I Like Older Women

"I want to sit with Big Brother Shen!"

Once the food was ready, Xia Mengmeng eagerly pushed over her exclusive cartoon stool, waving her arms and dancing as she sat down beside Shen Lang.

This adorable gesture made Xia Shuyi smile. "Look at that. They say daughters are their mothers' little padded jackets, but it hasn't been long at all and she's already siding with an outsider."

Shen Lang rather liked the little girl too. He raised his hand and placed a piece of Sweet and Sour Pork Ribs in her bowl. The little girl ate with great delight, her round eyes narrowing into slits.

Watching the two interact so intimately, Xia Shuyi revealed a gratified, contented smile. For some reason, she sensed the warm atmosphere of something called a home.

There were quite a few lonely women like Xia Shuyi in materialistic Jianghai City—single mothers who had returned to their family homes.

They had luxury houses worth millions, expensive sports cars, and wealth that ordinary people could only dream of possessing in a lifetime, yet they lacked love and family affection.

Faced with lavish furnishings and enormous, frighteningly empty homes, they instead carried an inescapable sense of loneliness in their hearts.

They longed to be like most ordinary women, to gain a sense of belonging in a normal family and the feeling of being able to rely on a man.

Yet their excessively abundant assets could only attract one scheming man after another.

In such an environment, though they gradually became numb and grew accustomed to facing this materialistic society alone,

deep down, they still hoped that a man who could ease the emptiness in their hearts would appear.

To Xia Shuyi, the somewhat shy yet extremely sincere young man before her seemed to be precisely the man she favored.

Ding! Xia Shuyi's Favorability toward the host has increased by 10 points. Current Favorability: 40 points. Please keep up the good work!

Shen Lang nearly choked on a mouthful of rice. He had not done anything, so why had the Landlady's Favorability risen so much?

After dinner, Xia Shuyi began clearing the table.

Given Xia Shuyi's financial circumstances, she could easily hire a nanny to take care of the daily lives of her and her daughter.

However, nannies had received rather poor reviews lately. Xia Shuyi cared most about her precious daughter and did not want outsiders interfering in the lives of the two of them.

So she took on all these everyday chores herself.

"Sister Xia, let me help."

Shen Lang rolled up his sleeves, intending to lend a hand, but Xia Shuyi smiled and shook her head, giving him a mildly reproachful look. "Go on, go on. How can I let a guest help?"

"It's fine. I do chores often at home."

Shen Lang neatly gathered up all the dishes and carried them toward the kitchen.

"Oh, Little Shen, you're far too polite."

Xia Shuyi followed behind with a smile. The two stood side by side at the sink, washing the dishes and chopsticks.

Xia Shuyi glanced at Shen Lang, who was seriously washing dishes beside her, and could not help feeling that they looked like a married couple. Her cheeks flushed slightly as well.

"Ahem, Little Shen, I remember you said yesterday that you had only recently graduated, right?"

Xia Shuyi coughed and took the lead in starting a conversation. "What are you doing now?"

Shen Lang could still handle such basic conversation. "I hope you won't laugh at me, Sister Xia, but I'm an online writer."

"An online writer?"

"Oh, I write novels online."

"Wow, I never expected you to be a great writer!"

Xia Shuyi praised him in surprise, but Shen Lang scratched his head shyly and mocked himself. "What great writer? I only make five or six thousand yuan a month. It's barely enough for porridge."

"That's already very good."

Like a caring older sister, Xia Shuyi comforted him. "Look at how hard it is to make money in Jianghai City these days. So many college graduates work themselves to death and only earn two or three thousand a month. You're already outstanding."

Wasn't that why most men liked mature women? Because they truly understood some of men's unspoken troubles.

Whether in their careers or in life, they could always use the simplest words to soothe the hidden wounds deep in men's hearts.

"Then, Little Shen, doesn't your girlfriend live with you? What does she do?"

Xia Shuyi asked another seemingly casual question, her eyes fixed directly on the dishes in the sink, though the force she used to wash them grew slightly stronger.

1: I never leave the house all day. Where would I get the chance to meet girls? Even when I see girls on the street, I don't dare speak to them.

2: I met a girl yesterday. She's very pretty, and she went to the same university as me. I'm planning to pursue her.

3: What's so interesting about young girls? I like married women, especially married women with children. They're my favorite!

Never talk about another woman in front of a woman.

Even if Shen Lang was socially awkward, he still understood that principle.

"I never leave the house all day. Where would I get the chance to meet girls?"

Shen Lang smiled self-deprecatingly. "Even when I see girls on the street, I don't dare speak to them."

"Is that so..."

Xia Shuyi smiled sweetly, and even her dishwashing movements became gentler.

"Little Shen, then what do you think..."

Crackle, crackle!

Just as Xia Shuyi was about to say something, a burst of firecrackers suddenly rang out from outside the window, startling her.

Xia Mengmeng covered her ears and hopped into the kitchen. Tugging on Shen Lang's pants, she pointed outside and shouted, "Big Brother Shen, they're setting off firecrackers outside! I can't see them. Hurry and carry me over to look!"

"Okay!"

Shen Lang wiped the water from his hands, held the little girl's chubby hand, and lifted her onto his shoulders.

The little girl happily clamped her arms around Shen Lang's neck, her short little legs swinging back and forth as she urged him repeatedly, "Hurry, Big Brother Shen! The firecrackers are almost over!"

"Alright, alright, alright!"

Shen Lang laughed and nodded repeatedly. As he left the kitchen, he also asked, "Sister Xia, what were you saying just now?"

"Nothing, nothing."

Xia Shuyi smiled guiltily. "Go watch the firecrackers with Mengmeng. It's probably the young couple across the street getting married."

"Mm."

Shen Lang nodded, grabbed the little girl's chubby legs, and ran toward the window, happily shouting, "Let's watch the firecrackers!"

Hearing Xia Mengmeng's jubilant laughter, Xia Shuyi muttered with a mixture of amusement and exasperation, "You little brat, always ruining your mother's good plans..."

After washing the dishes, Xia Shuyi put them away, dried the water from her hands, and came to the living room.

The sight by the window made this single woman, lonely for years, visibly pause. A gratified smile appeared on her exquisite face, which bore faint traces of time.

Shen Lang had Xia Mengmeng perched on his shoulders, supporting her as she happily pointed at the wedding cars passing outside, laughing so hard that she could not close her mouth.

Whenever someone set off firecrackers, Xia Mengmeng thoughtfully covered Shen Lang's ears for him. The big one and the little one were both laughing especially happily.

Brilliant sunlight shone upon them. This warm scene, like a father caring for his daughter, made Xia Shuyi smile dreamily as she murmured unconsciously.

"How wonderful it would be if things could go on like this forever..."