At the coffee table, Song Yunshen, having been warned by Song Wantang, wasn't too surprised when he saw his aunt enter the room; he just rubbed his nose a little embarrassedly.
Xia Yunuo's reaction was much stronger. The moment she saw Song Wantang, she froze, her whole body stiffening. When she came to her senses, she jumped up from the carpet, her face flushed, and she stammered.
"Auntie, Auntie... Good afternoon..."
"Hello, hello." Song Wantang walked forward with a smile, carefully looking Xia Yunuo up and down. Compared to her appearance in school uniform last time, she looked even more beautiful in casual clothes today, making Song Wantang's eyes light up. "I remember your name is Xia Yunuo, right? Then I'll call you Xiao Nuo?"
"Yes, that's fine." Xia Yunuo nodded obediently.
"Weren't we supposed to go to the hospital this afternoon? Why are you here so early?" Song Yunshen Shen stood up and asked Song Wantang.
"What's early? It's already 12:30!" Song Wantang rolled her eyes at him. "Let's hurry up and go, don't keep your dad waiting."
"Then he'll really have to wait a while," Song Yunshen said, pointing to Xia Yunuo. "His lunch isn't ready yet."
"I'll go make it right away!" Xia Yunuo hurriedly ran to the kitchen, ready to put the previously prepared ingredients into the pot. Today's dishes were all stir-fries, so they would be quite quick to cook.
Song Wantang had previously heard Song Mingyuan mention that, in addition to Xia Jinshu cooking for him every evening, Xia Yunuo would occasionally cook him lunch on weekends.
So she wasn't particularly surprised at the moment, but followed Xia Yunuo into the kitchen with great interest to admire her cooking skills. A dozen minutes later, the three stir-fried dishes were freshly cooked, packed into lunchboxes by Xia Yunuo, and successfully handed to Song Yunshen.
"Thanks for your hard work."
"It's nothing, it didn't take much effort," Xia Yunuo said softly, her head down.
"Then I'll go to the hospital with my aunt first. You can go find Yingying next door."
"Uh-huh."
After saying that, Xia Yunuo watched Song Yunshen carry the lunchbox and leave with Song Wantang.
However, there were still more than ten minutes until 1 p. m., so Xia Yunuo didn't rush to go next door to find Yingying. Instead, after hesitating for a long time, she couldn't resist and quietly walked towards Song Yunshen's bedroom.
After hesitating at the door for a while, she finally turned the doorknob, walked into Song Yunshen's bedroom, sat down on his bed, and then lay down, smelling the familiar scent on the pillow, her heart pounding.
She looked down at her new outfit and recalled Song Yunshen's expression and gaze when he first saw it earlier that day, which intensified her desire to buy new clothes.
After thinking it over, she took out her phone, found Song Jiaxuan's WeChat, and couldn't help but send a message to ask her.
[ Xia Yunuo ]: Sister Xuanxuan, if I have free time for the rest of my summer vacation, could I work part-time at the cat cafe?
[ Song Jiaxuan ]: Of course! Just let me know in advance if you want to come. [ Xia Yunuo ]: How about tonight? I'll be free after dinner at home.
[ Song Jiaxuan ]: Sure, that's fine, but my custom-made uniform hasn't arrived yet. But that's okay, you can come and learn first. I'll have someone show you around how to make drinks.
[ Xia Yunuo ]: Then I'll have to trouble you, Sister Xuanxuan.
[ Song Jiaxuan ]: You're welcome. See you tonight! [ Xia Yunuo ]: Okay.
After contacting Song Jiaxuan, Xia Yunuo clutched her phone to her chest, her face full of anticipation.
As long as she works hard, she will eventually be able to empty the shopping cart that Song Yunshen filled for her.
On the other side.
On the way to the hospital, Song Wantang joked as she drove, "I think your dad is getting a taste of good fortune ahead of time, with two such beautiful and outstanding girls taking turns cooking for him."
"It's only because he's in the hospital that I would have charged him if it were any other time," Song Yunshen said, holding the warm lunchbox.
"You have the nerve to say that?" Song Wantang rolled her eyes at him. "You have Xia Yunuo cook lunch and Xia Jinshu cook dinner. You're living like an emperor."
"I didn't ask them to, they did it voluntarily," Song Yunshen said with a wronged expression. "I never asked them to cook."
"Really?" Song Wantang asked skeptically. Although she knew her nephew was handsome, she wondered if he could have captivated the young girl so quickly.
After all, whether it's Xia Jinshu, Xia Yunuo, or Xia Kening, they all have the look of femme fatales, each more beautiful than the last, and they must have had quite a few suitors.
Why is it that everyone around Song Yunshen is so obedient and well-behaved?
Song Wantang was quite curious about which girl her nephew preferred. But she knew she couldn't get much of the truth out of him, so she didn't bother asking any further.
In short, as Song Mingyuan said, just don't cause any deaths.
As long as things don't escalate to this point and don't affect his academic performance, Song Wantang will support whatever Song Yunshen does.
In any case, having more contact with the opposite sex during your student years is not necessarily a bad thing.
