Wife, please behave yourself.

Chapter 94 What are you comparing with her about?

"Don't add any chili, the child can't eat it."

"Ok."

Ning Mengyao responded, peeked at An Zhaoran a few more times while half of her body was out of the kitchen, and then returned to the kitchen to continue her work as if nothing had happened.

Liu Changcun, who had been standing at the door, walked back into the house and came to the water dispenser. He looked down at An Zhaoran, who was squatting next to the water dispenser pouring tea.

Noticing that the other person's gaze was becoming increasingly strange, Liu Changcun simply spoke up to remind them.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Why...is she here again?"

An Zhaoran hesitated for a moment before asking the question.

She slightly raised her head and carefully observed Liu Changcun's expression.

"You two are together?"

"How can it be."

Hearing Liu Changcun's answer, An Zhaoran finally felt relieved.

Holding the cup, she screwed the lid back onto the bucket, then relaxed considerably and handed the cup to the other person.

"We still need to avoid suspicion. How can married people keep bringing their spouses home?"

"They're already divorced."

The boy's voice came from the other side, and the father answered. The sound of chopping vegetables kept coming from the kitchen.

It wasn't until Liu Songyan spoke that An Zhaoran, whose attention was entirely on his father, noticed him.

She had visited Liu Changcun's home several times, but this was the first time she had met Liu Songyan while he was sober.

An Zhaoran's eyes widened considerably as she pondered the words that had come from the boy's mouth.

Although the other person was speaking in a low voice, she could still hear them clearly because they weren't far away.

The tea in the cup sloshed.

The disposable cup was slightly deformed from being squeezed more tightly.

"divorced?"

An Zhaoran shifted her gaze from Liu Songyan to Liu Changcun in front of her.

He spoke as if asking a question.

"Because of you?"

"What does this have to do with me? It's because of relationship problems."

Liu Changcun really didn't want to discuss this topic with An Zhaoran.

After all, Ning Mengyao, one of the parties involved, was busy in the kitchen, while the people outside were pointing fingers at her failed marriage.

Regardless of the reason, such behind-the-scenes discussions have gone too far.

To end the conversation, Liu Changcun simply reached out and took the cup that the other person offered.

He brought the cup to his lips, took a small sip, and then smacked his lips as if savoring the taste.

"It tastes a bit like Oriental Leaf Tea..."

"what is that?"

It means "the taste is alright".

Without offering a detailed explanation, Liu Changcun chose to drink the entire cup in one gulp.

With a little force, he crushed the disposable cup in his hand, took a few extra steps, and threw the used cup into the trash can.

Turning back to look at An Zhaoran, she saw that the other person's expression was still somewhat unhappy.

So he introduced his son to her.

"You've met my daughter. This is my son, his name is Liu Songyan."

"You look a bit like me."

Looking at Liu Songyan standing not far away, his gaze was fixed on the other's somewhat strange and irregular hairstyle.

"But the hairstyle is a bit strange..."

"I cut it myself."

"No wonder."

Listening to the harmonious back-and-forth conversation between the two, Liu Songyan, standing alone in the living room, felt out of place.

Everyone who sees his new hairstyle has something to say about it, which is making him almost insecure.

He simply greeted An Zhaoran, then went back to his room without saying a word.

Upon seeing this, the two men, who were looking at each other in bewilderment, followed the scene with their eyes.

An Zhaoran only looked away after the room door closed.

She raised her hand to cover her mouth, leaned closer to Liu Changcun, and whispered in a very low voice, as if she were telling a secret.

"I feel like your son takes after his mother... I mean, in terms of appearance."

"She looks more like me; her eyebrows and eyes are just like mine."

With a smile, Liu Changcun glanced at An Zhaoran, who was whispering to him.

Sometimes he really felt that An Zhaoran in front of him didn't seem like a man in his early thirties.

When I reconnected with her, I found her to be quite composed and serious.

After we got to know each other better, I found him to be a bit childish.

An Zhaoran felt a little uncomfortable with Liu Changcun's smiling gaze.

Suddenly, as if nervous, she silently looked away.

He kicked the tea barrel next to his feet.

"How does what I did compare to hers?"

"what?"

"Compare it to the one in the kitchen."

A more detailed hint came from An Zhaoran, who lowered her head and looked at the tea bucket at her feet.

Hearing the woman's soft question, Liu Changcun's smile grew even wider.

Why do you always compare yourself to others?

"Can't we even have a comparison?"

"I didn't say no, but it feels like you never do anything productive all day."

"Who says I have nothing to do? My dad has already sent me to the program team to learn, and after a while he'll put me in charge of the new program."

Although An Junan is now at home, due to the inexplicable crashing of his computer, he has fallen from being the head of the household to the third child.

But this does not prevent the other party from still holding the top position within the television station.

I arranged for my daughter to join a long-established TV program to learn and gain experience.

Once she's familiar with all the procedures, then let her take charge of a new program independently.

If a new program is well-received on a public channel, it can be moved to a satellite TV channel for broadcast.

Recalling Liu Changcun's remarks about not doing his job properly, An Zhaoran looked aggrieved.

These days, her parents are already afraid of her.

Drinking too much tea can easily lead to waking up at night, not to mention that An Zhaoran put in a lot of effort to create a new tea drink that far surpasses Ning Mengyao's.

This resulted in her parents, both over fifty, having their bellies full of her experimental teas. Fortunately, all their efforts eventually paid off.

An Zhaoran asked Liu Changcun again.

"We haven't said yet, whose tea tastes better, hers or mine?"

“Ning Mengyao’s.”

