Why bother with dating when you already have a cat?

"Hey, still shy?" Ai Zhongguo chuckled, picked up a piece of braised pork, and stuffed it into his mouth. "What's wrong with saying this? You bring it up all the time yourself."

"In front of the child." Yao Qiang glared at him, then looked at Xiaoyu, "Besides cooking and such, what else does Xiaoyu do at Ai Qing's place? Is she going to school?"

"Ahem..." Ai Zhongguo coughed on the other end. "That's not important. I just asked. Xiaoyu is doing live streaming now, related to games. She can earn a little over ten thousand a month, which is quite good."

As he spoke, Ai Zhongguo gave Yao Qiang a look, signaling her not to ask too many questions and that they would talk privately when they returned to the room later.

After all, Ai Zhongguo had already learned about Xiaoyu's background from Ai Qing, and felt somewhat sorry for her.

It's somewhat impolite to reopen old wounds at the dinner table, and it can also create an awkward situation.

Yao Qiang roughly understood Ai Zhongguo's meaning, so she didn't ask any further questions. Instead, she inquired about the live broadcast, looking quite curious.

Afterwards, Lang asked Ying some questions about the little things in their daily lives, and the atmosphere at the dinner table became very pleasant.

Seeing that Xiaoyu was having a good chat with her family, Ai Qing breathed a sigh of relief.

It seems that the family has begun to accept the existence of the little fish.

congratulations.

Chapter 174 Revelation of One's Origins

The meal was a pleasant one for both the host and guests.

After finishing their meal, Ai Qing pressed down on Lang Xiangying, took Xiaoyu's hand, and helped her clear the table and go to the kitchen to wash the dishes.

The remaining four people got up and went to sit down on the sofa.

Yao Qiang glanced at the busy couple in the kitchen, then looked at Ai Zhongguo, and asked, "What did you mean by giving me that wink just now?"

“Xiaoyu is an orphan. She has no parents or other elders,” Ai Zhongguo sighed. “That’s why I told you not to ask about her background at the dinner table.”

Upon hearing this, Yao Qiang opened her mouth, clearly somewhat surprised.

She herself was like that, having grown up without parents, but at least she lived with her uncles and aunts when she was young.

Although her aunt never liked her from the moment she entered the family, and always wanted to marry her off in exchange for a dowry.

But at least back then, Yao Qiang still had a home.

It's hard to imagine how a small fish can survive from a tiny size to its adult form.

Yao Qiang was well aware of the difficulties involved.

Although things have developed these days, it's actually quite rare for people to starve to death, even orphans who have no one to care for them.

But in the end, it's still bitter.

"This child has had a tough time. How did they meet?" Yao Qiang couldn't help but ask.

"It seems they met through Ai Qing's book on QQ and then through a reader's group." Ai Zhongguo had been chatting with his son in the living room and learned the details, so he shared them with them now.

“Oh, that’s good.” Alisson nodded. “Your grandma came to me because she heard I was a good writer, but she couldn’t read a single word back then, haha.”

"You're so smug!" Lang Xiangying patted her husband's shoulder. "It's all because my dad keeps talking about how a literary giant came out of the village, but now look at him, he's just so-so."

"Hey, you're just going to pretend my Writers' Association certificate and all those awards don't exist, are you?"

"I'm not going to argue with you. Let Zhongguo continue." Lang Xiangying interrupted the guy and asked Ai Zhongguo, "And then? You met him on QQ or something."

"After getting to know each other, we chatted for a while. That guy wasn't afraid he was a scammer; he actually arranged to meet the girl." Ai Zhongguo pursed his lips. "Later, I heard that they didn't start dating right away."

"That boy heard from the girl that she was illiterate but quite clever, so he invited her to his home to study."

"After a while, with all this time spent together, it's no wonder they fall for each other."

"Wow." Ai Lisong clicked his tongue, glanced at Yao Qiang, then looked at Ai Zhongguo, clapped his hands and joked, "No wonder you two are your offspring, you really have excellent genes, you just picked up wives, didn't you?"

“Dad.” Yao Qiang smiled and looked at Ai Lisong.

Ai Zhongguo, who was standing next to him, coughed twice, touched his nose to cover his embarrassment, and then said, "Anyway, this girl has been living with Ai Qing for several months now, and there really aren't any other problems."

"There's no need to rush," Lang Xiangying said. "Let's get to know each other better. We can't be discussing marriage on our first visit, can we?"

“There’s really no rush. Anyway, the young couple seems to be living a pretty good life right now.” Yao Qiang covered her mouth and chuckled. “Let them figure this out themselves. We won’t get involved.”

“Yes, that’s what I mean too,” Ai Zhongguo nodded and said. “Having a girlfriend is better than him being cooped up in that room all day.”

"As for what happens in the future, if they can really get along well and reach that point, we have no reason to stop them. Our family doesn't care about their conditions, as long as they are good to Ai Qing."

The conversation on the sofa side is going well.

The two of them were quite relaxed in the kitchen.