The more closed off you are in this regard, the more likely you are to find a partner when you grow up.
Even if forced into marriage, the marriage is unlikely to be fulfilling and happy.
Having seen many such examples, Song Wantang actually felt quite good about Song Yunshen's current situation.
The two arrived at the hospital quickly.
While Song Wantang went to handle the discharge procedures, Song Yunshen first gave the lunchbox to Song Mingyuan so he could eat lunch first. Then, together with the caregiver, Lao Li, they took the keys to Song Wantang's car and made three trips to load Song Mingyuan's luggage into the car. Having been hospitalized for two months, Song Mingyuan had quite a lot of stuff. After three trips, they finally managed to load everything into the trunk. Song Yunshen breathed a sigh of relief, returned to his hospital room, and drank a large amount of water to rest.
Unfortunately, the hospital was not very efficient. It took Song Wantang more than two hours to finally complete the discharge procedures.
After everything was settled, the three prepared to go home.
Before leaving, Song Mingyuan thanked the caregiver, Old Li, and took a pre-prepared red envelope from Song Wantang, placing it in his palm.
The caregiver, Old Li, declined several times, but finally accepted it reluctantly, thanking him with a smile.
Old Li had a pretty good impression of Song Mingyuan, unlike the other patients he had treated, who had a lot of daily troubles.
Song Mingyuan didn't have many troubles. Aside from helping him go to the toilet, wiping his body, and changing his clothes, he didn't have many other problems.
He earned the money very easily, and then received a big red envelope in the end, which made Old Li a little embarrassed.
Apart from the patient's son being a bit of a womanizer, there's really nothing seriously wrong with him.
Of course, the last point didn't affect him, so he didn't comment much. He just hoped that Song Mingyuan wouldn't invite him to be his son's caregiver in the future.
Hopefully, things won't actually get to that point.
... Song Wantang drove all the way, bringing Song Mingyuan and Song Yunshen safely back to the Tangning New Residence West District.
After helping Song Mingyuan carry his luggage upstairs, the matter of his discharge from the hospital was officially concluded.
Song Mingyuan walked through his front door and looked at the living room, which hadn't changed much, he couldn't help but sigh.
After two months, I'm finally back home. It really feels like a lifetime has passed.
"I'll be going now," Song Yunshen said to the two of them after helping them carry their luggage. " Xia Jinshu is waiting for me to go grocery shopping together."
"Don't rush, I'll go with you," Song Wantang quickly said. "I'll drive you there."
"Isn't it a bit too much trouble?" Song Yunshen said, but what he really wanted was to ride the electric scooter with Xia Jinshu and enjoy Mama Xia's embrace.
But Song Wantang failed to grasp his implied meaning; wanting to make things easier for the two of them, she followed him out the door.
Having no other choice, Song Yunshen got back into Song Wantang's car and soon arrived at the entrance of the residential area, where he found Xia Jinshu waiting there.
At first, Xia Jinshu was a little confused when she saw a car parked in front of her. She kept turning her head to look at the gate of the community, searching for Song Yunshen riding his electric bike.
Xia Jinshu didn't realize what was happening until the back window of the car in front of her rolled down, revealing Song Yunshen's face.
"Senior, get in the car." "Oh, okay..." Xia Jinshu got in the car and sat next to Song Yunshen. Then she looked at Song Wantang in the driver's seat and immediately recognized her.
"Hello, Xiao Shu, it's been a long time since we last met," Song Wantang greeted with a smile.
"Um... Good afternoon, Auntie." Xia Jinshu replied politely, though a little reserved.
Song Wantang started the car and chatted casually on the way to the market. Remembering her earlier promise to Xia Jinshu, she smiled and asked, "Speaking of which, school's starting soon, right? We agreed that if Shenshen gets 120 on his English test, he can eat braised chicken for free from now on. Does Xiao Shu have confidence in him?"
"I think there's still a chance." Xia Jinshu covered her mouth and chuckled. "He studied very hard this summer. If he performs well, he'll definitely do much better than he did on the final exam last semester."
"Really? That's amazing?" Song Wantang looked at Song Yunshen in the rearview mirror with some surprise.
"It's not as exaggerated as she makes it out to be." Song Yunshen waved his hand, seemingly less confident in himself.
Having struggled with the English passing grade for so long, it's hard to believe he can score 120 points.
After returning home from the market, Xia Jinshu took the ingredients to the kitchen to prepare the food.
Song Wantang felt bad about just sitting idly by, so she followed her into the kitchen to help her out.
A short while later, the doorbell rang. Song Yunshen Shen immediately went to open the door and saw his grandparents carrying large and small bags.
"Didn't you say you were just bringing a grass carp? You've taken too much." Song Yunshen said somewhat helplessly as he welcomed the two inside. "Since we're already here, shouldn't we take more?" Grandma said with a smile, "Here, these are chicken eggs, these are goose eggs, and there are also eggplants and cucumbers, all from the fishpond."
"Let's share half with my uncle next door later," Song Yunshen said. "Otherwise, my fridge will be overflowing."
