Chapter 21

An Xiang had taught herself how to cook.

Her parents treated her like air. Meals came and went unpredictably, and it was common for her to go two days without food. Later, she asked the blood servants for some cooking utensils and ingredients and began trying to cook for herself every day. Little by little, she got the hang of it. After bringing An Zimo home, she learned to make even more dishes.

She skillfully sorted and chopped vegetables on the cutting board, set the seasonings aside, and worked in an orderly fashion.

"An Xiang, do you need any help?"

Pei Chen leaned against the wall and asked softly.

An Xiang shook her head. "No, it's fine. Just keep the younger kids company."

"It'd be embarrassing to let you do everything alone." Pei Chen rolled up his sleeves and walked over to An Xiang. "It's okay, An Xiang. You can put me to work however you like. Don't treat me like an outsider."

The boy was naturally familiar with people.

An Xiang could not help laughing. Too embarrassed to refuse again, she casually gave him a task. "Then help me wash the tomatoes and cucumbers over there."

"Got it."

Pei Chen turned on the tap and promptly began washing them.

He had never done housework in his life and had never so much as touched water meant for cooking. If his great-grandfather saw this, who knew how delighted he would be.

Pei Chen claimed he was helping, but he had ulterior motives.

The kitchen was cramped, and even the slightest movement could make the two bump into each other.

Water rushed from the faucet as Pei Chen's fingers soaked in the cool stream.

He washed the vegetables absentmindedly, his peripheral vision drifting to An Xiang's face from time to time.

She was not stunningly beautiful, but her features were exquisitely delicate and pleasing to the eye.

Her skin was very fair, her brows slender, her lips red. Whenever she lowered her eyes, she looked soft and obedient.

And, and she smelled nice too.

Pei Chen's face instantly flushed red.

The girls in his class sometimes wore perfume. It smelled nice, sure, but it was far too pungent. Pei Chen hated that scent and would always take a detour whenever he saw girls.

"An Xiang..."

"Hmm?"

"Are, are you divorced?" Pei Chen gathered his courage and carefully asked the question he had wanted to know all along.

Hearing him, An Xiang did not slow her chopping. She placed the sliced vegetables onto a plate and said, "No."

No...

Pei Chen's handsome face went pale as his future suddenly seemed bleak.

"Then doesn't your husband ever come help you take care of the children?" Pei Chen knew there were plenty of scumbags in the human world, but he had not expected An Xiang to encounter one. She was far too wonderful. He could not understand what kind of man would let a woman like her suffer outside. The mere thought made him furious.

"You misunderstood. I don't have a husband." An Xiang had never even seen that man's face, so how could she have a husband?

"I just wanted a child back then."

An Xiang said it casually, but Pei Chen stared at her in utter shock.

Th-this... could this be the sperm donation thing from those little ads?!!

After staring in disbelief for a long time, he could not help sighing at An Xiang. "...I never thought you'd be so trendy, An Xiang."

An Xiang did not understand what he meant. She tilted her head in confusion and continued cooking.

Learning that she did not have a husband put Pei Chen in a wonderful mood.

If An Xiang was unmarried and he was single, then it was only natural for them to be together. The premise was that they could get past Seventh Great-Grandfather.

Thinking of Pei Yizhou, Pei Chen sank into gloom again.

Pei Yizhou was stern and indifferent. He probably would not agree.

Another day... he would find a chance to test the waters. What if?

**

The food was quickly finished. An Xiang brought the dishes to the table one after another, set out the stools, and called the children over to eat.

Pei Nuo did not move. She only blinked her large eyes as she stared at An Zimo.

An Xiang immediately understood. "Nuo Nuo, do you want to sit next to Zimo?"

The little girl nodded shyly, then nervously glanced at An Zimo several times.

It was obvious that she wanted to sit beside An Zimo but was afraid he would scold her.

The little girl's gaze was pitiful and adorable. An Xiang could not bear to refuse her. She rubbed An Zimo's fluffy little head and softened her voice as she negotiated, "Momo, how about letting Nuo Nuo sit next to you?"

"No." His tone was cold, and he did not forget to glare fiercely at Pei Nuo.

Pei Nuo's eyes reddened. She pursed her lips and lowered her head.

Pei Yan could not stand it any longer. "Why do you have to sit next to him? Come here, find your brother. I'll sit with you!"

