A Silly Family

Su Nanxiu wanted to gossip about An Nuan and Liu Yuewang, but Liu Chang'an wasn't interested. The more he talked to Su Nanxiu, the more interested she would become, which wasn't a good thing.

An Nuan and Liu Yuewang are just ordinary people.

Liu Chang'an is just an ordinary eighteen-year-old boy. What's wrong with him choosing an equally ordinary pretty girl from school as his girlfriend?

"Whether you've eaten or not, I haven't eaten. I'm going home for dinner." Liu Chang'an waved goodbye as he walked out.

At the hotel where Li Hongfang worked, we drank Gao Yening's flower tea and had some small snacks, barely enough to fill a tooth gap.

Liu Chang'an braved the cold winter night wind and returned home.

Zhou Shuling bought an electric heated table and placed it in his living room.

Liu Chang'an was not afraid of the cold, but Zhou Dongdong often watched TV or did homework downstairs. His house always had the windows open, so the temperature difference between the inside and outside was not significant. Zhou Shuling saw an electric heating table today and bought one.

But the one who seemed to be enjoying herself the most was Shangguan Dandan. She had most of her body under the electric heater, with only her head sticking out as she lay back watching TV, her eyes half-open and half-closed, holding her beloved thermos in her arms, like a lazy cat by the stove in winter.

"Dongdong said that this is the most comfortable way to sit next to an electric heating table." Shangguan Dandan explained to Liu Chang'an that her paralyzed posture did not diminish the Empress Dowager's elegance.

Liu Chang'an nodded.

An electric heated table is a table-shaped heating device with a built-in heating module on the tabletop and a footrest panel at the bottom of the legs, which also has a built-in heating module. Multiple heating modes can be selected.

The electric heating table was covered with a thermal blanket, completely covering all sides. At this moment, a corner of the blanket was lifted, and Zhou Dongdong peeked out. Seeing that Liu Chang'an hadn't brought back any good food, he climbed back in.

"Is there anything to eat?" Liu Chang'an asked Zhou Shuling, who was sitting to the side.

"You haven't eaten yet? It's already this late." Zhou Shuling was about to stand up. "Dan Dan ate dinner upstairs tonight. I saved half a bowl of cured beef. Shall I cut some chicken for you?"

"No."

Liu Chang'an placed his hands on Zhou Shuling's shoulders to stop her from moving, glanced at her from behind, and couldn't help but laugh, "Makeup tutorial."

"What's so funny?" Zhou Shuling was a little embarrassed, but it was clearly his problem. What's so funny about a woman looking at a makeup tutorial?

"It's not funny. My smile means encouragement and expectation." Liu Chang'an patted her shoulder encouragingly. "You keep watching, I'll go get the beef myself."

"Whatever you want," Zhou Shuling said reproachfully. She didn't see any encouragement, but she could feel the expectation, though it wasn't a good thing.

Liu Chang'an went upstairs to Zhou Shuling's kitchen, took the half bowl of cured beef, heated it in the microwave, and then went downstairs to his own kitchen to get leftover rice, eggs, and fermented black beans to make fried rice.

The fermented black beans we're using now were used to pay off a debt of fifteen yuan owed by Old Lady Liu from our family when we were playing cards.

The fermented black beans that Liu Chang'an made himself cannot be eaten yet. Once sealed in jars, they can only be opened after at least a year. The longer they are sealed, the stronger the aroma and the richer the flavor will be.

Liu Chang'an carried a large soup bowl filled with rice and sat down next to the electric heated table.

Zhou Dongdong crawled out from underneath and peered over the edge of the table.

"You eat first." Liu Chang'an put down his bowl.

Zhou Dongdong ran to the kitchen, took out a small bowl, and held it high with both hands.

Liu Chang'an took the small bowl and gave her some of it.

"You've already eaten three bowls of rice tonight," Zhou Shuling said to Zhou Dongdong.

"I ate three bowls of white rice for dinner, but this is fried rice with meat. You can eat three bowls of fried rice too." Zhou Dongdong said that white rice and fried rice are not the same thing and do not conflict with each other.

"I'm only giving you this one bowl. Don't you remember the time you ate too much and your intestines almost burst?" Liu Chang'an said.

"My intestines are ruptured?" Zhou Dongdong was startled. It seemed like something like that had happened before, but she couldn't remember clearly.

"I reconnected it for you later."

"How did you connect it?" Zhou Dongdong looked down and touched her belly.

"Like a knot in a rope."

"Aww..." Zhou Dongdong accurately expressed her gratitude and lingering fear.

"Dongdong is so silly, so cute." Shangguan Dandan chuckled as she touched her thermos.

Liu Chang'an's gaze swept over the three people in front of him, finally settling on Shangguan Dandan. He was particularly impressed by Shangguan Dandan's lack of self-awareness, yet she still had the nerve to laugh at others... But they were all pretty much the same.

After finishing her meal, Zhou Dongdong ate the three slices of beef that Liu Chang'an fed her, put the small bowl back in the kitchen, and then crawled under the electric heater again.

After Liu Chang'an finished eating a bowl of rice, he lifted the blanket covering the electric heater table and peeked out. Zhou Dongdong was sitting with her legs close to Shangguan Dandan's, reading a book with a small flashlight in her hand.

What a wonderful child who loves learning!

Liu Chang'an ignored her, put down the blanket, and looked up at Shangguan Dandan.

"Would you like some of my effervescent water?" Shangguan Dandan patted the thermos and asked. She was quite wealthy now, and instead of just one effervescent tablet when making a large pot of water, she used to use three.

After adding three slices, Shangguan Dandan found that it tasted much better than the first time.

Liu Chang'an shook his head. Zhou Dongdong told Shangguan Dandan that sitting paralyzed in front of the electric heating table was the correct posture because when Shangguan Dandan sat like this, Zhou Dongdong had a comfortable angle to lean against Shangguan Dandan's legs.

Zhou Dongdong finally showed some cleverness and successfully fooled the foolish Empress Dowager.

Liu Chang'an was very pleased.

"From now on, I'll give you the endearing nickname 'foolish,' while 'witty and brave' belongs to Zhou Dongdong," Liu Chang'an said to Shangguan Dandan.

"You're the stupid one." Shangguan Dandan wanted to touch the thermos again, but her hand automatically unscrewed the lid, poured herself a cup of effervescent water, and drank it.

"Did you take any selfies after you put on makeup today?" Liu Chang'an then turned to Zhou Shuling.

"No." Zhou Shuling slapped away the hand that reached for her phone, then continued watching the makeup tutorial. She had washed her face promptly after practicing with Shangguan Dandan today.

The three of them sat around the electric heating table, with one person under the table, chatting idly. Later, Zhou Dongdong insisted on sleeping under the electric heating table that night, but Zhou Shuling dragged her back.

Liu Chang'an was also going to sleep. He lay in bed and texted An Nuan for a while. Later, An Nuan sent him some photos she had taken in the past two days... all of them were her own.

So Liu Chang'an chatted with her energetically until later, before agreeing to have breakfast together the next morning, saying goodnight to each other, and going to sleep.