h4Chapter 430: Chapter 430/h4h4/h4

    Su Lu’s mind suddenly conjured the phrase "Hidden Beauty."

    After getting out of the car with her son, Zhao Xiaole was quite curious and kept asking Su Lu, "Auntie lives here? Mom, is it because our house isn’t pretty enough that Auntie doesn’t live with us?"

    Su Lu smiled helplessly, "How could that be, she adores you so much."

    Zhao Xiaole chuckled, "Right, right. Let’s hurry up, I miss Auntie."

    He grabbed Su Lu’s hand and quickened his pace.

    Song Boyuan walked at a steady pace alongside the mother and son and soon entered the vi.

    The interior decorations of the vi were just as beautiful as the exquisite scenery in the yard. However, everything was spotlessly clean, making it look devoid of any signs of life. It felt more like a show home in a property development—despite the on-point design and décor, it all felt cold, clear, and empty.

    "Where’s Xiao Qiao?" Su Lu didn’t see anyone in the hallway and asked.

    Song Boyuan replied, "Upstairs, follow me."

    He led Su Lu and Zhao Xiaole up the spiral staircase and gently turned the doorknob of a room.

    Despite the bright sunlight of the afternoon, the room was dark, with thick curtains drawn shut and the air conditioning on full st, making it both cold and dim.

    Only a small spotlight by the entrance cast a glow.

    And because the spotlight at the entrance brightly illuminated a small area, by contrast, the darkness of the room seemed even more profound, like a gaping maw of darkness waiting to swallow something.

    After opening the door, Song Boyuan gently knocked, "Qiaoqiao."

    A hoarse female voice came from inside the room, void of any warmth or fluctuation, "I said, stop bothering me."

    Zhao Xiaole recognized Jing Qiao’s voice, but he had never heard her sound so unemotional. He was not quite sure now and couldn’t help but call out softly, "Auntie? Is that you, Auntie?"

    The room fell silent for a few seconds, then there was a rustling sound, and a slender figure emerged from the darkness into the warm yellow glow.

    "Little Lebao?" Jing Qiao’s voice was still hoarse, but it was no longer as devoid of warmth or fluctuation as before; instead, it had a noticeable touch of gentleness.

    Su Lu looked at her and thought, no wonder Song Boyuan said she had gotten thinner. It hadn’t been long, yet Jing Qiao had indeed visibly lost weight.

    "Auntie!" Zhao Xiaole eximed happily.

    "Xiao Qiao," Su Lu also called out to her.

    "Sister-inw, you..." Jing Qiao’s face showed a smile, but she quickly realized that Su Lu and Xiao Le were both there.

    Her face instantly turned pale as paper, and she stared wide-eyed at Song Boyuan.

    Just in that instant, Su Lu knew that Jing Qiao had misunderstood. She thought that Song Boyuan had coerced her and Xiao Le intoing, although this was a misunderstanding. Still, Su Lu felt that Jing Qiao had, in such a short time, jumped to the worst possible conclusion.

    This revealed just how precarious Jing Qiao’s one-sided trust in Song Boyuan was—all but nonexistent.

    Honestly, if Zhao Xiaole hadn’t been there, Su Lu felt that given Jing Qiao’s emotions right then, she might have even wanted to p Song Boyuan.

    Jing Qiao squeezed out her words through clenched teeth, "How could my sister-inw and my nephew be here? Song Boyuan, what have you done?"

    Song Boyuan had seen the smile on her face just moments before, even if it wasn’t for him but rather for Zhao Xiaole and Su Lu. It was the first expression other than indifference that he had seen from her since he brought her back.

    Therefore, Song Boyuan’s originally tense expression finally softened a bit, but was caught off guard by Jing Qiao’s sharp questioning.

    His lips parted slightly, but in the end, he didn’t offer any exnation and stood quietly in ce.

    Su Lu was bing anxious watching him, just like a tight-lipped gourd...

    She didn’t actually like Song Boyuan much; everyone has their biases, and of course, hersy with Xiao Qiao.

    But at that moment, she still had to be realistic. Su Lu said, "He invited Xiao Le and me toe over and have a meal with you. Have you not been eating properly recently? You’ve noticeably lost weight. Xiao Le was missing you a lot, so we came."

    Jing Qiao was taken aback for a moment.

    The cold expressions on her face couldn’t be hidden in an instant, leaving remnants in the nuances of her face that... only made her seem quite sorrowful.

    Jing Qiao’s gaze didn’t shift, remaining still on Song Boyuan’s face.

    After a moment, she finally looked toward Su Lu and Zhao Xiaole, "What would sister-inw and Xiao Le like to eat? I’ll cook for you."

    Zhao Xiaole remembered his mother saying on the car ride over that the fish soup here was delicious, and noticing his aunt’s previous bad mood, he quickly said, "Auntie, mom said the fish soup here is tasty, and Uncle said he would take us to eat it. Have you ever tried the fish soup here? Is it really that good?"

    Jing Qiao was stunned, "What did you call him...?"

    "He said he’s Uncle..." Zhao Xiaole pouted, "Auntie, does that mean I can’t marry you when I grow up?"

    Listening to the child’s innocent words, Jing Qiao really had no way to exin to a child right then about theplicated and entangled rtionship between herself and Song Boyuan.

    Jing Qiao could only avoid answering Zhao Xiaole’s question and picked up on one he had asked before, "I haven’t tried the fish soup here, but I think it might not be as delicious as the one I make. How about this, Auntie will cook some dishes for you, and then we’ll order the fish soup from here too. After you eat, you canpare and see which one is better."

    "Okay!" Zhao Xiaole was pleased.

    Jing Qiao had alreadyposed herself and didn’t give Song Boyuan another nce.

    She led Su Lu and Zhao Xiaole downstairs.

    The vi had an open kitchen. Although Su Lu had previously felt that this holiday vi was as cold and empty as a model home, it had everything one could need. In the kitchen, the refrigerator was stuffed full with a variety of ingredients.

    It was as if... they were really going to live here.

    Jing Qiao moved with familiarity, selecting ingredients, washing, and chopping vegetables. In the kitchen, she always seemed calm andposed, orderly, and despite being in a ce so filled with the smells of cooking, her actions still exuded an innate elegance.

    Su Lu was peeling grapes for Zhao Xiaole to eat, ncing sideways unintentionally, and saw Song Boyuan sitting on a high stool behind the corner bar, his figure half hidden in the corner.

    But his eyes were like dark mes, unwaveringly watching Jing Qiao’s orderly movements at the kitchen counter.

    Su Lu noticed his gaze and couldn’t think of a word to describe Song Boyuan’s eyes for a while.

    After a while, Su Lu finally recalled, the eyes of Song Boyuan that seemed to burn with a dark me could only be described as... obsessed.