While cooking in the kitchen, Lu Qingyue occasionally glanced into the living room.
She saw Shen Xiao, Lu Han, and Lao Jiang deeply engrossed in a card game with Ah Gui.
The atmosphere she had feared would be awkward was actually quite lively.
Thank goodness Lu Han isn't acting up, she thought with a sigh of relief.
The aroma of the rib stew was already mouth-watering.
Qingyue took a large bowl and scooped out a few of the best pieces.
She wanted Shen Xiao to taste it first before her mother returned.
"Shen Xiao, try a piece. Tell me how it tastes," Qingyue said softly.
Seeing that Shen Xiao was holding cards and couldn't use his hands, Qingyue skillfully speared a piece of meat and fed it directly to him.
"Sis, I want some too!" Lu Han shouted, witnessing the scene.
"Wait a moment, we'll eat together when Mom gets home," Qingyue replied without looking back.
Lu Han let out a long sigh, feeling utterly betrayed.
"A sister who's about to get married is truly like water spilled from a bowl!"
"She doesn't even care if her brother is alive or dead before the wedding is official. What's it going to be like once she moves out?"
"Don't talk nonsense! Shen Xiao and I are just friends!" Qingyue protested, though her hand continued to feed Shen Xiao.
Friends?
You're hand-feeding him ribs and you call it 'friends'?
Sis, are you joking?
Lu Han thought gloomily.
Lao Jiang joined in too.
"I want some too, meong!"
"Yes, this is for you too, Lao Jiang," Qingyue said, giving a meaty bone to the cat.
Lu Han's eyes widened. I asked first, but the cat gets it first?!
So in your eyes, I'm lower than a cat?
"I'm not eating anymore! I'm going to my room to study!"
Shen Xiao quickly grabbed Lu Han's arm and snatched his cards.
"A pair of 3s! Why haven't you played? I still have the 5 of diamonds. Which one do you think I should drop?"
"Play the 5 of diamonds first," Lu Han suggested, his frustration instantly diverted by the game.
"Checkmate! Pay up, Boss! Your card skills are terrible, you've already lost three hundred yuan!" Lu Han shouted proudly, slamming his cards on the table.
"Yeah, my luck is just bad today," Shen Xiao groaned, feigning frustration.
In reality, Shen Xiao was losing on purpose.
It was just his subtle way of giving Lu Han some pocket money.
"Lu Han, you're pretty good at this. Teach me some tricks, will you?" Shen Xiao praised.
Ding!
[Gained Lu Han's favorability, Fate Ticket +30!]
Only 300 yuan for 30 tickets?
This is a ten-thousand-fold return on investment!
Shen Xiao thought, satisfied.
"Want to learn? Just watch how I play. This kind of talent can't be taught," Lu Han said boastfully.
But when he saw his sister returning with a bowl, he felt like he had won again.
"I guess Sis still cares about me."
But as he looked into the bowl, Lu Han's face soured again.
"Where's the meat? Why is it all bones?"
"Put the bones in a plastic bag, we'll hang them outside later. Oh, and give some to Da Huang too," Qingyue instructed.
Da Huang are the yellow dog of The Lu's family.
"Why is Da Huang remembered, but your own brother gets no meat?!" Lu Han finally gave in and began gnawing on the scraps left on the bones.
...
The card game continued.
Shen Xiao kept "losing" money while harvesting lottery tickets.
Finally, the front door opened, followed by a gust of cold wind.
A woman in heavy winter clothes stepped inside.
"Mom, you're home!" Lu Han called out.
"Mom's home... uh, I mean, Hello, Auntie!" Shen Xiao greeted reflexively.
Lu Han gave Shen Xiao a mocking look.
Earlier he said he wasn't afraid, and now he's calling her 'Mom'!
Shen Xiao cursed inwardly.
It was all Lu Han's fault for scaring him about the "Mother-in-Law" earlier.
The atmosphere suddenly turned incredibly tense, like he was facing a Grandmaster.
Mother Lin looked at the young man before her with curiosity.
"Hello, who are you?"
"This is the man my sister tricked into coming home..."
Lu Han started mischievously.
Shen Xiao immediately covered Lu Han's mouth.
"Hello, Auntie. My name is Shen Xiao. I'm Qingyue's schoolmate."
"We're currently on a mission and happened to be passing by, so I stopped in for a bit."
...
Dinner began.
The atmosphere was far from relaxed.
Lu Han and Lao Jiang ate heartily without a care in the world.
As for Shen Xiao?
Every time he tried to take a bite of rice, he felt Mother Lin's sharp gaze on him.
The pressure from that gaze felt like the aura of a Rank 9 Master!
No, even stronger!
It was the pure, unadulterated power of a mother scrutinizing a potential son-in-law.
"So, Shen Xiao..." Mother Lin began in an authoritative tone.
"You said you 'happened' to be passing by this remote village?"