Su Yao smiled gently and praised, "Then our bamboo is blessed."
"What?" Xu Qingzhu said softly, "She's the one who's lucky."
Liang Shi echoed, "Yes, marrying Zhu Zi is my good fortune."
Xu Qingzhu was taken aback and looked at Liang Shi, only to see Liang Shi focused on kneading the dough, as if what she had just said was just her imagination.
But she clearly did say that.
Her hair was tied loosely, and now several strands had come undone, almost falling into the basin.
Xu Qingzhu immediately lifted her hair up, stood behind her, took off the hair tie, and then re-tied it, making it a little tighter. When she did that last bit, Liang Shi felt a sharp pain from the pull. "Teacher Xu, you pulled my hair out."
Xu Qingzhu looked embarrassed and held out her hand to her face. There was a single hair in her palm. "I'm sorry."
Liang Shi: "..."
Afraid of getting her hair into the food, Xu Qingzhu quickly threw it into the trash can.
Liang Shi replied, "I've tried to get it off so many times, you're trying to pluck it all out."
Xu Qingzhu coughed lightly, feeling a little guilty, "Sorry."
Su Yao stood in the kitchen as if there was a barrier between her and the two of them, making it impossible for her to blend in.
The two have many subtle gestures, which are the result of a tacit understanding formed over time, and they can understand each other's needs with just a glance.
When Su Yao and Sheng Qinglin were dating, they lived together for two years before developing such a tacit understanding.
She and Sheng Qinglin were already considered a perfect couple by others.
Because I've experienced that kind of love myself, I can tell at a glance whether it's an act or real.
Su Yao could tell from the way they looked at each other that this was definitely not acting.
Although she was bombarded with displays of affection and couldn't quite fit in with them, Su Yao was still quite happy watching it.
Seeing my daughter happy is the most important and blissful thing of all.
When Su Zhe told her that the man Zhu Zi married was not a good person and had character flaws, he didn't go into details. He just told her not to worry and that he would keep an eye on things.
But how could a mother not worry?
Although she had met Liang Shi before and witnessed their interactions, and felt that Liang Shi was a pretty good person and genuinely kind to Zhu Zi, she was afraid that he was just pretending.
Su Yao had been worried about this issue for a long time, but now all her worries had vanished.
Actions can deceive, but the eyes cannot.
Liang Shi's sleeve was about to fall down, so Xu Qingzhu rolled it up for her. Then she noticed a tooth mark on her arm and asked her who had bitten her.
Liang Shi sighed helplessly, "Who else could it be?"
"Sheng Yu?" Xu Qingzhu asked.
Liang Shi nodded, "Yes, she also has a little tiger tooth, did you see it?"
Xu Qingzhu: "..."
Xu Qingzhu was about to confront Sheng Yu when Liang Shi stopped her, saying that she was bitten because she lost a bet to Sheng Yu.
After Sheng Yu finished biting, she felt embarrassed, so I rubbed her mouth for a long time.
The tooth mark will fade in two hours, and it won't hurt at all.
Xu Qingzhu also went to the living room. She sat next to Sheng Yu and directly snatched the snacks from Sheng Yu's hand.
Sheng Yu looked at her innocently and blinked, "What? Time to eat?"
"You want to eat people." Xu Qingzhu asked her, "Why do you like biting people?"
Sheng Yu: "..."
She snorted coldly, "Sister Liang has no sportsmanship, she actually complained!"
Xu Qingzhu: "..."
“She lost a bet with me,” Sheng Yu complained. “A bet is a bet. If I had lost, she would have bitten me.”
Xu Qingzhu asked her, "What bet did you make?"
Sheng Yu pursed her lips and remained silent.
Lingdang suddenly leaned over and raised her hand, "I know!"
Sheng Yu's eyes widened, and she covered Lingdang's mouth, threatening, "Liang Wenxuan, don't say it!"
Just before dinner, Xu Qingzhu led everyone to wash their hands, and in the meantime, she quietly asked Lingdang, "What bet did they make?"
Lingdang whispered in her ear, "I bet you how many sunflower seeds are in a bag."
Xu Qingzhu: "..."
//
Making dumplings is a bit of a hassle, but Liang Shi is quick and Su Yao can do a little too, while Xu Qingzhu is a novice.
Xu Qingzhu was the most composed. Although she could only pinch the opening of the dumplings tightly and they had no shape at all, her expression was so confident that you would think that the dumplings she made were the most beautiful dumplings in the world.
By the time it was time to eat, it was already 8:30 pm.
The three children weren't hungry either. They had ice cream cones after school and snacks when they got home in the evening. They sat together on the sofa watching TV with great interest, and none of them complained of being hungry.
Liang Shi still took the three of them out to eat.
Rainbow didn't need to be told what to do; she even offered to help get the cutlery. The other two sitting at the table were already discussing how many dumplings they would eat later.
Sheng Yu said she wasn't hungry, so she would only eat three.
