At the entrance of the vegetarian restaurant, they built a mini playground for Kouko.

Qiao Wanqing watched them work on it for more than a week before they finally completed the little castle.

On the day it was finished, Kouko was overjoyed.

He crawled in and out of the dog tunnel and wanted people to play hide-and-seek with him.

Gu Yanqing initially had a lot of fun playing with him, but after two days, his patience ran out.

Coincidentally, Yuan Yuan was on vacation, so Gu Yanqing brought him over to play with Kouko.

Yuan Yuan, being a child himself, loved playing there.

He and Kouko could stay in the playground for half a day.

However, since it was summer and the weather was hot, Qiao Wanqing worried that the plastic might emit odors that weren’t good for the children to breathe in.

So, she only allowed them to play there in the mornings and evenings.

One evening, a few customers came into the restaurant, one of whom was a woman with a particularly adorable little girl.

The girl was about three or four years old and exceptionally beautiful for her age.

She had snow-white skin, big, blinking eyes with long eyelashes, and was wearing a princess dress.

She was even cuter than the kids in those heavily filtered and beautified online pictures, making people’s hearts melt with her adorableness.

Seeing the little girl, Qiao Wanqing’s eyes lit up.

Gu Yanqing, noticing her reaction, knew she was enamored with the child.

Unfortunately, Gu Yanqing had his usual “blindness” towards children that weren’t his own.

He thought she was pretty but didn’t find anything particularly special about her.

However, that didn’t stop him from “taking advantage.”

He hugged Qiao Wanqing from behind and asked, “Do you like her?”

Qiao Wanqing wasn’t used to being too affectionate with him in public.

She tried to break free but couldn’t, so she nodded and said, “Yes, she’s adorable.”

“Shall we make one?”

“Get lost!” Qiao Wanqing replied, suddenly reminded of that vivid dream from a few days ago, causing her to blush.

But Gu Yanqing didn’t let her off the hook. “With our genes combined, our daughter would be beautiful.”

“Gu Yanqing, don’t make such bold claims. You might jinx it.”

“How would we know if we don’t try? It could be a perfect match… Ow.”

Gu Yanqing’s words were cut off as Qiao Wanqing pinched his thigh.

“Your mind is full of dirty thoughts!”

“……”

Actually, Gu Yanqing had no intention of really pursuing that idea; he was just teasing Qiao Wanqing because he found her blushing face amusing.

The little girl, after getting Qiao Wanqing’s permission, joined Kouko and Yuan Yuan in the mini playground.

She watched for a while before happily joining their play.

Qiao Wanqing asked Gu Yanqing to keep an eye on them while she went to help in the kitchen.

The table of guests had ordered quite a lot of food.

Since Aunt Song’s child had something come up and she had taken the day off, Qiao Wanqing was responsible for bringing the dishes out.

When she brought out a plate of stir-fried celery with lily bulbs and cashews, she saw the little girl walk in with a sad face.

Qiao Wanqing’s heart skipped a beat—could Kouko and Yuan Yuan have bullied her?

Her mother saw her expression and quickly picked her up, “Sweetie, what’s wrong? Who bullied you?”

“The big brother and the little brother don’t want to play with me.”

The little girl spoke with such grievance.

She was probably very pampered and was now upset because the brothers didn’t want to play with her.

“It’s okay, it’s okay,” her mother comforted her with kisses, “We don’t have to play with them.”

“But,” the little girl looked up, “I want to play with the handsome brothers.”

Someone at their table commented, “Xuxu is really a looks-oriented person. At such a young age, she already likes handsome brothers.”

As Qiao Wanqing placed their dishes on the table, the little girl, Xuxu, saw her and complained, “Auntie, the brothers don’t want to play with me.”

“The brothers aren’t rejecting you; they’re just a bit shy.” Qiao Wanqing initially wanted to pretend she didn’t hear, but seeing the little girl’s disappointed face, she had to make an excuse for her son and nephew.

“I’m a good kid. Can you tell them not to be afraid of me?”

Everyone laughed at this, and Qiao Wanqing smiled, saying, “Alright, I’ll talk to them later.”

But the little girl immediately slipped out of her mother’s arms and tugged on Qiao Wanqing’s hand, saying, “Now, let’s go now, Auntie.”

“……”

Qiao Wanqing had no choice.

After getting the parents’ approval, she led the little girl outside.

On the way, the little girl chatted with Qiao Wanqing, “Auntie, you are so pretty.”

Coughing lightly, Qiao Wanqing couldn’t help but feel pleased with the compliment, “You are very cute too. Is your name Xuxu?”

“My name is Shen Yunxu, but everyone calls me Xuxu.”

Qiao Wanqing: “……”

“Auntie, why did you stop walking?” The little girl looked at Qiao Wanqing, puzzled by her sudden pause.

“No, it’s nothing. Let’s go.”

Holy cow, Qiao Wanqing’s mind was racing.

Shen Yunxu—that’s the name of the female lead in this book!

