Lu Nianchu covered her mouth and nodded vigorously, with tears in her eyes. Her throat was sore and tight, as if it was blocked by something. It took her a long time to squeeze out a sentence.

“Mom will cook for you, mom will cook for you.”

She said it twice, and anyone could hear the excitement in her tone.

Grandma Qi stood aside and couldn’t bear to disturb the mother and son.

She also felt happy in her heart.

He came back. Her sweet baby is back.

—

It was still very early, Lu Nianchu put on an apron and walked into the kitchen.

The home has an open kitchen with an island.

When Lu Nianchu was not busy, he would take the initiative to cook. In the past, at a time like this, Qiqi would sit in front of the island table, resting his chin and looking at Lu Nianchu’s busy back.

At that time, the Qi family hired a nutritionist to prepare nutritious meals for Qiqi. The nutritionist always liked to tease Qiqi.

“Is the rice cooked by mom better than that cooked by auntie?”

Qiqi was good at coaxing people from a very young age and answered immediately when he opened his mouth.

“I like both. I want to eat what mom cooks for lunch, and I want to eat what auntie cooks for dinner.”

It has been fifteen years.

Lu Nianchu finally saw her Qiqi sitting in front of the island table again, watching her cook.

In a daze, it was as if Qiqi had always been sitting there, and they had no regrets for fifteen years.

Grandma Qi sat next to Qiqi.

“Qingqing, where do you live now?”

“Downtown, opposite Panji Plaza.”

“Do you live alone?”

“Mn.”

Grandma Qi wanted to ask Qingqing if she would like to move back, but she was afraid of appearing too anxious, so she asked something else.

“Are you a sophomore or junior this year?”

“Junior.”

“You’ll have to go back to school in September.”

The original owner changed his major midway, and his adoptive parents changed his college in order to keep him in the small county town of City B. They hope that the original owner will not be discovered, and they hope that the original owner can make money to support their family.

The adoptive parents had no education. In the past few years, the popular major was accounting, so they changed the choice to accounting. The adoptive parents firmly believe that accountants become more popular as they get older. As long as Lu Zeqing is down-to-earth, he will definitely not be too short of money in the future, and they can also ask Lu Zeqing to hand over a few thousand in living expenses every month.

The original owner did not let them bully him. After learning that his chosen university had been changed, his first reaction was not to confront the adoptive parents, nor did he lose his temper to vent. He just shut himself in the room silently.

When his adoptive parents relaxed their vigilance, he directly transferred his household registration and took advantage of the opportunity to change his major after his sophomore year.

He also took dance classes. Even though he was from a different major, the teachers recognized his talent. They don’t mind if the original owner comes to attend the class, and they even want the original owner to change his major again.

The adoptive parents didn’t find out until much later.

However, that has nothing to do with the original owner, he just can’t let go of his underage sister Xu Yinyin, and will send some money to the family regularly. He also knew that the money would not be given to Xu Yinyin.

But this can make Xu Yinyin’s life at home a little easier.

The original owner himself was still in school, and there was only so much he could do.

Fortunately, Xu Yinyin was smart and motivated, and she chose to live on campus when she entered junior high school. As long as her parents didn’t spend money on her, most of the time they would leave her alone.

Xu Yinyin had good grades and received a lot of scholarships. In addition, the original owner transferred money to the class teacher every month and asked the class teacher to take it out for Xu Yinyin’s living expenses.

For Xu Yinyin, her happiest and freest time is when she is at school with peace of mind. She doesn’t have to suffer harsh criticism and abuse from her parents, and her teachers and classmates are also kind to her.

The original owner had already planned her future life.

He has the ability to support Xu Yinyin until she graduates from college.

Of course, Xu Yinyin’s scholarship is enough for her to live on her own. But if there was one more person to rely on behind her, Xu Yinyin could worry less and enjoy school life more.

This was also the reason why the original owner wanted Xu Yinyin to study hard. If she dropped out of school, she would probably be sold to someone else as a wife by her adoptive parents before she reached marriageable age.

This often happened in remote villages and towns.

The original owner got rid of the adoptive parents himself, and he also wanted to help Xu Yinyin get rid of them. During those long and difficult years, Xu Yinyin was always with him.

