This was all perfectly normal.
Had she met a boy like Gu Yunxiao when she was young, she surely would have liked him too.
"That's different..." Nan Qiuqiu's face grew redder and redder. Halfway through, she lowered her head again and said in a voice as faint as a mosquito's buzz, "I just like him a tiny bit."
"If you like him, you have to fight for him." Nan Shuishui smiled and stroked Nan Qiuqiu's head. "Surely you aren't expecting the Young Master to make the first move?"
"I... I understand."
Nan Qiuqiu murmured her agreement.
"Good." Nan Shuishui nodded, her eyes filled with gratification.
"Mom, if I fail, why don't you give it a try and find me a stepdad?" Nan Qiuqiu suddenly dropped a bombshell, offering up a terrible idea.
Smack!
Nan Shuishui slapped the back of Nan Qiuqiu's head with just the right amount of force to leave her dazed without damaging her brain.
"Ow, that hurt!" Nan Qiuqiu cried out, looking at Nan Shuishui resentfully. "Mom, why did you hit me?"
"Why do you think?"
Nan Shuishui glared at Nan Qiuqiu, her cheeks growing slightly hot. Her daughter's words had truly given her a fright.
She was finding herself a son-in-law, not a husband!
"I was just saying. Why hit me?" Nan Qiuqiu pouted and muttered, "Maybe the Young Master likes your type..."
"Qiuqiu, I see your hide is itching for another beating!"
"Mommy, I was wrong!"
"You'll even call me 'Mommy' to get out of a beating? You're asking for it!"
"Ah..."
Though she was all grown up, Nan Qiuqiu once again enjoyed a fresh serving of "bamboo shoots stir-fried with shredded meat"-and what a miserable thrashing it was.
Night fell.
Laughter once again rang through the courtyard of the Zhang Residence, which had