I was approached by a cat-eared girl.

"Hold this for me, I need to go cook."

"Oh, go ahead then, but put in less sugar."

Chen Shuo gave her another instruction, took the hand warmer and held it in his arms, watching her walk into the kitchen, then looked at the hand warmer in his arms again.

This thing is really warm to hold, should I buy one for myself?

Men sometimes need to treat themselves better.

........

For dinner, we had pickled plum duck, braised pork, and a pot of rice.

As soon as he tasted the two dishes, Chen Shuo felt as if he were living the life of a southerner, even though he was a northerner. The braised pork was definitely made in the southern style, with a slightly sweet flavor.

Needless to say, the sour plum duck is both sour and sweet.

Actually, it tastes pretty good. Nowadays, there are so many seasonings available, and there are countless food bloggers who teach how to cook. As long as you follow the video step by step, you basically won't make any mistakes.

So Bai Xiaoqi has now learned quite a few dishes, which is much better than what I, a good-for-nothing who can only steam rice, can do.

Chen Shuo picked up another bite of food and put it in his mouth, then looked up and asked, "Is your Cat Mountain in a southern city?"

"No."

Chen Shuo nodded, thought for a moment and said, "Then when you come to my house for dinner in a few days, if my parents ask you where you're from, just say you're from the South."

Bai Xiaoqi stopped eating and asked suspiciously, "Why?"

"Eating habits".

Chen Shuo explained that this country has a high rate of food lovers, and often a single dietary habit can reveal a lot.

For example, people in Northeast China prefer salty food, those in Southwest China prefer spicy food, those in Southeast China prefer sweet and light flavors, and those in Northwest China prefer noodles.

There are also regions that prefer sour flavors.

Although there will always be individual cases, the dietary habits of most people in a region are basically the same.

......

Chen Jianwen was also eating. The couple didn't have anything fancy to eat; they were having dumplings.

As Chen Jianwen ate, he gestured, "You didn't see it, there's a dog's head stuck on its head."

"Dog head?" Wu Yulan's hand trembled, and the dumpling she was holding with her chopsticks fell onto the plate. "Dead dog or live dog?"

"It's not a real dog, it's a fake dog. It's like wearing pajamas, like it's wearing a dog skin. To me, it looks like a Dalmatian."

Wu Yulan rolled her eyes. "I thought it was something serious. You scared me. It's just wearing a dog pajama. What's the big deal?"

"..."

Chen Jianwen hesitated for a while, then simply lowered his head to eat his dumplings and stopped talking.

How about I buy two matching outfits for myself and my wife another day?

Actually, it looks quite nice.

Chapter Forty-Eight: I Was Eighteen

Before we knew it, it was the weekend. After a rain on the day of Lidong (the beginning of winter), the temperature dropped even more sharply, and the leaves on the trees began to fall, revealing bare branches.

"Once you're there, don't initiate conversation unless they ask you anything, and definitely don't stare at my parents. Just eat your meal quietly, okay?"

As Chen Shuo tidied his clothes, he gave Bai Xiaoqi some instructions. Bai Xiaoqi put on her cotton socks and new boots, then stood up and jumped a few times. It was unclear whether she heard him or not.

"I'm talking to you, can't you hear me?"

"heard it."

"That's good. There are some other things to be aware of, I'll tell you about them on the way." As he spoke, Chen Shuo reached out and put a cotton hat with pom-poms on her head.

"What else is there to say? She's just a girlfriend in disguise, not a real one." Bai Xiaoqi reached out and pinched the little pom-pom on her hat, her expression showing a hint of reluctance, and her lips pursed almost imperceptibly.

Seeing her somewhat reluctant expression, Chen Shuo slowed his speech and said gently, "Even if it's not real, you have to take it seriously. I know you think I'm being long-winded, but my mother has sharp eyes. If you don't act well, she'll know you're an imposter in a second."

"Hmph..." Bai Xiaoqi wrinkled her nose and snorted, then muttered under her breath, "I was an imposter all along."

What are you muttering about?

Chen Shuo watched as her lips moved slightly, but he couldn't hear what she was saying.

"nothing."

Bai Xiaoqi pursed her lips and stuck out her tongue at him, "You're a bad person."

"Yes, I'm a bad guy." Chen Shuo smiled, took the blame, took out his keys and put them in his pocket. Before leaving, he picked up a scarf and handed it to him, "Wear this, it's cold outside."

......

The weather outside looked a bit gloomy, and the wind on the street was much colder, making people's faces sting.

Chen Shuo walked along, hands in his pockets, giving instructions as he went. Bai Xiaoqi, wrapped in a thick down jacket, looked much rounder. She pulled down her sleeves, tucked her hands inside, and followed beside him, wearing a small cotton hat, swaying like a chubby penguin.