Now, the adoptive parents have been caught.

Xu Yinyin didn’t have to worry about being manipulated in her future life. Lu Zeqing talked to her on the phone several times. The little girl was in a good mood and said she would come to City A to play with him next month.

Just like they once comforted each other, life will get better and better.

“Qingqing, come eat noodles.”

Lu Nianchu brought a large bowl of tomato and egg noodles with vegetables, shredded pork, and chopped green onion. It smelled delicious, and Lu Zeqing was instantly hungry.

“Thanks… Mom.”

Lu Nianchu happily accepted the thanks.

Qiqi called him “Mom” twice today. She knew Qiqi was trying to accept them.

Qiqi has been like this since he was a child. As long as others are kind to him, he will do his best to respond to others’ kindness.

“Mom, this bowl is yours.” Lu Nianchu filled a bowl for Grandma Qi and herself.

Lu Zeqing took a chopstick of noodles and put it into his mouth. With just this bite, he felt that the taste was very familiar, making him feel a little nostalgic.

He took another sip of soup and ate the noodles slowly.

Lu Nianchu just looked at him like this, completely forgetting to move her chopsticks. Her eyes were very gentle. It had been a long time since she had seen Qiqi eating.

She used to think that Qiqi ate too slowly. She was worried that he would be hungry in kindergarten, and she would ask him to eat faster at home.

When Lu Nianchu brought up her eldest son, she hardly worried about him . He had a good appetite and was not picky about food. He would eat whatever was given to him.

Qiqi is different, maybe because he is more coquettish, and his family were spoiling him, and somehow he has developed the habit of taking more than an hour to eat a meal.

Every time the hot meal is served, they will be cold after he finished eating.

Afterward, the family bought a warming tray, and Qiqi’s meals had to be kept on the warming tray all the time. When he reached the age to attend kindergarten, the family began to worry.

Kindergarten is no different from home. The children all ate together and took naps together.

Therefore, the whole family began early education to correct Qiqi’s bad habit of taking a long time to eat before going to kindergarten.

Lu Nianchu also learned some parenting tips. One of them was not to force-feed a child. If they refuse to eat, don’t give them food. They’ll eventually feel hungry and ask for food themselves. They tried this a few times, but someone in the family couldn’t resist Qiqi’s pitiful gaze and would sneakily feed him.

In the end, not only did the bad habit of slow eating not get rid of, but he also developed the bad habit of eating snacks when he didn’t eat proper meals.

At that time, Lu Nianchu felt angry and amused, but she didn’t know how to teach him.

Now.

Looking at Qiqi eating noodles quietly without making any sound, not even the sound of the porcelain spoon hitting the bowl. He chewed slowly, but not too slowly, and it looked pleasing to the eye.

Lu Nianchu didn’t feel relieved, but more distressed.

She just watched Qiqi eating face to face, but she still felt that she had not seen enough and just wanted to make up for the regretful fifteen years.

Lu Zeqing stopped using his chopsticks.

In fact, he had noticed Lu Nianchu’s gaze a while ago, but he didn’t raise his eyes. Seeing that Lu Nianchu was reluctant to move his chopsticks, he waited until the noodles in his mouth were swallowed before he asked.

“Don’t you like noodles?”

“Not that.” Lu Nianchu said as if she had just woken up from a dream, “Mom likes to eat, Mom is just too happy.”

Lu Nianchu also took a piece of noodles and put it into her mouth. The corners of her mouth couldn’t help but turn up. Qiqi was caring about her.

The scene of the three of them sitting together eating noodles was quite warm, until an exclamation broke the harmony.

“Am I still dreaming?”

Qi Huai stood at the top of the stairs, looking at Lu Zeqing in disbelief, feeling like he was dreaming.

Grandma Qi smiled and said, “Come and eat some noodles. Is Zeyu up?”

“I don’t know.”

Qi Huai felt nervous and felt as if he was about to give a speech at home.

“Xiao Nan went back to his residence yesterday, otherwise the whole family could have breakfast together today.”

