Chapter 487: Two Social Deaths in a Row

"Nuan Nuan, not bad, when did you become so good at talking? Calling her 'big sister' every other word, you've got that auntie so charmed she doesn't even know which way is up."

Qin Tian looked at Xia Nuannuan to his side and teased her with a chuckle.

"I learned it from you. Doesn't our dorm manager auntie smile very happily whenever she sees you?"

Xia Nuannuan said with a beaming smile.

"Not bad at all. With our looks and this sweet talk, put together, we're simply a killer of the older generation!"

Qin Tian boasted with a straight face.

Xia Nuannuan was amused by these words and laughed extremely happily.

By the time they finished grocery shopping and returned home, it was already past four in the afternoon.

Mom hadn't returned yet, so the two of them carried the groceries to the back room to prepare the ingredients.

After getting things mostly ready, Qin Tian brought Xia Nuannuan into his room, sat down on the chair in front of the computer, and then patted his lap.

"Come, sit here!"

"No."

Xia Nuannuan rolled her eyes and decisively shook her head in refusal.

Seeing her make a move to sit on the bed behind them, Qin Tian grabbed her wrist and pulled her with a gentle tug.

"What are you doing!"

After being forced to sit on his lap, Xia Nuannuan complained with a blushing face.

"Nothing, it's warm to hold you."

Qin Tian grinned, one hand wrapping around her waist while the other reached over to turn on the computer tower.

"Warm my head, it's over ten degrees today."

Xia Nuannuan said with annoyance.

"So what if it's over ten degrees? It's still cold without holding you!"

Qin Tian said with a thick-skinned, glib tongue.

Xia Nuannuan was both shy and happy, and she gently bumped him with the back of her head.

Qin Tian blocked it with his forehead, then immediately lowered his head to kiss the fair skin on her jade-like neck.

"Ah!"

Xia Nuannuan exclaimed, shrank her neck, and chided with a blushing face: "Stop messing around!"

Qin Tian chuckled, stopped at the right moment, didn't continue to tease her, moved the mouse to find a currently popular TV series, and just held her like that to watch it together.

It wasn't until footsteps and the sound of two people talking came from the front room that Xia Nuannuan realized what was happening and scrambled to stand up in a flurry.

"Xiao Tian, are you home?"

Mom's voice came calling.

"In the back!"

Qin Tian responded.

Soon, Tang Xiuxia and Qin Hongwen arrived at the back room together.

Seeing the two of them walking out of the room, with Xia Nuannuan's face still flushed with a lingering redness, Tang Xiuxia, who was about to say something, had her words stuck in her throat as she glared at her son behind her with a complex look.

"Auntie, Uncle Qin."

Xia Nuannuan greeted them, feeling somewhat flushed.

"Eh!"

Qin Hongwen nodded with a smile.

"Nuan Nuan, you're here. Where is your mother?"

Tang Xiuxia shifted her gaze to her daughter-in-law-to-be and asked with a gentle smile.

"My mom will come over by herself in a bit. My brother and I went to buy groceries together."

Xia Nuannuan replied.

"I see!"

Tang Xiuxia nodded.

Xia Nuannuan opened her mouth, really wanting to say that they were just watching TV earlier, but she felt that would be like saying "there is no silver buried here" and only making it more suspicious.

"I'm going to cook."

Qin Tian naturally couldn't be bothered to explain; these kinds of things only get messier the more you explain them.

"I, I'll go help out."

Xia Nuannuan said with darting eyes, following him into the kitchen.

Seeing this, Tang Xiuxia and Qin Hongwen exchanged a glance, both instantly understanding what the other meant.

Clearly, both of them had misunderstood something.

……

……

Just as Qin Tian finished cooking two dishes, his future mother-in-law arrived.

Under Tang Xiuxia's introduction, Su Xia and Qin Hongwen formally met, and then the three of them went into the room to sit, drink tea, and chat.

