Wife, please behave yourself.

Chapter 23 Do you have time?

"Uncle, the food you cooked is so delicious!"

Even the usually timid Chi Jinhe, after tasting Liu Changcun's cooking, unusually praised it loudly.

The little girl clenched her fists, looking somewhat agitated.

Liu Wanqiu, standing beside him, stared with wide, questioning eyes as she carefully observed the girl her brother had brought to the shop.

Liu Songyan, on the other hand, maintained his cool and aloof demeanor.

Seeing Chi Jinhe, who had come to freeload a meal, make such a statement, one might want to distance oneself from her and quietly stay away.

No little movement could escape Liu Changcun's eyes.

As the saying goes, the way to a girl's heart is through her stomach.

I still vividly remember how Chi Jinhe ate so heartily just now.

He had already secured his son's stomach.

Whether he can make any progress depends on his own performance.

"As long as the customer enjoys the meal, that's all that matters. The smiles on the customers' faces are the best compliment for a chef."

"It's delicious, Uncle's cooking."

"It's getting late, you should hurry back to school and get ready for class."

Liu Changcun, as a father, gently patted Liu Wanqiu's head.

Then he patted his son on the back.

Apply a little force.

Perhaps not expecting his father to suddenly exert force, the boy, who had already distanced himself from Chi Jinhe, was thus caught off guard and pushed forward.

He stumbled and bumped into a soft body, quickly regaining his footing to avoid going any further.

The eyes hidden beneath the hair widened uncontrollably.

Chi Jinhe, who was bumped, also stared with her round eyes wide open.

I could vaguely see his eyes through his hair.

"Dad, why did you push me?"

The boy finally came to his senses and moved to the side at an extremely fast speed.

She turned around and looked at her father, who had a faint smile on his face.

He didn't understand why the other person was pushing him for no reason, causing him to bump straight into Chi Jinhe.

"A mistake, a minor mistake."

Smiling, Liu Changcun stepped forward and glanced at Chi Jinhe beside him.

Seeing that the girl's face did not show any negative emotions, he changed the subject and continued.

"Don't worry about this little thing, go back to class."

"..."

"Goodbye uncle."

"Bye daddy."

Chi Jinhe and Liu Wanqiu said goodbye to each other, then turned and left, leaving only their backs to the father and son inside the bookstore.

Liu Songyan slightly raised his face and looked at his father in front of him.

He finally uttered a sentence after a long while.

"gone."

"Study hard, and stop sleeping in class all the time."

"..."

"understood."

The feigned indifference didn't last long; before leaving, the boy obediently responded to his father's words of advice.

Only when the bustling bookstore returned to quiet did Liu Changcun, who was left alone, glance at the table next to him, which had already been tidied up by the children.

At lunch, Liu Changcun had already found out about Chi Jinhe's family background.

The parents went out to work, leaving the grandmother, who was the only one to rely on, to take care of the child at home.

She has never had any bad history since childhood, and her appearance is above average.

It's so clean, so incredibly clean.

Having seen so many colorful demons and monsters in later generations, it's rare to see a girl as honest and obedient as Chi Jinhe again.

Liu Songyan is still very young, and he has no idea how valuable the saying "If you don't work hard when you're young, you'll regret it when you're old" truly means.

It's understandable that a child is young and doesn't understand things, but the father can't be confused.

Why are you dawdling and not making a move on such a great girl?

He had no idea what his son Liu Songyan meant by always putting on airs.

If it were him, they would have already held hands by now.

I'll have to teach my son a few tricks another day.

To avoid being alone in my thirties.

There was still one untouched boxed lunch on the table.

Liu Changcun, who was preparing for the first time, was unable to accurately estimate the exact amount of food each child would eat.

Therefore, we prepared extra food in case the children were not full and needed it as a snack.

After eating and drinking to our hearts' content, the boxed meal was left over.

I'll just have to wait until I get hungry in the afternoon to eat something else.

"Buzz~"

The vibration of his phone in his pocket brought Liu Changcun back to his senses as he pondered how to solve the problem of his boxed lunch.

