You Say Two Sentences Less1
When Su Ruixi drove home, her parents were, as expected, eating breakfast. When the Auntie saw Su Ruixi return, she quickly added an extra set of bowl and chopsticks.
Without Su Ruixi even needing to open her mouth, Father Su and Mother Su knew that the bag she was carrying must contain food made by her little girlfriend. The expression on Shen Yiqiu’s face was a bit complicated. “What did you bring back?”
Su Ruixi, however, was very composed. “Mackerel dumplings, my girlfriend made them. There are cooked and raw ones. The raw ones can go straight into the freezer; just thaw and boil them when you want to eat them. The cooked ones were passed through cold water after being boiled, so when you eat them, wait for the water to boil and pass them through again.”
She looked at the breakfast on the table, truly having no appetite, and instructed the Auntie, “Please take those two boxes of cooked ones to the pot and heat them up, we’ll eat them now.”
In truth, the dishes on the table were quite sumptuous, and there was even King Shrimp Dumplings2; the Su family’s chef was quite skilled at making them. Before she met Sun Miao, Su Ruixi had also been quite fond of these King Shrimp Dumplings. Freshly made and just out of the steamer, they were still letting off steam, and when dipped in a saucer of vinegar, they were incredibly delicious.
But now, Su Ruixi always felt that the shrimp filling in the King Shrimp Dumplings had a fishy taste that wasn’t properly removed, leaving an aftertaste when she ate them.
The Auntie took the dumplings and agreed, “Alright, Miss, please wait a moment, they’ll be ready right away.”
She also prepared a glass of warm milk for Su Ruixi. Drinking cold things on an empty stomach could easily cause an upset stomach; warm milk was better. What the Auntie didn’t know was that Su Ruixi had already eaten until she was half-full before coming over.
While Su Ruixi was speaking with the Auntie, she didn’t forget to observe her own mother’s expression. Just as she had thought, the moment she admitted they were “mackerel dumplings,” the expression on her mother’s face became even more intriguing, mixed with a bit of astonished suspicion. That expression was clearly saying: You’re admitting it just like that?
Her mom… was actually still a little bit naive.
From childhood to adulthood, Shen Yiqiu’s social circle had never been complicated; even her husband was a green plums and bamboo horse3 she grew up with. She herself was successful, getting into a nationally renowned university during an era when college students were scarce, and she continued her studies all the way to a doctorate. To this day, she held a position as a professor at her alma mater and had even collaborated with multiple research institutes to develop new products.
However, this also meant that, aside from family and friends, her social interactions were confined to the school. The circle of a school was, after all, a bit simpler than other circles.
Coupled with the financial support provided by her family—to the extent that she could even ask Father Su when her research institute was short on funds—she had truly never experienced any hooking hearts and fighting horns4. Shen Yiqiu was definitely the most naive person in the Su family… and that was even including Sun Miao in the count.
So when Su Ruixi looked at Shen Yiqiu’s expression, it was one look, one accuracy5.
After that, Shen Yiqiu’s expression changed again, but her brow was still furrowed, as if she couldn’t help but think: How could you admit it so readily? You weren’t like this before.
Her expression held no shock towards Su Ruixi or Sun Miao, which meant that, just as Su Ruixi had thought, she had likely guessed it beforehand. And… she held no ill will towards Sun Miao.
A small sense of triumph grew in Su Ruixi’s heart: See, she ended up liking Sun Miao after all. I told you so, with Sun Miao’s charisma, nobody can dislike her.
Having gotten her answer, Su Ruixi’s mood improved considerably, and she picked up the glass of milk and took several large gulps. Before long, the Auntie came over carrying the already heated dumplings on a plate.
Shen Yiqiu couldn’t help but sigh. She had been holding onto one last little shred of denial, still able to deceive herself: Maybe I’m overthinking it. Xiao Sun is Xiao Sun, and Xixi’s girlfriend is someone else. But at this moment, the instant she saw the dumplings, Shen Yiqiu could no longer lie to herself.
These plump, white dumplings with their thin skin and generous filling, revealing a hint of pink and faint green from the inside out—weren’t they exactly the dumplings made at Little Boss Sun’s stall?
She had originally planned to go buy dumplings from Sun Miao today, but since Su Ruixi said last night that she was coming over, she hadn’t gone out this morning—yet she still got to eat the mackerel dumplings made by Little Boss Sun.
Shen Yiqiu extended her chopsticks, picked up a mackerel dumpling, and began to eat. With the very first bite, she confirmed it. This was Little Boss Sun’s mackerel dumpling. The taste was slightly different, probably because too much time had passed on the way over, causing the dumplings to become a bit sticky.
Other than that, they were just as delicious.
Compared to Shen Yiqiu’s complicated emotions, Father Su’s mood was much simpler: Eat. Just one word—eat!
He extended his chopsticks, glanced at Su Ruixi, and seeing that she paid him no mind and instead started eating herself, he also set his mind at ease and focused solely on attacking the dumplings. Father Su had a rather large mouth; in one go, a whole dumpling entered his mouth, and after chewing and chewing a few times, the dumpling was swallowed down.
One dumpling probably didn’t even take him half a minute; at most, dipping it in vinegar wasted a little time. Ten dumplings? That was nothing to him. In just five minutes, they were gone!
Although Su Ruixi wasn’t looking directly at Father Su, her peripheral vision was constantly on him. When Father Su started on his fourteenth dumpling, which was more than Su Ruixi’s usual portion, she spoke up at the right moment, “Dad, you can really eat.”
