Chapter 316: Xia Nuannuan

When they returned to Yucheng, it was already dusk.

The two of them first dropped Su Yan off outside her residential area, and Qin Tian helped take her suitcase out.

"Thanks!"

Su Yan said after taking the suitcase.

"We're old friends, what's there to thank?"

Qin Tian grinned.

"Su Yan, tomorrow or the day after, if you're free, let's call Jiajia and the others to gather, go shopping, or something."

Xia Nuannuan suggested with a beaming smile.

"Sure!"

Su Yan agreed and asked: "Should we bring the boys?"

Xia Nuannuan looked at Qin Tian beside her and smiled gently: "No, our girls' day."

"That's great."

Su Yan smiled.

"Sigh, even a boyfriend as good as me has a day of falling out of favor!"

Qin Tian shook his head and sighed feignedly.

The two girls were amused and laughed very happily.

"Alright, I'm going in, you guys hurry back too!"

Su Yan said goodbye to the two of them after her smile faded.

"Mm-hmm, goodbye!"

Xia Nuannuan waved with a sweet smile.

Subsequently, Su Yan entered the residential area, and Qin Tian got in the car with Xia Nuannuan to continue driving home.

Just as he started the car, his mom's phone call came in.

"Hello, Mom!"

Qin Tian hurriedly answered the phone.

"Xiao Tian, have you arrived?"

Tang Xiuxia's voice came through the car's audio system, along with the buzzing sound of a steamer boiling.

"Just arrived in Yucheng. I'll drop Nuannuan off at home first, help her take her luggage up, and then go over with her."

Qin Tian answered.

"Good, good. Then call Nuannuan's mom too. I've already called and told her. I've made quite a few dishes here!"

Tang Xiuxia reminded him.

"Okay, I know."

Qin Tian agreed. He was prepared to do so anyway.

His father-in-law was still in Jiangcheng and wouldn't be back for a couple of days. If Nuannuan went to his house for dinner, she definitely couldn't leave her mother to eat dinner alone.

"Where's Nuannuan?"

Tang Xiuxia asked again.

"Auntie, I'm here!"

Xia Nuannuan hurriedly responded loudly.

"Nuannuan, hurry over after you put your luggage away. I've made all the dishes you like!"

Tang Xiuxia's tone was full of doting and love.

"Okay, Auntie, we'll be there soon."

Xia Nuannuan gave a sweet smile.

"Good, then I'll be waiting. Tell Xiao Tian to pay attention to safety while driving."

"I know, I'll remind him."

"Mm-hmm, hanging up now!"

"Okay!"

After saying that, the other side hung up the phone.

Qin Tian turned his head and exchanged a glance with Xia Nuannuan, smiling: "Now you know why I asked you to go. Listen to that tone—my mom has never been that gentle with me."

"Hee hee... could it be that you were too naughty?"

Xia Nuannuan teased him with a curved eyebrow.

"Me? Naughty?"

"I mean when you were a kid, so Auntie had to be strict with you, and then she just got used to it!"

"Hey... that actually makes sense!"

Qin Tian revealed a thoughtful expression.

"Boys are naughty when they're kids, unlike me. I was very well-behaved when I was a kid."

Xia Nuannuan boasted proudly.

"Really?"

"Forget it if you don't believe me. Look at Lao Xia and my mom—aren't they quite gentle with me?"

"Then I'll ask Auntie later if you were ever naughty when you were a kid."

"No!"

Xia Nuannuan immediately denied it.

"Panicking?"

Qin Tian gave her a mischievous look.

"I... what am I panicking about? I'm not."

Xia Nuannuan's eyes darted around, and she regretted it deeply in her heart.

How could she have gotten carried away? This was bad. If her mom started talking about her childhood embarrassing stories at the dinner table later, it would be too shameful.

Qin Tian was one thing, but she didn't want her future mother-in-law to know those embarrassing stories either.

