“Ah! Madam, you’re here too! Are you here… to eat dumplings?”

Shu Yuqing, smiling, changed her shoes and handed a paper bag to Aunt Zhang. Inside were some handmade soft candies she bought for Yu Sen. With a cheerful tone, she complained, “Yes, I wasn’t told about this! If Yun Ting hadn’t called me, I would’ve missed the chance to taste Yu Sen’s cooking.”

Si Xuanyang forced a smile, “Even if we didn’t tell you, you still showed up, didn’t you? I guess it was fate—there’s no escape.”

“What are you talking about, Yang Yang? Why do you sound so passive-aggressive?” Yun Ting looked at him in confusion. She couldn’t figure out what was wrong, but something felt off. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be speaking like this.

This feeling lingered as she entered the living room, where she immediately noticed a pale, slender, and striking person on the sofa. His slightly long black hair partially covered his deep-set eyes as he lazily leaned against the pillow, his long legs casually draped, propping up his head as he chatted indifferently with Si Nan. His lowered eyelashes cast a shadow on his fair cheeks.

Only when he heard them did he slowly turn his gaze towards them. But when he saw Shu Yuqing standing beside her, his dark eyes briefly showed a hint of surprise.

Yun Ting instantly realized—maybe inviting her aunt today wasn’t the best idea.

Yu Sen was indeed taken aback when he saw Shu Yuqing. He vaguely remembered the small wasabi-filled dumplings and the other equally inedible dumplings steaming in the kitchen, and wondered whether, if Mrs. Si accidentally ate one, his romantic life would hit an unprecedented rough patch.

Shu Yuqing cheerfully greeted him as soon as she saw him: “Yu Sen! I bought you the soft candies we talked about last time. You can have some when you’re free to replenish your sugar and vitamin C. By the way, how’s your health?”

“Pretty good. There shouldn’t be any major problems,” Yu Sen replied sincerely, blinking his eyes. “Thank you, Auntie, you’re so kind.”

“Hey! Why did you suddenly become so polite, kid?” Shu Yuqing chuckled, her eyes crinkling with amusement. “If you really want to thank me, then later on, let me eat a few more of the dumplings you made.”

Yu Sen was caught off guard and choked slightly. “They might not be… very tasty.”

“It’s okay, Si Nan said your hobby is baking, right? dumplings are pretty similar. Don’t feel pressured; just keep making them, and you’ll get the hang of it.”

Shu Yuqing now had a completely motherly attitude toward him. As long as he wasn’t sick, vomiting blood, fainting, covered in tubes, or in the emergency room making her son collapse, she didn’t care if the sky fell.

Besides, he wasn’t causing any trouble; he was just obediently making dumplings at home. What a considerate young man!

Especially after she caught a glimpse of the string of kiss marks on his neck and saw the worried, exhausted expression on his pale, thin face, the gentle affection in Shu Yuqing’s eyes deepened, despite the complexity of her emotions.

So, she secretly pulled Si Xuanyang aside and earnestly advised him, “Isn’t your boyfriend still sick? When you two… you should be more moderate. Otherwise, if he falls ill again, you’ll suffer too.”

Si Xuanyang: “…”

Though he wanted to argue, in a way, he couldn’t deny that he was the one who left those marks on Yu Sen’s neck. What she said wasn’t wrong, so he sighed softly and said, “You’re right.”

There was no rebuttal.

…

Ten minutes later, the dumplings were served.

Although the dumplings were of varying sizes and the thickness of the dough was inconsistent, the freshly steamed dumplings were plump and white, with clearly defined folds, making them look quite appetizing.

Because Shu Yuqing was also present, Luo Yu was more restrained than usual, sitting quietly at the end of the table, keeping his head down and not daring to pick up his chopsticks.

His situation was a bit different from Yu Sen’s. In Shu Yuqing’s eyes, Si Nan’s attitude towards him was just an ordinary romantic relationship, without any intense emotional fluctuations like “I can’t live without him” or “he’s my everything,” nor could she see any life-or-death determination.

So, naturally, she treated him as a regular boyfriend in her son’s normal relationship, with a calm attitude, not as warm as she was toward Yu Sen.

Moreover, Luo Yu was a gentle and quiet person by nature, always polite but not too close to elders. Normally, this didn’t stand out, but here, the difference was noticeable.

Yun Ting, being sensitive, noticed this and, worried that the young man might feel emotionally hurt, quickly picked up her chopsticks, took a chubby dumpling from the steamer in front of her, and placed it on his plate.

“Here, Xiao Luo, you’re the youngest here. Why don’t you be the first to taste this dumpling for your brother Yu Sen?”

Hearing this, Yu Sen looked up and tilted his head, staring at the dumpling for a couple of seconds before nodding. “Yes, you try it.”

“Huh? Oh, okay…” Luo Yu cautiously glanced at Mrs. Si, saw that her smile hadn’t faded, and obediently took a bite of the dumpling.

Yu Sen rested his chin on one hand, lazily asking, “How is it?” as he looked at the red bean paste inside the dumpling, representing ‘safety.’

The others at the table all turned their attention to him.

