No matter how much they pleaded, they couldn’t get the girl to take the boy back home. After discussing it, the couple decided to simply invite their next-door neighbors over for dinner that evening.
Feeling embarrassed that their daughter had “stolen” their neighbor’s son, Xu Shu went out of her way to prepare a lavish table of dishes.
Ning Wanwan also felt it was a bit inappropriate to bother the neighbors on their very first day in the new house, so she brought a gift with her.
“You’re being too polite! Just come on in—why bring anything?” Xu Shu warmly welcomed them into the house.
“It’s us—mother and son—who are being so bold as to bother you. Has that little rascal caused any trouble yet? ” Ning Wanwan was worried that her little rascal might have quietly torn the place apart, which would make neighborly relations difficult in the future.
“No, no, Yan Yan’s been very well-behaved,” Xu Shu hurriedly replied.
“Where’s Yan Yan’s dad? Why didn’t he come over with you?” Noticing that Ning Wanwan was alone, Xu Shu asked offhand.
Ning Wanwan: “His dad isn’t in the country right now. Yan Yan and I moved out on our own.”
Xu Shu looked at Ning Wanwan and little Yan Yan—mother and son with faces so strikingly alike they could be celebrities—and thought to herself, “That man must have a lot of nerve. With such a beautiful wife and son, he actually feels comfortable letting the two of them live out here on their own.”
But after all, it was their private business, so she didn’t want to pry!
Ning Wanwan, unaware of Xu Shu’s thoughts, glanced at the food on the table and said cheerfully, “It smells so good! Looks like we’re in for a treat today. I just feel so bad for putting you through all this trouble!”
Xu Shu: “Not at all. These are just some home-cooked dishes. I didn’t know what you liked, so I just threw something together. I hope you don’t mind.”
Ning Wanwan looked at the table laden with food and said, “You’re being too modest. ” She herself couldn’t have managed to cook a feast like this.
That little rascal had been eating nothing but takeout while living with her lately.
And he was a picky eater to boot.
So much so that when she was looking for an apartment, her top priority was whether there were any good, healthy restaurants nearby.
Xu Shu: “Then make sure to eat plenty later.”
Ning Wanwan: “Alright, I won’t hold back then.”
At the dinner table.
The two little ones sat close together.
Jiang Xian held a small bowl in one hand and a spoon in the other, eating heartily bite by bite. As for Shen Yan, the food in his bowl had barely been touched.
“Meatball!”
Jiang Xian glanced at Shen Yan, then at his own bowl. Holding the spoon, she scooped up a meatball and held it to his lips.
Shen Yan opened his mouth in response.
Jiang Xian couldn’t help but laugh. She scooped up another spoonful of fish and held it out to him, saying, “Open wide!”
Shen Yan opened his mouth again.
Xu Shu, sitting nearby, couldn’t help but chuckle. “This little girl is usually so protective of her food. This is the first time I’ve seen her willing to share with someone else.”
Ning Wanwan shot her own little one a glance.
The little guy wasn’t exactly protective of his food, but he was a picky eater—usually refusing this or that at mealtime.
Right now, though, he wasn’t being picky at all; he’d eat whatever the young girl fed him.
He even swallowed the fish meat he usually hated the most without batting an eye.
Hmm, maybe she should consider taking up swimming?
After dinner, Ning Wanwan told Shen Yan it was time to go home.
Jiang Xian slid right off her stool, wrapped her arms tightly around Shen Yan, and refused to let go no matter what.
“Xianxian’s.”
“Well…”
Xu Shu looked awkwardly at Ning Wanwan and suggested, “Why don’t we let Yan Yan stay at my place for the night?”
Judging by the situation, there was no way they’d be able to separate the two little ones tonight.
Not only was the whole family freeloading on food and drinks next door, but she was also asking them to look after her son.
How could she possibly accept that?
Glancing at her own little boy, he stood there completely unfazed, showing absolutely no intention of leaving.
So he really did want to stay.