Pei Nuo whispered, "...Momo is prettier than you~"

Pei Yan suffered a crushing blow.

Was she serious?! He was obviously the best-looking kid in the entire kindergarten! She was so young—did she have any taste at all?!

Pei Yan huffed angrily and also refused to sit with his twin sister.

Both of them had started excluding Pei Nuo. The little girl looked helplessly at An Xiang, her face full of grievance.

"It's okay, it's okay. Nuo Nuo can sit with Auntie." An Xiang picked the little girl up and placed her beside her, then used a small spoon to serve rice into her bowl. "Do you want Auntie to feed you?"

Pei Nuo bit her finger, breathing in the gentle fragrance drifting from An Xiang. She nodded unconsciously.

Pei Chen could not bear to watch. Frowning, he scolded, "Pei Nuo, stop acting spoiled. You know how to eat by yourself, so why trouble someone else?"

Her eyelashes trembled, and she lowered her head unhappily again.

"It's fine." An Xiang smiled good-naturedly. "Nuo Nuo is still a child. Auntie can feed you."

She mixed the gravy evenly into the rice, scooped up a small spoonful, and held it to the little girl's lips. "Here."

An Xiang's voice was gentle. Pei Nuo's small hands fidgeted anxiously beneath the table before she finally opened her mouth and swallowed the spoonful of rice.

Her cooking was not as refined as a professional chef's, but it carried the warm taste of home.

Pei Nuo's cheeks puffed up. It was so delicious that her dangling little feet began swinging back and forth on their own.

"Is it good?"

Pei Nuo nodded. Her lovely almond-shaped eyes sparkled as she softly asked, "Big sister, do you have a boyfriend?"

The child's voice was so adorable that An Xiang pressed her lips together to suppress a laugh. "I don't."

"Oh~" Pei Nuo drew out the sound, then suddenly jumped off her chair and trotted to the sofa to retrieve a little notebook.

Pei Nuo flipped through several pages, then hugged the notebook as she returned to An Xiang. "Big sister, add this number. Add it quickly."

The notebook probably contained all her family's contact information.

Pei Nuo looked at her eagerly. An Xiang simply could not bring herself to refuse. She took out her phone, opened WeChat, and entered the digits into the search bar one by one.

As if afraid An Xiang was just humoring her, Pei Nuo stretched out her neck and continuously checked the number against the notebook.

When the search result appeared, Pei Nuo grew excited. "Add him, add him! Big sister, add him quickly."

At that moment, Pei Chen sensed that something was wrong. His expression turned wary. "Nuo Nuo, who are you making An Xiang add?"

As though she had heard nothing, Pei Nuo forcefully pressed the Add Friend button with her short index finger, and the request message immediately appeared.

"Big sister, write a note quickly." She thought for a moment. "Just say Nuo Nuo told you to add him."

An Xiang felt awkward.

Could this child be trying to set her up on a date...?

She found it amusing and helpless at the same time. She typed her name and Pei Nuo's message into the note field. The next second, Pei Nuo sent the request.

Ding.

[. declined your friend request.]

"..."

"Big sister, what does it say?" Pei Nuo could not read and asked blankly while biting her finger.

An Xiang stared at the rejection message for several seconds, then suddenly felt relieved.

If he had actually accepted her request, she would not have known what to do. She could not possibly really start chatting with him. That would be far too strange.

"He accepted it." An Xiang lied to the child. She had a feeling that if she did not say so, Pei Nuo would definitely keep pestering her.

"That's good, that's good." Pei Nuo straightened her little back and swayed her head as she ate the remaining rice in her bowl. When only the last bite remained, she tilted her head and held the spoon out to An Xiang, wanting her to feed her.

The little girl was adorable even when she acted spoiled.

An Xiang did not find it annoying at all. An Zimo was too quiet and independent. He never let her feed or dress him, never spoke much, never acted spoiled, and spent most of his time immersed in his own little world. She had not felt even a shred of accomplishment as a mother from him.

Girls really are cuter.

It would be nice if Momo were a girl...

I want big sister to be my mommy, but Great-Grandfather doesn't have a girlfriend either.

It'd be nice if she became my great-grandmother too~

The scene of one adult and one child getting along was harmonious, though their thoughts were completely different.

An Zimo became irritated for no reason and found the twins even more annoying.

