Chapter 49 : The Awkward Duo

Although Zheng Lanhua didn’t say anything on the surface, she was pacing back and forth in the yard, glancing outside repeatedly.

She only sat back down on the small stool at the door to continue stitching the soles of shoes when she saw Fang Xiaoluo’s figure heading back.

Fang Xiaoluo walked in, and Zheng Lanhua pretended as if she had just noticed her. She stood up and reached out to take the thermos from Fang Xiaoluo’s hands. “Did everything go well?”

“Mm, Shen Zheng and the others are busy. They won’t be back tonight, they said they’ll be gone for half a month,” Fang Xiaoluo replied.

Zheng Lanhua didn’t ask further. As long as things were settled, that was enough. As for Shen Zheng not coming back, it was a usual occurrence.

Noticing Fang Xiaoluo’s tired expression, Zheng Lanhua couldn’t help but ask, “Did you eat? I saved some food for you.”

“I ate the big pancakes that Uncle Huo brought me,” Fang Xiaoluo replied.

The two of them didn’t speak much more. Fang Xiaoluo washed her face, lay down on the bed, and soon fell into a sleepy haze.

Shen Jinxia woke up, went out to play for a bit, and when she returned, she saw Zheng Lanhua stitching the shoe soles and quietly walked over.

“Grandma, is Sister back?”

Zheng Lanhua softly replied, “She’s back. She’s very tired. Let’s keep quiet so we don’t wake her.”

Shen Jinxia quickly covered her mouth with her little hand and nodded repeatedly.

Zheng Lanhua pulled Shen Jinxia over to sit on the wooden bench at the yard’s entrance. “Jinxia, tell me, did you get angry because Sister didn’t let you eat the chocolate today?”

Shen Jinxia shook her head. “No, Sister is so nice. Why would I be angry? She makes me delicious food and even buys me pretty hair clips.”

Zheng Lanhua smiled. “You’re such a good granddaughter. Although you’re still young and didn’t get angry, Grandma still has to tell you that the chocolate had a laxative in it. If you ate it, you’d get diarrhea, and if it’s serious, you could even get a fever or a worse illness. In short, it would make you feel very uncomfortable.”

Shen Jinxia’s eyes went wide, and she cupped her face. “Wow, Sister is so good! She was afraid we’d get sick, wasn’t she?”

Zheng Lanhua ruffled Shen Jinxia’s hair. “Yes, that’s right.”

Shen Jinxia peeked inside the house and smiled. “I knew it. Sister is the best person in the world!”

This afternoon, Shen Haifeng had a lot on his mind. He was so distracted during class that his mind wandered far away, and he was called on by the teacher twice. The teacher scolded him for failing his exams and not paying attention in class. If this continued, his parents would be called in.

When school finally ended, he rushed home.

He told himself that he was a man and needed to take responsibility for his actions. The first thing he had to do was apologize to Fang Xiaoluo.

He hurried home, but when he got there, Fang Xiaoluo’s door was closed.

Shen Jinxia quietly tiptoed out, putting her little finger to her lips. “Shh.”

Then she pulled Shen Haifeng into the living room. “Sister’s really tired and is sleeping. Let’s not wake her up.”

Shen Haifeng was puzzled. Normally, Fang Xiaoluo wouldn’t be sleeping at this time. Why was she sleeping now?

Shen Jinxia tilted her head and waved for Shen Haifeng to crouch down.

She whispered in his ear, “Big brother, let me tell you, Sister is really nice. Grandma said she didn’t let us eat the chocolate because she was afraid we’d get sick.”

Shen Haifeng pursed his lips. He had already figured that out, but he felt like he was less mature than three-year-old Shen Jinxia, only knowing how to be angrily helpless.

“Jinxia, you’re a good girl.”

Fang Xiaoluo had slept deeply, and by the time she woke up, it was already past five in the afternoon.

She had been busy all morning and then waited in the infirmary for three hours. Although she hadn’t felt particularly exhausted, she now felt more tired than after doing a lot of work.