Ning Wanwan felt both exasperated and amused.
All these years of raising him for nothing—the moment a little girl took his hand, he was so giddy he didn’t even want his own mother anymore.
Looking at the little rascal’s carefree expression, Ning Wanwan couldn’t help but joke, “I can see this kid doesn’t want to leave either. Why don’t we just give him to your family?”
“That sounds great.”
Xu Shu also smiled and said, “This child is so handsome; just looking at him makes you love him. It’s not just Xianxian who doesn’t want him to leave—I want to keep him here too. Don’t go back; just stay and be our son.”
Ning Wanwan: “Sounds good to me. Actually, forget being a son—just make him your future son-in-law!”
“What’s a son-in-law?,” little Jiang Xian asked, tilting her head up.
Ning Wanwan replied with a smile, “It’s someone who spends every day with Xianxian.”
The little girl’s eyes lit up immediately. “Does he play with Xianxian every day?”
“That’s right, he’ll play with Xianxian every day!” Ning Wanwan nodded with a smile.
The little girl immediately reached out happily and hugged the little boy Shen Yan beside her, saying, “Xianxian wants Yan Yan to be my ‘zhuì xù'[1] A traditional custom where a man marries into the bride’s family and lives with her parents jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_2393612_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_2393612_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });.”
“Sure, Auntie agrees!”
Little Shen Yan, standing nearby, shot Ms. Ning Wanwan a blank look.
Shouldn’t she have asked his opinion before selling him off?
Ning Wanwan noticed her little one’s displeased gaze, raised an eyebrow, and said to him, “Either come home with me now, or I’ll take it as your consent to stay here and become their son-in-law. It’s your choice!”
“No way, stay! Stay!”
Jiang Xian panicked the moment he heard this, wrapping both arms tightly around Shen Yan and refusing to let go.
Those big eyes were brimming with tears, looking as if sobs might burst out at any moment.
Shen Yan pressed his pink lips together, saying nothing.
“If you don’t say anything, I’ll take that as your consent!” Ning Wanwan grinned mischievously as she tucked away her phone, which she’d secretly opened to record the scene.
Hehe, the little brat agreed to this all on his own.
That night, the two little ones, freshly washed, fell asleep hand in hand on Jiang Xian’s pink princess bed.
A golden retriever was curled up by the bed.
And a toad was lying on the headboard.
“Yan Yan, can you tell me a story?”
Little Jiang Xian had only been lying down for a moment before she climbed back up, blinking her big, round eyes as she stared at Shen Yan.
“Mm-hmm!”
“Then tell me a story!”
Jiang Xian quickly slid off the bed, picked up a storybook from the nightstand, handed it to Shen Yan, then climbed back onto the bed, placed her little hands on her chest, and lay down obediently.
Shen Yan opened the storybook and read it aloud to Jiang Xian.
Before the story was even finished, Jiang Xian had fallen asleep.
Shen Yan put the storybook away, his gaze falling on the toad by the bedside. He grabbed one of the toad’s legs and emotionlessly tossed it onto the dog’s head.
“Croak—”
Both the dog and the frog opened their eyes at the same time, but quickly closed them again.
With the eyesore out of the way, Shen Yan finally lay down contentedly beside Jiang Xian.
In the middle of the night, Xu Shu, worried, pushed the door open to take a peek. Seeing the two little ones sleeping soundly with their heads pressed together, she couldn’t help but smile as she slipped back out.
The next morning, Xu Shu went to wake the two little ones, only to catch sight of a large wet patch on the bedsheet behind the little girl.
“Jiang Xianxian, did you wet the bed again?”
The little girl sat up in bed, rubbing her eyes sleepily. Upon hearing her mother’s words, she froze for a moment.
However, after just a second, she glanced at Shen Yan sleeping beside her and, without a second thought, shifted the blame onto him.
“It was Yan Yan who wet the bed.”
Little Shen Yan had just opened his eyes when he was stunned by the sudden accusation.
References[+]