Chapter 84 - Mu Shen Family Dinner (2)
When he heard Xi Xiaye, Mu Yuchen smiled as he passed the potatoes to Xi Xiaye. “Does my cooking have anything to do with their impression of me?”
Xi Xiaye took the potatoes, then carefully peeled the skins and washed them. “Of course, back then Mother wanted me to become prestigious housewife material, being talented at cooking and learning to be a quiet and gentle lady, yet Grandfather said every girl should be a princess. Cooking shouldn’t only be a woman’s task.”
She finished working on one potato and put it before Mu Yuchen as she started working on another. “Mother thought it made sense, so she asked me to get married to someone who can cook in the future. She also said a man who’s willing to cook wouldn’t be too bad.”
“So, are you feeling lucky that you’re married to me or are you praising me, or both?” The man went along and acted usually without any humility. Xi Xiaye rolled her eyes at him.
“Mu Yuchen?” Xi Xiaye suddenly called out to him.
“Hmm?” Mu Yuchen replied as he was slicing the potatoes. His swift knife work did not slow down at all even when he was talking.
“I think you dropped something. Don’t you want it?” Xi Xiaye stopped her movement and looked at him seriously.
He glanced at her serious face and asked, “What is it?”
“Your dignity! Don’t you want it anymore?” Xi Xiaye raised her eyebrows, then she smiled when she heard an inconsistency in someone’s cutting. She made a victorious pose cheerfully and then continued washing the potatoes.
“What a cheeky, naughty girl!”
Mu Yuchen frowned at the thick slice of potato caused by his mistake earlier. “That’s a pretty powerful attack.”
“Do you play games too?” Xi Xiaye’s eyes lit up and she turned around to stare at Mu Yuchen.
“Mmm,” Mu Yuchen replied.
“World of Warcraft or StarCraft? Or CrossFire?” Xi Xiaye asked excitedly.
“I play a little of all of them. Don’t tell me that you’re addicted to things like these. A little girl like you had better not touch stuff like those. Oh, I forgot to mention that Grandmother likes CrossFire, Landlord Fight, and Mix Match quite a bit. She’s an expert at those. Ask her to bring you along to play these games.”
“Stop looking down on me. Do I look like a little girl who’d play Mix Match? Right, Mu Yuchen, well…”
“Hmm?”
“There seems to be a match at the racing club this weekend night… Wanna go for a spin?”
“You really can’t stay put, can you? Is your injury fine now?”
“It’s fine. Shall we go?”
“No!”
Xi Xiaye was speechless.
As all the dishes were about to be done, the rumble of a car’s engine came from outside. Mu Yuchen and Xi Xiaye went out to greet the guest. The slender-looking Shen Wenna got out of the car.
Shen Wenna had been a real beauty when she was young. She was the renowned Ice Beauty of University A. She had once been the perfect match with the most popular guy in University A, Xi Mushan. Shen Wenna did not change much from back then except for a few wrinkles beside her eyes.
Shen Wenna wore a khaki mid-length windbreaker with a beige shirt inside along with long dark pants. Her black hair was combed into a beautiful coiffure. With her facial features nearly identical to Xi Xiaye’s, her cold aura made her seem elegant. She seemed like someone who had gone through a lot in life as heavy concerns lay behind her quiet-looking eyes.
She actually seemed more like Xi Xiaye’s sister than her mother.
“Mother!” Xi Xiaye went up and called out to her as she dipped her head slightly.
Shen Wenna stood there and nodded as she looked at Xi Xiaye. Her eyes soon averted to Mu Yuchen beside her daughter. She took a hard, long look at him before looking away.
“Hello, Mother. I’m Mu Yuchen,” Mu Yuchen greeted politely.
Shen Wenna went silent for a moment and looked at the both of them. Her face softened and she nodded as she spoke in her calm voice, “On the way here, I heard about you from Mr. Ah Mo. Since it’s already happened, I don’t want to intervene too much either. You’ve both made the choice, so only you two can bear the consequences. I just hope that you guys will be happy.”
Shen Wenna was an open-minded person, so when she found out about Shen Yue trying to arrange a blind date for Xi Xiaye and Mu Yuchen, she thought that it was alright as long as Xi Xiaye was happy.
She had been betrayed before. As someone who had gone through a failed marriage, she was pretty indifferent towards marriage now since it was all unpleasant memories for her. However, as a mother, she never taught Xi Xiaye to distrust men or to never believe in marriage again because she hoped that her daughter would not suffer like her.
The world was vast and she could not just deny everything because of her own bad experience. All unpleasant things were merely temporary or were just a tiny part of life. There were many more happy memories to be made and remembered.
Shen Wenna then took out a red packet and handed it to Mu Yuchen. “My wish as a mother is simple. I just want you to be good and loyal to her, got it?”
Mu Yuchen glanced at the quiet Xi Xiaye, then he nodded seriously. “Don’t worry, Mother. I’ll take care of her forever.”
Shen Wenna blinked her eyes and nodded. “Keep this. Take it as a lucky token.”
“Thank you, Mother!” Mu Yuchen accepted the red packet.
“Let’s get in. It’s pretty cold outside,” Xi Xiaye spoke quietly.
Zhuang Shurong and Mu Tangchuan came out and the latter called out to her when she saw Shen Wenna outside. “Wenna!”
“Ah Rong, Tangchuan! I see you guys are here as well.” Shen Wenna smiled as she looked at Mu Yuchen and Xi Xiaye with her gentle eyes and nodded before greeting the other married couple.
“Long time no see! You still look pretty young.”
Zhuang Shurong smiled and held Shen Wenna’s hand. Her voice softened. “Unexpectedly, we’ve become in-laws. Suddenly, we’ve turned so old almost overnight.”
“We’re over 50 years old now. Do you both still think you’re young?” Mu Tangchuan laughed.