Xia Mian, full of enthusiasm, linked arms with Ning Shaoyun as they headed home, only to find that Mao Huilan had already returned. Despite being only fifteen, Huilan was already skilled in many aspects of life and shared Xia Wenyue’s confidence in tackling things independently.
“Do you know how to handle that? It seems pretty difficult to manage.” Xia Mian noticed that Huilan had brought back a bucket of sheep’s offal. She herself only knew how to clean it once it was prepped.
“No problem, I’ve got this!” Mao Huilan said as she carried the offals to the kitchen. “I’ll take care of it. We’ll cook it once my mom and sister get back, but I’ll clean it up first.” With that, she rolled up her sleeves and got to work, with Mao Huizhu immediately setting aside her water gun to help her sister.
Chenchen and Xiao Feng, having never seen such strange things before, were immediately curious. “What’s this?” Chenchen poked at the large, furry lump, inquiring.
“It’s a sheep’s stomach,” Mao Huilan explained. “All the food the sheep eat ends up here.”
“Why is it in there?”
“Is this sheep’s liver? Why is it red? Wow, it’s changing color!”
“Why does it change color when it touches hot water?”
And so, the barrage of ‘why’ questions began, and Xia Mian fully experienced the terror of being bombarded with endless queries from children. Mao Huilan, probably overwhelmed, quickly assigned tasks to the three little ones, finally bringing some peace and quiet to the house.
When Aunt Wei and Xia Wenyue returned, they were greeted by the sight of three kids, each squatting by the courtyard water spout, washing the offal in their own basins. “I could hear the children’s voices from afar,” Aunt Wei said, happy to see the content smile on Ning Shaoyun’s face. “It’s been a long time since this house has been so lively. The Xia family’s children are very well-behaved.”
“I see that Chenchen has become much more lively too. He never used to be this playful,” Aunt Wei added, though she frowned slightly as she continued, “But Xiao Yun, when you go back tomorrow, will your mother-in-law…”
“It won’t happen,” Ning Shaoyun said firmly. “For Chenchen’s sake, I won’t stay in the Huo family any longer. Just look at how happy he’s been these past few days—this is how a child should be.”
“If I stay there and raise another Huo Xuewen, I’d regret it for the rest of my life.”
Aunt Wei gave a resigned smile. “Your husband isn’t a bad person.”
Ning Shaoyun didn’t comment. Over the past year, with the old master away, the Huo household had been thrown into chaos by the old lady’s relatives and friends from her hometown. It wasn’t a healthy environment for Chenchen, who was at such a crucial stage of his development.
“Besides,” Ning Shaoyun said with a laugh, watching Xia Mian play with the children, “Xia Mian will accompany me. Aunt Wei, you haven’t seen how capable she is.”
“Oh, I’ve seen it. The girl’s got quite the temper, isn’t she?”
“It’s funny,” Aunt Wei added, smiling, “when she talks, she’s so persuasive, even Mr. Huo has to listen.”
“Yes, and tomorrow the old lady will have to listen too,” Ning Shaoyun said softly, with a hint of anticipation in her voice.
Aunt Wei shook her head with a slight smile. It seemed that Ning Shaoyun herself hadn’t realized how much she had been influenced by Xia Mian.
…
Early the next morning, Xia Mian got up, washed, and dressed, purposely putting on the dress that Old Madam Huo had sent over. She had to admit that Zhou Qianqian had quite sharp eyes—the size was perfect. If she ignored the circumstances behind this ‘present,’ the quality and style of the dress were actually quite nice.
However, paired with her still-not-quite-growing hair, it looked quite out of place. Perhaps it was also part of Zhou Qianqian’s malicious intent, huh?
Xia Mian put on her white peaked cap and stared at her mismatched look in the mirror, which only made her eyes irritate.
Ning Shaoyun also couldn’t bear to look at her. “Why don’t you change into something more comfortable?” she suggested.
“No way, I must look as awful as possible to disgust them,” Xia Mian said with a mischievous grin. “Besides, I don’t have to see it myself.”
Then she confirmed, “It’s just a few of us today, right? No one else will be there, will they?”
Ning Shaoyun raised her lips sarcastically, “Huo Xuewen might make a last-minute appearance.”
Xia Mian waved her hand dismissively. In her eyes, Huo Xuewen was no different from the old lady and Zhou Qianqian—not really a person. She didn’t need to maintain her little angel image in front of them and could be a big bad villain as much as she liked!
“Oh well, then my only concern today is you, Sister Ning,” Xia Mian said with a distressed look, “please don’t look at me today.”
Ning Shaoyun was so amused by her antics and broke into laughter. This girl had a way of making everything entertaining!
Today, Xiao Feng and Chenchen were both dressed in matching green overalls with short sleeves, looking like a pair of close brothers. This was something Ning Shaoyun had specifically gone out to buy, and Xia Mian couldn’t hold back her laughter at the sight. Turns out Sister Ning had a mischievous side too!
The old lady’s reaction to seeing the ‘Huo family heir’ dressed the same as the ‘Commoner Xiao Feng’ would likely be priceless!
Xiao Feng accepted everything about Xia Mian with a happy heart, but Chenchen, who had already developed his own sense of style, squinted at Xia Mian and remarked, “Auntie Xia Mian, if you dress like that, Grandma won’t be able to eat.”
“Wow, really?” Xia Mian clapped her hands in delight. “Chenchen, you should say that more often.”
“What else do you think she’ll do?” Xia Mian asked, praying devoutly for Chenchen’s jinx attribute to come true. “Will she cry?”
Chenchen nodded confidently, “She will cry.”
Ning Shaoyun chuckled. “When Huo Xuewen shows up, it’s very likely she will.”
With Chenchen’s jinx boosting her confidence, Xia Mian declared, “Don’t worry, today she definitely won’t put any act—she will cry for real!”
Ning Shaoyun shook her head, amused.
Sure enough, Huo Xuewen didn’t show up, though he had improved slightly by calling ahead. His voice was cautious as he said, “Xiao Yun, there’s an emergency with the Chengbei project. I have to go deal with it immediately…”
“I’m sorry, I’ll send Xiao Liu to pick you up later, and I’ll…”
Ning Shaoyun gently interrupted him, “It’s okay, we can go by ourselves. You take care of your work, don’t worry about us.”
Xia Mian sighed and shook her head. This Huo Xuewen’s truly a lost cause!
Ning Shaoyun smiled, “See, I was right, wasn’t I?”
Xia Mian said, “Yes, Sister Ning, you should open that art gallery as soon as possible, spend your days painting with handsome men, and never think about him again.”
Ning Shaoyun laughed heartily. “That’s not a bad idea. I’ll think about it when we get back.”
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