Luo Yu chewed a few times with puffed cheeks, his brows furrowing briefly before quickly relaxing. He swallowed the bite of the dumpling with some effort, then smiled. “It’s quite good.”

Except that the dumpling’s dough was too thick, and there was some raw flour in the folds at the top.

But that was a minor issue, so he wisely chose not to mention it.

Si Xuanyang sighed softly, almost imperceptibly, and under the table, he squeezed Yu Sen’s hand, saying, “Let’s all eat. Aunt Zhang, please bring Yu Sen’s soup; he needs to drink a bowl of soup before his meal.”

Yu Sen snickered and, turning his head, gave Si Xuanyang a quick peck on the cheek in front of everyone.

“Cough, cough, cough…”

“Ugh!”

“Oh my…”

There were a few seconds of commotion at the dining table.

The scene was too much to bear.

“Showing off to death!” Si Nan couldn’t bear to watch, so he grabbed a dumpling and took a vicious bite, chewing a few times. “Beef filling? Not bad, but the dough’s a bit thick.”

Yu Sen casually stirred the rich white fish soup in his bowl, shifting his gaze away from Si Nan—these two were lucky, he thought, disappointed.

Shu Yuqing muttered, “It looks pretty thin to me. Why aren’t you usually this picky?” as she picked up a dumpling and took a bite. She was surprised after two bites.

“Mm! Shrimp and abalone filling, and it’s got a bit of broth. Very tasty, nice job, Xiao Yu!”

Yu Sen: “If you like it, please have more.”

Si Xuanyang slowly placed the bean paste dumpling he’d taken a small bite of back on Yu Sen’s plate. Glancing at Yun Ting, who looked a bit stiff, he kindly asked, “Ting Jie, what do you think?”

Yun Ting swallowed the odd-tasting steamed fruit pulp in her mouth, then looked at her composed cousin, who met her gaze calmly, and at the sickly, beautiful young man beside him. She took a deep breath and smiled. “It’s very good, very creative. Each filling is different. Aunt, you should try more; it’s full of surprises.”

They’re all family; if we’re going down, we go down together.

“Really? Then I should try more.”

…

Two minutes later, Shu Yuqing stared speechlessly at the dumpling in front of her, the filling she had bitten into revealing a mix of pear, bamboo fungus, and chicken, along with some unidentifiable chopped-up food, creating a strange, indescribable taste with a complex aftertaste.

She was silent for a moment, then, for the sake of her youngest son’s future happiness, forced herself to say, “It’s quite good, unconventional, and very unique.”

Then, recalling the reason she had come to visit today, she added several more dumplings to Yun Ting’s plate with a smile. “Ting Ting, you should eat more. Didn’t you tell me over the phone that you’d skipped afternoon tea today? You must be hungry. Come on, eat more.”

“…Auntie, you’re so thoughtful. You should eat more too. After all, Yu Sen will be calling you ‘Mom’ in the future, so it wouldn’t be right if you ate less than anyone else today.” Yun Ting, in turn, added several dumplings to Shu Yuqing’s plate as well.

“……That makes sense.”

Yu Sen’s ears turned slightly red as he slowly sipped his soup, lowering his head.

Si Xuanyang’s lips curled into a smile, his expression calm but his actions flustered as he hurriedly stuffed a fruit dumpling into his mouth, chewing carefully.

His heart felt as sweet as honey.

“Eat slowly, don’t choke,” Yu Sen frowned and poked Si Xuanyang’s waist, whispering, “If it doesn’t taste good, don’t force yourself. You’ll feel uncomfortable later.”

“It’s delicious,” Si Xuanyang turned his head and saw a bit of clear fish soup at the corner of Yu Sen’s mouth. He whispered back, complaining, “With so many people around, behave yourself and stop teasing me.”

He was being teased so much that he just wanted to press Yu Sen’s head down and kiss him until he was dizzy, trapping him in his arms, softer and whiter than the dumplings, unable to let go.

Yu Sen: “???”

If you have poor self-control, don’t blame it on me!

…

Yu Sen didn’t expect an ordinary dinner to be turned into a dramatic scene of subtle tension by a few people who were overly accommodating toward him.

He initially thought that after eating a couple of dumplings, Mrs. Si would have a different attitude toward him.

But after an hour, he realized that the other people at the table were glaring at each other with hateful eyes, while he was the one most removed from the situation.

The unbelievable part was that not a single dumpling was left uneaten.

Unbelievable.

In the end, it was Si Xuanyang who finally took away the remaining dumplings and had someone bring out the last steamer of mustard greens dumplings, saying, “Just leave some of these for me. Once you finish this steamer, you’ll be full.”

Everyone at the table, except for Yu Sen, received a small, delicate dumpling.

Watching his boyfriend calmly take a bite of that ‘devil’s dumpling,’ Yu Sen clenched his fingers, frowned rarely, leaned over, pressed down on Si Xuanyang’s shoulder, and quickly took a bite of the dumpling in his hand.

The spicy taste instantly filled his taste buds.

^[1]Author’s note: Parents’ attitudes towards their son’s partner usually depend on how they see their son treating that partner… Thank you all for your support and comments. The … Continue reading