Hearing what Grandma Qi said, Lu Nianchu realized that she was so happy about Qiqi coming back, that…

She forgot that she still has a husband and eldest son at home.

She only cooked noodles for three people.

And just now, in order to behave well in front of Qiqi, she told the aunt who went shopping not to rush back to make breakfast.

Lu Nianchu: “…How about you drink some milk first? I’ll toast you some bread.”

Qi Huai: “?”

“No, I think this noodles look delicious.” Qi Huai glanced at the empty seat on Qiqi’s right, planning to serve himself a bowl of noodles and eat next to Qiqi.

“But, the noodles look delicious… Are all gone.” Lu Nianchu smiled shyly. “How about I make you a sandwich instead?”

Qi Huai: “…?”

“Oh dear, he’s such a big boy now, can’t he make himself something to eat?” Grandma Qi waved her hand and said to Qi Huai. “Toast a slice of bread, fry some bacon or eggs, ham, there are leftovers and cheese slices in the fridge, it takes less than three minutes to make.”

Qi Huai: “…”

Lu Zeqing looked at the remaining half bowl of noodles in front of him. Grandma Qi saw him stop eating and smiled as she spoke.

“Don’t worry about him, we can just eat by ourselves.”

Lu Zeqing: “…”

Qi Huai saw Lu Zeqing looking at him and hurriedly agreed.

“You eat your own food, don’t worry about me, I’ll make it myself. I usually like to be busy in the kitchen.”

Lu Nianchu: “?”

If she hadn’t seen Qi Huai wake up in the middle of the night and would rather go hungry than enter the kitchen, she would have almost believed him.

Lu Zeqing didn’t find a chance to speak, so he immersed himself in eating noodles again.

After a while, Qi Zeyu came downstairs.

He and Qi Huai were indeed father and son, and everything they said seemed to be copy pasted.

“Am I still dreaming?”

“Oh, it’s okay. I love sandwiches the most.”

“I…” Qi Zeyu walked to the dining table and saw Qi Huai hurriedly frying bacon, his tone was gentle and warm.

“Xiao Yu, dad made a portion for you.”

The sudden “father’s love” did not flatter Qi Zeyu, but made his hair stand on end. He gulped, “…I can do it myself.”

“Isn’t this just a matter of convenience? Do you want ketchup or salad dressing?”

“… Ketchup.” Qi Zeyu was confused.

Qi Huai took out the toasted bread slices with a smile, put the burnt bacon on top, then added lettuce and eggs, and finally squeezed on tomato sauce.

After practicing.

Qi Huai is much more skilled.

The second time he toasted the bread, it wasn’t burnt, and the heat was just right. The bacon was sprinkled with salt and pepper, and the oil was sizzling, and the aroma came out instantly.

Following the above steps, he successfully made a good-looking sandwich and put it on different plates.

Qi Zeyu didn’t dare to wait for Qi Huai to bring it to the table. He walked over immediately. Before he touched the plate, Qi Huai handed him the burnt sandwich.

Qi Zeyu: “…”

“Yours is ketchup.” Qi Huai took away the good-looking sandwich, “I put salad dressing on it.”

Qi Zeyu: “…”

Lu Zeqing looked at the burnt bread slices and said, “It seems a little burnt.”

Qi Zeyu felt that Lu Zeqing’s wording was very euphemistic. He said it was a bit burnt, but the whole thing was burnt.

Before he could say anything, Qi Huai said with a smile. “Yes, your brother likes to eat sandwich like this.”

Qi Zeyu: “…”

Lu Nianchu: “…”

“…Yes. Your brother likes to eat burnt food. The father and son have always been harmonious.” Grandma Qi took on the heavy responsibility of creating a good family atmosphere.

She felt that in order for Qiqi to stay, she must first show that the family is harmonious and loving, without the frivolous conflicts of other families.

“We have breakfast together every morning.”

“After breakfast, your dad and brother will go to the company to work, and they will gather here for dinner at six o’clock in the evening.”

Lu Zeqing listened to Grandma Qi’s words and thought about the warm, harmonious and loving scene. If so, it seems that it wouldn’t be difficult to integrate?

Maybe the problems he is worried about, such as different work schedules or different living habits really don’t exist?