about to leave when she was called out to by her mother, who had just walked over.
“Xiao Yuan, wait a moment, don’t go up yet.” Lin Xinyuan was a bit confused but stopped her pace. Lin’s mother pulled her by her small hand to sit on the sofa.
“Mom, what is it?”
“What? Are you bored of talking to me already?” Hearing her daughter’s question, Lin’s mother gave her a harmless tap on her head and pinched her fair, small earlobe with some dissatisfaction: “Do you have a boyfriend and forgotten your old mom? I can’t even see you except at the dinner table?”
“No… no, how could I!” Hearing her mother’s teasing, Lin Xinyuan couldn’t help but feel embarrassed, her face flushing red with guilt. She absolutely dared not admit it.
Lin’s mother rolled her eyes; she didn’t believe her daughter’s excuse at all. However, she didn’t dwell on it and instead crossed her arms, beginning to scrutinize Lin Xinyuan carefully. Those almond eyes, identical to Lin Xinyuan’s, carried a probing look, her gaze landing directly on the girl. She took her time, seemingly unwilling to miss a single detail…
This posture made Lin Xinyuan panic, and she unconsciously touched her face: “Mom… what are you… doing…”
Lin’s mother shook her head without speaking, signaling her not to interrupt, her eyes still fixed on Lin Xinyuan. Under this strange atmosphere, several minutes passed—
Finally, Lin’s mother lifted her head again, looking at her daughter with a gentle gaze. Just as Lin Xinyuan thought she could breathe a sigh of relief, her mother suddenly leaned in close to her. The first sentence out of her mouth struck her like lightning.
“Have you and Xiao Feng done ‘it’ yet?”
Lin’s mother’s voice was very low; no one else could understand except for the two of them. But for the girl at this moment, it was no less than a thunderclap, leaving her stunned on the spot, her body stiffening.
“…What… what are you talking about!” The girl’s face exploded in red. She hurriedly lowered her small head in shame, as if steam were starting to rise from the top of her head.
“It’s exactly what you’re thinking. Mom is asking Xiao Yuan—can you answer me?” Lin’s mother was clearly very concerned about this issue, so her tone was inevitably a bit urgent.
“How is that possible!” Lin Xinyuan grumbled in shame and annoyance, but because she was agitated, she couldn’t control her volume.
Not far away, the laughter at the dining table suddenly went silent… The five people, including Qin Nanfeng, all looked over curiously. The two sides locked eyes, and the scene became quite awkward…
Finally, the girl reacted. She shrunk her neck guiltily and hurriedly waved her hand at them, signaling that everything was fine. After a while, once their gazes finally shifted away, Lin Xinyuan couldn’t help but break into a cold sweat. She turned back, her small face puffed out in anger, and she looked away awkwardly: “Hmph… anyway… anyway, definitely not! Mom, don’t overthink it!”
Did she really look like someone who would give herself away so easily? She had only been a girl for a few months; how could she possibly… do that kind of strange thing so soon! Mom is really too much…
Looking at her daughter’s already flushed face, Lin’s mother sighed. She knew she wasn’t lying, but she still felt a bit uneasy.
“Fine… anyway, I don’t want to control you, you have your own thoughts…” Lin’s mother seemed to think of something and laughed softly: “As long as you two don’t produce a grandson for me before graduation. I don’t have time to help you raise a kid…”
The girl was completely choked by these words, having no idea how to refute them. The feeling of shame in her heart was about to overflow, her face so red it looked like it would drip blood. She stood up as if sitting on needles.
“…I… I’m going upstairs!” With that, regardless of what her mother might say, she fled the scene like a runaway.
Lin’s mother shook her head helplessly: “This girl…”
On the other side, the young man caught a glimpse of that shamed and indignant departing figure out of the corner of his eye and rubbed his chin thoughtfully. He couldn’t help but think of her incredibly annoyed face just now, his eyes shimmering with a mysterious smile…
“Xiao Feng, come, let’s keep drinking, let’s keep talking! After this glass, I absolutely won’t drink any more!” The old man was a bit tipsy, raising his glass to clink with him. Seeing this, Qin Nanfeng nodded with a smile, picking up his glass and holding it slightly lower to clink against his: “Okay, Grandpa, let’s keep talking.”
“You old man, it’s like this every time! One day, when the gout kills you from the pain, don’t let your son give you money for the hospital!” “This old woman, always nagging! I said it’s the last glass! Really…”