Xia Kening was completely dumbfounded.
She stood there blankly at the doorway, her eyes fixed on the living room sofa, her gaze falling on Song Mingyuan and Song Wantang, unsure of what to say.
If it were just a normal knocking and entry, it would be fine; it would simply be an accidental encounter with Song Yunshen's elder.
But just now she entered the password and pushed the door open, shouting so loudly, acting like she was in her own home.
Being caught by Song Yunshen's elders like this, even Xia Kening felt extremely embarrassed. Her cute pink toes were frantically digging at the ground, her two little hands were at a loss, not knowing where to put them, and her eyes were wandering around.
She recognized Song Mingyuan; after all, she had visited him at the hospital with Song Yunshen and Song Qingen on Monday, so she recognized him at a glance.
But Xia Kening didn't recognize the woman sitting next to Song Mingyuan.
She could only be certain that it wasn't Song Yunshen's mother, since she already knew that Song Yunshen's mother had passed away.
Who is this woman in front of us?
Are they relatives?
Or perhaps... she's a stepmother?!
Xia Kening's mind raced with wild imaginings, but she quickly suppressed her wild thoughts.
She wasn't one to be passive, and faced with the quiet yet eerie atmosphere, she chose to break it herself.
After composing herself, Xia Kening took two steps forward to the coffee table, looked at Song Mingyuan, and said politely in a low voice, "Hello, Uncle. We met at the hospital before."
"Hmm, good evening." Song Mingyuan nodded slightly, a little dazed and confused.
He certainly knew Xia Kening, that she was Yan Zhenxia's youngest daughter, and that she had recently become quite close to Song Yunshen, often coming to their house to play.
Therefore, Song Mingyuan was not surprised that Xia Kening came to their house.
But what truly surprised him was... why did Xia Kening just push the door open and come in?
Could it be that Song Yunshen forgot to lock the door when he went back inside?
That's impossible; the door was definitely closed just now.
That means Xia Kening knew their house password and just opened the door and came in?
Thinking of this, Song Mingyuan couldn't help but glance at his son. What on earth has this brat been up to lately?
How could you have given them your home password?
And judging from the young girl's familiar posture, she's probably done this many times before.
This is outrageous!
Even if there are occasional inconveniences where guests need to enter a password to open the door, you can set a temporary visitor password!
Seeing Xia Kening's bewildered expression after entering the house, it was clear that the other party hadn't obtained the password on the spot; otherwise, Song Yunshen would have informed her beforehand that there were relatives at home.
However, Song Mingyuan wronged Song Yunshen on this point.
Song Yunshen didn't actually tell Xia Kening the password to her house. Instead, he set a personal password for her, which she could only use in the morning and evening.
It's unavailable at other times. But really, it doesn't make much difference... after all, Xia Kening might not be available to come over at other times either.
"Um..." Xia Kening hesitated slightly, glancing at Song Wantang, then at Song Yunshen, and winking at him.
Brother, say something!
Who is this auntie? What should I call her? How am I supposed to greet her if you don't tell me? Song Yunshen looked at Xia Kening, speechless yet amused, and leaned back on the sofa.
He was initially a little embarrassed when Xia Kening barged in, but seeing her bewildered expression, he found it quite amusing. Now, seeing her pleading look in her eyes, he deliberately remained silent, crossed his arms, and sat there watching the show.
Xia Kening was so angry that she gritted her teeth, so she had no choice but to tentatively try to speak up.
Fortunately, Song Wantang didn't make things difficult for her, and said with a smile to the little girl in front of her, "I'm his aunt, and you're his friend, right?"
"Mmm." Xia Kening nodded quickly and said sweetly, "My name is Xia Kening, hello Auntie! You can call me Ningning."
A hint of surprise flashed in Song Wantang's eyes, then she smiled, beckoned to Xia Kening, patted the seat next to her, and gestured for her to sit down. " Ningning, come here, don't just stand there."
She hadn't expected the little girl to call her "auntie" so readily. She had been thinking of correcting her if the girl called her "auntie," but it turned out she didn't need to.
She had talked to Song Mingyuan about the three girls a long time ago, and knew that they were sisters. She had even seen Xia Kening's photo through Xiao Wu at the braised chicken shop.