And considering her obsession with good looks and her appearance, there’s a high chance that this is indeed the female lead.

In the story, the heroine is a super looks-oriented person, appreciating everything and everyone attractive, but she’s not a lovestruck fool.

What did she just say?

The brothers didn’t want to play with her and rejected her.

Qiao Wanqing felt complicated.

Yuan Yuan and Kouko, one destined to be the heroine’s future husband and the other a villain who likes her, were now rejecting her.

Ugh…

What a twist of fate.

Outside, Gu Yanqing was on the phone while Yuan Yuan and Kouko were playing happily.

Seeing Xuxu come out, Yuan Yuan frowned and said, “Why are you here again?”

Kouko, unable to say such long sentences yet, mimicked Yuan Yuan’s tone, stuttering, “Here… again!”

Qiao Wanqing scolded, “Yuan Yuan, Koko, don’t be rude.”

Yuan Yuan huffed, “Auntie, she’s too delicate and cries too easily. Playing with her isn’t fun at all.”

Since Yuan Yuan arrived, he had started calling Qiao Wanqing “Auntie,” obviously under someone’s influence.

“…” Qiao Wanqing wanted to tell Yuan Yuan that his disdain for Xuxu’s delicacy and tears would come back to haunt him in the future when he’d be chasing her.

Of course, in the book, there was no mention of the male and female leads meeting as children.

They’re still so young, and people change so much as they grow up.

Who remembers whom they met when they were little?

Qiao Wanqing crouched down, placing a hand on Yuan Yuan’s shoulder. “Yuan Yuan, she’s a girl, and you’re a boy. It’s normal for girls to be delicate and cry a bit. You need to be a gentleman, okay?”

Yuan Yuan pouted, clearly still unhappy.

Qiao Wanqing sighed and ruffled his hair.

Yuan Yuan was usually very polite and well-behaved.

She couldn’t understand why he was so annoyed with Xuxu today.

Maybe this was the legendary love-hate relationship?

After comforting Yuan Yuan for a bit, the three kids started playing again.

Watching them for a while, Qiao Wanqing finally understood why Yuan Yuan was so frustrated with Xuxu.

Wearing a puffy princess dress, Xuxu struggled to walk properly, let alone slide down the slide.

Sometimes, she was even slower than Kouko, who was still unsteady on his feet.

Xuxu would then whine for Yuan Yuan and Kouko to wait for her.

Yuan Yuan and Koko, engrossed in their play, couldn’t keep up with her demands, prompting Xuxu to cry like a delicate little doll.

Thus, Yuan Yuan found her annoying.

Nonetheless, he didn’t say anything further.

As for Kouko, he was too young to mind much.

He would crawl through the dog tunnel enthusiastically, zooming forward. When he couldn’t climb up the ladder, he’d extend his hand towards Yuan Yuan, saying in a soft, babyish voice, “Brother, help.”

Yuan Yuan, already fond of Kouko, couldn’t refuse his cute and polite request.

Qiao Wanqing shook her head.

The friendships among children were indeed strange.

Knowing Xuxu wouldn’t stay long, she decided to let them be.

As for what will happen in the future, she decided to go with the flow.

She didn’t bother about the original book anymore.

In the original book, she hardly had any interactions with Gu Yanqing.

They only met twice, and he didn’t like her at first but they still ended up together.

---

Last time Qiao Wanqing posted a notice looking to hire a part-time chef who could work weekends and holidays, and after some time, someone actually applied.

Her name was Sun Lanzhi, a housewife.

Sun Lanzhi lived in town to send her child to a better school than the one in the village.

Many parents hoped their children would excel, so they sent them to town for their studies and visited them regularly.

Sun Lanzhi’s child was in second grade in town, and she took a job at the school cafeteria to be with her child.

Her husband worked away and returned home only a few times a year.

She had a bad relationship with her mother-in-law, so she didn’t want to go home on weekends, but there was nothing to do here.

When she saw the recruitment notice, she decided to give it a try.

Because Sun Lanzhi saw the ad at the hotel invested by Gu Yanqing, she arranged the interview in the hotel’s guest area on the first floor.

After hearing her introduction, Qiao Wanqing asked gently, “Do you have a chef qualification certificate or any relevant work experience?”

Qiao Wanqing wasn’t being too demanding.

Their restaurant catered to city clients, not just any ordinary housewife who could cook a meal.

She had thought she was quite knowledgeable about cooking, but she felt outmatched compared to Master Liu.

Since it was hot, and the restaurant wasn’t particularly busy, Qiao Wanqing decided to take her time to hire someone more skilled.

“I worked as a chef at banquet events for about half a year before, but I had to quit when I got pregnant with my second child. I don’t have a chef qualification certificate, but if needed, I could have applied for the school’s chef position earlier this year. However, rest assured, I have all the health certifications.”

Qiao Wanqing nodded.

Having worked at banquet events did give her some skills.

“We only serve vegetarian dishes here, so it might be different from what you’ve done before.”

“I understand, no problem,” Sun Lanzhi said confidently.