Without any elders watching, Xiaoyu visibly relaxed. Her previously tense body relaxed, and her shoulders even dropped a little.

"Is it alright? I think they all like you quite a bit," Ai Qing asked while washing the dishes.

"I think it's alright?" Xiaoyu was still a little uneasy, unsure how she had performed. "Does brother think it's okay?"

“That would definitely be great,” Ai Qing said. “This time I just brought you here to familiarize yourself with the place. Whenever we have time in the future, we can come back here for a meal or something.”

"Once you get to know my family better, many things will become simpler."

"From now on, you'll not only have me, but you can also treat this place as your home."

"Mmm!" Xiaoyu nodded happily, then turned her head to look at the living room outside, making sure that the uncles, aunts, grandparents and other family members were not looking this way, so she quietly moved closer to Ai Qing.

"elder brother."

"Ok?"

"I have something to tell you. Lower your head."

"What's wrong?" Ai Qing turned slightly to the side and lowered her head.

As a result, Xiaoyu had already wiped her hands clean on her apron, and immediately hugged Aiqing's neck and kissed her hard.

"Um... Hey..."

"The kitchen...they can see it..."

Ai Qing's hands were still covered in dish soap, so she couldn't resist at all.

I can only let the little fish violate me like this.

"It's okay." Xiaoyu kissed him for a while before letting go, taking a half step back and whispering, "They shouldn't have seen this."

I'll teach you a lesson when we get home tonight.

"How are you going to discipline me, brother?" Little Fish giggled. "Are you going to spank Little Fish's bottom?"

"You're asking this as if I'm rewarding you."

……

After washing the dishes, Ai Qing and Xiao Yu came out of the kitchen.

At this moment, Ailisong has already gone to the supermarket to take over the shift.

Lang Xiangying also stood up and went to the warehouse to get cat food.

Seeing this, Yao Qiang smiled and stood up, beckoning to Xiao Yu and saying, "Come here, let's go to the yard."

Little Fish obediently followed, and although she knew what Grandma was going to do, she still asked with a curious expression, "What are you going to do, Auntie?"

Yao Qiang didn't rush to answer, but instead asked, "Does Xiaoyu like kittens?"

"I like it," Xiaoyu blinked, then said, "My brother has a very cute little kitten."

Ai Qing, standing next to her, couldn't help but roll her eyes. She hadn't expected Xiao Yu to have gone astray and was even bragging about herself here.

"And it even shares the same name as your nickname." Yao Qiang covered her mouth and laughed, finding it amusing. "So, since you're living with Ai Qing, how does he usually address you and the cat?"

"Everyone can call me Little Fish, Little Fish doesn't mind." Little Fish shook her head and said with a smile, "It's much more fun this way."

Yes, yes, that's interesting.

Ai Qing, standing next to her, turned her head away, not daring to meet her mother's gaze with her guilty look.

“Look,” Yao Qiang said, pointing to several pairs of gleaming eyes in the courtyard. “They’ve been waiting here for a while.”

"Is it a cat?" Little Fish asked curiously.

“Yes, these are the ones we’re pretty familiar with. They’ve all been spayed or neutered,” Yao Qiang said. “Since they’re all adult cats, we haven’t adopted them out, so they still come here to eat every day.”

At this moment, Lang Xiangying came out carrying pots, pans, small bowls, and a large bag of cat food and cat treats.

Once inside the courtyard, Lang Xiangying started banging on the bottom of the pot, making a loud banging sound, and also started shouting out.

In the past, herding pigs was a common sight in rural areas.

Upon hearing the sound, the chubby cats in the neighborhood immediately sprang into action, rushing over in a flurry.

At this moment, Lang Xiangying squatted down, put the cat food and cat treats into the pot, then stirred them evenly with a large spoon. Each spoonful was a large bowl of cat food, which she then added to the small bowls.

Xiao Yu followed Yao Qiang, each holding a small bowl, and along the courtyard wall, placed dinner for each cat that came begging for food.

To be honest, Xiaoyu hasn't fed any other cats cat food yet.

Oh wait, when Vera visited their home before, Xiaoyu did host her once.

But this is the first time Xiaoyu has ever been fed on such a large scale; she could only watch from behind the glass door in the living room before.

A rather novel experience.

"Is Xiaoyu going back with Aiqing today?" Yao Qiang asked Xiaoyu, looking at the cats all over the yard. "Or are you staying here for the night?"

Chapter 175 Bathing and Washing

Where are you staying tonight?

To be honest, for safety's sake, Ai Qing would definitely have taken Xiao Yu back.

After all, at night, the little fish has to turn back into a kitten.

If Yao Qiang and the others suddenly came looking for Xiao Yu and didn't see her, but instead saw her, they would definitely become suspicious.

But since her mother had already asked, Ai Qing thought about it and figured that her parents probably wouldn't come over for no reason, especially since it was so late at night.

After all, they wouldn't know what the young couple was doing inside; they wouldn't be so oblivious.

After glancing at Xiaoyu, Ai Qing smiled and said, "Then let's stay here for the night."