Chi Wei found it rather amusing.
She was clearly his wife, the lady of this house.
Yet when he ordered her to cook for the nanny's daughter, he did so with such righteous confidence.
Noticing Chi Wei's reluctance, Yan Jingheng added, "Sister Fei's cooking isn't as good as yours. The children all love your food."
Standing at the kitchen counter, Chi Wei could still see the scene in the living room.
Yan Jingheng and Qiao Mingfei were sitting on the sofa talking. Whatever they were discussing, Qiao Mingfei was laughing so hard she was shaking.
Yan Zhilang was crouched on the floor playing with his toy train. Qiao Shiyue tried several times to join him, but Zhilang kept avoiding her.
In the end, Qiao Shiyue ran tearfully to Qiao Mingfei and was then scooped up into Yan Jingheng's arms.
The three of them huddled together looked more like a family of three.
Chi Wei was scoring the chicken wings when, distracted, the knife slipped and cut her finger, drawing blood.
She hurried out to find a band-aid, disturbing the people on the sofa. The three of them fell silent at once. For a moment, the entire living room was eerily quiet, the atmosphere particularly strange.
Yan Jingheng was the first to react. He noticed Chi Wei's injury, handed Qiao Shiyue back to Qiao Mingfei, and fetched the first aid kit. "How could you be so careless? Does it hurt?"
Chi Wei slightly curled her finger, shook her head, and took the band-aid from his hand herself.
Lunch was soon ready.
As usual, Yan Jingheng went to the kitchen to help Chi Wei bring out the dishes. In contrast, Qiao Mingfei, the nanny, had already taken Qiao Shiyue to the dining table early.
Her joining the table with Qiao Shiyue was something Yan Jingheng had allowed ever since they first moved in.
Yan Jingheng brought the last dish to the table. Chi Wei was washing her hands in the kitchen when Aunt Liu, the family's original nanny, approached her and whispered, "The meal was prepared by the madam. Now, before the madam has even sat down, that little girl has already started eating. That's really lacking in manners."
Chi Wei had seen it too. Yan Jingheng himself had served the food to her.
All of this must have been with his permission.
A bitter taste rose in her throat, and the wound under the band-aid throbbed faintly. Chi Wei said, "Sister Fei has done Jingheng a great favor. Aunt Liu, please don't say such things again."
Qiao Shiyue's bowl was already piled high with food, while Yan Zhilang's was empty. Qiao Mingfei said softly, "Young Master, why aren't you eating? Are you still upset with Yueyue? Should I have Yueyue eat outside?"
Hearing this, Yan Jingheng shot Yan Zhilang a glare. "I already told you yesterday's incident wasn't Yueyue's fault. Don't make a fuss anymore."
"That's not it! I'm waiting for Mom to eat together," Yan Zhilang retorted loudly. Perhaps feeling wronged, tears welled up in his eyes.
Qiao Mingfei quickly apologized.
The dining table descended into chaos.
Chi Wei felt uncomfortable watching this. She brought over the sweet and sour spare ribs she had specially made for Yan Zhilang. "Zhi Lang isn't in a good mood. I'll take him to eat in his room."
Yan Jingheng didn't object, but Qiao Mingfei spoke up again, "Madam, maybe we should be the ones to leave. We…"
"You're almost finished eating. Just stay," Chi Wei said, her tone hardening slightly, unable to bear Qiao Mingfei's fearful demeanor.
Once inside the children's room, she asked Zhilang, "Zhi Lang, don't you like Shiyue? If you really don't like her…"
She wanted to say that if Zhi Lang really didn't want to get along with Qiao Shiyue, she could find a way to make Qiao Shiyue leave.
Zhi Lang said, "No, Mom. Dad said Yueyue is very pitiful. It's just that she cries too much, and I don't like playing with her."
"Then should we make her leave?" Chi Wei asked again.
Zhi Lang hesitated for a moment but finally shook his head. "No need, Mom. I can just ignore her."
Dad had spoken to him privately several times. Aunt Feifei had helped Dad when he was young, so he should be good to Aunt Feifei. Although he didn't really like that crybaby, he hadn't thought about driving her away.
Zhi Lang had always been exceptionally sensible since he was little. He often acted like a small adult and could even comfort Chi Wei in return.
Chi Wei asked a few more times, but seeing that Zhi Lang wasn't really that resistant to Qiao Shiyue, she had to let it go.
After lunch, Zhi Lang took Chi Wei's hand and asked, "Mom, last time you promised that if I got first place in arithmetic at kindergarten, you'd buy me a puppy. Does that still count?"
"Of course it counts. But before buying the puppy, Zhi Lang has to promise Mom that you'll take good care of it. You can't lose interest after just three minutes like with other toys, okay?" Chi Wei patiently guided him.
Zhi Lang obediently agreed, "Don't worry, Mom. I remember everything you've told me before. A puppy is a living being. Once we bring it home, we have to take responsibility for it."
"Well said. Then let's go pick out a puppy now, okay?" Chi Wei said.
Chi Wei never broke her promises to Zhi Lang.
That afternoon, she took him directly to the kennel.
In the end, Zhi Lang chose a West Highland White Terrier.
The puppy was still too young and had to stay at the kennel for another month before they could take it home.
When they returned, Zhi Lang was reluctant to leave, eagerly looking forward to bringing the puppy home sooner.
Chi Wei promised to take him to the kennel every weekend to see the puppy, which made him feel a little better.
When Qiao Shiyue saw them return, she proactively came over to greet them, tugging on Zhi Lang's arm and saying, "Brother Lang, where did you go to play today? Can you take Yueyue with you next time?"
Zhi Lang gently pulled his hand back and didn't answer Qiao Shiyue's question.
Qiao Shiyue didn't seem embarrassed either and continued chattering to Zhi Lang as she trotted alongside him.
Seeing that there was no conflict between the two children, Chi Wei went upstairs to handle her work.
She was busy until evening when she faintly heard commotion from the living room. Yan Jingheng was carrying Qiao Shiyue and hurrying outside, with Qiao Mingfei following closely behind, looking anxious.
None of them noticed Chi Wei. The sound of the car engine soon faded into the distance. Chi Wei asked Aunt Liu about it.
Aunt Liu said, "It's that Qiao girl. She seems to have caught a cold. She kept sneezing earlier, and when Sir came back, he insisted on taking her to the hospital for a check-up."
Aunt Liu was usually talkative, and with no one else around, she really opened up: "Sir is really taking good care of that Qiao mother and daughter. Last time, when the young master bumped his head, he wasn't this nervous."
What Aunt Liu said echoed Chi Wei's own thoughts.
Yan Jingheng remembered the kindness and usually took care of Qiao Mingfei, but now he seemed even more concerned about Qiao Mingfei's daughter than about Zhi Lang. This seemed a bit excessive.
Seeing Chi Wei's expression darken, Aunt Liu realized she had spoken out of turn and quickly busied herself with her work.
Chi Wei looked at the wall clock, feeling somewhat uneasy.
The clock hand pointed to ten.
Yan Jingheng had not yet returned. He called to say Qiao Shiyue needed to be hospitalized, and Qiao Mingfei couldn't handle it alone, so he had to stay and keep her company.
Finally, he said, "Wei Wei, don't wait for me. Take good care of Zhi Lang at home."