Lingdang said she wasn't hungry either, but she wanted to eat one more than Shengyu.
Within two minutes, their competitive spirit had reached the point where each of them wanted to eat ten dumplings.
Then Sheng Yu proudly asked Xu Qingzhu, "Sister, do you think it's okay if I eat ten dumplings?"
Xu Qingzhu's voice was cold and expressionless. "I'll stuff you until you're stuffed."
Sheng Yu: "..."
Bell happily ate her meal.
Su Yao had already informed Su Zhe in advance that she and Sheng Yu would be staying at Xu Qingzhu's place that night.
During the meal, Rainbow made a video call to Zhou Li, and Sheng Yu and Lingdang greeted her sweetly through the video, saying, "Hello, Auntie."
Liang Shi chatted with Zhou Li for a few more minutes before finally settling down.
This is the first time so many people have stayed in this house; it feels lively.
As dusk settles, the glittering stars are scattered across the sky, the city lights are dazzling, and traffic flows back and forth throughout the city. In this instant, the lights of countless homes are concentrated in front of a small dining table.
The rising steam filled the house, making the children's smiling faces look especially lovely.
Liang Shi had been busy for a long time and wasn't very hungry, but watching others eat gave him a sense of happiness.
While everyone else was busy eating, Xu Qingzhu put two dumplings in her bowl, said nothing, and just ate with her head down.
The house has few rooms, but the sofa in the living room is foldable; when unfolded, it becomes a bed.
Liang Shi's arrangement was to have Su Yao and Xu Qingzhu sleep in the master bedroom, the three children squeeze into the second bedroom, and she herself sleep on the sofa.
The conditions were indeed a bit basic, but the three children had no objections.
Su Yao said she could sleep on the sofa and let Liang Shi and Xu Qingzhu share a room.
Liang Shi sighed helplessly, "Why don't you stay with Zhu Zi? You haven't seen her for so many years, you can chat before bed."
Xu Qingzhu hesitated for only a moment before joining her in persuading Su Yao to sleep with her.
Fortunately, the bed in the second bedroom is big enough that even three children can sleep there without worrying about them falling to the floor.
But it doesn't matter if it falls on the ground, Liang Shi laid a soft carpet next to the bed.
After dinner, the children went to wash up, Su Yao and Liang Shi cleaned up the mess, and Xu Qingzhu went to the room to change the sheets.
They're all grown up now and can wash up on their own, especially with Rainbow watching over them, so Liang Shi and the others are very reassured.
Liang Shi and Su Yao stood together in the kitchen. Su Yao asked her what kind of work she was doing now and whether she had any plans to have children. She was asking from a mother's perspective, and Liang Shi answered patiently.
Su Yao also asked her how long she had been dating Xu Qingzhu and how long they had been married.
Liang Shi paused, a little embarrassed to say it, and could only make up a story: "We dated for two months and have been married for almost half a year."
Liang Shi thought for a moment and then added, "Mainly because the moment I saw her, I knew it was her."
Su Yao was taken aback, then smiled and said, "He's really adorably simple. When I first met Sheng Qinglin, I also felt that he was the one for me."
Su Yao's eyes always light up when she mentions Sheng Qinglin.
Liang Shi didn't dare linger on topics that saddened her, while Xu Qingzhu stood at the door listening to their conversation.
When I heard that sentence, I knew it was her.
Xu Qingzhu felt that she probably needed to make a change.
When she first met Liang Shi and realized that he was the older sister she had known since childhood, she felt that he was the one for her.
If it weren't for her, I wouldn't be who I am today.
Xu Qingzhu gazed at her retreating figure with the same gentleness as always, as the dim light fell upon her and Su Yao.
Every time she listened to Su Yao speak, she would turn slightly to the side to listen carefully, afraid of missing a single word. Her gaze would fall intently on Su Yao, and she would speak softly and gently when answering, showing a proper sense of propriety.
Xu Qingzhu was staring at them in a daze when suddenly a loud cry rang out in the house, the kind that could blow the roof off, pulling Xu Qingzhu back from her wandering thoughts.
She glanced at the bathroom, assuming that Sheng Yu and Ling Dang had argued and cried again, and didn't pay any attention. Just as she was walking over unhurriedly, she heard Rainbow say, "Don't move, she's bleeding!"
Startled, Xu Qingzhu rushed to the bathroom, where she saw Rainbow helping Sheng Yu to her feet, while Lingdang stood there in terror, her hands trembling uncontrollably.
The cry just now came from Sheng Yu. She hit her head on the ground, which happened to be a non-slip tile with a small bump. She bled from her nose and her forehead was also cut.
The bell cried out in fear, "I'm sorry..."
The house suddenly became very noisy.
Liang Shi and Su Yao arrived one after the other. Su Yao immediately checked Sheng Yu's injuries. She told Sheng Yu to lower her head and then fetched water to wash away the blood from her nose. Sheng Yu cried for a while, but soon stopped.
Soon, only the sound of bells crying echoed in the room.