She had seen Xia Jinshu and Xia Yunuo in person at the store, but this was the first time she had met Xia Kening.
Seeing Xia Kening obediently walk over, Song Wantang pulled her arm and sat her down beside him. He then looked her up and down curiously and nodded with satisfaction.
Looking at her now, she seems even prettier than in the original photos. She also has a great figure.
Looking at their proportions alone, it's impossible to imagine that these are Xia Jinshu and Xia Yunuo's younger sisters. Only after getting closer and carefully observing their eyebrows and eyes can one see a slight resemblance among the three sisters.
However, what Song Wantang was concerned about now was not that, but rather what Xia Kening had said after entering the room.
What about tonight?
What will the second half of the sentence be?
That brat, he wouldn't have done anything bad to them, would he?
How old is Ningning? Is she in high school?
"No, I'll be in my final year of junior high after school starts," Xia Kening replied obediently. "At Shulan Middle School, my homeroom teacher Teacher Ruan, is Song Yunshen's aunt."
"Huh? What a coincidence?" Song Wantang exclaimed in surprise. "That's quite a coincidence."
"Yes." Xia Kening nodded. "We met at the convenience store. He saw me wearing Shulan's school uniform and asked me about it. I never expected we had this connection."
Song Wantang glanced at her nephew, thinking to herself, "If we bump into each other at the convenience store, just say hello. You really don't know any shame."
Is this how you approach any pretty girl you see on the street?
"So what are you going to do tonight?" Song Wantang asked again. "You seemed quite anxious when you came in." Hearing Song Wantang mention this, Xia Kening became embarrassed again. Then she turned her head and glanced at Song Yunshen, who was still watching the show, gritted her teeth in anger, and then deliberately said, "I don't know either. When I came in, I just wanted to ask him where we were going tonight."
"He told me before that he was going to take me to a special place tonight, but he wouldn't tell me exactly where."
"So I don't know either." Upon hearing this, Song Wantang's eyes widened, and she couldn't help but look at Song Yunshen.
You little rascal, you're not planning to take her to some shady place, are you?
He's only in the third year of junior high!
How could you do that?
Song Yunshen noticed Song Wantang's gaze and suddenly sensed something was amiss. He quickly explained, "Auntie, don't guess wildly. It's just a surprise for her."
"Where are you going?" Song Wantang asked, squinting her eyes.
"Wouldn't it lose its surprise if I told you now?" Song Yunshen pouted. "Just stay out of my way. If you don't have anything else to do after dinner, hurry home, or go play mahjong."
"You little ingrate, you won't even answer a simple question, and I've given you so much pocket money for nothing." Song Wantang rolled her eyes at him.
"Be careful when you go out tonight, and remember to come back early. Don't make your family worry too much." Song Mingyuan didn't intend to ask any more questions, knowing that his son was sensible, so he just gave him a few words of advice.
"Alright, alright, it's about time." Song Yunshen stood up from the sofa, stretched, and waved to Xia Kening. "Let's go, I'll take you out to play." Xia Kening quickly got up and followed Song Yunshen. She didn't forget to say goodbye to the two on the sofa, "Goodbye, Uncle and Aunt! Oh, by the way... congratulations on your successful discharge from the hospital, Uncle! I wish you all the best in your health~ and that Aunt gets younger and more beautiful every day!"
Upon hearing this, Song Mingyuan and Song Wantang exchanged a smile and waved to the two of them.
Song Wantang listened with a smile, and didn't forget to ask, "Is the place you're going far? Do you want me to give you a ride?"
"No need, no need," Song Yunshen Shen immediately refused.
He was still hoping Xia Kening would sit on the back of the electric scooter and hug him, but he couldn't let Song Wantang disrupt his plans.
Besides, Song Wantang couldn't possibly wait for them there forever; they'd have to walk back together, which would be too much trouble.
After leaving the house, Song Yunshen led her into the elevator, and then he felt his waist being pinched.
Xia Kening bared her teeth at him and angrily scolded, "You didn't even try to help me out of that awkward situation, leaving me all alone! I'm so angry!"
