Chapter 80: Dumplings

Actually, this meal wasn’t the luxurious feast Zhu Niao had imagined.

It was just a simple, ordinary dinner—almost excessively plain dumplings.

Steamed dumplings, pan-fried dumplings, boiled dumplings.

Zhu Niao was quite relieved that earlier, when the store manager asked her if she wanted something sweet or savory, she hadn’t impulsively said sweet.

Sweet dumplings… was something she just couldn’t picture.

In truth, this batch of dumplings was quite delicious. After all, Zhu Niao’s only previous experience with dumplings was frozen ones, and the handmade variety was worlds apart in both texture and taste.

Not to mention, this was cooked by the head chef of the Gou family.

However, someone was definitely suffering—like Gou Yu, sitting next to her, covering his mouth and desperately trying not to vomit.

The store manager had kept her word. She said she would help discipline Gou Yu, and she was doing exactly that.

Now, Gou Yu’s bowl was stuffed full of various long, soft, boiled things.

They looked like items that, if seen in public, would need to be pixelated—but here they were, boldly displayed in his bowl.

“Can’t I just eat dumplings?” Gou Yu asked, his face twisted in pain.

Though he hadn’t eaten a single bite yet, he already felt a storm brewing in his stomach.

“No, you have to eat them.”

The voice came from Gou Yu’s mother.

At this moment, the noble lady had completely hidden any trace of affection in her eyes, replaced only by boundless coldness—like she was looking at a criminal sentenced to punishment, not her own son.

First, she cast an apologetic glance at Zhu Niao beside her, then her gaze turned stern and resentful as it fell back on Gou Yu.

“How did your father and I end up giving birth to such a useless child like you?!”

That was a harsh sentence. Since his birth, Gou Yu had never heard such serious words from his parents.

“Huh?” Gou Yu was stunned.

“Three minutes. Three minutes, you hear me?” The noble lady was trembling with anger, and the store manager beside her kept nodding in agreement.

Apparently, the girl with the reddish-brown hair nearby had fed the noble lady some information, which had riled her up so much.

In Gou Yu’s mother’s eyes, the relationship between her beloved son and Zhu Niao was already set in stone. At this point, she treated Zhu Niao like her daughter-in-law.

Across the table, not only Gou Yu but even Zhu Niao was completely baffled.

“Did I do something wrong? What’s this about three minutes?” Gou Yu leaned toward Zhu Niao and whispered a secret only they could hear.

“How should I know?” Zhu Niao’s gaze flickered repeatedly between Gou Yu and his mother on the other side of the table. “Do you think she might suddenly start hitting you?”

Zhu Niao’s greatest fear was visiting classmates’ or friends’ homes, only for the parents to suddenly discipline them with harsh family rules.

At moments like those, she always had to choose between being well-behaved or standing by her friend.

Usually, she chose to make up an excuse and escape, only to be drowned in endless guilt later.

“Birdie, don’t worry. Mom will set things right for you. Today, this stinky brat will definitely learn where he went wrong.”

The noble lady glared viciously at the helpless Gou Yu as she spoke.

“Huh?” Zhu Niao was still dazed.

Why did it sound like Gou Yu had done something to wrong her?

Had he?

The only thing that had annoyed her was him meeting the store manager behind her back. But wasn’t that already proven to be a misunderstanding?

Before she could react, Gou Yu’s mother lightly tapped the table: “Are you going to eat or not?”

Gou Yu looked troubled. “It’s not that I don’t want to, I really can’t eat it. Even if I close my eyes and swallow it down, my body will just react and throw it back up.”

Zhu Niao watched as her fearless, usually unshakable good brother shrank back now.

“Then switch him to another bowl.”

“Okay.” The girl with reddish-brown hair made a ‘got it’ gesture and promptly brought over another small bowl, placing it in front of Gou Yu.

Zhu Niao and Gou Yu both leaned forward to peek into the small bowl.

They both froze.

Within what they could recognize were various kinds of kidneys. Compared to the previous bowl, these were much easier to accept.

“Can I…?” Gou Yu weakly raised his hand in front of everyone at the table.

“Then you eat what’s in the first bowl.” The noble lady’s expression was cold, like a judge sitting on high.

Gou Yu quickly lowered his hand. “I’ll eat it now.”

Only when she saw her beloved son actually start eating the culinary feast did the noble lady’s face break into a smile again. She then looked over at Zhu Niao.

“Birdie, don’t worry. It won’t happen again. I know how to handle these things.”

Zhu Niao was momentarily stunned. She didn’t care about the overly intimate nickname, but she was still completely confused about what exactly Gou Yu had done wrong.

She just gave a dull reply.

Then she saw Gou Yu’s mother push the strange, uneaten bowl over to Gou Yu’s father.

Gou Yu’s father, who had been quietly eating dumplings, hadn’t taken part in the conversation. Now, he stiffly lifted his head.

He glanced at the noble lady beside him and clearly saw his lifelong partner licking her lips.

He shook his head: “No.”

The noble lady nodded firmly: “Yes.”

“No no no no!”

Gou Yu’s father suddenly said several denials in a row, then dropped his chopsticks and scrambled to leave the dining room.

The noble lady remained seated, motionless, then lightly clapped her hands. Two servants appeared out of nowhere and forcibly dragged the old man back to the table.

Zhu Niao glanced at Gou Yu, still struggling to swallow the fatty kidneys, and the store manager, who was still calmly eating dumplings. Neither seemed surprised by the scene.

Is this what they meant by every family has their own secrets?

“Xiao Zhu-jie, are you full? Want some more?” the store manager asked Zhu Niao.

“No, no, I’m good.”

The dumplings were very good.

The Gou family certainly had more than just dumplings to offer; the dishes they could make far exceeded what Zhu Niao could imagine.

This meal had only one meaning—only family would gather together to eat dumplings.

It had been a long time since she’d felt this way.

Eating without fear or worry, without fearing that any action would disappoint or anger her parents.

Here was only infinite acceptance, holding her gently in the palm of a hand.

Zhu Niao glanced at Gou Yu beside her, still struggling to swallow the greasy kidneys.

Truly, thanks to him, she had tasted all this happiness.

Maybe this guy was like the Great Sage Equal to Heaven riding on a lucky rainbow cloud just for her.

“Xiao Zhu-jie.” The store manager’s voice lowered beside her. “This is for you.”

A black card was pressed into Zhu Niao’s hand.

She had thought things like this only existed in novels.

“Mom and Dad gave it to you. Use it as you please. Even if your brother starves outside, you absolutely cannot go hungry. You look even thinner than me, so eat more.”

The girl with reddish-brown hair smiled brightly and winked at Zhu Niao.

Of course, Zhu Niao would never let Gou Yu starve.

Looking up, she saw Gou Yu’s mother smiling kindly at her, while Gou Yu and his father were both eating like they’d lost all sense of self.

So familiar, so warm a feeling.

This had to be what home felt like.