“…”
Father Su’s movements froze. He had a look of clear stupidity6 on his face. Only then did he notice that, following Su Ruixi’s comment, even Shen Yiqiu was looking at him. And on the large plate in the center, the side facing him was clearly much emptier.
However, Father Su was rather thick-skinned. His expression quickly returned to normal, and he said, “I was hungry, so I ate a couple extra.”
In this confrontation with her father, Su Ruixi didn’t lose out either. “It’s your day off, you should eat a little less this early in the morning.”
A single sentence left Father Su’s chopsticks in a state where he could neither extend them nor retract them. While he was hesitating, Shen Yiqiu nodded. “You should eat less.” After saying that, she herself ate two more. In that short time, Shen Yiqiu had also eaten ten, reaching her usual portion size.
After a moment of hesitation, however, Shen Yiqiu didn’t stop and continued eating. She was a bit more self-disciplined than Father Su, stopping after twelve. Su Ruixi had already eaten until she was half-full before coming over, and now she ate another five.
Shen Yiqiu and Father Su only thought Su Ruixi was being exceptionally self-disciplined; it never occurred to them that she had actually eaten at home before coming.
After finishing, Su Ruixi stood up. Seeing her posture, Shen Yiqiu immediately realized: Su Ruixi was preparing to flash away7. She was stunned for a moment, then asked abruptly, “You’re leaving?”
“Mhm, going back.”
Two phrases, three words: “leaving” and “going back.” As a science student8, Shen Yiqiu was clearly not particularly sensitive to words, but at this moment, she keenly perceived the unusual significance here. It proved that Su Ruixi truly regarded the place she shared with Sun Miao as her real home.
In the past, if Su Ruixi was going to Cuiting Yayuan9, she would never have used the words “going back,” but would have said something like, “I’m heading over to the Cuiting Yayuan side later.”
So upon hearing that Su Ruixi was about to leave, Shen Yiqiu subconsciously stood up as well and said, “Wait a moment, I have something to talk to you about.”
Su Ruixi didn’t have any particular reaction to this sentence, merely nodding and saying, “Okay.” Under Father Su’s completely baffled gaze, the two of them went up to Shen Yiqiu’s study on the second floor. They took seats on the sofa in the room. Su Ruixi calmly poured herself a glass of water, while Shen Yiqiu sat on the single armchair, arms crossed, her fingers tapping her arm, sometimes intentionally, sometimes not.
Both of them knew full well what they were about to discuss, what would be said, but neither spoke first.
Compared to the perfectly composed Su Ruixi, it was Shen Yiqiu who couldn’t hold back first. She opened her mouth and asked, “Little Boss Sun, is she your partner?”
Su Ruixi didn’t hesitate for a moment. She not only nodded but also answered aloud, “Yes.”
Shen Yiqiu had already gleaned this answer from Su Ruixi’s reactions, but hearing the admission from her own lips felt different. Her face was a mixture of five flavors10, her thoughts momentarily in turmoil. After a while, she asked again, “Then does Little Boss Sun know that I’m your mother?”
“She probably doesn’t.”
Su Ruixi’s words threw Shen Yiqiu’s mind into even greater confusion. The scene fell silent again. The two of them just sat there, with no sound in the room except for the occasional bird landing on the windowsill outside, making jiu jiu jiu sounds11.
After a moment of silence, Shen Yiqiu pursed her lips and finally asked the question hidden deep in her heart. “So, you’ve really decided it’s her? What if you or she regrets it later? Mom… Mom doesn’t want to see you or her get hurt. Little Boss Sun is a good girl.”
Shen Yiqiu’s conflict was on her face, in her heart, and in the words she spoke. If it had been before she had spent time with Sun Miao, she probably wouldn’t have worried about whether the other person would get hurt. Shen Yiqiu was a kind person, but not so kind as to be considerate of the person who had stolen her daughter away.
But after getting to know Sun Miao, she was also afraid that if the two broke up, Sun Miao’s brilliant smile would be overshadowed, and she would never be able to show such a sunny expression again.
Su Ruixi put down her teacup. There was no tea inside, only clear water. Under her movement, ripples spread across the surface of the water. Her voice was very soft, but it was thrown to the ground, it makes a sound12. “We won’t. Mom, you should know what kind of person I am.”
Once she set her mind on something, she would be one who is not hitting the southern wall, not turning back13. At the same time, Su Ruixi was also a very proud and domineering person. “And I won’t let her regret it. So, you don’t need to worry about this.”
After a long while, Shen Yiqiu finally let out a sigh.
At this moment, Su Ruixi also knew that Shen Yiqiu would definitely not speak three, say four14 about her and Sun Miao’s relationship anymore, because she had already accepted Sun Miao. Sun Miao was not a bad kid; on the contrary, she was especially likable. This, naturally, included Shen Yiqiu.
Su Ruixi stood up, her face devoid of expression, her usual cool and detached self. She said to Shen Yiqiu, “I’ll be heading back then.” Then, without waiting for Shen Yiqiu’s reply, she walked towards the door. As she passed the first floor, Father Su looked like he wanted to say something, but Su Ruixi put him out of her mind. “If you need anything, call me.”
Watching her walk out the door, get in the car, start the engine, and drive right off, Father Su was almost angered to death. Seeing Shen Yiqiu come downstairs, he complained, “Once he has a wife, he forgets his mother15, found a partner and now she can’t even stay at home for an hour!”
Shen Yiqiu was annoyed as well. She glanced at Father Su, extremely irritated. “You, just say a little less!”
The author has something to say:
Su Ruixi: Hehe, got Mom handled16.
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