"You seem to have handled things quite well," Song Yunshen said cheerfully. "Why didn't you tell me you were coming? I was thinking of sending you a message so you could wait for me at the entrance of the complex. But you're already here before 6:30."
"Didn't you say you'd take me out to play? I just wanted to come early." Xia Kening snorted and punched him again to vent her dissatisfaction. "Besides, you didn't say your dad would be discharged today, even your aunt is here."
"You didn't ask." Song Yunshen reached out and pressed her head down, rubbing it a few times. "Alright, alright, it's not easy to take you out, don't be ungrateful."
"Hmph, if I don't find it surprising enough later, you'll have to make it up to me," Xia Kening pouted. "Don't worry, you'll definitely be very happy," Song Yunshen said confidently with a smile.
Just as Song Yunshen and Xia Kening were about to head to Wanda Plaza, Xia Yunuo arrived at the entrance of the cat cafe and nervously peered inside.
Having learned that she had arrived, Song Jiaxuan was already waiting there. When she saw Xia Yunuo appear at the door, she immediately went out to greet her with a smile.
" Yunuo, come in." Song Jiaxuan stepped forward, took her arm, and said with a smile, "You already familiarized yourself with the environment yesterday, so today I'll have your colleague show you around the work processes. I've already explained everything."
"Okay, thank you, Sister Xuanxuan." Xia Yunuo obediently, disinfected her hands at the door, and followed Song Jiaxuan into the cat cafe, all the way to the water bar.
There were three or four customers in the shop at the moment, all engrossed in petting the cats. Perhaps the ten new cats were too tempting, because even when Xia Yunuo walked by, no one looked up at her.
This relieved Xia Yunuo a little, and her tense mood eased.
Upon arriving at the bar, Song Jiaxuan greeted the waitress who was making drinks, "Xiao Zhou, this is the one I told you about before. You should have seen her yesterday. I'll leave things to you afterwards."
The pretty-looking Xiao Zhou stopped what she was doing, turned to look at Song Jiaxuan and Xia Yunuo, and then nodded slightly. "Okay, Sister Xuan, leave it to me."
"The new staff uniforms are still being made, so please make do with these for today," Song Jiaxuan said to Xia Yunuo. "You should first familiarize yourself with the work process with Xiao Zhou, including the preparation of the usual drinks, cleaning the bar, how to use the equipment, and the special hygiene rules for cat cafes. You need to get familiar with all of these as soon as possible."
"Yes, I will try my best." Xia Yunuo nodded earnestly. "Don't worry about wasting drinks while practicing. Today is the official opening, so as long as Yunuo is still practicing, the drinks she makes will be given away as freebies at the cat cafe," Song Jiaxuan said. "During the opening event, every customer who enters the store will receive a free drink."
"Customers who order drinks directly outside the window will also receive a 30% discount."
"This activity will end when Yunuo is officially able to start her job."
"Okay, Sister Xuan." Xiao Zhou nodded to indicate that she understood. After finishing making the drinks at hand, she called Xia Yunuo over and began to teach her step by step.
Song Jiaxuan didn't disturb them at the water bar area. After walking around back to the activity area, she sat down at the food serving window and became the first customer to taste Xia Yunuo's drink.
After studying for about 20 minutes, Xia Yunuo suddenly felt a little uncomfortable in her stomach, so she apologized and left to use the restroom outside.
Song Jiaxuan also received a call from the pet hospital. To avoid disturbing the customers in the store, she got up and left the cat cafe to answer the call in the corridor outside.
Just then, Song Yunshen arrived at Wanda Plaza on his electric scooter with Xia Kening on the back.
After getting off the bus, Xia Kening couldn't help but pout. "Is this the surprise you were talking about? It's not going to the trendy toy store again, is it? I'm not going to shoot an arrow in the chest, you know."
Upon hearing this, Song Yunshen rolled his eyes at her. "You'll find out when you get up there, what's the rush?"
Leading Xia Kening upstairs, the two quickly arrived at the 4th floor.
Upon reaching the fourth floor, Song Yunshen didn't intend to lead her directly there. Instead, he went around behind Xia Kening, reached out and covered her eyes: "Let's go, I'll tell you when we turn the corner." "Why are you being so mysterious?" Xia Kening said, but the corners of her mouth couldn't help but curl up. Full of anticipation, she slowly felt her way forward following Song Yunshen's instructions.