"Ning Mengyao? That's her name?"

"You don't even know their name, yet you're trying to compare yourself to them?"

"Now you know, don't you?"

After silently reciting Ning Mengyao's name in his heart and memorizing it, An Zhaoran responded to the other party.

Seeing Liu Changcun still staring at her with a half-smile, her undisguised gaze made her feel somewhat ashamed.

This time, she didn't try to avoid the question, as if she desperately wanted to know in what way her tea was inferior to Ning Mengyao's.

He pressed on with a serious expression.

"So where do I fall short of her?"

"The tea you're using is too expensive."

"..."

An Zhaoran gradually became suspicious.

Is using better tea leaves to brew pure tea actually the reason for your failure?
"I judged it according to the standards for opening a store."

"Open a store?"

He repeated those two words with a puzzled expression. During the days when An Zhaoran was busy making pure tea, it seemed that something else had happened that he didn't know about.

Seeing the woman's confusion, Liu Changcun then explained his idea of ​​opening a shop in detail.

While at Ning Mengyao's house, Liu Changcun had already called the florist.

After some haggling, we finally agreed to go and complete the transfer of ownership tomorrow.

He will then complete all the necessary procedures for starting a business, as well as some initial store planning.

With the first share of revenue from the drama "The Temptation of Going Home", opening a milk tea shop is no problem at all.

In fact, Liu Changcun planned to visit the film crew again after the business opened. The current popularity of the TV series has made the actors involved quite famous.

By leveraging the popularity of this drama, we can also give the milk tea shop a little free advertising.

In any case, the station has already increased the number of episodes of "The Temptation to Go Home" from the original thirty-odd episodes to fifty episodes. It wouldn't be too difficult for screenwriter Liu Changcun to cleverly insert scenes of the female lead drinking milk tea in the later episodes.

An Zhaoran, who had been puzzled, finally understood after hearing Liu Changcun's explanation.

He was even more surprised to learn that Ning Mengyao had come to his house that evening to celebrate in advance, which was why Liu Changcun had invited her to dinner.

However, his treat seemed rather meager.

Thinking back to when Liu Changcun asked me to help submit his script internally, he even specially arranged a meal at a restaurant.

The initial unease stemming from the prospect of Liu Changcun and Ning Mengyao becoming superior and subordinate in the future, leading to frequent encounters, dissipated with this.

An Zhaoran's mood improved.

He looked at Liu Changcun, who had stopped talking after explaining.

I think you'll definitely succeed this time!

As if cheering on Liu Changcun, An Zhaoran clenched her hands in an encouraging gesture.

Seeing this, Liu Changcun smiled and nodded.

"Lend your auspicious words."

--------

Liu Wanqiu's home finally became lively again.

Ever since her parents started arguing, she felt extremely depressed whenever she stayed in this house for a long time.

A mother who never comes home, a father who sighs constantly, and a brother who remains silent.

The oppressive family atmosphere caused Liu Wanqiu, who was only eleven years old, great pain. She would hide in her room and cry almost every day.

When I wake up, I will face the heavy and oppressive family situation again.

Those days were the most painful for Liu Wanqiu, and her greatest wish was to help her father get back on his feet.

And it brought life back to this repressed family, making it even more lively than before.

My small wish has now been fulfilled.

The five people sat around the dining table, gazing at the delicious food that Ning Mengyao had carefully prepared.

Liu Wanqiu had a bright smile on her face.

Looking at her father, looking at Aunt Ning, looking at Aunt An who was generous and beautiful, looking at her brother with his strange hairstyle.

Liu Wanqiu's mouth was stuffed full, and as she chewed, a happy smile spread across her face.

Liu Songyan remained expressionless, silently picking at his food.

Liu Changcun and Ning Mengyao ate normally, but Ning Mengyao's gaze kept drifting towards the man beside her.

They seemed to be waiting for his evaluation.

"Not bad, your cooking skills are almost catching up with mine."

The gaze was so intense that even though Liu Changcun, who was eating, wanted to ignore it, he couldn't completely ignore the other person's stare.

Finally, after swallowing the food in his mouth, he gave a more reasonable answer.

Ning Mengyao smiled happily as she waited, then picked up the stir-fried vegetables from the plate and placed them on top of Liu Changcun's rice.

She pulled her chopsticks back and spoke in her already soft voice.

"Then eat more."

"..."

Although An Zhaoran had chopsticks in hand, he hadn't touched them yet. After witnessing the woman in front of him serving food to the man, he tightened his grip on the chopsticks again.

As if unwilling to be outdone, they also picked up a piece.

It was placed on top of the rice in front of Liu Changcun.

The movements were quick and efficient.

Ning Mengyao's smile froze slightly, and her gaze, which had been fixed on Liu Changcun, slowly shifted away.

The image freezes on An Zhaoran sitting opposite.

On their second meeting, they began to sized each other up for the first time.

Ning Mengyao looked at An Zhaoran in front of her, observing his delicate features, but after only a few glances, she lowered her eyes in disappointment.

An Zhaoran, however, smiled. Compared to Wen Yunwei, whom she had met on set before, Ning Mengyao in front of her did not have such an astonishing figure.

Subconsciously straightening her back, An Zhaoran suddenly felt a sense of mental victory.

With his right hand holding chopsticks, he reached into the plate on the table, picked up a piece, and put it into his mouth.

When she tasted Ning Mengyao's cooking for the first time, her initial smugness vanished instantly.

After chewing a few times, she calmed down again, even though she had been smiling.

Looking at Ning Mengyao, who had already lowered her eyes.

The feeling of frustration returned.

(End of this chapter)