Grandpa Zhao Lisong ignored what was happening here, put his things on the dining table, and strolled over to the sofa in the living room to sit down. He asked Song Mingyuan, who was sitting next to him, "Are you alright?"
"The doctor said it's nothing serious, just avoid strenuous exercise for now," Song Mingyuan nodded and said. "After resting for another two or three months, and once the follow-up checkup shows no problems, moderate exercise won't be a problem."
"Okay, that's good." Zhao Lisong nodded lightly. "But if something like this happens again, it's better to tell us. Even though Xiangwen is gone, we're still your parents, we're all family. Don't keep these things to yourself."
"Dad, I know, I was wrong this time," Song Mingyuan admitted in a low voice.
By this time, Song Yunshen had already put everything away and strolled over. Hearing the two's conversation, he grinned and approached Zhao Lisong to comfort him, saying, "It's alright, Grandpa. My dad isn't just keeping it from you, he's keeping it from my grandparents too."
"They didn't know either?" Zhao Lisong asked, his face full of surprise.
"Yeah, if someone hadn't let it slip in front of them, they'd probably be kept in the dark like you guys."
Hearing what Song Yunshen said, Zhao Lisong's expression softened considerably.
He thought it was because of his daughter's death that their relationship had become strained.
Surprisingly, Song Mingyuan really treats everyone equally. 4 PM.
After preparing the food in the kitchen, Xia Jinshu came out, politely greeted her grandparents, chatted for a few minutes, and then called Song Yunshen to go to the study.
Soon, a series of incoherent bird-like sounds came from the study. Zhao Lisong overheard a few sentences and couldn't help but think, "They really are learning English."
"How could that be fake?" Song Wantang said with a smile, " Xiao Shu is the top student in the grade."
"That's good, that's good." Zhao Lisong nodded with a smile, it was unclear whether he meant that Xia Jinshu was first in the grade or something else.
" Yunshen even brought Xiao Shu to play at our fishpond before," Grandma said with a smile, casually bringing up the topic.
Upon hearing this, Song Wantang immediately became interested and couldn't help but ask gossipily, "What's going on? I didn't know anything about it. When did this happen?"
"It was over a month ago," Zhao Lisong recalled. "He came to our place to experience farm work, picked some vegetables, went fishing, and even went boating in the evening."
"Oh, by the way, that was Xiao Shu's birthday that day, and Yunshen specially ordered a cake for her."
"I didn't tell anyone at first; it was a surprise."
Upon hearing this, Song Wantang and Song Mingyuan exchanged bewildered glances, never expecting such a thing to exist.
Song Yunshen looks like he has thick eyebrows and big eyes, but he's really quite capable behind the scenes. He even came up with a birthday surprise?
Song Wantang couldn't help but click her tongue twice, thinking to herself, "This kid is already this good in high school, what will he be like in college?"
I wonder how many girls he will ruin in the future.
When it was 5 p. m., Xia Jinshu and Song Yunshen class on time.
Xia Jinshu then hurriedly went to the kitchen to cook, and Song Wantang immediately followed to help her.
Half an hour later, the six dishes and one soup were successfully prepared.
The family sat around the table and began their meal amidst celebratory congratulations to Song Mingyuan on his discharge from the hospital.
Xia Jinshu, with a virtuous and obedient demeanor, sat quietly next to Song Yunshen, eating her meal with her head bowed.
He appeared calm, but his palms were sweaty, and he was incredibly nervous.
Fortunately, her maternal grandparents, as well as Song Mingyuan and Song Wantang, all took good care of the little girl, occasionally finding a couple of suitable topics to chat with her about, so that she wouldn't be too nervous.
Song Wantang praised her cooking skills repeatedly and ate two large bowls of rice, which made Xia Jinshu smile from ear to ear.
After the meal, Grandpa and Grandma went to visit Yingying next door. Xia Jinshu politely said goodbye and left.
After seeing her downstairs, Song Yunshen returned home and spent some time with his grandparents at his uncle's house before taking them back to the fishpond.
When they got home, Song Wantang was sitting in the living room, watching TV and chatting with Song Mingyuan.
Song Yunshen sat down on the sofa, looked at his father, and tentatively asked, "Dad, given your current health condition, are you still able to go to work?"
"I can, but there's no rush. Nothing major is happening at the company lately," Song Mingyuan said. "I plan to rest for a while longer, and I'll go back to work around the time your school starts."
"Oh..." Song Yunshen was somewhat helpless upon hearing this, thinking that since there was nothing wrong with his health, why stay at home? Couldn't he just go to work earlier?
However, he was too embarrassed to say it aloud, and could only express his regret in his heart.
He then took out his phone, intending to send a message to Xia Kening, asking her to meet him at the entrance of the residential area later, and that he would take her to the cat cafe that evening.
Just then, the door was suddenly opened.
Xia Kening swaggered in, wearing those bright orange slippers, and shouted as soon as she entered, " Song Yunshen! Tonight we're..."
Before she could finish speaking, Xia Kening saw Song Mingyuan and Song Wantang sitting on the sofa. Her petite body froze on the spot, and she was completely stunned, not knowing what to do.