"No, Auntie, Xue Yang is both studying and working."
Lin Xi was startled. Did I do sothing wrong?
"Nonsense! I sent him to university to learn, not to make money. I originally thought he was using his spare ti to earn extra cash, but it turns out he’s actually skipping classes. I’m going to go find him."
"Auntie, please don’t..."
Zhong Hailan suddenly realized sothing. If I go looking for Xue Yang now, wouldn’t that just be telling that brat that Lin Xi was the one who told he was skipping classes to earn money?
Seeing Xiao Xi’s face turn pale with fright, Zhong Hailan quickly changed her tune.
"Xiao Xi, I’ve given it so thought. That brat has grown up, and I, as his mother, probably shouldn’t ddle so much. I’ll stay out of it. By the way, what was it you said you wanted to cook? Auntie will teach you."
"Auntie, I want to cook sothing Xue Yang likes. You’re his mother, so you must know his tastes."
"Him? He doesn’t have any particular tastes... Oh, I an, he’s not picky. You could cook him pig swill and he’d still eat it."
"Haha! Auntie, you’re so funny."
Lin Xi was amused by Zhong Hailan’s joke. It’s obvious Xue Yang has a great relationship with his parents, she thought, feeling a pang of envy.
Seeing that Lin Xi had finally smiled, Zhong Hailan said, "I rember I sent over so dried fish maw and chicken. Put those two together and stew them. I’ll tell you the steps..."
Zhong Hailan remotely guided Lin Xi through making a chicken soup. As for the other dishes, she told Lin Xi she just needed to heat them up.
Two hours later, she was finally finished. Lin Xi contentedly sniffed the fragrant aroma of food filling the air, her appetite whetted.
"Your cooking is amazing, Auntie. Just like Auntie Shen’s."
Auntie Shen? Zhong Hailan’s heart ached for the girl. Could this child have been raised by a nanny all her life? "When I get the chance," she said, "I’ll cook lots of delicious food for you."
"Auntie Zhong, you’re so kind, just like Auntie Shen."
Lin Xi’s words only further confird Zhong Hailan’s suspicion.
"As long as you don’t mind."
"Auntie, I definitely won’t mind."
Lin Xi glanced down at the ti and gasped, "Oh no, Auntie, it’s already past one! I can’t talk anymore. I have to get this lunch to Xue Yang. He must be starving."
She hurriedly took out an insulated lunch box and began packing the food.
"Xiao Xi, there’s no rush. You’ve been busy all morning, so you must be hungry too. It won’t be too late if you eat first and then take him his al."
"There’s no ti! I’ll take it over and eat with him. Auntie, I have to hang up now."
"Alright, dear. Be careful on your way."
"Okay."
Lin Xi agreed and hastily hung up the phone.
The sound of an engine rumbled outside the door. The family’s Wuling Hongguang was back.
A mont later, Xue Yuanqing strolled in with his hands behind his back. He saw Zhong Hailan standing in a daze in the kitchen and walked over to the stove. He lifted a pot lid, finding it empty. After taking a deep sniff of the air, he didn’t catch the usual aroma of a hot al. It was past one; by all rights, a hot al should have been waiting for him.
"Honey," he asked casually, "is lunch not ready yet?"
Zhong Hailan shot him a sidelong glance. "Go on, get out of here. All you think about is eating. Do I owe you a al or sothing?"
"Honey, I was just asking," Xue Yuanqing said, feeling a little hurt.
"I was teaching Xiao Xi how to cook, so I got delayed. Let’s just have so noodles."
Xue Yuanqing chuckled. "Ah, that’s fine. Honey, you go rest. I’ll cook."
Zhong Hailan remarked with a sigh, "That Xiao Xi is a really wonderful girl. You can tell she doesn’t normally cook at ho, yet she’s willing to learn just to make a al for that brat of ours."
It was only then that Xue Yuanqing processed what she had said. "What? That brat Xue Yang is making Xiao Xi cook for him? I’m going to give him a piece of my mind." As he spoke, he pulled out his phone to call Xue Yang.
Zhong Hailan hurriedly stopped him. "I only found out today from Xiao Xi. That brat has kept it from us for so long, so he obviously didn’t want us to know. Are you really going to call now and start a fight between the young couple?"
"Oh, right, right. I won’t call, I won’t call. Xiao Xi is so gentle; she’s definitely no match for that brat. But what do we do? We can’t just let her start cooking for him."
How can my precious girl be expected to cook in the kitchen? If Xue Yang were here right now, he’d definitely be in for a beating from the both of us.
Zhong Hailan said, "Xiao Xi ntioned that the brat is working. I wonder if money is tight for him. I’ll sound him out one of these days and see what’s really going on."
Xue Yuanqing fell silent for a mont, then put down the spatula. "Honey, you watch the stove. I’m going to transfer so living expenses to that brat. He should be focusing on his studies, not working."
The old couple had thought things were too easy for Xue Yang. They assud that because he was sending money ho every month, he must be earning a fortune. They had never imagined it was all earned during the ti he was supposed to be in class.
"Alright, go on. I’ll handle the cooking."
Zhong Hailan also pondered whether she should return to work. The renovation was almost complete; it just needed so cleaning and final touches to be finished.
「...」
Xue Yang’s heart was stirred when he received Lin Xi’s ssage saying she was on her way with food. He had just been thinking of asking Si Wen to order a al to be delivered to her, but Lin Xi had insisted on cooking herself and bringing it over. They were both contributing their small part for their shared ho.
Perhaps this is what it ans for two people to et each other halfway.
Just as he was lost in thought, his phone rang. He thought it was Lin Xi, but when he opened the notification, he saw it was a money transfer.
Why did Dad suddenly transfer money to ? And 200,000 all at once?
This sum of 200,000 was more than all the money he had sent them combined. To keep Xue Yuanqing and Zhong Hailan from worrying that he was neglecting his studies for money, he had only sent a modest amount ho each month—around 10,000. He had planned to increase the amount after graduation, but he never expected them to suddenly transfer a large sum back to him today.
Did sothing happen?
Just as Xue Yang was about to call back and ask, he received a ssage from Xue Yuanqing.
"Transferred 200,000 for living expenses to you."
Simple and direct, without a single wasted word. That’s my dad’s style, all right.
Xue Yang asked, "Dad, why the sudden transfer?"
"Oh, I didn’t transfer it for you. It’s for you to take good care of Xiao Xi. When you have free ti, spend more of it with her."
"Dad, I have enough money; you don’t need to send extra. The house renovations need money right now."
"The renovations are done; no more money is needed. You’re living out on your own, paying rent, and expenses are higher for two people. Don’t skimp. If it’s not enough, I’ll send you more."
Reading this ssage, Xue Yang fell into deep thought.
It seems my parents found out I’ve been skipping class to work recently.
Xue Yang mulled it over. Maybe I should just tell them the truth.
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