After helping Xia Nuannuan take her luggage home and picking up her future mother-in-law, they drove back home.

The sky had already turned dark. Hearing the sound of the car outside, his mom, who had just placed a dish on the table in the brightly lit main room, hurriedly came to the door.

After the car stopped, the three of them got out.

"Auntie, we're back."

Xia Nuannuan greeted him with a face full of joy.

"Eh, come here and let me see."

Tang Xiuxia walked over with a beaming smile, but suddenly her expression changed, and she feigned a heartbroken complaint: "Oh my, how did you get thin again? And it seems you've gotten a bit darker. Xiao Tian, how are you taking care of Nuannuan?" 【316

As she spoke, she glared fiercely at Qin Tian, who had just stepped out of the car over there.

Qin Tian scratched his head, speechless.

"Auntie, it's been half a month of military training, so it's bound to be like this. I'm actually doing pretty well."

Xia Nuannuan explained with a beaming smile.

"That's still because this brat didn't take good care of you. Make him eat less later."

Tang Xiuxia said with a serious expression.

Qin Tian sighed with a melancholy look and went to the back to get the luggage without a word.

The two mothers met every few days and had now become the best of friends, so there wasn't much need for polite pleasantries.

Tang Xiuxia held Xia Nuannuan's hand with one hand and linked arms with her good sister Su Xia with the other, and they walked into the house together.

Behind them, Qin Tian carried the backpack containing two sets of clothes, looking like a poor, neglected child.

"Hahaha... Xiao Tian, you look absolutely miserable!"

A hearty laugh rang out.

Qin Tian followed the sound and saw Grandpa Sun from next door standing there, shoveling rice into his mouth from a large porcelain bowl.

"Who's to say otherwise!"

Qin Tian shrugged helplessly and asked with a smile, "Where's Grandma Liu?"

"She's eating inside!"

Grandpa Sun replied happily.

"We're about to eat; why don't you bring Grandma Liu over to add a few dishes?"

Qin Tian invited.

"No need, I'm lucky today—I caught a few wild crucian carp, so we've got plenty!"

Grandpa Sun picked up half a braised crucian carp from his bowl and showed it off to him with a smug look.

"Not bad, you actually didn't come back empty-handed today?"

"What kind of talk is that? Now your Grandma Liu often accompanies me fishing, and our luck is just great—we have a catch every day!"

"Really?"

"Hmph, if you don't believe me, come join me for a go tomorrow."

"Sure!"

Just then, Grandma Liu also walked out of the main room, carrying her bowl.

Her aged face wore its usual kind and amiable smile. What put Qin Tian at ease was that, perhaps because Grandpa Sun had been taking her out for walks and relaxation recently, her complexion had clearly improved a lot.

"Xiao Fei, you're back!"

"That's right!"

"How is university?"

"It's quite good."

"That's good, go eat quickly!"

Grandma Liu said with a beaming smile.

"Alright, I'll go eat first, and I'll come over to watch TV with you when I have time later."

"Sounds good!"

Qin Tian smiled, then walked into the house.

In the main room, Xia Nuannuan was helping to set the table; the two mothers must have gone to the kitchen in the back.

"Yo, Nuannuan, why is Mom still letting you do the work? Let me, let me."

Qin Tian casually placed his backpack on a small chair by the wall and leaned in with a smile.

Xia Nuannuan's pretty face flushed slightly as she rolled her eyes at him and muttered softly, "Did someone drink vinegar? Why do I smell something so sour?"

"Just kidding, what do I have to be sour about?"

"Because Mom loves me!"

As soon as those words left her mouth, Xia Nuannuan saw Qin Tian looking behind her with a strange expression.

The smile on Xia Nuannuan's face froze, and she turned her head mechanically.

Sure enough, the two mothers were standing there holding dishes, looking at her with full-blown "motherly" smiles.

"Ahhh... I can't go on living!"

Xia Nuannuan covered her face with both hands, overcome with shame and indignation.