Unlike a certain someone in front of him who stubbornly refused to admit anything, Xiao Yan had always preferred simple, straightforward ways of expressing himself.
If he liked something, he said he liked it. If he hated something, he said he hated it.
Life already had too many twists and turns to navigate. If even communication between people had to be so roundabout, that would be far too exhausting.
Hearing this, Yao Wan unconsciously raised her delicate brows slightly. The corners of her lips lifted faintly as well, but after realizing it, she instinctively tried to suppress the smile. She gave a light cough to compose herself.
"Really?"
"Really."
Xiao Yan nodded with absolute certainty.
"Then I'm cooked too."
Yao Wan gave a soft snort. Her answer left Xiao Yan dumbfounded. Jokes like that, which sounded teasing yet ridiculous, always made people laugh and cry at once.
Xiao Yan could not help asking, "Where did you learn such a bad joke?"
"When Mother used to ask how my studies were going, whenever I said I had finished them properly, she would laugh at me like that."
Under the dim light, Xiao Yan saw that person who always unconsciously turned serious, who could even be called unsmiling to some extent, reveal a warm smile as she recalled someone important. With the faint glow of the luminous stones around the cave decorating her features, all other colors seemed to fade for a moment.
Xiao Yan's gaze paused slightly, and even his dark crimson eyes seemed to lose focus.
Naturally, Xiao Yan knew that the mother Yao Wan spoke of was not her birth mother. After all, Xiao Yan had been present during the few times they met after Yao Wan had grown up, and their relationship had always been awkward. There had