"Thanks! I’m off." Eager to find a restaurant for lunch, Lin Li said to Su Yue, then got back into the driver’s seat, started the car, and drove away.
’Sigh, what a blockhead. Other guys give girls flowers or cake, but you... last ti it was vegetables, and this ti, it’s a speckled hen...’
Su Yue muttered to herself as she watched the van drive away, then turned and went back into her residential complex.
As Su Yue headed back into the complex, she failed to notice a luxury sedan parked on the opposite side of the street, not far from the entrance.
Inside the car, a dignified and refined-looking middle-aged man watched with a solemn expression as the distant figure, holding a red plastic bag, disappeared back into the complex.
Sitting beside the middle-aged man was a beautiful, ageless-looking woman. She shot her husband an exasperated look.
"Are you getting out? What’s on your mind?" Zheng Qiuyi asked, feigning ignorance even though she knew exactly what her husband was thinking.
The scene replayed endlessly in Su Chen’s mind: his precious daughter, a happy smile on her face, accepting the young man’s gift and then giving him sothing in return.
His wife’s voice snapped him out of it. "It’s nothing."
Seeing his boss was about to get out, the driver quickly hopped out of his seat to open the door for him. He then opened the trunk and retrieved his boss’s luggage.
"Chen, find a place to stay in the city for now. We’ll call you when we’re ready to head back," Su Chen instructed his driver.
"Yes, Boss." The driver nodded, returned to the driver’s seat, and drove the expensive sedan away.
The couple pulled their suitcases, crossed the street, and headed toward their daughter’s complex.
On the way, a preoccupied Su Chen couldn’t help but ask his wife, "Was that the young man you ntioned just now? The one nad Lin Li you saw at Xiaoyue’s house?"
"Mhm," Zheng Qiuyi nodded, adding curiously, "Last ti, that young man gave Xiaoyue a bag of vegetables. I wonder what he brought her this ti."
"Last ti it was vegetables, so this ti it’s probably a chicken, duck, or fish," Su Chen said offhandedly.
’Eh... A chicken, duck, or fish?’ Zheng Qiuyi wasn’t so sure.
The couple chatted as they walked. As they neared the complex entrance, the security guard on duty in the booth saw them approaching. He was about to step out to stop them and ask if they were residents...
...but he imdiately dropped the idea when they got closer. He recognized the beautiful woman of the pair; she had visited the complex before.
Although he had only seen her once, a woman that beautiful was hard to forget. He later heard from a colleague that she was Miss Su’s mother.
...
In the kitchen, Su Yue had just added salt to the soup she was making when the doorbell rang.
CLICK.
After turning off the gas stove, Su Yue hurried to the entryway.
CLICK.
She opened the door to find two familiar figures standing outside. Still in her apron, Su Yue’s face blossod into a smile as she called out to them.
"Dad, Mom, co in! I just finished making lunch! Your timing is perfect!"
The couple ca inside, and Su Yue took a pair of house slippers from the shoe cabinet and set them down for her parents.
"It slls wonderful! What delicious thing are you making for lunch?" Zheng Qiuyi asked with a smile as she slipped on the slippers.
"I made five dishes and a soup. As for what they are, you’ll have to go to the dining room to see. They’re all your and Dad’s favorites," Su Yue said to her mother with a smile, then turned to her father.
"Dad, give the suitcase. I’ll put it in the bedroom for you. You and Mom go eat in the dining room." Su Yue took the suitcase from her father and headed toward the room she had prepared for her parents.
"Ask her later what that young man, Lin Li, gave her," Su Chen whispered to his wife after their daughter disappeared into the room with the suitcase.
"If you want to know, why don’t you ask her yourself!" Zheng Qiuyi chuckled at her husband.
"..." Su Chen was afraid that asking would make his daughter feel like he was ddling in her life.
"Let’s eat first. I’ll find a chance to ask her later." Seeing her husband’s helpless expression, Zheng Qiuyi stopped teasing him, took his arm, and led him toward the dining room.
After putting away her parents’ suitcase, Su Yue ca out of the room. As she entered the dining room, she saw her mother dishing out rice. She went into the kitchen and began to ladle the corn and pork rib soup from the pressure cooker.
The family of three sat down, chatting happily as they ate the sumptuous lunch.
Su Chen felt overjoyed eating the delicious dishes his daughter had cooked. As he was starting to feel full, he shot his wife a aningful look.
After so many years of marriage, Zheng Qiuyi instantly understood the signal.
In a casual tone, she asked her daughter, who was in the middle of drinking her corn and pork rib soup.
"Xiaoyue, when your father and I got out of the car earlier, we saw that young man, Lin Li. It looked like he was giving you sothing?"
"Huh?!!" Su Yue, who had been drinking her soup, froze at her mother’s words.
She hadn’t realized that when she’d gone downstairs to the complex entrance to pick sothing up, her parents had already arrived nearby and had seen her take sothing from Lin Li.
She put down her soup spoon and replied nonchalantly.
"Oh, him. He brought a cleaned speckled hen. It’s a good size, probably free-range. I’ll stew half of it tonight so you and Dad can see how it tastes."
Su Chen had just been guessing when he’d said Lin Li might have brought a chicken, duck, or fish. Hearing his daughter’s words now, a look of surprise flashed in his eyes. He couldn’t believe his offhand comnt had actually been correct.
"..." In contrast to Su Chen’s surprise, Zheng Qiuyi, the mother, couldn’t help but have a thought similar to her daughter’s.
’This Lin Li is quite a character!
Shouldn’t young n these days be giving girls flowers or pretty jewelry? Why does he keep giving her ingredients!
Is it because our daughter is such a good cook that he thinks she prefers ingredients over other gifts?’
"Ahem." Su Chen cleared his throat and shot his wife another look. She blinked, then said casually.
"Xiaoyue, since you’re making chicken soup tonight, why don’t you invite Lin Li over to eat with us?"
"Er..." Hearing her mother suggest inviting Lin Li over for dinner again, how could Su Yue not know what her mom was up to? She imdiately offered up the excuse she’d prepared in advance.
"Mom, Lin Li has been really busy lately. He doesn’t have ti!"
"It’s just dinner, it won’t take much ti," Zheng Qiuyi said.
"Even dinner takes ti, and he’s really busy right now..." Su Yue insisted.
"For soone so busy, he still managed to find ti in the middle of the day to bring you sothing..." Zheng Qiuyi said with a chuckle.
"Er... he just had a little ti at noon, and he was passing by the complex anyway, so... Oh, Mom, that’s just how it is. He doesn’t have ti..."
Su Yue gave her mother a vague explanation before picking up her soup spoon and returning to her soup.
Seeing their daughter’s reaction, the couple imdiately understood.
They exchanged a look and dropped the subject of having their daughter invite Lin Li over for dinner.
...
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