A moment later, Song Yunshen stopped and said, "Okay, we're here. Get ready."
"Uh-huh!"
Open your eyes.
Xia Kening slowly opened her eyes after hearing what Song Yunshen said, and then found herself seemingly in front of a floor-to-ceiling window.
Upon closer inspection, I saw warm lighting, a huge cat tree, and many kittens.
As luck would have it, a tabby cat happened to be climbing over the table in front of the French windows. When it saw Xia Kening, it curiously propped itself up and scratched at her through the window, tilting its cute little head slightly, which completely melted Xia Kening's heart.
"Wow! Wow wow wow!" Xia Kening couldn't help but exclaim, bending down to look at the little tabby cat in the French window, wishing she could crawl inside.
"Stop yelling." Seeing her reaction, Song Yunshen laughed and patted her shoulder, saying, "Let's go inside. What's the point of just staring like this?"
"Can we still go in and play?"
"If we can't get in, can it still be considered a surprise?"
"Hehe~ Brother, you're so good to me~ I love you to death!" Xia Kening excitedly hugged Song Yunshen's arm, her words saccharine sweet. She usually loves these cute little animals the most; when she scrolls through Douyin, at least half of the videos are of these adorable creatures, and she's always forwarding cat and dog videos to Song Yunshen.
Upon seeing the cat cafe and the adorable kittens, I felt as if my soul had been elevated. My heart pounded with excitement, my hands trembled, and I couldn't wait to rush in and immerse myself in the sea of cats.
Song Yunshen couldn't help but scratch his nose with his other hand. He couldn't bear to push her away, and so he led Xia Kening into the cat cafe.
Xiao Cheng, the waiter in charge of greeting guests, clearly remembered Song Yunshen. Knowing that he was the proprietress's younger brother, she immediately stepped forward to arrange for disinfection.
"Don't we have to pay?" Xia Kening asked quietly.
"We've passed by this store before, haven't you noticed any changes?" Song Yunshen asked while disinfecting his hands.
"It does seem a bit different." Xia Kening thought for a moment, "Anyway, I haven't seen that little tabby cat before, and the decorations in the shop seem to have changed too."
She had previously looked at the cats inside the cat cafe through its floor-to-ceiling windows, but at that time the cats seemed listless and lacked energy, and the decor was rather ordinary.
When I opened my eyes earlier, I felt that the decor was much more refined and cozy, and the kittens were all lively and cute. Even the orange cat resting on the cat tree looked calm and composed, not listless.
"My sister bought this shop and renovated it, and she even got a new batch of cats," Song Yunshen said with a smile. "It just officially opened today, and I immediately brought you here to play. Aren't I good to you?"
"Brother, you're so great!" Xia Kening had just disinfected her hands and didn't want to hug him anymore, so she simply snuggled up to Song Yunshen's chest and rubbed her head against his chest like a kitten.
Watching the two interact like this, the waiter, Xiao Cheng, couldn't help but have a strange expression on his face. He vaguely remembered that yesterday, when the proprietress brought her younger brother and his classmate to the cat cafe, there were a total of six or seven people.
But one of the girls clearly had a special relationship with her younger brother.
As it turns out, Song Yunshen had just come to the cat cafe with that girl yesterday, and today he brought another girl with him.
Moreover, judging from their intimate interaction, the relationship between the two is clearly extraordinary, and they seem even closer than the girl from yesterday.
However, these are not the most crucial factors.
The most crucial thing now is... that girl was in the store yesterday too!
However, it seems he went to the restroom and hasn't come back yet.
What if we run into them later?
Xiao Cheng's expression turned strange, and then he suddenly became a little worried.
He can't control scumbags, but it would be terrible if it affected her work. Hopefully, they don't start fighting later.
After welcoming the two in, she briefly explained the rules of the cat café, and then quickly took out her phone to contact the owner to come and save the day.
Just then, Song Jiaxuan finished her call and strolled back down the corridor. As soon as she entered, she was about to ask Xia Yunuo if she was back when she suddenly saw a familiar figure, which made her pause in surprise.
" Yunshen? What are you doing here?"