CHAPTER 329: CHAPTER 329: THE SIMPLE AND FOOLISH BIG GUY

"Chengguang is all sweaty! Quick, hurry inside with your mom! It’s chilly out here! Don’t catch a cold!" Elder Mrs. Su saw a bead of sweat on Song Chengguang’s forehead and immediately reminded him.

"I understand, Grandma."

"Are you doing a big cleaning at home, auntie? Do you need any help?" Xu Xiuxiu didn’t just walk away after seeing Elder Mrs. Su and Song Chengguang conversing and noticing the rag in her hand, so she politely offered to help.

"No, I’m not. It’s just that I saw some dirt on the door and thought I’d give it a wipe," Elder Mrs. Su shook her head. "You’d better take the kids inside quickly! It’s really cold."

"Okay, Auntie, you go ahead with your work. If there’s anything I can help with, just let me know." After politely nodding, Xu Xiuxiu then pushed the stroller back inside.

Since Xu Xiuxiu was particularly busy, and Aunt Luo was a family woman, Aunt Luo had been saving some money recently with the plan to look for a daughter-in-law for her son. Therefore, whenever Xu Xiuxiu had some free time to rest, Ji’en would arrange for Aunt Luo to have a day off. Consequently, Xu Xiuxiu had to make dinner herself today.

The three children at home were all especially well-behaved. Despite the boy and girl twins being young, compared to other people’s children, they really saved Xu Xiuxiu a lot of worry. Otherwise, taking care of just one child in another family would probably be exhausting enough, but she still managed her three children with ease.

"Chengguang, can you help Mommy watch your brother while I cook?" The room was warm, so Xu Xiuxiu brought the boy and girl twins to the sofa. She had already carefully baby-proofed the floor and the corners of the coffee table to prevent the children from bumping into them. After placing the children on the sofa and giving them some toys, Xu Xiuxiu could go about her business without worry.

But if Song Chengguang was there to watch, Xu Xiuxiu felt even more at ease.

"Okay, Mommy." Song Chengguang nodded his head, watched as his brother and sister sat on the sofa, then went to turn on the television, tuning it to "Journey to the West." He excitedly watched TV while playing with his brother and sister on the side, not neglecting them in the slightest while engrossed in the show.

Seeing this, Xu Xiuxiu also felt very assured. When dinner was almost ready, Xu Jingjing returned from outside. Upon entering, her complexion was clearly rosy and radiant, and she exuded a spring-like aura from the inside out. Xu Xiuxiu thought that this girl truly seemed to be in the throes of spring.

"Big sis, I’m back," Xu Jingjing called out while setting down the fruit she bought.

"Auntie, you’re back!" Xu Xiuxiu initially planned to talk to Xu Jingjing about the Wei Family’s Jiaqiang after dinner, but Song Chengguang couldn’t hide his curiosity. Seeing Xu Jingjing step through the door, the little guy dropped the remote control and walked over to Xu Jingjing, "Auntie, today Chengguang saw you when he went to call Dad."

"Chengguang saw auntie?" Xu Jingjing arched an eyebrow in confusion.

"Mhm." Song Chengguang reached out to take Xu Jingjing’s hand, pulling her toward the sofa, "Auntie, who was that uncle next to you? Is he going to be my uncle?" Song Chengguang asked innocently, with a child’s naivety, because at the nursery, the topic that children talked about the most was related to relatives. Because of their innocence, they would often compare with one another, and Song Chengguang was often happy because he had a beautiful mom and aunt but also unhappy because he didn’t have an "uncle."

But when he naively asked the question, Xu Jingjing’s face instantly turned crimson, and then she glanced guiltily at Xu Xiuxiu, who was serving the dishes on the dining table in the living room.

"Xiuxiu, did you see everything?" Xu Jingjing turned her head and cautiously counter-asked Xu Xiuxiu. This question actually didn’t need to be asked again, as today Aunt Luo was off and Song Chengguang was going out, the reason certainly had to do with Xu Xiuxiu’s assistance. And since Song Chengguang had seen everything, it was certain her elder sister saw it too.

"Mhm, I saw it," said Xu Xiuxiu, wearing a relaxed expression, yet her eyes held an unmistakable teasing and a clear threat of leniency to those who confess, severity to those who resist.

"..." Xu Jingjing fell into an awkward silence for a moment. "Elder sister."

"Let’s talk while eating!" Xu Xiuxiu then turned back and went into the kitchen, giving Xu Jingjing a bit of room to think. It wasn’t until she had set out the dishes and called Song Chengguang to eat, while also making sure the boy and girl twins were comfortably seated in their high chairs.

Xu Jingjing looked down with a complex mind, poking at the rice with her chopsticks, clearly hesitating.

In contrast to Xu Jingjing’s anxiousness and indecision, Xu Xiuxiu seemed quite at ease. She scooped some vegetables and meat for Song Chengguang, watched him eat, tried some of the dishes herself, and then patiently fed the boy and girl twins a few spoonfuls of rice cereal. The little ones were already eating quite a variety of foods now, and if not for their young age and not having been introduced to greasier foods, Xu Xiuxiu would have even considered feeding them some other nutritious meals.

The boy and girl twins were good eaters; when Xu Xiuxiu offered a spoonful, they would open their mouths wide without needing half the coaxing.

"Elder sister, actually I haven’t made our relationship clear with him," Xu Jingjing finally dared to look up from her meal, "I can tell he’s a good person and might have those feelings for me, but..." She wasn’t a pristine maiden anymore, and if Wei Jiaqiang found out she was ’damaged goods’, he would surely despise her, right?

"But what?" Xu Xiuxiu frowned, sensing Xu Jingjing’s dilemma.

"I’m afraid he will despise me if he finds out I was..." Xu Jingjing said without clarifying the full implication, but she knew that Xu Xiuxiu would understand.

"Do you have feelings for him? What do you think of him as a person?" Xu Xiuxiu purposefully inquired about Xu Jingjing’s feelings toward Wei Jiaqiang. After all, Xu Jingjing wasn’t like those simple girls living ordinary lives; she had endured painful experiences, and she had psychological shadows and fears regarding marriage and men. Thus, Xu Xiuxiu felt that other issues were secondary—as long as the man wasn’t too worthless and that Xu Jingjing herself was willing, she would not oppose Xu Jingjing trying things out.

Life is always about trying and seeing for oneself, otherwise, Xu Jingjing would never be able to step out of those terrible shadows of her past.

"About him!" Xu Jingjing suddenly became loquacious, "He looks a bit silly, quite dumb too, and he doesn’t harbor suspicions about others. The first time we met on the train, he showed me his family’s household registration book, just to prove he wasn’t a bad guy, and then he helped me with my luggage!"

"Really?" Xu Xiuxiu lifted her eyebrows, amused.

"Yeah! That time I went to the hospital to bring bone broth to my brother-in-law, I ran into him. He was there, silly enough to be paying a coworker’s hospital deposit, nearly getting scammed by an old lady. If I hadn’t spoken up for him, he might have actually been swindled by that old woman." As Xu Jingjing recalled the incident, she couldn’t help but sigh—what a naively honest and forthright big guy!