Qin Tian and Xia Nuannuan were busy in the kitchen, working together with a tacit understanding, and their efficiency was quite high.

"Wow, it smells so good!"

A plate of her favorite garlic-flavored pork ribs, fragrant and mouth-watering, came out of the pan, and Xia Nuannuan was already swallowing her saliva as she smelled it.

"Eat one."

Qin Tian took a pair of chopsticks and handed them over.

"This... is that okay?"

"Helping me taste how it is, what could be wrong with that!"

"Well, alright then, I'll try it!"

Xia Nuannuan smiled, took the chopsticks, and picked up a piece. "Be careful, it's hot!"

Qin Tian reminded her while washing the pot to prepare for the next dish.

"Mm-hmm!"

Xia Nuannuan nodded repeatedly, pursed her little lips to blow on it until it cooled down a bit, and then couldn't wait to take a bite.

With a rich garlic aroma, the ribs—crispy on the outside and tender on the inside—were full of chewiness, making her squint her eyes in bliss.

"Mmm... this is truly delicious."

"Eat a couple more, I made plenty anyway."

Qin Tian said with a smile.

"Brother, you eat too!"

Xia Nuannuan held the rib she had taken a bite of out toward his mouth.

Qin Tian ate it directly into his mouth, bone and meat together.

"See? I told you, they don't need any help."

A familiar voice suddenly came from behind.

Xia Nuannuan's expression stiffened, and she turned her head like a robot to look.

She saw that Qin Hongwen and the two mothers had walked into the kitchen at some point and were standing at the doorway, watching them with auntie-like smiles on their faces.

Xia Nuannuan's entire little face turned bright red in an instant; she turned her head away in a panic, wishing she could find a hole to crawl into.

"Mom, Auntie Su, why do you walk without making a sound?"

Qin Tian said with a speechless expression.

He was certainly embarrassed, but his skin was thick enough to handle it.

"We smelled the aroma and came to see if there was anything we could help with. It seems I thought too much; sorry to disturb, sorry to disturb."

Su Xia said with a mischievous smile.

"Ahem!"

The teasing words made Qin Tian cough awkwardly twice. He straightened his expression and said, "Can you help carry the dishes out? You can take the tableware over first, too. There are a few more stir-fried dishes; they'll be ready soon."

"Okay!"

Su Xia responded with a smile and walked over to help carry the dishes.

Qin Hongwen and Tang Xiuxia also helped, one carrying dishes and the other taking the tableware.

After the three of them left the kitchen, Xia Nuannuan immediately reached out and pinched the soft flesh on Qin Tian's waist.

"It's all your fault, that's twice now."

"Hiss... didn't you feed it to me? How is it my fault again?"

Qin Tian grimaced, looking at her with an innocent expression.

"I don't care, it's your fault!"

Xia Nuannuan glared at him fiercely.

"Fine, fine, my fault."

Qin Tian knew that reasoning with a woman was useless, so he could only smile helplessly.

Xia Nuannuan also knew she was in the wrong, so her little hand helped him rub the spot she had pinched.

"You can't do this again in the future, it's too embarrassing."

"What's the big deal? We didn't even do anything; it's just that your skin is too thin."

"Is it possible that your skin is just too thick?"

"You've killed the conversation."

Qin Tian glanced at her, his expression gloomy.

The corners of Xia Nuannuan's lips curled up slightly, and she smiled happily.

Soon, a table full of sumptuous dishes was ready.

The five of them sat around the dining table in the main room.

With the intentional coordination of the two mothers and Xia Nuannuan, Xia Nuannuan was on Qin Tian's right, while the only person present whom he didn't care for was on his left.

"Do you two want to have some wine?"

Tang Xiuxia suggested.

"Sure!"

Qin Hongwen nodded with a smile and cast an inquiring look at Qin Tian.

Sitting down to eat with his beloved and his son for the first time, he felt incredibly excited and happy.

"I drank too much with Lao Yezi at noon, so I won't drink!"

Qin Tian refused directly.