He reached in and took it out, looking at the notes displayed on the screen.

[An Zhaoran] was taken aback at first, then realized what was going on.

He immediately answered the phone and quickly put it to his ear.

"Hey, any news?"

Do you have time now?

Instead of answering Liu Changcun's question immediately, An Zhaoran asked this question first on the other end of the phone.

If you have time, please come to the TV station first.

"There is plenty of time."

"Then come over here first; we can probably only explain things clearly in person."

"..."

"Okay, I'll head over now."

Okay, call me when you arrive and I'll send someone to pick you up.

As the phone call ended, Liu Changcun's brows were filled with doubt.

Some things can't be explained clearly over the phone; you have to talk to them face-to-face to make them clear.

Although he hadn't figured it out, Liu Changcun didn't stay in the bookstore any longer.

The school's lunch break is almost over, so even if the store is temporarily closed, it won't have a big impact.

With that in mind, he quickly tidied himself up and prepared to leave.

Before leaving, I saw the remaining boxed lunch on the table.

His steps, which were about to leave, suddenly stopped.

Who knows how long it will take to get back? The weather is so hot, it might spoil if left out for too long.

Thinking of this, Liu Changcun simply grabbed the lunchbox in his hand.

After leaving the bookstore, I pulled down the roller shutter.

Lock it up, then lift it up again.

After making sure it was locked, he turned around and headed towards the flower shop next door.

In summer, flower shops are filled with a strong floral fragrance as soon as you enter.

The store occupies almost the same area as the bookstore.

As soon as I pushed open the door, I saw the figure in front of the stage.

Holding a bouquet of flowers, she is wrapping them.

Hearing that someone had entered the store, Ning Mengyao, who was busy working, looked up.

The words of welcome were on the tip of her tongue, but upon seeing Liu Changcun, she hesitated as if stuck and swallowed them back.

Subconsciously avoiding eye contact, I could only catch a glimpse of the approaching shoes out of the corner of my eye.

Is the store busy?

"Fortunately, there were only two orders."

The man took the initiative to speak, and Ning Mengyao responded passively.

Her eyelids drooped, and her eyelashes trembled violently.

Perhaps feeling it was too impolite, even though she didn't know how to face the bookstore owner, she forced herself to look up again.

However, just as I looked in front of me...

She noticed a pink-packaged lunchbox placed on the table in front of her.

The lid is printed with cartoon characters, one of whom is holding a rice bowl and laughing heartily.

"..."

Ning Mengyao stared blankly at the boxed lunch in front of her, her mind unable to process anything for a moment.

"It's still warm. Let's have a few bites while we're not busy now."

The man's deep voice echoed in the quiet flower shop.

Ning Mengyao just stared at the boxed lunch in front of her, and after the person in front of her finished speaking, she turned and left.

The sound of departing footsteps rang in her ears.

Then there was a pause.

"By the way, the lemon tea is really delicious, I forgot to tell you last time."

Her lowered gaze slowly rose, fixed on the man who was almost at the entrance of the flower shop.

The other person's tall and straight figure came into her view, and his smiling face was like bright sunshine, warm but not dazzling.

He turned his back, and his paused steps resumed.

Push open the glass door in front of you.

"You can come to me anytime if you encounter any trouble. After all, people should try to live a happier life."

The glass door, having lost its force, eventually bounced back.

It swayed a few times, then finally returned to its initial calm.

Ning Mengyao was left alone in the not-so-large flower shop.

The bouquet, almost finished being wrapped, slowly drooped down and rested on the table in front of her.

It was placed next to that boxed lunch.

The image of the cartoon figure on the lid, laughing heartily and holding a rice bowl, was deeply imprinted in Ning Mengyao's eyes at that moment.

The clear image began to blur, like the effect of ripples on the surface of water.

After many years, Ning Mengyao felt cared for again.

Even if this concern was just a casual gesture from the bookstore owner next door.

It could also move her again...

(End of this chapter)