She got out of bed and opened the door. It was quiet outside.

At this time, Zheng Lanhua should have been finishing up her “dark culinary creations,” but today, there was no strange smell in the air.

As soon as Fang Xiaoluo opened the door, Shen Jinxia was the first to run out. “Sister, you’re awake!”

Fang Xiaoluo squatted down and hugged her. “Mm, I woke up.”

“Sister, let’s go eat!” Shen Jinxia stretched out her little hand to grab Fang Xiaoluo’s hand and led her toward the dining table.

Meal?

Fang Xiaoluo didn’t notice any signs of food being prepared at home. Even if there was food, could what Zheng Lanhua made actually be edible?

When she sat down at the dining table, she saw that several plates were covered, with a basin of steamed buns beside them.

The buns were clearly not made by Zheng Lanhua.

Zheng Lanhua called over Shen Haifeng and Shen Haiping to eat as well.

She lifted the covers from the plates, revealing a dish of stewed cabbage and tofu with vermicelli, a plate of braised beef with potatoes, a dish of stir-fried tofu with green peppers, and scrambled eggs with tomatoes.

“Is today a holiday?” Fang Xiaoluo asked, puzzled.

Zheng Lanhua turned her face away. “I found a few old meal tickets from the canteen that were about to expire. Otherwise, do you think I would make these things, which are healthy?”

Fang Xiaoluo almost couldn’t stop herself from laughing. This old lady sure was awkward.

She’d never heard of meal tickets from the compound’s canteen expiring.

“Oh.” She casually responded, took a bun, and sat down to eat. “The food tastes pretty good.”

The three children sat down and ate silently.

Fang Xiaoluo noticed that Shen Haifeng was eating but would occasionally glance at her. The look on his face was almost like that of a little wronged wife.

However, Fang Xiaoluo didn’t pay him any attention. So what if he was only eight years old? Who said that children don’t understand anything?

Especially at the age of eight, he understood quite a lot.

After they finished eating, Zheng Lanhua called out, “Haifeng, hurry up and do your homework. Jinxia, take your second brother outside for a walk.”

Fang Xiaoluo saw Zheng Lanhua go to wash the dishes, so she decided to go into the yard to digest her food.

She hadn’t eaten well at lunch, but she had eaten quite a bit at dinner.

Just as she stepped out of the house, Shen Haifeng caught up with her.

“Hey…”

Fang Xiaoluo looked down at Shen Haifeng. “First of all, I don’t answer to ‘hey.’ Second, Shen Haifeng, that’s very rude.”

Shen Haifeng fiddled with the corner of his clothes. He hesitated for a long time, not sure what to call Fang Xiaoluo.

“Ah… Aunty,” he finally managed to say after some struggle.

Fang Xiaoluo was a bit surprised. Was this progress?

“Is there something you want?”

Shen Haifeng took a deep breath. “I’m sorry.”

Fang Xiaoluo crossed her arms. “Did you leave my name when you were committing murder and arson?”

“No!” Shen Haifeng quickly denied it. “I just wanted to apologize for the chocolate incident this afternoon. I know what happened now and want to say sorry.”

Fang Xiaoluo looked at the awkward little boy. Honestly, sometimes, he really did resemble Zheng Lanhua in his mannerisms.

She asked, “Was that why you kept looking at me during dinner?”

“Mm.” Shen Haifeng nodded, his voice barely audible.

Fang Xiaoluo asked again, “So, you were in this state the entire afternoon during class?”

Shen Haifeng lowered his head and stayed silent.

Fang Xiaoluo could tell from his expression that he felt guilty for zoning out during class. She didn’t say anything more and simply went to look at the vegetables she had planted in the yard.

Shen Haifeng didn’t get a response, so he caught up again. “I… I just apologized to you.”

Fang Xiaoluo didn’t even turn around. “Just because you apologized, does that mean I have to forgive you? Who says that?”