He scraped up the last mouthful of rice with his spoon, then ignored the scene before him and carried his bowl into the kitchen.

"Momo, are you done eating?"

An Zimo did not answer. His back looked even gloomier than usual.

An Xiang stared fixedly at her son as he stood on a small stool in the kitchen, washing his bowl. She vaguely sensed that he was in a bad mood. Although he had never been in a good mood twenty-four hours a day, he was clearly worse now.

Could it be...

An Xiang smacked her forehead as realization struck.

Her son was jealous!!

He was jealous because she had fed another child!

By then, An Zimo had finished washing the bowl and come back out. Expressionless, he returned to the sofa and watched the news that had just begun on television.

An Xiang saw through him but said nothing, pressing her lips together to hide her rising smile.

[Ding.]

The sudden notification interrupted An Xiang's thoughts. Looking up at Pei Chen, who was still wolfing down food, she softly reminded him, "Pei Chen, your phone rang."

Pei Chen had not wanted to bother, but when he saw that the message was from Pei Yizhou, he immediately put down his chopsticks and opened it.

[Seventh Great-Grandfather: Don't let Nuo Nuo give my private number to random women again.]

So that was it...

Pei Chen looked helpless as he typed back: [Got it].

Then he secretly glanced at An Xiang across the table.

Their An Xiang was not some random woman. Besides, he did not want Seventh Great-Grandfather to know about her either.

Pei Chen chuckled to himself and continued typing: [Grandpa, I want to ask you something when I get back today.]

[Seventh Great-Grandfather: I don't want to answer.]

"..." Fucking heartless.

[Pei Chen: Would you have any objections if the person I married was human?]

[Seventh Great-Grandfather: Our family does not pursue Pureblood.]

The Vampire Clan had once flourished.

Unfortunately, Vampires pursued purity of blood too obsessively. Even someone with only one-tenth of a percent human blood would be called an "inferior Mixed-Blood," a disgrace to the Vampire Clan. Over time, Vampires' discrimination against humans became pathological. They would rather perish than have children with "food," and they were even less willing to integrate into human society.

As time passed, the Purebloods who refused to adapt to their environment began to be rejected by it. Their numbers dwindled day by day as they gradually headed toward extinction. More extreme Purebloods even chose to intermarry within their own families for the sake of their bloodlines.

The Pei Family did not have that nasty habit. As long as he liked them, it did not matter whether they were male or female, human or Vampire.

[Pei Chen: What if she has a child and is a few years older than me?]

Has a child?

On the other side of the screen, Pei Yizhou fell into brief thought at those three words. An exquisitely beautiful woman's face involuntarily surfaced in his mind.

He lightly rubbed his palm with his fingertips, his gaze deep. Rarely, he did not take a stern attitude toward Pei Chen and slowly typed four words: [Whatever you like.]

Pei Yizhou was a generous man.

Something like allowing himself one thing while forbidding it to others would never happen in their family.

Mm.

He truly was an open-minded, wonderful grandfather.

※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※

Pei Yizhou: ↑Pretend I never said that. Please forget everything on the spot.↑

***

Random red envelopes. No second update today; I'll update more tomorrow.

Speaking of which, I also have a pre-saved story here. I came up with the title on a whim.

"You asshole!"

Xu Xingwan was dazzlingly beautiful and had a graceful figure. Even the ugly school uniform of No. 13 High School looked like haute couture on her.

Though she was beautiful, she was not someone to be messed with. Everyone around her took detours whenever they saw her.

After her usual bullying of some green-tea girl she disliked, the girl burst into tears. "Xu Xingwan, just you wait! I'm going to get my brother to settle the score with you right now!"

Xu Xingwan smiled. "I'll wait."

A while later, the green-tea girl's brother arrived.

The young man wore a suit and glasses, looking refined and scholarly. His eyes were as brilliant as a river of stars, and Xu Xingwan completely fell for him.

"Hello, are you Xu Xingwan?"

Xu Xingwan zipped up her jacket and flicked away her cigarette butt. "That's right, I am." She looked completely serious. "You're Meimei's older brother, right? She wants us to get to know each other."

"...??" I never fucking said that!!

#Your brother looks really fun#

#I won't bully you anymore. I'll be your sister-in-law instead#

A sanctimonious gentleman x a little seductress.