Chapter 53: I Want to Hold Hands Too

The original plan to go out to eat changed to eating at home.

Pei Muyin naturally assumed it would be the same as before—ordering takeout—but after leaving school, Shu Shu took her and Shu Lingchen to a large supermarket.

They headed straight to the fresh produce section.

"Sister, are we cooking ourselves today?" Pei Muyin asked in surprise, waving her hands and hastily explaining: "I, I can't cook."

"Not us, it's me." Shu Shu's gaze fell inch by inch on her daughter's face, her eyes earnest and warm, she said softly: "I want to cook for you, okay?"

"Okay."

Pei Muyin smiled and nodded, eagerly raising her hand: "Then I'll help you, sister."

"Sure."

Shu Shu took hold of her raised hand; the daughter's chubby hand was grasped in her palm, the sensation filling her heart through her arm. She tried to call her daughter's name, her voice tinged with unfamiliar carefulness: "…Muyin."

"Is there anything special you'd like to eat?"

Pei Muyin is a very polite girl; she felt that Shu Shu cooking was already hard work, and she shouldn't make more demands, so she said: "Whatever you make is what I like to eat."

Shu Shu saw her thought and put on a troubled expression: "Your answer is too vague; I originally wanted to get some suggestions from you, because I have decision‑making difficulty and don't know what vegetables to buy."

Hearing Shu Shu say that, Pei Muyin looked enlightened, she immediately went to survey the nearby shelves and then picked two dishes.

Both dishes are simple and easy to make.

Pei Muyin was still thinking she shouldn't let Shu Shu be too troubled or tired.

So Shu Shu stopped asking, took the two dishes Pei Muyin had picked, thought for a while, made up her mind about a few things, and headed to the meat section.

Throughout, she held Pei Muyin's hand while Shu Lingchen pushed the shopping cart behind them.

Seeing the two ahead holding hands, the boy instinctively lowered his head, saw his own empty hands, pondered for a couple of steps, then stepped forward a few paces and grabbed Shu Shu's other hand, saying as if not to be outdone:

"I want to hold hands too."

Shu Shu stopped, turned her head: "Aren't you supposed to be pushing the cart?"

"I can push with one hand." Shu Lingchen immediately demonstrated by pulling the cart back and forth with one hand, very easily, then said: "There are so many people here; if we don't hold hands, we might get lost later—what a hassle that would be."

Shu Shu and Pei Muyin almost simultaneously turned their heads to look around.

The heads were scattered; where it was crowded, there was basically no crowding.

Moreover, getting lost in the supermarket, as he described it, sounded like a terribly serious matter.

Shu Lingchen, however, acted as if he hadn't noticed, not moving or loosening his grip, his face seemingly saying "Regardless, I want to hold hands."

Fine, let's just hold hands then.

No choice—Shu Shu could only hold one hand each; her hands were full, so she directed Shu Lingchen to grab bags for the vegetables.

After Shu Lingchen bagged the vegetables, weighed them, and put them in the cart, he again took Shu Shu's hand without changing his expression.

Shu Shu: "……"

Actually it was a bit awkward, because the three of them holding hands blocked the aisle like a road‑blocking tiger, but fortunately there weren't many people, so it didn't inconvenience others.

…

Leaving the supermarket, they returned to Imperial Scenic Garden 1600.

In the kitchen.

Shu Lingchen took everything out, sorted it, putting what would be used on the countertop and what wouldn't back in the fridge—a habit he'd had since childhood, when his mother brought groceries home and he'd stand on a small stool to tidy up.

Pei Muyin walked over and asked Shu Shu what she could do.

What Shu Shu had said in the supermarket about "okay" was just a response; she hadn't intended for Pei Muyin to actually help her.

"Go watch TV in the living room; I'll call you when the meal's ready."

Pei Muyin stubbornly refused to leave: "Sister, let me help you; you both have work to do, I don't want to just rest."

The girl looked at Shu Shu with pleading peach‑blossom eyes, making Shu Shu's heart go soft; she couldn't bring herself to say a word of refusal, so she finally assigned Pei Muyin the task of washing the vegetables.

Shu Shu planned to cook the meat dishes first; she took out the ingredients and marinated the cleaned meat, during which she kept glancing up from time to time at Pei Muyin standing by the sink.

Watching the water splash onto the girl's fair hand backs, occasionally a few drops hitting her perky little nose, she lifted her elbow to wipe away the moisture, then continued to wash with her head down, eyelashes gently closed, her soft side‑face focused and earnest.

Shu Shu glanced once, then again, and once more.

As if no amount of looking were enough, fearing that if she looked less, everything that happened today would be merely her imagination and hallucination.

Thinking of this, Shu Shu's chest suddenly tightened, and she suddenly called out: "Muyin."

"Huh?" The girl blinked and lifted her head: "What's wrong, sister?"

She responded, a genuine response.

Shu Shu laughed, shook her head: "No, I just thought your name sounds nice, so I wanted to call you."

Pei Muyin also smiled with her eyes.

…

Shu Shu's cooking style has always been clean and efficient, and she has full confidence in her culinary skills.

But this was probably the first time she cooked for her daughter, and she suddenly felt at a loss, constantly having Shu Lingchen taste the food, then anxiously asking: "How is it?"

Even if Shu Lingchen gave a thumbs‑up and repeatedly praised the taste as being just as good as before, she still couldn't relax.

The three of them—Shu Shu prepared five dishes and one soup.

The hot and sour potato shreds and corn rib soup were the dishes Pei Muyin had picked at the supermarket.

The remaining four dishes are:

Scallion‑braised chicken, stuffed peppers with meat, lemon chicken wings, and chilled shrimp salad.

When placed on the table, they were complete in color, aroma, and flavor, whetting the appetite.

After sitting down, Pei Muyin exclaimed "Wow!"; all these dishes were made by her sister, and she looked at Shu Shu with admiration: "Sister, you're amazing."

Shu Shu felt grateful for the dinners she had shared with Pei Muyin lately, from which she could roughly infer the girl's likes and tastes.

"Come on, dig in."

Shu Shu and Pei Muyin sat on the same side of the dining table, Pei Muyin lifted her head, her eyes brightened, "Good~"

Shu Shu stretched her chopsticks toward the plate of lemon chicken wings, picking up a piece that was clearly not meant for herself.

As usual, this chopstickful of food was always picked up for Shu Lingchen; Shu Lingchen also had the habit of automatically picking up his bowl, reaching over from opposite side, preparing to receive the chicken wing his mother gave.

Then he just watched helplessly as the chicken wing was placed into Pei Muyin's plate.

……

The youth's motion paused, the bowl hung in the air; Pei Muyin also startled, both looked at Shu Shu simultaneously.

Pei Muyin said: "Thank you, older sister."

"You're welcome."

While answering, Shu Shu picked up a second piece of chicken wing and placed it into Shu Lingchen's bowl.

Actually, when the three of them usually ate, Shu Shu would serve both Shu Lingchen and Pei Muyin, but today the order changed.

Shu Lingchen is broad-minded, didn't mind; anyway Mom also served him, it's just the order.

He naturally took back his bowl, lowered his head and gnawed that piece of chicken wing.