Jiang Xueqin, upon hearing Mu Xiaoqi’s words, beamed. “Look at this mother of mine, I was so happy I forgot about that. Our Xiaoqi choked on fish when she was little, so she can’t stand the smell.”

Zhao Xilie’s cold face showed no expression. He sat calmly, neither annoyed by the middle-aged woman ordering so many dishes nor relieved by Mu Xiaoqi’s cancellation.

This calmness made Jiang Xueqin inwardly disdainful.  Just a poor country bumpkin, pretending to be composed!

However, she showed no such feeling on her face, engaging enthusiastically with Zhao Xilie.

“Xiao Zhao, how do you make a living?”

“Farming.”

“Besides you, who else is in your family?”

“My sister.”

“You seem quite strong, you must be very capable. Our Xiaoqi likes responsible boys like you.”

After Jiang Xueqin returned, Mu Xiaoqi didn’t look at Zhao Xilie again. She knew Zhao’s family situation well enough and didn’t need Jiang Xueqin to create awkwardness.  She knew Jiang Xueqin was probably feeling triumphant.

The food was served quickly. Zhao Xilie ate quickly; he finished two bowls of rice while Mu Xiaoqi and Jiang Xueqin had only eaten half a bowl each.

This time, Jiang Xueqin’s disdain wasn’t hidden, flashing across her eyes.  This man probably hadn’t eaten much rice before.  She’d heard people in the mountains only ate twice a day, relying on sweet potatoes.  What a poor, embarrassing sight!

However, Mu Xiaoqi didn’t see it that way.

Although Zhao Xilie ate quickly, he didn’t make any slurping noises, and only took food from in front of him.  In terms of table manners, Zhao Xilie was quite good.

While Jiang Xueqin and Mu Xiaoqi were still eating, Zhao Xilie went outside to pay the bill.

Lunch finished, the blind date was officially over. Mu Xiaoqi belatedly realized that Zhao Xilie had only spoken three sentences the entire time.

Was he dissatisfied with her?

This meeting hadn’t happened in her past life. Even though she was reborn, Mu Xiaoqi couldn’t find the answer to whether he was satisfied with her on Zhao Xilie’s cold face.

Before leaving, Jiang Xueqin voiced Mu Xiaoqi’s question. “Xiao Zhao, when are you free to take our Xiaoqi out for a walk?”

This was a hint; if he was dissatisfied with Xiaoqi, he would say he wasn’t free.

“Mu Xiaoqi, are you free the day after tomorrow?” Zhao Xilie ignored Jiang Xueqin and directly asked Mu Xiaoqi.

Hearing this, Mu Xiaoqi looked directly into Zhao Xilie’s eyes. She thought he was dissatisfied with her. Unexpectedly, he was asking her out again so soon.

Mu Xiaoqi nodded.  Reliving her life, she would cherish this man.

“Ten o’clock the day after tomorrow morning, I’ll wait for you at the Pinglexian bus station.”

Even after the bus left Luo’an Town station, Zhao Xilie’s magnetic voice still echoed in Mu Xiaoqi’s ears.  In this life, they could date normally and get married smoothly. Unlike last time, she wouldn’t make him lose face.

Mu Xiaoqi and Jiang Xueqin didn’t speak on the way home; they arrived at four in the afternoon.

It was Sunday, and Mu Yuehui hadn’t gone out. Hearing the noise at the door, he was about to get up, but then picked up a book, pretending not to hear.

Mu Xiaoqi didn’t even greet him, going straight to her room.

Jiang Xueqin, however, was beaming, praising Zhao Xilie to Mu Yuehui.

“The young man is quite spirited, taller than you. I thought, his family won’t make things difficult for Xiaoqi, and a younger sister will eventually get married. As you know, Xiaoqi has a bad temper, so avoiding mother-in-law conflicts is good.”

Jiang Xueqin poured her husband a glass of water. “The most important thing is that I think Xiaoqi is quite satisfied with him too, and agreed to meet him alone the day after tomorrow.”

“Thank you for your hard work!” Mu Yuehui had been pretending to read; he put down the book and took the tea from his wife.

Thinking of Xiaoqi’s resolute attitude this morning, Mu Yuehui felt a headache coming on.  Both he and Jiayun were gentle and reasonable, he didn’t know how they had such a troublesome daughter.

Seeing her husband’s furrowed brow, Jiang Xueqin got up, went behind him, and massaged his temples.

“Yuehui, don’t worry so much.  You can trust me with the child, can’t you?”

In the room, Mu Xiaoqi was tidying up.  She had a bookshelf filled with books left to her by her mother. Her biological mother was a talented woman who became a chief editor at a publishing house at a young age.

Unfortunately, she left too early!

Holding a family photo of the three of them, Mu Xiaoqi’s fingers traced her mother’s face, tears welling up.

Mom, I miss you so much!

Mom, I’m sorry!

These books were later taken over by that scheming stepsister. Even the jewelry her mother left her was given away to that hateful mother and daughter.

Opening the sandalwood jewelry box, Mu Xiaoqi found that many pieces were missing.

In her past life, she didn’t care about these things, but in this life, she would cherish everything her mother left her.

Counting the time, it had been three years since she last visited her grandmother’s house. She wondered how her grandmother was doing? And her three uncles, who always cleaned up her messes, she missed them very much.

“Sister, I heard you went on a blind date today? What’s your brother-in-law like? Is he tall? Handsome?” Without knocking, Mu Sisi, who had just arrived home, pushed the door open and entered.

Seeing Mu Xiaoqi holding the jewelry box, Mu Sisi’s peach blossom eyes twinkled.

Seeing this sister who pushed her into the fire pit again, Mu Xiaoqi wasn’t as excited as she had imagined. She glanced at Mu Sisi indifferently, then locked the box.