"My mom is a bit long-winded and loves to nag. She'll definitely have a lot of questions for you, so don't get impatient. Just listen quietly. I'll take care of everything. But don't stare straight into her with those big, bright eyes, understand?"

"Ah."

"I'll answer the questions I can for you, but if you encounter a question that you absolutely have to answer, just try to gloss over it."

Why try to fool us?

"What else can we do but lie? We can't just tell the truth, can we? If she asks you how old you are, and you say you just turned 100 days old, is that reasonable?"

"Then how old am I?"

Eighteen years old.

I am eighteen years old.

Bai Xiaoqi repeated it once to indicate that she had remembered it.

Chen Shuo hesitated for two seconds before asking, "So how old are you exactly?"

Having known each other for so long, apart from asking her age when we first met and getting the answer that she was one year old, I've never asked her age again and still don't know how old she really is.

"I'm eighteen." Bai Xiaoqi used what she had learned and answered it off the cuff.

"..."

Chen Shuo paused for a moment, then decided to leave it at that and not ask. Love is love, and women are forever eighteen; there's nothing wrong with that.

They took a bus to the vicinity of their parents' neighborhood, got off, and slowly walked into the neighborhood.

"If my mom asks what you do for a living, just say..."

Chen Shuo was a bit stuck, feeling that he still lacked experience. He realized that he was not prepared at all when he was almost home.

"I told you I was screwing screws in a shady factory." Bai Xiaoqi pouted and angrily added to his statement. She was in a bad mood at the moment. Why was she only playing a role?

"Alright, don't hold a grudge. I apologize to you. I'm sorry."

After giving a brief apology, Chen Shuo continued, "Let's get back to business. When my mom asks what you do, just say you work from home, you're a freelancer."

"I'm searching for monkeys at home?"

"It's not Sohou, it's SOHO. Listen to my pronunciation, SOHO. Just say you work from home, you're a freelancer, and you make money online."

"But I've never earned any money."

"I know, isn't this just fooling around?"

"Oh..."

Bai Xiaoqi responded sullenly and fell silent.

As they talked, they reached the bottom of the building. Chen Shuo saw a young couple holding hands coming out of the building not far away. He couldn't help but look at her hands tucked into her sleeves and wonder if holding hands would be more convincing.

But after thinking for a long time, he didn't know how to start the conversation and hesitated to speak.

Seeing that his gaze was fixed on her sleeve, Bai Xiaoqi couldn't help but ask, "What are you looking at?"

"I didn't look, I didn't look." Chen Shuo quickly looked away and changed the subject, "Um, are you cold?"

"It's not cold, it's very warm."

"Alright, let's go upstairs."

Chen Shuo went upstairs first, reminding himself not to rush things.

Getting her to act as his girlfriend now is a good start; if he were to suggest holding hands, it could backfire.

She might throw a tantrum then.

.......

Wu Yulan was frying ribs in the kitchen when she picked up a bottle of cooking wine and realized there was only a little left. She called out to the outside, "Old Chen, Old Chen, do you still have that cheap wine you bought last time?"

Chen Jianwen's voice drifted from the study, "I'm here, what's up?"

"Bring me your wine, I'm out of cooking wine at home."

"I'm drinking that wine, I'm not taking it."

"If you won't take it, I'll take it myself." Wu Yulan came out of the kitchen with a shovel, and was about to rummage through the things when she suddenly heard the door open and turned around.

"Mom, I'm going back..."

Chen Shuo led Bai Xiaoqi into the house, and as soon as he opened the door, he met Wu Yulan's gaze.

Bai Xiaoqi has a keen sense of smell and can clearly smell the aroma of stewed soup wafting from the kitchen along with the fragrance of vegetables. She can't help but sniff and glance towards the kitchen.

After a moment of silence, Chen Shuo coughed and said, "Mom, this is the girlfriend I told you about. Her name is Bai Xiaoqi."

Then he turned his head and said in a low voice, "I don't want you to stare straight at my parents, but you can't look away either. Quickly greet them and say hello to Auntie."

"Hello, Auntie." Bai Xiaoqi looked away and greeted Wu Yulan in a clear voice.

"Hey, hello, hello." Wu Yulan paused for a few seconds before raising her shovel to greet him, but then realized it wasn't appropriate, so she quickly put the shovel down, wiped her hands on her apron, and said, "Sit down, sit down, don't be shy, make yourself at home."

As he spoke, he secretly glanced at Bai Xiaoqi again. Hmm, she looked just like in the photos, no, she was much prettier in person.

"Come on, let's find a place to sit first,"

Seeing that nothing was wrong, Chen Shuo turned around and prepared to lead her to sit down on the sofa. After taking two steps, he felt something was wrong. He turned his head and saw Bai Xiaoqi still standing there. He couldn't help but tug at her sleeve, "What are you doing?"