Chapter 11

Seeing his daughter speaking to him, Qin Yi immediately raised an eyebrow at his wife, signaling: See? Our daughter is my little sweetheart.

Su Xiaowan couldn’t help but smile at this cute side of her husband.

Even though Qin Nian Nian said that, Qi Manyi still didn’t fully believe that Qin Yi had been busy recently. Over the years, she had come to know her son-in-law well—he was capable, but far too lazy!

Thinking this, Qi Manyi glanced at little Nian Nian in her arms and thought: Well, she does carry the Qin surname.

Still, Qi Manyi loved Qin Nian Nian from the bottom of her heart.

“Mom, let’s go inside!” Su Xiaowan spoke up at the right moment.

“All right, let’s hurry in! The meal is ready,” Qi Manyi said as she held Qin Nian Nian and headed toward the house.

Before they could enter, Su Shengqiang anxiously stepped out of the house into the villa courtyard.

“Why not talk inside? Standing out here, aren’t you afraid Nian Nian will catch a cold?” Su Shengqiang said as he tried to take Nian Nian from his wife.

Seeing this, Qi Manyi quickly sidestepped, continuing into the house.

When Su Shengqiang realized his wife wasn’t letting him hold Nian Nian, he smiled at Qin Yi and Su Xiaowan, then followed closely behind Qi Manyi toward the villa entrance.

Qin Nian Nian, seeing her grandfather didn’t pick her up, waved at him and shouted, “Grandpa!”

Hearing this, Su Shengqiang quickened his pace toward the house.

“Hubby, you don’t know, before Nian Nian was born, every time I went home, my parents would fuss over me,” Su Xiaowan said, pausing and pointing to the three figures who had disappeared through the front door, “Now look, they haven’t even said a word to me.”

Qin Yi sighed in silence. “When Nian Nian’s grandparents come tomorrow, my situation will probably be even worse than yours!”

With that, Qin Yi trudged toward the living room, dejected.

Su Xiaowan, hearing her husband’s words, immediately felt a sense of balance. In front of Qin Yi’s parents, she had far more face than he did.

When Qin Yi and Su Xiaowan entered the villa dining room, they saw Su Shengqiang and Qi Manyi sitting on either side of Qin Nian Nian—one helping her with food, the other holding a towel to wipe her hands.

Qin Yi and Su Xiaowan, having seen this before, exchanged a glance and then went to their seats to eat without fuss.

“Daddy, Mommy, this dish is delicious!” Qin Nian Nian exclaimed as soon as her parents sat down, pointing to her food.

“Eat more if it’s delicious!” Su Xiaowan replied indulgently.

“Old Su, make a note—have the chef make more of this dish next time,” Qi Manyi said, putting down the towel and instructing Su Shengqiang after seeing Nian Nian enjoy it.

“Mm,” Su Shengqiang responded, immediately recording it on his phone.

“Mom, Dad, you’re spoiling Nian Nian too much!” Su Xiaowan warned, a little worried.

She was filled with concern, fearing that too much indulgence could make Qin Nian Nian spoiled, unruly, and uncontrollable. Love, without proper guidance, could become a form of harm, turning a once innocent child astray.

“We can afford it, why should Nian Nian suffer?” Qi Manyi said without looking up.

Su Shengqiang quickly agreed, “Your mom is right. If we can, why make Nian Nian suffer?”

Qin Yi quietly tugged at Su Xiaowan’s sleeve and whispered, “Don’t worry. Nian Nian won’t turn out the way you imagine. Don’t you trust our genes?”

Seeing her husband say that, Su Xiaowan finally felt at ease and continued eating.

Qi Manyi, realizing that a single sentence from Qin Yi could calm her daughter, thought to herself that her daughter was utterly lost to Qin Yi’s influence for life.

Fortunately, Qin Yi wasn’t a poor “phoenix man” and had graduated from a prestigious university, so Qi Manyi didn’t hold much prejudice against him.

As for Qin Yi being lazy, Qi Manyi was slowly starting to accept that too.

After everyone quietly ate for a while, Su Shengqiang looked up at Qin Yi and asked, “Xiao Yi, since your parents are coming tomorrow, we’ll have a family dinner together in the evening. Where do you think is best? I can make arrangements.”

Qin Yi looked at his daughter happily eating at the table and said, “Dad, let’s have the dinner here tomorrow night.”

“I agree!” Qi Manyi decided immediately, without waiting for anyone else’s opinion, while Qin Nian Nian had food in her mouth.

“You little foodie!” Su Xiaowan rolled her eyes at Qin Nian Nian and muttered.

“What? You have a problem with it?” Qi Manyi shot a glare at Su Xiaowan.

“Mom, what objection could I possibly have?” Su Xiaowan replied.

“Then let’s follow Xiao Yi’s suggestion!” Qi Manyi declared firmly.

“Roar!”

Seeing his wife scolded, Qin Yi quickly helped serve her some food to keep her in a good mood.

With the discussion about tomorrow’s dinner settled, the family moved on to chatting about everyday matters.

When Qin Yi first started dating Su Xiaowan, he thought that in a big family like the Sus, meals would follow the strict rule of eat in silence, sleep in silence.

What surprised him was that this only applied if there were guests present. At other times, he didn’t need to follow any such rules when visiting his in-laws, so he never felt oppressed there.

After dinner, once Qin Nian Nian was settled in the living room watching cartoons, the four adults moved to the first-floor tea room to talk.

“Xiao Yi, Xiaowan, I invited you here tonight for dinner because there’s something we need to discuss,” Su Shengqiang began once everyone had composed themselves.

“Dad, go ahead,” Su Xiaowan said, but her gaze was on Qi Manyi.

She knew this discussion was orchestrated by her mother; Su Shengqiang was merely the spokesperson.

While the Su family was officially headed by Su Shengqiang, Qi Manyi controlled the overall situation. Regardless of circumstances, she always maintained the appearance of her husband as the head, or their marriage might have already faced problems.